Accelerating to the End!

Accelerate, accelerate, accelerate -- BRAKE!

That's how the end of the school year felt!  With so many special events, "last" this and that, and goodbyes to say, time seemed to speed up to the finish line.  Now, dorm students are gone, and many staff fly to destinations around the world this week.  And I'm left here reflecting on the whirlwind these past two weeks (and months!) have been.

To end well with my small group, I had them over for pizza dinner.  We shared prayer requests, decorated picture frames together, and just enjoyed conversation together.  It was a bittersweet time, as one of the girls also announced her recent decision to move to America to live with her parents now that they have received a permanent visa.  We will miss Jin greatly next year, but I am confident that the Lord will continue to work in our lives here and Jin's life as she moves to Hawaii.

My class wrapped up our Medieval Times unit with a second annual knighting ceremony, class trivia game, and shield-making contest.  The kids and I wore medieval-type clothing, and we listened to music of the period (although that wasn't their favorite!).  Some of my students with no prompting from me at all, created a shield that said, "Thank you for being my teacher!"  Warmed my heart. :)

On the second to last day of school, all of the English-speaking staff and students (because the Germans have a holiday right now) hiked to Sausenburg Castle, a long-standing tradition for the elementary school.  It was a fun time to be together as a school before the end of the year.

The last day of school always seems to go so quickly!  We began with an hour in the classroom, and I was super excited to do something new with this time.  Ahead of time, I asked each student to give a one word or phrase description of each of their classmates.  I then used these words to create a Wordle for each of the students, which I glued onto a piece of construction paper with a picture of our class.  On the reverse side, we created a sort of class yearbook by signing each other's papers.  These were laminated before the end of the day and will serve as placemats for each of the students (and their teacher!).  I did also give class awards ("blessings") again this year, which the students enjoyed as well.

Zoomed in on the Wordle on my placemat

The students' comments to me - so sweet! (names removed)

Next, we had our closing chapel time.  We prayed for each of the students and teachers leaving our school, which actually included me as I am going to be working at the middle school next year.  How special to have one of my fourth grade students pray a prayer of blessing for me.  After a soft pretzel and drink, we all headed outside into the surprisingly nice weather for our field day!  

And just like that, the year is finished.  This weekend we had high school awards, graduation, and staff picnic... and slowly, this town is emptying out as students and staff alike spread out around the globe.  We are going from here to be refreshed and to share about our experiences at BFA this year.  We're processing many feelings and changes, and we've faced different challenges this school year, but we can say with joy that God is faithful!