Month at a Glance: October

Can you believe it's already October!  It's cliche, but these days and weeks just seem to fly by.  Here is a glimpse at what is ahead in the coming month:

October 3:  No school for German Unification Day
October 5-6:  Holzen Art Festival (local village festival)
October 7:  GCC Homecoming Away from Home (celebrating homecoming with the other Grovers here at BFA)
October 9:  Middle School Picture Day
October 11:  Operation Christmas Child Kick-Off
October 17:  My student teacher arrives in Germany!
October 18:  Middle School Fall Party
October 19:  Volleyball, tennis, and cross-country teams "home"
October 25-26:  Middle Level Teachers Conference in Zurich
October 31:  Herbstmesse (fall festival in Basel)

I'm very much looking forward to having a student teacher, Dana Schnitzel, join me in my classes until mid-December!  Dana is originally from eastern Pennsylvania like me - and even goes to college less than an hour from my alma mater.  Small world!  We had the opportunity to meet for coffee this summer, and I'm excited to work alongside Dana.  She will gradually take over each of my classes as she eases into life at BFA.  I was in Dana's place not too long ago...  What a privilege to have this opportunity to invest in a pre-service teacher and share the uniqueness of BFA with her!  I'd appreciate your prayers for wisdom for me as I prepare for Dana's arrival and host her for the next two months.

In addition to the special events listed above, I'm settling into some weekly routines.  Every Monday night is devoted to small group time.  Since my girls are now seniors, we meet on a night different than the other groups and for a longer period of time.  We eat dinner together, often sharing lively conversations filled with laughter.  Our evening time is sometimes more "chill" (as the girls call it), with time to debrief the day and play games, while other weeks are more structured as we study Scripture, pray for specific requests, or get out and serve our community.  There are lots of ideas for what we'll do this year... stories and pictures to come!