#tbt Week 1: Packing Up!

As I embrace this season of transition, I am taking time to reflect on many memories with special people in meaningful places.  It is neat to visibly see changes over time, knowing that God has been transforming us through the experiences of the past five years.

Each Thursday this summer will be devoted to a #tbt (Throwback Thursday) post, highlighting various "then and now" comparisons.  Enjoy!

#tbt Week 1: Packing Up!

This morning, Brittany and I officially handed over the keys to our house and set out all of our suitcases on the curb.  It's hard to believe that five years of living in Germany have come to an end!  

I'm leaving Germany with exactly the amount of bags I came with: 3 checked bags, a carry-on suitcase, a backpack, and a pillow.  However, that's a bit deceiving... friends who visited me this spring took things back to the States, I took back a number of things at Christmastime, and I've mailed myself multiple packages over the past few months!

July 2010

June 2015

When you have to pack your life into suitcases, it really causes you to think about what is important enough to take, what matters enough to count towards those valuable 51 pounds, what tokens of the past you wish to take into the future.  I laugh about what "made the cut" back in 2010 - some of those items served me well over the past five years, while others were unneeded or unnecessary.  Many times, we don't know what we'll need before we get to the next place.  Praise God that He is the Great Provider, giving us just what we need in His perfect timing!

If you were packing up your life, what would you take?

How has God shown Himself to be your Provider?

Snapshots of the "Lasts"

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  With plenty of photos on hand and very little time to type my thoughts in words, here are some pictures in this season of "lasts."

Jessie and Brianna, the two girls from my original 4th grade class!

Liz is the only student I've had in chapel band for all 4 years!

 With 6th grade students at the Middle School Awards Ceremony

Rehearsing with current and former Middle School Chapel Band members!

They led a few songs for our final chapel of the year.

My last day of teaching at BFA MS

Time with my mentor, Candy

Many shared meals, ice cream dates, and walks with friends fill my calendar these days.  I'm so grateful for all of the people who have enriched my time at BFA!

Month at a Glance: June 2015

This is a big month.

June 1:  Walking Together meeting

June 2:  Middle school music ensemble performances

June 3:  Combined middle and high school chapel
June 4:  No school

June 5:  Closing chapel for middle school

June 6:  8th Grade Dinner and Middle School Awards Ceremony  

June 9-10:  Middle school finals

June 10:  Last day of school!

June 11:  High School Awards Ceremony

June 12:  Graduation

June 14:  Clothes Swap with friends!

June 15-18:  Staff work days

June 18:  Staff barbecue

June 25:  Fly to PA!

A Full Week!

This week, the "Parade of Lasts" continued with some fun memory-making moments with students and friends alike.

Middle School Talent Show: This Tuesday we were wow-ed by our students' singing, dancing, and gymnastic abilities.  I had created a video of the 6th graders singing "Happy" during ELW a few weeks ago and surprised the class by showing it at the talent show!

Staff Appreciation Dinner:  It seemed surreal to walk onto the stage at this year's staff dinner to be recognized for five years of service at BFA.  I'm thankful for the many staff members who have been part of my life here at BFA over the past five years.

Middle School Spring Party:  The theme was book characters, so the teachers decided to reenact the childhood favorite "Goodnight Moon"!

I'm grateful for these opportunities to savor the final weeks at BFA!  God is good, all the time.

Reflection

I've been reflecting a lot lately.  Transition and change does that - it naturally forces me into a place of reflection.  Many of you have seen these reflections expressed on Facebook and Instagram with the labels #paradeoflasts and #bittersweet.

In LINK class, we had a time of guided reflection as we processed...

The end of another year.

Summer break.

Unknowns ahead.

Upcoming travel.

New beginnings.

Goodbyes.

Students who are moving to other continents.

Students who are "left behind" as dear friends move across the ocean.

Students who love middle school.  Others who are more than eager to leave.

Students who are trusting Jesus, and some who haven't chosen that yet.

We brainstormed our tried and true strategies for preparing for change.  Because these students know. 

They know that they need a song or a verse to hold onto.  

That they need to gather the email addresses of their departing friends.  

That this is the season of savoring and reconciling and affirming.

As we continued this conversation about transition, we filled in wheels of emotions (pictured below).  Students could create a pie graph or stripes or just randomly write their feelings.  I wasn't sure how the boys would react to all of this "feeling" talk, but some of them were the most eager in the class.  They asked questions and enthusiastically selected markers from my supply!  I wished we had more than a few minutes to linger in intentional reflection, but I was encouraged to know that they were taking this time seriously.

Can you feel the pull of mixed feelings?  Can you sense the tug-of-war of opposing emotions?

This student began with 50% sad but changed it to 60% when she was informed (during the activity) that another friend would also be leaving at the end of the year.

This departing student and I agreed that, although "overwhelmed" isn't technically an emotion, it's something that we are both feeling right now.

Would you pray for these students as they continue to process these changes?  Will you join me in lifting up this community during this season of transiency?  Certainly many of you also face uncertainties up ahead.  May we each choose to lean into God's grace in the transitions, His peace in times of reflection, and His sovereignty as we take another step into the unknown.

I'm linking up with The Grove at Velvet Ashes, where the topic last week was "leaving."

ELW Highlights

Last week was the full-of-fun (and thoroughly exhausting) Middle School Experiential Learning Week!  All of the planning is worth it for quality time with the students and learning outside the regular classroom environment.  Here are some highlights from the week!  (2013 and 2014)

Monday: Learning to make taco salad!

Baking cookies and making chocolate-covered pretzels for our service project on Wednesday

Tuesday: Exploring the Roman ruins

Wednesday: Service project!

(These brave guys cleared a patch of stinging nettle!)

Friday: Motorized scavenger hunt around the area!

It was a close competition!

 The 6th grade class easily filled our living room for an afternoon of relaxing together, eating snacks, and watching Big Hero 6

Independent Studies

What do you love to do?  What are your passions?  What motivates you to want to know more?  

These were the questions we discussed three months ago as my LINK students (grades 6-8) embarked on their Independent Study research, the beginning of a pilot project integrating literacy skills, community involvement, and personally motivated learning.  Based on the Genius Hour model, students were given some structure and a lot of freedom to research a topic and present their findings.

Step 1: Brainstorm and select a research question.  Their topics ranged from fashion to legos, sports teams to interior design.  Some were predictable based on what I knew about the student, while others took me by surprise and gave me a new window into the student's interests!

Step 2:  Connect with a coach.  Some students had a coach in mind, such as another BFA teacher or a family friend, while others were stumped by this step.  I assured them that every student would have a coach - primarily because I knew I couldn't manage 50+ independent studies on my own!  The coach would act as a primary communicator, a resource for finding sources, a potential sounding board for ideas, and most of all, an encourager throughout the process.

So who were these coaches?  Many of YOU!  You shared your gifts, abilities, and interests in cooking, travel, psychology, theater, architecture... a diverse list of topics!  Our students enjoyed emailing with you and having your support at various stages throughout the process.  Personally, it was really exciting to see the connections made across many miles and, in many cases, bringing my two "worlds" together!  I'm grateful for your part in the success of the first-ever Independent Study project.

Step 3:  Gather sources and research!  This step clearly took the longest, as students dove into finding information to answer their research questions.  With only two short periods each week, we found that it took longer to research than expected.  So, we extended the research time to allow students to "go deeper."  The EasyBib Add-On in Google Docs was an invaluable tool for students to keep track of their sources in MLA format.

Step 4:  Share results.  Students could choose to display their findings or present to the class in our Share Celebration.  We even had some special guests in the audience - our principal, dean, director, and some of the local coaches, as well as two of my college friends who were visiting!

"Why I think the Spurs are great" - which, of course, was followed with supporting research!

Surprise coach visit from Pennsylvania!

Displaying information about the NFL

Sharing research on secret passageways

"The Creation of a Soccer Ball" display

This student hopes to own a Bookshop/Cafe someday!

Month at a Glance: May 2015

May 1:  Welcome college friends to Europe for a visit!
May 4 and 6:  LINK Class Individual Study Project Presentations
May 8:  Help with middle school "Freedom Run" fundraiser
May 9:  Home soccer games
May 10:  Happy Mother's Day!
May 11-15:  Middle School Experiential Learning Week
May 14:  No school
May 17:  Baptism Sunday and Church Picnic
May 18:  Lead staff devotions
May 25:  No school
May 26:  Middle School Talent Show
May 27:  All-Staff Appreciation Dinner
May 29:  Middle School Spring Party
May 31:  Spring concert

Birthday of Memories

Each of my birthdays has been filled with memories.  It's fun to think about the well-kept secrets, special notes, and meaningful gifts that are tied to past birthdays.  As I celebrate with family and friends, I'm reminded of God's faithfulness throughout that past year of life.

This year, a beautifully simple birthday scavenger hunt took me to some of the places that have been special to me during my time in Germany.  I even got to do chalkboard lettering and mini photo shoots!  What a wonderful way to make new birthday memories - by revisiting the memories of the past.

Bonus points if you can correctly identify all of the places in this post!  :)

Two Months and Next Steps

Two months.

It's hard to believe, but I will be flying back to Pennsylvania in two short months!  Between now and then?  I'm sure there will be to-do lists, last-minute cleaning, packing and repacking, plenty of paperwork... But I'm also hoping for lots of memory-making and hugs and conversations and soaking it all in.

It's bittersweet to leave this place that I've called home for the past five years.  However, I'm very much looking forward to what lies ahead!

The where.  I will be living with my parents in PA for the summer - enjoying family time and reconnecting with friends.  In late August, I will officially move to the Washington, D.C. area!

The who.  I'll be living with Alyssa, a close college friend.  We haven't lived together since our suite-mate days of senior year, but we have kept in touch across the miles over the past five years.  It was also really fun to have Alyssa visit me in Germany last month to meet my friends and see my life here, and I'm looking forward to beginning this new season with Alyssa as my roommate.

The what.  After serving with TeachBeyond at BFA for the past five years, I will be transitioning into a new role with TeachBeyond: Mobilization Coach!  This position includes recruiting on college campuses, sharing TeachBeyond's vision with people interested in serving abroad, and encouraging candidates as they apply, fundraise, and prepare to move overseas.  As a Mobilization Coach, I get to walk alongside people who are in the place I was five years ago - preparing to go, willing to serve, facing the unknowns of the future.  I'm thrilled that this role combines my love for connecting with people and my passion for quality international education!

The what else.  I will also be pursuing an online master's degree in Educational Leadership.  I'm already praying that I would find a good balance between my mobilization role and grad school, especially without the built-in rhythm of a school schedule (which is what I've known since I began Kindergarten!).

There are many changes coming, and I appreciate the grace and encouragement that so many of you have already extended to me in this season.  May this new adventure bring glory to God, and may I continue to find joy in the journey.

"I know Who goes before me,

I know Who stands behind,

The God of angel armies is always by my side"

In my new role as Mobilization Coach, I will continue as a full-time support-based TeachBeyond member.  Click here to make a financial contribution.  Your gift will have multiplied impact as I interact with new TeachBeyond members joining the global work of transformational education.  Thanks for your generosity!