Golly gee wilikers it’s been a week. We’ve got two weeks left in the term before four weeks off in April and I am feeling the weight on all sides. Academic Weight: On Friday, I taught my last lesson of the year in the AP Chemistry curriculum. We’ve been pushing hard to reach this goal, and WE MADE IT. We celebrated by dancing on the … Continue reading High’s & Low’s
“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?!?!” the 10th graders begged as they paraded into my classroom on Thursday during lunch. “We really really want to go. Mr. F said he’d go, so we have our guy adult.” The plan? Ten tenth graders decided they wanted to camp out overnight on ‘upper field’ and needed male and female chaperones in order for approval to go. I was … Continue reading An Upper Field Sleepover
I ended my afternoon sitting on top of a water tank with a teenager, feeling just a little bit rebellious as I watched the clouds roll by sipping iced-spiced chai. We talked about the grandeur of the clouds we saw, half a world away having friends and family stare up at the same sky in cold drizzly England or wet snowy Michigan. We chatted about … Continue reading The God who Sees
We’re exactly one week into the second term! WHEW! I’ve hit the ground running, but it has been oh so fun having the students back on campus. Last night my house was full of laughter and sugar as 9 kiddos filled my living room with disappearing brownie sundaes and the challenge of keeping a straight face in a rousing game of “cockroach poker.” More than … Continue reading A Day in the Life of: A Student!
“First we’ll go to Hoima, then we’ll go to Kyangweli to get the meat for Christmas then come back to the Masindi house.” Rachael’s dad spoke in his rich Ugandan accent as he shared the plans for the day. More than happy to go along with the plans, Rachael and I piled into the four wheel drive Prado ready for another day of hours spent … Continue reading A Ugandan Christmas
Cancer. It’s a big word. It brings big feelings. It has a number of huge implications just hearing that word. It also carries a spectrum. Sometimes super treatable, sometimes an instant death sentence. Sometimes everywhere in between, but always bad news, and always a litany of unknowns. My moms brother died of cancer. Her mom had cancer. My dad’s grandma had cancer. They’re not even … Continue reading The Good and the Hard
I put up my Christmas lights this week. I literally danced around my house yesterday plugging them in right as the sun set, excited to have my living room lit up with joy and wonder- because that’s what Christmas lights hold to me- joy and wonder. It’s been really busy lately. I feel like I’m on the edge of bursting with the things that have … Continue reading Nearing the End.
“So for my electives I’m taking Leadership Class and CS Lewis literature… I know they’re harder classes for an elective, but why not? They help me grow!” I was blown away by this students assessment of his schedule when we talked last spring, his choice to choose challenging classes for the sake of growth over the ‘easy fun’ options. This fall, I was faced with … Continue reading Leadership Training
If you’ve read many of my other posts, you’ve read about two senior guys who’ve wiggled their way into my heart, mostly by asking me to make them cookies and by coming to my classroom last year to complain about chemistry. This story isn’t about them… it’s about their friend. This friend, I never had in class, he took chemistry at a different school, and … Continue reading 10:1
Over the past month or so, I’ve seen this to be so true. Being here for my second year, I already have established relationships with students, and how do you continue those once the students aren’t in your class anymore? Well, I have them over for food. I’ve created a calendar where I track my hosting and feeding of students (mostly for intentionality with tracking … Continue reading Food = Ministry. Ministry = Food.
Faithful Footsteps 