A smorgasbord sprawls across my dining room table, leaves inserted to stretch it to its full length just to hold all the food. Apples… check! Rice cakes… check! Granola bars… check! Hotdogs… check! Tortillas, peanut butter and jelly… check! Carrots… check! But most importantly, instant coffee, creamer & sugar packets with the optional tea bags for those preferring chai to go with the breakfast muffins … Continue reading A Jurassic World
Fun Days. Long Days. That is how life has been feeling lately- I’ve been loving doing life alongside the class of 2026 as they are now seniors, having followed them specifically since their freshman year in 2022. Last week we were able to escape campus for a day we dubbed “Senior Skip Day.” When I announced this to the class in November, the announcement was … Continue reading Fun Days. Long Days.
Monday July 14th I emerged for graduation to watch the class of 2025 walk across the stage with pride, coming in a little late and leaving a little early to man my merchandise booth on behalf of the class of 2026. I didn’t even get time to stop for pictures with any of my favorite grads. Bummer. After a celebratory lunch I headed back to … Continue reading The Long End: The End
I woke up early once more on Saturday July 12th, repeating the previous Saturdays to-do list from class party, and then some: -Roll out the Grills-Get meat from the cafo-Set out condiments-Make sure ordering systems are a go-Do we have all the meat out and thawed?-Make sure all students are reporting for shifts-Are the merchandise sellers out and prepared?-Are the cash boxes counted?-Is the ice-cream … Continue reading The Long End: Day 9
The next morning, I struggled to get out of bed exhausted already from the previous two days shenanigans, but I was roused by an exciting thought: Sunday July 6th. TODAY IS THE DAY! Today is the day Rachael comes. My sweet friend who was my duplex neighbor for two years returned for a short trip to clean out her things, some to the community, the … Continue reading The Long End: Days 3-8
I slept fitfully, fully aware of the impending alarm that I feared I would not wake up to. We’d had a meeting early in the week and had laid out the parameters they were given to work within: -They were not allowed to delay the seniors past 5:10am so there wouldn’t be a chance they’d miss their train-They were not to use unauthorized school equipment-They … Continue reading The Long End: Day 2
We have reached the end of term! We have reached the end of a school year! But man, what a long end it was… the next few posts over the next few days chronicle just how truly long the end was… The last weekend before finals week kicked off with a bang: literally, Friday July 4th, my students from AP Chemistry set off the fireworks … Continue reading The Long End: Day 1
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. This was hung on the wall of my ninth-grade biology classroom and pointed out on a regular basis as our teacher sought to set us up for success, both in her classroom and beyond. If you read many of my posts, you know that sponsoring is a huge love of mine and a big part of my ministry here at … Continue reading The Big Event: Planning
Let me tell you about my fun week! I wish I had pictures of some of this to share with you, but I find some of the most spontaneous moments of joy don’t have a camera poised and ready to capture it, so here is my attempt at a few word pictures of what this past week has looked like… It started on Monday. Eighth … Continue reading Snippets of Stories
Staffing here at RVA can sometimes be a challenge with the home assignment/furlough cycle of people needing coverage, and with the shot-term pattern missions seems to be shifting toward, RVA has seen a lot of staffing turn over in the past couple of years. This year, the staffing shortage seems to be exacerbated just a bit, leaving gaps in unexpected places, and stretching some staff … Continue reading A Recipe For Success
Faithful Footsteps 