constellations, closets, and Christmas presents

This week was absolutely crazy, but in a good way. On Monday my 8th graders turned in their Shoebox Planetariums, and I suddenly found myself with 28 shoeboxes to grade! The project involved a bit of research on a specific constellation, and then compiling the info into a shoebox and turning the box into a viewer, with holes punched on one end of the box to represent the constellation. I had quite the pile of grading!

I spend the better part of three days wading through the grading of these projects, so anyone who entered the middle school office saw this interesting scene:

On Wednesday there was a traveling market in town, so I spent a few hours in the afternoon walking around with Julie, one of our student teachers. It was only in town for one day but it wasn't a Christmas market so I didn't feel too badly about rushing through parts of it. I did manage to find a few Christmas presents though! It will be a fun experience to buy Christmas presents somewhere other than Wal-Mart this year. Not that I don't love Wal-Mart...actually, there are some days when I REALLY miss it. But this year I have a chance to really put some thought into each person's gift and make them uniquely special. Ironically enough, this market reminded me of Wal-Mart because of all the random items being sold. You could buy anything from cookies and Christmas ornaments to soap and garden tools. One booth had every shape, size, and variety of brush ever thought of.

This week I also became aware of the fact that my desk has now become my closet. On Sunday morning I was getting ready for church and looking for my black dress shoes. After searching everywhere, I realized that they were at school! I walk to school each day, so I wear my tennis shoes for the walk and then change into nicer shoes when I arrive. There's no sense in toting my shoes back and forth each day, so I just keep them all under my desk. Thankfully I attend the church that meets at school, so I just got there a few minutes early and ran upstairs to get my dress shoes. I took this picture because the whole thing just cracks me up. Here you can even see my rain boots, which I have had many chances to wear!!

Finally, the end of the week arrived! After school on Friday I went out to Riedlingen to have Thanksgiving dinner with the Boettcher family. I had grilled cheese with the Maug boys on the actual night of Thanksgiving. Tim and Leslie are teachers in the high school and middle school, and their son Phil is in my 8th grade class. They also invited Susan, our middle school vice principal, Jerry and Lois DeRenzo (more staff at BFA), and one of their friends named Karen. I took this picture with the Boettchers to show my mom that a family did end up adopting me for Thanksgiving.

After eating a delicious meal, Phil and I rushed back to school with Hannah, another 8th grader who lives a few houses down. The science department hosted a video night, and we watched "The Privileged Planet." The main question was whether or not the Earth has any significance or purpose, or if we are just a lonely speck in the vast emptiness of space. It explored the suggestion that the earth was designed and specifically placed among the cosmos, and that it couldn't have been a coincidence. It was perfect for my 8th graders, who have just wrapped a three-month study of astronomy, and my 7th graders just finished discussing creation, evolution, and intelligent design. Naturally, I offered my science students an opportunity to earn extra credit by coming to the video night, staying for the discussion afterwards, and then doing a little writeup telling me what they learned from the experience. About 12 or 13 students showed up, which made me really happy! Even if their sole motivation was a few extra points, they were exposed to some intelligent discussion and mature interaction between Christians regarding scientific theories and ideas. Yep, I'm officially a nerd.

Tonight I'm going to the BFA Christmas banquet, and tomorrow I'm going to Basel to see my first Christmas market! It's officially the Christmas season!!