BFA Grad 2015

I had the awesome privilege of passing through Kandern for a few days on my way home from Spain in mid June. Part of my reasoning for this detour was so that I could drop off the majority of the luggage I'd taken to Spain with me, and the other part was to take some dedicated time to say goodbye to some very special people. It was such a gift for me to be able to surprise the middle schoolers at their year-end awards ceremony, attend graduation and watch my first seventh grade class turn their tassels, and have some time to say goodbye to the friends of mine who will not be in Germany this August when I return. I enjoyed running the old familiar trails of the Black Forest with my friends, and I also had the opportunity to hep students study for their finals and participate in several planning meetings for this upcoming school year.

Surprising the middle schoolers! (Photo: Heather)

Running in the forest - I've missed this!

Reunited with my best friend after a year apart

A special family I've taught - the first of this "Kingdom" to graduate!

What a joy to have known and loved these girls since they were in seventh grade! 

The first of my reigning "Dynasty" to graduate!

My small group girls graduated this year!

The first of this "Kingdom" to graduate!

These grads (along with several others not pictured) were in my very first seventh grade class at BFA.  Words can't express how grateful I am to have been able to stick around to see them graduate!

Final Days at ECA

It's been just a little over two weeks since my time at ECA officially ended, so I thought I'd take a moment to share briefly about our final day together and graduation.

While I am not a high school teacher, I did supervise several high school study halls. This didn't necessarily provide the right atmosphere to get to know them on a personal level like my middle schoolers, but it at least gave me the chance to meet and interact with most of the high school students. However, since seniors were not assigned to study halls they are probably the class I knew the least.

Graduation day began with an all-school awards assembly during which we honored students' achievements and recognized departing staff and students. From art to sports to music to academics to service, there were many accomplishments to be celebrated! The middle school choir ended the assembly with a surprise performance of one of my favorite songs, "Happy."

Departing staff

Middle school choir singing "Happy"

The graduation ceremony took place later that evening. The fun-loving, familial dynamic of this class was evident as they shared memories and addresses in both Spanish and English, laughing together over inside jokes and pausing to wipe away the occasional stray tear when things got a little too real. Each student was recognized for their personal achievements and they shared their future plans with us via a music video they'd put together. To end the ceremony, we staff took the stage and sang "The Lord Bless You and Keep You," our special prayer for the seniors as they began the next part of their journey.

ECA Class of 2015

Staff song

Following the ceremony we all enjoyed appetizers and refreshments outside in the huge tent. It was a bittersweet time of celebration and mourning as the students enjoyed their final hours together as a class and said their farewells to the underclassmen.

With my good friend and fellow science teacher, Sophia

Grad Reception in the Circus Tent! 

step into my classroom: pre-algebra at ECA, quarter four

Seventh graders have been doing quite a bit of work with ratios, proportions, and other applications of fractions. To wrap up the unit, they used a scale drawing process to create a "king size" candy wrapper. After drawing a 1-centimeter grid over the original wrapper, they set up and solved proportions to determine the dimensions of their drawing. Then they drew a larger grid according to their calculations. From there it was a simple matter of filling in the boxes and adding color. The students LOVED this project, and now we have some pretty cool posters hanging in our classroom!

I don't know about you but all these candy wrappers are making me crave sweets!!

Spirit Week at ECA

If you have been following my blog for any length of time you already know I LOVE dressing up for spirit days and costume parties. Here at ECA I have been itching to get dressed up for something special so you can imagine my excitement when my favorite week of the year, Spirit Week, finally arrived in April.

Monday's theme was Pajamas. Even though it's pretty warm here I donned my fleece cupcake PJ pants and put on a brave face, knowing I would be sweating soon. It paid off, though, because I won the award for best staff costume that day!

My prize-winning PJs

I need a pair of these slippers

Tuesday was Decade Day, so I brought back the sock hop costume with a DIY poodle skirt and a cardigan. Since the staff didn't really coordinate any group costumes I was happy to match with my friend Marie today.

On Wednesday the theme was Mismatched, which was super easy. All I had to do was open my closet and grab a few random items to create the look.

Thursday's theme was sports, and I was lucky enough to borrow a friend's German soccer jersey to represent the Fatherland. One of my students is from Argentina so naturally we had a friendly rivalry going on that day!

Representing all the sports!

We can't all be World Cup winners ...

On Friday we wrapped up the week with a day at the polideportivo, our local sports complex. Students competed in various track and field events and we teachers ran the events while cheering them on. Naturally I helped run the shotput and discus, and in between flights I made it over to the track to cheer obnoxiously for my students who were racing.

A flight of middle school sprinters prepares for takeoff

I love races!

Demonstrating the proper form for shot putting. Not.

Refereeing for girls' discus in our makeshift throwing ring.

High jumpers go over the rules before taking the plunge

Middle schoolers did great at high jump!

More middle school sprinters

These eighth grade girls tied last year and nearly tied again this year!

As you can see I am very passionate about track and field. I love these kids!!

step into my classroom: earth science at ECA, quarter three

The eighth graders spent third quarter getting their hands dirty with the first half of our geology unit. It starts with minerals, rocks, and fossils, then goes a little deeper into an investigation on plate tectonics, landforms, earthquakes, and volcanoes.

We began with a simulation of the rock cycle using chocolate bars. For whatever reason this activity turned into a HUGE mess this year - I have never seen such a slimy chocolately mess and I've been doing this lab for years now! Maybe it's the Spanish chocolate? The students got a kick out of it anyway, but unfortunately I didn't get many good pictures of the lab since I was busy helping them get cleaned up.

White chocolate "sediment"

For each rock and mineral group we studied, the students then did an observation lab in which they used their textbook and field guides to identify and classify various "mystery" samples. For some this was a very simple task while others really struggled. Who doesn't love playing with rocks??

Relying on the fact that I have a very creative group of kids in eighth grade this year, I added a new project to my roster. After an in-depth study of mineral properties, each student chose a mineral on which to base a new comic book character. They had the option to create either a hero or villain, and designed his or her "super powers" to reflect the properties of the given mineral. They presented their Mineral Heroes in the form of a comic book cover and got to share a brief character bio with the class. I was amazed and entertained by the creativity and originality of so many of their designs!

Many of their comics were on display for our school's science showcase

To wrap up the rocks chapter, students were tasked with creating a model of the rock cycle. The sky was the limit for how they chose to demonstrate what they'd learned, and the whole gamut of projects appeared on my desk on the last day before spring break.

"The Adventures of Rocky Bill"

"Rock Culture"

Another view of all the projects in the science showcase

It's hard to believe my time with these eighth graders is almost over, and with it my sixth year of teaching middle school earth science. Where has the time gone?!