Finger Puppets

Today, when I look at finger puppets, they are far more than a piece of paper or small pieces of fabric. Finger puppets are what joined K.B. and I together almost two years ago. At the time, she was in 6^th grade and was just starting her first year at BFA. Her family had my roommates and me over for dinner one night and a beautiful friendship was formed over the creation of finger puppets. We created little dogs, cats and even a giraffe with a super long neck. These finger puppets came alive for about an hour as we sat and played at their kitchen table. I have gotten to know their family well as not much longer after our first finger puppet encounter,  K.B.’s mom became my mentor. I came to treasure their family and loved spending time with them. We played silly games and every once and while brought out our collections of finger puppets (yes, I do have my very own collection!). I said goodbye to K.B. and her family exactly a week ago today. This is one of the hardest goodbyes I've had to say. BFA is a place of constant goodbyes as people are coming and going all the time. I rest in the assurance that for each of the farewells, my God is by my side, never leaving, never changing. Even though the goodbyes may be hard I know that it is because I have been incredibly blessed by the people God has brought into my life, even for a short time through finger puppets.

“What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it.”

― C.S. Lewis

Moving

I have spent the last three years living in the same apartment in a small village just a few kms away from the 3 BFA campuses. This last month has been full of packing, painting and moving! This summer, Heather and I will be moving into Kandern, closer to school, grocery stores and our friends. We have moved our stuff into Heather's classroom to store for the summer until we return in August. We are looking forward to having staff and students over often as it will only be a short walk from the High School campus!! We are very thankful for this new place that God has provided for us!

Our old apartment! 

Our stuff stored in Heather's classroom! 

Pictures of our new apartment will come when we get settled in the fall! 

You can email me at bmann@teachbeyond.org if you would like our new street address! 

MS Awards

They say the second year is always easier - and it really was! As I stepped into my second year as Administrative Assistant at the Middle School it felt good to have already completed a year in that role. While each day looked different as I interacted with new students/staff and those that were returning, having done some tasks once already was really nice. My "baby" of the year comes about a week before school ends. This is the MS awards ceremony and 8th grade dinner. Grades have been entered, awards have been discussed, and now it is my time to put all the details together. I print awards, create seating charts and buy hundreds of cream puffs. While it is a lot of work, seeing the evening come together brings joy to my heart.

Each year we celebrate the "graduating" 8th grade class by having a dinner before our awards ceremony. We get dressed up, eat dinner together and share embarrassing baby pictures from their parents! It's a great way to end the year and to acknowledge the hard work both teacher and student have put in over the past school year. It's truly a special time for all.

After dinner we head back to BFA for a time joined by the rest of the Middle School and their parents. We give out awards and present tributes to each 8th grader. We end the night with a small reception of cream puffs, mini donuts and punch. It's a night that we have looked forward to and dreaded. We celebrate and say farewell to the students that we love. Another year has come and gone and I am so thankful for how God has been at work in our students' lives and mine as well. It has been a great year!

8th Grade Class looking sharp! 

Reading notes of congratulations from parents!

A little shocked by baby pictures! 

Giving T.O. his tribute!

Student body president says thank you to our MS Principal 

as she will move to the Elementary School next year.

Awards Reception

MS Staff! 

Recording Studio

We were continually amazed with our chapel band class this year. They are a very talented group of students who have a heart for worship! With 7/10 of our chapel band students in 8th grade this past year we will have a totally new group of students next year. To end the year with our chapel band class we decided to take them to the Janz Team Recording Studio where they again blew us away as they played "Lay Me Down," by Chris Tomlin. Here are some pictures from our year together!

Christmas Carolling! 

Chapel Band Christmas Party! 

Using Garage Band during class! 

CD Release Party for Zion!

HS Students join us to share tips! 

So proud of these students! 

"I lay me down

I'm not my own

I belong to You alone"

Experiential Learning Week

Every year we have a week called "Experiential Learning Week." This is a week set aside for off campus learning. As the older class of the school, our 8th graders get to spend a week in Switzerland with some of their teachers exploring castles and bonding as a class. The 6th and 7th graders stay in our area and do activities and field trips each day. This year I had the privilege of spending the week with the 6th grade class. Our week was themed after the popular TV show, "Amazing Race." Students were put into four groups and had to complete challenges throughout the week. Here is what our week was filled with:

Monday Morning: International Cooking
Monday Afternoon: CSI School (and a real investigation of "The Missing Passport!")

Tuesday Morning: Outdoor Activities (climbing trees and rocks with ropes and harnesses!)
Tuesday Afternoon: Reading/Crafts at the Elementary School

Wednesday: Écomusée d'Alsace - Outdoor Pioneer Village (the kids' favourite was the feeding of the pigs!)

Thursday: No School! :)

Friday Morning: Electropolis Museum - Electricity Museum
Friday Afternoon: Janz Team Recording Studio (their clap track will be featured in an album later this summer!) and activities at Maugenhard Dorm (the dorm parents there are the parents of one of our 6th graders)

Only one more day...

Only one more day 

It's hard to believe

This year's been great

Do we really have to leave?

I've taught many classes

Some had to do with games

Others with music

No, I didn't forget any names! 

The kids have grown

In knowledge and height 

They've learned so much

By doing homework each night

It's been a fun year

There has been laughter and tears

But Jesus walked with us

Helped us work through our fears

Tomorrow we say goodbye

To the kids we love dearly

We'll miss them a lot

But... they're ready... clearly!