Checkin' In at the End of the 2020-21 School Year

I recently got lost re-reading old blog posts.  Even though it was only one year ago, it hit me again just how strangely we ended our last school year.  We went into this year managing our expectations and every one of them was far exceeded!  This reflection on the 2 most recent school years makes me just want to shout my praise and gratitude from the rooftops (or from the keyboard of my office computer)!

In the preschool, we praise God that we were able to open and close on time, do in person instruction all year long, smoothly implement new safety practices, and keep all our students healthy.  I didn't miss a single day for sickness!! I had one of my sweetest classes ever, with encouraging, generous, supportive parents.  It was a GREAT year and it was all God's hand!

(These beautiful flowers were just one of the many thank you gifts I received at the end of the year.)

We celebrated as a staff with an all together indoor lunch.

And then I had 3 other meals in the following days with my teacher friends. Including one at the coffee shop where we got REAL GLASSES for the first time in over a year!

Highlights of the end of Ella's school year included fun dress up days, Field Day, another Presidential Award for keeping a 4.0 GPA and getting her braces off after 4 years!!

She bids farewell to some of her dearest friends as they graduate.  We've been so blessed by our current senior class and can't imagine our high school without them or their leadership.  This was a bittersweet Graduation.

Delia's year ended with a class trip to Santa Cruz and a whole 8th grade class party after her Celebration.  She was all excited that at the party she was able to talk to and hang out with every single one of her classmates at some point!

And in there, Dave and I celebrated our 22nd anniversary.  We used a gift card to finally check out a local fancy restaurant.  We loved watching what was happening in the glass kitchen, sharing a scrumptious tiramisu, and running into some good friends who share the same anniversary.

We started this year with triple digit heat and wildfires and shut downs and a lot of question marks about how long we'd stay open, what instruction would even look like, and how many of our favorite things would be off the table again.  And now I look back and see what an abundance of gifts we were given this year: Anne of Green Gables, Lake Tahoe with Kyle, Broadway Showcase, Formal, Easter with Kris and the boys, Mom Prom, GEMS Camp, family adventures in Angels Camp, Yosemite, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco, the building of Shorty the robot, class trips, parties, a solid year of instruction, and every COVID test we took this year being negative!  Thanks be to God.

8th Grade Celebration

This year our school is pioneering something new-- an 8th Grade Chapel Celebration, in place of a formal 8th Grade Graduation.  Honestly, we were a bit bummed when we first heard Delia would miss graduating, but what we participated in at yesterday's chapel was totally student-led and God-glorifying!  It was full of scripture, blessing, memories and displays of the students' talents.  It was a good change that made us realize we didn't even miss the "Pomp and Circumstance", robes, and diplomas.  There was just one thing we did all miss-- siblings, who were still in school, including Ella who was taking exams during the chapel. 

Delia was super honored to be one of the few kids chosen to give the big speech.  Every kid wrote and presented a speech a few weeks ago and hers was picked!  She delivered the Welcome and explained what we were celebrating (surviving 9 years of school and some of the challenges that came with it, friendships, their teachers' impact, their future, and God's faithfulness) at this "Celebration".  She was poised and confident and kicked things off with warmth and earnestness and even a few jokes!

The kids picked the song "Yes, I Will" as their class song and sang it for us.  I actually got a little choked up hearing them boldly declare that they choose to praise, glorify, lift, and bless God, even in their lowest valleys.

"I count on one thing

The same God that never fails

Will not fail me now

You won't fail me now

In the waiting

The same God who's never late

Is working all things out

You're working all things out

Yes I will, lift You high in the lowest valley

Yes I will, bless Your name

Oh, yes I will, sing for joy when my heart is heavy

All my days, oh yes I will

And I choose to praise

To glorify, glorify

The Name of all names..."

After praise songs, a picture slide show, a video of interviews with some students about what different aspects of the school have meant to them, and a special time where the audience stood and sang a benediction right to the 8th graders to bless them, we were dismissed for outdoor fellowship and continued celebrating!

Delia's BFF for years-- Kate (above) and her newest friend Jacey (below), who joined their class halfway through this year and who Delia welcomed immediately, and became fast friends with.

A dear friend who will not be returning to our school-- Elle.

Delia's favorite teacher, Mrs. M., who is her kindred spirit and who meets with Delia outside of school every month or so to mentor and encourage her.  We LOVE Mrs. M. and are so thankful for her influence on Delia! 

And this adorable Kindergarten Graduation picture recreation of Delia with probably her oldest friend-- Jared.  You know Jared's mom and I are just delighted that they've stayed friends and were up for our silly picture recreating antics! We'll get the third installment at their High School Graduation! ;)

Delia works hard at school and has to intentionally persevere academically.  She did that through MS and we are so proud.  But, what we love most about watching Delia navigate these Middle School years is seeing her kindness and compassion.  She loves and cares deeply about people and we saw evidence of her bright light and good heart in a few of the things her classmates voted for.  She was picked as one of the three friendliest girls and was recognized as the "Most Likely to be Friends with Everyone".  In Middle School, everyone needs a friend and a place to belong.  We could not be prouder that Delia is known to be the person who will give you that.  We look forward to seeing the way our big-hearted girl and her sweet class will bless the High School in the future years!

Shorty's Big Moment

There were no Robotics competitions in our state this year.  This may have been devastating news to other teams, but not the RoboKnights!  Sure, they would have preferred to compete their amazing robot, Shorty, but they didn't let the lack of competition stop them from still meeting 3 times a week to make this robot one of the best our school has ever seen, perfecting him, and developing their engineering and programming skills and friendships while doing so!  I'm confident the effort they put in makes this team that much more knowledgeable and formidable next year!

Since Shorty never got to show off his impressive stuff, the Robotics Team hosted a half hour presentation for the Middle School this week.  You may think a crew of brainy robot builders, describing carbon fiber manufacturing and the marvels of 3-D printing and not necessarily boasting "public speaking" as an item in their skill set, would not be able to get a whole auditorium of pre-teens to whoop and cheer and stand up...but you would be wrong!  Ella was the emcee and, with her team, did a marvelous job getting every bit of their passion and enthusiasm for what they do, and the fun they have doing it, across to the middle schoolers.  MS teachers have been complimenting us all week about what a great assembly Ella and her team lead.

Posing.

Planning.

Presenting.  

Audience Q&A.

After all the info was given, the team took volunteers from the audience to drive Shorty and try what he was made to do: launch balls in a target.  This was great fun!  Everyone wanted a turn and Ella turned it into a Price Is Right kind of thing, picking audience members, who were jumping up and down with their hands raised, to "Come on down" and test their robot driving skills!  Every time a ball went in the target (which it always does, because that is what the robot is programmed to do) loud cheers would erupt.   Standing on stage in front of an audience going wild for something you've created, was a pretty neat way to close out the 2020-21 Robotics season!

Like so many things these past 2 years, Robotics was dealt a wrench in their plans.  But, the grace and good humor this fun team met it with is just as admirable as the high tech, autonomous robot they designed and built from the ground up!

"Sixteen Going on Seventeen", with a "Few of Her Favorite Things"!

Sixteen is a pretty special thing to turn.  And since it's the first time Ella's ever been in school still for her birthday, her dream of a Big Beach Outing with her whole friend group will have to wait till summer has kicked into full gear in a month or so.  Conveniently, this big birthday did fall on Memorial Day, so we had a built in long weekend to celebrate the amazing gal God gave us when he created Ella!  One of my favorite things about my 16 year old is her vast array of interests!  I did not have to think too hard to come up with a list of things that would make her happy on this milestone birthday...

  

1.  Trying a new recipe together.  Ella had ratatouille at the Lamp Light Lounge in Disneyland the last time we visited and has been raving about it ever since.  I found the recipe on a Disney blog and we enjoyed putting this fancy dish together and eating our delicious efforts!

2.  Homemade cheesecake and strawberries.  Gone are the days of elaborate cake decorating!  Give this girl a cheesecake and she is in heaven!

3.  All the perfect teenager gifts!  Black Converse, ear pods, gift certificates for date nights with her boyfriend, movie tickets, and a sushi making kit were all opened and loved!  Thank you, everyone!

4.  A day in the city, where we could do the best versions of things she loves.  Like, a beach with an amazing view.

5.  LEGIT Chinese food at Sam Wo's, who's been frying up homemade chow mien noodles for San Franciscans since before the 1908 earthquake.  

6.  Escaping to a whole new world for an afternoon.  A walk around the blocks of Chinatown transported to us the most colorful, beautiful, amazing new culture.  We ate, strolled and shopped-- Delia getting (literally) lost in the panda bear displays and Ella picking out a fancy set of chop sticks.

  

We even stumbled on this super cool Stop Asian Hate Demonstration, designed to shine a light on the beauty of this culture and the recent discrimination and violence the AAPI community has felt.

7.  Art, acting and photography at the Museum of Illusions, as described in its own 20 picture long post! ;)

8.  And last, two of Ella's all-time favorite things-- dark chocolate and salted caramel, as only the world famous Ghirardelli can do it!  Birthday sundaes concluded our day in the city and our long weekend of celebrating the blessing of Ella in our lives!

It's All an Illusion

Uncle Kyle gave the girls a pretty cool Christmas present last year-- tickets for our family to visit the Museum of Illusions in San Francisco.  For Ella's 16th birthday, we spent a fantastic day in the city trying to treat her to some of the best versions of some of her favorite things.  This stop, which combines art, acting and photography for some creative fun, was a perfect addition to our day!  The walls, floors and ceilings of the Museum of Illusions are painted with a wide variety of murals.  When you find the perfect spot to stand and the perfect angle to take a picture from, you get some very neat optical illusions.  Here are just a few (if you can call 20 "a few"!) of our favorite pictures!  Thanks for the unique experience, Uncle Kyle!!