I guess it's been a while since I posted last. Mostly I have been getting used to my new job at EA2 and continuing to volunteer at Eastside Academy. I now have 5 students at EA2, two of which are taking classes with me for credit and three which come for homework support. I'm up to 16 hours/week there though I could still be assigned another student or two in the coming weeks. I'm enjoying my job very much!
I've also been pretty involved in Eastside Academy although I've understandably had to cut back my volunteer hours there from 20-30 hours/week to about 15 hours. Last Friday was a movie and smoothie night featuring Shrek and multiple blenders, fruit, ice cream, and whipped cream. I made a delicious strawberry/pineapple/mango smoothie and got brain freeze trying to eat it so fast! I especially enjoyed hanging out with the students outside of school and meeting one of the girl's two kids and husband. She is currently working really hard to finish her senior year and be a mom at the same time!
On Tuesdays, community group has been going really well. I'm starting to really connect with the other women and our prayer time has been especially meaningful lately. We've been talking about the sermon series on Luke and had some good discussion. Our potluck meals (which I'm in charge of planning: eek!) have also been delicious lately. On Wednesday, I visited Kim (who hosts our CG) during the day to hang out and talk before work. It was nice to get to know her outside of CG too.
On Wednesday, we went to the regional vision event. The Eastside of Seattle, which is served by our Mars Hill Bellevue campus, has been divided into 4 regions each aiming to improve at serving our communities where we live. Eventually, the goal is to have a new campus church plant in each region after the idea of "being the church in our region" has been more internalized by the members. Right now, the meetings are intended to brainstorm ideas and equip the church to better serve and meet the needs of our neighbors, so the community feels well-loved by Mars Hill before a new church starts there. The last meeting involved breaking the 200 or so attendees into groups of 8-10 to share how we are already loving our areas and what needs we are aware of. It was pretty cool and I'm interested to see how these ideas are put into action.
On Saturday, Kayle and I attended our big event of the week: the Eastside Academy charity auction. With a sliding scale tuition schedule, EA only makes about 6% of its budget from student tuition. The auction and dinner is the biggest fund-raising event of the year. Kayle and I went together and met Charles (from church- a guy who "loves" charity auctions :) ) and his guest. We got all dressed up and went to the Bellevue Hilton, ate a wonderful salmon and beef dinner, participated in the silent auction, listened to some student testimony, and sat in awe at the craziness of the live auction. Another cool part was a "dessert frenzy" in which each table bid money and the pick of dessert depends on how your table's total ranks compared to other tables. Our table came in 4th from last (out of about 30) but we still got a wonderful cherry chocolate cake to share since our runner actually sprinted to stick our flag in the cake when we were called (a few other runners took their time to get to the table). We ended up coming home with a gift certificate for a weekend at the Bellevue Hilton and a large basket of organic, fair-trade chocolate bars. We both had a lot of fun, and it was nice to be able to introduce Kayle to some of the staff and students I work with. In particular, we sat right next to the math teacher in whose room I spend most of my time at EA. I should also say that I am still so impressed with the work and mission of EA, particularly the way the students are so loved, encouraged, disciplined, and cheered for. Coming from all sorts of tough situations, I can honestly say that the staff never gives up on any student and is really changing the direction of many lives. I feel so happy to be able to support their work by volunteering and cheering on the students myself as I get to know them.
Today, Sunday, we were pretty tired from having arrived home late the previous night. We made it to church at 8am to serve in tech and children's ministry. I greatly enjoyed teaching the primary class (1st-5th grade) for the first time this morning. They are learning about the Lord's Prayer and their comments and eagerness to read the Bible and discuss it are so touching. We spoke about forgiveness this week and read the story of Stephen from Acts. I found myself smiling often as they wrestled with the meaning of different words (like debts, debtor, and forgive) and I challenged them with many questions. I might be filling in as a primary teacher for a few months (every other month rotation). Things are still up in the air as our campus might start a new service time, since almost all the seats at the morning services are full. They urged members this week to start coming to the evening service at 5pm to make room for guests.
Well, that's about all for this week. Next week is more of the same with no plans for Halloween yet. We will probably end up hanging out at a friend's house. We love you and miss you all!
Angie and Kayle
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
New Job Going Well...
This week was an exciting one for me, because I started getting acclimated to my new job. On Thursday, I was originally scheduled to go to EA2 to start my job training. However, I got a call earlier in the day, and my director asked me to sub for 3 students in math on my first day instead. I was nervous to have to prove my teaching skills so early and without much notice, but the sessions all went fine. On Friday, I came in again to fill out paperwork, go through the training manual, and get fingerprinted. As I was about to leave, the sub for that afternoon hadn't shown up yet (he was in a car accident earlier that week and then got sick), so I ended up subbing again for two more math students. The director and other staff are very supportive, so I'm looking forward to getting to know them more and growing as a teacher at EA2.
On Saturday, Kayle and I helped our friends, Jeff and Paula, move to a new house. Along with a whole contingent of friends, we loaded the U-Haul at their apartment with a seemingly never-ending stream of boxes coming down the stairs. We had to adjust the piles in the driveway a few times to let other residents get their cars out, but we eventually fit everything in one trip with only a few items in various cars. We took a break from unloading to enjoy some pizza together and finally finished the job in only about 2-3 hours. Many hands really do make light work (unless you consider those deceptively heavy boxes of books).
On Sunday, we slept in and rested before going to the evening service at church. I had a youth group leader meeting afterward, so Kayle sat in the car and read "The Last Battle." (He's been reading all the Narnia books lately.) The meeting went well, but our youth director is leaving soon to plant a church so we'll be phasing into having a new leader of youth programs. It's sad to see Dustin go, but the new leader is the current head of the community group ministry, so I'm sure he'll do a great job too.
On Monday, I had the first students of my own at EA2. I'm going to be teaching a calculus course for credit for one boy and tutoring another in algebra II. Both sessions went really well. Soon, I'll start teaching an algebra/trig course for another student and possibly an AP statistics course. This job will certainly force me to re-polish my various math skills! I've already brought one problem home to Kayle and we've been enjoying figuring out how to do some of the proofs so I can show my students in class. It's pretty geeky how a challenging math question can bring us together.
I've also been continuing to volunteer at Eastside Academy (or EA1- ironic that my two schools are EA and EA2). I was there for most of the schoolday Monday and Tuesday, since my EA2 students are coming after-school so far. I've been helping out mostly in math lately although I still go next door to English or sit in on the film class sometimes. I enjoyed helping a new student in trigonometry catch up to her classmates by teaching her one-on-one. Yesterday, I taught at the board how to graph each of the main 6 trig functions by hand. I'm also excited for a fancy dinner/auction that is coming up as a fund-raiser for Eastside Academy. It is next Saturday at the Hilton hotel in Bellevue.
Well, that's all for now. I'm going to my second calculus session this afternoon, picking up Kayle from work, and then proceeding to the monthly 4th week feed for youth group (pizza and discussion with all the families). I didn't go to EA1 today, because Wednesdays are always half days.
I love and miss you!
Angie and Kayle
On Saturday, Kayle and I helped our friends, Jeff and Paula, move to a new house. Along with a whole contingent of friends, we loaded the U-Haul at their apartment with a seemingly never-ending stream of boxes coming down the stairs. We had to adjust the piles in the driveway a few times to let other residents get their cars out, but we eventually fit everything in one trip with only a few items in various cars. We took a break from unloading to enjoy some pizza together and finally finished the job in only about 2-3 hours. Many hands really do make light work (unless you consider those deceptively heavy boxes of books).
On Sunday, we slept in and rested before going to the evening service at church. I had a youth group leader meeting afterward, so Kayle sat in the car and read "The Last Battle." (He's been reading all the Narnia books lately.) The meeting went well, but our youth director is leaving soon to plant a church so we'll be phasing into having a new leader of youth programs. It's sad to see Dustin go, but the new leader is the current head of the community group ministry, so I'm sure he'll do a great job too.
On Monday, I had the first students of my own at EA2. I'm going to be teaching a calculus course for credit for one boy and tutoring another in algebra II. Both sessions went really well. Soon, I'll start teaching an algebra/trig course for another student and possibly an AP statistics course. This job will certainly force me to re-polish my various math skills! I've already brought one problem home to Kayle and we've been enjoying figuring out how to do some of the proofs so I can show my students in class. It's pretty geeky how a challenging math question can bring us together.
I've also been continuing to volunteer at Eastside Academy (or EA1- ironic that my two schools are EA and EA2). I was there for most of the schoolday Monday and Tuesday, since my EA2 students are coming after-school so far. I've been helping out mostly in math lately although I still go next door to English or sit in on the film class sometimes. I enjoyed helping a new student in trigonometry catch up to her classmates by teaching her one-on-one. Yesterday, I taught at the board how to graph each of the main 6 trig functions by hand. I'm also excited for a fancy dinner/auction that is coming up as a fund-raiser for Eastside Academy. It is next Saturday at the Hilton hotel in Bellevue.
Well, that's all for now. I'm going to my second calculus session this afternoon, picking up Kayle from work, and then proceeding to the monthly 4th week feed for youth group (pizza and discussion with all the families). I didn't go to EA1 today, because Wednesdays are always half days.
I love and miss you!
Angie and Kayle
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Angie Got a Job!
I just wanted to post quickly that I secured a job! The small private school that interviewed me last week called this morning to give me the news. It is a small private school with about 30-40 students that teaches in an exclusively 1-on-1 setting. Some of the students come to take classes for credit in just one or two subjects and then transfer their credit to their regular high school. Others go there full-time as their primary high school. Still other students just go for tutoring in particular subjects that they are taking somewhere else. I will be teaching and tutoring math, science, and possibly English with my own set of students coming in regularly for hour-long intervals. I go in tomorrow for training and paperwork and start officially on Monday. I'm very excited to be paid again for what I love to do!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Kayle's Retreat and My Interview
Kayle came back from his retreat last Sunday with more than wisdom. He really enjoyed getting to talk with other guys from our church and play ultimate frisbee. About 200 guys flooded the camp and listened to some talks as a large group and some divided between single/married. I loved watching Kayle light up and tell me all about what he learned and did. One funny moment involved an open mic night and several guys who "testified" how hard their wives worked to get them on the retreat; apparently there were wives sick at home and moving single-handedly all the while insisting that their husbands could NOT miss the retreat. I suppose I did my share of "reminding" so that Kayle could grow and be influenced by some other godly men. Now, I say he brought home more than wisdom, because he developed a nasty cold that kept him home two days from work. He's still sniffling today but is almost better.
My weekend was fun as well. During the Science Adventures training, I missed a call from someone asking to set up an interview for a paid tutoring position I applied for. I called back afterward but had to leave a message. That night, I went to the Casting Crowns concert with a high schooler in youth group. We really enjoyed ourselves and I find it amazing how much I like every one of their songs. Even the new ones that I couldn't yet sing were so meaningful, and I eventually started losing my voice long before the concert's end.
There was no school on Monday for a teacher inservice day, and I still hadn't heard back from the potential interviewer. I was disappointed when I called again that morning, because, in the span between Saturday morning and Monday morning, they already filled the position without calling me back. However, that same day, another teaching/tutoring position was posted online for a private school very near to the one where I'm volunteering. I had a phone interview with the president/founder of the small network of private schools on Thursday morning (he called from the beach in Puerto Rico) and an in-person interview on Friday with the directors of the school in Bellevue. EA2 specializes in tutoring and teaching for middle/high school credit in an exclusively 1-on-1 setting. I think both interviews went well, so I'm waiting to hear back on whether I secured the job.
On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I went to volunteer at Eastside Academy. I help out in the math (several), English, physics, and public speaking classes. I still love the staff and kids there and one of the most rewarding days was watching some of the students I coached in public speaking finally give their speeches about themselves for the class. Despite being nervous, they all gave touching insights into their hobbies, heroes, and dreams, and the two girls I coached gave their best rendition yet.
Last night, we went to a board game night at Joe's house. My new favorite game is called Wits n' Wagers in which you estimate numeric answers to random trivia questions and then bet with chips on which of the estimates is closest to the real answer. With disparate questions like "how many pounds does an empty Boeing 747 weigh?" and "what year did Shakespeare compose Romeo and Juliet?," there is a lot of room for hilarious error and the real answer is usually quite surprising. It's even funnier to hear how others reasoned to their answers. With the Boeing question, my reasoning involved elephants weighing about 2 tons (4000 lbs) and trying to guess how many elephants would equal a plane (the answer is about 100 elephants or 406,000 lbs). Sometimes you estimate based on as much semi-related information as you can think of and other times you just flat-out guess and hope you're not out too far in left field. Add Tiramisu, apple crisp, and sweet rice to the mix and, yes, board game night was very fun!
Today, Saturday, ended up being a laid-back day. I finished up the last Harry Potter book, and Kayle finished book 6 and is working on book 7. (I think he likes them more than he will admit.) We planned to go to Kohl's and maybe dinner out, but Kayle didn't really feel up for it today. We'll probably reschedule both for Sunday or Monday night.
Anyway, I think that's all for this week! We miss you all and can't wait for December...
With love,
Angie and Kayle
My weekend was fun as well. During the Science Adventures training, I missed a call from someone asking to set up an interview for a paid tutoring position I applied for. I called back afterward but had to leave a message. That night, I went to the Casting Crowns concert with a high schooler in youth group. We really enjoyed ourselves and I find it amazing how much I like every one of their songs. Even the new ones that I couldn't yet sing were so meaningful, and I eventually started losing my voice long before the concert's end.
There was no school on Monday for a teacher inservice day, and I still hadn't heard back from the potential interviewer. I was disappointed when I called again that morning, because, in the span between Saturday morning and Monday morning, they already filled the position without calling me back. However, that same day, another teaching/tutoring position was posted online for a private school very near to the one where I'm volunteering. I had a phone interview with the president/founder of the small network of private schools on Thursday morning (he called from the beach in Puerto Rico) and an in-person interview on Friday with the directors of the school in Bellevue. EA2 specializes in tutoring and teaching for middle/high school credit in an exclusively 1-on-1 setting. I think both interviews went well, so I'm waiting to hear back on whether I secured the job.
On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I went to volunteer at Eastside Academy. I help out in the math (several), English, physics, and public speaking classes. I still love the staff and kids there and one of the most rewarding days was watching some of the students I coached in public speaking finally give their speeches about themselves for the class. Despite being nervous, they all gave touching insights into their hobbies, heroes, and dreams, and the two girls I coached gave their best rendition yet.
Last night, we went to a board game night at Joe's house. My new favorite game is called Wits n' Wagers in which you estimate numeric answers to random trivia questions and then bet with chips on which of the estimates is closest to the real answer. With disparate questions like "how many pounds does an empty Boeing 747 weigh?" and "what year did Shakespeare compose Romeo and Juliet?," there is a lot of room for hilarious error and the real answer is usually quite surprising. It's even funnier to hear how others reasoned to their answers. With the Boeing question, my reasoning involved elephants weighing about 2 tons (4000 lbs) and trying to guess how many elephants would equal a plane (the answer is about 100 elephants or 406,000 lbs). Sometimes you estimate based on as much semi-related information as you can think of and other times you just flat-out guess and hope you're not out too far in left field. Add Tiramisu, apple crisp, and sweet rice to the mix and, yes, board game night was very fun!
Today, Saturday, ended up being a laid-back day. I finished up the last Harry Potter book, and Kayle finished book 6 and is working on book 7. (I think he likes them more than he will admit.) We planned to go to Kohl's and maybe dinner out, but Kayle didn't really feel up for it today. We'll probably reschedule both for Sunday or Monday night.
Anyway, I think that's all for this week! We miss you all and can't wait for December...
With love,
Angie and Kayle
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)