New Campus Update

Our new campus is coming along. While it isn't going to be finished exactly when we had expected, it still looks like we'll be able to move in and start school there in August. I wanted to post some pictures to give you an idea of the progress being made. The first set of pictures was taken maybe a month ago. The second set was taken last week when our staff went out and toured the building before most people left to go back to the States for the summer.

My future classroom.

I can't wait to move in and have a classroom all my own.

Jennie, Emma, and Molly walk down the unfinished stairs.

Last week our staff gathered to see the progress that's been made and pray over the new campus project before lots of people left to go back to the States for the summer.

This is the main building and is big enough for all classrooms and offices. Eventually a separate building will be built for offices, the cafeteria and the auditorium.

Workers are working around the clock to get the building done for school starting in August. Workers continued to work even as we walked around.

I was shocked when I walked in and saw my classroom was almost finished.

I've got a great view out my classroom of the sunset in the evening.

Unfortunately, the building project is not quite as finished as the pictures of my classroom make it seem. The outside still needs a lot of work. This is where our sports hall will be.

This is our future swimming pool. At least it has water in it! Do you think it will be ready for swim season next spring? Probably not. :)

Moving Day

With school finishing up and people leaving to go to the States for the summer, the time finally came for us to move. It seems we've been talking and planning about moving for so long and the day finally arrived. My current roommate Emma and I will be merging houses next year with two other single girls, Jennie and Molly. We had two trucks take all of our stuff from the neighborhood we are currently living in to our house by the new school. Then we spent many days after that setting up the new house and unpacking boxes. It should be all ready for us when everyone comes back in August for the new school year. Here's just a few highlight pictures of the day:

Jennie ran out of arm space so she carries the baskets on her head to save us a trip. :)

Here is our small pile of stuff to be moved. The other house had LOTS more.

When we arrived we found a new friend in our silverware drawer! Yikes!

Molly carried her suitcase all the way back to Bandung on the back of Lindsey's motorbike- about an hour drive. She said it was pretty painful.

And here's the living room of our new house.

Field Day

Well, I'm done! Last Friday was our last day of school. As I was warned your first year of teaching is the hardest and I would definitely have to agree. It's been a wild ride moving to Indonesia, adjusting to a new culture, learning a new language, and seeing staff members come and go, all while being a first year teacher. But He who called me has been faithful!

Last week the secondary students had semester exams. Then the last day of school was Field Day. Traditionally this day students don't have class but instead is a day filled with games. This year because it was our last day at our current campus we decided to do things a little different. Students got a chance to go to their normal classes for a few minutes to say goodbye to teachers and friends. There is a large number of students leaving or going on furlough at the end of this year. Then the high schoolers spent some time hanging out and signing yearbooks. The day finished with an all school worship service, with singing and sharing memories students had of the campus. The purpose of the day was to help us all say goodbye and transition to the next phase of our school.

The day begun in Staff Devotions with a time of washing one another's feet. Here Joey, our current director, washes Pete's feet. Pete will be our director at the new campus next year.

Here are my 7th graders on the last day of school. You've got to love middle schoolers! :)

My 9th graders hang out in my class one last time and we all say goodbye.

Lots of students spent time signing yearbooks before summer begins and friends leave for good or just for the summer.

Other students were tired of singing yearbooks and played games instead. They were cracking me up as my high school students played games called "Bunny Bunny" and "Bubble Game." But even as I stood and watched I couldn't figure out what the rules were.

And lastly, our all school worship service closes out the day, the school year, and our time at this campus.

Staff Banquet

So many end of the year events have taken place in the past couple of weeks. I've put up posts on the 8th grade banquet, High School banquet, and graduation. Scroll down to the next couple of blogs to get updated on them all.

One last banquet for this year- the staff banquet. This year it was held at an Indonesian restaurant and everyone dressed up in Indonesian dress, batik. We enjoyed a slide show of pictures from the past year, especially highlighting the staff members who are leaving. We ate a delicious Indonesian meal. Then after dinner we thanked those who've worked so hard on our building project. We also heard from different people who gave goodbye speeches for those staff members who are leaving. It was an emotional evening of saying farewell to people who have become more than just coworkers or friends, but family here in Indonesia.

After this we headed back to the school auditorium for our after party. We enjoyed yummy desserts made by some of the parents at school. Then we had our own version of American Idol, that we affectionately called BAIS Idol. We had our own Simon, Paula, and Randy for judges along with Ryan Seacrest as the host. We enjoyed performances from many staff members and text messaged in our vote for the winner at the end of the evening. It was a very bitter sweat evening as we cried and laughed together. Enjoy some of the pictures from the night:

My current roommate, Emma, and I

These are the girls that I'll be living with next year. The four of us have already found a house to live in by the new school.

Andy and Beccy are two of our staff members who will be leaving. Here they are with two of our Indonesian office staff.

Joey, our current director, says thank you to those who've worked hard all year on our new campus project.

Those staff members who will be leaving each said a little something to say goodbye to us all.

Here is the group picture we took of our entire staff.

Lindsey, the first grade teacher this year, will be leaving to go back to the States.

BAIS Idol! Here are our judges: Randy, Paula, and Simon.

Jennie sings to her skeleton from the science lab.

Larry sings to his wife, MC, our secondary lead teacher.

Here our Ryan Seacrest encourages everyone to call in their votes for the next BAIS Idol.

High School Graduation

We celebrated High School Graduation on May 30th. Fourteen seniors graduated and will be moving on to universities and military assignments all around the world. Some will go to university in the States, one will join the armed service in Australia, another in Singapore.

One of the seniors, Cassie, processes into the graduation ceremony.

The senior class.

Yay! The seniors celebrate by throwing their caps into the air.

Each senior got a table to display personal items to show the uniqueness of the student. Also, each senior got a different flavour ice cream cake. It was fun to go around and visit with each family and try their cake. :)

High School Banquet

Each year our school staff are put on different committees for various events that take place throughout the year. The committees range from things like Open House, to Indonesian Culture Day, to Week Without Walls. This year I was placed on the High School Banquet committee, in charge of helping the 11th graders put on the High School Banquet. The High School Banquet at our school isn't exactly like prom, but more of an event to honor the seniors and say goodbye to those leaving our school. While this event was a lot of work, I really enjoyed working with the 11th graders and seeing the students enjoy themselves the night of the event. The theme we chose was Masquerade and the seniors really enjoyed making masks and getting dressed up. Here are just a few of the hundreds of photos taken that night. Enjoy!

Here Matt, the other Math teacher, and I smile as we talk through some last minute details of the evening. The two of us were a great team working together on the High School Banquet committee.

Jennie, one of the High School science teachers, and me.

The senior class.

The junior class.

The sophomore class.

The freshman class.

Inside the ballroom.

The seniors presenting some gifts that they wanted to pass on to younger students- we called this "senior wills."

The seniors gave their bible and homeroom teacher a special gift for all her work this past year. Then they gather for a group hug. They will be sad to leave her, but also sad to leave the school and each other.

8th Grade Banquet

A couple weeks ago I attended the 8th grade banquet. This was my first banquet at BAIS and was a wonderful time of celebrating the 8th graders. We started the evening with a time of taking photos and eating dinner. Then the 8th graders got up and shared a thank you to each of the teachers and gave us each a rose. To help them in the transition from Middle School to High School, each of their parents got up and said a little something to their student. We also saw a slide show of pictures of the students from when they were young and from this past year. We ended the evening with a time of prayer over the 8th graders. It has been a really fun year teaching the 8th graders, and I look forward to having them again next year. :)

The beautiful view from the restaurant.

Some of the 8th grade girls.

The teacher's applaud for the accomplishments of the 8th graders.

The students take time to thank the teachers who have taught them over the years.

The parents gather to pray over their 8th grader.

Class of 2012!