When people ask me what a typical day is like at BFA, it’s hard for me to answer. The short answer: I don’t have any typical days. Every day is a little different. But to give you a snapshot, here’s a description of last Wednesday:
6:30 – Wake up and pray for the day. Realize it will be a long one.
7:00 – Breakfast, get ready for school.
8:00am – Staff meeting in school library. We filled out student character evaluations for NHS (National Honor Society).
1st period (8:50) – High School Orchestra. We practiced a piece for Sunday’s Music Recital, then worked on our class composition.
2nd period – Marit, Suzanne and I moved hand bells, tables, pads, and hand drums over to the middle school in Sitzenkirch since Marit started Hand Bells and Hand Drums this week with the kids there!
3rd period – Guitar class. We’re learning Danny Boy and how to do finger picking.
4th period – My only free period of the day. I frantically wrote emails and tried to start some planning for next week and for music festival.
lunch – I ate in the staff room downstairs with a bunch of other fun teachers and staff members. Lunchtime conversation may have involved random historical events and the odd similarities with our students. I may have asked if anyone will be free to sub for me while I’m in Vienna; no one could. I’m still looking . . .
5th period – Violin lesson with a high school student 6th period – Played with Lauren Holland (pianist). We sight-read some Kreisler and worked on Lark Ascending.
7th period – Violin lesson with a 4th grader
4:00 – Nursing Home visit. The Intermediate Orchestra played a few pieces, and several students from the group played solos in preparation for Music Festival.
Intermediate Orchestra
Old folks watching the Intermediate Orchestra
Solo
Duet: The Happy Farmer
4:45 – Violin lesson with the student pictured directly above
5:30 – collapse on my bed at home for a few minutes.
5:45 – First small group girls arrive. A crazy evening commences.
The girls came early so we could eat dinner together. Teenage girls entertain themselves while cooking; it's amazing we actually ended up with food!
Cooking tools - or weapons! When not brandishing knives, these girls were preparing chili.
"Take a picture of me! I'm actually cooking!" "You're just stirring." "Yeah, I'm cooking!"
While the chili was simmering and the corn bread baking, we finished the Disney version of Robin Hood (we had started it a looong time ago). Then we feasted on our creation, and planned out our future discussion topics for small group. Then with full bellies and another hour left of small group, Emily suggested we take a walk.
Ready to go. They borrowed some of our coats.
This girl suggested planking...
... so we all planked on the little bridge over the creek!
Then we walked around to various staff members' houses and serenaded them with an endless rendition of "Row, Row, Row your Boat" in canon.
9:00 – Small group girls leave. Attempt to get something else done; fail miserably. Crawl into bed.
