Replaced

So, yesterday I met the person who is taking our place at the school next year.  She will be taking on the 6-8 bands and choirs at Logan, and 5th grade band at Reagan, so it is a mixture of my position and Brandon's position.  Mrs. Holmes, who currently teaches K-3 general music will be adding 4th and 5th to her job.  So music in Princeton Elementary will be a little different next year.  I hope the transition happens smoothly.  I hate to see kids quit just because we left, or because they don't know the new person, etc.  But she seems very nice and she has plenty of experience teaching in other schools.  She will be helping us with summer band so she will get to know some of the kids and they will get to know her.

I think meeting her yesterday made this whole thing more real.  Thursday night we had 8th grade graduation and I said "goodbye" to the students that I started with in 5th grade!  They have all grown up so much and I wish I could watch them grow even more while in high school, but I know they will do well!  I wish them and all the students the best in the future!

In other news....we paid our £3000 deposit for Brandon's school.  Still have to pay my £3000 deposit, but the credit card company did not like the random payment in pounds and declined it right away, so Brandon called and cleared it all up!  Next step in the process is to apply for the visa!

105 days left!

Emily

Monopoly Money

Our Pounds Sterling came in and we were able to look at them. It's cool to see money from other places as they use so many colors and have different sizes. Take the 5 pound (£) note. Below is a photo.

Every pound note has a picture of Queen Elizabeth II from 60 years ago. Here's the £10 bill. 

On the backs are famous people from the 1700's to 1900's. not the same old boring stuff the USA has. See the £20 bill below. 

We don't have any coins yet but we got £300 total which will help us on our first few days before we can get a British bank account. We may not see many of the £50 bills because we are going to be poor college kids again so we got 2 bills while we still have money. 

One thing you probably can't see is that each bill is a different size. The larger the denomination, the larger the size of the bill. You can see the different sizes with all the bills together below. 

Time to go make more plans for our trip. 111 days left until we ship out and still so much to do. 

~Brandon

Tickets are booked

It's official, we have booked air tickets to London and one week of hotel when we get there.  Total cost so far has been $1108.  We ship out on September 7, 2013. 

End of the Year Countdown

WOW!  What a busy couple of weeks we have had...four music concerts in five days, 4 days in Branson, MO with 30 Jr. High kids,  and this past weekend we went to Michigan to bury Grandma Sundin and celebrate her life with the entire family.

So here we are, finishing up what could be our final year of teaching music...while we have plans to come back and continue teaching in Princeton, we have no idea what the future holds, and maybe God will provide us with a new path in the years to come.

So this is my official countdown of what is left in order to finish up the school year...
 1 Field Trip with the 8th Graders to Six Flags
11 Teaching Days of School
1 Band & Choir performance at the 8th grade Graduation Ceremony
1.5 Teacher Inservice Days

And then summer!!!!  Summer is still going to be busy with things to do, such as....

Teach piano lessons (Emily)
Lead a geocaching club (Brandon)
Direct a Jr. High Summer Band (Both of us)
Go to a week-long bell choir clinic (Emily)
Go to a National Park Passport Convention
Spend a week with Emily's Parents
Participate in the wedding of a beloved friend (Kathryn)

And I can't forget...apply for a UK student visa, find a place to live in London, and try to fit all the necessary items needed for one year into only two suitcases!  I still don't think it's fully hit me that we are actually spending a year in another country.  It's going to be so weird flying over there knowing we won't be back for quite a while.  I am excited to begin our UK adventure, but I have to remember to focus on what is happening here and make the most out of my final month of teaching (at least for one year...).

Cheers!
Emily