Learning to Sail...

Veronica looked forward all year to the week-long Year 9 trip to Poole, England. They left early on a Sunday morning in early July to make the long drive, which included their bus being loaded onto the Eurotunnel train. She was especially excited that she and five of her friends got to stay in an unsupervised holiday caravan while most of the students were in a hostel with the teachers. As part of the British national curriculum, the primary focus of the trip was to learn how to sail on four of the days. Here you see Veronica and her friend Emilie on a 2-passenger sailboat. They also sailed on 5-passenger boats with an instructor. One day they went kayaking and she got a turn at driving a power boat.In the evenings, there were a variety of activities including: watching a movie, visiting a water slide park, going bowling and going fishing. Poor Veronica was excited that she caught nine mackerels until she realized that they were going to be eaten, at which time she broke down crying. Despite that, she had a great week!

A Very Special Night...

It was an action-packed evening for the kids with lots of dancing. Within Veronica’s set of friends, only one of the girls has a boyfriend, so they danced as a big group. I was shocked that they included Ashlynn, who had a blast being with the big kids. In addition to Jimmy taking squish pics and me taking candids, there was a giant group shot taken out on the lawn which even us helpers were in.

At the end of the evening it was officially time to say “Bye Bye, Blue!” Each kid grabbed a blue helium balloon with a note tied on that they’d written earlier in the night. When Madame Chantal asked the local government for permission for the balloon release, they were initially horrified because they thought she meant hot-air balloons. Anyways, it was quite a sight to see those 125 blue balloons take flight while knowing that all these kids will soon be taking flight as high schoolers.

Bye Bye Blue 2011...

As the Year 9 kids switch from blue jumpers (sweatshirts) in middle school to black jumpers in high school, Madame Chantal (Veronica’s favorite French teacher) hosts Bye Bye Blue. The girls all looked so grown up.

Here’s one of the photos that Jimmy took of the girls in Veronica’s class (plus Ashlynn, of course!) There’s too many good photos to show here, so click here if you want to see the video of the rest.

Look Who’s Growing Up...

After helping set up, it was time for Veronica to get dressed for the big dance. What a major transformation as she put on her first truly grown up dress along with her first pair of heels (which she quickly ditched while dancing). It was apropos that Jim was around to see her wear the necklace that Susan gave her for her 12th birthday. I’m still trying to figure out how such goofy looking parents have such a beautiful daughter.

Setting Up for Squish Pics...

Immediately after returning from a business trip to Turkey, Jimmy headed to Rotterdam to pick up the lights that he rented for his photo shoot at the big Year 8 dance. Luckily Terri had loaned us her SUV, which came in very handy carrying all the gear that he needed. It took several hours to set everything up. Raising the backdrop up to the 2nd story of the atrium was tricky, but he was able to recruit several helpers.

Luckily Jimmy’s dad arrived just in time to help. The original plan was for him to take Ashlynn home when the event started, but surprisingly Veronica decided that Ashlynn could stay to help; no doubt that Ashlynn’s lucky to have such an understanding big sister. Jim was a great sport about being put to work and really seemed to enjoy himself.

Final Year 5/6 Summer Fair...

After attending the Year 5/6 (4th/5th grade) Summer Fair for the past five years, it was hard to believe that this would be the last as Ashlynn prepared to finish primary school. Under Masha’s artistic direction, Ashlynn, Sara and Sarah helped her make this wonderful tennis ball toss as part of their obstacle course for the younger students. I’m clearly biased, but theirs was the coolest booth.

Their booth also featured colored hairspray, which was a big hit. Ashlynn’s hair had orange and blue stripes. While she was busy working her booth and doing a dance presentation under her PE coach’s expert direction, I was busy working the snack bar. It was a fun day for all the kids and helped to raise € 2,500 for a variety of charities (the portion for Ashlynn’s class went to the World Society for the Protection of Animals.)

One Big Piece of Cloth...

When Jimmy found out that I’d been asked to help take photos at the Year 9 (8th grade) end-of-year celebration and dance (which the school hosts for the middle schoolers instead of a graduation ceremony), he quickly volunteered to help as well. He quickly dreamed of doing squish pics, much like we did way back in 1996 in Kathy & Phil’s living room the night before we left San Diego. He figured out where to rent the right equipment, but needed to buy a giant piece of muslin to use as a backdrop. Once he found the cloth, he realized it was too big to prep as a backdrop, so he took it to the cafeteria at work where he could stretch it out. As you can see, it’s one big piece of cloth. Will be interesting to see how he transforms the school atrium into a photo studio.