As I was reminiscing with a parent recently about that first year, we realized that I have a special connection with our upcoming senior class (though I doubt they remember it). 

Carly, Noah, Gibson, and Brody — I was your first grade teacher for the first three days of school!

The start of my first year here was one I will never forget. My husband and I had just sold our home in Chicago and were hunkering down at a simple duplex within walking distance of Plasman campus while we looked for a permanent home. 

And Plasman had major renovation projects going on. Four classrooms were being overhauled. The gym roof had started leaking onto the very ancient gym floor. And we were discovering that our boiler system was, shall we say, inconsistent in its delivery of winter heat.

We were overhauling our curriculum and teaching practices, and working to bring our lesson plans into a cohesive digital format for the first time ever. Zach and I were working overtime, all the time, to get things ready for the first day of school.

And then, the day before, the first grade teacher needed a leave of absence. Until a short-term substitute teacher could be installed, I was needed to fill in the gap.

It turned out to be a positive experience. I remember they were a very sweet but energetic group. At some point, one of the boys, in his exuberance, leapt over a small lamp sitting on a side table and sent it crashing to the ground. 

When I asked for ice for a child’s minor bump, I was handed a plastic baggie with a frozen sponge inside of it — the first time I was introduced to the magical power of Plasman’s ice packs.

If you didn’t know, this ice pack can cure all ills.

I was also implementing the new Singapore math program and teaching Bible, Picture Study, and Nature Study across the first through third grade classes. 

Students practiced their handwriting and learned a proper pencil grip for the first time. I would write the lesson plans, correct work, and then after the school day was over, commence to taking care of my other responsibilities as principal.

Luckily, we found a more suitable substitute quickly! Their regular teacher was able to return soon after and proper order was restored to the universe.

Thinking back on those days makes me think of the wonderful people who were there in the beginning, playing vital roles in Calvary’s remarkable story of integrating the Ambleside model of education from JK-12th grade.

I remember Kimberly Bos, the second grade teacher at the time. When I asked her what she most needed from me, she said, “Just don’t leave. If we’re really going to do this, don’t get it started and then quit halfway through. See it through.”

I remember Loni Taylor, the fourth grade teacher, laughing good-naturedly during her early stages of learning the new methodology. She was willing to serve anyone, in any way, and at any time. She would drive the bus, find hidden stashes of supplies in the basement, and look after the lawn in the summer. Loni was, and still is, a vision of unbridled enthusiasm bubbling into the community toward everyone’s betterment.

I remember Deb Sisk working part-time in the office, with her calm and kind manner — rarely flustered and always competent. She would regularly ask for opportunities to grow and improve, taking courses so that she could help others get online and onboard. 

One day we discovered that we had an enormous paper cutter in the basement, so we brought it up to the office and gleefully tested it on old yellow page phone books (it could slice two stacked books in one fell swoop), before storing it safely in the teachers’ lounge where it belonged.

I remember Megan Goossen, teaching sixth grade and passionately interacting with the new classics in her curriculum: Tom Sawyer, a Synge history text, Old Yeller. Megan “got” the new method intuitively and understood what it should look like and feel like in a classroom. From an early stage, Megan understood the foundations of atmosphere, a key component of a Charlotte Mason education.

I remember all of the generous donors that stepped in over the years — purchasing the new security system following a break-in; covering travel costs for ten teachers to fly to Ambleside’s training week in Fredericksburg, TX; and purchasing new fencing to go around the play yard.

Donors funded the beautiful pergola, the sprinkler system, the pretty garden at the south entrance, all of the flowers and bushes, carpet, paint, wooden tables and benches, lamps, wood frames for the windows, blinds, the gym floor, roof repairs, a new roof, the new boiler — all made possible by mostly anonymous donors who simply care about us and believe in us. 

These are people who believe that God is at work in and through our school.

God is still at work at Calvary Schools. As the old hymn declares: