Up, Up, and Away

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Ronnie took off to begin part two of his new adventure - FLIGHT SCHOOL! The weather was beautiful - it was a perfect day for flying.

...but first...make sure the aircraft is safe to fly.....

Finally...off we go!

Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder...

After an extended break, Ronnie started Ground School classes in January 2009, his first step to getting his pilot's license. He first had the dream in 1977! Surprisingly, the hours he logged with Gene Weaver back then are still valid towards his current studies! 1977 Pilot's Log Bog

Today his class took a field trip to Briscoe Field, the small airport in Gwinnett County. The class did a walk-around pre-flight inspection of the plane - to make sure there is no water in the gas lines, and that everything is working properly.

Ronnie was surprised to see where the planes were built - London, Ontario - the town in Canada where his brother lives!

Diamond Aircraft website:
http://www.diamondaircraft.com/aircraft/index.php

Gorodishe Public School #3, Wednesday, June 25, 2008

We visited a public school in Gorodishe on Wednesday. I was very excited to see how the schools in Russia operated and to meet fellow educators there. The Russian teachers were just as excited to meet us and loved having the opportunity to practice their English with us. I was reminded once again how God orders our steps even before we know the plans He has for us. The English teacher gave me a tour of the school, ending with a visit to her classroom. She was very proud of her computer set-up, especially of the Promethean board (computer linked interactive white board) she has. This was an immediate bond between us - she has one of the five boards in her school - I have one of five boards in my school! Coincidence? I don't think so! The continued communication that will occur through lessons for each of our classrooms using the Promethean boards alone is endless - we were both very excited about the possibilities! I have already ordered Russian language learning software, so that I will be able to speak with these teachers in their native language when we return - we agreed to correspond in each other's languages through email to practice in the meantime.




The band played outside on the recess courts

Camp leading the march for the Dixie Land Jazz favorite, "The Saints Go Marching In"

One of the classrooms

The Music and Arts room

The Cafeteria

The Library

New Curriculum ready to be distributed on the first day

Bulletin boards

Reading center

My new teacher friends

Tatiana's Promethean board :)

The musicians broke up into sections by the types of instruments they played and held short clinics for small groups of students. The children LOVED getting up close and personal with the instruments and the musicians.

Concert at the Institute of the Arts, Monday PM, June 23, 2008

Our new friend, Ivan, and his beautiful family. We met Ivan here in Volgograd - he played a mean sax in several of the performances, and hosted the saxophone players with refreshments in his flat.

The cute bass player

...Miss Tami Pryce!

Meeting individuals after the performance