50 Things from Year 5

I'm sitting in the Denver airport waiting for the last leg of my journey back to Arkansas, jetlagged and still processing that the school year is over. Now that YEAR FIVE is in the books, it's time for my annual recap! Since it's year 5, here are 50 things I remember looking back on this year:

1. It was my second year with Yearbook! Even though I love all my students, Yearbook has become my favorite class to teach. Our theme this year was "Cute & Paste."

2. The theme included a new twist: we added a sticker sheet in the back of every yearbook! They were a hit. 

3. I taught English 2 for the last time (at least for a while). It was time for me to make a change so that the class could have some life breathed back into it. Odysseus, Oliver Twist, Nancy (best character in OT hands down), Gilgamesh, Sir Gawain, and other beloved characters from English 2 will get a new teacher to tell their story next year! 

4. I taught English 4 (British Literature) for the first time. I loved it! We sat in the round every day, ate popcorn (before covid restrictions tightened again) while watching a Pride & Prejudice remake in Q4, and did an escape room for Beowulf. I learned more about British history and rediscovered what I'd forgotten. 

5. 1. McKenzie and James had CB in the spring! She is beautiful! We have a group chat where they just share pictures of her and we all awwww over her cuteness. 

6. I took tons of pictures this year! It felt like I was the House competition photographer.

7. HAMMERHEAD won the house competition for the second year in a row!

8. Hammer is also the first house to win twice in a row! WOO HAMMER

9. We had most events! Still had a banquet, prom, talent show, etc.

10. Banquet was at a hotel by the pier- we got a view of some drones practicing for a show. Super cool! Peep the yearbook staff that wanted a group picture at banquet 🥹

11. Prom was at a venue by Hsinchu mall. I got to wear an old family friend’s dress from WWII! It was a victory ball dress she wore when dancing with her then-boyfriend in the military. It might just be my favorite dress. 

12. At talent show, I balanced music-themed items on my chin. 

13. Covid cancelled a lot of events (I.e. cross-city tournaments, cross-campus gatherings).

14. Vida 4 got rescheduled and we worried it would get cancelled later, but…

15. Vida 4 happened in January! God changed hearts.

16. Vida 5 happened in April! God did more!

17. I said I was thinking about learning guitar (I bought one for 20 bucks at a secondhand shop in Hualien) and Caleb challenged me to sing/play guitar at talent show next year 😅

18. Hotpot Thursdays changed a little (but in a good way!)- we started ordering from the hot pot restaurant and cooking it on the Taylor’s hot pot at their house! 

19. I chaperoned Cross Country again! Our team grew significantly this year. We had anywhere from 15-30 kids a practice +4-8 staff! Maybe I’m making those numbers up but it sure seemed like that.

20. My grandfather passed away on Christmas even my time in Taiwan. Christmas break stayed very busy for me so I had time to grieve how I needed to: in bursts at random times. Thank you, Shelby, for letting me talk to you about it!

21. On New Years, I played NYE volleyball with the other volleyball-loving staff at school, but when I tried to get back to my apartment, the police barricade wouldn’t let me. There’s a massive mall right behind my house, and people came from all over Kaohsiung to watch the mall set off fireworks on their back lawn. I ended up getting around the barricade by taking a sketchy backroad! 

22. Come to think of it, we played a LOT of volleyball this year. We will greatly miss two families who started the weekly Sunday volleyball tradition almost a decade ago- the Greggs and the Griffins! 

23. I swapped my units around so that 8th grade Ted Talks happened in March/April. Unfortunately, I also did a few other major projects at the same time, down to the same actual week of presentations. That was unwise. I’m going to try to have a colleague check my schedule next year to make sure I’m not overlapping with other school events, either. 

24. My Ted talk this year was “Over Apologizing and How to Quit.”

25. I started learning Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ)! I’ve been going to Kaohsiung BJJ & MMA downtown twice a week since March. 

26. I made new friends at BJJ!

27. I made other new friends in Taipei!

28. Our 10th grade impact trip went to the Xiakelo trail this year instead of Beidawu! I’m not sure where we’re going next year, but Xiakelo was tons of fun.

29. By fun, I mean I finally joined the “#2 on the mountain club”. I dug a hole. You’re welcome.

30. On that hike, Riley and Emily (10th and 12th, respectively) were my cooking partners. We worked really well together!

31. During that trip, Emily threw a chestnut at me and now I have to keep it forever as she’s graduated and we are sentimental.

32. Hayden (10th) has been keeping track of the daily writing prompts in English (Writing Into the Days or WITDs) since 8th grade. We hit 300 sometime in May! I celebrated by buying a cake for the class. 

33. I made up a pretty painless research project for English 4 about “Frankenstein-esque” problems in modern science. It turned out really well for the first time! 

34. I got a few of my 8th graders into Dr Pepper. They would buy a can from me almost every day if I would let them.

35. After the staff retreat, Connie and I stayed another night in Kenting just the two of us, and I got deeply sunburnt. 

36. BUT we played Pachinko in the night market and won toys.

37. We also bought sparklers and firework snakes and set them off in the hotel parking lot!

38. Julie (our superintendent) and her husband bought us dinner that night!

39. I had students tell me about trauma but then tell me how they had shown strength and courage through it. 

40. At HS team meetings, Wade would share a moment of everlasting love (our school theme) with some hilarious moment of the week that reminded us to love our kids!

41. Almost miraculously, if I was stressed, Michelle would bring me chai tea! She is such a blessing. 

42. I’m on the English task force for next year so I’ll be working with other ELA teachers at the other campuses to examine standards, review curriculum, etc. 

43. I’m a little behind on my reading list as my reading time has changed to listening to more music (and dancing around my living room while I wait for the oven to cook my frozen empanadas).

44. I started going to this fruit stand near one of my go-to weekly restaurants- I get guava with a salty seasoning on top. DELICIOUS. 

45. I joined a Bible study! We studied Ephesians for most of the year and then passages meaningful to each of us the rest of the time. It was such a wonderful and soul-nurturing time! It helped me get to know two of Caitlyn’s friends that I wouldn’t have seen as often otherwise, too! 

46. I started cataloguing my classroom library to more efficiently track books. It took about 5 months of my spare moments between grading or lunch breaks. 

47. Why, you may ask? Because I now have about 1,000 books. 🥴 it was worth it, though! I had about 

48. Connie and Caitlyn took me to Haidilao for the first time! The food was amazing, the entertainment was circus-like in intensity and wonder, and the amenities were legendary. I get the hype now. 

49. I've always been grateful for the life I'm living, but after watching the aftermath of Uvalde, I am reminded again.

50. I love my community at MAK! I've got so many more pictures to add so I might update this later.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who blessed my 5th year of teaching.

Until next year,

Candace