Thursday, May 28th

I rarely get off-campus for lunch, but couldn't pass up the chance to take my two out one more time... this one to celebrate Tim's last final (Pre-Cal.) Mexican is always a popular choice for my crew and it gives us a chance to practice our spanish and reminisce about our time south-of-the-border (even though we rarely ate Mexican food in Nicaragua ;-)
Tomorrow is the last day of school... Baccalaureate at 7:00 p.m.; Graduation Saturday morning at 10:30.

Wednesday, May 27th

Kara has to go back tomorrow afternoon, so we had a father-son-and-daughter dinner & movie date. Here they are settling in for the start of "Angels and Demons", a thoroughly entertaining picture... Kara had just finished the book, so we were expecting to hear that it was better, but she said that although there were more twists in the print version, she liked some of the variances in the Hollywood ending!

Tuesday, May 26th

This from the 7th grade Drama class puppet presentation of "Pinocchio"... the kids did a great job, as does their teacher (Mrs. Morgan).

Kara, Tim and I just got back from the Spring Sports Season Celebration highlighting the accomplishments of middle school and high school teams in four sports (Softball, Girls Soccer, Golf and Baseball); tomorrow morning at 8:00, Upper School Awards Ceremony... Friday, Baccalaureate... Saturday morning, Graduation ...BUSY time!

Memorial Day

Andy Andrews is definitely the coolest 85-year-old I know... he was the keynote speaker at our Memorial Day Service. A decorated veteran of the D-Day invasion of Normandy and last two years of the Second World War, Mr. Andrews honored those who have given their lives on foreign battlefield with his personal accounts of heroism and sacrifice.

Sunday, May 24th

They asked me to share in my CG this morning about the ministries our mission team of 6 will be involved with June 4-12; then they took up a love offering and handed me $342! God has already covered our personal expenses, so 100% of the money we collect before the trip will go in support of the feeding programs, schools and churches with which we'll be working... Gifts are tax-deductible if check are made out to "Nextplay Sports" and sent to me at 78 Lovers Loop Asheville, NC 28803 (put: "Nicaragua2009" on the memo line)

Weather-wise, June is a good month to be going to Nicaragua... the last months of the dry-season (March through the first rains in May) are miserably hot, dry and dusty. This picture is from the front page of the Managua paper this morning... they got almost 7 inches (174.1 mm) of rain yesterday... I don't think we'll have to worry about "dry & dusty." Hot & humid?... definitely!

Saturday, May 23rd

The two gentlemen standing in this picture (Bobby Keck and John Devlin) started a Saturday Math Lab for our students this year... this picture was taken in February; we held the last session today; by this time next week, the 2008-09 school year will be "in the books"... I am thankful for men like Bobby and John who give of their time so generously to help "our kids".

Tim's 18th Birthday

No, I did not get him a Harley (this one belongs to our friend, Clyde)... I did take him out to eat and to the mall for a little shopping. He chose this bowl of ice-cream with Cool Whip over cake or brownie a-la-mode for dessert.

The coolest thing that happened today, though, is Tim got to honor "Miss Ginny" during his Art class "Compassion" presentation, for the way she and her husband (Bill) are always rescuing animals (and people) in need!

Thursday, May 21st

The past couple of days I've been intrigued by the enthusiasm and participation of the students in Mrs. Hagan's Anatomy and Physiology classes. I filmed this video around dinner time (they order in pizzas)... three hours after classes had let out (last night they went through 8:30 and much later tonight.) Students are required to make their own presentations; most impressive to me are the support they show for each other in being there when it is not required, and the things they are learning from each other.

Wednesday, May 20th

We had the added excitement of having two of our students frisked and handcuffed as part of today's chapel speaker's talk. Sophomore Josh Gracie got a little more than he bargained for in volunteering to take part in the demonstration (shown here being handcuffed by Officer Kruse.)

Tuesday, May 19th

The Anatomy and Physiology classes have been dissecting cats... they started with muscle groups & bones and are now in the chest cavity identifying the internal organs... (Foreground L24) Jared Robinson, Sammy Feinberg & Ryan Ledford test a pair of extracted lungs; (Background) junior class President, Megan Brooks, working away.

(Picture #2) Star pitcher, Matt Justice in surgery...

Monday, May 18th

This picture was taken last year at Kara's graduation; she and Ashley Niklinski shared a room in a house just off campus for three years. Ashley graduated this month and her dad gave her a cruise as a graduation present... and let her take a friend! Kara texted me this afternoon saying they're on the ship and headed for the Caribbean!

Tim and I hosted our first Nicaragua2009 mission meeting this evening... hard to believe we'll be leaving two weeks from this Thursday!

Sunday, May 17th

He doesn't know it yet, but Tim's soccer coach will be receiving this trophy as the top goal-scorer on our Men's over-30 team... he missed our last game (this afternoon); we played surprisingly-well considering we were on a 10-game losing streak and had lost 7-0 to the Wizards in the last regular-season contest... this one went into overtime before we bowed out gracefully... think I'll try the over-40 league next season, but it was fun playing with Terry, pictured below with his wife (Laura), children (Kathryn & Luke) and ACA Head-of-School (Bill George)

Saturday, May 16th

Productive day... Tim cut the lawn, and together we tackled the laundry, floors, bathrooms... we'd certainly have preferred to have been playing in the state championship series, but it does feel good to have those chores done... Tim even found time to spot this chipmunk on one of our railroad ties!

P.S. The team that knocked us out of the tournament (High Point Christian) "ran the table" 10-4 & 7-6 against the #2 seed (St. David's) to claim the state (in our division)... it always feels better to know we lost to the eventual champs!

Season Over

Matt Justice pitched a great game; we just came up a couple of hits short of pulling off the upset and bowed out 3-1 to top-seeded High Point Christian (the same team we knocked-off in the state semis last year and that eliminated our soccer team in the quarterfinals last fall!)

Game Day

I used Coach Clark's Blackberry to capture these images of the "morning run"... Coaches Filipek and Clark leading the charge in lap one!
Game time 1:00... should we manage to upset the #1 team (for the second-consecutive year), we would play game one of a best-of-three series with the winner of the other semi-final @7:00... stay tuned!

Thursday, May 14th

I'm here with the team, but forgot my camera! Surely, someone will take a few pictures for me to post tomorrow...

Coach Filipek is the consumate planner... every minute accounted for. Great team meeting this evening; coach went player-by-player recalling some of the highlights of their individual and team performances. It has obviously been another terrific season, and whatever happens in the state semi-final has no power to change that. Our opponents bring their #1 ranking and a 27-3 record to the game; we a healthy respect for them, and the knowledge that "on any given day..."

Jordan's 19th Birthday

My parents have twelve grandkids; Kara and Tim are #4 & #8, respectively. Pictured are (L2R) #7 Jordan (MT), #1 Kristen (CA), #2 Jennifer (FL), #5 Jason (FL) & #10 Ryan (CA) at Jennifer's wedding reception last October. As you can tell from the states of residence (in parentheses), we're scattered about the country, but that doesn't keep us from praying for each other, nor finding ways (like this) to wish each other "Happy Birthday!"... last one as a teenager, Jordo!

Final Four-Bound!

It's not the clearest footage you'll ever see, but Tim led off the bottom of the 5th inning with this gorgeous bunt-single... we needed every hit we could get, escaping with a 7-6 victory after Shannon Forest rallied for four runs on a grand-slam in the top of the 7th! We now play State Semi-Final Friday @1:00 against #1 seeded High Point Christian (27-3) at War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro... c u there!

Monday, May 11th

The Class of 2009 pulled its "Senior Prank" this morning... they all had their cell-phones (which are supposed to be turned off during the school day) go off simultaneously during our 10-minute convocation; all 38 of them stood up and began talking on their phones as they exited the room, only to come back in to announce that they had brought doughnuts and milk for the rest of the high school... The fact that they chose an act of service as the central component to their class prank, warmed this old principal's heart... watch out world, here they come! (and here they are at last month's "Junior-Senior")
The AP Biology exam was also today... Below is a short video of last Saturday's "optional" cram session with Mrs. Hagan (breakfast apparently included :-)

Our State Quarterfinal baseball game is set for tomorrow 5:00 @ACA. Shannon Forest upset #5 ranked Metrolina last Saturday, so we meet a familiar (CAA conference) opponent with whom we "split" earlier this year, losing 3-2 away and winning 15-1 at home... this one is for the privilege of playing in the State Semi-Final Friday 1:00 at War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro!

You can expect to see the senior members of last year's team at the games... they're all home from college, and spent this afternoon encouraging their old teammates at practice!

Mother's Day

Three generations! This picture was taken during Kara's spring break trip to Disney World; she's flanked by her G-Mom (my mom) and Aunt Susie (my other sis... you met Betsy in the May 5 entry.)

In case there's any question, MY MOM ROCKS!

13 Months!

I don't think I've posted this one yet, and since tomorrow is Mother's Day in Mexico, Canada and the U.S., it serves the double purpose of marking the 13th month since Lana left us, and showing her off in a role that she played to perfection... of course, she had the exceptional example of her own mom.

Happy Mother's Day Lana, Mom and Mom-Brady!

Wendy Gomez's Birthday-Eve

Our Nica-fam and those of you who were at the Asheville CoL service for Lana last year will recognize the young lady front-and-center in this picture... it's Wendy Gomez, tomorrow's birthday girl! I pulled this photo off her Facebook, so I don't know the full meaning of the "W" they're all making with their hands, but let's just say it stands for Wendy! The administrators at Dordt College are so thrilled to have her as a student that they've created a full-scholarship for a graduate of her old high school (NCA) to be awarded every other year!

National Day of Prayer

Bill George (Head-of-School) leads 600+ (teachers & students) at the National Day of Prayer assembly... students then grouped up and prayed together for our country, its elected leaders, our troops & their families and the requests made by individuals in each circle.

Our baseball team dropped a close one 7-6 to our neighbors (Owen), giving them "bragging-rights" 'til next year... I just hope we'll bring our game faces to next Tuesday's (win-or-go-home) State Quarterfinal against the winner of tomorrow's round 1 match-up between familiar opponents (#5-Metrolina & #12-Shannon Forest)

A Day in the Life of a Principal

Thought I'd give you a snap shot of what my day looked like today as I popped into a few of our classes to see how things are going.
First up is Mr. Barnett's Chem 1 class in the middle of a unit on "Stoichiometry"...In Miss Auten's Geometry class, a sophomore member of our state championship basketball team was found explaining the uses of the Pythagorean Theorem...Across the hall (in the computer lab) the 8th grade History students were doing a little research on selected decades of the 20th century...Mrs. Greene's Advanced Latin class was down a couple of students who were busy taking the AP Calculus exam...Mr. McGinnis had his 9th grade English students reading parts from "Romeo and Juliet"... Mrs. Johnson subbed for Mrs. Mitchell in 6th grade Science where they were doing a unit on "The Human Brain"... The 7th grade English class was trying to prove to Mrs. Frost that they knew the "8 parts of speech"... Mr. Meiners' Economics students were treated to a PowerPoint presentation on the workings of the Federal Reserve System... Mrs. Williams led her Spanish IV class in song... Mr. Foust patiently explained the answer to a challenging problem to his most appreciative Pre-Calculus subjects... And then the local weather forecast created a little excitement by announcing a tornado watch in our area... a good chance to review our emergency procedures... Mr. Weber's 3rd period Ancient & Medieval History class reviewed for a test on the Roman Empire... ESL teacher, Mrs. Somerville, helped two of our Korean exchange students revise writing assignments for their regular English classes... Our current Student Body President, Daniel Clark, introduced 13 candidates for 5 positions on the SG Executive Council for the 2009-2010 school year... Seth Barker (subsequently elected President) at the podium delivering his speech. Seth is one of the young men going with Tim and me to Nicaragua next month!... Weather postponed our last regular-season game "the battle of Swannanoa" (against the local public school team) 'til tomorrow. The state selection committee seeded our baseball team FOURTH, which means we get a bye on the first round and will be hosting the winner of the #5 v #12 teams next Tuesday... stay tuned!
I leave you with undoctored footage of my son dunking a basketball (something his father has never been able to do!)...

Cali Kynasts?

Yes, there are Kynasts in California! My sister (Betsy), her husband (Mike), and their children (Ryan & Nicole) have lived in the southern part of the state since Mike was transfered to Disneyland (from WDW/Orlando)... a little further north resides my niece (Kristen) who taught middle school English & History at Nicaragua Christian Academy 2005-2007; she is now married and living near San Francisco (pictured below with Betsy and Nicole.)
The Carolina (and Georgia) Kynasts sure do miss 'em!

52

If I were Korean, I'd be 53 today (or in my 53rd year?); as I understand it, (in Korea) the day of one's birth is his first birthday (kind of makes sense, doesn't it?)
I'm having an exceptional day... Kara took me out to lunch and plans to stay through the baseball game and dinner. These three ladies did a little baking, so visitors were treated to fresh-baked spice cake, apple and pecan pie!

The one negative is that my lap-top has contracted a nasty virus and I'll be forced to find alternative ways to access the life-line to my extended family (I'm making this entry in the school library.)

Sunday, May 3rd

Tim and Jared had a tryout for the Western NC All-Star team this afternoon... one of multiple sessions in our quarter of the state. I thought they did really well especially considering they've been a little focussed on baseball; the video shows Tim assisting on one of the goals tallied; I didn't catch the one he (nor the two Jared) scored.