Saturday, November 21, 2009

Christmas Bazaar

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, Washington Christian Academy (formerly Washington Christian School) has it's Annual Christmas Bazaar. This has been going on for as long as I can remember. You see, I attended WCS from 2nd grade thru 7th grade. Back then it was a small school that utilized combined classes (2 grades together with the same teacher), no lunch room, curriculum taught with the backdrop of Reformed tradition, and most importantly, they kept the main thing the main thing. My greatest childhood memories are from WCS.
Eventually, parents wanted a 9-12th grade option so WCS added high school and became WCA. This fall, WCA opened in it's newest location, a beautiful campus in Olney, MD. So, this year's Bazaar served as both the Best place to get a Bazaar favorite, Dutch Almond Pastry (Banket) and as an opportunity to see the new school.
Students and teachers often pilgrimage back to the school for the Bazaar because it's a great chance to have mini-homecomings. And, this year, that is exactly what I did. I took 3 of my kids (Connor had a soccer tournament) and ventured to my Alma Mater for the day. I was blessed to be able to reconnect with a handful of people and catch up on the stories of many others.
Here are a couple of my pictures from the day:

This is my friend Brenda Ritsema. Brenda and I were close in school and I idolized her sisters (I was the oldest so I thought big sisters were cool). Brenda's mom was our Librarian and the maker of Banket (see above). We hadn't seen each other in 21 years. Brenda married a guy who also went to school with us for a couple of years, so now she is Mrs. Brian Vos. I also got to meet her 3 month old son, Noah. It was amazing to see Brenda and her family again.
Here is a photo I took with Mrs. Dick at the Bazaar. I was absolutely astounded to see her there, along with her husband and son. She was my 3rd, 4th, and 7th grade teacher (I told you it was a small school back then).

Thanks WCS/WCA for providing an environment where kids can thrive while examining things in the light of God's glory-- I only wish that we lived close enough for my kids to attend!

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