It is the end of another great school year! While Joel and Ryan love what they do, they are happy for a little relief from the travel. The Summer will give us a chance to catch up on much needed family time and administrative work time. Speaking of which, check out the newest photo of us in the upper right corner of the blog!! (I also put the pic down below so you can check out the super large version!)
In mid May Joel had one particularly busy week. He spoke at 9 Middle Schools in 4 days! It was such a huge number of schools in such a small time that Joel came up with the excellent idea to have an Instagram competition between the schools!! Whichever school was able to the most 'likes' of their photo was the winner! After some serious competition, it was revealed by Joel that Columbus area school, Westerville, was the winner! Joel was pretty confident they would win just looking around at the students because it seemed like 90% of them had smart phones! Below is the winning school's photo.
But, It wasn't all just fun and games. Joel worked hard to speak into the lives of students and make a positive impact. Here's an email Joel received from a thankful parent after one of the assemblies.
Today when my kids got home from school, I asked them how their day went. As usual, my son started rattling off all of the grades he received in his classes. I said "That's great sweetie, but how was your day?" He then told me about you. My son really listened to you. I mean, he REALLY gave you his full attention. I know this because after I listened to him talk for 20 minutes, I googled your name. Everything he told me about you, right down to the words you used, were on this website. It was such a genuine, real conversation that my son shared with me that I will never forget.
From a completely different angle, this is a Mother's review that connected with her son on a mature subject that is so important in life. For this, I thank you.
Sincerely,
Erin
A Week of Middle Schools
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In mid May Joel had one particularly busy week. He spoke at 9 Middle Schools in 4 days! It was such a huge number of schools in such a small time that Joel came up with the excellent idea to have an Instagram competition between the schools!! Whichever school was able to the most 'likes' of their photo was the winner! After some serious competition, it was revealed by Joel that Columbus area school, Westerville, was the winner! Joel was pretty confident they would win just looking around at the students because it seemed like 90% of them had smart phones! Below is the winning school's photo.
But, It wasn't all just fun and games. Joel worked hard to speak into the lives of students and make a positive impact. Here's an email Joel received from a thankful parent after one of the assemblies.
Dear Joel,
I
am so grateful today, and it's because of you. I did not hear your
presentation. I'm just a 34 year old Mother who desperately wants her
12 year old son to be able to talk to me about anything in life.
Today when my kids got home from school, I asked them how their day went. As usual, my son started rattling off all of the grades he received in his classes. I said "That's great sweetie, but how was your day?" He then told me about you. My son really listened to you. I mean, he REALLY gave you his full attention. I know this because after I listened to him talk for 20 minutes, I googled your name. Everything he told me about you, right down to the words you used, were on this website. It was such a genuine, real conversation that my son shared with me that I will never forget.
From a completely different angle, this is a Mother's review that connected with her son on a mature subject that is so important in life. For this, I thank you.
Sincerely,
Erin
Last Concerts of the Year
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This month Joel and Ryan took a trip to NE Ohio area for the last few concerts of the year. They had assemblies and concerts at three schools in the In the Ashtabula area: Conneaut, Grand Valley and Edgewood. We were able to partner with the local FCA to get into the schools for the 2nd year in a row, which was a blessing. We usually see lower numbers near the end of the year but all three concerts had great turnouts - higher than our average attendance for the rest of the year! All in all, it was an excellent end to the school year!
Until Next Month,Bethany Penton
