Our Christmas Newsletter
December 2007
Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this letter finds you well. Not much has happened that is newsworthy in our lives (though I seem to be able to write two pages about it. Must be the graduate school influence). Bill and I are still happily married to each other. Sophia and Julian are still at Crosswinds Arts and Science School, though that will change at the end of this school year. We still have two dogs, Nimue and Merlin, and a rotating stock of fish.
School is good, both the one I’m teaching and the one where I’m studying. I can
see the light at the end of the tunnel at University of St. Thomas: two classes and one thesis left to go. I have spring semester off, since there’s nothing to take that fits into my program. This is just fine; I’m excited to have Saturdays free (and not be doing homework on Thursday and Friday nights) for the first time in four years. I’m still not sure what my thesis will be about, probably something where I can use my research to help other people who teach music to large immigrant populations. The work is rewarding and exciting, and I have seen marked improvement in the musicianship of my students this year. We sang at the Mall of America for their Holiday Music series for the fourth year in a row, and this year I had fifty singers and six drummers. My boys are starting to sing out. I could hear three distinct in-tune parts on many songs. For any of you who work or have worked with adolescent singers, you know that this is an impressive feat, especially considering how many of them do not speak English very well.
We had the great pleasure of welcoming family from both sides to the Twin Cities this summer. It’s fun to be the tour guide and host, sharing the best parts of Minneapolis and St. Paul with those we love. It was also great to see our nephews. I hope people had fun.
This fall Bill and I were fortunate enough to go to San Jose, California for a weekend, where I participated in the American Orff-Schulwerk Conference. There were wonderful performing groups, great sessions, and I was formally recognized as a grant recipient (I got a bass metallophone-a metal xylophone-for my classroom). Bill played tourist, walked a lot, and read some books. In the evenings there were concerts, including Keith Terry and a Balinese Gamelan. Check out Keith Terry on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCltR3kAYI0
We also went to Disney World (in Florida) for Thanksgiving. November is a great time to go there, warm weather, shorter lines. It is a little sobering to consider that there were no bugs, though. None. No song birds, either. I’m glad we went, especially because it meant we were able to spend time with my cousin and his family.
Quick update on everyone else: Bill is still at Minnetronix in the IT department. He likes it, they like him, it’s a win-win situation. Sophia spent a month at Mori No Ike Japanese camp this summer (Concordia Language Villages). She has applied to the Perpich Center for Arts Education (in Golden Valley, MN) for 11th grade in Literary Arts. She is writing a lot, way more than just school assignments. Julian is in 9th grade this year. He is playing the baritone sax in band and taking lessons. He’s practicing a lot, and playing video games. This is very normal for his age (the video game part-not nagging someone to practice seems a little strange). He’s considering Central High School, about two miles from our house as his high school choice for next year.
Bill and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in August, so we decided to have a party. Please save the date: August 23rd, 2008. It will be a potluck supper followed by a dance in our church fellowship hall. I hope you can make it. Please consider this advance notice.
The best way to keep up with me and our family is through the Internet. I’m on Live Journal at http://schteeple.livejournal.com/ I also read email several times a day, so that’s another good way to contact me.
We treasure the notes, pictures, email and calls from family and friends. As I get older, I find that I am more conscious of relationships and nourishing them. In the coming year, may you and your family find health, happiness and love. For those who have lost loved ones, please know that I think about you often.
Peace,
Julie Schramke and Bill Teeple, Sophia and Julian