Learning new ways - Spring Update

Dear Friends,

In light of the corona virus pandemic, we felt it best to update you after a week of much change at our school.

Two Fridays ago, we got news that our Chancellor Merkel declared schools in our state should close for the next 5 weeks and continue via remote online learning. Upon hearing this, much change happened over the weekend. Borders closed, students quickly tried catching flights home, and all of us grieved the reality of sudden goodbyes for an unknown amount of time.

BFA numbers to date (sent to us from our Head of School):

ResLife: 54 boarding students remain in BFA boarding through Spring Break. 53 have already left for home, or left to stay with family or friends. We are witnessing an ever-increasing limit on personal movement; notably, access through country borders is tightening each day.
Confirmed COVid-19 cases: 0 confirmed cases amongst staff and students
Students in remote learning: 203 High School and 51 Middle School students are transitioning into remote learning until Thursday 2 April.

During this time all of us are grieving something, but we are encouraged by Paul's letter that as Christ followers we grieve not as those who are without hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

An update from our Head of School. We are incredibly thankful for sound and wise leadership at Black Forest Academy!

Personal Fitness with Mr Turner

Last week, we began online teaching for our first time ever, which we found can actually be pretty fun! Though it is sad not to see our students each and every day. Since we both teach electives, it is quite interesting to come up with "virtual" teaching ideas!

Check out the kind of creativity Caleb's students are showing him through their daily workout challenges! Caleb is doing such a great job making his class fun and motivating for students while they begin this season of remote learning.

Remote learning locations:

Monaco, Switzerland, Germany (3), Kazakhstan

Art Class with Mrs. Turner

Maria's students are continuing to work on their art projects every day. Level 1 student's work on One Point Perspective drawings from home and Level 3 students finish their Abstract Watercolor paintings. Maria is missing her students but hoping to make some fun videos in the weeks to come!

Remote learning locations:
Jordan, USA, Switzerland, Germany, France, Kyrgyzstan, Brazil

Below you can see Maria taking a break from teaching to work on her own art. As well as a photo of D+P1's one point perspective project. They are doing it from their own home!

Summer Plans
We are going to be in the PNW! (Lord willing)

Maria and I are in the beginning stages of spending our summer in the US for our first Home Ministry Assignment. We are really hoping to use this time to connect with all of our family, supporters, and friends.
Once we nail down a timeframe of when we will be Stateside, we will be reaching out to you to find a time to connect and enjoy time together! We are SO excited for the possibility to see you all.

Pray with us

Caleb got the heart breaking news last week that all DoDDS (Military schools) spring sports are canceled. We mourn this loss for so many of our seniors. Caleb spent most of Wednesday processing this and relaying the information. Please pray for comfort and hope, for dedicated coaches and our senior athletes specifically. Caleb is looking into other options for our sports teams.
We are so hoping that we have the opportunity to travel come June to be back with you. Please pray that borders will open by that time for us to make the trip back to Oregon.
Pray with us against this virus and that it would be eradicated. Yet we know that God has placed us in such a time as this for so many reasons. We are thankful for His hand at work!

As these days continue with new hurdles everyday, we think of you and wonder what this means for our dearly loved friends and family.
We will continue to keep you updated more often on our Facebook group linked at the bottom of this Newsletter.

Feel free to message or comment on our posts regarding your situation! We'd love to know how to pray for you.

Love and Peace,

The Turners

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