"Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another." ~~G.K. Chesterton

Elevator School- I wasn't familiar with this term but it's exactly what the Tunnel school is.  Vincent leads up a school that runs the gamut from pre-K to high school. 

One-Gender School- Ivy and JenniAnn both graduated from the girls-only Our Lady of Hope High.

Alpha Bleep- ;-)  Pretty sure I've used the B-word in a story but in case not... we'll go with bleep.  Bennie and Alyssa are this for JenniAnn and Ivy respectively.  While Bennie largely worked alone, Alyssa had a Girl Posse in Mariah and Caitlin.  This is explored in the story "Ivy."

Eating Lunch Alone- So there are gonna be a lot of tropes from "Ivy"!  Anyway, Ivy was doing this... sneaking into Andrew's classroom... rather than suffer through lunch near her bullies.  Thankfully, Andrew and Co. eventually found out and started dining with her.

High School Sweethearts- Carrie and Kevin Hunter from (you guessed it) "Ivy" are this.  Brittony and Galen Sr. first got together during their HS years.  Ivy and Sy, while not attending the same high school, started dating while HS students.  And while we haven't heard from them in a good long while, Amy and Hareton from "The Scientist" are still together.  I think it's fairly safe to assume that some of the little Friends will form these long-lasting bonds, too. 

Teacher/Student Romance- Carrie Hunter at first thought that Andrew and JenniAnn were this.  She knew that Andrew was a teacher and that he was the same man she sometimes saw pick seventeen year old JenniAnn up for school.  What she didn't know was that Andrew was only acting as a teacher for his assignment with Ivy, is an angel, and was definitely not romantically involved with a young JenniAnn... even if they are acting cutesy and have kids in the present day.  If you're thinking of Asterian Academy (formerly Androoler U), it's probably a fair bet to assume some "teachers" are dating or married to their "students" just because that's more of a community center/hobby sort of thing for adults.  So definitely not squicky. 

School Play- This figures into both "Ivy" and "The Scientist."  The latter is so by-the-trope that it even goes with Romeo and Juliet.  The show in "Ivy" was really more of a musical revue.

Adults are Useless- Sadly, this trope title basically sums up Emma's high school years.  She was failed by a family friend who abused her, a mother who turned a blind eye, a principal who couldn't be bothered, and assumedly a priest who just sat by while his parish turned on an abuse victim.  Boo, adults! 

Chekhov's Skill- A lot of these came into play during "The Carpenter."  JenniAnn's make-up skills, Kemara's expertise in page layout, Max's singing ability, and more were either only briefly hinted at or referenced for the first time when all of the above was needed to mount a production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Cool Teacher- Okay, so maybe he doesn't do anything as flashy as stand on desks or form his students into a rockin' band but Vincent is darn cool.  It says a lot about a teacher when his former students come back to teach with him.  These days, he's also extremely good at multi-tasking since he teaches, parents, and grandparents all at once.  I'd also say Andrew was pretty cool in "Ivy."  Shane sounds pretty cool, too, with his Reading Chair.  Both Vincent and Andrew tend to fall into Psychologist Teacher mode, as well.

Hot Teacher-  Andrew.  Definitely Andrew.

• A is still for Andrew whose adventures with the Friends I hope can continue for years to come.
• B is for Behnam who proves that a bit character last mentioned years ago can totally resurface as a regular.
• C is for Chava who is a character I really loved and am sorry I can't have pop up all the time.
• D is for Danika, my dog, who doesn't understand that barking loudly at the neighbor's cat can really distract Mommy when she's trying to write.
• E is for Eben who is no longer a total loser and who I hope to bring back sometime.
• F is for flannel shifts which Andrew will continue to be wearing in my stories because... so lovely.
• G is for God the Father whose only begotten Son is now one of the male leads in Dyeland stories because He is super fun to write about.
• H is for hair... Andrew's, Joshua's, Adam's... I don't care.  It's all awesome and beautiful and fun to write about playing with.
• I is for Isra who would have had her baby by now if only I could finish this story...
• J is for John, both John Dye who continues to inspire us and for John the Baptist who is way more fun to write about than I imagined.
• K is for Kemara whose character I actually didn't create and get to enjoy as a reader first.  Yay!  Thanks Kim.
• L is for Liam who is super adorable and is at least partly responsible for me starting to accept the episode "Netherlands."
• M is for Maryam who would really prefer you not think of her husband as some old dude.
• N is for nicknames of which the Dyelanders and Friends have so many.
• O is for Orville Owen Olsen whose artwork I really wish I had because God knows we need more realistic images of Jesus of Nazareth.
• P is for Peter who I may or may not have a lil bit of a crush on.
• Q is for quitting which I refuse to do even though I'm months behind on this trafficking story...
• R is for red velvet cake which Andrew and Co. adore and I wish I had some right now.
• S is for Sy who, along with Ivy, make a super adorable couple and I'm excited to see them into adulthood.
• T is for turkeys which are an important part of Dyeland's ever-growing menagerie.
• U is for useful which the Encyclopedia is because I'm using it right now to write this.  Note to self: I have no characters with U names.
• V is for Vincent who I have loved since I was little and wish really was my godfather but at least I get to pretend he is via JenniAnn.
• W is for will... free will to be exact... without which neither the TBAA episodes not the Dyeland stories would work.
  
• X is for xenophobia which the Friends have no time nor patience for.
  
• Y is for Yeshua who is beyond words and I'm super glad he's part of the Dyeland stories. 
  
• Z is for Zelda whose Encyclopedia entry, long neglected, will soon be put to use again... 
  

This newsletter is dedicated to John Dye for helping to get me through both high school and college and even a bit of junior high.  My teenage drama woulda been way more fraught without my Andrew fix!

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(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from Touched by an Angel and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions.  They are not being used to seek profit.)