Semester

Well, the semester ended a week ago Friday and report cards came out Friday.  Seems like a good time to reflect on how the girls are doing in their new schools.

The short answer is "Great".   Both girls have adjusted well and are thriving in their new schools.  Lone Star Pa and I feel very lucky that they are having such a good year.


High school has been a big transition for the Lone Star Girl.  Her social circle is shifting a bit as she is sort of disgusted with the prominence of sex and drugs, not nearly as common with her closer friends in middle school (not that she didn't have plenty of friends who did indulge, but not the same ones),  in some of the circles she used to see as her niche.  She has become very, very serious about her grades and I do worry some about the pressure she is putting on herself, but I can't say I'm not pleased to see her two nine weeks of straight A's and that she got A's on all her mid-terms.  She has really, really enjoyed being on the swim team this year, in spite of the lack of sleep and the cold, which she has not enjoyed.  She had a walk-on part in the fall play, participated in her first high school speech tournament last weekend and has been cast in quite a decent part in the upcoming UIL One-Act Play, which is probably going to be a rather big endeavor.  I am a little afraid that she is leading her theatre teacher on, as she is starting to talk about not doing theatre as her fine art throughout high school, having surprised herself by loving her art class this semester,  and he is starting to cast her like she's part of his serious team.  She is working on her Girltopia Journey in Girl Scouts, which is one of the requirements for her Gold Award and is considering a debate organization that just invited her to apply.

The Lone Star Baby loves her new school.   The afternoon-in-Spanish and science and social studies in the afternoon model is not resulting in nearly as much Spanish, science or social studies as I would like but I think it is more than she would get elsewhere - we are just spoiled from her old school's all day Spanish and equal emphasis on core classes.  Grammar, reading and math are obviously king at this new school.   She is pretty far ahead of her class in reading, one of the best Spanish speakers, and trucking along in everything else.  Her report cards are completely incomprehensible.  They show whether a skill has been "presented", is being "practiced", or is "mastered" but give no clues as to whether something being"practiced" should be "mastered" yet or not.  When I ask briefly, her teacher says she is progressing as she should be.  I have set up a conference for a week from Monday to get some more comprehensive information, but I am not concerned.  She reads, she does math, has learned time and money and all the basic parts of speech.  She knows about the planets and Hispanic Heritage, remembers her geography from her old school and she and her sister were even having a rather well-informed conversation about virology the other day - she's good.  She is enjoying Girl Scouts and her friends and is very into art and science.


I feel like this is a time when both of them, especially the Lone Star Girl, need a lot of parental support for their activities and just a lot of emotional support so they know they have a safe home base as they venture out into all of this new growth.  It is not easy to keep a good balance and I feel the Lone Star Baby has gotten the short end of the stick a bit this semester, but we are doing our best and trying to be aware of everyone's needs.


May they always manage so well.


How has your "semester" gone?  I hope it has been a good one.