Sunday, November 2, 2014

Parent teacher conferences

September 24-26 was SEP conferences for Michelle, Ella, and Gabby...and for me at my school.  It was a long, busy week, but I was happy to meet with their teachers and hear how they are doing. (And for some crazy reason, I started this post back then and then never finished it or posted it. So it contains a mix of what I learned then and what has happened since.)   So far this year is off to a great start for all three of them.  Gabby loves both of her teachers, Miss Finerfrock and Miss Mary Lou.  She is doing well in all areas...except apparently she was talking too much during Spanish class...talking to her friends in English, not Spanish, and not listening to directions.  Then she would get frustrated that she didn't know what to do.  So she got in trouble a few times.  But she has gotten much better, and she is making good progress in both languages.  She is beginning to read better in Spanish and use/understand more Spanish all the time.

Ella is doing very well.  Her teacher, Mrs. Darden, said that she was virtually the only student who didn't experience any summer slump in reading...her DIBELS reading score was the same at the beginning of 4th as it was at the end of 3rd but on harder texts.  She is doing well in every area, and her behavior is good.  She wants to get even better at Spanish reading, so she set a goal to read for 20 minutes each night in Spanish, along with 15 minutes of reading in English.

I was excited/nervous to go to Michelle's parent teacher conference to meet her teachers (since she is going to Hunter now, I don't know her teachers) and to see how she was doing.  Her teachers (Mrs. Pate and Mrs. Olsen) both seem very nice and had positive things to say about her work ethic, behavior and performance.  I was especially happy to see that she is doing so well in math...she has an A-.  Since math is her hardest subject, I was quite pleased.  I shared with Mrs. Olsen, her math teacher, that math was her hardest subject and that I think that was at least partially because half of her math has been in Spanish throughout her schooling.  Her teacher said that if math was her hardest subject, she must be a really wonderful student because she was doing well and didn't seem to struggle.  That was really gratifying to hear.  I know there are still areas of math that need some work, but I am so grateful that this move to Hunter has been such a positive experience for her.  She has made friends, enjoys her classes, and she has been so responsible.  She is home for nearly an hour each morning after we leave for school/work and most mornings she gets her violin and piano practice done before school.  It has been a huge blessing for me, and I am so pleased with her good choices.   She was chosen to be on safety patrol, and she is enjoying that.  (And I am so thankful for amazing neighbors who take her to school each morning and for a friend/neighbor that lets her come home with her daughter each night and spend an hour or more there daily.)

I feel so thankful that my children are learning, progressing and having positive experiences at school.  What a blessing!

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