1st day of school!

[misty]

Shannon had her 1st day of 10th grade in the new charter school today. She had begged me last night to get up & walk her to the bus stop. She has not ridden a bus in a few years & was nervous about getting on the right one. Anyway, I dragged myself out of bed super early & got ready & just as we were about to leave, my cousin's 2 kids came to walk with her & she didn't want me to go any more. LOL suffice it to say, I got a lot of house work done really early today!

She absolutely loved school! She has some interesting classes like chemistry & a book reading/writing class and she adored all her teachers. there were only 2 things she wasn't happy with. One was the lunches, which she said are terrible...I mean, even the salad was disgusting & how on earth can you mess up a salad? The other was math. They put her in 10th grade math. Remember, this is a child with a severe math LD. Last year she was in a 5th grade math class & couldn't understand most of it. The good thing is that they sent home a questionnaire and one side was for the parents to fill out. It was questions about what the child's strengths & weaknesses are in math, etc. I made sure I wrote that she has an LD & an IEP. I wrote for the teacher to please read over the IEP & call me so we can get her correctly placed. Hopefully we can get her in an appropriate class quickly.

For their advisory class (which is like homeroom although that teacher is also the one they'll go to with any problems & for general help in all subjects) they are doing a project. The kids decide on the project & as a group they decided on a photography project. Shannon gets to be the photographer & she is super excited about that!

She also made a few friends already & she told me she met some more "potential friends" She met a couple girls that have several interests in common with her & she is already full of plans they are making!


I'm so glad she had such a positive first day. ;D

[bugsmom]

OK...I'm all teared up. I'm so thrilled that Shannon had such a great 1st day!!! The school sounds like its such a perfect fit for her. Too bad about the lunches...maybe they'll get a little better.

So excited about her making new friends. I bet she's excited too. Sounds like she's off to great start!!

[charliegirl]

I'm thrilled she is getting off to such a good start. Its hard to imagine kids starting school this early. Our first day here is Sept 7.

[misty]

We always start this time of year, but if I remember, our kids get out earlier than yours so in the end it works out the same.

I hope the lunches get better also. Shannon said even the apple was nasty & full of bruises.

believe it or not, she already went to bed! Poor Jade (the pit) was not happy because Shannon sleeps with her. When Shannon urged her up to bed, she looked sad. Maybe I'll sneak up & let her out of Shannon's room in an hour.

[bugsmom]

The public schools here start September 7th too. Josh always went to private school and they always started the third week in August. September 7th feels late to me, but theres nothing we can do about it. I like the starting early and out early.

[jj]

Misty, I'm so happy to hear her first day was so positive (with the exception of the food).

You know Bugs, you mentioning how you got all teary hearing how good Shannons day was got me thinking just how emotionally envolved we all are in each others kids (in my case, my niece) here. We've all been members here for so long we've "cyber-seen" these kids growing up so it is almost like they are part of our family that we just don't see often.

I'm going off topic so will stop babbling.

[misty]

Thats so sweet, JJ & you're right, we certainly have become a family over the years.

Shannon's second day was also great. The teachers don't just sit & teach & expect everyone to be quiet & listen. They encourage the kids to have involved discussions & toss ideas & thoughts around. It's really quite progressive. Her photo project is off to a good start too. She came home & edited all her photos & she had some great ones. We forgot though that she doesn't have photoshop...it was on her cyber school computer, which we sent back. So I spent an hour finding someone who was willing to lend me a copy & then uploading it onto a thumb drive for her to use. She'll print the photos at school, thankfully so will not need to use the end of my ink.

The food still stunk. They had a nice salad today, but it was full of meat. She went to the principal & told him that if they wanted her to eat at lunch, they really have to have some meatless options. He was nice & went & got her a regular salad that they have for the teachers. He told her that they are planning an ala cart menu but that it will take another week or so to implement.

[katiekat]

Awwww I am so happy for Shannon!

[jill]

Nette starts Middle school on the 7th and I am nervous and worried for her. The only comfort we have is my husband works as a Custodian there and has teachers and other staff looking out for her. He also has befriended high school students and some already in Middle school and told them who she is to look out for her. Nette is already a target for bullying.