Bekah's Choir Sings National Anthem

Rebekah's Choir Sings the National Anthem

Yesterday, Bekah's school choir got to sing the National Anthem at the football game. They've been practicing two-part harmony for a couple of weeks in preparation.

 

 Bekah was pretty excited about it (although she wasn't so thrilled with all the pictures I was taking.  But I managed to get a smile or two.

 The group did a great job.  They sounded awesome.

 I'm glad Bekah is getting this opportunity to spread her wings a little in this musical area. 

Video to follow.

Goofy Girl

Minion Nails

Yesterday, we painted Minions on Bekah's nails.  Yes, Minions. 

You see, they're the cute little characters in the Despicable Me movies.

So we spent some time together and had a lot of fun with it.  Yes, it took forever, but it was so worth it.  

Just look how cute they are!  And Bekah was so stoked!!

All You Need Is Love

Fun Joyful

The Circus

TCAP Scores

The girls just got their TCAP scores, so I wanted to share them.  There is some room for improvement (Math), but some off-the-charts scores as well (Social Studies).  So we're patting on the back for the successes and offering support where there are struggles. 

So here are the details.

Bekah scored Proficient in Science.  The gray boxes show the Proficient Range.  As you can see, Bekah's scores (the diamond) are at the front of the proficient range.  In fact, her Scale Score is 790, only 11 points shy of Advanced!!  Mrs. Berry was an awesome teacher and Bekah really loved her class.  =)

Bekah scored Proficient in Language Arts.  And as with Science, she's at the front of the pack on her Proficient scores.  In most areas, she's only a point or two shy of Advanced. Her scale score is only seven points shy of Advanced.  We are very pleased with this score!

We were wondering how her Math TCAP would pan out, since Bekah didn't finish the test.  Looks like there is room for improvement in all areas, but especially Geometry.  The Confidence Band (margin for error) still touches the Proficient range in all areas except Geometry.  So we'll be working on that this year (as well as working on speed!!).  But seeing the Confidence Band touching the Proficient range shows us that a Proficient score is within reach.  =)

Um, there's not much I can say about Bekah's Social Studies score without bragging.  But hey, this is MY blog, so I shall brag away.  =)

She ACED it!!  She's so far in the Advanced section that the Confidence Band doesn't even touch the Proficient range!!  Way to go Bekah!!  We are unbelievably proud!

Now we move on to Lydia's scores. 

Lydia did a fabulous job on her Science TCAP, scoring in the Proficient range!  Each area is between one and three points shy of Advanced.  In fact, her Scale Score is only five points shy of Advanced!!  Mrs. Schwartz was Lydia's favorite teacher (and it helps when your teacher adores you right back).  =) 

Math was a struggle for Lydia all year last year.  The curriculum just flew through the concepts.  We defininitely have some room for improvement, especially in Algebra.  But we've got the tools to tackle this and Lydia's been working with an online program to beef up her Math skills.  And like with Bekah, the Confidence Band is touching the Proficient area.  We're within sight of our goal!  We can do it!

Again: My blog.  My space to brag.  =)

Lydia aced her Language Arts TCAP.  She aced it!!  She scored Advanced in all areas except Literature (on which she was only one point shy of Advanced).  We are so proud of her love of reading and mastery of language arts! 

And the same goes for Social Studies.  Advanced all the way down the line.  Well into Advanced...as in the Confidence Band not touching Proficient!  Woohoo!  And would you look at that Economics score?  94%  Way to go, Lydia!!

All in all, we're very pleased with the girls' TCAP scores and wanted to share it with you.

Clowning Around

Lydia - Ears Pierced

Lydia's First Day of 5th Grade

It's really hard for me to wrap my head around Lydia being in 5th grade!  Her last year of elementary school!!

 Lydia had her outfit picked out for weeks.

 She even had me hang it in MY closet so that she wouldn't be tempted to wear it before the first day and mess it up. 

We got to the school bright and early and came right in with the HUGE crowd.  We were the first ones to the classroom and we were greeted by Lydia's homeroom teacher, Mrs. Knoll.

At her desk, Lydia found a "get to know you" sheet, some name tags, and a bag of Lucky Charms, since Mrs. Knoll was "lucky" to have Lydia in her class!  Too cute!

I got Lydia settled and said my goodbyes.  When I left she was decorating her name tag and filling out her worksheet.

  

She has gotten so big!

When I went to pick her up, the line was snaked around the building...and a car broke down in the car rider line.  Always an adventure!

But of course, the school day had to end with some cookies and milk and hearing all about the classroom rules and what the kids were like in her class!

Rebekah's First Day of 7th Grade

I can't believe my baby girl is going into 7th grade.  She has handled the whole back-to-school thing with such grace.  Not only has she gotten taller over the summer, but she also grew in maturity.

 

 And she found some skinny jeans.  Lots of skinny jeans.  She has them in four different colors now and she's been working them since she went back-to-school shopping.  She just exudes confidence when she wears them!!

 Now that you've seen her outfit, you can see why she drew me a diagram for her manicure!  =)

 On our way to school, Bekah and Lydia took a selfie before Bekah got out of the car.

 And then, just like that, she was gone...off to start her new adventure in 7th grade!!  (Photo credit: Lydia Christopher)

So, since I knew I wouldn't be able to come in and take pictures, we took a few the other night at Hornet night.

This is Mrs. Magochy, Bekah's Homeroom, Science, and Advisory teacher.

 

 And this is the choir room, which Bekah is so excited to be in this year.  You only get to choose one related art.  Bekah chose Band.  And the school chose Choir as Bekah's second related art!!  How awesome is that?  Now she gets to do both (which is what she really wanted to do)!!

When I went to pick her up, it took FOREVER, as it usually does at the beginning of the new school year.  There was even a car accident right behind me as I waited (30 minutes) at the light to get into the school.  

But after school, we had cookies and milk and I got to hear all about her day!!

Preparing for School

This last week before school starts has been a whirlwind of activity.  On Tuesday we went to Popsicles on the Patio for Lydia's school.  She got to meet her teachers and get her information packet.

On Wednesday, Bekah had Hornet Night at her school.  They had the cafeteria set up with different stations where you could pay your fees for the different activities your child would be in: sports, band, choir, etc.   I took some pictures while we were there because I knew that I wouldn't be able to walk Bekah into school.  I thought I'd better go ahead and grab some pictures while I could!!

We also went down the seventh grade hall and met Bekah's teacher, Mrs. Magochy and saw her classroom when we dropped off her school supplies.  We also met Coach Pickle (Math), Coach Lee (Geography), Mrs. Womack (Language Arts).  We talked to Mrs. Benton (Choir) and we already knew Mr. Dickens (Band) from last year. Mrs. Magochy will be Bekah's Homeroom, Science, and Advisory teacher. Bekah is beyond thrilled about that, as she really liked Mrs. Magochy last year.

I also grabbed a pic of Bekah in the hallway with all the new hornet decorations.  You can tell she's super thrilled for me to be taking her picture!  Ha!

 Wednesday night, when we got home from Hornet Night, Mrs. Roberta had a little surprise for all the girls in the neighborhood.  She got them HUGE bags of back-to-school candy!  Wow!!

 On Thursday, the girls spent the day at Zach and Eli Juillard's house and got to do some swimming!  One last HURRAH for the summer!!

 And finally, the preparations just wouldn't be complete without a fresh manicure.  Lydia wanted a French manicure and Bekah drew a diagram for what she wanted on her nails.  (Yes, I'm serious.  She really did.)

 And this morning, on the first day of school, this is what two well-rested, manicured, prepared, excited girls looked like!

 Just beautiful!!