Parent Teacher Conferences

Nadya Mae

4th Grade

Nadya was so excited for her Parent Teacher Conference. She couldn't wait! She knew how hard she has been working and she was excited for us to hear all about it. She exceeded every expectation. I really need to stop saying, "she can't because...." Because, the girl is proof that she can! She can speak another language 8 years of her life and learn to speak, read and write English in two short years. Not only can she do it, she can do it all very well! So, did it surprise me when her teacher showed us her report card that revealed nothing but A's? No, not really. Doug knew she was a smart girl in Russia. We were told she was one of the top kids, but it was hard to believe. Really? Don't they say that to all adoptive parents? Well, maybe not. I'll never know. But, does it matter? All A's..... There were only 4 others on the high honor roll and she was one of them. Not only all A's but all her testing shows unbelievable progress.

• She reads 70 words per minute on 4th grade level text. wow!

• She read with 100% accuracy on a level 2E test. (second grade at the end of the year) So, her teacher decided to try a more difficult test. She reads with 95% accuracy on a 3C (third grade at the end of the year) So, this is where they have placed her. She is just barely behind in reading. She does not meet the rate requirement, but quite honestly that requirement really frustrates me. They make no allowance for ESL students (English as a second language) and they should. She reads 70 words per minute on a 4th grade level text and she has been speaking the language for all of two years and somehow that is not enough? Thank God for her teacher. She doesn't believe the rate requirement should hold her back. She is not going to read at the same rate as her peers who have been speaking English their entire life. So what if it takes her a little bit longer to read, she is doing a great job comprehending the text and she really needs the exposure to the vocabulary in 3rd and 4th grade books. So, that is exactly what she is getting and you know what? She is doing really well with it.

• Her spelling assessment placed her right at the end of 3rd grade working on other vowels. When I mentioned that she knows her words on Tuesday every week and we do not study them her teacher suggested giving her two lists. So, she will be working on other vowels, as well as syllable junctures which is exactly where 4th graders should be. We will see how it goes, but I don't anticipate any problems but currently we are not studying for spelling tests.

• She received an "H" (Honors) in citizenship. Her teacher said she is a hard worker, very helpful but not overly helpful and actually does a fair amount of peer tutoring with struggling students without being asked.

• She continues to do all of this and she puts in 10 hours a week in the gym for gymnastics. We are so very proud of her and of all her accomplishments!

Hallie Jo

5th Grade

Hallie was very cute at her conference. Her teacher really put the kids in charge and it was fun to watch her orchastrate the conference and tell us about how she is doing. She is really a great kid and had fun telling us just how great she is! :) Her report card was good, A's and B's. She was pleased and so were we. Her teacher had great things to say about her and praised Hallie for being so respectful and such a great listener. It was so fun to watch her teacher imitate Hallie's body language when she is listening because Hallie listens with her entire body. Her teacher was wishing that all of her students would listen like that and we were wishing she would listen like that at home. What gives? So, she is doing well. We are very proud of her. Her new goals are.

• She is going to work on her multiplication facts and decimal addition and subtraction with regrouping.

• Her reading was right where it should be, but her spelling is below grade level. No surprises there. She has never been a good speller. It is just not her thing! Good thing she has Nadya, who happens to be a great little speller to help her out. So, we will be working harder on spelling.

• Hallie is also suppose to work on her typing skills as she is only typing 5 words per minute currently. So, we have a lot of work to do in that area. Any suggestions?

• We are trying something new with Hallie's schedule.  She will spend a week with Dad and a week with Mom. We think a little more consistency with homework and life in general could be  a better fit.  This is the first week and I am already seeing so many benefits.  I think we will like it, but not seeing her for a week at a time is a real down side!
  

Alex Michael

Kindergarten

Alex's Kindergarten teacher was very pleased with Alex. She started with his strengths. He is an amazing reader! Reading at about a second grade level. Go Alex! He has been reading since he was four, so this really comes as no surprise. He is bringing home books that are around 2.5-3.3 and has been very successful in reading them and taking the AR tests on the computer. He is very good at math and does well in addition. He is compassionate and sensitive and she shared a story about how Alex was willing to work with a girl so his best friend could be partners with a boy. Sweet boy! I guess girls do have cooties in Kindergarten. His report card revealed many, many + for excellent and a few check marks for satisfactory and one "I" for needs to improve. He needs to work on his self control. He is very social and really likes to talk apparently, so this gives us something to work on. I have noticed this when I am volunteering, but I have also noticed the same thing with many other children so I am assuming it is pretty age appropriate. Nonetheless, we will still work on it. His teacher said she would write in his conduct folder if he seemed really chatty, otherwise we will assume it was a good day. Sounds like a plan to me! Way to go Alex!

Carter Jay

Pre-Kindergarten

Carter is doing very well. He likes school, seems happy to be there, has many friends and is writing his letters big, but well. Carter knows all of his colors, shapes, and identifies numbers 1-12. He can count to 39 but he skipped 14. I actually had already noticed that so we had been working on it. He no longer skips 14, but he did back in October when she assessed him. He can identify all of his letters, upper-case and lower and knows all of his sounds but did not know "O" or "U" when she asked him, even though I know he does. Stinker! His teacher is very pleased with him and really enjoys him. She even said she loves his little voice. Little???? I would disagree with that one. Carter does not seem to enjoy music or reciting the pledge. I suggested to his teacher that she try not to make a big deal out of it and perhaps he will come to enjoy it. He just sits quietly and watches everyone else, but doesn't want to join in. I am not sure why as he seemed to enjoy music in preschool, so perhaps this is just a phase? At home, Carter is struggling in the evenings. He only gets 30 minutes of rest time at school and is very tired at home as a result. We have pushed up bedtime, but usually he is in bed by 7:30 or he has a very bad attitude because he is tired. I am looking forward to my Monday class finishing up the first of December so he can go back to just attending school 3 days a week. I think 4 days is one day too many for his little body. He seems really tired a fair amount of the time. At home Carter has started to read Bob Books and currently can read books 1-3. He is sounding out words sometimes, but mostly has an amazing memory and memorizes many of the words too. We are very proud of him!