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| The high school complex |
It's August and our county started classes on August 1st. How crazy is that? The four older kiddos all began new experiences. Joanna is a senior and is as busy as ever. She is currently assistant directing Snow White in preparation for her senior project. In November- January, she'll be directing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She's currently applying to college, prepping for the ACT's, and studying for several EOCT's (kinda like a clep test for certain high school classes, but not really). She cannot fail them or she loses her GPA status and that affects everything else. We've been to several doctors recently to see if we can get her body functioning better. She's been 1 1/2 years off of gluten, but a lot of her symptoms are still mysterious. Hey, pray for her. We desire to trust the Lord through this year. She desires to be able to focus better on her schoolwork without the fog and pain that she normally walks through.
Daniel is now a high schooler! He has joined the AFJROTC. Uniform pictures will have to be posted shortly. He also recently learned that in order to join the Navy, he must have a 3.0 or better. Since he has a clean slate in high school, he has been working very hard to keep on top of his work. He even looks for other students that excel to help him when he's struggling. That means that he's not so needy of tutoring at home, which has made my job easy! Funny thing, Daniel joined beginner band, even though he has no experience. He told the band director he plans to play the drums. Talk about faith! So now we're looking for a used drum set and a teacher. I think he'll take off with this one. He has a natural ear for rhythm and is hitting the drum pad daily. He also has found a new love in tumbling. He's been taking private lessons and just graduated to a group tumbling class. He loves it.
Nicholas entered 7th grade and joined tackle Football for the first time. He left this morning (on Friday) wearing his jersey. He gets out the playbook regularly to study, and talks all the time about what he's learning. For a little guy, I think he packs a big punch, so I'm curious to see how he does in the game. Here's the thing I love about Nicholas. He comes home and does his assignments ahead of time. I saw a note from the teacher yesterday to say that a paper was due, and when I read the assignment, I realized that Nicholas had done it earlier this week, printed it and had it ready in his binder. So cool!
Anthony loves taking 5th grade Chorus with Mr. Gunderlock, who also leads worship at Sovereign Grace Church. And he can't wait for the local track club to get started. He plans to start running so he can join a team when he gets older. He's still working on making his bed in the morning and keeping up with his socks. This is the one kid that I walk around after. He always leaves his mark!
Lastly, this year also marks the expansion of our household. ( No, we're not having a baby!) But we did acquire 7 new inhabitants. Well, 8 if you count the dog. Nick's sister and clan are sharing the home with us and it has been a blast. Everyone gets along well, and with our families sharing the expenses and responsibilities, the load around here is quite manageable. We have three seniors in the house! Looks like we just may need a big party come May!
I'm glad for the end of the busy season, but also can't wait to get him back in for spring training. I'm resisting the pleas for wrestling and lacrosse right now. The amazing news is that all the 7th grade team did well in their academics throughout the three months. Nicholas has all high B's and A's. Last year, during a talk the principal gave at the elementary school, the students were all encouraged to be active in some school related extra curricular activity, such as sports, or chorus, or ROTC, or a club. Research shows that students who participate in these activities actually do better in school and are more likely to finish well.
