ᒪOᗯEᔕ ᕼEᖇOEᔕ

We got to help Jake with a community project on Saturday. A brand new charter school, which is practically located in our back yard, needed a fence around the playground and their outdoor sound garden. Jake worked with them and decided to donate and help build the fence. We sure did luck out with the mid March weather. Although it was a little breezy, the weather was gorgeous and in the mid 60s. 

I was positive the boys would get bored and go home fairly early...seeings how we were a short hop, skip, and jump away from the house, but they were eager to stay outside and help out. Reece had a birthday party to escape away to, but Riley was a rock star. He stayed out most of the day with us and was a big help. I was so proud of him. 

4Ꮖh ᎶᏒᎪᎠᎬ musᎥÇᎪᏞ

Reece had his 4th grade musical. It was a nice blend of classic American and Mexican songs. They sang in both English and Spanish. They had a couple more current top 40 songs as well. The music was very fun, and easy to enjoy. 

Now here is a little funny...the music teacher stepped aside at the very beginning for a "Kodak moment"...and this is what my goofball did. I was slightly embarrassed, but this is what Reece does. It probably didn't help that he was front and center AND next to his best friend. Oh the joy of making memories. 

ᖴᖇᗩᗰE ᗯOᖇTᕼY

Reece brought this home from school...I'm pretty impressed. 

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Sadly Reece's basketball season came to the end. They lost in the first round of the tournament this week. The one thing he said when we were on our way home after the last game was, "I'm sad it's over." All I could say was that I was sad too. Till next year...

Here is a picture after he stole the ball and he actually made a jump shot ...my camera fingers were too slow to get a picture of him shooting. 

Back row, left to right: Ryan, Reece, Noah, Cole, Andy, Gus, coach Heisel

Front row: Sebastian, Ryu, Zander, and Brady.

And a goofy picture...I only caught the end, I didn't know this was coming and this was the only shot I got. Thanks for a fun season boys!

ᒪIᖴE ᒪEᔕᔕOᑎ

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Second quarter report cards came home...a month ago. I've been putting this off, obviously.

At the end of the day, they are both doing just as well as they were the first quarter. Nothing much has changed, so I will keep this shorter. Instead I will just share the nice comments from their teachers.

Let's start with Riley...

• Riley- Great job this quarter! Thank you for your hard work and dedication. ~Ms. Walters, Language Arts
• Great job in math overall! Please continue to work hard and practice, practice, practice!! ~Mrs. Loebach, 7th Math 
• Riley continues to be a good worker and makes nice progress in science. ~Mr. Spencer, 7th Science
• I enjoyed having you in class. ~Ms. Cook, Digital Media

 Riley's actual conference was very short, sweet and to the point. There were no issues to discuss, and Riley was very happy with how he has been doing in Humanities. Lastly, Riley averaged a 3.7 in his "Habit of a Scholar" grading system...pretty impressive for a 7th grader. So proud of him.

***

Next up, Reece...

• Reece is an awesome student. He is always listening to instruction and doing his best to achieve to the best of his abilities. Reece reads well and is capable of catching onto things very quickly. Reece seems to take learning seriously and goes out of his way to complete assignments to the best of abilities. Reece demonstrated strong growth on his NWEA reading test, which is very exciting. I really enjoy his motivation to learn and believe he will do very well in school over the years to come. I have no concerns with his reading ability at this time. Good job! ~Mr. Malone, 4th Literacy
• Reece is doing very well in math at this time. Reece has demonstrated that he can work through complex math problems. He seems to enjoy problem solving and multistep problems. Reece is very focused in class and demonstrates many strong qualities that will help him achieve at a high level in math. Reece is a hard worker and is doing his best in class. Good job, Reece! ~Mr. Malone, 4th Math
• Muy bien! What a great student! ~Ms. Houchin, 4th World Languages

Reece's conference was the opposite of Riley's... well, it was sweet and mostly to the point, but not short. Mr. Malone has no concerns, as you can tell from his kind comments above...he is just a very thorough teacher. He is trying to help Reece with his writing. Just trying to organize paragraphs...if that's the biggest concern, I will take it. Not implying that writing isn't important, but writing is a tough skill to truly learn, and I know in time Reece will figure it out. 

Mr. Malone was surprised that we have issues with Reece wanting to give up on his math homework pretty quickly at home. He seems to bring it to us for help before he has really tried to work it out himself. This is the opposite of his habits at school... Mr. Malone runs a tight shift. He doesn't allow down time, which helps behavior issues in the class. Reece can handle it, but by the time school is out, he is done. Or at least that's my theory. I very much appreciate and respect what Mr. Malone has done. We found out that before he started teaching here in Colorado, he actually taught teachers how to teach. He is very talented and really has a passion for what he does. He seems to be the perfect teacher. We've talked about how the standards of today's 4th graders (really all grades) and much higher than the standards we had while growing up. We also mentioned that the pressure on these kids is real. The biggest fear is to have a student like Reece, who loves school and loves to learn, feel the pressure and get burned out on education and learning. Find the balance is tricky, and sadly most of the people in the high positions, have never been in a classroom and just flat out don't get it. I could rant on and on, but I'll stop here... I'm very happy Reece has Mr. Malone and hopes he has more teachers like him in his future. My ending note... Reece is averaging a perfect 4.0 in his "Habits of a Scholar" grading system. Very impressive! (You can refer back to my November 9th posts if you want a refresher on the "Habits of a Scholar" system.) Keep it up, Reece, but remember to not let the pressure get to you. Just do the best you can, we are proud of you no matter what!

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I think you have to be on a computer to watch this... but here I am, bragging on Riley. Can you believe he had never picked up a guitar before mid October? I can not wait to watch this talent continue to develop! ( Blogger hates long videos, I had to use my shorter one on here.)