I can't believe we made it through half of the school year. Time really has flown by, and while things are very different at school, the kids are still learning in person, which I am grateful for. And it's so crazy to be an actual part of that learning this year; I feel like I have settled into my role as teacher quite nicely. I teach both boys, and it's great getting to see them on a fairly regular basis during the school days.
Rory is doing very well in second grade. He got straight A's both quarters, and he earned the Top Reader prize for having the most AR points for both quarters as well. He's developing into quite the little reader, which makes me so happy.
Riley is doing well in fifth grade as well. Math was a bit of a struggle for him at first (he basically skipped 5th grade math and went straight to the 6th grade book; it's how honors classes are done at SCR), but he got a new teacher (Mrs. E) in October and she's awesome. She's also his homeroom teacher. He's made some silly mistakes in some of his subjects, but he's ultimately doing great. He LOVES science with Mrs. Hite, and he is doing well with his AR goals as well. He made Beta Honor Roll for the first quarter and Alpha Honor Roll for the second quarter. So proud of him.
Riley got to celebrate his 10th birthday at school; he brought Yorks for all of his classmates and teachers. And he had to design and create a shield for a religion project.
And me? I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know so many kids in so many different grade levels. I teach PK3 through 5th grade and each class is so unique. The littles are adorable, the elementary kids are highly entertaining, and the older ones are super smart. It's been a lot of work, but it's been fun.
I also had to invest in lots more masks, and I can now say that my mask game is pretty strong. I was even gifted four masks from a SCR parent since I teach both of her kids. So kind. Wearing a mask every day for 7 hours isn't ideal, especially in the August heat, but I've gotten fairly used to it.
We held our first ever virtual pep rally on September 11, and it was awesome. Second grade ended up winning the spirit stick! And school pictures were on September 18. I got to take one too!
SCR Spirit Week was September 28 - October 2. There was a different theme each day, and we dressed accordingly: Marvel Monday, Tie-Dye Tuesday, Walt Disney Wednesday, Holiday Thursday, and Football Friday. So much fun!
Second grade went to mass on October 6, and Rory read the introduction. He stumbled a bit but recovered quite nicely and did a great job. Then they were unfortunately quarantined towards the end of October. They followed a daily schedule and logged onto Google Meet three times a day to continue their learning. I did my job in computer class and prepared them pretty darn well; the teachers said it went really smoothly!
I assisted on St. Nick's Day on December 4 and helped film the Christmas play on December 8. Jessica's PK4 class acted out the play and older kids did voiceover. It was precious.
Second grade celebrated the 80th day of school on December 14. Rory dressed up as John Bender from the Breakfast Club. He nailed it! Then they celebrated finishing the chapter book Lonesome Cafe by having a pizza party on December 16.
The faculty was treated to a wonderful week of Christmas surprises right before the break. We got coffee on Monday, fuzzy Christmas socks on Tuesday, White Barn hand soap on Wednesday, and a catered lunch on Thursday. So nice!
The boys brought their teachers their Christmas gifts on Thursday, December 17. I put together cozy little Christmas boxes for each of the middle school teachers and gave Alyssa and Abbey cookies and wine.
Friday, December 18 was the last half day before Christmas break. I got to hang out with Mrs. Ledet's 5th grade homeroom because she was out that day. We watched mass and the Christmas play video, and then the kids had their Christmas treats and played a game to get their Christmas gifts. The other 5th grade homeroom (Riley's class) popped in at one point and surprised us with a Nerf gun attack, putting one of their gifts to good use. Such a fun way to start off the Christmas holiday!
What a first half of the year. But we survived it!
