Last Day of School

Today is the last day of school. We have seen the conclusion of 9th and 7th grade, and quite frankly, we are all happy to see this school year come to an end. Covid-19 restrictions of two-days-a-week school (first quarter), followed by four-days-a-week school (second quarter), followed by five-days-a-week school but still short days (all the rest), mask-wearing until the last week, on-line assignments and the constant use of Chromebooks, restricted activities, and lousy sack lunches made the whole thing nearly intolerable. Brandt and Blythe both struggled academically for parts of the year, doing well in some classes and failing others. Far too much of the school year felt like lots of independent study classes for people not yet really capable of managing any classes, much less lots of work they needed to be motivated to complete on their own. I can not count the number of times I ranted about how awful it was all going. But they both survived and we have been guaranteed that next year will be back to normal, with no masks, full days, and all activities. 

There were good parts of school for both the kids. When I asked Brandt what the best parts of 9th grade were, he said, "All of it." He wasn't thinking clearly. But he did elaborate and say, "Tech Crew, teachers, high school, not getting enough sleep (said sarcastically), walking home from school, getting fitter in PE." All these are good things, and I'm glad his freshman year was good for him, in spite of all the challenges.

Blythe's best parts of 7th grade were making new friends, wearing hoodies practically every day, her awesome teachers, and participating in "A Night of Broadway." She was disappointed that she didn't get to have a locker, but she's hopeful she'll be able to have one next year. I think 7th grade had a lot of drama, with friends, homework, and trying to figure out where she fits into life. It was turbulent. But she survived (and so did we) and next year will be better.

 

To celebrate the conclusion of school, we went to get churros at a newish churro place downtown. We took Mikayla's kids with us. It was an adventure! The churros were delicious and universally liked. 

Here's to a year completed and the promise of a better to come!

Cora finished kindergarten

Brick finished second grade

Kal finished his first year of pre-school

Just for fun and a chuckled years from now, I'm going to include a copy of Brandt and Blythe's grades for the year. In some classes, grades went from the sublime to the ridiculous, or vice versa, but both of the kids came away with a decent enough GPA. Brandt got a 3.629 and Blythe got a 3.38. Zions Bank has a program called Pays for As. They will give a student $1 for each A they earn, and we took advantage of this. Brandt got $15 and Blythe got $19. She had more classes than Brandt, so his complaint that it wasn't fair that she got more money held absolutely no water. But just to sweeten their efforts, I gave them an extra $2 for each A, so Brandt made another $30 and Blythe another $38. 

How does one get an A the first term of Painting, but an I (that's a failing grade) the second term?

One just doesn't do any painting in class. 

That's how.

(I'm shaking my head--again.)

But a failing grade to a B+ in Ancient Civilizations is terrific!