Report cards, book report, weather report, pre-holiday report
We've known all week that the temperatures were going to drop today, which they did. Rain was forecast for late afternoon/evening, but it didn't sound like snow was too likely, so I didn't think much of it. Except it snowed for several hours this evening! It only stuck to parked cars and sidewalks, definitely not the roads, and never got more than "heavy dusting" but still - it was both delightful and horrifying to be dealing with snow already. (Also horrifying: Santa arrived at the local mall last Friday - Nov 7 - and tonight I passed SEVEN houses with Christmas lights up and running already. It's still two weeks 'til Thanksgiving!)
First quarter report cards came home today, the first time I can recall that both schools handed them out on the same day.
MiniPlu got straight As, not a given as she has sometimes earned a B/B+ in Math, so we're very pleased and proud. Yes, she squeaked out the A- in Math by the skin of her teeth, but, hey, she did it. She had three A+s: German, Gym (which hardly counts, but, ok, at least it shows she's putting forth effort) and Literacy, plus regular As for Social Studies and Science. Two Os for art and "citizenship", and a single behavioral comment which appeared next to every class ("positive/cooperative attitude"). Grand total: 4.05 GPA. She made Honor Roll, of course. Very pleased - good start to the year.
Our feelings on Two's report card are ... mixed. On the one hand, for the three main academic subjects (Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic ;) ) he got straight Bs. a) He hasn't earned a B (or number equivalent of 3) in Writing ... possibly ever. Or not since, like, first grade. It's always been Cs/2s. So, yay, a B! On the other hand, I'm kind of scratching my head and wondering HOW he got a B, given that, of the four skills assessed, two of them were rated "1" (Below basic/inadequate performance) - for "conventions" (ie correct use of capitals, basic punctuation, that sort of thing) and "written work on demand" which definitely tends to suck. Still, in the past he scraped by with 2s for those sorts of things ("basic/marginal performance"). He did get a 3 for his written work over time and a 2 for spelling. How that all added up to a B and not a C, I have no idea, but I'm not going to look a gift horse grade in the mouth. :P
Reading also - of five assessed skills, four had 2s, and only one had a 3, and yet he pulled out a B for the overall grade. Math is the only one that made sense, with three 3s and only one 2, and, honestly, I'm somewhat amazed he got a B since he has, again, been doing badly on tests more often than not (sigh).
Science and Social Studies, which ARE taught but not as broadly or intensely as reading/writing/math, were As.
All the specialists (art, music, computers, library, gym) gave Ss; usually Two gets a single O somewhere each quarter, so this is a little disappointing, but at least he's doing ok. Of the behavioral marks, most are checks (= fine but not stellar), with a plus for "completes homework" and ... two minuses. One is for "writes legibly" which is totally deserved. The other is for ... "behaves appropriately". We're ALL kind of baffled by this, because he earned checks for "respects others" and "follows school rules" (and Two has said that he hasn't gotten in trouble for anything all year) so what sort of inappropriate behavior is he doing that still somehow is respectful and rule-abiding? The only thing I can think of is that maybe this reflects him being easily distracted? Not always correcting his own homework like he's supposed to? I need to email the homeroom teacher and ask, because we're kind of confused.
The reading teacher also included a report on recent standardized testing that the kids do periodically throughout the year to monitor their reading progress. Although Two had to take the test twice this week, due to distraction issues, the second time he jumped up 40 points (she actually swung by the library on Tues to tell me this, to bolster both us AND Two) - thus doubling his percentage standing from the 3rd percentile to the 6th percentile. Yay?
So, kind of a mixed bag. We'll see what the teachers say during conferences in a couple weeks. (Not going to bother asking for any conferences for MiniPlu - she's clearly doing fine, aside from being regularly grossed out in science class.)
Speaking of MiniPlu, there was some sad news when she came home from school today. One of her new friends (not really past "acquaintance" level yet, but she'd like to get to know the girl better because she seems nice) - her dad just died in a car accident. The only local fatality I'd read on our newspaper's website recently was of a tractor-trailer driver who lost control of his vehicle on a highway interchange ramp yesterday, flipping the cab over and getting killed in the process. I pulled up the article and asked MiniPlu if the last name sounded familiar ... and it did. :(
And speaking of sad news, one of Will's coworkers - not in his department but someone he considers a friend - was just diagnosed with colon cancer, will be undergoing surgery next week and will be off work until at least January. Hope she recovers well, but, in the meantime, Will and I both agreed that this is a spectacularly sucky time of year to be undergoing cancer treatment. (Also, a friend of my mom's died this week from complications due to a fall - she'd fractured her neck vertebrae.)
Onward now to the book review, for Mercedes Lackey's latest Valdemar installation, Closer to Home:
While it's clear that Lackey's ability to tell a truly riveting story have gone down in recent years, I'm attached enough to the Valdemar series that I'll read pretty much anything she writes for it. I just accept, going in, that the quality isn't what it was for earlier trilogies. Having said that, this book is, overall, a reasonably entertaining diversion, but it definitely had its flaws or things that I wasn't crazy about (even if they weren't flaws).
I wish I had a clearer feeling as to how old Mags and his friends are at this point. I'm guessing maybe 18-20ish, but I'm not sure; I no longer remember how old he was in Foundation, when we meet him. But with a lot of talk of marriage and such, it would make me happier if I had a better sense of that.
Anyway, Mags' girlfriend, Amily, finally gets Chosen, which I had kind of suspected would happen once she got her leg fixed, but the way it happened is a little contrived. Also, I wasn't crazy about the fact that they put her in Whites immediately. Obviously, being the daughter of Kings Own meant she'd been watching Heralds at work all her life, and she'd probably gotten some regular schooling with the newly-established Collegium system. However, I found it hard to believe there weren't ANY classes she might still need. Surely there must've been some areas where she hadn't needed to study, or things her father might not have been able to share or explain, since she wasn't a Herald/Trainee at the time?
I liked how Mags established how own gang of child spies down in Haven. The situation he rescued them from, and the situation he put them in under his own wing, were clearly night and day and the kids were appropriate appreciative. However, it still counts as living in near-poverty by most standards, and once he revealed to everyone that he was actually a Herald, I had to wonder why Aunty Minda and the kids didn't get a little resentful that - since he clearly had the means to do so - their living standards were still so basic.
And, finally, although Violetta was clearly young and naive, I admit to presuming, at the beginning of the story, that there was going to be a Romeo and Juliet romance between her and Brand, as children of feuding families. However, such was not the case, as Brand proved to have a nasty streak he kept hidden until the end of the story, and Violetta never stopped being a childlike idiot, and apparently I'm enough of a romantic that I was disappointed in the lack of R&J romance. I'm hoping that, maybe, we'll see more of her in subsequent books, with some indication that the books Amily lent her finally take root and encourage Violetta to turn into a capable person. Heck, maybe she'll even get Chosen someday.
But among my complaints, I still enjoyed being "in" Valdemar again, and enjoyed reading the story, even if it was flawed and fluffy. Honestly, the only really BIG complaint I had was that the blurb is misleading! "There is a secret, treacherous plot within the royal court to destroy the Heralds." At no point was there any indication of any of this. None, whatsoever. All I can do is assume it'll show up in later books in this series.
MniPlu is nearly done with the second Divergent book, although she's said that the end of the book, which is supposed to be the most exciting part, is boring. Trying to prod her through the last 25 pages. In the meantime, she's plowing through the first Hunger Games book and loving it; I've given her a fairly thorough rundown of the first two books over the past few months (she keeps coming up with questions) so she's not freaked out by some of the violence and such. So far, so good. Dystopian YA seems to be her "thing" right now. I'm delighted she's found something she WANTS to read, and, not only that, is tackling books much larger than she's usually managed. I just hope it lasts. :-P Anyone have any good dystopian YA to recommend?
We now return you to your regularly scheduled life.
First quarter report cards came home today, the first time I can recall that both schools handed them out on the same day.
MiniPlu got straight As, not a given as she has sometimes earned a B/B+ in Math, so we're very pleased and proud. Yes, she squeaked out the A- in Math by the skin of her teeth, but, hey, she did it. She had three A+s: German, Gym (which hardly counts, but, ok, at least it shows she's putting forth effort) and Literacy, plus regular As for Social Studies and Science. Two Os for art and "citizenship", and a single behavioral comment which appeared next to every class ("positive/cooperative attitude"). Grand total: 4.05 GPA. She made Honor Roll, of course. Very pleased - good start to the year.
Our feelings on Two's report card are ... mixed. On the one hand, for the three main academic subjects (Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic ;) ) he got straight Bs. a) He hasn't earned a B (or number equivalent of 3) in Writing ... possibly ever. Or not since, like, first grade. It's always been Cs/2s. So, yay, a B! On the other hand, I'm kind of scratching my head and wondering HOW he got a B, given that, of the four skills assessed, two of them were rated "1" (Below basic/inadequate performance) - for "conventions" (ie correct use of capitals, basic punctuation, that sort of thing) and "written work on demand" which definitely tends to suck. Still, in the past he scraped by with 2s for those sorts of things ("basic/marginal performance"). He did get a 3 for his written work over time and a 2 for spelling. How that all added up to a B and not a C, I have no idea, but I'm not going to look a gift horse grade in the mouth. :P
Reading also - of five assessed skills, four had 2s, and only one had a 3, and yet he pulled out a B for the overall grade. Math is the only one that made sense, with three 3s and only one 2, and, honestly, I'm somewhat amazed he got a B since he has, again, been doing badly on tests more often than not (sigh).
Science and Social Studies, which ARE taught but not as broadly or intensely as reading/writing/math, were As.
All the specialists (art, music, computers, library, gym) gave Ss; usually Two gets a single O somewhere each quarter, so this is a little disappointing, but at least he's doing ok. Of the behavioral marks, most are checks (= fine but not stellar), with a plus for "completes homework" and ... two minuses. One is for "writes legibly" which is totally deserved. The other is for ... "behaves appropriately". We're ALL kind of baffled by this, because he earned checks for "respects others" and "follows school rules" (and Two has said that he hasn't gotten in trouble for anything all year) so what sort of inappropriate behavior is he doing that still somehow is respectful and rule-abiding? The only thing I can think of is that maybe this reflects him being easily distracted? Not always correcting his own homework like he's supposed to? I need to email the homeroom teacher and ask, because we're kind of confused.
The reading teacher also included a report on recent standardized testing that the kids do periodically throughout the year to monitor their reading progress. Although Two had to take the test twice this week, due to distraction issues, the second time he jumped up 40 points (she actually swung by the library on Tues to tell me this, to bolster both us AND Two) - thus doubling his percentage standing from the 3rd percentile to the 6th percentile. Yay?
So, kind of a mixed bag. We'll see what the teachers say during conferences in a couple weeks. (Not going to bother asking for any conferences for MiniPlu - she's clearly doing fine, aside from being regularly grossed out in science class.)
Speaking of MiniPlu, there was some sad news when she came home from school today. One of her new friends (not really past "acquaintance" level yet, but she'd like to get to know the girl better because she seems nice) - her dad just died in a car accident. The only local fatality I'd read on our newspaper's website recently was of a tractor-trailer driver who lost control of his vehicle on a highway interchange ramp yesterday, flipping the cab over and getting killed in the process. I pulled up the article and asked MiniPlu if the last name sounded familiar ... and it did. :(
And speaking of sad news, one of Will's coworkers - not in his department but someone he considers a friend - was just diagnosed with colon cancer, will be undergoing surgery next week and will be off work until at least January. Hope she recovers well, but, in the meantime, Will and I both agreed that this is a spectacularly sucky time of year to be undergoing cancer treatment. (Also, a friend of my mom's died this week from complications due to a fall - she'd fractured her neck vertebrae.)
Onward now to the book review, for Mercedes Lackey's latest Valdemar installation, Closer to Home:
While it's clear that Lackey's ability to tell a truly riveting story have gone down in recent years, I'm attached enough to the Valdemar series that I'll read pretty much anything she writes for it. I just accept, going in, that the quality isn't what it was for earlier trilogies. Having said that, this book is, overall, a reasonably entertaining diversion, but it definitely had its flaws or things that I wasn't crazy about (even if they weren't flaws).
I wish I had a clearer feeling as to how old Mags and his friends are at this point. I'm guessing maybe 18-20ish, but I'm not sure; I no longer remember how old he was in Foundation, when we meet him. But with a lot of talk of marriage and such, it would make me happier if I had a better sense of that.
Anyway, Mags' girlfriend, Amily, finally gets Chosen, which I had kind of suspected would happen once she got her leg fixed, but the way it happened is a little contrived. Also, I wasn't crazy about the fact that they put her in Whites immediately. Obviously, being the daughter of Kings Own meant she'd been watching Heralds at work all her life, and she'd probably gotten some regular schooling with the newly-established Collegium system. However, I found it hard to believe there weren't ANY classes she might still need. Surely there must've been some areas where she hadn't needed to study, or things her father might not have been able to share or explain, since she wasn't a Herald/Trainee at the time?
I liked how Mags established how own gang of child spies down in Haven. The situation he rescued them from, and the situation he put them in under his own wing, were clearly night and day and the kids were appropriate appreciative. However, it still counts as living in near-poverty by most standards, and once he revealed to everyone that he was actually a Herald, I had to wonder why Aunty Minda and the kids didn't get a little resentful that - since he clearly had the means to do so - their living standards were still so basic.
And, finally, although Violetta was clearly young and naive, I admit to presuming, at the beginning of the story, that there was going to be a Romeo and Juliet romance between her and Brand, as children of feuding families. However, such was not the case, as Brand proved to have a nasty streak he kept hidden until the end of the story, and Violetta never stopped being a childlike idiot, and apparently I'm enough of a romantic that I was disappointed in the lack of R&J romance. I'm hoping that, maybe, we'll see more of her in subsequent books, with some indication that the books Amily lent her finally take root and encourage Violetta to turn into a capable person. Heck, maybe she'll even get Chosen someday.
But among my complaints, I still enjoyed being "in" Valdemar again, and enjoyed reading the story, even if it was flawed and fluffy. Honestly, the only really BIG complaint I had was that the blurb is misleading! "There is a secret, treacherous plot within the royal court to destroy the Heralds." At no point was there any indication of any of this. None, whatsoever. All I can do is assume it'll show up in later books in this series.
MniPlu is nearly done with the second Divergent book, although she's said that the end of the book, which is supposed to be the most exciting part, is boring. Trying to prod her through the last 25 pages. In the meantime, she's plowing through the first Hunger Games book and loving it; I've given her a fairly thorough rundown of the first two books over the past few months (she keeps coming up with questions) so she's not freaked out by some of the violence and such. So far, so good. Dystopian YA seems to be her "thing" right now. I'm delighted she's found something she WANTS to read, and, not only that, is tackling books much larger than she's usually managed. I just hope it lasts. :-P Anyone have any good dystopian YA to recommend?
We now return you to your regularly scheduled life.