First 6 Weeks Is Over

Well, the first 6 weeks of the 2010/2011 school year is over. It's hard to believe the girls have been in school that long already. They got their report cards on Thursday and I must say that they did excellent! Rachel also got her TCAP results. (TCAP is the standardized test that all Tennessee students grades 3-8 must take each year.) TN changed the standards last year to make things tougher and as a result, scores are supposed to be lower. They've had all sorts of newspaper articles and stuff saying how low the scores were going to be. The Governor even wrote a letter to parents explaining why scores would be lower. I was a little worried Rachel's scores may take a little dip. However, she proved me wrong! She rocked the TCAP tests!!!

Our school uses the Accelerated Reader (AR) program as a way for students to read books, take tests, and earn points. Books are assigned a reading grade level and a point value. Kids are tested several times a year to determine their reading level, and then they're given a reading range of what level books they should be reading. Every 6 weeks they announce the top 10 AR point earners and then at the end of the year all students who earned 100 or more AR points get 100 point trophy and the top 3 point earners get special trophies. Last year, as a 3rd grader Rachel finished 2nd in the school with 453 AR points and Katelyn (as a first grader) finished 13th in the school with 175 AR points. Last week they announced the top 10 AR point earners for the first 6 weeks. Katelyn was 3rd in the school with over 50 points and Rachel was 1st with 101 points! Yes - my girls love to read!!! But let me say that they are well balanced and do more than just read. They are at church pretty much every time the doors are open; they sing in the kids choir and they're on the praise team; they both play sports (it just so happens to be soccer season right now, but they play most sports); they play outside with our neighbors Lily & Holly; they are in AWANA at church on Wednesday nights and both girls are always well ahead of where they're "supposed" to be in their AWANA books; we play cards & board games at home; we like to ride bikes and go swimming; they help with the laundry; they play like kids should play; they excel in ALL of their school subjects; they participate in the science, social studies, and technology fairs at school. So yes - they like to read and they do read quite a bit, but no, that's not all they do!