School

Today Sarah took her AP Psychology Test!  Let’s hope all the studying paid-off!  🙂  She didn’t think it was too hard, but has no idea on how she may have done.  We’re all keeping our fingers crossed!

Tonight, we had our 7th (I think) annual Teacher Appreciation night!  Brittany and Zach had school teachers there, and Brittany and Sarah had one of their Seminary teachers there.  It was a crazy time and we wish that more teachers could have come, but we had a great time!  We had dinner for them, and then after that, the kids each presented their teacher(s) with a poem or other sort of work to honor them.

We then had cake (above), chatted for awhile longer, and sent them on their way with a hanging flower basket as a gift.  We LOVE doing this and look forward to each year when the time comes.  It’s actually kind-of funny because we have had so many teachers over throughout the years, that there are some who ask us when it’s coming up and “hint” at how much they loved the evening and appreciated the gesture from our family!  🙂

Thank you to all who came and to all those teachers who influence our children’s lives for good!  You deserve WAY more kudos than you get!

Today, Sarah took the ACT for the second time.  She has been studying very hard and taking all kinds of practice tests.  She really wants to get at least a 30.  She said that this one was a little bit easier than the last one.  Hmmm…  I wonder if it has anything to do with the increased amount of studying!  🙂  She’ll get her results back in a couple of weeks and we’ll see!  She is also planning on taking the test in October (Youth Conference was scheduled over the June date so she can’t take it again then) and hopefully even increase over what she gets from today’s efforts!

Good luck Sarah!  🙂

Tonight was the Gombert Elementary School Science Fair.  Zach had been wanting to do the Science Fair for some time now, so we worked with him on a project that he thought was really cool!  The title of his project was “Solid or Liquid?  A Study in Non-Newtonian Suspension.”  Pretty fancy, huh? 🙂  He made Oobleck (like in the Dr. Seuss book) and had a blast!

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 1/2 C. Corn Starch
• 1 C. Water
• Food Color (optional)

Mix the ingredients and play with the mixture. When”pushed” together, the mixture will appear dry and solid; as it is let go, it flows like a smooth liquid.

He had a blast slowly sticking his fingers in it and making it feel liquid, then pounding it with his fist and making it feel solid, etc.

We took a bunch of pictures and then printed them and the titles and text he wanted to print and then he cut everything out and pasted it on his backboard.  He got a lab coat from the costume box and used my safety goggles and he was ready to go!  It was so cute to watch him explain Oobleck and non-newtonian fluids to the judges.  He got pretty messy (and so did anyone that came by) from playing in the oobleck in its “soft” form.  🙂

He had a wonderful time.  He is really into science right now and loves to do experiments.  This was no exception.  He received a ribbon and certificate for his efforts which he was very proud of…

Great job Zach!  Keep up the great work and one day you may become a great scientist!  🙂

This morning, I took Mike and Pat to the Naperville train station and dropped them off.  They took the Amtrak train downtown and then to Quincy, IL, where they rented another car and drove to Nauvoo.  They’ll stay there for a couple of days and then drive to St. Louis and fly home.  What a great time we had with them.  They were great with our kids and Ben absolutely loved Mike!  He took to him from minute 1.  🙂  We sure appreciate their visit!

Tonight I went to the final major meeting of the District 204 Technology Strategy Committee, where all the sub-groups presented their findings and we discussed ways to merge all these ideas into a cohesive strategy for technology in the district.  I have had a very enjoyable time participating in this and they asked me if I would continue to be available to discuss ideas with, which of course, I am!  As part of my performance metrics for this year at work, I wanted to give back to the community, and this has been a wonderful way to do so.

Tonight was Sarah’s spring band concert.  I can’t believe it!  I didn’t have a conflict so I was able to go!  She did a great job and played her heart out!  She loves playing both the flute and piccolo.  I’m not sure how she can even play the piccolo the thing is so small!  🙂

Way to go, Sarah!  Keep up the great work!

Tonight, Zach had his Gombert Elementary 1st Grade Play, “Once Upon a Lilly Pad” which he was VERY excited about.  He got to dress in a green shirt to be a frog, and we all went to see him.  The lighting was low so it was hard to get good pictures, but a couple are posted below.  He did pretty good in controlling his urges to goof around and talk during when he was supposed to be singing.  🙂

He had a part in the program as well, which he said loud and proud!  It was really cute.  All the kids did really well and the musical turned out just great!  Zach wanted to be rewarded for his efforts, so we went and got frosties from Wendy’s for his hard work.  🙂

Today was the District 204 Solo and Ensemble Festival.  Sarah and Brittany participated in it (Kirstyn’s is later) and they did a great job.  We are so proud of them.  There were no rankings given out, however.  The normal area Solo and Ensemble Festival that they have yearly was canceled because they couldn’t find a school in the area to host it.  🙁  Since I was at work, Angela got to go to see their performances.

Tonight, I took Sarah and Brittany to the Solo and Ensemble Honors Concert.  This is a performance by a selection of the top musicians in the district.  All we could say was WOW!  Some of the performances just blew us away!  The ones that were especially impressive were the clarinet player, a couple of the strings ensembles.  We sure have a huge amount of talent in this district.  I guess that’s why one of our district’s high schools receives a Grammy every year.  🙂

In addition to that, the laundry room is finished!

The kids really love their lockers and couldn’t wait to get their stuff in them (Angela and I couldn’t either)!  🙂  Our laundry room looks SOOOO much better now!