Matthew's Last Few Weeks of School

The fifth graders finished with a lot of fun at Cornerstone. They had a class field trip to a trampoline park, and their last ever "Fantastic Friday" was swimming and playing basketball at Kent State. 

In the last week of school, Monday was the awards ceremony. Matthew's fruit of the spirit award was "Faithfulness". Matthew also had the honor of receiving the character award for his class this year. He was very surprised and was kind of shaking his head as he went up front to receive it. He told me later that there were two or three other students in his class that he thought were more deserving. For an 11-year-old boy who can sometimes act like a "bro", I was proud of him for having humility and for being able to recognize good character in those around him. 

Regardless of whether he felt he deserved it, several teachers and staff had kind things to say to me afterward. And his classroom teacher wrote in his end-of-year evaluation: "Matthew is a thoughtful, conscientious student; he works well with others, and he is developing and displaying leadership qualities....He is friendly, humble, and helpful to both adults and students."

Tuesday was field day. 

Matthew is the one in the middle. He and his friend Marshall look very similar in pictures, especially with the sunglasses!

While the younger grades were running their races, the fifth grade boys lined themselves up along the edge of the track. They would stand quiet and still until the runner got close to them, then they would all burst into cheers and applause at the same time. I don't know where they get these ideas, but they are pretty funny! Soon other kids joined in, too. 

Wednesday was a "normal" school day. Matthew spent most of his day in the younger classrooms, helping the teachers with cleaning and packing. 

Thursday was the class picnic. Like most of our spring has been, it was rainy, cold, and windy! Two amazingly talented moms had done a ton of work to make it a really special time for the kids, even with the terrible weather. 

I made the cupcakes.

There was a lot of tape, zip ties, and glue gun involved to keep the decorations from blowing away!

She had all the parents send her pictures of the kids throughout elementary school. They loved looking at them all!

Finally, Friday was graduation! But I'll make that a separate post...

Hannah School

 Hannah had some big events with school in the past two weeks. The eighth graders did an overnight trip to Washington DC. She said it was more boring (which I interpreted to mean "more educational") than last year's trip to Chicago. And it sounds like some of their stops had some complications. But it was still a road trip with her friends! When asked what the best part was, Hannah said "the hotel room". They saw several monuments and memorials, the US Naval academy, and Arlington National Cemetery, among other things. 

They returned home Friday night, then many of the kids had to be up early the next morning for the league track meet. Like she has for almost all of the meets this season, Hannah was the anchor for the 4x800 and the top runner for her team in the 1600 (mile). She didn't have any PR's, but it was a great finish to her last middle school track meet. 

Last week they had the color run fundraiser at school. 

Today was awards. She got one for having straight A's, one for Spanish, and one for another exploratory class. Many of her friends were recognized for the academic accomplishments, character, and citizenship. I love that she has such a great group of girls who support each other. 

Tomorrow she has a service project. Friday is their class picnic and last day. And then she'll be a high schooler! (She has also been working hard in soccer, but I'll wait to post about that once the season is finished.)

Sports Report

 

Matthew had his first soccer game of the season last night. They played a talented team and finished with a tie. Matthew worked hard and even had a tough shot in traffic that just barely missed wide. 

Hannah has a new coach this year and a team that is diverse in several ways. They have a variety of ability levels. (Many have never played soccer before. A few have played for one season or maybe some recreational. Only four of them have played together regularly.) There is also a variety of cultures and languages among the parents. The language barrier has posed some challenges, but so far everyone has been patient and gracious with each other. 

Hannah and her friend Kylie have really stepped up their leadership. Throughout the games we heard Kylie directing the girls playing defense and Hannah doing the same for the offense - explaining penalties, showing them where to stand for a corner kick, and making sure they knew how to do a throw-in. Every time someone was subbed in, Hannah and Kylie would make sure they knew where to go. 

Hannah looked amazing in their first game! She was dribbling through multiple defenders, making great passes, and sprinting all over the field! That game finished in a 4-4 tie. They played another game on Tuesday night against a much better team. Although Hannah's team put forth a lot of effort they only got one goal and lost by a lot. But that one goal was a left-footed shot by Hannah!!

One of Hannah's sweet friends came to watch them play.

In track Hannah has primarily been running the 4x800 relay and the 1600 (mile). Despite terrible weather and juggling two sports, she's been performing well (in my opinion). She's a little frustrated with her mile time and hoping that she can get a PR in one of her last two meets next week. 

This was a rare meet where the sun was shining.

Most of the meets have been like this one - 40 degrees and wet. The kids all walk around wrapped in blankets until they have to warm up for their event. 

Micah has run a variety of events this season, but his focus has been on the 800. He keeps whittling his time down and is hoping to run the 4x800 relay and the open 800 during the post-season competitions.