The girls and I have been back to school for 2 weeks now. Tomorrow is the first day of an actual full week of classes. The first week started with an early-release day and then we had Labor Day last week. The district must have thought it would be better to ease us all into the year!
So far, so good, though! Emma started 7th grade at North Junior High and Katy is officially a sophomore at Boise High. Hard to believe we no longer have a child in elementary school. Lucky for me, I will continue to experience the joys that come with working in one . . .
I have already met all of Emma's teachers-North held back-to-school night the first week of school. She has many of the same instructors as Katy had when she was a sevvie. Emma was nervous, but tells me she can easily open her locker now and has not been late to class, yet. Her electives are band and art and she has had a great attitude about all of her classes. Something new for our family--she is going to play team tennis! They start practice on September 25 and the season lasts through the end of October. We are so proud of everything she is doing. Oh, in case you did not notice, she is wearing mascara now. She is a beauty without it, but most of the girls are wearing it, so she is too--it is all about blending in with the crowd in 7th grade. Because of that, we finally went clothes shopping yesterday. Emma wanted to wait and see what most other girls were wearing. We ended up at Forever 21, one of Katy's go-to stores for trendy items. Emma barely fits into their stuff because she is still kind of small, but we managed to find a bag full of fun things to wear.
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| This was admissions day-they go in 2 weeks before to school to pick up their schedule and get their lockers. The locker was frustrating her--it took many attempts to get in, but she managed it and is now an expert! Her locker has been decorated since this picture. She papered the walls, made magnets to hold pictures, and then added a light, a shelf and a mirror. |
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| Out front on admissions day. |
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| First day of school. She was telling me to hurry up and not embarrass her. Good thing we were early-I was the only parent taking pictures!!! Katy made a seamless transition to Boise High. In Boise, high school starts in 9th grade, but you are still in the junior high building. You are official when you start 10th. She is attending the best high school in the state of Idaho. This school goes above and beyond to prepare those who want to attend college. Many graduates of Boise High are recruited to attend some pretty great schools--and not just for sports. Eric and I will attend back-to-school night this week and we are looking forward to meeting her teachers. Her electives are band, accelerated Spanish, and intro to health-related occupations. Band is "marching" band for the first quarter. She is not as thrilled about that but is warming up to the fact that she has to wear a pretty hideous uniform. She attends practice twice a week for 2 hours. They will perform at half-time during the home football games and end the season at a big drill competition at Boise State--on the blue turf! Then it is back to concert band with a few pep bands appearances during basketball season. This is her third year of Spanish and she seems to like it. She will take one more year and that should prepare her to test out of the lower levels in college. Her other classes are AP world history, chemistry, English, and algebra 2. All of them are the accelerated versions. In addition to school, she is volunteering at the Agency for New Americans. She was "working" about 5 hours a week this summer, but will drop to 2 during the school year. Another change--her social life has picked up speed. She spends time with friends away from our house. They like to head downtown and go to the movie theater or hang out at the frozen yogurt/ice cream shops. We did host a Dr. Who episode watching party this weekend. Only 7 friends. No big deal you say--well, this one had BOYS attending!! Just two boys, but one was Peter. You know-that Peter. He rode home from school with us since his parents were working their booth at Art in the Park. Talk about funny. Emma just found it all so amusing. She was keeping her eye on him. Our house is so small, nothing could get past us--at least we hope . . . I have always enjoyed being the host. I get to know the friends better and I am able to meet the parents when they drop off and pick up. Both girls have great friends so far. And Peter, he is still pretty socially awkward, so I do not expect any trouble---yet. Exclusive dating is not an option right now, so they can all have fun in a parent supervised setting for the time being!!
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First day of school--no picture in front of Boise High yet. Absolutely no parents take pictures at the building, or so I was told!!!
First day smiles!
