I cannot believe that it has been almost 2 months since my last post. Looking back at my iCalendar, one would certainly understand why!! We have been on the go with everything from birthday parties to surgery. So in similar fashion to a Christmas letter, I will write a little about everything =)
July was actually pretty low key. The girls had two week vacation in early July and we decided to take it easy. They had officially finished HALF of their first school year in Perth. At the end of the 1st semester, the school distributes reports. Up until this point, the only report card or grade we have received was at the end of the first term. It was a portfolio of the girls work, and did not include numerical or letter grades. In fact they will not be graded on the scale that we are used to ever. So the report was a written report on the girls progress thus far. For Morgan it was a 4 page document, and every teacher (classroom, music, pe, French, etc) had to evaluate Morgan. For Addison, her classroom teacher had to assess her in 8 different areas using 180 words for each area. All I can say is WOW...the amount of time spent on these reports is incredible. Overall, we are pleased with both girls' reports. Morgan is right where she needs to be and skipping half of 2nd grade has not put her behind at all. She is excelling in Language arts and Music. Addie...well Addie surprised us all. Apparently she is a rather smart little girl and has learned so much in a short period of time. She is one of the top readers in her class and is close to being able to read chapter books on her own. According to her teacher, she is logical and inquisitive. Oh and she also enjoys being in charge ;)
Once Term 3 started, we were off and running! The girls started swim 2 days a week, and Morgan continued with Netball. Addie LOVES swim and does not complain one bit that the water is cold...remember we are swimming in Winter right now. Often it is cold, rainy, and windy. They have a wetsuit and are quite the troopers. Morgan is continuing to improve on her strokes...we just need to get her breaststroke kick down.
Netball for Morgan was a huge success. Her team worked so well together and was undefeated for the season. It was awesome to see how much they improved over the season! Morgan really took to the sport and I think she will continue to play during our time here. She is quite the athlete!
Also starting in Term 3 were piano lessons for the girls. They are learning using the Suzuki method, which means that I join them during their lessons. So for an hour on Wednesdays I am up at school learning piano with the girls =) They are offered through the school and are during the school day. Right now we are still learning Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but hopefully we move on quickly to another song!
Within a two week period the girls both went on two excursions. Clearly field trips are not cost prohibitive at a private school ;) The first field trip Addie took was to the Zoo. I of course volunteered to chaperone, only to find out that Addie did not want me to. When her teacher asked her why...her response was "I really just feel that my mom is at school too much. I am a big girl now, and I really need to start doing this thing on my own." Uh really???? She is FIVE...lord help me now. SO after a few days of thinking about it, Addie said I could help out (the teacher needed moms), but she did not want to be in my group. When it finally came down to it, she changed her mind and decided I was cool enough after all, and she was in my group. She even had a smile as we walked around the Zoo. Even if Addie did not want me there, one of the little boys I walked around with did. His mom told me that he went home that night all excited I went to the zoo with them. Morgan went on a "walkabout" of the neighborhood surrounding their school, sketching and discussing different architecture. Another day, they took the train and went to the local shops to again discuss and view the different styles of architecture.
The other field trip for Addie was local and less exciting, so I did not go...instead I decorated the door for their Book Week.
One of the things that PLC is good at is balancing academics and arts. For a week the entire school celebrated Book Week and Arts Day. Each day was full of different activities centered around books and the arts. On Tuesday, the girls dressed up as they favorite book character. Morgan decided to dress up as Paulina from an Australian book series. Addie dressed up as Fancy Nancy. Both looked awesome in their costumes. Addie's included a wig that she did NOT like....it came off an hour after she got to school. She said she did not like that she looked so different in the wig. Morgan had to make her entire costume, so we made her a wig out of yarn....that she kept on all day ;)
The highlight of Book Week for our family, was Morgan's performances. On Friday, she sang two songs with her Petit Chorale, as well as performed a song with her house group. But what made us the most proud, was her INDIVIDUAL performance in front of a library full of people. The girls were able to sign up to "busk". Basically this is performing for donations. Morgan signed up to sing "Bare Necessities" SOLO. Can I just tell you how amazed I am at her singing talent? I truly had no idea she could sing like she can. She amazes us everyday.
As if ALL that was not enough, Morgan was asked to run in a cross country race for school. Based on her running time in PE, they asked her to run a 1K. And of course as if our schedule could ever be anything but crazy, her race started an HOUR after Dustin was discharged from the hospital. Dustin was bound and determined to be there for Morgan, and so he was. And of course, she was thrilled he was there =) While she did great, sprinting might be more her speed. When it was all over, she said she liked it and would think about continuing training. We'll see how that goes.
FINALLY, as a family we participated in the "City to Surf" race. The girls and I completed a 4k along with several friends, while Dustin ran the half marathon. It was a good family day, and we all had a successful race. The event was HUGE with over 42,000 participants.
WHEW....in all of that, throw in 4 birthday parties, a Smashing Pumpkins Concert, a beach BBQ, playdates, volunteering at school, and all of life's daily chores. Now I know how our 8 months here has gone by so quickly!
We think of home often, and miss you all!
Hugs
Amy
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