Through all the orientation meetings, mom and I have fallen in love with both of your middle school programs, and we are so enthusiastically at peace, assured that these programs are 100000% the right places for both you.
We know you will be academically challenged, rise to the moment, flourish socially and mentally.
Of course, there will be pain and sunny days and rain, to quote Ben Folds, but we know that the foundation of your family, your internal fortitude and strengths, and the strength - and perfect fit- of these programs will help you SHINE through Middle School!
We're so proud of both of you!
Happy faces headed to Middle School places!
You both looks so grown up! and in many ways, you are... you're definitely adolescents!
And it's a big year for both of you- for the first time ever, you're not going to be at the same school as Aidan goes onto his next adventure at his new school! And Aidan, you have been so bold, brave, and positive about your shift to Dallas Academy! And Julia, you have been so supportive!
We know 2023 - 2024 school year is going to be amazing for both of you!
This is nuts y'all....but here we are again. Summer's gone in a blink, you two are growing taller, and more clever, more able, and more amazing. And now...it is again the first day of school!
How are you in FIRST and THIRD grade? Inconceivable!!!!
But...ready or not...because you've earned it...you're ready for it...and you're here!
FIRST! DAY! OF! SCHOOL!
Aidan Powell... you are nine years old.
You're really into video games, and reading, and swimming, and more adult-level fare like Goosebumps, Thor: Ragnorok, and Godzilla (which for the record, we haven't seen yet...but is still among your favorite movies).
The thing you're most excited about for this school year is helping other kids. And that is so sweet and lovely.
Your first day went well! You excitedly told us some "great news": you got to sit up front with Miss Gwyn and tell her all your stories from the summer- and that made you super happy!
Over the summer you worked hard on math facts, and reading, and cursive and I KNOW you are just gonna rock the Third Grade!
Miss Gwyn let us know that she's already getting sentimental that this is your last year in her classroom...and that normally doesn't start happening til late in the second semester. That's so sweet!
You are growing so quickly!
We are so proud of you!
Julia Sekina... you are six years old.
You're really into fairies and crystals and gems and mermaids and unicorns and swimming and trapeze-swinging and projects and running lemonade stands and baking and dancing and doing laps. You are hyper-literate and have been practicing your cursive all summer long. Over the summer you finally decided it was time to start sleeping in your own bed, in your own room upstairs. And you did it!
You also decided to become a chef. So now you're like fully making your own scrambled eggs (with supervision of course). But you crack 'em, mix 'em, and cook 'em yourself. And now "daddy's famous scrambled eggs" are "julia's famous scrambled eggs"... and they're so well. You made your own eggs on the 1st and 2nd days of school!
Your first full day of first grade went super well. You may or may not have been bitten by the class corn snake, but it didn't seem to bother you. Your teachers let us know that you are doing super well...and that they're jealous because THEY wish they had as good hand-writing as you and that they LOVE having you in their class. Your favorite thing to do so far is eat lunch with your friends and read in the library. You'll get to do that crystal work soon enough!
You big, amazing 1st Grader.
We are so proud of you!
Here's to a great school year of learning and growing!
I cannot believe that another sweet summer is over and another school year is here. Of course, you two grow day-in day-out and hit milestones continuously, but the first day of school- the official start of being one year and one grade older - is legit. It's bittersweet and amazing. As we send you two incredible young people off to White Rock Montessori for another year of growth and learning and friends and PB&Js and field trips and skinned knees and hard work, your mother and I just marvel in amazement at the incredible people you are and how much you continue to evolve and change and mature.
After a summer of reading BONE together, it seemed only fitting for the two of you to be greeted by the Bone cousins in your lunchboxes!
Aside from naming as your favorite, a movie which hasn't come out yet (Wreck-it Ralph Breaks the Internet...great marketing Disney), Aidan you have been pretty future-centric.
You're excited about 2nd grade, and hope you get to do the Metal Insets. (spoiler alert- you have already proudly brought home some metal inset works!) You tell us that when you're in 3rd grade, for graduation, you get a ROCK and a BOOK. You tell us that a lot; that means you must be really looking forward to that rock!
You are sweet, and sensitive, and getting so much better about sharing and regulating your emotions with us and those around you.
You worked really hard over the summer on your writing, reading, and object-addition skills, and we are so proud.
Your teacher, Miss Gwyn, was super excited to have you back this year. She already shared a funny moment with mommy. She often refers to her students as "Brother Bear" or "Sister Bear," and she was taken aback and touched when out of the blue on the playground you told her "Come on, Mama Bear!"
Julia, my big kindergartner, you are a high-achiever, a funny person, creative, driven and sharp!
You worked really hard over the summer on your cursive and reading (chapter books!).
You are a sweetheart, and you have great kindness and compassion in you.
On day 2 of school you fell and scraped your knee pretty badly. On day 3 you banged the same knee again and got pretty bloodied. Miss Mary took great care of you and remarked to Mommy how TOUGH you are!
She also told Mommy at the end of your first week how grateful she is that you're in her class. She says that you are a natural leader and willingly and excitedly work with the younger kids and show them the ropes, leading them through their new Montessori environments.
The two of you together are a super team. You wrestle, you work together, you get into each other's imaginations and games, you fight, you make up, you giggle. You are a fantastic bro-and-sis duo, and as you continue to grow through 2nd grade and Kindergarten and grow your social networks beyond each other, never forget that you're a team of truly awesome kids- and that your bro-sis bond can never be broken.
We bought place-mats and napkins for school lunch...
and we got in bed early...
That's right...It's the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!
Time keeps on ticking, and Aidan and Julia, the two of you keep growing up before our very eyes!
As the first day approached, the two of you were very excited.
Julia, you are so psyched to be a "full day lunch kid"- that's right: you are in full-day Pre-K with Mr. Lewicki and Ms. Mary! You are a brilliant, smart, clever, adventurous, busy-busy, curious young lady with maturity (sometimes) far beyond your years. In many ways, it's hard to believe you're only in Pre-k. But, it is the right place for you to build and grow and continue to learn. And you are just going to nail it!
Aidan, you are 'moving up' to Lower Elementary 2! New teachers (Ms. Bell and Ms. Gwynn), new friends to make, new class room, new experiences to have. You are also excited about...the girls! You're a bit girl crazy right now, and you're also very excited about going back to "school school." You also are very sweet toward your reading teacher, Ms. Newman, and have verbally told us many times that you're looking forward to working with her. You are a sweet, emotional, true, innocent, exciting, talkative, creative, pugnacious, strong, and resilient young man. You've come so far already, and we are so excited about this big step forward in your development!
But enough of my analysis, let's hear from the two of you directly to give you a snapshot of who you both were going into the 2017 school year, and shining a light on to who you've become as you're reading this.
As you may remember, I annoy you guys once a year with these questions to make some sort of time capsule for you on the first day of school. Here were your answers in 2016. And here are your answers this year:
Julia Sekina Weinstein
Grade: Full day Pre-K
Class: PS2; Mr. Lewicki and Ms. Mary
Favorite Book: 'Princess and the Pony' (aka 'Princess Fart' <second year in a row!>); 'My Big Pink Fairy Book'; 'Pat the Bunny'; 'Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast'
Favorite Movie: 'Frozen' (yes...still); and 'Moana' Favorite Song: 'Tripping Down The Freeway' (by Weezer); "Number Seven from Moana" (Track 7 is "You're Welcome"); and "Let it Go" from Frozen (yes...still) Favorite Food: Candy! and Pepperoni Pizza <second year in a row>! Favorite TV show: Bubble Guppies <second year in a row...and that's odd because you guys rarely watch it>; "Hello Kitty...if we can ever find it" <there is, to my knowledge, no Hello Kitty TV Show!> Favorite Toy: "All of them ... and sparkly stuff...and the Maui toy I got from the Easter Bunny...and stuffed animals and my pink bunny and Tucker my dog...and my Indian scarf and Mia, my baby doll." Favorite Activity: "I like to sew! I like dressing up! I like jumping. I like riding my bike and I like listening to stories." Also.. " I like going to the dentist and following mommy's and daddy's rules so I can stay healthy. I like staying healthy." What I want to learn this year: "I want to go to Ms. Bell's class and work harder and not get in trouble and do what my teachers say." also... "I'm excited for my mom to teach art." Friends you're looking forward to seeing: Ella G and Ella K and Natalia and Tara and Korah and Kara What I will do when I grow up: "I will find bone and paint nails and have fun!" When I Grow Up I want to be: An Archaeologist!
And now about you, young sir, Aidan-- our BIG FIRST grader!
Aidan Powell Weinstein
Grade: First grade
Class: LE2; Ms. Bell and Ms. Gwynn
Favorite Book: "Where the Wild Things Are"
Favorite Movie: 'Storks' ("Because this guy is smelling the baby's tush") and 'A Bug's Life' Favorite Song: 'And in the End' (by The Beatles); "Clint Eastwood" (by the Gorillaz); "Trolls" and "Handlebars" Favorite Food: Fish! Salmon Sushi! "And Toast! And Water" Favorite TV show: "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" Favorite Toy: "My Huggy" (a little white teddy bear) & "Legos!" ("Dad look I'm in a Lego spell..." Favorite Activity: "Watch a movie every day." "I like smiley faces. I don't like mean faces." What I want to learn this year: "I hope I'm going to learn about puppies" and "Science and I hope I'm going to be in LE1" and "Art with Mama!" Friends you're looking forward to seeing: Leo and Daddy- "I still love you buy you're not my friend friend." - Collin and Ella K. "And my girlfriend Tara." When I Grow Up I want to be: "Baby Groot...with Groot Power!" (you also have been talking about being a "Marine Biologist" and "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Sonic the Hedgehog police officer.") What I will do when I grow up: "Get flies and eat them."
Joining you guys for a first day of school is your NEW art teacher: Miss Holly!
That's right, Mama is a new full time art teacher at your amazing school. She is such a good mama and a fantastic teacher; I know two of her students who have already given her rave reviews!
We are so proud of both of you! There will be challenges ahead, there will be successes and set backs, and tears and laughter, and lunches and late nights, and friends and fun. It will be an amazing school year for both of you. You walked into school with your spirits high and your heads held high.
You are amazing young people and have learned so much already. We are so excited to be on this journey with you!
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