cool school

the little girl's entrance exam results at the little big man's school were released yesterday.  we went in for interview and were so happy to be told that she topped her test in reading with the highest possible score of 9.  her math is 8 (above average) and her language is 6 (average).  

the guidance councilor told us that per her assessment, the little girl got a 4 (average) as to her ability to keep up with the school's system of education but was happy to find out that her test results showed otherwise.

so, it is official.  she's going to big school and there's no turning back.

Big school

turnaround

the little big man's grades dropped this 3rd quarter from last.  significantly.  that's adding insult to injury because from the first to the second quarter it has already dropped and he had made a promise to get them back up but still, he disappointed me.  i found out he has not submitted a couple of homeworks and a book report which he had already made but lost and did not make any effort to make another to submit.  he had high grades in oral and class work and most of his exams and quizzes which only meant he was doing good, if only he'd submitted those darn homeworks!

i told him how irresponsible he had become and really made him feel how disappointed i was in what he had done.  or had not done, for that matter.  i decided to ground him in some way by banning the use of the iPad for the rest of the 4th quarter and he will only be concentrating on homeworks and taekwondo.

last tuesday, when we met at our store after school, he gave me this:

it reads:  BEST ENGLISH SPEAKING PUPIL


i always knew we'd have some use for his talkativeness.  so anyway, right now, we're still focusing on getting him to submit homeworks.  

grades

school grades for 1st quarter were received over the weekend.  little big man got an average of 86.3474. should've been enough to get him a 3rd honor but he had a pair of 82's.  the requisites for a 3rd honor is an average of 86 and no grade lower than 85.  sadly, he had 82 in reading so we're catching up on that now.   and 82 in character education which, according to his teacher, was due to his being talkative.

we promised each other, together, we'll get that honor come 2nd grading period.  aja!  

and there i was 9 years ago, wanting my kid to go into a progressive school and not a traditional school like this!

birthday boy

the little big man turned 9 years old last saturday.  

i can only look at him in awe as i watched him play milo little olympics yesterday.  he's grown so much is an understatement.  he's physically grown.  proven by the fact that whenever he sleeps beside me and he throws his legs and arms over me, i feel choked and helpless under his weight.  

his taekwondo skills have way improved and his level of maturity in the game has drastically upped over the last couple of weeks.  we saw how we beat his opponent in the first game through sudden death.  his shot was so clear and precise, no biased referee can discount it.  we saw how, in his second game, he fell two times and lost to that palarong pambansa champ and not shed a tear, his poker face undaunted, his will to win and pride in himself still in tact but maintaining humility in his stance.

emotionally, he still has a lot of growing to do.  as a kuya (older brother) to his sister, we still have a lot to work on.  we have a lot of time to do that.  bottomline, despite their frequent quarrels, at the end of the day, they still know they love each other more than anything.

in school, he's improved a lot too.  he's still talkative and all that, says what he wants and comments on everything.  but he's a fast learner and once challenged, always strives to better himself.

it's maybe been a year since he told me he wanted his own cellphone.  and eversince, the hubby and i always tell him that when he's responsible enough, by that we meant not losing his ballpens, his ID or getting dirt on his school uniform, that's the time when he gets that cellphone.  

well, within the few weeks before his 9th birthday, he still lost a pen or two but not as much as before. 

and that much coveted cellphone? 

the underachiever

migo's interview at the new school was early this morning.

principal nora manuel was stern but smiling when she called him into her office.  i saw him through the glass window as he sat in front of her, knees together, hands clasped on his lap, just as i'd told him.  i wasn't sure if he was gonna breeze through it.  what with a 'failed' mark for his reading and language entrance exam the day before.  he had a high score in math though.  and his SAI is 113, above average. 

after about fifteen minutes, he was out the door telling hubby and me that the principal wanted us inside.  my heart skipped a beat. 

once inside, the principal asked migo to step outside. 

i was wondering why your son is an underachiever...  were her first words.  i was stunned but immediately got back my composure.  

what do you...?  how so?  why did you say that?  i don't understand.  i put my bag aside and put both my arms on top of her desk, crossed.  what EXACTLY do you mean by that?

she told us that migo had a high IQ but it only showed in his math exam (he got a high 3.8), but did not reflect in his reading (2.5) and language (1.8) exams.  it meant that he is above average in intelligence but doesn't seem able to use that academically.  i was literally crushed.  no, make that heart-broken.  i don't know if my voice broke or was just unsteady as i explained to her that my son does seem to lack interest in those subjects but excels in math, science and general information.  that he is also very good in taekwondo--a gold medalist even.  that he has a whole lot going for him and the reason why we are actually transferring him to this school is because we actually want him to be better at what he's not.  having said that, the principal was supportive.  she said they were admitting him to 3rd grade but on probationary status--meaning his grades have to be good on the 1st grading period.  if otherwise, we were asked to sign a 'contract' that he will attend remedial classes. 

my heart still aches as i type this.  but my heart knows that this is but a wake up call.  i have always been lauded by my friends for being such a great or cool mom.  the problem with that, i realized now, is i usually let my kids do only what makes them happy.  which is good, from another person's point of view.  case in point, migo's reading and language would've been better had i "forced" him to like those subjects instead of letting him study only those that he liked.  i know i've been really lax with him this past schoolyear, what with my nanny being the one assisting him with his homeworks.  i am so sorry that i've not been a good mom....


but today is a new beginning for him and me.  we'll prove to that new principal at that new school how lucky they have become to have acquired migo as their student.  aja!