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This post may or may not make sense tonight. I feel the need to write about my week, so much has happened....it may be very disjointed. Please bear with me here.
My mother in law has an infection in her knee. She had her knee replaced over 2 weeks ago and it is still infected. This is limiting the amount of physical therapy she is capable of doing and I am very worried about her and how this will affect the success of her knee. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
Report cards came home on Monday. Cassie did very well, she has mostly A's, a couple of B's, a C in math (no surprise) and a D in Literature!! A 'D'!!! She had an A in that class the previous month. We were very shocked, to say the least. We told her to talk to the teacher and find out why she received that grade. The teacher told her that she was missing assignments, Cassie said that she turned them in....hmm...something seems a bit fishy here. I need to make an appointment with the teacher to find out exactly what the problem is. We also got the results of the standardized test she took in Sept. Her scores were very good. She is above average in everything but math...again no surprise. Her highest scores were in language and writing....no surprise again. Fortunately her math teacher, who we had a meeting with 2 weeks ago, has agreed to tutor Cassie every Monday after school for an hour. This is very kind and generous of her...any ideas on what we can do for her to show our appreciation??
Now on to Michael's report card......he does not get grades (A's, B's, etc), but he is doing well and has good marks in all his subjects. His test scores though....incredible....he scored in the 99th percentile in reading....98th percentile in science...his overall composite score was 95. That means that only 5 percent of 3rd graders in the nation that took this test did better than him. We were shocked. We had a meeting with his teacher today...and she said she was shocked when she saw his scores. He obviously is one smart little boy. Now we have a decision to make...do we leave him in the Catholic school, or do we put him in the public school and he can go into the GATE (gifted) program?? If he stays in the Catholic school, he can try for a scholarship for high school. If he goes to the public school he will have more opportunities and challenges. We asked his teacher today and she is leaning towards public but wants more information on the GATE program at the school he would go to. We need to gather information and schedule another meeting with his teacher. Maybe he is so difficult to parent because he is so smart?? I don't know but he sure is cute!!
You would think that would be enough for one week?? Nope, there is more....
Our sweet dog Baron is turning into a monster. All of a sudden his personality is changing and he is showing aggression towards the kids. He is now 18 months old and has always been a challenge to train, he is the hardest dog I have ever trained. This week he has snapped at both kids and is now showing food aggression. We have hired trainers this past year to help us with other issues, but my money tree is running out and right now I just can't afford it. Baron is not the first dog I have trained, but is definitely the hardest. I spoke with his breeder last night...who also happens to be a good friend, and she gave me some advice and helpful hints. She also said she would take him back if needed. We have to make a decision now whether to keep him or not....I hate this!! I wish I could really talk to Baron and tell him to stop this craziness. We are having a family meeting this weekend to talk about this. I think we can work together as a family in training him through these issues....I hope we can. Right now I am afraid to have my children's friends come over...Baron is too unpredictable. We have never had this problem....it is very hard.
What a week!! I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving and I am cooking for both sides of the family!!!
Thanks for listening.....
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Ramblings
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15 comments:
My son got a bad grade in only one subject this term. He's just struggling with it. I hope Cassie is able to pull her grade up! That's wonderful news about Michael. I'm so sorry you're having dog troubles. Good luck with that!
How strange, I wonder what is wrong with Baron. He does not have a sore tooth or something does he? That can make dogs grumpy. Or jealousy. Bella is going through a few days of "Im still the baby" around here. She has had a few goes at Miko which is odd as she usually looks out for her. She is extremely contrite straight after though and starts crying and sooking up to me, so I think she just wants more attention.
Great news about the kids grades, I would be seeing C's teacher as well. TC has had a run in with a teacher who did that to her. The teacher had favourites and although TC topped the grade she marked her down. Luckily the head teacher sorted it out. (We did not get her report yet. She has finished school for the year but has presentation in a couple of weeks.)
There's something on my blog for you. ♥
Hey my mom had knee replacement a few years ago. Seems her recoup time was long, hope your MIL gets rid of the infection.
Grades, I always hated that time. Sounds like your kiddos are doing good though. :)
Now, the pup, I had some issues with a pup once and the vet gave me some odd advice, but it worked. She said to keep the dog on the floor, and that we people needed to always be higher than her so she would learn that she was not the boss. It sounds like your pup is starting to think they may be the boss?
Hey Honey!! You know my feelings about St J so my advise is get hinm into an advanced program outside the catholic system if you can!! He can still get scholarships while going to public schools.
And Cassie... yes speak to the teacher...and check her backpack...they might just be wedged in the bottom there like Garys used to be :/
Love you guys!! MUAH
Nina T
I do hope your MIL's infection clears soon. It must be so frustrating for her not being able to do the exercises.
I'm not really familiar enough with your education system to understand all the intricacies. It does seem odd about Cassies's assignments maybe they just got misplaced at school.
It's such a shame to hear that Baron is becoming aggressive. He wants to be top dog and sees children as a threat! Not that I know anything about the psyche of a dog!
I can see you have some difficult decisions to make. Good luck with your family meeting.
With a name like Michael, how could he not be smart?!
But seriously, his test scores are out of the roof!
I'm having the same problem with my 14 yr old son about the missing assignments.
He keeps making excuses and yet, there's a HUGE "C" on his report card that I'm not happy with....
Wow, what a week. I have no advice for your MIL, only good wishes, hope that infection gets under control.
As for Cassie, I'm sure she turned them in, perhaps it's time to photocopy assignments, so you have proof.
Micheal, I'd put him in public school, the environment, initially can be a challenge, but the rewards of the GATE program would soon pay off.
The dog, just simply may not be a family dog. Some times that happens.
I wonder why the teacher couldn't have e-mailed or something to let you know assignments were missing. I know older kids are suppose to be responsible for that stuff - but if a student is usually doing well, then I think the teacher should notify parents of a sudden grade drop like that.
Have you watched "It's Me or My Dog?" It's on Animal Planet....one suggestion from there is to let the dog see you and the kids eat out of his bowl first (you pretend to eat his food) and then give the food to him. That puts him in "his place". It might work.
Sounds like you've had your plate full this week. Too bad about Baron, but if you can't trust him around kids, you may need to take the sad option.
As for food aggression, I make a point of periodically taking my guys' food of them while they are eating just to remind them who's the boss.
PS. that advice from Lisa is very good (and I 100% agree with it), but can he tough to implement. If you decide to go that route, you have to be consistent.
So sorry to hear that your MIL has an infection in her knee. Hope she is feeling better soon as I agree with you...the exercises are so important. And I agree with both Lisa and WT about consistent implementation so that Baron knows who is the boss. It is difficult, but sometimes the only thing you can do if you want to keep the dog around the kids!
Well, i'm no dog whisperer but maybe baron needs more attention or one on one with each of the kids. Have them brush him or they tend to his needs. Maybe, they already do. when I had my youngest begin to feed the dog and let him out, our dog tolerated him more.
My son scores similarly to your son in standardized testing, but we have left him in the Catholic schools for socail reasons and because the GAT program is just a pullout program - not great. My neighbor's kids are in it and she is not really impressed. Plus, our Catholic school's curriculum on a whole is more challenging than the public school's. While I want him to be challenged, my son is easily frustrated so being really good in some areas without a challenge is just right for him. I also find we supplement with library outings and such.
Ok, here's my 2 cents worth (it'd be more, but w/the downturn in the economy & the flailing dollar...;-)
Cassie--I had a teacher who said this & luckily I'd saved all my assignments. We're pretty sure the guys who came above & below me alphabetically did way better than usual in that class.
Micheal--if he's that smart (and it seems like he is,) not only do you need to get him into a school who can accommodate him better, but it sounds like he's not a traditional learner. You may want to find out how he learns best; visual, audio, etc...as this may help down the line.
Baron--someone needs to take him for a swim or bike ride every day. A walk or two every day won't cut it for a high energy dog. A run or swim will help immensely. I know of which I speak. He's older and he's trying to define himself as Alpha, eating in front of him before he eats is a big help for this (we use crackers and the kids and us all eat ours before the dogs when we've needed to use this trick.) You may want to see if there are any teens locally that you could pay to run/ride/swim w/him everyday. Another good help is if you can take him to a dog park; dogs tire each other out and it's really good for keeping them in pecking order. I have more on this so email if you want more info.
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