report cards – Confessions of a…

Marks, Volunteering, Old Friends and a Tickled Lip, stories from in and around the Carr house for another few weeks.

Marks
In Ontario these days, they don’t send report cards this time of year, opting instead for a “progress report” and we are so happy to report that our girls are progressing very well! In fact, Jordyn has been excelling in things that she had struggled with, what seems like only months ago. She is now bringing home projects and test in the A to A+ range. And what we love more than the great marks is the awareness of the accomplishment in both of their minds and the pride they show when talking about their accomplishments. I think Nathalie and I have always tried to encourage both girls to work as hard as they can, and always tried to remind them that if they put in the effort they will always get something out of it, and we just couldn’t be more proud that they are now realizing it.

Volunteering
This week during a parent teacher meeting, I had a Daddy pride moment, when the teachers talked about how much Jordyn’s social skills have advanced this past year. Not that she was a wallflower or anything, but this year, while doing well with her academics, she is also doing well with the other part of school – the social side. She is on student council, singing in the choir, helping out in the library and an active volunteer for extra help around both the classroom and the school. Both Nathalie and I have spent a lot of time volunteering at school, and we always try to lead by example, but it is just now we see the effect it has had on the girls.

Old Friend
Sometimes I look at the girls hanging and playing with their school friends, and I wonder what it would be like to run into the people that completed my circle when I was in grade 8. Thanks to Facebook, we have WAY more access to the people from our past, but like the saying goes, “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!” Sometimes, it only takes a couple of minutes with an old old friend; to remind yourself your paths diverged for a reason. I have only had a couple of friends from any of my schooling over the years, that I have stayed in touch with for any great length, and one of those from College, I had lunch with this week.

It has been a couple of years since I have seen him, and although we have talked on the phone a couple of times, over that time, we sure had a lot of catching up to do. Do you have those old friends that you may see every couple of years, but when you do, it’s like you where never apart? From the first couple of minutes, we where laughing and joking like it was 1990, and the biggest worry we had was figuring out reasons to skip an English class. It was great to catch up and I left with a reminder that no matter the length of time apart from someone, a good friend is a good friend. Do yourself a favour, and look up an old one today!

Lip Tickle

It is the first week of November, and popular in these parts, it is the start of Movember – the practice of men growing facial hair, specifically a mustache, in support of awareness of men’s cancer. Last year I did it and raised 75 bucks, and grew what I like to call a crazy 70’s porn stash. It was not the popular in the Carr house, and I almost thought about doing it again this year, but woke up on the 1st and completely forgot and shaved. I got to work, taught a class and then checked out what’s going on in Facebook world, only to find out that Nathalie had had a little photoshop fun, and started her own anti facial hair campaign. I just had to post the picture here, and since the support for her campaign was high, I opted NOT to grow it again this year. But, please do find a way to support Men’s Cancers!

In closing
Had a laugh this week, during a quick shopping trip to No Frills. Ever run into the strange guy that just feels the need to have a conversation with you? In my 90 second meeting with a crazy haired guy with what looked like a turtleneck and you guessed it a tweed jacket complete with the elbow patches, I found out he was Comedian and a Novelist. He wrote “the” book about the 911 conspiracy; and that is how he said it, “the book” as if I should obviously know about it. And if that wasn’t enough, he shared a joke he wrote with me, and said I could use it if I wanted to. So, when you are given this kind genius comedic license, one must use it. “Did you hear about the new Mike Tyson restaurant in downtown Toronto? It’s called: Friends, Romans and Countrymen, lend me your Ear!”

Off to look online for what must be a riveting book by my shopping buddy!

Thanks for reading and have a great and safe week!
Jim

Feet clothing, our house and the very fun parent teacher meetings are part of the Carr family for week 11.

Socks
Possibly too much info, but the first article of clothing I put on in the morning, are my socks. I like the idea of starting with a good foundation, and you can’t get closer to the bottom than what you are standing on. Well I guess this rule is weather contingent, because it only applies to the months between September and May, but never the less, it is always socks first. So I laugh each morning when I see Julia putting on her shoes, with NO socks, and I repeat, “Julia, it is cold out there, you need socks, and besides, your feet will smell very bad!” I think she gets it from Nathalie who hates socks on her feet, and usually shows it by taking them off first chance she gets. Well, I guess as articles of clothing go, it is a need to have not always a nice to have and there is nothing you can do about that.

House
It is a sad day at the Carr house. We pushed it as long as we could, not because we have been using it, but because we knew that looking at it in this state would make us feel a little sad. Today, we closed our pool. The hot tub is still open and currently sitting in the high 90’s but today the water was pumped out of the pool, plugs have replaced the water jets and the big blue tarp is safely secured with water bags and wood. The amazingly fun and wonderfully wet, family play thing we have thoroughly enjoyed for the last couple of months is taking a break for the winter and that makes it a little bit of a sad day around here. I guess the one thing I am now looking forward to the most is the next season open the pool day, currently scheduled for April 15th, 2011.

Parent Teacher
So this is the end of the first term at the girl’s school, and that could only mean one thing; report cards. While, here in Ontario they have eliminated or at least changed the process and the way they evaluate students and have introduced yet another report card, and the girls did over all OK. Well, the best I can understand it anyhow. They certainly both have some work to do, and in each case, their teachers had very positive things to say about each of them.

For Jordyn, the message is that she is such a positive energy in class, and works hard, but needs to start taking way more initiative on things and start being in control of her own work. Julia is helpful in class, sometimes to a fault, leaving her own work to help a friend with theirs, so she has to focus a little more and just paying attention. She is also struggling with reading so we have to work on that, but juxtaposition that with Julia’s drama teacher telling me that Julia was one of only two of her students to receive the “Progressing very well” excellent in all of her classes. In the end we are so proud of all that our girls do, and happy with who they have become and are becoming each day.

In closing
Jordyn’s teacher made us laugh and it was just a side story, nothing to do with education. First, I need to back up a little. I have talked about Nathalie’s incredible shopping ability in many blogs from the past, so it should not be a shock to you that she got a great deal on a couple of winter jackets for the girls at the end of the season last year. Now when you find a deal like this, you don’t think twice, you grab two in whatever predictable size you need for the future, and you head for the checkout. Who cares that the jackets are the exact same colour. We did not think it was an issue, and Jordyn has never let on that it was, but when her teacher asked us out of the blue, “does she like her winter coat?” Nathalie and I look at each other and at the same time reply, “I think so”.

Mrs. F, told us about one morning she watched Jordyn come around the corner, out of my sight, and take off her coat, and stuff it into her backpack. She even asked her if everything was ok with it, and told her to put it back on because it was cold out. Jordyn relented and put it back on, but when she pushed a little further, Jordyn admitted that what she was having an issue with was it is too puffy and it is exact same coat as her sister’s. Mrs. F admitted that she caught her two more times, looking for a place to put her coat, other then on her body. Needles to say, we have fixed her wagon, with another shopping trip and yet another bargain on a new, completely different winter coat. Let’s see how this works.

Thanks for reading and have a great and safe week.
Jim