Fourth Grade is Over!

Jadon finished fourth grade this year!  He had another good year at Woodmoor.  We are blessed to be part of such an accepting and supportive community. 

Here is what Jadon has to say about fourth grade…

I finished fourth grade on the 19^th. I am glad to be done! There were ~10 people in my class who had been in my class last year and I knew almost everybody else. I had 3 great field trips to the pumpkin patch, Brightwater Center, and Washington State History Museum in Tacoma. There were lots of teachers I knew that retired or moved to other positions at the end of this year.  I was sad to see them go. I miss my friends and will schedule get-togethers soon.  Lots of people are excited that there will be 2 Woodmoor Frys next year.

Although Jadon sometimes “complains” about school, I know he really does not mind it.  How do I know?  He gets pretty upset if we have to schedule any appointments during school.  With the new schedule this next year, that will be harder to do.  I schedule as many appointments as possible on breaks and teacher work days.  With the teacher work days going away, I lose some flexibility in scheduling.  His bus was also not the timeliest this year.  That made him upset, too.  He wants to be at school on time, ready to go when his classmates are.   Hopefully, that will improve next year. 

We are pleased to report that Jadon missed a lot less days of school this past year than the previous year.  Being in the hospital in traction didn’t help his attendance in third grade.  J    

Jadon’s favorite classes are still music and PE.  I find it interesting that he likes PE so much when he has to work so hard to do anything or modify things to work for him.  A lot of the credit goes to Masumi, his nurse, and his great PE teachers.  It just goes to show that he can still have fun and enjoy doing things his own way.  He has even come to dislike yoga a little less this year (he just can’t bend like that!).  It is no surprise he enjoys music so much.  He really enjoyed learning how to play the recorder in music this year.  He likes to play the songs he learned for us and anyone else who will listen.

My only disappointment this year is actually a continuation of a disappointment from last year.  I find that the kids who are generally at or above standard get very little attention in class.  I know this is because state testing starts in third grade.  The teachers work so hard to get the students that are below standard to standard by testing time that they don’t have time to work with the others.  I see this causing some boredom and perceived little progress when I know there in the potential for more growth.  I know this is not a specific teacher or student issue; it is just how the system works.  We have really liked all of Jadon’s teachers and don’t feel they are to blame.  So, we do the best we can at home but can only go so far, considering how much teaching and learning has changed since we were in elementary school. 

Jadon is excited to have Kalina at school with him next year.  He is already trying to figure out when he can see her, especially since their classrooms will be on opposite sides on the building.  He is such a good big brother.

(For some reason I am unable to add pictures right now.  I'll try again later...)