Saturday School???

I just dropped Christopher off at Jackson Middle School for a Saturday SAT prep class.  Yes, he actually agreed to go!  ;)  Christopher was invited to join them even though the group had already been working together for awhile.  I am again impressed with Jackson Middle School.  The vice principal, Dr. Alvarez was actually there at the school working on a Saturday.  I had to stop by and get a calendar for the SAT prep class and I was really surprised to see him there.  Of course, there were several other teachers there for the SAT prep class and the magnet/vanguard coordinator was also there.  I'm completely impressed that so many teachers and administrators would give up their Saturdays to work with 7th graders to prep them for the SAT.  Not only that, but I know a lot of the teachers and most of the administrators stay at the school each day until 6:30pm.  I'm not sure if this is normal practice for school administrators, but to me it speaks to their dedication to the students.

Karate at Jackson Middle School

Christopher is taking Karate at Jackson Middle School for his P.E. credit.  He loves it!  I have never known a school that offers Karate for their Gym class.  Jackson Middle School is actually known for its Karate.  Christopher really enjoys the class and his teacher.  One thing that is nice is that his class is small, only about 19 kids.  Here are some pics of Christopher in his Karate uniform he just got it today and wanted to show me some moves.  :)

Spanish

Something that has become VERY apparent since I started the kids in school is the need to know Spanish. I believe everyone can speak English just fine, but I under estimated how out of place I would feel as the only one not knowing Spanish.  Maybe I wouldn't have noticed as much if I didn't have kids in school, but at the pickup and drop off of Matthew at Lantrip, all the people there to pick up their kids, are speaking Spanish.  I understand the need to speak in your native tongue, so I don't begrudge anyone for it, but I do feel isolated and completely out of touch.  Hence, the need for me to learn Spanish.... and sooner rather than later.  I think I will learn via Rosetta Stone.  I have heard really good things about it.

Lots of Homework!!!

Matthew is my youngest and he so far, has the most homework.  I would say he has about 90 minutes to 2 hours worth of homework so far each night.  Seems a bit excessive for a 3rd grader, but I'm happy so far with what he is learning.  He however, is NOT happy ;)

Either tomorrow or Thursday, Matthew will be tested to get into the gifted and talented program at Lantrip. He is the one that really wanted this.... but I'm a bit worried it may mean even MORE homework.

This is a picture of Matthew working on his homework in the lobby of the hotel we are staying at.  As you can see, he isn't too happy.  :(

Ready, Set, Go!

The day after tomorrow, we close on our home in Eastwood.  After living in a hotel and sending kids to school from a hotel room.... I'm really ready to be in our home!  At least I can say that with all the driving around I've had to do (I've put more miles on my car this past week than I have in a few months back in Illinois!) I have at least gotten to know the neighborhood well.  I'm also getting more familiar with Houston inside the loop.  Of course I imagine I will continue to get lost, but at least I have a feel for where things are now.

This picture was taken from our old home back in Illinois right before we moved to Houston.  It is kind of sad to leave the home we had for 6 years, but we are ready and set to go into our new lives in Houston!

Walk Downtown Today

After I got the kids all set for school, I walked from Lantrip Elementary to downtown.  It was a really nice walk, the weather was beautiful and I enjoyed some quiet time after the hustle and bustle of getting the kids all registered for school.  First, I headed to the main branch of our bank downtown to setup a safe deposit box.  After that, I walked around downtown, mostly along main street and admired the architecture of the downtown buildings, the cops on horseback and the lightrail.

I got hungry and saw a corner bakery on Main Street.  It reminded me of one I really liked back in Chicago.  I decided to stop off and have a light snack before anymore sightseeing.  It was really busy for 11 am, but the service and food was really good.  I sat outside and enjoyed people watching while I drank my coffee and had something to eat.

Next, I decided to head back to Eastwood, but first I stopped off at the brand new Phoenicia's in downtown.  It was packed!  Maybe it will always be busy, or maybe it was because it was the first day of its opening.  Regardless, I was really impressed with the store.  It is 2 stories high and features a cafe, bakery and specialty grocery store.  I didn't go upstairs, but I believe they have wine up there along with some other items.  I decided to get a treat for my boys for after their first day at school.  I found some home made caramels and the boys loved them!  I know I will be shopping at Phoenicia's often.  :)

I decided to see how long the walk would take me on the way home to Eastwood.  It ended up taking me exactly 40 minutes from Phoenicia's to the Lantrip visitor parking.  Not too bad.

First Day of School in Eastwood

Today was the boys official first day at Eastwood Schools.

The verdict is......

Great!  All three boys had very good days!  Matthew said everyone was really nice to him.  He didn't like his teacher at Lantrip as much as his previous teacher at Leal because this teacher at Lantrip is really strict.  However, he still had a great day and made a new friend already named Jaime.  I asked him if he learned any spanish from his classmates and he said, "no, they all speak perfect English."  :)  I said, " I know silly, I was just wondering if they taught you any spanish."

Christopher also had a very good day.  He liked his teachers and the students were all very nice to him.  He said it will take him a while to get used to the school and the schedule, but he made it through the day with no difficulties...Yay!  When I saw him after school, he was all smiles and I gave him the sign for thumbs up or thumbs down and he gave me the thumbs up sign.  :)

Joshua was the child who was most upset about moving from Illinois, but probably had the best day of the 3.  As I picked him up from Eastwood Academy, he had a whole group of ninth graders around him.  As he left, they all called out, "bye Josh!"  He had a huge smile on his face :)  He couldn't believe how friendly everyone is!

All in all, a great and successful day!

Go Eastwood!

Eastwood Park

Today was a very busy day of enrolling kids in school.  Right after we had finished up with the last enrollment, we headed to Bohemeo's in Eastwood for lunch.  Yummmm!  The food was amazing and the service was just as wonderful.  I love the coffee there, especially the Mexican Organic.  Plus, having access to wifi is a nice perk.

Just as we were finishing lunch, my husband called me and told me he wanted to come have lunch with us.  Even though we had just had lunch, we decided to meet him at Bohemeo's and while he had lunch, we would have dessert.  :)  It was one of those dessert kind of days anyway.  My husband's work place is only about 5 miles away, but he wouldn't actually be leaving work for another 1/2 an hour, so we decided to head to Eastwood Park while we waited for him.

My kids loved the park.  They were impressed with everything from the covered basketball court, baseball diamond, playground equipment, pool (although it's closed for the season) and especially the skate park.   I loved the view of downtown from the park :)  We will be living very close to the park, so I can see us spending a lot of time there together as a family.  We all really enjoy playing sports together.

Here are some pics of the park:

Matthew and Lantrip Elementary

Today was school enrollment day and after we finished with Christopher at Jackson, we headed to Lantrip for Matthew.  As was the case at Jackson Middle and Eastwood Academy, we were made to feel very welcomed into the school.  We were given a tour and Matthew was walking around with a huge smile on his face the whole time.  :)  I have to say, Lantrip is absolutely the most beautiful school I have ever seen.  The grounds are amazing, the architecture of the original building is fantastic and the way they seamlessly blended the new part of the building with the older part is truly impeccable.  I am so impressed with Lantrip, not only the beauty of the school, but everyone I met there.

There is truly so much school pride in all 3 of the Eastwood schools that my children will be attending.  As a Mom, I feel so good about sending my kids to these schools!

Jackson Middle School Vanguard Program

Today, my middle son, Christopher age 12 visited and enrolled at Jackson Middle School in Eastwood. Christopher applied to the Vanguard program at Jackson and was accepted!  When we visited the school today to do all the enrollment work, he was given a tour by two 7th grade Vanguard students.  These students were wonderful ambassadors for Jackson.  Very articulate, kind and welcoming of Christopher.  They answered all our questions and were a wealth of information.  We were introduced to several teachers and Christopher met the Vanguard coordinator.  All along the way, we were made to feel very welcomed into their school.  When we finished the tour and were on our way to the car, Christopher had a huge smile on his face and said, "this is awesome!"

Monday is his first day, and of course I will blog all about it!

Accepted!

Yesterday, Joshua had his interview with the Dean of Education and the Principal at Eastwood Academy.  The interview went very well.  Joshua was articulate in explaining himself and the Dean was very kind and answered all of Joshua's questions and addressed all of his concerns.  While I filled out some paperwork, Joshua was taken on a tour of the school.

Here is what we were told about Eastwood Academy and our impressions.

1.  Eastwood Academy is incredibly competitive.  The kids that attend are extremely driven to get good grades much like my son Joshua and work very hard to have the highest GPA possible.  This is part of the GPA game, taking as many weighted classes as possible so that you can have the highest GPA possible.  I can see good and bad in this.

2.  The students really do seem to enjoy the school and one talked about how "fun" Eastwood Academy is.  I was also told that the school is like a family.  Which is wonderful for my son since he feels so homesick for Illinois and his friends there.

3.  The principal is very no-nonsense but also very caring and kind.  I can really appreciate this.

4.  Joshua will have to take 2 courses online so as not to lose credit for them.  Government is not taken in HISD until senior year, however Joshua was taking it his freshman year in Illinois.  So, he will complete the semester online.  French is not currently offered at Eastwood Academy, so Joshua will have to complete a semester of French online.  Because of Joshua's natural drive, I have no doubt that he will do fine with the self-direction needed to complete the online courses.

In a nutshell, we are really happy for Joshua and look forward to his years at Eastwood Academy.  Joshua is nervous about the work involved this first semester to catch up, but he is up for the challenge!