Wednesday 17 June 2009

Pancake Breakfast

One of our favorite school teachers is heading to Africa this summer to inservice local educators on teaching methods. As a fundraiser for her trip our school put on an early Stampede Breakfast for $5/plate.



Carmen was the only kid in our family to hear the announcement that the fundraiser was a western theme. Chloe jumped at the chance to dress up, and was even more delighted that Carmen's out-grown boots were up for grabs. (The fringed vest has made several more appearances at school since then.) Steven was not so excited to dress western - he was a little concerned no one else in the junior high would even know, let alone act upon, the 'boots-optional' dress code. So he played it safe. (If you took his sisters out of this picture would he look western at all? No, he would not.)

Jaclyn got sick this week, which shouldn't have come as a surprise considering she got sick during finals week in January also. (From now on she is starting a COLD-FX regime at the end of each semester.) She wrote her last school final today, but has her Royal Conservatory Grade 10 piano exam tomorrow morning. The Royal Conservatory is a nation-wide music education and examination standard in Canada. Quoting your Royal Conservatory grade might compare to quoting your SAT score. (?) (I don't really know if it compares at all.) (It's the closest thing I can think of, but we don't have ACTs or SATs or the like here.) Mostly I just threw in the comparison because I bought Jaclyn an SAT prep book this week and I wanted to tie it in somehow. She's planning on going "somewhere warmer than here" for college so we are rapidly learning about American college-entrance examinations. It is crazy to think that 6 months from now my baby could have an SAT score.

Steven has no exam writing in his immediate future. In our junior high if you achieve honor roll in a class you don't have to write the final exam, and he is completely exam exempt! Yee-haw! (to stay in keeping with the cowboy spirit of this post) (although my real reaction was: Hallelujah!) Today was his last day of classes - he will spend the next week-and-a-half trying to sleep through Carmen and Chloe getting ready for school in the morning. Although, I'm thinking maybe I should get to sleep in and he can see the girls off to school. (Just checking to see if you're reading my blog, buddy.)

8 comments:

Mandy said...

Cute picture! Chloe seems like she would be a crack up! What a cutie!

I always got pretty sick around my finals too. They preparation always seemed to take so much out of me.

It must feel somewhat surreal to have Jaclyn planning on where to go for college.

Ortensia Norton said...

I was always so jealous of the kids who didn't have to write exams! Great job Steven!
And good luck Jaclyn!

Kelly said...

I'm laughing that Chloe's vest has made several repeat appearances. So funny! And I love Steven's outfit -- subtle is the way to go. Hooray for not having any exams. I hope Jaclyn is on the mend soon. I remember going to finals one year with a 103 degree fever -- like that's really going to be helpful to the brain.

Natalie said...

I love the cowboy duds! I was a Cold FX sceptic at first, but am now a believer. They don't put the same instructions on the bottle that they used to, but the 3 capsules 3x a day is a good way to nip that cold in the bud. I'm hoping that Jaclyn was feeling alright for her piano exam today.
Way to go Steve on the final exam exemption - I still remember that blissful feeling of skipping those babies!

Marie said...

I am bitter about the no-exam rule. It doesn't seem fair that that wasn't province wide.

Oh- by the way, Steve, Congrats on the honour role.

Anonymous said...

Cowboy theme is my favorite, how fun for your family.
Hope Jaclyn feels better soon.

michelle said...

I want some Cold-FX! That no-exam rule is fabulous -- I would think it would be very motivating to get good grades!

Your last sentence cracked me up.

Katie A. said...

Mmm, a stampede breakfast sounds good. I love the outfits, from the bandana to the almost-western shirt!

What a great incentive for the honor roll. Not having to do final exams? Nice! Good luck to you all for the final week!