It was a nice afternoon (although it was h.o.t!) and we'll do it again in a few weeks to celebrate Karen's birthday!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Afternoon with the girls
Today started with meeting Karen, Debs, and Jan at Starbucks for a morning pick-me-up and then we drove out to Micanopy to visit some antique shops. After some shopping we had lunch at Blue Highway and then went to Kohl's for a little more shopping and by then it was time to call it a day.
It was a nice afternoon (although it was h.o.t!) and we'll do it again in a few weeks to celebrate Karen's birthday!
It was a nice afternoon (although it was h.o.t!) and we'll do it again in a few weeks to celebrate Karen's birthday!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Last Day of 3rd Grade!
Today was Libby's last day of 3rd grade! Man, this school year flew by! Since school was only for 2 days this week and they were on an early release schedule (getting out at 12:30pm) I didn't pay for afterschool this week and I spent my lunch break yesterday and today driving to Newberry to pick her up and then coming back to the office so that she could play with the other kids here. It was so cute hearing the little kids yelling I love you to their teachers and the teachers giving the kids hugs and everyone saying to have a great summer.
I've been so busy bragging about my nieces that I haven't ever gotten around to bragging about all of the awards that Libby got at the 3rd Grade Awards Ceremony last Thursday morning! She got 8 awards...a Scholarship award for having A/B Honor Roll all year, a Citizenship award, a Math Whiz award, a SunShine State Young Reader award, a Principal's Award for earning a 5 (the highest possible score) on the math portion of the FCAT tests, an Outstanding Artist award, a Music Performance award, and a P.E. award for being one of the top earners in her school for Jump Rope For Heart that she did at the end of February (she was in the top 5 earners for her entire school). Way to go Libby!!
I've been so busy bragging about my nieces that I haven't ever gotten around to bragging about all of the awards that Libby got at the 3rd Grade Awards Ceremony last Thursday morning! She got 8 awards...a Scholarship award for having A/B Honor Roll all year, a Citizenship award, a Math Whiz award, a SunShine State Young Reader award, a Principal's Award for earning a 5 (the highest possible score) on the math portion of the FCAT tests, an Outstanding Artist award, a Music Performance award, and a P.E. award for being one of the top earners in her school for Jump Rope For Heart that she did at the end of February (she was in the top 5 earners for her entire school). Way to go Libby!!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Girls State
Well, to continue on with my ever-impressive nieces, my niece Della just got home on Saturday from Girls State. What is "Girls State" you may ask?
Well, here is the info from the website:
What is ALA Volunteer Girls State?
Volunteer Girls State (VGS) is a leadership and citizenship-training program offered to young women in Tennessee by the American Legion Auxiliary (ALA). Nationally recognized as one of the top Girls State programs in the nation, Volunteer Girls State provides young women the opportunity to form and run a mock government by meeting, living, and working with other young female leaders from across the state. All events and activities that citizens experience or participate in are designed to demonstrate, foster, or provide opportunities to practice good citizenship and leadership and instill a sense of pride in our state and country.
ALA Volunteer Girls State is a one-week program offered to young women who are rising seniors in high school. The mission of Volunteer Girls State is to provide a practical application of Americanism and good citizenship. The program, as sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, is a nonpartisan, non-political attempt to teach and to instill in the young women of Tennessee a love of God and country.
And after all that - here's what they do all week while at the program:
What Do We Do All Week?
From the moment citizens arrive on campus, they’ll be part of a community and an experience that often is described as “life-changing.” As stated above, ALA Volunteer Girls State provides young women the opportunity to learn about state government, citizenship and how they can positively affect their communities by forming and running a mock government.
• Actualize government. Much of the week is spent creating a mock government in an exciting, fun way. To begin, all 500 citizens of the state of Volunteer are divided into two political parties and 12 cities.
• Run for office. From the first day of ALA VGS and throughout the week, citizens will develop city, county and state mock governments and have the opportunity to run for or be appointed to an office in all of these levels. As a possible candidate you will be required to meet petitioning requirements, give speeches, address true-to-life issues that affect the level of office you are seeking and interact with your constituents.
• Become informed. As a part of actualizing government, one of the most important roles citizens can play is that of an informed voter. Listening to speakers address issues and voting appropriately is a life skill that will serve you well in all aspects of your future.
• Practice citizenship. Leadership skills will be honed as you cooperate with other citizens to accomplish both serious and fun tasks. The fun side of Girls State is comprised of participation in VGS Olympics, Fast Song and Girls State Jeopardy, and each city’s ability to work in harmony toward excellence may result in the honor of winning Best City.
• Sing a song. Citizens will have the opportunity to audition for the VGS Chorus. Three citizens from each city are selected to join this special group and will participate in many of the ALA VGS assemblies and special events. Not in Chorus? You may – just may – have the opportunity to sing anyway.
• Listen and learn. Each day you spend time in assemblies listening to and learning from distinguished speakers. Past speakers include Vice President Al Gore, First Lady Rosalyn Carter, author and University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Head Summitt, and Governors Lamar Alexander, Ned Ray McWherter, Don Sundquist and Phil Bredesen (left).
• Make friends. From the time you meet your roommate to the closing ceremonies, you will have the opportunity to make lifelong connections with other young leaders from Tennessee.
Here are a few candid shots of my lovely and talented niece Della from Girls State last week (that I got off of the website) where she was one of the four candidates for Governor (the highest position that all the girls vote on the last full day of the program):
And here's a picture of my beautiful niece that I "borrowed" from the Facebook page of one of her friends :-)
And finally, to give you an idea of how many girls attended Girls State and to show how impressive my wonderful niece is & that she wasn't one of four candidates out of 6 people :-)...here is a picture of some of the candidates as they listened to Tennessee's Governor while at Girls State (Della is six rows up in the picture - fifth person from the left wearing black and white)...
Well, here is the info from the website:
What is ALA Volunteer Girls State?
Volunteer Girls State (VGS) is a leadership and citizenship-training program offered to young women in Tennessee by the American Legion Auxiliary (ALA). Nationally recognized as one of the top Girls State programs in the nation, Volunteer Girls State provides young women the opportunity to form and run a mock government by meeting, living, and working with other young female leaders from across the state. All events and activities that citizens experience or participate in are designed to demonstrate, foster, or provide opportunities to practice good citizenship and leadership and instill a sense of pride in our state and country.
ALA Volunteer Girls State is a one-week program offered to young women who are rising seniors in high school. The mission of Volunteer Girls State is to provide a practical application of Americanism and good citizenship. The program, as sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, is a nonpartisan, non-political attempt to teach and to instill in the young women of Tennessee a love of God and country.
And after all that - here's what they do all week while at the program:
What Do We Do All Week?
From the moment citizens arrive on campus, they’ll be part of a community and an experience that often is described as “life-changing.” As stated above, ALA Volunteer Girls State provides young women the opportunity to learn about state government, citizenship and how they can positively affect their communities by forming and running a mock government.
• Actualize government. Much of the week is spent creating a mock government in an exciting, fun way. To begin, all 500 citizens of the state of Volunteer are divided into two political parties and 12 cities.
• Run for office. From the first day of ALA VGS and throughout the week, citizens will develop city, county and state mock governments and have the opportunity to run for or be appointed to an office in all of these levels. As a possible candidate you will be required to meet petitioning requirements, give speeches, address true-to-life issues that affect the level of office you are seeking and interact with your constituents.
• Become informed. As a part of actualizing government, one of the most important roles citizens can play is that of an informed voter. Listening to speakers address issues and voting appropriately is a life skill that will serve you well in all aspects of your future.
• Practice citizenship. Leadership skills will be honed as you cooperate with other citizens to accomplish both serious and fun tasks. The fun side of Girls State is comprised of participation in VGS Olympics, Fast Song and Girls State Jeopardy, and each city’s ability to work in harmony toward excellence may result in the honor of winning Best City.
• Sing a song. Citizens will have the opportunity to audition for the VGS Chorus. Three citizens from each city are selected to join this special group and will participate in many of the ALA VGS assemblies and special events. Not in Chorus? You may – just may – have the opportunity to sing anyway.
• Listen and learn. Each day you spend time in assemblies listening to and learning from distinguished speakers. Past speakers include Vice President Al Gore, First Lady Rosalyn Carter, author and University of Tennessee Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Head Summitt, and Governors Lamar Alexander, Ned Ray McWherter, Don Sundquist and Phil Bredesen (left).
• Make friends. From the time you meet your roommate to the closing ceremonies, you will have the opportunity to make lifelong connections with other young leaders from Tennessee.
Here are a few candid shots of my lovely and talented niece Della from Girls State last week (that I got off of the website) where she was one of the four candidates for Governor (the highest position that all the girls vote on the last full day of the program):
And here's a picture of my beautiful niece that I "borrowed" from the Facebook page of one of her friends :-)
And finally, to give you an idea of how many girls attended Girls State and to show how impressive my wonderful niece is & that she wasn't one of four candidates out of 6 people :-)...here is a picture of some of the candidates as they listened to Tennessee's Governor while at Girls State (Della is six rows up in the picture - fifth person from the left wearing black and white)...
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Bursting with Pride!
Whew, I don't know how much more I can take before I literally burst with pride! I just got back from spending a weekend with my nieces who make me the proudest aunt in the entire world. My older niece (who was the Student Government President at her school) who graduated wearing the white collar for being part of the National Honor Society, she was also wearing the blue and yellow cords for being a part of the Science National Honor Society, and wearing white cords for receiving a Distinguished Honors Diploma. That means that she had greater than a 93% cummulative GPA throughout her high school career. It gets even more impressive when you know that she has never in her entire life made below an A on a report card. AND, that wasn't with taking regular classes...that was Honors and AP classes throughout high school. Yes, she's brilliant. On top of that she's a very talented vocalist and actor (her major in the fall when she begins Vanderbilt University is Theatre). She also received 7 different awards and scholarships. See why I'm so proud? Oh, and did I mention gorgeous?? Yep, she was voted the Homecoming Queen at prom this year!
Not to be outdone by her older sister is my niece Della. Della is part of the incoming senior class of 2012 and she was elected as the incoming Student Government President taking over for her graduating sister. Della was also elected this past fall as the Junior Class Princess for Homecoming (I told you she's beautiful!). Della is also brilliant and she doesn't take slacker classes, either. While she does act at the Roxy Theater in plays alongside her older sister Della is choosing to go to college after her senior year to major in music. She's a very talented percussionist! I've been fortunate enough over the years to be in Clarksville at just the right time to catch several of thier performances at the Roxy and one of my favorites was at Christmas time three years ago and we got to see some of Della's improv. She had the audience cracking up. She's not only beautiful and intelligent but she's funny, too! :-)
And following right along behind her cousins is my very own Miss Libby. Earlier this year she took the FCAT tests which are the standardized tests in Florida that children begin taking in 3rd grade. Some grades (like 3rd grade!) are Pass or Fail...no matter how well they've done in school up to that point if they don't pass the FCAT they don't pass the grade! Libby's teacher emailed me Friday night while I was in Clarksville saying that she had the results back and I could either call her Tuesday after school to get the results or give her permission to disclose the results to me in email. I asked her to email me the results and I waited all weekend for her teacher to get back to me. Monday night the email finally came and the highest possible score was a 5 and Libby made a 4 in Reading and a 5 in Math! And if that wasn't exciting enough, I went to pick up Libby yesterday afternoon from afterschool and I noticed from across the room on her polo was a yellow badge. I thought for a split second wondering what it was and then it occured to me...she was chosen as a Saftey Patrol for next year!!! This week she "shadows" current Safety Patrols to learn just what she needs to be doing and in August when 4th grade starts she'll get her Saftey Patrol belt - and begin her fundraisers for raising money to be able to go to Washington, D.C at the end of next school year...so get ready to see her cute little face asking you to buy candy, baked goods, and come and get your car washed! :-)
Not to be outdone by her older sister is my niece Della. Della is part of the incoming senior class of 2012 and she was elected as the incoming Student Government President taking over for her graduating sister. Della was also elected this past fall as the Junior Class Princess for Homecoming (I told you she's beautiful!). Della is also brilliant and she doesn't take slacker classes, either. While she does act at the Roxy Theater in plays alongside her older sister Della is choosing to go to college after her senior year to major in music. She's a very talented percussionist! I've been fortunate enough over the years to be in Clarksville at just the right time to catch several of thier performances at the Roxy and one of my favorites was at Christmas time three years ago and we got to see some of Della's improv. She had the audience cracking up. She's not only beautiful and intelligent but she's funny, too! :-)
And following right along behind her cousins is my very own Miss Libby. Earlier this year she took the FCAT tests which are the standardized tests in Florida that children begin taking in 3rd grade. Some grades (like 3rd grade!) are Pass or Fail...no matter how well they've done in school up to that point if they don't pass the FCAT they don't pass the grade! Libby's teacher emailed me Friday night while I was in Clarksville saying that she had the results back and I could either call her Tuesday after school to get the results or give her permission to disclose the results to me in email. I asked her to email me the results and I waited all weekend for her teacher to get back to me. Monday night the email finally came and the highest possible score was a 5 and Libby made a 4 in Reading and a 5 in Math! And if that wasn't exciting enough, I went to pick up Libby yesterday afternoon from afterschool and I noticed from across the room on her polo was a yellow badge. I thought for a split second wondering what it was and then it occured to me...she was chosen as a Saftey Patrol for next year!!! This week she "shadows" current Safety Patrols to learn just what she needs to be doing and in August when 4th grade starts she'll get her Saftey Patrol belt - and begin her fundraisers for raising money to be able to go to Washington, D.C at the end of next school year...so get ready to see her cute little face asking you to buy candy, baked goods, and come and get your car washed! :-)
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