Shelby

I wanted to do a quick post on Shelby & how first grade went for her. So hard to believe she'll be a second grader in the fall--eek!! Shelby was in the O'Datts class this year, which is a class co-taught by the best teaching duo Mrs. Gravatt & Mrs. O'Donnell. Shelby was actually in a reading group with Mrs. O'Donnell in Kindergarten, so she was so excited to be in the O'Datts class this year for first grade! Shelby absolutely adored the O'Datts, and the feeling was clearly mutual. Mrs. Gravatt took Shelby on a "date night" in the Spring to a paint night fundraiser for the school & then out to dinner. Shelby loved every minute of this special time with her teacher!

 

 

I was disappointed that I wasn't able to volunteer as a chaperone for one of Shelby's field trips earlier in the year, but I don't think Shelby missed me too much that day. This is a message I got from her teachers as they were boarding the bus for the field trip:





 

 

 

In Las Vegas, "gifted" and "highly gifted" services are only offered for grades 3-5 in the elementary school setting. Because Shelby obviously isn't in grades 3-5, I was kind of taken aback around Christmastime when Shelby's teachers casually mentioned they were referring her for gifted testing. Shelby's teachers have gone above & beyond for everything throughout the entire school year, so it really shouldn't have surprised me that they were going to find a way to get her into the program even though she technically wasn't eligible. Shelby had to be observed by a school psychologist before the district agreed to administer her IQ test. I actually had no idea it was an IQ test she was being given until the scores came to us in the mail & I was reading the numbers aloud to Derek and he quickly shot back: "I think genius level starts around 140." Forgive me for bragging about Shelby--but if your mother can't brag about you, who will?! Here's how her scores broke down:

• Verbal Comprehension: 133 {99th percentile}
• Visual Spatial: 122 {93rd percentile}
• Fluid Reasoning: 144 {99.8 percentile}
• General Ability Index (GAI): 141 {99.7 percentile}

To be eligible for "highly gifted" in our district, a score at or above 138 on the GAI is required as well as a score at or above 140 in one or more of the three other areas of the test. As you can tell, it's not easy to qualify for this! We are so proud of Shelby for doing so well on the test and for holding her own when she joined a group of 3rd & 4th grade students for GATE for the second semester of the school year. It was a great experience for her!

 

{End of Year 1st Grade Award Ceremony}

 

{1st grade family picnic}

 

As excited as we are for our next adventure in San Antonio, we are so sad to say goodbye to a phenomenal school where our girls are known and loved so well. I'm a little broken-hearted thinking abut the first day of Kindergarten & Second Grade & how our girls be nervously walking into a strange school instead of excitedly rejoining their friends at their old school. But I know this bittersweet feeling all too well b/c I felt the exact same way as we said goodbye to an amazing preschool in Biloxi and then bid adieu to our beloved Marvelously Made two years ago. And each time the Air Force has sent us to a new place, it has become "home" and we have found the best schools and teachers. So I know that will happen again for us this fall, but it doesn't make the transition any easier. But we are so, so thankful for our time here in Las Vegas! It has been such a sweet season for our entire family!