2009 Achievement

Jono's study strategy - NOT recommended! Jono came back from exam early this year and was complaining that he has to write an English essay on the spot. So I asked him why he didn't prepare for it in the first place. His response was he did but the theme that he prepared wasn't one of the questions asked. So I asked how many themes did he actually prepare for. Answer is ONE! I was shocked. I told him that is NOT the right way, he has to prepare for at least 2. This is the strategy he used: he is using his 'psychic' ability to prepare for exam. He claimed he usually has 'good' feeling about what will be asked and this 'strategy' has never failed until that day! He has had dreams since primary school about what will be on the test. The very first time was 10 words that the teacher gave as a surprise spelling test, Jono dreamt about this the night before! So he got all of them right. What I didn't realised was he is using this as the ONE and ONLY strategy to prepare for all future exams!  Who is to argue with Jono about his study strategy (if you can even called that a strategy!) when his VCE results proved that he is in the top 2%.  (I thought he was in the top 5%.)

Not many parents can boast about this, I know all Jonathan's friends by name, they all seem to have the same name, "Hey man!"

I was quite "upset" with Jonathan's Term 1 Progress report, his lowest rate was "Very Good", the rest were "Excellent".  Why can't he be just 'perfect'?  As you are aware, this is his final year in high school, to achieve this type of result is really unreal.  Considering the fact that I have never ever had to ask him to do his homework, never ever check if he has done his homework.  He doesn't even attend any extra classes after school!  He is pretty much on his own, except for very little help he gets from me on Maths.  But I think he really was just getting lazy and get me to 'do' some of his homework!  Like I say, he is very smart.  Sometimes I really have problem trying to solve the problem (I did VCE a very long time ago!), his question to me was if I really graduated from university!  (I do have a piece of paper to prove that I graduated!)

I am going to miss reading his school reports as this will be the final year of his secondary education.

I bought Jonathan his first pair of jeans this year.  He hated jeans since he was a toddler!  He didn't have much choice this year, with his very 'active' social life, he needs to wear something other than tracksuit.

This is taken at Jono's graduation dinner at The Sebel Hotel at Albert Park.  The first thought that came to my mind when I saw this photo was what Jono said to Matt many years ago.  ( Matt was about 1 year old.)  Matt has always came between me and Jono or interrupted us whenever Jono talked to me.  Jono has been very patient and gave way to his brother until that fateful day.  He has had enough and this is what he said to Matt in his most authoritative voice, "She is my mum too!"  Matt was taken aback and the message sank in, the little fellow went away and never interrupted us ever since.  All mothers need a Jonathan!

I was very impressed with the way the young adults behave at the graduation.  They were hugging each other good-bye, including the boys!  There was a slide show on showing what the kids were up to in school.  I learnt more about my son in that hour than I have in the last few years!  Going through puberty and adolescent wasn't easy for anyone, he wasn't talking to me as much as I would like. (Remember when they were in primary school?  They told you just about everything!)  The slide show was really reassuring, I now know for sure he has been ok, has a happy time with his friends at school.  Not that I was 'spying' on my son, one day I was taking Matt and Fay to school, we saw Jono walking with his group of friends to school, they were chatting and laughing.  If you have a teenage kid, perhaps 'spying' would help ease your mind if you are concerned about your teenager's wellbeing.

Matt and Fay played at Westfield Shopping Centre, Doncaster as part of the Suzuki Association's effort to raise fund to build a new playground that was burnt down by the bushfire.

Here is my little girl performing her 2 pieces in front of an audience.

Then, it's Matt's turn.

 

 

Matt's tennis team managed to get into semi-final for the summer season, unfortunately they didn't make it to the final.  For the winter season, they did it!  The medal is sitting nicely in Matt's room.

This is Matt's final year at Kew East Primary.  He will be attending Balwyn High next year.  It felt like it was only yesterday that Jono graduated from Kew East Primary.  Time really does fly.  We attended music survey and instrument try-out night.  Interestingly, Matt will be playing saxophone as well, just like his brother.  He is getting very excited about attending high school next year.

Matt spent a week at camp this year and absolutely loved it.  So did Fay, a week without her annoying brother!  I love it too, it's so quiet and peaceful, it's like having one of those religious retreat at home!

On the religious note, Matt received his confirmation in August.  He was really impressed with all the seven gifts he is receiving from the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Fear of the Lord. His confirmation name is Frederick, after Professor Fred Hallow.  He chose the late Prof Hallow because he is a great Australian.

I was really surprised at Matt's school report.  His teacher said he has great leadership potential and that we should encourage him in developing his leadership skills.  I thought I know my children well.  Matt also managed to get a few 'A' this year - he was determined to get at least one as he didn't get any last year and his sister has two.  You know which of my children is the competitive one.  At graduation, the teacher would say a few words about each student.  This is how I found out that Matt is 'the most positive person on the planet!'  I really need to spend more time with my kids!

Fay joined the Australian Girl's Choir this year and absolutely love singing!  In Term 3, she joined the Australian Girl's Dance as well.  Now I have a singing and dancing doll.  Her first performance was at Monash University concert hall, I got the tickets online and must have been one of the first to get them, got the front row seats.  It was a very entertaining afternoon, excellent performance by the choir.  For the annual concert in November, she performed at Hamer Hall at Melbourne Arts Center.  She was really inspired by the older girls and wished she could sing like them one day.

You might start to think I am a 'pushy' mother, the poor girl claimed she doesn't like singing.  So I did a clinical study on Fay.  The clinic is our home,the only equiment used was DVD player and TV.  Fay was writing down something, pause the DVD, write a few more words and restart the DVD.  Occasionally she has to rewind a bit.  I was really curious and asked her what she is doing.  She said she is writing down the words of the song so she can commit them to memory.  She really loves the song and needs to remember all the words for singing.  She 'really' doesn't like singing.  She would demostrate to me how some kids at school were singing at the wrong pitch when it should be higher.  She would sing the song at different pitch so I can tell the difference.  She knows what she is talking about.  Based on this research, I think she is in denial!  She loves singing, I don't remember a day when Fay doesn't sing.

I was reading Fay's journal that she wrote at school.  She sure can write, now the teacher knows when her mum bought her undies, what we did on weekends ...  Her writings style is very similar to her talking style.  She will tell you a story and randomly makes a few sentences that is totally irrelevant to her story.  When I asked her how is that related to the story, her response was 'none'.  The thought just came to her mind and she decided that she might as well tell me about it right there and then.  

Fay is really excited about next year - she will be going to school camp for the first time and she will aim to get her 'pen licence' early in the year.

I hope you will have something exciting to look forward to as well in the new year and have a merry Christmas and a safe and relaxing holiday.  Till next year ...

2008 Achievement

Fay went to Australian Girl's Choir audition. This is what she has to say, "We have so much fun! We have to sing 'Happy birthday', copy the movement of the teacher. Could I please goto audition again?" She got accepted and will start her 'fun' next year, we hope. We are waiting to see if there is a place for her as there is a long waiting list. Result from the audition on her memory "Excellent" - she still remember those who didn't attend her birthday party 3 years ago!

Fay has chicken for her birthday, unfortunately only one survived from the vicious attack of a 'gang' wild birds - they managed to break one of the wood at the corner of the chook house and attacked the chicken. The surviving one was the smartest of the 6 chicken (like her owner), she hid among the woods. She laid her very first egg on Saturday, 20 Dec 2008.

Fay's best friend at school is Samuel, they played 'Robin and Batgirl', isn't that cute? They won't be in the same class next year, but their classroom will be right next to each other, so this is ok according to the little girl.

Before the end of year, our little girl got a merit award, this is what the teacher wrote :
"Your positive and bubbly attitude has been such a delight in our classroom this year! Thank you for always wearing a smile!"

Even her 'mean' brother Matt has to agree that Fay is always so cheerful!

Nearly forgot to mention that Fay has got 2 'A' in her report, reading and writing at Grade 2 level.

Tennis - Matt was playing against a younger, new player who is playing for the first time. It's interesting how he automatically play it easy, let the boy win a few points and encouraging him by saying 'Good shot!'. Some of the other boys were doing the same when they played against this little kid. It's good to see that the kids know the right thing to do, they are displaying great sportsmanship.

Matt competed in 2 events for District Sports: shuttle relay and 800m run. Didn't get into zone but have a good time competing. His team came second in shuttle relay. He is very determined to get into zone next year.

As part of the award winning team, this is what Matt's teacher has to say:
"For always bringing enthusiasm and a positive attitude to the classroom. Keep up the great work!"

He also managed to win the classbook "All about us!" with informtion about each child in the class. He was shocked when the teacher made the announcement that he has won by "always completing his homework in time and doing his best even though he didn't finish the extension component of the homework all the time."

This is something that Matt declared to me one day, something he will definitely have when he grows up and Mum can't do anything to stop him, which got me a bit worried. Drum roll ... ok ready for the answer, "A Golden Retriever!" Phew, that was a relief.

Matt performed at one of the Suzuki's piano concert this year, this is what he said, "My stomach went funny just before I played. But once I started playing, I was fine, I just played." And played he did, you could hear the pin dropped while he performed. His teacher, Lisa was very pleased with his perfomance as she received a lot of complement from other parents after the concert.

Jonathan is now doing a Certificate III in Supervisory Management - sponsored by his employer, McDonald's. He gets paid for studying and is wondering why he doesn't get paid to go to school. He must be a good employee, he has won $50 from McDonald's.

At school, he has won a 'Academic Award' for 'the most outstanding performance in Year 11'. Some of the results are: 98/99 for Psychology exam, after 'standardization' he has 105% for one of the maths exam. His lowest mark is 'A' and higest is 'A+'. How does he live with himself? Despite the good marks, he still needs much soul-searching as to what he wants to do in terms of career.

Jono got his learner permit this year. I took him to take the test, as usual with government office, we need to wait in a queue, even though we did have an appointment. Anyway, he went in and before I knew it, he is out. Meanwhile there were at least 10 people who went in before him and still in there doing the test. I thought there was some mistake, the lady at the office thought the same! She went to check at the printer and there it was, Jono's test result, perfect score! (I wish I have some of his brain!)

2007 Achievement

Another year has gone, it's time to update what the kids have done this year.

As you remembered, last year Fay's main goal for the year 2007 was to be a school kid. She has achieved that quite easily. On her first day of school, while we walked to school together, she exclaimed, "I feel like a school kid!" Well, she has her full uniform on with her school bag on her back, it's hard not to feel like one! How much does Fay love school? After a few weeks in school, she asked me why there is no school on weekend. I said we all need a rest after 5 days of hard work. "But, mummy, I am not tired, we just played whole day at school!", said my little girl. I responded that her teacher needs a rest. She replied, "No, she doesn't. She doesn't work, she just has fun with us whole day!" (I am changing my job to be a prep teacher.)

Despite all the 'fun' Fay has at school, she has learnt to recognise all the 100 most common words in English by term 2. At the beginning of school, she can only recognised 2! Matthew's "Day of reckoning": Fay could read so well that Matt couldn't trick her anymore. You should have seen Matt's face when Fay told Matt that she knew he was tricking her and she read all the words out correctly. Matt was so surprised, "Mum, Fay can read?" Yes, she sure can read and at a high level too. She is reading and writing at Grade 1 level.

Fay also started learning piano at the beginning of the year. She told me it is not possible to play with two hands. Then one day she started playing with both hands. Her very first piece was "Cuckoo". In her usual excited and happy voice, "Mum, I can do it! I play with my two hands!" I told her I have never doubted it. She has her first performance in July, "Mary has a little lamb" and "Honey Bee".

Another great skill Fay has learnt is swimming, she can do backstroke and freestyle. However, if you asked Fay what her biggest achievement is for the year, it would be 'monkey bar tricks'. I lost count of how many monkey bar tricks she could do. It was compulsory for me to watch her perform her trick when she has learnt a new one.

Matt played competitive tennis for the first time this year, he is the youngest player from the club, most likely the youngest in the competition. Most of the time he plays against older kids, it is a bit like watching David vs Goliath, except he doesn't win!

We had a wonderful soccer season as well, he has improved his soccer skills and makes new friends, and become best friend with one. During one of the training session, Matt actually resolved a conflict. When asked why he got involved, his response was, "This is what we learnt at school, "Be part of the solution, not the problem!" Well said and well done, Matt. He also enjoyed learning to playAustralian football in winter.

Matt managed to qualify for 3 events in the district athletics: triple jump, long jump and shot put. Quite an achievement for a little man. He competed in district for one event only: triple jump. He didn't win but have so much fun on the day.

On a different 'note', Matt has nearly finished learning all the pieces in Volume 2 of Suzuki piano book. He will be taking his first exam next year.

Jonathan has won 2 awards this year, "Excellence in Music Award" and "Buchanan Award". (Buchanan Award is given to student who has displayed effort and personal qualities which have made a positive contribution to the school community.) Asked Jonathan how he won the awards, his reply is 'random selection'.

Jonathan has started working from September, working 2 jobs. He has worked up to 20 hours a week while studying full time. He now realised that it was great having all the money but he hardly has time to enjoy it. Most of his friends are working too, so it's getting difficult to try to find time to get together.

2006 Achievement

What a year we have in 2006!

Fay will be graduating from Kinder! At the beginning of the year, she could only 'draw' her name, now she can 'write' her name! Now that she can 'read' a few words, she realised her favourite day of the week is 'Friday' because it has her name in it. Her drawings has improved so much that she can draw pictures of things, animals that even her mum can't draw. While she has learnt a lot in kinder, she has also been busy teaching origami at kinder. So much so that her teacher Kathy decided that she would NOT want an origami book for Christmas. Looking forward, her BIG GOAL of the year is to be a 'School kid'! This goal will be achieved next year.

Matt has a wonderful year too. He participated in many sports this year, tennis, soccer and cricket. (I should keep a record of the km travelled!) He also started learning piano using the Suzuki method and has finished Book 1 and started Book 2 in December to keep him challenged. His teacher Lisa insisted that Matt is very talented in music, I nearly fell off my chair given the musical 'talent' that his parents have. Through sports, he made a few friends. In one of the soccer matches, he has a friendly chat with his opponent, and found out they learn similar subjects at school, what they like about their school and so on. That is sportmanship in my book. Matt also attended his first school camp in November and has learnt to take responsibility for himself, that was his goal before he went to the camp and we are pleased to say he has achieved it - he didn't lose a single item at camp! At school this year, the themes they concentrate on is 'Responsibility' and 'Relationship', we (mum and the teacher) think he get very close to full mark. Matt also has his first piano performance this year, he played 2 pieces of music after having learnt for 5 months.

Jonathan has a very busy year of learning too - he picked up guitar and tennis this year. He has completed his Duke of Edinburgh award this year. He attended 2 camps where they have to dug a hole as there is no toilet facility. He has also started applying for casual work at supermarket, meanwhile he has helped mum checked market research tables and decided that it is quite a boring job. However, I think he is really good at the job. At school presentation night, he received an award for "Excellence in Music", beginning to wonder if I picked up the wrong babies at the hospital!

We went to Darwin, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia this year to visit families. We learnt a lot on the trip. Matt is trying to understand why some children his age are selling things in the street in Vietnam, we all learnt a few words in Vietnamese and Malay. (Surprisingly, Fay still remembers some of the words just the other day.) Jono comments on Singapore: Singaporeans only eat and buy clothes! (I personally think he is spot on!) Darwin is a place we will go back to visit again.

Till next year, have a very Merry Christmas and Happy and Safe New Year.