Catch-Up Time For Karen and Jennifer

Well, yesterday was the day that I started back trying to keep this blog going and up-to-date. It has been a very grueling year, which saw us move three times to get to where we want to be. Well, anyway, in the right area. I have made a long-term commitment to the girls for their high school years and I hope it will be the right one for them. I do feel confident that it is, as it is a top-ranked school in the area and in some areas of academic study, especially, theater arts, a top-ten in the state. Next year will be Karen's first year in high school, so the friends she befriends at junior high will be joining her in high school.

Two weeks ago she signed up for her ninth grade classes and she and I went on an orientation and tour of her new high school. It is quite a school with over 3,000 students going there. Hopefully, it won't be too overwhelming for her. She's attending a top junior high in the area to prepare her for her new high school.

Both girls go to a very good and highly honored junior high. They win a lot of awards a year in various sporting events (this year the basketball team took first place) and their band just won the local sweepstakes award. This year Karen was on the cross country team, but had to drop out because she had to prepare for her math TAKS test, which measures her aptitude in the subject and allows her to advance to the ninth grade. Since the girls had basically no previous year of school, due to a degradation of my marriage, they have done surprisingly well. But, they have their problems when coming to math because of the missed skill building they woul d have had in the previous grade. Yet, outside of that and being in a very academic challenging school, their efforts are paying off and I believe (and hope) they will succeed and be able to continue on. However, there may be summer school ahead of them to get them on equal footing in the math department.

Outside of academics, they are doing quite well in making friends and keeping busy. Karen has made a wonderful friend named Andie. Karen also runs her own blog on her favorite actor, Cillian Murphy and does it quite well. Very professional looking.

Jennifer continues to excel in media editing and scriptwriting. Both girls, along with Andie, do a lot of filming and uploading on You Tube their various creative pieces they create on weekends. And, of course, Jennifer is still actively involved in her dogs, Claudia and Audrey.