Star

 Zinash in her 5th grade classroom last spring

Last April, Zinash, like all California public school students, took the California Standards Test.  Today in the mail we received her STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) Results. (I know...4 months later...that's California for you!).  Of course I was curious to see how she did so I tore into the envelope between the mail box and our front door.

You see, she had scored in the "basic" category on both math and English/language arts at the end of 4th grade, and to be honest I was really pleased with that.  They also had categories for "below basic" and "far below basic" so I figured "basic" was two steps up from where she started when she came to the US. 

Her 5th grade teacher wanted to see Zinash break into the "proficient" category - at least in math and maybe even in English.  I thought she might score in the "proficient" category in math but it was unlikely in English; seriously, the child had only been in the US for a little over 2 years by April of her 5th grade year.  5th grade also included a science test and based on the practice tests Zinash kept bringing home, I was hoping that she would make it to the "basic" category on that test.

So anyway, I opened the envelope and saw three long bars on the bar chart.  And at the bottom of the page were those magic words: "Your child is at the Proficient level in English/Language Arts; Your child is at the Proficient level in Mathematics; Your child is at the Proficient level in Science." 

Amazing.  This girl simply amazes me. 

Thank You, God, for gifting Zinash with a strong mind, the willingness to work hard, and great teachers! 

Answered Prayers

Zinash started middle school this year.  I'm not sure who was more nervous about it: her or me.  My own experience in starting middle school was...hmm...let's just say it was character building.  My biggest concern was that she was starting in a new school in a new district without knowing anyone who goes to school there.  I had read enough about resilience in middle school to know how important a positive peer group was for overcoming adversity and making positive choices.  And here we were sending our daughter into the challenge of the middle school years without a single friend to walk those first days, weeks, and months with her.  (Sound a little melodramatic?  Yeah...I know...but that is really how I was feeling.)

I hoped and prayed that over the summer she would make a friend that would be going to her school.  We signed her up for a local art class through the Parks and Rec department so that she could meet some friends her age.  She ended up being the only kid in the class.  I told her that I had been hoping that she would meet some friends through the art class and she said, "Well, I guess I'll meet myself!"  (The cool thing is that she's been getting private art lessons this summer...)  We signed her up for Vacation Bible School at the church we've been attending.  There were over 500 kids at VBS and she met a couple fun girls, but they didn't go to her school.  She went to the 6th grade orientation for 3 hours one morning and met a few people but didn't really connect with anyone.

So the first day of school came and she still didn't really know anyone.  I knew she would make friends eventually but I prayed that God would help her meet some friends soon.  I also specifically asked that God would provide a friend for her to eat lunch with the first day.

After school, I asked how her first day was.

"Good."

Ah, the one word answers...  "So how was PE?"  I knew she was nervous about changing in the locker room.

"Fine!"

Awesome.  "What did you guys do in PE?"

"Not much.  We didn't have to change.  They just talked."

Sounds like my kind of PE day..."So how was lunch?  Did you find anyone to eat lunch with?"

"Yes! Actually I ate with 3 people."

Thank You, Jesus!  "What are their names?"

"Hmm...I don't remember..."

Oh well.  That's my girl.

She has continued to hang out with those girls the past two weeks and a couple more girls have joined them.  I'm so very thankful that God answered my prayer and hers as well.

When I went to Back to School Night at Zinash's school, I found out another piece of the story.  For Back to School Night, they had the parents follow their child's schedule for 10 minutes sessions in each class.  The Back to School Night was intended just for parents and Chuck was gone for the week for work, so I went by myself.

During Zinash's PE class, I sat at a table with another mom.  We started chatting and discovered that we both had 6th grade girls.  She said that they were new to the district and I shared that we were too.  She asked my daughter's name and I told her.  Her eyes lit up and she said, "Oh!  My daughter has been eating lunch with your daughter!"  I asked her daughter's name and recognized it from Zinash mentioning her earlier that day. The mom shared that her daughter had been so nervous about starting school without knowing anyone (sound familiar?) and that she was so thankful to have found a friend in Zinash.

How sweet is that?  Not only did God answer Zinash's and my prayers that she would find a friend, but also used Zinash to meet the need of another precious girl.  God is so good!!  If God had answered my prayer for Zinash to find a friend this summer, she and J and the other girls in their little lunch group may not have been drawn towards each other.  And so I'm reminded, once again, that God's timing really is best and that if things don't go the way I envision, it just might be that God has a better plan in mind.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Mihret and I met with her kindergarten teacher this week for the beginning of kindergarten testing/parent conference.  The teacher asked her to identify letters, primary sounds of the letters, numbers, etc.  She was able to do all of that and read about half of the sight words that they are supposed to learn this year.   Clearly, this girl is ready for kindergarten! 

At some point we shared that Mihret had an older sister who just started middle school.  Another teacher who was helping out in the classroom overheard our conversation and asked Mihret, "Is your sister as smart as you are?"  

Mihret responded, "Oh no!  She's MUCH smarter!!  She's 12!"