Camp Sloper Relays

Elizabeth decided to run cross country for her school team this fall.  She ran between 4-5 miles a week over the summer and is now working out with her team two afternoons during the week and then running with me one day on the weekend.  She doesn't love it (which makes me sad), but she is sticking with it.  Their first meet was Friday at YMCA Camp Sloper in Southington. The course was relatively hilly, with a total distance of 1.5 miles for the middle schoolers.  She did a good job, although we all know that she could have run harder and faster.  She's still trying to figure out the difference between a training run and a timed run, but hopefully, that will come with time.

6th graders

And, they're off!

The finishers!

Faith for the Future

This past weekend was the annual Catholic Schools campaign and we attended mass with the girls’ classes – two different masses at two different churches with two different grades of kids.  It was neat to attend mass at churches we’ve never been too, despite the fact that they were only a few miles from our house.  Both of the girls were asked to do a reading, which made us all quite proud.  It was so nice to see the students dressed in their formal uniforms and to give the deanery churches a reason to support Catholic education, and our school in particular.

Elizabeth did the second reading.

Some of the sixth graders, with their homeroom teacher and the pastor at St. Peter's.

Elizabeth and Emily after mass on Saturday.

Emily did the first reading.

Some of the fourth graders with their teacher after mass at Notre Dame.

After mass on Sunday morning.

These two spend a lot of time together, between school and soccer.

Lax Girls

The lacrosse program had a girls bonding event a few weekends ago and Elizabeth joined some of her lax besties for an evening of roller skating.  She loved it (although she was quite sore the next day!) and had such a great time with her friends.

Nutmeg Classic

The Magic U10 girls played in the Nutmeg Classic last weekend.  They first played in this tournament last year - and as a brand new team with few skills, they finished a depressing 0-4.  Over the course of a year, they learned a lot about soccer and how to play as a team and this year, with a lot more confidence and a couple of new players, they had a very successful tournament, finishing 3-1.  It was really fun to watch them play, each and every girl.  Several girls scored over the course of the four games, and our Emily was on fire, scoring 4 goals in the first three 3 games (plus a few that didn't count because of offsides or other penalties away from the play).  I love seeing her confidence grow and it is just so much fun to watch her play.  Looking forward to watching some good soccer this season.

Now that Elizabeth has moved on to contacts, we recycled her sports goggles, replacing the lenses with Emily's prescription.  With the short hair and the goggles, she is almost unrecognizable.  Several parents didn't know who she was, until she started playing.

Saturday's two game performance earned her the coveted milkshake!

August Odds and Ends

Just a few August odds and ends.....

We were in NH for a party on Lee's side of the family and stopped by my parents' house for a quick visit and some yummy blueberries!!

Loves her dog.

At "Meet the Teacher" 

Penalty Shot

Emily played in a soccer tournament this weekend and scored her first goal of the season (and Magic's first goal of the season) on a penalty shot, after going down hard in the box.  Her first ever PK, and it was very exciting for Mom and Dad!!

My girl is left footed, but apparently decided to shoot with her right foot here.....

4th and 6th

Monday was the first day of school and I think that it was a success.  Emily told me: "I love 4th grade" and she seems completely nonplussed by the fact that she is one of only four girls out of 16 students in her class.  There is just so much for her to learn this year, and she can't wait.  Elizabeth made it through the first day of middle school without any disasters.  She is changing classes this year and has a locker - both are things she needs to get used to, but I'm sure that by the end of the week, it will be second nature to her.  Elizabeth is both excited by all that she is going to learn this year, and nervous about juggling her school work and extra curricular activities.  As I told her, "Mommy and Daddy survived middle school, so I'm pretty certain that you will too!"

There were both excited that notes and chocolate made a return appearance in their lunches.

4th grade

New uniform for middle school.

The other day, one of our friends claimed that parents were forcing their kids to smile on the first day of school, that no kid was ever happy on the first day (and that girls who say they are happy are lying.  We took this photo just for him).

4th graders

6th grade girls

Welcome and opening prayer from our amazing principal.

4th grade girls - all of them!