Wow, third grade!

Since the end of second grade, Austin has been less than enthusiastic about the start of third grade. I understand that kids are looking forward to the summer and not to the following school year. However, he has been very anxious and nervous about the start of the school year. The TAKS test (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills), which he has to pass to go to fourth grade, is the source of his anxiety. The TAKS test is the Texas version of a basic skills test. It is taken very seriously in Texas and school funding is tied to student performance on the test. Therefore, there is a great emphasis placed on the test. Apparently, so much emphasis that second graders are nervous about it.

Austin has recently shown signs that he is getting a little excited about the school year. He went shoe shopping in Corpus Christi with Jen and Nana and then later at Baybrook Mall with us and the new shoes have helped.

Last night was meet the teacher night at Austin's school. Before then, we had no idea who his teacher was and had no way of finding out. They post lists on the wall by grade. You scan the lists, find your child's name and head to that classroom. This year Austin has Mrs. Collins. She made a very good first impression on Austin. She has two turtles and two lizards in the classroom. Austin asked what their names were. The turtles have names, but the lizards are nameless. Austin hopes to correct this. We gave him some ideas, Cagney & Lacy, Tubbs & Crockett, or Maverick & Goose. Mrs. Collins told us numerous times how much she loved kids and how she missed them over the summer. Austin was very excited about the school year after meeting his teacher. Good news.

We did encounter one problem. Towards the end of the school year, the school sends home an order form asking if you want to purchase school supplies for your child for the next school year. We always fill out the form and send in the check immediately. We do not want any part of buying school supplies at Walmart. The school does not send home any type of notice or receipt that the order was received. This year we noticed that other students had the supply pack on their desks, but Austin's desk was empty. We were told to check with the office. At the officer Jen was told that our order was never received and that they were sold out of supplies for third grade. Jen was handed a huge list of supplies that Austin would need. To say that we were frustrated and a little upset is an understatement. Fast forward to today. After dropping off Austin at his classroom, I went to the office and spoke with Joan, the school secretary. She is in charge of the ordering and allocation of the school supplies. Our name was not on her list, apparently our order form and check never made it to the office. She said that she only orders the same number of supply packs as she gets orders for. In spite of this, Joan was very helpful, she took down my name and phone number and said she would look into the matter for me. She told me not to go on a wild goose hunt for the supplies, at least not yet. She called me at 12:30 and said that she had found some extra supplies and that Austin had what he needed. I was very thankful. It was very nice of her to go above and beyond to help us out.     

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