Final GATE Musical for Cora

Cora was very excited for her day of performances in the school musical Wednesday! I thought she looked so grownup and pretty when she was ready to leave for school.

She performed twice in the school day, once for the younger grades and again for the upper grades. We returned to school in the evening for the performance for the families.

Cora was one of four "delivery people" in the play, which was called "The Great Western Movement." The Delivery People were the main roles, appearing throughout the show. Once again, Cora starred next to Violet, her sweet longtime friend.

At the climax of the play, Cora and crew are delivering the "Golden Spike" to Promontory Point, Utah, where newly built railroads are about to connect the East and West Coasts in 1869.

But, inside the package was... the Famous Golden BOWLING BALL?!? Um, oops!

Cora, as always, was a great little actress, delivering her lines loudly, clearly and with great expression.

Here's video of the exciting moment and song...

Sophia played Daniel Boone, and song his/her song very well. In fact, all the songs were sung well, and all the parts were well-acted.

Charlie had a role too, for the first time. (Jake wasn't interested in taking part.)

We're so proud of our girl! Who knows if she'll be on stage again, but she certainly thrived in her time with Mrs. Shafarman and the three GATE musicals she took part in.

Cora with Charlie and Cami, who played a pioneer girl.

Mrs. Shafarman has made clear that she is going to miss these sixth graders! Many of them have performed together all three years they were eligible. They presented Mrs. Shafarman with flowers and a special card.

I also gave Mrs. Shafarman and Ms. Sheen lovely bouquets and gift cards, through money I collected from the parents.

Cora, Cooper,Trent, Ryan and Christine goofing around after the show.

Cora and Sophia

Violet can't wait for her turn to be in the musical next year!

Cora will miss these ladies, but she says she's going to be back to help out next year!

Day in the Life

How about a Day in the Life, with Cora about to leave elementary school, and Violet in her last weeks of third grade?
6:50 a.m. - I wake Cora up, and then go to Violet's room to do the same. I give Vi her thyroid medicine...and then go back to make sure Cora's up... and then return to Violet's room to get her out of bed.
While the girls get up and dressed, I shower and dress too.
7:20 - The girls were having their breakfast while watching Fortnite videos when I come back out to make their lunches.
7:25 - Time for the girls to brush teeth, and then get their shoes on and backpacks together.

7:43 a.m. - The girls are ready to go, and Violet has been riding her bike with Cora to school for the past week. Violet loves riding her bike with her sister, and asks if she can do it every day.

7:50 - I walk to school, so that I can walk with my girlfriends. I usually like watching the girls walk from Morning Ceremony to their classrooms, but Cora's class is now setting up chairs for graduation practice instead of taking part in Morning Ceremony.

8:40 - After walking with my girlfriends, we come back to see the sixth-graders practicing for graduation.

Cora and Jake are in the white circle, practicing walking in. The teachers selected the order of who walked in together, and perhaps they know that Cora and Jake are good friends. They are the last pair to walk in, so every sixth-grader is facing forward, watching. Walking "down the aisle" together has gotten them quite a bit of teasing.

8:55 - Christina drives me back home, and we chat for a bit in her car before she heads to work. Then, it's tidying, getting ready for the day, handling insurance phone calls, and heading to an orthodontist appointment. When I get home at 11:30, I tackle laundry, blogging and lunch.

2:45 - Cora and Violet burst in after riding home. They have a snack, and do their homework and chores. Snack today consists of homemade vanilla bean frappuccinos - I've found a copycat recipe online that's quite yummy - and apple slices.

3:00 - Cora begins playing Fortnite with Jake. They play together most days, talking through their headsets. Violet watches for a bit, and then goes to play with her Lego dragons in the playroom. She is creating a new dragon out of bits of Lego.

3:20 - We leave for a makeup salon, where Cora has a 3:30 eyebrow appointment. This is a big week coming up - GATE Musical is Wednesday, and promotion/graduation the following Wednesday. Since Cora hasn't had her brows done since January, we agreed this was a good time to get it done.
Violet, just visible in the mirror, brings her homework and her kindle to occupy herself.

4:20 - My gorgeous girl, after Amariz, the makeup and brow stylist, finishes with her. A bit of powder, tiny amount of blush and eye shadow, and lip gloss - wow!

4:40 - Back home, Cora jumps back onto Fortnite with Jake, and they discuss attending a family picnic that evening at the school for GATE families. Charlie is in GATE, and so their family would be going.

5:10 - Stace comes home, and he isn't interested in a GATE picnic. Neither is Violet. Stace and I have planned to attend the school district's annual Art Show, which goes until 8 p.m. Neither girl wants to go to the Art Show. Lots of complaining.

6 - Cora convinces me to take her to school to the GATE picnic, so she can hang out with Jake and Char. We have a quick dinner there, while Violet and Stace have the same at home.

7 - Cora and I head back home and pick up Stace and Violet, and off we go to the Art Show. Stace and I are the only ones interested in attending. But it's a sweet event, and it's Cora's last one, and by golly, we're going.

7:20 - We've found Violet's artwork. It's a city collage. You can see by her bright smile how happy she is to have found it.

We never find Cora's art - she said she herself turned in her class's offerings to the front office, so we're not sure why no art from her class is on display.

7:50 - The event featured food trucks, so we reward the girls for their "patience" with Kona Ice.

8 p.m. - As the event winds down, Stace and I get an ice cream to share. We then drive home via old Newhall, showing the girls where we used to live.

8:20 - Cora has a shower, and Violet gets ready for bed.
Stace comes into our room, stating, "I just thought of a really good idea. What if we bought a really old van,
and turned it into a camper."
Me: "Why do all of your "really good ideas" start with, "What if we bought a really old...?"

9:00 - We say good-night to the girls, who remain awake past 9:30.

And there it is - A Day in the Life, 6th and 3rd Grade Style.

School Stuff

 Cora participated in her final GATE event of elementary school on Thursday, when she went to the district's cooking night. She teamed up with others from her school in a timed cooking contest using set ingredients, like on the TV shows.

 We noticed that most of the students were looking to Cora for direction - she is such a leader!

 Here's what they turned in to the judges.

 Cora wasn't thrilled with how they placed - second place in the presentation category. (There were four categories and three places per category.)

 In other school news, the children who complete their reading goals will take part in a dance party in June. I love the bulletin board!

Violet is the first in her class to meet her goal. Great job, Vi!

Week in Review

Stace and I had a fancy date Thursday night, at the wedding of his co-worker and friend, Phil and his fiancee Vina

The wedding was at a beautiful outdoor venue, nearly 90 miles away from home. We had a lovely time.

On Friday afternoon, Cora met up with other GATE students to take part in an escape room. They didn't quite escape, but they had a great time. Cora wants to do another one sometime soon.

After the escape room, we picked up Jake and Charlie for some Friday afternoon fun. We went to the mall for Menchie's, playtime at the playground, and then a turn each at a new virtual reality video gaming place.

Charlie was super excited about this, and all the kids enjoyed the racing game.

Though Charlie and Violet were happy to watch their siblings race, Cora and Jake went outside to hang out.

The kiddos were fascinated by the turtles. Thankfully, no one joined them in the pond, though I was sure Char was going to end up soaking wet.

Violet took this photo - she loves animals!

We went home and the kids played, and I watched the Dodgers playoff game. This game involved Team A breaking into Team B's playroom fortress to recover a pokemon ball.

GATE Musical, II

Cora took part in the big school musical Wednesday, and again it was a highlight of her academic year. This year, the students performed "The Greatest Americans of the Twentieth Century," and Cora and Violet were chosen to portray the Wright Brothers.

They had a song and dance, with lots of solo lines - both girls sounded and looked great! Thanks to Pam for these awesome photos. 

 

Wylie, Cora, Tyler and Cooper - 5th grade Musical buddies.

This was Cami's first year in the musical.

Cora absolutely loves the musical, and all the practice hours with her friends, and most of all, with this special woman. Mrs. Shafarman holds a forever place in our hearts.

I collected money from the other parents and bought and put together these "thank you" bouquets for Mrs. Shafarmand and Ms. Sheen. I may not be Melanie (who's now a professional florist), but not too shabby!

We went up to Stevenson Ranch to the amphitheater area after the show, as tradition dictates. With Baskin Robbins closed, the kids enjoyed Jamba Juice or Starbucks. The kids waiting for their frappuccinos at the coffee bar looked so cute and grownup.

Even more cute was how childish they all were - even the big teenaged brothers and sisters - running around playing freeze tag after enjoying their drinks.

We can't wait for next year's musical!