Chica's 8th Grade Graduation!

Okay, peeps.

I seriously don't know how I blinked and my kid went from being a fledgling, Middle School Newbie to a conquering Middle School Graduate but...it happened.

Chica came, went and slayed every step of the way.

On the good days, the bad, through the overwhelm and the incredible highs, my beloved eldest completed 6th, 7th and 8th grade, respectively, with the same steadiness, grace and kind heart she's always maintained--and that, truly, is her greatest achievement of all!

Among all the gorgeous snapshots from the past few weeks' events, this one is a fave, because it represents so many things about my girl...

She's wearing her beloved, lavender dress (purple is her fave, of course)...

Holding a commemorative trophy to represent her Choir Council Presidency (a role she happily served, as a longstanding choral lover)...

Displaying a special award for...The Heart of Choir (I mean, could that be any more apropos?)...

All while standing in front of the signage of her namesake High School that she'll be attending in the Fall!

I mean, talk about interests, achievements, personality and pomp all rolled into one.

I think that covers it all.

No need to post more.

We're done, here.

(Mic drop.)

I kid.

Because...

THERE'S SO MUCH MORE.

Within that same week, Chicklet was awarded an Outstanding Orchestra Member Award, basically solidifying her status as a lover of the Fine Arts (with the love being overwhelmingly mutual).

And, as if that weren't enough...the following week, Chica participated in her 8th Grade EOY (End of Year) Awards Ceremony, where she was acknowledged for: Straight A's/ Honor Roll, her participation in NJHS, her participation in several solo and ensemble contests for choir and orchestra, and...her participation in choir Regionals.

It was so fun to watch her chillax and enjoy the ceremony (in a dress she picked out with little angst!), alongside so many of her longstanding friends--who are, in their own right, amazing high-achievers, as well. :)

Honestly, by the time we wrapped this EOY ceremony, marking the end of the insane month of May, several weeks of performances, commemorations, awards and happy close-out milestones, it almost felt like we'd been there/done that a dozen times, but...it was such a beautiful, aggregate few weeks of closing out Chica's Middle School journey.

The difference in vibe, maturity and confidence from first day to last is astounding...

And, yet...despite such emotional and academic growth, I think one of my favorite things about my girl is her steadfast, evergreen nature.

She's loyal and accepting and has a beautiful way of focusing on the positive and not the negative among her cohorts--even as people grow and change.

In fact, I have a picture of Chica on the very first day of Middle School, alongside a handful of friends who all met up to carpool and walk in on the first day. And those same girlies are all still Chica's friends to this day.

Maybe one (seriously; just one!) has branched off and a couple others have joined the crew as they've moved here or grown closer throughout Middle School, but it's incredible to witness the consistency.

It's also incredible to witness the consistency in Chica's academic performance and all-around achievement over the past three years.

She went in loving Choir and Orchestra and has maintained that love--and will continue with both in High School.

She went in with a strong academic foundation and continued to display steady grades and high performance--even snagging a Top Female Scholar award, last year.

And...she went in with a kind an polite head on her shoulders and managed to keep it there through the most difficult years of adolescence--also snagging major Pride awards for leadership and character, each year of Middle School.

Honestly, if she weren't my kid, she'd be a little vomitrocious. 

But all it takes is one minute in Chica's calm and kind presence to realize that none of it as act or something she does for outward approval, it's just who she is--even when no one is looking. 

I could wax poetic about this eldest child of mine for a million posts, but for now, I'll just share links to some of the highlights of Middle School achievement, and then share pics of the small gifts we gave her to mark the occasion. 

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/2023/12/shine-chica-shine.html

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/2024/06/chicas-6th-grade-retrospective.html

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/2024/10/chicas-character-award.html

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/2025/05/splashy-honors-splashy-summer-kick-off.html

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/2026/01/triple-threat-triple-stress.html

One of the fun, retrospective things I "gifted" Chica to wrap up Middle School: a starter resume! I had such fun going through the past three year's worth of achievements and culling it all into one document for her to have and to remember. Plus, it's an excellent resource to pull from in the future, should she ever need it! Aside from a few date typos we have to fix, it's such a fun, little memento of her Middle School years.

I also gifted her a fun, custom ViewFinder with pictures from the past three years. It was such a walk down memory lane to pull together--and so hysterical when she tried to view the thing backwards (hence, the laughing pic, ha).

In case it's not obvious: I'm so, dang proud of my girl and her character. 

I'm so grateful to have her as my child.

To witness her life's journey.

To provide comfort, counsel and cheerleading--all throughout the good, bad, ugly, and amazing.

She has such a bright future ahead of her, and I can't wait to see what it brings!

Happy Middle School Graduation, Chica!

More, soon, peeps (including our EOY pool party celebration happenings!)!

Over and out.

Chica's 6th Grade EOY Awards Ceremony!

Okay, peeps.

This pic is officially one of my favorites of all time--thanks to a Mama friend, who managed to get Chicklet to smile for realsies--whilst dressed up and standing next to both of us parents!

 

Believe it or not, I rarely print or frame photos. Like, I literally don't have any around the main areas of the house.

But you can better bet that bad boy will be printed and slapped up on a wall somewhere--even if it's just on Chicklet's felt board in her room so Mama and Daddy can stare down at her all the live-long day!

Okay. Now. To rewind...

The unfortunate part of already living through another spawn's middle school journey is knowing about all the milestones that might occur along the way. Nothing is truly a surprise--though everything happens in a new and exciting way for each child and their unique path.

All that to say...the hubby and I were aware of the EOY (end of year) awards ceremonies that take place during the final week of school and involve students by invitation only.

Of course, there are many ways a student can qualify for recognition during any given school year--many of those ways involving Fine Arts participation--but color me shocked and shaken and so stinking proud from the top of my head to the tips of my toes that Chicklet's recognition was due to...

Straight A's/ Honor Roll!

I'll be honest: I never ever tracked grades in elementary school. Truly. I knew how the kiddos were performing based on teacher feedback, benchmark testing and any papers that came home in their backpacks. But I certainly never felt the need to micro-follow the posted grades of their daily work--or any test work, for that matter. 

So I was absolutely delighted and impressed when both Chica and Chicklet "graduated" from elementary in 5th grade with Straight A achievement awards. :) I mean...what a feat!

But of course, middle school levels up in a major way, and I've always been realistic with my understanding that it would/will become harder and harder to maintain this type of academic performance.

And, yet...Chicklet pulled it off!!!

Again, I try not to micro-check the status of my kiddos' middle school grades, either--beyond a routine, bi-weekly check-in to make sure they don't have missing assignments, or that they haven't gone off the rails, ha.

But nine weeks over nine weeks, Chicklet keep performing at such a steady and beautiful level that I started to wish--for her sake--that she'd be able to pull off that perfect record, simply for the PRIDE of knowing she could and she did.

And I think her smile at the ceremony said it all. :)

It's no secret on this here blog that my beloved middle-born has a big, beautiful dyslexic brain and has worked so freaking hard for every academic achievement she's earned. 

Without prior experience navigating middle school as the advocate for a child with special learning accommodations, I was fearful about this major transition from elementary to middle school. There are always horror stories out there of children getting lost in the shuffle or not receiving the kind of support they need.

And yet...at every turn, I continue to be so pleased with our school district--and my staunch belief that if you put good in, you'll get good out.

At least, that's certainly been the case for our household and each of my kiddos' academic journeys.

In particular, Chicklet was placed in the perfect math learning environment, this year. A smaller classroom with co-teachers,to provide more direct support of the students.

The main teacher was even one of Chicklet's favorites this year, and that's saying something, considering he taught the subject she loathes the most.

He offered steady before and after school tutoring, parent check-ins, a lot of comic relief during class, and Chicklet had the unique math opportunity of feeling like the star amongst her fellow classmates--even tutoring some of them during class when she was clicking particularly well with the unit material.

I can't say enough things about knowing your child is looked after and placed on a right-sized path--which I truly believe Chicklet was, this year. 

Honestly, I don't expect a golden year like this to happen again.

It would be highly improbably for Chicklet to sail smoothly through another middle school year without any kind of academic snag, so I'm trying to hold this one close to my heart and tell myself to appreciate it for all that it's given.

I'm particularly grateful for Chicklet's academic steadiness this year because it's certainly been a more tumultuous social and emotional one for her--as she would readily agree.

Had we been required to battle on multiple fronts, we'd have been crawling to make it through (well, we kind of were, anyway, but you get my point).

Instead, our girl ended the year tall and proud in her achievement (even if she did try to diminish the accomplishment of Straight A's, telling me, "it's not really that hard"), and we couldn't have felt more pride in her hard work. 

Side note: I adore that Chicklet stole one of Chica's dresses for the event--and pulled it off so beautifully! How it looked like I totally different vibe on both of them, I'll never understand. Sisterhood of the Traveling Dress, perhaps? ;)

Side-side note: It's heinous to look a the pics above and recognize just how much Chicklet's has grown and physically changed within a span of just nine months. It's humbling and WILD. 

In case it's not obvious at this point in the post...

I'm just so incredibly proud of my girl, and I'm hoping this EOY high note will carry her through the summer--and well into the upcoming school year.

She's an AMAZING kid, and I'll continue to do everything I can to tell her so, every single day.

More catch-up posts soon, peeps!

Over and out.

P.S. It tickles me to no end that my camera-averse, don't-talk-about-me kid is featured on three out of the top five posts, right now. Her Confirmation post, her Dance Recital Post, and the glorious pic of our Memorial Day Weekend. 

So. Freaking. Fantastic.

Go, Chicklet, GO!

Chicklet's Middle School Dance Journey

Okay, peeps.

Is it a double-post day????

IS IT?!!!!

I. Think. So.

I'm trying to keep up so I don't have to catch up as we wind down the school year.

Which means it's time to share some precious pics (and I do mean precious, because she never allows me to take any!) of Chicklet's Friday evening Dance Recital at the middle school!

As a refresher...all the kiddos have the option of enrolling in three (yes, three!) electives each year of middle school, and Chicklet's chosen trifecta this year was:

Dance

Theater

Band

And I think she'd put them in that rank order!

Of course, Chica and Chicklet both took several years of dance classes when they were younger, but all of it was ballet/tap--with a bit of jazz thrown in--and nothing much like the freer, feistier style of Chicklet's middle school experience that explored all varieties of dance--from contemporary to ballet, to hip-hop, to what'd I'd classify as pom.

From day one of school, she came home so happy to share bits and pieces of the routines she'd learned, and the love never waned all year long.

It's been a joy to watch my beloved middle-born get back to the movement she's always, always naturally loved!

In fact, as I've watched her dance throughout the year, I've had to ask myself many times WHY it was that she ever decided to quit official lessons???

And the answer to that, I think, is that the more classical style of training was a bit too limiting for her back in the day.

Perhaps I didn't try hard enough to find livelier styles of dance for her, but...you know what? All of that is coulda, woulda, shoulda, and it's never a great idea to start second-guessing decisions of the past, amiright?

All that matters is that she's LOVED her dance class this year--and that's made me love it by proxy!

Chicklet's only other dance performance of the year was about a month or so after school started, when the entire hoard of dance students performed at the Fall Pep Rally. It was so fun then--and just as fun when they repeated the routine last Friday night--along with several others!

With 140 dance studies across three grades, it was a packed gym performance. So I got very little video that showed Chicklet clearly--especially since the 6th graders were at the back of the group.

But I was still so thrilled to get to witness Chicklet performing so many of the dances she's showed us in the middle of the living room--complete with full music and the heightened vibe of a live performance!

Chicklet has such a unique internal response to public performances (it's been the same way with her Band and Theater commitments of late) that we often mistake her vibe afterwards as a little cranky.

Honestly, I think she just pours so much of herself into the public-facing spectacle of it all that she needs a little decompression time before she can talk through the event and interact with us, to a certain extent.

Because of that, it made my heart BURST when Chicklet came down off the emotions of the performance enough to permit a few very precious photos. :)

I gifted her an elusive Nee-Doh as a performance gift, and she kept it on her person--and even permitted me some sensory time with it, ha--the entire weekend. :)

I seriously am so dang proud of her for participating in an activity she enjoys so much--without being daunted by other students' skill levels or the public performance aspect of it all.

She just knows she loves it.

And she wants to do it.

The end.

And for that, I applaud her--big time!

Stay tuned for another Chicklet-centric post tomorrow, after the 6th grade awards ceremony. I have so many thoughts about Chicklet's inaugural year of middle school, and so many things I'd like to share while they're still fresh.

The past few months have been so chock-full of commitments and concerts and performances, but every single one is amazing and representative of so much work and dedication--and Chicklet's Dance Recital was so exception!

So, here's to Chicklet and her Dance Vibes!

May they continue just as happily into her 7th grade school year!

More mañana, peeps!

Over and out.