Family Happenings

I was going to post pics from the latest school events (Megan's play and Katie's art & music night), but I'm too tired to fight with the pictures tonight.  So I'll just write about two big pieces of news that I don't think most of you know!!  They are not secrets, we just haven't had an opportunity to talk to you about either of them yet.

(1) Chris is on the Holy Family school board!  He is our parish representative (an appointed position).  He is really excited...but I am nervous because he is already very active in the Dads' Club, both as a volunteer for most events, and as the VP for the next two years.  I don't know how he will fit in the additional meetings, but I do know that he will be great in both organizations.  It's really a great honor that our priest asked him, and the principal is very excited to have him on the school board.

(2) Katie was recently diagnosed with mild dyslexia, and now sees a tutor twice a week for specialized phonics/reading/spelling help.  We have had lots of warning signs over the years, mostly that she despises reading, and can't sound out new or unfamiliar words well at all.  This spring we had her evaluated, and found that she is truly "gifted" and super intelligent, and that reading is her only low point.  They did a second evaluation and found that she has mild dyslexia.  She can read at or above grade level, but she depends heavily on context, not on deciphering word sounds.  So this tutor is starting from scratch with the basics of phonics and the rules of English.  This program usually takes 12-18 months to complete, but Katie is flying through it so far, so it might be a bit shorter.  We'll stick with the tutor as much as we can this summer, to keep things consistent for Katie.  The tutor is great, she uses the best program available, and comes highly recommended from one of Katie's classmates, so we are confident that we found the right person/program to help!