Calvin just finished an awesome freshman year in Future Business Leaders of America! I LOVED FBLA in high school and was given so many opportunities through this organization; it makes my heart happy to see my son also having fun and thriving in FBLA. It wasn't a "normal" year for the kids, of course, as everything was virtual, but they didn't let that hold them back at all. Calvin placed in multiple events at the district conference. . .
. . . and placed in 2 events at state, including 4th place in Introduction to Business Procedures and1st place in Introduction to Social Media Strategy!
That first place finish qualifies him for the National Convention. I loved my trips to nationals in Anaheim, CA, and Orlando, FL after my junior and senior years of high school. And it's so cool that he qualified as a freshman.
Unfortunately, nationals is the same week we've already planned our family vacation. But Calvin wasn't as upset as he might have otherwise been, because nationals is virtual again this year, so there won't be any travelers for our high schoolers. Hopefully he can qualify again next year, and they'll actually get to to go somewhere fun.
We are so fortunate in Wellsville to have a very strong tradition in FBLA, and this woman is the primary reason why! Dawn Rottinghaus was my advisor and has continued to be the best adviser in the state (or possibly the country??) for the past 20+ years. It was fun catching up with her and Megan (one of my best friends from high school and fellow state officer) at a graduation party.
Thank you, Rott, for all you do! I can't wait to see all Calvin gets to gain over the rest of his high school career through FBLA.
Calvin finished up his track season on Friday as he competed in the Regional Track Meet hosted by Osage City. Despite fighting some serious heel pain all season, he had a lot of success in the hurdles, both the 110 high hurdles and the 300 intermediates. Going from the 30" hurdles in 7th grade (and missing last year due to Covid) to 39" hurdles in high school seemed like a huge jump (no pun intended), but he took it all in stride (sorry, I couldn't help myself). Here are a few pictures from the 110s at the Perry track meet earlier in the year. . .
. . . and Paola. . .
. . . and the 300s also at Paola.
Look at that stride!
I was excited that he was able to compete at our elite Redbud meet at home, where 16 bigger schools attend. It's always a really fun meet with a lot of great talent!
He ran a 17.7 at Silver Lake, his best time of the year.
At the league meet in Burlington, Calvin was able to run against his mentor, Ian, an awesome senior hurdler who is going to college on a track scholarship, and will be competing at state later this week.
So that brings us to the Regional meet, where Calvin was the only Wellsville freshman competing in an individual running event. He had been practicing hard on his 3-step to be more competitive and did great for the first few hurdles. And we won't talk about what happened toward the end of the race. Thankfully my boy has lots of heart and got up and finished the race. Then he cheered on his teammates for the rest of the evening. He and Jack watched as the 4 x 8 team ran.
Three Dwyer boys in this picture: Calvin, Jackson, and Dawson running!
I'm so proud of the grit this boy demonstrated all season long, and I can't wait to see him tackle the hurdles again next year!
They had their awards night last night and Coach Savage also complimented Calvin on how well he persevered despite fighting pain all season (and that he even wore regular running shoes rather than spikes as he jumped hurdles).
Good luck at State, Ian! And thanks for all of your expertise in teaching Calvin throughout the season!
It was exciting for Calvin to receive his first varsity letter! I haven't convinced him to wear Russ' old letter jacket yet, though. . .
Way to go, Calvin, on an awesome freshman track season! We loved watching you compete!
Ok, before we get to the super-emotional part of this post (Violet's Clap Out), let's start with my boys. What an awesome year they both had! Looking back at the goals they made for this school year, they were most hoping to "go to school in person" and "play sports" -- I'd say we crushed those goals! I'm so thankful for our administration who worked tirelessly to keep our kids in school all year! It will certainly go down as one of the most unique school years ever with masks and quarantines and temperature checking and spraying down desks between classes and plexi-glass everywhere and social-distancing markers in the hallways. The kids rolled with it so well, and I'm very proud of all of them! So here are my handsome boys on their final day of Freshman year and 7th grade:
And here are some of the awards they received. Calvin got the Academic Award for World History and Sports & Entertainment Management. (He also got a LOAD of FBLA Awards, but I'll do a separate post for that.)
Oliver got the Outstanding Student Award for Social Studies, Science, Computer Applications, and Algebra 1, which is a freshman class! He really cleaned house in the academic department!
But I was even more proud when I saw the announcement that he'd won the Citizenship Award for 7th grade. What a fantastic year he had. Way to go, Oliver!
They had a couple more finals yesterday and that completed their school year. When I drove by the park in the afternoon, this is what I discovered. Which is exactly what I assumed I'd see. I just love our town and the way even the high school kids still love playing at the park on a nice day.
So the boys are out for summer and couldn't be more excited! Now on to the girls. Yesterday was Violet's 5th Grade All-Day Fun Day. I remember these days well with my boys and we always had a blast. I was sad that parents couldn't come this year, but thankful that her teachers sent me a couple pictures. The kids were encouraged to bring bikes, skateboard, roller skates, etc, so we dropped Violet's bike off at the school for her to use. And Mrs. Chandler said she rode it for HOURS! I love seeing her in the mix with all the other kids as she's riding her bike.
After school we continued the fun by hanging out at the playground with some friends.
And yesterday was ACTUAL tax day! It's so weird that tax day was basically the last day of school this year. Russ had to work a little later than usual, so we didn't go out to dinner anywhere, but we still got some yummy Smokey's to enjoy at home. Yay for the end of tax season AND the end of the school year!
This morning, we got a picture of my sweets on their last day of school (and really hoping this is the last picture I'll take with masks on their faces going to school!):
To finish out Violet's elementary career, I really wanted to do something special for the whole school. Every single person at Wellsville Elementary has played a role in her success and I'm so thankful for each and every para, custodian, lunch lady, IT and maintenance person, nurse, administrative assistant, and teacher. We took cakes, plenty of Sparkling Ice drinks and a violet plant for anyone who wanted one.
The Clap Out was supposed to be held outside, but with the rain it was allowed to be indoors as it usually is (just abbreviated to one hallway instead of all three). Here is Violet's fan club ready to clap her out of elementary!
Usually on clap out day, I'd follow my 5th grader to each of their previous elementary teachers to say "Thank You" and get a picture with them. I was sad when I thought I wouldn't be able to do this tradition with Violet. But then Vi's amazing teacher, Mrs. Chandler, took care of this for me (and all of the parents). She sent home this book which is just about the best gift I've ever received! Here is the cover page and the last page with a picture of her whole 5th grade class:
And between those pages are beautiful and funny pics of Violet with each of her previous teachers at Wellsville Elementary, beginning with Miss Katie, her preschool teacher! Here she is today, compared with sweet little 4-year-old Violet.
Then Kindergarten, where we got a page for Mrs. Unruh and Mrs. Carbajo (Miss Stein) because Violet moved classes after the school year began. She loves both of these ladies so much! I'll keep the comparison shots coming. . .
First grade with Mrs. Van Horn, who has just retired! I'm so thankful that Violet got to have this wonderful lady who also taught me in elementary school!
Second grade with Mrs. Robertson (who is now Mrs. Wright, Evelyn's fabulous 2nd grade teacher):
Third grade with Mrs. Stackhouse (who is expecting a baby boy this summer!):
And then 4th grade, of course she was lucky to have Mrs. Chandler for her final TWO years of elementary -- And what a WILD two years they were!
I thought it was so cool that every one of her previous teachers, from preschool to 4th grade, are still at WES! And I love how Mrs. Chandler and Miss Pam had Violet write the grade on each page. It's so special. After all of the pages with her previous teachers, they included several more fun pages with pictures and events. Here are just a couple of them:
Violet was so, so blessed to have these special ladies in her corner this year!
So wasn't that book just about the coolest thing ever?? Now let's get back to the last day and the Clap Out. Violet led the whole class! Here she comes, waving and smiling to everyone as she came down the hall.
The kids processed into the lunchroom where they gathered on the stage and treated us to a beautiful song called, "I was Here." As if I needed anything to make me cry harder. The chorus says, "I wanna do something that matters, Say something different, Something that sets the whole world on its ear. I wanna do something better with the time I've been given. And I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life. And leave nothing less than something that says I was here." They did a fabulous job and I promise I wasn't the only one crying.
After they were done, she hugged everyone in sight and we took lots of pictures with her and her favorite people.
Grandma Jo & Grandpa Denny were able to come to the Clap Out, but Grandma Cheryl was volunteering at the election for the school bond, so we visited her as soon as we left the school. (And as a bonus, the bond passed! So Violet will have a new and improved middle school and high school to attend -- yay!)
Here are Russ and I with our girl on the last day of kindergarten and the last day of 5th grade. What a ride it's been!
I love that the whole family could be there for her special day. And it was very sweet listening to the boys telling Violet that she would be at THEIR school next year!
I know Violet will do great in Middle School, but man it's hard for me to think about her leaving this wonderful place that has taken such good care of her these past 7 years. I can't help thinking back to her last day at the LeeAnn Britain Center (IDC) when she was 4. I was SO nervous about her coming to a big school and didn't know if they would really know how to take help my girl. Her experience has been better than I would have thought possible. This is yet another example of God telling me, "I've got her, Beth. I know what's best for her and I'm taking care of her every step of the way. You can chill out." Ok, so I'm not sure God would necessarily say, "Chill out," but then again, he might! My blog post about her last day at IDC included lyrics to a Steven Curtis Chapman song that was playing at that time, "Glorious Unfolding." I feel like this next chapter will be yet another amazing story of God's "Glorious Unfolding" in Violet's life. While I'm sad right now that she'll never attend Wellsville Elementary again, I'm certainly excited to see what God has planned for her at Wellsville Middle School!
And with that, School's Out for Summer! After the very strange and low-key summer we had last year, my kids are gearing up for a more normal summer this year. Planning on some baseball for Oliver, basketball for both boys, Summer Reading Program for Evelyn, hopefully a VBS or two, Calvin working as a lifeguard (!) so plenty of pool time, vacations to New England and Texas and the lake -- so many memories to make, so bring it on!
