Hi everyone! Long time, no see!

DD is in a much better place this year, but I credit our awareness and our advocacy efforts in heading off many of the problems that school otherwise seems to be determined to shove her direction... anyway. I digress.


DD, 12, polished off both 10th and 11th grade honors English with a great deal of aplomb and relish. Her 11th grade English teacher announced to her (and me) that one of her writing assignments was "the best she'd ever seen" for the assignment and read it to her typically-aged classmates as a stellar example of innovative and masterful descriptive writing!!

Her algebra II teacher also told me privately that she's at the 95th percentile (and stays there) in that class, too.

Her high school GPA is at 4.4 for fall term, and her cumulative GPA is 4.2 (because of weighting for honors coursework and AP).

We've also really tackled perfectionism issues this year and have a MUCH better handle on those things now; DD is in a much healthier, better place overall. Of course, life with a mouthy, quick-witted adolescent girl is far from perfect. We occasionally tell "Katie" (as in Katie Ka-Boom) to "go home now." LOL. But it is so much better than a year ago.

That's awesome Howler! Gives the rest of us hope....

That's great to hear HK, and welcome back!

DeHe

Thank you for sharing Howler.. it gives me hope!

Wow, HowlerMonkey, that's a bit of a contrast with how things were going last time I remember a long post from you! That's fantastic. Long may it continue.

Great new Howler. What's next - early college?

Yes-- we think that we *might* be able to eke out a high school diploma with the current school, but probably only if they are willing to consider full-time dual enrollment after next year, and maybe sooner.

That would put her into the local community college when she's 13, but I really think she's close to being ready. She's had some reassurance this year that being 12 and a high school junior isn't THAT obvious, and that her behavior and maturity are still in the normal range with her academic peers at this point (regular GT 10th-12th graders).

College seems intimidating to her, but I think that she'll find that she's grown up a lot since she was 7 and 8 and tagging along with me in the labs and meetings with grad students and faculty. Her peers wouldn't be 23-26yo grad students, which I'm not sure she 'sees' yet.

Next step is a side-by-side class in a soft discipline like art, history or foreign language so that she can see that she'll be more than able to hold her own and not stand out too much.

It was really amazing how her mental health issues VANISHED within 72 hours of school ending last spring. Watching that happen made DH and I realize that there is absolutely nothing wrong with our DD other than a vastly inappropriate academic placement that inists on treating our lovely cheetah (and all of the other cheetahs) like a very capable sheepdog.

Hey, Howler, what a great update. Looks like you've found a great educational fit for your daughter. Nice to see you here again.

Bad school situations can really trash a kid's life. It is hard to really see in the middle of it.

Glad everything is looking up!

More cute that brag...

DD4mo was in a Bumbo seat playing with a toy, and she dropped it on the floor. It was funny to see how determined she was to get the toy from the floor.

I am sure it won't be funny when she is determined not to listen to me when she gets older.