yeah!

At the beginning of this semester #5 was informed that she was the Valedictorian, and then due to an admitted error from her less than stellar AP Chemistry teacher, she was denied the honour by 3 points, which she could have earned easily, but again, admittedly her Bio Teacher blew that opportunity for her. Top ranking in her school is fiercely close, with the top five literally separated by those 3 points and determined by each of the students' weighted classes.

All of the top 10 students have the typical "all A" report cards, the whole 4.0 GPA is a thing of the past. Now everything is based on which AP (accelerated program/advanced placement) classes you have; kicking the GPA goal to 5.0. She is blessed with a keen intellect and has taken every opportunity to advance as quickly through high school as possible. She chose classes based on their ability to be used as college courses, thus eliminating the need to take (and pay for them later) in college. At the end of each year she has taken the AP tests that, based on her scores, have enabled her to pretty much blow off her first year at the Bayou, or other colleges if she chooses.

This morning she was informed that she had indeed missed the spot for Valedictorian. She knew that a couple of months ago and dealt with the disappointment much better than S'mee (who wanted one AP Chem teacher in a dark alley...). She decided that being in the top 5 was a great accomplishment in it self and that she had already been accepted to the colleges she wished to attend and benefited from being able to chose instead of settle for; so why pout about top five? She's graceful as well as smart.

This morning she was also informed that she had placed second in her class and the honour of Salutatorian would be hers! We are extremely proud of her and are jumping through all sorts of joyous hoops and dancing all kinds of happy dances. (pretty good trick for dad and his funky knee) She of course is still a bit embarrassed about the whole of it and won't let me announce it to very many people. ("Not everyone has it as easy as me mom, look at #4, he had to struggle for everything he learned. And #3, who worked as hard as me and just missed it by inches."). I told you she was gracious. But I am not. So here's to my #5, and all my kids, who have accomplished a lot. And thanks to a Heavenly Father who has blessed them deeply! We are very very happy and extremely blessed!