Jared graduated from preschool!

He was SO ready. So glad to be done with preschool. As much as I value this play-based free choice parent participation school with one of the best facilities on the peninsula, this year was a little rough. He had a very small class, only 14 and mostly boys. (As ALL their classes have been for the last 4 years… even at Laurel, Ethan’s public elementary???) In that group of 14 were 2 sets of inseparable best friends. This meant that 1/3 of the class spent all of their time exclusively with each other. I think this contributed to a serious class clown identity complex for several of the other boys, including Jared, as they struggled to fit in and get attention.

Additionally, Jared is advanced academically beyond his peers. He is reading, he can do addition (he’s worried about going to kindergarten because he doesn’t know multiplication and he’s “Not very good at minus!!!”), he understands chess and can execute strategy in tic tac toe (thanks to hours online with Nana!!!). Just as I remember Ethan struggling, Jared would want to play more rules-based disciplined games and have trouble finding playmates at that level. He would play Connect 4 with an adult for hours.

But this was a hard year for him emotionally. He is very sensitive physically and emotionally. I wonder how much this is nature vs nurture, but there’s definitely some nature there. Matthew is the opposite. Matty can scrape himself up so bad he’s bleeding and he’ll get up and keep playing. I think there are some pain receptors that aren’t working properly there. If Jared gets jostld slightly he cries in pain and takes it as a personal insult.

Anyway, the parents and teachers wrote down impressions of the children and this is what his comilation looked like:

Jared Lipka thinks out of the box, is thoughtful, humorous, has good leadership skills, is very agile, has good reading and math skills, is “taking it all in.”

This certifies that
Ethan Lipka
of Laurel Elementary School has demonstrated attributes of being
Inquisitive and Actively Involved

2006-2007
Sylvia Chinn, Principal
Janet Amato, Teacher

We are lucky there are so many options out there for education. At the elementary level we have a wonderful neighborhood school we can walk to, as well as many interesting magnet schools in our district: montessori, music and arts, math and technology, spanish immersion. Too many choices, however, can leave you overwhelmed!

Ethan has been achieving at a high level academically – above grade level, but we don’t want to skip him. Socially and emotionally he puts a lot of stress on himself and can’t always cope with strong feelings so in that respect he is in the correct grade. Unfortunately, the SMFCSD (San Mateo Foster City School District) GATE program is practically non-existent.

So, we had Ethan assessed by a psychologist this year. We just wanted to better understand what learning environment is best suited for him. Our assessment was a great comfort. The psychologist, Dr. Stephen Chou who specializes in working with gifted boys, assessed Ethan just the way we and his teachers do. It was a wonderful affirmation that Glen and I can trust our instincts and that Laurel is a great school for him.

Another affirmation of this was the certificate award above. At Laurel, they see Ethan for who he is and value him.

Funny note: Aunt Lindy attended Laurel Elementary School as a girl! And look how great she turned out!