I am so thankful that I love my job! Today was Parent Teacher Conference Day (tomorrow is too). I am grateful that I am at a school that values this home-school connection so much that we get two full days for conferences. This semester we have asked the third graders to come to their conferences and many were apprehensive. It has been so gratifying to see these wonderful students share their goals with their parents and show some of their recent work. The students are amazingly reflective and have chosen goals that will move them forward. This time of year is so golden- students have made so much progress and seem ready for whatever comes next! In some ways, they bear little resemblance to the students who walked through the doors in August. Physically some seem to have really transformed. Today I was struck by their growth as learners. There is not one who has not made amazing progress- the writer who are serving as mentors to others, the readers who haves found new series to love, the mathematicians who persist through challenges, the ones who make connections easily between what they learn at school and beyond, the “shy ones” who take charge of group discussions, the problem solvers, friends, translators, diplomats, creative thinkers, and more. We ask so much of our students today and these kids walk in each day for more. Today I am grateful to the parents who have loaned me their children for the year, but most of all I am thankful for the students for being themselves!
Ms. Victor Reads 
I love the idea of having your students attend the conference. I hope at the end of our year, I can say that each of my third graders has progressed. We place so much emphasis on testing that it is becoming increasingly difficult to nurture the uniqueness of each learner in my class. I keep trying though!