record_id: 2b2f8b3e-f83d-8106-b216-d91ac56eca04
created_time: 2025-11-21T06:10:00.000Z
title: 11-20 Progress Report: Matthew - Academic and Behavioral Progress
source_url: 

[TRANSCRIPTION]
Speaker 1 00:07:16
Based on the picture, Hydroban Cementitious would not be my first guess.
Speaker 1 00:08:17
It has a yellowish tint to it, comma, and this looks more like mortar, comma, but that might just be because of the picture resolution in the, when I zoom in, period.
Speaker 1 00:08:50
The pipe detail does look like it has something lapping up on the fitting, comma, but I am not sure, period.
Speaker 1 00:11:47
Let me give it to you. I was going to try to go right past you.
Speaker 2 00:11:53
I was going to try to go right past you just to annoy you instead of help you.
Speaker 3 00:12:09
Mom's voice is still the same.
Speaker 2 00:12:16
The teacher said, I might grab you.
Speaker 1 00:12:25
Grab what? I'm not going to ask you.
Speaker 4 00:12:29
No, I might go in your car. Well, I don't know if you can actually join. Me? Oh, you're going to try to go. 
Speaker 2 00:13:01
Have you bought that for me enough? Just in case. Why are you angry. 
Speaker 4 00:13:24
I played soccer so much and you literally only did it once this week. Do you understand though? Like, your response is weird. It sometimes gets weird. But you only did it once. And you got to play with the soccer balls when you went yesterday, I hear. That was the first time. But still, you got what you wanted. And then you're still happy.
Speaker 4 00:13:54
Come on in.
Speaker 2 00:13:59
It's, you know, they told me that your thing is so unique.
Speaker 4 00:14:27
One of four. And we have a whole lesson today. Mom, you just need to go like this. They sent an email. What? They sent an email over the weekend. And she was on the email. Right. I don't think this is it.
Speaker 4 00:14:58
we're having to let something that's what i hate.
Speaker 1 00:16:20
You're sick, you're okay. Just, uh.
Speaker 2 00:16:28
Hi. Baby, you can go play. We have to wait. We can't go now.
Speaker 1 00:17:45
Where he's like, do you see that? Sometimes, you know, I just want to go from an old thread.
Speaker 1 00:18:17
It's a new thing.
Speaker 4 00:18:19
And she was like, well, because of all the egg hocks and programs that have been created to me. I think, like, people are going to see, like, I guess they're getting a new flight.
Speaker 4 00:18:60
So, she goes, now, I'm going to, everybody's saying that LinkedIn is, you know, done it. She goes, recruiters are using LinkedIn as a way to find you. Like, for $19, I've listened to a lot. You know, it wasn't one hour, it was maybe like 15 minutes, but it's like an hour's worth of work, which wasn't. So, it was like, you need to, like, the way that LinkedIn is set up is you need to,
Speaker 4 00:19:34
you gave some strategies that we already pretty much did, which was, like, picture, you know, with your shoulders up. An easy, like, a plain background or something that's not too, you know, like, busy on you. Make sure that, like, your title is, like, broken up, you know, bars. And also, like, there's, like, one or two titles with, like, four descriptive words.
Speaker 4 00:20:06
And then it said, take your about, your about, basically, in short. And then list out, like, a checklist, your key competencies. Hey, hello there, guys.
Speaker 1 00:20:22
Oh, we were just sitting, looking at our watches.
Speaker 5 00:20:30
Oh, I'm sorry. It's okay. Oh. Um, we've been doing these, talking through the day. Okay, so we'll start with math, which is Matthew's first class and he's with me for math. This is the benchmark assessment from August 29th this year. So it just kind of shows where we came into the year at. So with algebraic thinking, this is multi-step problems, word problems. We were well below benchmark. Fractions we tested at below benchmark.
Speaker 5 00:21:01
This is not surprising because fractions really aren't hit as hard in third grade as we are obviously, I'm sure you've seen in the homework, hitting them now and he's doing much better here. We did not test geometry at the beginning of the year. That's why it says no interpretation. Measurement and data he tested at benchmark and then numbers and operations, so, basically adding, subtracting, dividing, multiplying below benchmark. This is just our beginning of the year assessment. We're doing another, assessment like this. This is computer-based assessment through our new curriculum and we have the second one in December.
Speaker 5 00:21:34
And I'm really excited to see what we see between, you know, the beginning of the year and now for Matthew. In math right now, currently we've done the factors and multiples. We've done introduction to fractions. Now we've been working with equivalent fractions and comparing fractions. Very well in terms of fractions on a number line, identifying what a fraction is through models, and we're working on how to find fractions with common denominators in order to compare them. Matthew can explain to me how to do it.
Speaker 5 00:22:06
I know he knows the steps that he needs to follow. What I'm noticing is we are kind of rushing to write down an answer. And when we're rushing to write down the answer, we skip the common denominator steps. So we're giving me incorrect answers because we're just trying to guess and skip the steps. And he will draw models, and that's awesome, but I try to explain to them, you know, like, our drawings of 8 tenths versus 8 twelfths are not always going to be perfectly accurate when we're not using a ruler and we're just drawing shapes. That's why we have to make them into common denominators, use these multiplication skills, et cetera.
Speaker 5 00:22:39
One thing that he's doing really well at is the vocabulary of factor versus multiple. So we've really tried to drill into them that multiples we find by skip counting, that's our product, and factors are the two numbers we multiply together. And we're very, very capable in order of, like, oh, it's asking for factors, I know I have to do this. One thing that would really help Matthew is having his multiplication facts just down a little bit more. We were talking to some other parents today, too. I made a bunch of math games with, like, a deck of cards or dice last year, so we can send home some options.
Speaker 4 00:23:13
Yeah.
Speaker 5 00:23:16
I had one years ago when I was introducing multiplication back when I taught in Chicago, and it totally depends on the student, right? Because sometimes those are great tools, other times they become toys and not so much of a tool. One thing, I have taught Matthew a game that he does actually really like, and I taught him to play it against Nick, and they sometimes do it in their free time. Just split a deck of cards in half, flip two cards, you have to multiply them together, so does your partner, and whoever has the higher product gets to keep all of the cards.
Speaker 5 00:23:48
So it's kind of like war, but continuous. And simple games like that, just for him to strengthen that math fact knowledge, would really help him, especially as we're about to transition into long division or more extensive math problems. If we're using the chart in between every step for long division, that could be very tricky for us to kind of keep up with what needs to happen. He's very motivated in math. I can tell he loves math. really loves math he enjoys participating in class he's always asking if he can solve them on the.
Speaker 1 00:24:17
board so i love that i just really want him to take his time that's the hardest that's been his biggest weakness but real quick before i do it um so you're saying like basically his multiplication tables like just being able to nine times five yeah whatever so that would really help okay, yeah yeah his his it's always been like stop just slow down yeah this sucks yet so he doesn't have.
Speaker 4 00:24:44
the working memory that he needs a little down and up yeah be able to apply the working.
Speaker 5 00:24:52
And right now our curriculum, the lesson we did today, it had the steps laid out so they had to solve the first step and write it, solve the second step and write it, and then their product could go on, like their answer finally came down here, and we were skipping the first two steps. He's like, well, I know the answer. You didn't do the first two steps. And I just kind of, my like blanket statement for this is, oh, well, if you gave this paper to me, I can't give you points for anything on this because you didn't finish the whole question. And so that's kind of where we're starting to.
Speaker 4 00:25:18
Yeah, I'm starting to focus on his homework. Yeah. You know, if he doesn't have the answer written down in the box, give it back to him. He can't read your name. I know. You're being sloppy or if he like tries to like make it work, we can erase it all and rewrite it. Yeah. The making it work, they love that. He's like, it was a two, but now it's a three. And I'm like, that's not three.
Speaker 5 00:25:50
It's funny, but he's doing well in math. I just think if we just slow down, we'd be doing great. You know what I mean? Yeah, so I'm very proud of how far we've come so far, but just in terms of the fractions, it's multi-step. It's all a lot of steps, and I just don't want him to get kind of lost in the sauce by speeding through it.
Speaker 4 00:26:09
So I'm late, obviously, between 5th and 6th grade. How much is that of 15. 
Speaker 5 00:26:15
We start math at 8.20, so he's usually here around 8.15, and he's usually okay. And I always do a little warm-up, so sometimes he'll come into the warm-up a little late, but I always check in with him and make sure he's...
Speaker 4 00:26:27
I mean, obviously, I start at 8.10, and on Fridays I have a rewarding week towards 8. But it just depends. I can't drop off my voice behind me any earlier. I'm sometimes depending on the traffic coming down. Like, well, we're having a great day, dropping them off. I know.
Speaker 5 00:26:52
There's no rhyme or reason ever. And it's not affecting him right now. Like I said, he's usually here still in that PFL time, that prep time. He looks like I am missing out. No, he's... That's why I can't believe you're doing this. No, he's really, it's been okay. Yeah, because any time after 8.30 is where, like, we're past the warm-up and we're really in the lessons. That's, like, the danger zone. But he's been okay. I think I want an excuse and be like, okay, I didn't mean to fight him. No, it's okay. I know what you mean. He, like, stresses me out.
Speaker 5 00:27:22
Yeah.
Speaker 4 00:27:23
I want to get in there.
Speaker 5 00:27:24
Totally. Yeah, Matt, because from 8.10 to 8.20, they do, like, planners and prep work and stuff. Yeah. Do you want to do OG? Yes. Okay.
Speaker 6 00:27:33
Cool. OG. He's doing really great in OG. So he started the year with me. with his read-live at a 3.5 level. And you can see here, he was reading 70 words per minute. And then sometimes, if the story was tougher or less, mistakes in the beginning. But then he quickly jumped after the hot timing to more than 100 words per minute,
Speaker 6 00:28:05
with some mistakes and stuff like that. So I actually wanted to challenge him a little bit more. So we recently moved him up to a 4.0 reading level. And again, he's showing the 70s, 80s. Even in one story, he had 100 words in the first part, and then jumped to our 100s later. So he definitely has the potential to, like, keep moving up as we're going along. You see here that there is still some, like, mistakes and errors.
Speaker 6 00:28:37
I would love to see those errors go down a bit more because, again, like we've been seeing, he's reading really fast.
Speaker 4 00:28:45
He likes to assume. Yeah, he'll just, like, he'll assume it's a word and I'll move on. Yes. And I get it. I think this looks a little bit, you know, like, it's like you don't want it to hold you back and you can get the major concept, you know, but it's like, hold on here. Yeah. It's not even close, like there is that letter even in this word.
Speaker 6 00:29:05
Yeah, exactly. So we're working on making sure that we are taking our time, you know, reading through. And he's doing that, his expression is really good too. So when he's reading the stories and stuff like that, he's... He's animated? Yes. He's very animated. Yes. Comprehension, we're kind of getting a little bit hiccups on the two recent stories.
Speaker 6 00:29:35
But other than that, like we've been like mostly in the blue. It could be just because of like the content of the stories. So like for this one, it would be strength in numbers, which was about driver ants, which... Yeah. So that can be a little bit tough, but I'm going to keep an eye on it, see. Okay. How he continues, vocabulary is where I see him struggle the most with Relag, which we always go back to what he got wrong and fix those things.
Speaker 6 00:30:06
So he's catching on to that, and then if he needs help, he'll raise his hand and talk to me about it. So Relag is going well. He's progressing through that. In general for OG, his decoding skills are pretty strong, especially for closed syllable, open syllable, the exceptions, vowel consonant E, things like that. And I think it's a testament to all of his years in OG here at the school.
Speaker 6 00:30:38
He's very familiar with the patterns and stuff. It's the encoding that he's really struggling with. From the beginning of this year, this is his... Back in August, we did the decoding and encoding of all these syllable types. So you can see, like, his decoding is great. And then as soon as we get to that encoding, we're starting to drop off on those numbers. And then same thing here.
Speaker 6 00:31:10
Can you give me an example? I'm sorry. No, you're fine. I was going to say. Writing. Sorry, we read the word.
Speaker 4 00:31:15
So he's writing. So tell me where he's going.
Speaker 1 00:31:18
Decoding is reading. Encoding is writing.
Speaker 5 00:31:22
It's the same word. So he'd be reading basketball. He can read it. But then if we ask him to write basketball. Yeah, he can. But he's a very phonetic speller. So when he says the word out loud to himself, he's writing it exactly how it sounds when he's speaking. So through OG, what she's doing, it's going to very much strengthen that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:31:41
You know, we've always had a problem, I think, with speech with him. And now he's just. Any, for the most part, any issues that he has in speech, it's habitual or lazy. You know, for the most part, he can do everything. He just kind of like, eh, whatever, it's fine. They understood, you know.
Speaker 2 00:32:01
Right.
Speaker 4 00:32:03
Yeah.
Speaker 6 00:32:13
Which, he's already, like, making steady progress. Like, recently we did, so after we go through the concepts, we do test them on them again. And so, encoding, he got two right in the beginning of the year, but then after we did it, we did three. And he'll be tested again on it, and we're going to keep on.
Speaker 1 00:32:37
In the calendar year. 
Speaker 6 00:32:38
Before they go to fifth. Oh.
Speaker 5 00:32:41
Well, yeah, and we can do it sooner than that, too. Yeah. We can, yeah.
Speaker 4 00:32:45
I'd like to, I'd love to get a follow-up. That's true. Absolutely. Yeah, we can do that. We've been invested into this for since the beginning. And so there's some concern we have. You could work at, you could practice it a lot more. That being said, like financially for it, we have to start making decisions and so much.
Speaker 4 00:33:17
interest. So one might be at a point where the crossroads where we were hoping by this time, you know, you would have enough of a solid foundation, learning to, a solid foundation to be able to transfer back. Compared to transition. Yeah.
Speaker 4 00:33:47
I don't know.
Speaker 1 00:33:57
The expectation was that this would be a two to four year thing, and I think that, and this is not a hit, right, so she grew up going to public schools and then trying to adapt to dyslexia, and they didn't know how to do it, right, and so they did a terrible job, and so she's like, you know, we both kind of went at it, it's like, we don't want what she had, right, and so Prentice came here, and I find that,
Speaker 1 00:34:28
and so I think that, and from what I'm getting from you guys, I think you guys are going to agree with what I'm about to say, well, the result of what I'm about to say, you always tell me I'm too mean and stuff, so, I think we always wanted to go, like, we don't want to push him too hard, right? Like, what is too much? What is, I don't know, I don't have dyslexia, right? And dyslexia, I'm the ADHD, well, she is too, but, you know, and it's like, I'm the ADHD, she's the dyslexic, and he got both, you know?
Speaker 1 00:34:60
And I think, you know, the hardest thing is like, okay, we're kind of past the speech stuff. You understand everything for the most part, right? And we're not, I know we're not 100% past it. He's been very successful, can't we? Yeah, and I feel like now we've got to push him, and it's like, well, we haven't experienced that this year, right. 
Speaker 5 00:35:23
Yes, so I kind of see something, actually, where when I do push Matthew, I kind of get a cheesy grin, and he kind of just, well, he kind of stops. Like, he kind of shuts down a little bit when I try to push through. So, like, earlier today when I was explaining he wasn't following the steps, I'm like, oh, Matthew, you know, part of my expectations is we follow these steps, and he just kind of was like. And then didn't want to continue. Do you know what I mean? I'm sure you see it at home all the time.
Speaker 4 00:35:49
Well, I mean, like, I love him for respecting you. But, like, I mean, like, there's going to be several kids' homes as far as, like, attitude and compliance. I like that that's his response. Oh, yeah. Do I want him to just comply? Yeah. No, I get it.
Speaker 1 00:36:14
He's a super smart kid, and he thinks he's much smarter than he actually is.
Speaker 5 00:36:17
That's kind of the thing. I think he thinks, like, oh, I don't have to do Ms. Abbott's stuff. Whatever. It's like the opposite.
Speaker 4 00:36:24
Because I grew up being in a classroom where I always felt like I was trying to keep up. I didn't understand why I was having to study five times as hard as I did in the classroom just to get a senior, you know, like I thought I was. And so we put him in a school here, where we didn't want him to be like emotionally torn down. Of course, yeah. And here he is. Like, I've got this. I love the confidence. Well, his brothers are really, really like good at being like, you don't know what you're talking about.
Speaker 4 00:36:54
But like, we don't want Matty to be like, we don't want him to, we don't want it to suddenly occur to him that he doesn't have it as together as he thinks it does. But from his brothers, you know, of all people. But at the same point, there's like a humbling factor where we're like, we're trying to be like, Matty, so we're not like, hey, like, you're not as good as you think you are. But instead, we're trying to be like, how do you know that? Yeah. Where is that? Like, that's a great idea. But where can you back that up with that. 
Speaker 5 00:37:26
Exactly. And that's my big thing. We always do like a one, two, three, four check-in. And I'm like, three means you understand, but four means you understand enough to teach it to somebody else. And if you're not at a four yet, we're going to keep going. Right. And so today, when I was talking to him, he was kind of giving me the cheesy face. I'm like, Matthew, I just want to make sure that you're at a level four. Like, I want to make sure that you understand this. Like, you don't really know this. You need to work on this. Exactly. I'm always just like, I just want to make sure you're at a four. But at the same point, it's like, I don't know if he's right. I'm like, no, you're, like, you need to go this. And then he got upset with me a little bit because I made him, he sits, like, in the second row for math, and I made him move up front because he was writing with a mechanical pencil, but he was playing with a pencil sharpener. I was like, Matthew, you don't need a pencil sharpener. You're writing with a mechanical pencil. Come, let's move up front. Let's focus in. He's like, no, but you understand that I have to have this. No, he just put it away. He was like, okay. And he got it. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:38:13
But he will, like, he's going to push it. In fact, he's good at, like, standing firm. the most successful people with him have not let him get away like i don't let him get away with.
Speaker 4 00:38:28
okay that's good you know and i and i is very very appointed to him okay but he is like so.
Speaker 1 00:38:34
i was just gonna say like you kind of have to break through the wall yeah you know like even as like a soccer soccer coach same thing like he finally said okay i'm not gonna rest but i do realize that i have to sidestep certain things with maddie and just approach it from like a 10 degree angle but other than like he needs to be pushed he's a cat he's making the team.
Speaker 4 00:38:58
yeah but at the same point he's also not perfect you know so i think the way that his approach was is like i'm going to be hard on you yeah so maddie takes a lot of pride in who he is yeah at least that's the way he works so i'm okay with you being harmed okay.
Speaker 5 00:39:16
yeah i mean i love his confidence i think he's a confident kid i love that about him, That's what I would have wanted, but I'm like, oh, this backfired. No, it's good. It's good. I just want them to also be open to learning new strategies. It's never going to get better. Exactly. And we talk about it normally. In your toolbox for math, you need to have six ways in and six ways out of a problem before you can truly say you're owning this work. Fair enough. Sorry. Do you need to go to Asher's? Yes. Okay, I'm going to keep talking because I have two more questions. Do you guys have any questions. 
Speaker 6 00:39:42
I just want to emphasize that he is making steady progress. If you look here, he's starting to understand the encoding and starting to really grasp the rules. I think that we're going to see more progress as we go along, and I'll keep drilling. Are you sharing with him? Absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 4 00:40:05
Can you text him and let us know to be able to get a better understanding of the problem. 
Speaker 1 00:40:13
We've actually made it so he's not allowed to touch his screen. And Tilly does a site where he does math, and so I'm actually, we're adding in, like, just different reading books and what John will read with me, so we're getting better at that. Feel free to push, and feel free to push us, too, because we read a lot.
Speaker 5 00:40:34
Thank you to you guys so much. I want to, this is Amplify. So, one thing that I think is really cool, this is our beginning of, this is my favorite data summary page ever, because especially for a kid who's been in the program for so long, we see all this red, right? Matthew came in, beginning of the year, he was below, but it's not red anymore. We're moving towards the green. I see a lot of growth just from this and looking at these numbers to now with his accuracy and fluency. Now, we're reading, if you look here, it's like accurate fluent reader.
Speaker 5 00:41:07
So, our fluency is how many words we're reading per minute. Accuracy is the percent we're reading at. Right here, we have 62% accuracy, or 62 words per minute at 90% accuracy. 90% accuracy is great for a beginning fourth grade level. These fourth grade reads are not easy. I'm always surprised when I open the book and see what the fourth grade passage of the year for beginning of the year is. Okay, here we go, because I think we also kind of get trapped in our bubble here of, okay, we're working with the students at the levels that they're at so frequently.
Speaker 5 00:41:39
It was a hard passage. He did great. I'm really excited to see how he does in the middle of the year, just based on his read-live data. Because I do anticipate us making some good progress with our accuracy. Fluency is so hard for our kids, because obviously we're telling them all the time, take your time, slow down, let's try our best, and then we test them on fluency and how fast they can read. So it is so tricky. I always love the accuracy measure for our class and our students here especially, because we do want them, the more accurate they're reading, the higher their comprehension is going to be.
Speaker 5 00:42:12
Matthew has no problem with comprehension, oral comprehension, reading comprehension. You can tell he has good high-level conversations at home because he adds to our discussions during Amplify really well, comes with a lot of background knowledge. He loved Medieval Times Unit. It's always funny to me every year, I'm like, well, this group loved it as much, and every year I'm like, it's a crowd pleaser, here we are. So he really had a great time with it. And we have some notes, of course, you can take this home too. My big thing with Matthew is we are grasping the big picture so well, but those closer detail-oriented, we're really skipping over them.
Speaker 5 00:42:46
And a lot of times that's a speed factor, right? We're reading to get an answer, we're reading to seek out one piece of information. And I really want us to kind of focus on those details. So we're finishing up Medieval Times. This week, I'm so ready to be out of medieval times. Finishing up this week, and then we are taking a little Amplify break. We always do this every year in December just because there's testing and so much going on, and there's three weeks this year in December. It's crazy. So we're gonna do the holidays around the world, really pulling like, oh, what do you guys do at home?
Speaker 5 00:43:18
Let's bring it into class and let's compare with more like oral discussion. We usually see a lot of really great connections being made during this unit, like we'll read about Christmas in Germany, or we'll read about what happens in Japan in the winter, and then, because it's, oh, that's something I do. Usually it promotes really great discussions, and then we make them, you know, oh, ask questions to your peers and kind of have to remember those details. Big goal for Matthew, I want him to remember the details about a passage he read or a conversation we're having. After winter break, we enter a poetry unit,
Speaker 5 00:43:49
which is very detail-oriented and also very vocabulary-driven. Vocab is gonna be a big goal for Matthew, I think, pretty consistently. And it's not because the words are difficult. It's because he can tell me what they mean, but I want him to use them in context. So we do a lot of writing about reading in fourth grade. My big goal for them is to be able to use the vocabulary words in our writing pieces. But something that we can definitely work on with him. And then he's working so hard in OG.
Speaker 5 00:44:20
Sometimes when we're reading in Amplify, I see him reading a closed syllable exception word. I'm like, Matthew, I know you know this, because I know where you're at in your progression. And we'll read it incorrectly. I'm like, oh, is that a closed syllable exception? He's like, oh, yeah. And he'll read it correctly. So I just want us to start to bring the knowledge. When he's in the OG room, he's rocking it. And I want him, when he comes next door here, continue with that same knowledge that we've mastered there. That's a pretty common thing across the board with students really understanding that, oh, I'm not just reading, to learn these words in OG. I'm using these skills across all areas,
Speaker 5 00:44:52
which transitioned me really well into writing, because. it's kind of the same thing i'm seeing with our spelling and writing words that i know he's mastered and we aren't writing them correctly and i'll i'll just oh matthew what's that saying he's like ah and he'll fix it so he does know how to spell the words um i have just some opinions, writing to show you just straight up just growth that i want to kind of brag on him about because he's been working so hard in writing we've been we've been all right okay it's like.
Speaker 4 00:45:20
because one day he like was like writing sentences from time and i just pulled out like paper and it was like beautifully written right and i was like maddie did your teacher write this for you he was like no that's my writing i'm like why do you write here i can't even read this and you're like this what's wrong like walking and he's like you know, Like, I can see it so well, yes.
Speaker 4 00:45:50
Like, a man's got to do what a man's got to do. Yeah. Oh, my God, he's so funny.
Speaker 5 00:45:54
He's so funny. But, yes, but, like, this is, one thing with Matthew that I'm, he's going to probably get so mad at me about is he will not capitalize his I's. Right. No, I know. And I, the other day, it's not this paper. We have a few on here. I did make him go back and check. I did make him go back.
Speaker 4 00:46:11
Yes. A sentence starts with a capital letter.
Speaker 5 00:46:14
And we, and any time he's talking about himself, I notice we're not capitalizing. I'm like, Matthew, you're important to capitalize the I. Like, we have to remember that we're talking about ourselves. It's a name. But one time, it was probably at the end, mid-October, he brought me a paper, and it was so messy. And I was like, I just gave him a new paper. I didn't say anything. I just gave him the new paper, and he was like, but he went and did it and brought it back neater. Since then, our handwriting's been a lot better at school. I have to do this with a couple of different kids in writing, so he's not the only one. But I'm like, it's.
Speaker 5 00:46:45
I'm like, I'm not the only one. it's we're at the point where it's not acceptable to rush it anymore and i just wanted to show a couple so obviously we knew he was going to pick that he wanted to be a knight that wasn't surprising to me at all but he really liked writing about this like he was excited to do the whole passage which made me happy because i love just anytime the kids are owning writing because it's not a preferred class for many of our students right that much he loved doing this he also loved doing this we had them write a letter to miss green saying what we need in the prize box but i loved need more stuff in the prize bin well do not fear matthew is here.
Speaker 5 00:47:21
i'm like that's so him who just cracked me up but that's i just love that and he, He, like, was just so goofy with his writing, but I can tell when he really gets into a writing piece and he's answering, like, thanks a lot, and, you know, more of his own voice in it. Like, Matthew, this is what we want. Yes. It's not, like, rushed. Totally. It makes Todd, like, it's been good. That's the best thing. One thing that I'm really trying to get Matthew to do, so in my writing group, what we do is I usually give them a paper-based graphic organizer for us to brainstorm,
Speaker 5 00:47:52
get our thoughts together. They bring it to me. We kind of talk through it. I'll make a few spelling, you know, fixes on. And then they go to their computer. They use all their different tools to type it out. Matthew really prefers typing than co-writer. He likes to type, and he's very good at typing, so I think that's why he likes it. But he likes to type, and then he'll bring it to me, though, and I'm like, I'll start reading it. I'm like, hmm, Matthew, have you read this out loud? He's like, no. And so our new rule, and I told them, I'm like, after Thanksgiving break, you cannot bring me your computer because we do, like, a one-on-one editing system.
Speaker 5 00:48:23
I'm like, I will not be reading these if you haven't read them out loud yet. And so I'm really trying to get him to understand that with his writing, if it doesn't make sense when he's reading out loud, then it's not going to make sense to his reader. And I'm trying to kind of promote with all of our kids that when we're writing, it's not just for us. Like, yes, we can write for ourselves, sometimes diaries, journals, but we're writing to an audience 90% of the time, and to make sure our audience can really understand what we're trying to say.
Speaker 4 00:48:46
There was one assignment in which I saw that reading was the only one. The writing side, which I did with him, was the only one where he got marked down under, notes. But the one prior to that, there was one prior to that where he said he had written the most amount. But I did that one with him because it was the first time where I really sat down and kind of went about with him. I'm like, hey, buddy.
Speaker 4 00:49:18
You ready? You're not, like, I have to be able to read this and understand what you're writing about. So if I'm the reader and I read this sentence, I have no idea what you're talking about. You have to expand on that. Totally. So that way I can be brought into whatever it is that you're trying to say.
Speaker 5 00:49:39
Exactly. And that's why I'm really just excited that he seems to really be owning his writing more and having more pride over it, because he will then want other people to read it. Like, I think when we were writing that letter to Miss Green, he knew who his audience was, right? So he was more motivated to kind of deliver that. But, I know, he's so funny. He's so little sarcastic, little jabs that he puts in his writing sometimes. Kills me. But no, I love having Matthew. I feel like he's so helpful, he's so kind, he's so funny.
Speaker 5 00:50:12
And he, like the kids will be doing something in the room and I'll look over, he'll kind of have like the gym from the office face going at me like, these kids, you know? It's so good. I'm like, yes Matthew, you're right. But no, he's just a great kid.
Speaker 4 00:50:26
He's very, his like social IQ is really good. He's a really good, my dad was a healthy hand. So like he's very, very good. He's doing very good. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I'm glad that we got this time to catch up. Is your next person here. 
Speaker 5 00:50:52
Oh, they're starting with Melanie, so I'll just jump in, it's all good.
Speaker 4 00:50:57
You know, like I said, the conversation. What was our plan? Yeah. We've gone about it like in different ways, but a couple different ways. There's a philosophy, like what is education, what is the professionalism, you know, and.
Speaker 4 00:51:28
whatnot, so we're not like, oh, this is special, and we need to get back education, you know. That's not the goal, but there is a love land outside of boundaries of this school where, you know, we have concerns as far as whether he would be successful. So if all of a sudden we couldn't afford to pay for this, which could be the case next year, right, like what could we do about that, you know, like a bunch of ideas.
Speaker 4 00:52:04
So those are the questions that we're asking yourselves, and we've gotten substantially harder on them at home, too. It's important for you to know, I don't want to take it more. Yeah, I remember.
Speaker 5 00:52:32
I think we expect a lot more in fourth grade than third grade, and we make it pretty clear with the kids from the beginning. I'm like, listen, we are big kids now. With second graders all the time, we're fourth grade, fourth and fifth grade band. We expect more, and I also have seen across the board. The maturity increases pretty quickly when the boundaries get smaller and the expectations get larger. He does a great job of choosing and understanding when he can be playful and goofy and when it's time to lock in, which is good, yes.
Speaker 5 00:53:04
And I think he's got a good schedule where he kind of gets to move around the room, around the school a lot, and gets to see different people throughout the day.
Speaker 4 00:53:11
Yeah, he needs the different friend groups. He needs to have a social network.
Speaker 5 00:53:16
Yeah, yes. And then he gets to go, I'm sure he already said this, he got to go to speech with Rowan. And I think that's very special for him.
Speaker 4 00:53:26
Yeah, it's important for him, that connection. I didn't care. Last year, it's like Rowan and him were kind of like, oh, it's fine, you know, but we'd never been in a situation. And when he was kind of like in a classroom, away from all of the friends that he was hanging out with, they concerned me, and I felt kind of like, um, being said like I'm happy. I'm pleased with, there's certain, you know, growth with some of the kids in this classroom that I'm exceptionally pleased with, you know, and I'm happy with the relationships and whatnot. Setting that aside, you know, like we, we're aware of what we're going to do. Every year, we kind of go through this like process of like, what's the plan. 
Speaker 1 00:54:22
Well, I think it's, our fear is that he, there's, there's some level of, Matty is very smart, but he doesn't do the details. Like he's, he's, because he doesn't grab onto certain things, you know, he's not able to achieve on this level, right, on the higher level. And so it's always been like, and. Is it because he's not pushed enough, or is he, you know, so we're, we're, and so, and so we start going, well, is he behind, like, if we, because that's the last thing, I mean, I don't mind him being a little bit behind, I don't, Manny's super smart, he'll be fine, right, but I, this is actually the first time where I'm, like, coming out of this going, somebody's got to push him, this is awesome, you know.
Speaker 5 00:55:13
And I, I do feel like I'm, I don't know, I feel like I'm definitely a little harder, I'm definitely harder than Ms. Bernstein, like, I definitely am.
Speaker 4 00:55:21
You're the hardest one we have had.
Speaker 5 00:55:23
Okay.
Speaker 4 00:55:23
That, and it's been a source of frustration for us, because it's like, look, indoctrination comes at the home, we understand that, you know, so, to be honest, I don't know if we've really been taking it as seriously as we would have liked to the last three years, but combine that with the potential that we might, even if we wanted to send Matthew here next year financially, we might not be able to afford it. Which is nice. No, I totally understand, it looks expensive, I get it. Now it's like, oh crap, well, you know, we have to do our due diligence.
Speaker 4 00:55:54
We're being hard-won in a home, so it feels good to know that we have a partner here who's holding him accountable. And he needs it. Ultimately, he needs it. And that's the world that we live in. We don't want to erase the snowflake of the kid.
Speaker 5 00:56:07
No, I know, and I mean, I think it's, I also grew up in public school and with ADHD and definitely felt like, okay, you're going to go over there because everyone else is here. And so I get that on so many different levels. And my struggle was always bad, like it was just not something I could handle, until I figured out, you know, what would be best working for me. But... I think that's why I love working here so much, because any of these things that I've seen, I've been there, I've felt it, I understand what's going on. And especially with the transition,
Speaker 5 00:56:38
and if we're looking at a transition, even just a possible transition, yes, academics, huge part of it, executive functioning, the other 50%. So I will be really focused on making sure that Matthew is using that planner, utilizing all of the tools that we have, and then understanding that he can independently use those tools, because if he was to transition to public school next year, we would make sure with the school district, and I'm pretty crazy about this, whatever, kid transitions, that the plan is in place, that they would get to use their tools that they're using here. Anything that he's working and being successful with here,
Speaker 5 00:57:11
we wanna make sure that transitions with them also. Claire Pissarro, do you know her, the program director here? She's like Poppy's owner. The dog, she's super, super helpful in terms of transitions, too. And if you guys do, you know, after the holidays, want to have another conversation about that potential, we can all sit down together and kind of come up with a more concrete, like, six-month plan where we want Matthew to be, again, not just academically, but, like, with his independence, in order to reach those goals, too.
Speaker 5 00:57:42
It's a big decision. It's hard.
Speaker 4 00:57:44
Like, this is, like, year over year, it's easy to just, it's like, we went out to dinner, so we went out, but you have to go. I have no idea what time it is.
Speaker 5 00:57:57
It's fine.
Speaker 4 00:57:58
Our older two, like, potentially at Orange and Sun, they're sort of, like, next year, you know, and Orange is going to have a transition next fall. so it's like the idea i was like well what does it look like if you know he just stayed the whole time and then went to olu and then they accompanied him over there then what is our education system does it even matter you know like that's an idea that being said like if we couldn't even.
Speaker 4 00:58:29
like if we can't make that happen for whatever reason like it i can't you know i wish it was easier i wish it was easy i wish it was as easy as it is for some others you know but like this year has just been an exceptionally hard year for us where we know we're kind of getting to a point i have to make some hard decisions yeah some things change for us and this could be one of them it's not an empty thread yeah and it's certainly not something where like if matthew does come back or if nothing changes like where we like just had this important conversation.
Speaker 4 00:59:04
that we never did anything about it no yeah it's just not it's helpful for people to act.
Speaker 5 00:59:13
No, it's helpful for me to know because if it is a possibility that he will be transitioning, it's important. And he doesn't know. I would never say anything.
Speaker 4 00:59:19
We've talked about it once with him because we've looked at that TLC. Yeah. That is like a, it's off, I've looked at it, it's off of Yorba.
Speaker 5 00:59:29
And look, I know where it is, I think, yes.
Speaker 4 00:59:31
Yeah, it's like, I don't know, it's off of Yorba when I'm from Chauvin. Okay. Because what it is, is it's a charter school that they, like, so their goal is to have a classroom that's structured with 11% of the population has a learning disability. So it's going to be what our culture is going to be, like, two, one IEPF in two classrooms,
Speaker 4 01:00:03
and then one A in each classroom.
Speaker 5 01:00:06
Okay.
Speaker 4 01:00:06
That's going to work with the kid. continuing the content of what's going on in the classroom.
Speaker 5 01:00:11
Yeah.
Speaker 4 01:00:11
Instead of taking it out again.
Speaker 5 01:00:13
That was going to be the big thing I was going to say. Whenever he does transition, he's not a student, but I think would benefit terribly much from the pull-out, because he is really good at collaborating. And I feel like he learns so much through collaboration. Yeah.
Speaker 4 01:00:25
So that's something that we have a friend who goes there, not because he has any special needs, but because his brother did. OK. So he just kind of went into the floor, and the mom loved it. So it's just something that we haven't even sat down with him. We would have to apply to it, because it's a charter school, and it's not even in our district. It's definitely something that we would consider. OK. Now where we are, it's just ideas.
Speaker 4 01:00:56
that we're all brainstorming right now, as far as possibilities. We're caught off guard when we have to make decisions.
Speaker 5 01:01:02
Totally. I mean, it's a big part of life change, right? Life change, so of course.
Speaker 4 01:01:06
Anyways. Yeah, Matthew doesn't know. Yeah, it's hard. It's hard.
Speaker 1 01:01:17
I think, you know, we haven't really talked about doing anything this year, but I think the biggest thing with Maddie is, you know, I want him, we want him so free.
Speaker 2 01:01:31
Yeah.
Speaker 1 01:01:32
You know, and we want him to be, like, do you understand? I mean, we'd like the intellectual knowledge to be, it's like, you know, you said it, you know, you've got to know it well enough to teach it.
Speaker 2 01:01:45
Yeah.
Speaker 1 01:01:46
And you can't just, it can't, everything can't be abstract. And so I think, you know, if I was to say anything, it would be two things, like keep pushing it, and if you need help, you must. I don't want to get away with that stuff. And then whatever, we have not been great about like helping our, you know, like, oh, here's some stuff, send them at it. You know, we don't, we haven't up until like recently, because we're like, you know, the site where it's like, yeah, let's try it. Whatever, like, what can we do, you know,
Speaker 1 01:02:19
to help you be successful as well.
Speaker 5 01:02:22
Totally, I mean, like I said, I'll send home some multiplication games and ideas behind that, because I do think at home, I want it to be fun, right? I don't want it to be too much overload, but getting those fast facts down, when we get into division, which is such a big part of fifth grade too, and especially as they move into decimals and all of that in fifth grade, I really want him to know those facts, just for anything.
Speaker 4 01:02:42
I was kind of waiting for that. I know that that was a really hard thing for me, and third, that's what I had to learn. And it was like a super stressor, and I'm like, I haven't really seen that come out. You have like one, I don't know, the beginning of the year, the curriculum. It's so hard, I know. It's so hard. I have like, I honestly, I haven't had it break down. He got the, he was a benefactor of it. Like, a full-blown, like, child, like, just like hit hard with me. Like, there was one with like multiplication, like, and it was like 14 times.
Speaker 4 01:03:18
It's gotta be. I know. Like, it was like coloring in, and then he had to like help me, because I fall.
Speaker 5 01:03:28
I totally get it. I feel like I was so frustrated with the beginning of this curriculum, and I just keep reminding myself, curriculum is a spiral staircase, right? So the third graders who are in the new curriculum now will have overlapping knowledge with the fourth grade, which will have overlapping knowledge. But when it's the first year of a curriculum, and you start with factors and multiples with kids that don't have strong multiplication knowledge, it's tough. Yeah, that's where it was like. 
Speaker 4 01:03:51
they wanted me to kind of explain an easier way to do it, and I couldn't. Unfortunately, it's like... I'm like, I think it's just all mental. Like, you just have to know and memorize it. I couldn't, and since I didn't have that much, I started to just, you know, and so it's just like, I'm like, oh, I think I'm going to work on this. It's good. It's good. It's my voice. It makes me sound so good.
Speaker 5 01:04:16
No, you're good. I know. I use my voice all the time, too, so I get it. I'm like, if I yell one time, it's game over. Okay. I feel bad. No, you're fine. Take all of this. If you have any questions about anything in there, please send me an email. And then, like I said, if you want to set up another meeting after the holidays, totally open. We'll figure it out. Yeah. 
Speaker 4 01:04:36
And if you know that Matthew's on 20-mile-a-year-old, and if you feel like it could be a good fit for the play. 
Speaker 5 01:04:52
I'll check base with science. Like I said, writing, I'm pretty on him, so there's not, like, demon's face there. But I'll check in with science, because usually she has some good data about that, too. Yeah. Thank you. Of course. Anytime. It's raining. Oh, is it raining now? Thank you.
Speaker 2 01:05:17
Of course. Have a good day. Maddie! Maddie!
Speaker 2 01:06:10
Thanks for watching!
Speaker 2 01:07:34
Okay.
Speaker 1 01:09:22
You're super smart, you get the big concepts, but you try to rush through all the details. This is what your dad has said and your mom has said.
Speaker 4 01:10:26
you're picking up the boys right yeah okay all right i'll see you at the house.
Speaker 7 01:10:31
all right love you bye a dream for our people my name three bars beside it now floats near the primus hunt cassius has risen too but there can only be one primus since i cannot sleep i, Mist curls around the battlements, so we tie sheep around the walls, that they would bleed if an enemy comes. The smell's something strange, rich and smoky. Roast duck. I turn and find Fitchner standing beside me.
Speaker 7 01:11:01
His hair is messy over his narrow brow, and he wears no golden armour today, only a black tunic striped with gold. He hands me a piece of duck. The smell makes my stomach rumble. We should all be pissed at you, I say. His face is one of surprise. Tots who say that usually mean to explain why they are not pissed. You and the proctors can see everything, yes? Even when you wipe your arse. You didn't stop Titus because it's all part of the curriculum. The real question is why we did not stop you. From killing him? Yes, little one. He would have been valuable in the military, don't you think? Perhaps not as a preto with ships in the ink. But what a legacy he would have made, leading men in star shells through enemy gates as fire rained down against their pulse shields.
Speaker 7 01:11:33
Have you ever seen an iron rain, where men are launched from orbit to take cities? He was meant for that. I do not answer. Fitchner wipes grease from his lips with the black sleeve of his tunic. Life is the most effective school ever created. Once upon a time, they made children bow their heads and read books. It would take ages to get anything across. He taps his head. But we have widgets and datapads now. And we gulls have the lower colours to do our research. We need not study chemistry or physics. We have computers and others to do that. But we must study. It's humanity. In order to rule, ours must be the study of political, psychological and behavioural science. How desperate human beings react to one another. How packs form. How armies function.
Speaker 7 01:12:03
How things fall apart. And why. You could learn this nowhere else but here. No. I understand the purpose. I remember. I learn more when I make mistakes. So long as they don't kill me. How well I learned from trying to be a martyr. Good. You make plenty of them. You're an impulsive little turd. But this is the place to frag up. To learn. This is life. But with medbot second chances. Artificial scenarios. You might have guessed that the first test. The passage. Was the measurement of necessity versus emotion. The second was tribal strife. Then there was a bit of justice. Now there will be more tests. More second chances. More lessons learned. how many of us can die i ask something don't worry about that how many there is a limit set each year.
Speaker 7 01:12:37
about a board of party control but we're well within the bounds despite what happened with the jackal business mind the jackal i say is that what happened the other night when the robot splits south did i say his name oops he grinned i mean to say that the medbots are very effective they heal nearly all wounds but will it be so effective when cassius finds out who really killed his brother my stomach tightens he already killed julian's murderer apparently he was watching of course of course mercury thinks you're brilliant apollo thinks you're uppity he really does not like you you know i could give a piss oh you should care much more than that apollo's a.
Speaker 7 01:13:08
peach right so what do you think you are my doctor i think you are an ancient soul he watches me and leans against the rampart the night is mostly beyond the castle from its depths a wolf house i think you're like that beast out there on the pack but deeply sad deeply alone and i can't puzzle out why my dear boy this is all so much fun enjoy it life doesn't get better, You're the same, I say. Lonely. You're all japes and snide comments, just like Sarah. But it's just a mask. It's because you don't look like the others, isn't it? Or are you poor? Somehow you're an outsider. My looks! He barks aloud. What does that matter? Think I'm a bronzy because I'm not an Adonis? He leans forward because he really does care about what I'm going to say. You're ugly and you eat like a pig, Fitchner. But you chew metabolizers when you could just go to a carver and fix yourself to look like the others. They could take care of that paunch in a second. Fitchner's jaw muscle flickers. Is it anger? Why should I have to visit a carver? He hisses suddenly. I can kill an obsidian with my bare hands. An obsidian.
Speaker 7 01:13:59
I can act with a silver in parlance and negotiation. I can do the math greens only dream of. Why do I make myself look any different? Because it is what holds you back. Despite my low birth, I am of note. I am important. This hatchet face dares me to contradict. I am gold. I am a king of man. I do not change to suit others. If that's true, why do you chew metabolizers? He does not answer. And why are you only a proctor? becoming a proctor as a position of prestige, boy! Fitzner snaps. The draft has voted me to represent the house. Yet you're no Imperator. You need no fleets. You're not even a preacher in command of a squadron.
Speaker 7 01:14:29
Nor are you any sort of governor. How many men can do the things you say you can do? Few. He says very quietly, face all anger. Very few. He looks up. What is the bounty you desire for capturing the Manalan standard? Isn't that Severo's deal? I say, understanding the conversation is nearing its end. He has passed it to you. I ask for horses, and weapons, and matches. He agrees curtly, and turns to me before I can ask him one last question. I grab his arm as he starts to ascend. Something happens. My nerves fry like needles in acid through my hand and arm. I gasp. My lungs can't function for a second.
Speaker 7 01:14:59
Gory hell! I cough out, and fall to the ground. He wears pulse armor. I can't even see the generator. It's like a pulse shield, but inlaid in the armor itself. He waits, without a smile. Lejackel, I say. You mentioned him. The Manalan girl mentioned him. He's the Arch-Governor's son, Darrow. And he makes Titus look like a blubbering child.
Speaker 7 01:16:11
I'm sorry. Stones are pulled up, and the well is dug, but we cannot dig far enough to get past the mud. Instead, we line the well with stone and timber, and try to use it as a tank for water. It always leaks. So we have our troughs, and that is it. We can't let ourselves be besieged. The cave is cleaner. After seeing what happened to Titus, I ask Cassius to teach me the blade. I'm an unreasonably fast studdy. I learn with the straight. I never use my sling blade. It already is like a part of my body. And the point is, not to learn how to use the straight blade, which is much like the razors, but to learn how it will be used against me. I also do not want Cassius to learn how to fight the curved blade. If he ever finds out about Julian, the curve is my only hope.
Speaker 7 01:16:43
I am not as proficient in cravat. I can't do the kicks. I learn how to break tracheas, though. And I learn how to properly use my hands. No more windmill punches. No more foolish defense. I am deadly. And fast. But I do not like the discipline cravat requires. I want to be an efficient fighter, that is all. Cravat seems intent on teaching me inner peace. That is a lost cause. Yet now I hold my hands like Cassius, like Julian, in the air, elbows at eye level, so I am always striking or blocking downward. Sometimes Cassius will mention Julian, and I will feel the darkness rise. I think of the proctors, watching and laughing about this. I must look like an evil, manipulative thing. I forget that Cassius, Roque, Severo and I are enemies.
Speaker 7 01:17:15
Red and the gold. I forget that one day I might have to kill them all. They call me brother, and I cannot but think of them in the same way. The battle with House Minerva has broken down into a series of war-bound skirmishes, neither side gaining enough advantage over the other to ever score a decisive victory. Mustang will not risk the pitched battle that I want, nor can they really be goaded. They're not so easily tempted as my soldiers are to bouts of glory or violence. Still, the Minervans are desperate to capture me. Pax turns into a madman when he sees me. Mustang even tried offering Antonia, or so Antonia claims, a mutual defense compact, a dozen horses, six stonepikes and seven slaves in exchange for me. I don't know if she is lying when she tells me this. You would betray me in a heartbeat if it got you to Primus, I tell her.
Speaker 7 01:17:46
Yes, she says irritably, as I interrupt her fastidious mail maintenance. But since you expect it, it shan't really get a trail, darling. Then why didn't you accept the offer? Oh, the dregs look up to you. It would be disastrous at this point. Maybe after you have failed at something. Yes. Maybe then, when the momentum is against you. Or you're waiting for a higher price. Exactly, darling. Neither of us mention Severo. I know she is still afraid he'll cut her throat if she touches me. He follows me now, wearing his wolfskin. Sometimes he walks. Sometimes he rides a small black mare. He does not like armor. Wolves approach him at random, as though they were one of their own pack. They come to eat deer he kills because they've grown hungry, as we lock away the goats and sheep.
Speaker 7 01:18:19
Pebble always leaves them food at the walls whenever we slaughter a beast. She watches them, like a child, as they come in fours and threes. I killed their pack leader, Severo says, when I ask why the wolves follow him. He looks me up and down, and flashes me an impish grin from beneath the wolf belt. Don't worry, I wouldn't fit in your skin. I've given Severo the dregs to command, because I know they might be the only people he'll ever like. At first, he ignores them. Then, slowly, I begin noticing that more unearthly howls fill the night than before. The others call them the howlers, and after a few nights under Severo's tutelage, each wears a black wolf cloak. There are six. Severo, Thistle, Screwface, Clown, Pebble, and Weed.
Speaker 7 01:18:50
When you look at them, it seems as though each of their passive faces stares out from the open-found maw of a wolf. I lose them for quiet tasks. Without them, I'm not sure I would still be leader. My soldiers whisper slurs about me as I pass. The old wounds have not healed. I know of victory, but must I will not meet in combat. And the thirty-meter walls of House Minerva are not as easy to pass as they were initially. In our war room, Severo paces back and forth and calls the game stupidly designed. They had to know we couldn't gory well get past each other's walls. And no one is dumb enough to send out a force they can't afford to lose. Especially not Mustang. Pax might. He's an idiot. Built like a god, but an idiot. And he wants your balls. I hear you popped one of his.
Speaker 7 01:19:20
Both. Should just put Pebble or Goblin in a catapult and launch them out of the wall. Cassius suggests. Cause we'd have to find a catapult. I'm tired of this war with Mustang. Somewhere in the south or west, the Jackal is building his strength. Somewhere of my enemy, the Arch-Governor's son, is readying to destroy me. We are looking at this the wrong way. I tell several, Quinn, Roque, and Cassius. They're alone with me in the war room. A northern breeze brings in the smell of dying leaves. Oh, do share your wisdom, Cassius says with a laugh. He's lying on several chairs, his head in Quinn's lap. She plays with his hair. We're dying to hear. This is a school that has existed for, what, more than 300 years?
Speaker 7 01:19:51
So, every permutation has been seen. Every problem we face has been designed to be overcome. So, you say the fortresses can't be taken. Well, the Proctors have to know that. So that means we have to change the paradigm. We need an alliance. Against who? Severus asks, hypothetically. "'Against Minerva?' "'No,' answered. "'Stupid idea!' "'Cebro grunts, and cleans a knife and slides it into his black sleeve. "'Their castle is tactically inconsequential. "'No value. "'None. "'The land we need is near the river. "'Think we need Ceres's ovens?' "'Quinn asks. "'I could do with some bread. "'We all could. "'A diet of meat and berries has made us muscle and bones.
Speaker 7 01:20:22
"'If the game lasts through the winter, yeah. "'Cebro pops his knuckles. "'But these fortresses don't break. "'Stupid game. "'So we need their bread and their access to the water. "'We have water,' Cassius reminds him. "'Cebro sighs in frustration. "'We have to leave the castle to get it, sir numbnuts. "'A real siege. "'We'd last five days without replenishing our water. "'Seven if we drank the animal's blood like Morgty. "'We need Ceres's fortress. "'Also, the Harvest Pricks can't fight to save their lives. "'But they have something in there. "'Harvest Pricks? "'Ha, ha, ha!' "'Casius crows. "'Stop talking, everyone,' I say. "'They don't. "'To them, this is fun. "'It's a game. "'They have no urgency, no desperate need.
Speaker 7 01:20:53
"'Every moment we waste is a moment the jackal builds his strength. "'Something the way most standard fish now talked about him scares me. "'Or is it the fact that he's the son of my enemy? "'Instead, I want to go and hide at the thought of his name.'" It's a sign of my fading leadership that I have to stand up. Quiet, I say. And finally, they are. We've seen fires on the horizon. War consumes the south where the jackal roams. Cassius chuckles at the idea of the jackal. He thinks I'm a ghost I conjured up. Will you stop laughing at everything? I snap at Cassius. It's not a glory-dumb joke, unless you think your brother died for amusement. That shuts him off. Before we do anything else, I stress, we must eliminate House Minerva and Mustang.
Speaker 7 01:21:27
Mustang, Mustang, Mustang. I think he just wants to snipe Mustang. Severo sneers. Graham makes a sound of objection. I snatch Severo's collar and lift him up into the air with one hand. He tries to drive away, but he's not as fast as me, so he dangles from my grip two feet off the ground. Not again, I say, lowering him nearer my face. Where does this reek? His beaded eyes are inches from my arm. Off limits. I set him down, and he straightens his collar. So, it's to the Great Blue Swiss Alliance, right? Yes. I snap at him, but he's not as fast as me, so he dangles from my grip. That shuts him off. Before we do anything else, I stress, we must eliminate House Minerva and Mustang.
Speaker 7 01:21:57
Mustang, Mustang, Mustang. I think he just wants to snipe Mustang. Severo sneers. Graham makes a sound of objection. I snatch Severo's collar and lift him up into the air with one hand. He tries to drive away, but he's not as fast as me, so he dangles from my grip two feet off the ground. Not again, I say, lowering him nearer my face. Where does this reek? His beady eyes are inches from my own. Half limits. I set him down, and he straightens his collar. So, it's to the Great Woods for his alliance, right? Yes. Then it's to be a merry quest, Cassius declares, sitting up. We'll be a troop. No, just me and Comyn. You aren't going, I say. I'm bored. I think I'll come with. Yes, then, I say.
Speaker 7 01:22:28
I need you here. Is that an order? He asks. Yes, Severo says. Cassius stares at me. You! Even me! Orders! He says in a strange way. Perhaps you've forgotten that I go where I want. So, you leave control to Antonia while we both go risk our necks, I ask. Quim's hand tightens on his forearm. She thinks I don't notice. Cassius looks back at her and smiles. Of course, Reaper. Of course I'll stay here. Just as you've suggested. Severo and I make camp on the southern highlands. We can deal with the Great Woods. We do not light a fire. Our scouts and orders roam these hills at night.
Speaker 7 01:22:58
I see two horses on a far hill, silhouetted against the setting sun behind the boulder roof. It reminds me of the streets of Yorktown, as seen from the sky. Larry is gone, and Severo and I sit in darkness. Severo thinks this is a stupid game. Now, why do you play it? I ask. I was acting out what it would be like. Think I got a pamphlet? Did you get a slagging pamphlet? He asks irritably. He's picking his teeth with a bone. Stupid. Yet he seemed to know, on the shut, what the passage was. I tell him that. I didn't. And you seem to have every gory skill required for this school. So, if your mother was good in bed, you suppose she's a pink?
Speaker 7 01:23:29
Everyone adapts. Lovely. I mutter. He tells me to cut to the point of it. You snuck into the keep and stole our standard and buried it. Saving it. And then you managed to steal the nervous beads. Yet you don't get a single bar of merit for primers. Doesn't that strike you as odd? No. Be serious. What should I say? I've never been liked. He shrugs. I wasn't born pretty and tall like you and your butt-boy Cassius. That's a fight for what I want. That doesn't make me likable. Just makes me an ass-lickin' goblin. I tell him what I've heard. He was the last one drafted. Fitzner didn't want him, but the drafters insisted. Severo watches me in the dark. He doesn't speak. you were picked because you were the smallest boy the weakest looking terrible scores and so small.
Speaker 7 01:24:02
they drafted you like they drafted all the other low drops because you'd be easy to kill in the passage the sacrificial lamb for someone they had plans for big plans you killed priam several that's why they won't let you be primus am i on target you're on target i killed them like i kill a pretty dog quick easy he spits the bone on the ground and you killed julian am i on target we, never speak of the passage again in the morning we leave the highlands behind for the foothills, trees interspersed with grass we move at a gallop in case the nervous warbands are near i see one in the distance as we reach the trees they didn't see us part of the south.
Speaker 7 01:24:35
the sky is smoke crows gather over the jackals domain i would like to say more to several ask about his life but his gaze penetrates too deep i don't want him to ask about me to see through me as easily as i saw who titus it is strange this boy likes me he insults me but he likes me even stranger i desperately want him to like me why i think it's because i feel as though he's the only one including roc and cassius who understands life, He is ugly in a world where he should be beautiful, and because of his deficiencies, he was chosen to die. He, in many ways, is no better than a red. I want to tell him I'm a red. Some part of me thinks he is, too.
Speaker 7 01:25:05
And some other part of me thinks he'll respect me more if he knows I am a red. I was not born privileged. I'm like him. But I guard my tongue. There's no doubt the Proctor's watches. Quietus does not like the woods. At first, the shrubbery is so thick that we must cut our way forward with our swords. But soon the shrubbery thins, and we enter the realm of God's trees. Little elves can exist here. The Colossus has brought the light, their roots stretching up like tentacles to sap the energy from the soil as they grow tall as buildings. I am in a city again, one where animals bustle, and tree trunks instead of metal and concrete obstruct my view. Then, as we venture deeper into the woods, I am in the light of my mind, dark and cramped.
Speaker 7 01:25:36
beneath the bounds, as though there is no sky or sun. Autumn leaves the size of my chest crinkle underfoot. I know we are being watched. Severus does not like this. He wants to sink away to find the eyes at our backs. That would defeat the purpose, I tell him. That would defeat the purpose, he mocks. We break for a lunch of pillaged olives and goat meat. The eyes in the trees think I'm too stupid to shift my paradigm, as though I would never suppose they'd hide above me instead of on the ground. Yet, I don't recall. Now I need to frighten the idiots, or let them know I know their game. I have to contact them soon, if I still am the leader of my house. I wonder if they have ropes to traverse the trees. Or are the rooms wooden?
Speaker 7 01:26:07
Several of those little bitches that pull out his knives and scale up the trees. I shouldn't have brought him. He's not meant for the bombshell. At last, someone chooses to speak. Hello, Mars, one says. Other voices echo to me, though. Stupid, sure. I should have saved that trick for the night. It would be miserable in these woods in the dark, voices coming from all around. Something stopped us, of course. Regardless, Diana's animals are the bear, the boar, and the deer. We brought spears for the first two. There are supposed to be huge bloodbaths in these woods. Monstrous bears made by carvers, because, most likely, the carvers grew bored of making deer leads. We hear the bloodbaths roaring in the deeper parts of the woods. I settle quiet.
Speaker 7 01:26:37
My name is Dara, leader of House Mars. I'm here to meet with your primates, if you have one. If you don't, your leader will suffice. And if you don't have one of those either, take me to whoever has the biggest balls. Silence. Thank you for your assistance, several calls out. i raise my brother and he just shrugs the silence is silly it doesn't make me think they aren't taking orders from me they do things on their own schedule what big boys and girls they are then two tall girls come from behind a distant tree they wear fatigues the core of the woods, nose hanging from their backs knives in their boots i think one has a knife in her coils here, they've used the berries of the woods to paint the hunting moon on their faces animal belts.
Speaker 7 01:27:08
dangle from their belts i do not look like war i've washed my hair till it shines my face is clean wounds covered the tears in my black fatigues stiff i even washed out the sweat stains with sand and animal fat i look as queen and zia both confirmed devilishly handsome i do not want house diana intimidated that's why i let several come he looks ridiculous and childish so long as his knives are kept away these two girls smirk at several and can't help but soften their eyes when they see me more come down they take most of our weapons those they can find and they throw furs over our faces so we can't know the way to their fortress i count the steps several counts too the furs stink of rot i hear woodpeckers i remember fitchner's prank he must be close so i.
Speaker 7 01:27:43
stumble and fall to the ground no shrubbery we're spun around again then get away from the woodpeckers, at first i'm worried that these hunters are smarter than i gave them credit for then i realized they are not woodpeckers again hey tamara we got them down here, don't bring them up you shadow heads the girl shouts we're not letting them have a free scouting party how many times do i just wait i'll come down they want me somewhere and shoot me against a tree a boy speaks over my shoulder his voice is slow and languid like a drifting knife blade i say we peel their balls off shut up tactics just make them slaves there isn't diplomacy here look at his blade fragging reaper's side ah so that's him someone says i claim his blade when.
Speaker 7 01:28:19
he decides spoils i'd also like his scalp if no one else's intentions on it chapter sounds like a very unpleasant boy shut up all of you a girl snaps i just put that knife away they take the fur from my head i stand with several in a small grove of trees i see no castle but i can hear the woodpeckers i look around and receive a sharp strike to the head from a weary youth with bored eyes and bronze hair spiked up with sap and red pages his skin is dark like oakley despite cheekbones and deep set eyes giving a look of permanent derision, So, you're who they call the Reaper, Tactus draws. He swings my blade experimentally. Well, you're just not too pretty to be on stage at all.
Speaker 7 01:28:50
You seem flirting with me, I ask the Tamaraka. Tactus, go away! Thank you, but now go away, says the thin, hawkish girl. Her hair is shorter than mine, three large boys like her. The way they glare at Tactus confirms my judgment of his character. Reaper, why are you with the pygmy? Tactus asks, gesturing to Severo. Does he shine your boots? Pick things out of your hair? He chuckles to the other boys. Maybe a butler. Go away, Tactus! Tamaraka snorts. Of course! Tactus bows. I saw girl play with the other children. Mother? He tosses the blade to the ground and winks at me, like we alone know the joke that's about to be played.
Speaker 7 01:29:22
Sorry about that, Tamaraka says. He's not quite polite. Just try it, I says. I am Tamaraka of, I almost said my real family, she laughs, of Diana. And they are, I ask about the boys, my bodyguard. And you are, she holds up a finger. Let me guess, let me guess, Reaper. Oh, we've heard of you. Has been, but doesn't like you at all. Severo snorts at my injury. and he is, she asks with raised eyebrows, my bodyguard. Bodyguard? But he's so very short. And you look like, several growls, so are wolves, I reply, interrupting several mid-curse. We're more afraid of jackals here than wolves. Maybe Cassius should have come along,
Speaker 7 01:29:54
just to know I'm not making the past at all. I ask her about the jackal, but she ignores my question. Help me out here, Tamara says cordially. If someone were to say that we borrowed the butcher house, would come to my glade and ask for diplomacy, I would think it a proctor's joke. So, what do you really want? How's Minerva off my back? So you can come here and fight us instead, one of our bodyguards growls. I turn to Tamara with a reasonable smile and tell her the truth. I want Minerva off my back, so I can come here and beat you. Sure. And then win the stupid game, and destroy your civilization, please. They laugh. Well, you're honest, but not too bright, so it seems. Fitting. Let me tell you something, Minerva. Our proctor says your house has not.
Speaker 7 01:30:24
won in years. Why? Because you butchers are like a wildfire. In the early stages of the game, you burn everything you touch. You destroy, you consume, you ruin the houses, because you can't sustain yourselves. But then you starve, because there is nothing more to burn. The seizures, the winter, the advancing technology, it kills your bloodlust, your famous rage. so tell me why would i shake hands with a wildfire and i can just sit back and watch it run out of things to consume i nod and stumble the bait fire can be useful explain we may starve while you watch but will you watch as a slave of some other house or will you watch from your strong fortress your army is twice as large and ready to sweep up the ashes not enough i will personally promise.
Speaker 7 01:30:57
that house mars will book no aggression towards diana so long as our agreement is not violated if you can help me take another i will help you take series house series she says looking over to our bodyguards don't be greedy i say if you go after series on your own both mars and the minerva will set upon you yes yes she waves an annoyed hand series is near very and they have bread i look at the pelts from anywhere hello for eric and ben please eric and ben thank you thank you let me always shifts on her toes and i know i have her always negotiate with food i'll make a.
Speaker 7 01:31:36
note, Tamra pierced her throat. So, you were saying I could make my army twice as large? Chapter 31, The Fall of Mustang I ride dressed for war, all in black. Hair wild and bound by goat-cut. Forearms covered with Durasteel band-races looted in battle. My Durasteel cuirass is black and light, it can deflect any edge less than an iron blade or a razor. My boots are muddy. Streaks of black and red go across my face. Sling blade on my back. Knives, everywhere. Nine red crossbones and ten wolves cover quite as a flank. Leah painted them. Each crossbone is an incapacitated opponent, who are often healed by medbots and are then.
Speaker 7 01:32:07
thrown back into the fray. Each wolf, a slave. Cassius rides at my side. He shimmers. The Durasteel he received as a bounty is polished as bright as his glimmering sword and his hair, which bounces like coiled golden springs about his regal head. It's as though he's never been stood around and pissed on. Well, I do believe I am the lightning. Cassius declares. And you, my brooding friend, are the thunder. And where am I? Rogue asks, kicking his horse up beside her. Mud flies. No wind? You're full enough of it, I snort. The hot sword. the house rides behind us all of it except quinn and june who stay behind as our castles garrison, it's a gamble we ride slowly so that minerva knows we are coming what they do not know is that i was.
Speaker 7 01:32:40
there in the night just hours before and that several is there now mud still sticks underneath my fingernails minerva's scouts start across their rocky hilltops they make a show of mocking us but.
Speaker 2 01:32:49
we hello hello hi ben man how are you doing okay we had spanish today because we got to build a.
Speaker 8 01:33:32
But, like, as a plaque. You know what that is? A plaque? Rube Goldberg. It's like the, you know, like, the marble run things where it's, like, like somebody builds, like, a contraption. It's like you drop the marble and it just keeps going. That's, like, a Rube plaque. Rube Spanish. And we couldn't really do anything. Our recess was, like, okay. I just kind of juggled the ball.
Speaker 8 01:34:03
But I got 48 juggles, so.
Speaker 1 01:34:05
Really. 
Speaker 8 01:34:06
That's cool. And then lunch was boring because we couldn't do anything except sit down and eat all the food. But, like, it wasn't as good as this election as last year's. So it was kind of annoying. And then we had to watch a bunch of performances. Stupid Kid Named Albert.
Speaker 8 01:34:37
Why's he gotta be stupid? I'll explain why.
Speaker 1 01:34:40
I have a bad habit of that stuff too. I've found that it's just not loving.
Speaker 8 01:34:56
So, like, he has a friend who's performing, and for some reason he decides to get up from his perfectly fine spot, to come and sit with his other friends who have already moved that were sitting next to me. Who, like, literally already moved, so they weren't sitting there anymore so he was just standing, like, in front of me while everyone else was sitting, and I said, can you please move? I said it nicely first, and I was like, Albert, can you move?
Speaker 8 01:35:31
And he was like... there's a bunch of space over there and i'm not in your way and then like and like where he pointed to there are a bunch of people just sitting together and like there's absolutely no space and i said no there's not and i was here first and he was standing in front of me so i took my foot.
Speaker 8 01:36:07
and i was like right here like on the outside of his knee i pushed him i didn't like i like pushed him away so that he wasn't standing in my view anymore he was like what the hell man and he kicked me in the shin, So I kicked him in the side of the knee, but like it was like it wasn't someone could break it because I was like standing next to the guy.
Speaker 8 01:36:42
And he just turns around and like like kicks me right in the face, And like I couldn't do anything, It's like like immediately after he does that I get up and then like they're like about to kick you in the face Huh, how do you kick you in the face because I was sitting on a bench, Like on one of the like creature benches it picks up your foot and hits you like that or yeah Yeah, like right here and then like he like gets I guess I get up like right after that.
Speaker 8 01:37:16
But he like starts backing up a little bit. And like they're they're right about to perform So like if I punch him everyone's gonna see me punch him and i'm gonna get in trouble so I can't do anything. so like, And he has, like, this stupid look on his face, so I just, like, I, like, smile at him, and I just start making this stupid face, and I start talking to my friend loudly, and I'm like, it's funny, and I just start, like, mocking him.
Speaker 8 01:37:51
I couldn't hit him back, because, like, then I would get in trouble. So, like, just throughout the day, I was just, like, like, if I was behind him in line, like, I would kick his foot back, so, like, kick behind his other foot.
Speaker 1 01:38:24
You know, I don't have a problem with you.
Speaker 2 01:38:31
You know that, but you've got to think about where the relationship's going to be.
Speaker 1 01:39:07
Now you're picking on him for the remainder of the day, all right? See, it must not have kicked you very hard.
Speaker 8 01:39:34
I mean, like, it hurt a lot. Like, it was hurting for the next 20 minutes. Was it a side kick? No, it was like a snap kick. Like straight up? Yeah. I'm short already and I'm sitting on the bench, and he's like at least 4 or 5 inches tall.
Speaker 3 01:40:02
So I'm surprised you didn't just jump on him right there.
Speaker 8 01:40:05
Well, like, I was, that was like 90% of what I was gonna do. But it's like, everyone is, we're in the basketball court watching all the performances. They're about to start performing. Every single teacher. All the administrators were there.
Speaker 1 01:40:20
I'm not saying that you should. It's just, like, look, I don't want you fighting. But I don't want you... picked on, you know, I want you to feel like you can stand up for yourself. I don't know that I could have held myself back though. So good on you for that. You gotta let it go once it's over.
Speaker 1 01:40:53
So they, you know, I don't know. I don't know. You've got to figure out how to build relationships and not break relationships though, you know.
Speaker 2 01:41:32
And you, Ben. 
Speaker 1 01:41:39
Yeah, aren't you getting any bites? When did you take that geometry test. 
Speaker 2 01:41:57
When's the last time you took a geometry test. 
Speaker 8 01:42:07
Today.
Speaker 2 01:42:07
I got the grade on it. Did you take a test today? Did you talk about it yesterday. 
Speaker 8 01:42:36
I did, I made a lot of progress in the project that's due tomorrow, so I don't have a lot to do left by tomorrow. We're supposed to do it because we need compasses, and we're supposed, we need to use the compasses in class, and we're supposed to do the last part that I need to do in the project in class.
Speaker 8 01:43:08
I want to go to that. I did good things.
Speaker 8 01:44:17
But everyone that I talked to just, you know, that saw it, saw that the thing happened, like, was saying that, like, he had angered.
Speaker 2 01:44:31
Yeah. Hmm? Um, it always seems like it's raining harder.
Speaker 3 01:45:14
I mean, it probably was. But it always seems like it's raining harder than what it is when we're driving. Because you're like running into the rain. Does that make sense? Yeah.
Speaker 8 01:45:38
Why do we have like spots on our, in the backyard where it's just like the concrete doesn't change color? I can show you. There's like three spots next to the tarp. Huh? Open that.
Speaker 2 01:46:08
Okay.
Speaker 2 01:46:42
Thank you.

[AI_SUMMARY]
Matthew is making steady academic progress, particularly in spelling and reading fluency, but he tends to rush through work, impacting his performance. He excels in decoding but struggles with encoding and vocabulary. In math, he shows motivation but needs to improve his pacing and multiplication facts. Parental concerns about financial constraints for next year are noted, along with a focus on preparing him for potential school transition. The fourth-grade team is emphasizing independence and executive functioning skills, with plans for follow-up meetings to support Matthew's development.