Luke Lately

The above picture pretty much sums up Luke right now.  Our Music Man received that new bass guitar as his big birthday present, and he spends most of his free time practicing and playing.  In addition to playing bass guitar, our Tuba Dude has had an amazing semester filled with musical accolades and opportunities.  Luke auditioned for All County Band, and was selected to be the First Chair Tuba!  This group met for a two day clinic and performed a concert at the end:

Luke also auditioned for All-District Band (there are 7 districts in NC: we are the Central District), and made Second Chair Tuba.  The musicians gathered in Durham at the School of the Arts for an all day rehearsal and performed a concert the next day.  This was our first in-person experience with All District Band (Luke auditioned virtually last year during COVID and made the ensemble, but they never had a chance to perform), and we were impressed with the high level of musicianship of these middle schoolers: 

The top 3 tuba players from each district were eligible to audition for the 6 coveted All State Band spots.  Luke worked so hard on his solo and scales, and he made 3rd Chair Tuba for the entire state of North Carolina!  We are SO proud of him, and the All State Band Clinic was a three day intensive clinic in Raleigh with overnight stays and a Sunday afternoon concert.  We don't have any pictures, but purchased a video of the performance, and Luke had a solo in one of the pieces.  He didn't tell us about this ahead of time, and during the concert, I turned to Mark and whispered, "That's LUKE!" Afterward, we asked Luke about his solo tuba feature, and he just shrugged.  God bless teenagers!

Luke also chose to participate in Piedmont Honors Band this spring, which is another ensemble of musicians from various schools in our area.  One of Luke's gifts is that he is always willing to meet people and try new activities where he may not know anyone.  He has had wonderful experiences playing with all of these groups, and has grown immensely as a musician this year:

Piedmont Honors Band

This spring, Luke was invited to audition for the only tuba player part in the Greensboro Symphony Youth Orchestra (GSYO).  He was accepted, and this ensemble is comprised of elite musicians from the Piedmont region. They held weekly rehearsals on Sunday afternoons and performed in a concert at the end of their spring season.  We are so proud of Luke for being selected to be the tubist for GSYO, and this was a great opportunity for him:

GSYO

Closer to home, Northwest Middle School held its spring band concert, and Luke was recognized for 5 awards, including Outstanding Musician for the entire band.  What makes me the proudest about this is that the band students voted for this award, and Luke was chosen by his peers.  When Luke announced at the beginning of 6th grade that he wanted to play tuba because it was the "biggest and the loudest instrument", we rolled our eyes and thought it would be a passing phase.  Kudos to Mr. Greene, Luke's middle school band director, who allowed him to play the tuba right away (usually it is not one of the "starter" instruments for 6th graders), and who provided opportunities and encouragement to advance Luke's music education through a remote 7th grade learning year.  The arts have suffered so much due to COVID, and we are so thankful that our kiddo has found his "thing" and has been able to continue to play through it all and thrive:

Somehow in the midst of all these musical endeavors, Luke also re-joined his soccer team for their spring season (he couldn't play in the fall due to marching band), and he resumed rowing with winter training on land and spring season back on the lake:

Luke also celebrated a big milestone in May as he was confirmed in our church.  The confirmands concluded two years of classes and studies with a special service where they renewed their baptismal vows and professed their faith.  This was a special day for our family, and we loved celebrating our dear boy:

Confirmation Class.

The past month also brought the end of middle school for Luke.  This is a picture of his 8th grade class (320 strong!) at their picnic/field day:

NWHS Class of 2026

This group of kids had such a unique middle school experience, and luckily, it was all positive for Luke.  After attending 2/3 of his 6th grade year, the world shut down due to COVID and all students abruptly shifted to virtual learning.  Luke remained a remote learner for his entire 7th grade year and returned to in-person learning for 8th grade.  We are SO fortunate that Luke did not suffer socially, academically, or emotionally from these unforeseen circumstances, and instead adapted easily to each change and remained resilient and happy.  

Luke grew in every possible way in middle school.  For the record, I looked up Luke's height and weight at elementary school graduation (5'3" and 101 lb.) vs. present day (6'2" and 150 lb.).  He's 50 lb. heavier, an entire foot taller, and I can't begin to imagine how much more he will grow by high school graduation.  Luke's 8th grade promotion ceremony was held this past week, and it was a lovely celebration:

    

Receiving his 8th grade promotion certificate.

Mrs. Francisco was Luke's elementary school principal and has since moved to the middle school.  I love this comparison photo of her shaking Luke's hand at both graduation ceremonies:

June 2022.

June 2019.

These two best friends posed for a selfie at the bus stop before their ceremony.  Love these boys!

Band playing Pomp and Circumstance.

That's a wrap on Luke Lately.  What a joy it is to watch him do what he loves and to have a front row seat as he becomes an awesome young man!

Leah Lately

 

In the midst of this very unique season for our family, I am elated to report that L&L are thriving.  The best way to share some of their spring activities is to create a post for each kid.  Here are some of Leah's highlights lately:

Leah just wrapped up another great soccer season. We LOVE watching her play, and I think her coach is pretty great, too!

In February, Leah fell and hurt her knee, which meant several weeks on crutches and wearing a knee immobilizer.  Luckily, this didn't slow down Leah at all, and she healed quickly:

During this time, Student Council officers delivered Valentines to residents at a local assisted living facility.  This was a sweet afternoon for both the senior citizens and the kids, who delivered over 700 handmade cards drawn by ORES students:

Our Hamilton-loving girl received tickets for Christmas and couldn't wait until the April show date.  The verdict is that Hamilton lived up to all the hype and Leah absolutely loved it!  

In the Room Where it Happened...

Not throwing away her shot!

Grandparents + Hamilton = One happy girl!

Leah also celebrated her first communion in April.  We are so proud of you, Peanut!

A few hodgepodge pictures from this spring:

Leah is the best snuggler!

She's a pretty good baker, too!

Holding her class flag for the school BoosterThon Fun Run!

Leah was chosen to be on her school's Battle of the Books (BoB) Team this year.  The group met weekly and memorized details from the 15 books that they read.  In March, they competed against other schools in a virtual competition and they placed first in their division!  They advanced to the next round and competed in the district finals, where they placed 4th.  This is an amazing accomplishment, and Leah was the speaker for her BoB team, which meant that she announced the final answer for each competition question:

Our spring piano recital was the first in-person recital since the fall of 2019 (due to COVID).  Leah played three pieces and did a beautiful job.  It was wonderful to hear the musicians perform in front of an audience again!

Camp Hanes is the 5th grade field trip that students at ORES look forward to the most, and is legendary at our school.  Luke's class is the last group that was able to go to Camp Hanes due to the pandemic, and we were so fortunate that field trips returned this spring and that Leah had the opportunity to go.  She had the BEST day kayaking, exploring water ecology, zip lining, and leading team building activities:

Leah was the first one in her class to do the zip line!

Jump Rope Club held its spring performance and showed off a special routine set to music.  We are always so impressed by what tricks these kids can do, and Leah had a lot of fun in Jumpers this year:

ORES Running Club met weekly after school this spring to train for a 5K. They held their race in May, and Leah was awesome, crossing the finish line with her best 5K time to date:

ORES Running Club

Crossing the finish line!

The race was fun, but Kona Ice afterward may have been the best part!

Field Day was back this year, and always seems to fall on a 90+ degree day.  Thankfully, there were lots of stations that included water fun, and the kids were soaked by the end of the day.  Leah loves Field Day, and it's hard to believe that this is her last one:

As ORES Student Council Vice President, Leah sat on the stage with teachers/administrators for the school's two awards ceremonies this week.  She led the Pledge of Allegiance and was recognized for many club awards, including Safety Patrol, Morning Show, Running Club, Battle of the Books, Jump Rope Club, and Student Council.  I don't think we realized how many extra curricular activities Leah participated in this year until we heard her name called repeatedly at her awards ceremony:

ORES Student Council Officers on stage.

Student Council recognition.

Leah was also one of two 5th grade students chosen for the Library/Media Outstanding Student Award.  This honor is so fitting for our voracious reader!

5th graders leave their mark on the walls of Oak Ridge Elementary, and when they return as graduating 12th graders to do their Senior Walk, they find their handprints.  I can't imagine the day my baby walks down these halls in her cap and gown!

Leah received the Peace Maker award at her class awards ceremony.  She is beloved by all of her classmates and teachers, and has certainly had a wonderful spring.  5th grade graduation will be included in a separate post, but it has been a remarkable year for our little girl!

Leah with her wonderful teacher, Ms. Boggess.