JonasM

Yes that was the same event. The pic posted by Gene above is also from the same meet.
At age 2, she barely spoke English - Lithuanian was her first language. She only started on English after starting school at age 2 3/4.

Hertz Donut

I think it's fantastic that a school can offer such a long-term connection to a child. Due to my parents' jobs I attended a new school every 2-3 years, which made forming strong friendships and a connection to the school difficult. My children started out at a reasonably large (for NZ) public school that grew far too fast, and they felt lost in it. Now they're both at a much smaller charter school that caters for years 0 to 13 (elementary to high school in the US), where they feel much happier, more valued, and more encouraged to develop a well-rounded set of skills. If we'd known about the school when they were younger we would have put them both there at the start.

All the best to your lovely daughter, it sounds like she's had a wonderful schooling, and with supportive parents I'm sure she'll go far.

Lainey

Anika is a beautiful, young lady, and I'm sure very smart too! Congrats to all on her upcoming graduation.

JonasM

We got very lucky. Cleveland used to have an AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) Montessori training facility, so we have a number of Montessori schools. When Anika was born. we quickly decided that we did not want to put her in a public school, and my experiences with parochial schools were not something I wanted Anika to repeat. At about age 2, we visited this place and immediately thought that WE wanted to go there - the heck with Anika!

Her 9th grade class was one we specifically remember - they were such a tight-knit group that loved being around each other. And since her school is also a boarding school, every year (COVID excepting) she's made friends from all over the world - Mexico, Columbia, Switzerland, Australia, etc... It was truly a great experience.

JonasM

Thanks, Lainey! She's always been a fan of Pinky and the Brain, so I think she's always scheming to Take Over The World. (In a nice way, of course!)

goblueS2K

Jonas, OSU has 66K students. Are you concerned about the sheer size of the University?

JonasM

No - that's what attracts her so much (not to mention that it is a good school). She's looking forward to the opportunities to meet other students, and she already has found several local friends (2 girls who work with her at a local restaurant, among others) who have offered to show her around and get her plugged into student life there.

Anika was always pissed when her high school college counselor kept pushing her to small liberal arts universities, despite anything Anika could say. She was thrilled to be able to shove the acceptance letter in the counselor's face. (figuratively of course!)

Not to mention that Columbus has lots of great brewpubs - I'm looking forward to the visits.

buckeyesue

Jonas, congratulations to Anika, and her parents, too. The pictures of Anika and the horse, Clay, are beautiful.

You probably remember that goblue and I live in a suburb of Columbus. Perhaps on one of your visits to Columbus, we can get together at a pub. However, goblue and I don’t like beer, but we do like to eat.

Will Anika be living on campus in a dorm?

(I retired from THE Ohio State University several years ago with almost 31 years of service.)

JonasM

Yes, I remember that you live in the area! Now I see "Worthington" in your profile - that's about as close to OSU as anything.
As of now, she'll not be officially going down there until move-in day - even orientation is still online in June.
We will probably cruise through the area again (we visited Apr 4th) on the way home from my next test drive for the Tomcatt. Not certain when that will be, but we will be in touch.
(Anika loves it when folks recognize how to write THE Ohio State... ) LOL.

Lainey

Tomorrow is Thursday, but we'll call it part of the weekend. We will be planting plants. We got started today. I planted flowers in the pots on the back deck, front porch and some hanging pots in the flower garden. I have a small flower box on one side of the house, that's done too. Rick planted his veggie garden, and some flowers around the deck. He's got a lot to do in the rear flower garden as well as around a couple trees in the front and flower boxes on the front windows. Lots of work.

Ally is coming to lunch tomorrow. We will celebrate her birthday at lunch. She turns 20 next week!! Dinner with a friend tomorrow, and as of now, no other plans for the actual weekend. Weather not going to be as nice as it has been.