Parents of the HS Class of 2012 - New beginnings - Page 171

seiclan · 10-17-2012, 08:05 AM

My son flew back to school yesterday without incident. The house is quiet again. He spent his break playing his Xbox and finishing a paper. He will not be home again until after finals, December 19 so he really enjoyed this home time. Thanksgiving we are all meeting up north to share the holiday with the extended family.

We do need to start looking into the summer abroad programs soon. DS said that he missed the first open house since he had class but it is something he would like to do. He has always wanted to do a Spanish immersion program. He is almost fluent now, after 5 years of HS Spanish and half a semester of college FL. I don't have any idea how to get this ball rolling and DS is not very proactive. He will go to the head of the CIPA programs at his school and inquire though. He would like to do a six week summer session.

geogirl1 · 10-17-2012, 08:14 AM

DS is working hard and seems happy. A's or A-'s in 4 classes, and a B in one. He also got 100% on his last Anthropology test! The class average was a B -, so he must be doing something right! He seems to have found the balance between "fun" and study. He says that he takes it week by week. We are just so happy that he is working hard. He didn't always work hard in HS, just did the absoulute minimum to get the "A", barely. He loves his school, is happy with his RM, and seems to be participating in a variety of activities. Last night he was at a discussion of the Israeli-Palastinian conflict. Something he should know a lot about, but doesn't. He went with an Israeli friend, so that should have been interesting! However, his latest facebook picture (of the ones I am allowed to see) shows his bare chested self, decked out in school colors at a home football game.

Balance, it is all about balance. I miss him, but it is easier to deal with the change in the house when I know he is so happy and successful.

glido · 10-17-2012, 08:16 AM

A summer is Spain sounds great seiclan! When is the best time to do a semester abroad. Back in the day, most went abroad junior year, but I hear many schools prefer to have kids abroad sophomore year, so they are on the home campus for upper level courses in their major. Anybody know?

giterdone · 10-17-2012, 10:53 AM

Our DD is heavily researching semester abroad programs, and the consensus she's reaching is; Junior year.

WalkingTessie · 10-17-2012, 11:03 AM

My D is also looking at study abroad, and is currently leaning towards spring semester of sophomore year. Rumor has it that starting junior year she will be very busy with her Honors/Capstone project.

mathinokc · 10-17-2012, 11:07 AM

If you're looking for a summer program, seiclan, you might look at Middlebury College's. It's immersion, but it's not overseas.
Middlebury Language Schools | Middlebury

I don't have any info on programs that are actually abroad. Is he interested in Spain or somewhere in the Americas?

giterdone · 10-17-2012, 11:56 AM

I think study abroad timing is dependent on the school and the major. In the Business School, DD's chosen study abroad semester program is all 300 level courses and above, and one of the schools minimum eligibility requirements is "a Junior or Senior standing." So, no haggling there

seiclan · 10-17-2012, 12:42 PM

He would love to spend the summer in Spain. It would be preferable to do it this summer so that it fulfills his language requirement and doesn't conflict with the business school curriculum. He may also do a semester abroad with the business school but that is not a Spanish immersion program. I don't know any real info though and will help him do some research into his options.

1012mom · 10-17-2012, 05:18 PM

My DD's have friends who have done the Middlebury programs. Great for fluency, although not so great for culture and for losing that American accent. My guess is that the school will have a long list of summer abroad programs, particularly if he is looking for an academic program. Keep in mind S America too. D1 has a friend who spent last summer - as winter - in Chile.

D1 is heading to Buenos Aires for her spring semester this (junior) year. Junior year is the year abroad choice at her school and almost all of her friends are gone for one or two semesters this year. However, she has HS friends at Kenyon, and UT Austin who did semesters abroad as sophomores. She will not likely take any classes for her major next year - but started taking upper level electives last spring and should be right on track for her requirements.

D2 is thinking about summer plans as well. At the moment that consists of trying to get summer stock auditions. If that does not work out I expect summer abroad programs will be the next choice with scooping ice cream at home for the summer as the fall back and distant third.

Mutti2012 · 10-18-2012, 10:56 AM

I may be a lurker but page 2 will not do

I'm glad to read that most kids are adjusting well, and that those who've had speed bumps are at least learning and growing from their experiences.

S is coming to end of just the third week of classes so he seems to be in the honeymoon period academically. He's in a calculus class that seems to still be reviewing his 12th grade work, plus two heavy reading-and-writing humanities courses. He's always been a quick and comprehensive reader so that doesn't seem to be a problem and is only now being assigned his first papers. He's on a quarter system and so must take 3-4 classes. Of course, helicopter mom suggested he enrol in 4 and drop one if needed. Despite (or because :eyeroll

of this, he enrolled in 3 when he would have been able to handle 4. Oh well, certainly not a fatal mistake.

The RM seems lovely, S is hot and heavy already with the club team in his fave sport, and he seems excited to see us one week from tomorrow when we join him for Family Weekend. Oh, and for those of you with sons, count us among those whose boys do not initiate much if any contact. On the plus side though, he does seem to always be happy to hear from us. We are seriously loving FaceTime.....

Northernwoods · 10-18-2012, 01:22 PM

We're on our way to spend some time with S for Parent's Weekend. He is also on a quarter system and sounds like he is in a similar place to Mutti's S. He had the chance to travel & play with the club team the last two weekends. He's enjoying the people he's meeting but is still figuring out the social scene.

He likes his classes and I had to laugh when he went from last Sunday saying the classes were easy, not much work to yesterday when he was swamped with working on a paper and two tests next week. He'll figure it out by next quarter.

SnowflakeVT · 10-18-2012, 06:15 PM

My birthday iPad has arrived ... my S will be so happy I'm sure to Facetime with me more often. (Not!)

I'm having a better week ... I think it's just sad to re-live them leaving the empty nest when they come home for a break.

1012mom · 10-18-2012, 07:06 PM

Ok, so here is a glimpse into the future for the 2016 crowd.

D1 has been looking for an off-campus apartment for senior year. Apartments that are close to school are in high demand and need to be leased in the fall for the next year. D1 and RMs heard about a great apartment, and were first in line for showings this morning, which gave them first dibs. Great apartment, reasonable rent, across the street from campus, fully furnished. They hit the jackpot.

The landlord wanted a deposit in addition to the signed lease agreement to hold the apartment for them. However, none of these four very bright, independent young women had thought to bring a check book with them. In fact, of the four, my D1 was the only one who actually owns a checkbook, although she had no idea where it was, and was surprised the landlord could not take an ATM card.

Luckily I happened to answer the telephone when a desperate D1 called and ran down to the bank in my sweaty exercise clothes to deposit a check into the landlord's account. I told D1 she owes me big time. Now I just need to find that thread on real-life skills I never taught my child!

2016BarnardMom · 10-18-2012, 09:52 PM

My D has had a major breakthrough. Two of her classes are very tough, but the teachers grade on a big curve too. After her first couple grades, she was pretty scared and was considering switching one of them to P/D/F (pass, D, fail). She was feeling very intimidated by the caliber of students around her and lost a lot of her confidence. But, she was still loving it there.

This week, she has gotten some much better grades in.. like a 95 on a quiz in a class where the first quiz grade was a 55. She has been working REALLY hard in every class. Her grades have gotten significantly better. She told me on the phone this week "I think I just needed to adjust. I also needed to gain some confidence. I realized that sometimes, when I had no idea what the answer to a question should be, a lot of other people were in the same boat. It wasn't just me. It made me feel a lot better and a lot more confident. I'm talking in class more and I'm not afraid I'll sound stupid to everybody else."

Phew. She has adjusted. She is battling a rough cold this week and has called me every day to ask "Should I go to class?" My answer has been the same "Check the attendance policy on the syllabus, see if you can get notes from a friend, email the professor to let them know why you won't be there." She still seems to want my permission to stay home sick, like in high school...lol. She's feeling better though and went to all of her classes today. Other days, she prioritized based on attendance policies and criticality of course content.

OHMomof2 · 10-18-2012, 10:55 PM

How exciting for her, and a relief for you!