10th Grade Schedule

Azismith
Wed, 09 Jul 2014 18:19:30 +0000

“Can you REALLY, I mean, REALLY manage all of that?”

Honest answer: I don’t know. I know my older brother managed to take 5 APs his sophomore year (same except for Bio–he took Chem instead). He got 5s on all of them except lang, in which he received a 4. I’m an older 10th grader though, so I might be able to do better. I’ll also be taking the Bio SATIIs and the US History SATIIs, which I’m a little worried about.

I took three APs last year. I’m anticipating Bio to be about the same amount of work as Chem, Lang to be about the same as Music Theory, and APUSH to be a little harder than Government (ok, maybe a lot harder). Then I’m adding two ‘easy’ APs–Micro and Macro economics, which I’ll be taking at Montgomery College. Each course only lasts a semester, and afterwards I’ll have time to review, so I’m thinking that macro/micro will really feel like 1.25 APs. But once I add all the other courses on…

If anything drops, I’m thinking CS will be the first thing to go, as I’m already planning on taking AP Comp Sci next year. I could also drop Russian III, but am not sure if that’s a good/bad idea in terms of how college admissions will see it. I love the language, but I’m not sure if it’s worth my time to continue during the school year… Advice?

“How will you find time to eat lunch? Talk to your friends? I don’t see how to fit 10 classes into each day for a whole year (although it’s probably by rotating blocks, which is still pretty heavy of a course load).”

I’m homeschooled, so that will save me some time! No busy work, I can work during lunch, I can sleep in and stay up late, etc.

“Also, the clubs. You have a great sense of community and club participation, but I think by second term Sophomore year, you should start to drop some of the minor clubs to gain a larger and more active role in those few that you love the most. Pick 3 or 4 at the most, and give all your effort into those. Become a club leader/president/head by senior year in those, and you’re way better off than being officers or regular members of several. Also, as a current member of Science Olympiad and Model UN, I can say that those two clubs take a HUGE time commitment, one that is much larger than you expect initially.”

Yeah. I’m currently captain of Pilgrimage Homeschool’s Science Olympiad team. We had 11 kids on our Div. B team this year, and most were weak (7th graders, a few 8th graders, and 2 ninth graders). I spent ~20 hours/week on it–no kidding. I coached kids, figured out schedules, and studied! Our team ended up winning states, and placing 19th at Nationals, even though we had an awful day. My scores were: 4th place Shock Value, 5th place Sounds of Music, 6th place Crime Busters, 7th place Disease Detectives, 9th place Meteorology, 9th place Experimental Design.

Next year, I’ll be assistant coach for the middle school team and co-captain of the Div. C. Pilgrimage team. The Div. C team is weaker, but I think that we might have a chance at making nationals this coming year. Anyway, this is probably my largest ‘leadership’ position.

Oh, I forgot to mention…I’ll be taking Epidemiology from CDC…I basically took the course last year, but I’ll be doing a little more studying for it, and then I’ll do the homework and take the chapter tests and final exam (online). That will be counted as a credit also, although I’ll be doing it during the summer, so it shouldn’t affect my course load during the school year.

The music stuff–I’ve got 3 once-a-week bands/orchestras, 1 once-a-month orchestra that goes overseas on missions every year to perform at orphanages, slums, prisons, hospitals, etc., and a few honors bands/orchestras that meet for one or two weekends. Besides that, I play Clarinet (8 yrs), Bassoon (2 yrs, but everyone wants me 'cause there are never any bassoons), Saxophone (5 yrs), and Piano (13 yrs). I’m involved in the National Piano Guild–I’ve done that for 7 yrs, so I’m some sort of ‘exalted member’. I’m thinking of dropping Piano, however, since Bassoon and Clarinet are more unique. What do you think?

As for saxophone, I only play sax in jazz band. I also play solos for my grandparents church on clarinet and sax, and at Christmas time my family plays at various churches and nursing homes. So…I’m thinking that it’d be best to drop the piano, but I’m unsure…

I’ll be doing the Model UN at Montgomery college (that’s where I’m taking Micro, Macro, and Rock-Climbing). My older brother is Head Delegate. This is another club where I’d like to have a leadership role.

Anyway, my clubs generally fit into 3 buckets: Science Olympiad, Model UN, and Music. I could quit a few Music clubs if I need to. I’ve got ‘leadership’ roles in each of them, as I’m principal clarinet/bassoon in most of them (the exceptions this year were Lions Club Honors Band and Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra).

Then I’ve got another dilemma: I’ve been asked to TA next year for AP Government, and if I want to, I could TA for AP Chem. Should I take either, none, or both of those opportunities? TAing for Gov’t should only take 1-2 hrs/week, but Chem would be more like 3 hrs/week at a minimum.

“By mid-year, I had narrowed it down a lot, and this was simply due to being forced to retain a good GPA and still get at least 6 hours of sleep every night.”

Ha Ha. My body is requiring a minimum of 10 hrs of sleep every night right now…let’s just say I’m growing really fast! Hopefully I can back that off to 8 hrs for next year.

Thanks for all the help!!