<p>Rodney - thanks for pointing out that unfortunate info. Levirm - when we recently visited Elon - the Hillel director made a point to mention how important parental contributions are to their budget. I also noticed request for parental and alumni donations on the Towson Hillel website. So clearly - funding is an issue.</p>
<p>Good possibilities for strong B students who desire a large university.</p>
<p>"Hillels at the University of Connecticut and Virginia Tech are getting new homes. Hillel at Virginia Tech broke ground on a new facility while Hillel at the University of Connecticut opened its new Trachten-Zachs Hillel building.</p>
<p>At Virginia Tech, the university president, provost, donors and students attended a luncheon where several students spoke about the impact Hillel had on their lives. Dennis Kirschbaum, associate vice president for campus advancement, spoke on behalf of the global Hillel movement. Afterwards, people donned hard hats and picked up shovels to break ground at the site.</p>
<p>More than 350 attended the re-dedication ceremony at the University of Connecticut Hillel. The new Trachten-Zachs Hillel building features a conference room, kosher kitchen, large assembly space, office, and recreation center. UConn Hillel Executive Director Gary Wolff expressed gratitude to the Trachten and Zachs families for making the building possible. In a speech, Hillel Senior Vice President Tim Cohen thanked the donors, the university and Hillel students on behalf of the Hillel movement.</p>
<p>The students] excitement for Hillel is a good indication of how much this space is needed, says Wolff. We are hoping that the students will utilize Hillel as a home, a resource, and a cultural place to have Shabbat, holidays, and other social opportunities. We truly are what the students would like us to be.</p>
<p>fyi- I live in Binghamton and came across the brochure for the Chabad at Binghamton U. I could not believe how many programs they had. Even for someone like me who is a liberal Reform Jew, the programs looked phenomenal! Chabad is huge here and attracts tons of students. There is also an active Hillel. Seems like there would be no problem for tons of Jewish activities.</p>
<p>I agree that the Binghamton Chabad looks phenomenal. Anyone here on this forum visited the Binghamton Chabad and can you describe how great this place is?</p>
<p>Towson Housing:</p>
<p>Found out today that singles at Towson will be limited and may not get a single. Housing sounds tight. Some dorm rooms are becoming triples. I am not sure how to approach this matter because Towson otherwise has a lot going for it. My son wants to wait for all responses from his applications, visit the schools again, and then decide which school is right for him.</p>
<p>I did not visit the Chabad, but my husband corresponded with the Rabbi when D was considering the school. My husband was very impressed. Binghamton overall seems to have the best Jewish resources of any of the schools D looked at.</p>
<p>MDCISSP, your best chance at a single is likely to be through the special services office as a doctor recommended accomodation. Alternatively, consider off-campus housing.
Best of luck</p>
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<p>Does anyone else have this? I can (and do) log in pretty much evry night and I can see my son’s grades in each class - every quiz, test, paper, homework assignment, etc. The good part is that there are no surprises - I can really monitor his grades and keep on top of him. But the bad part is that his grades are so erratic it makes me crazy. While he generally eeks out a B by the end of the quarter - it a mish mash of As, Bs, Cs, Ds and Es. And Zs - which means an assignment is missing! I just checked - and he presently has a D in precalculus - his first quiz of the quarter was a D and the 2nd one was an E! There is plenty of time to get it up to a B - quarter runs until mid-January - but this pattern of having grades all over the place really concerns me - I’d rather have a B student who just gets Bs.</p>
<p>We have agreed that rather than my bugging him every night - we are going to have a weekly meeting over the weekend to review grades and discuss what he needs to do. But I couldn’t help myself from just walking past him and “suggesting” he meet with his precalc teacher tomorrow! Oy!!</p>
<p>^^if I had online grades, I’d also have to have a bar in my house…and no, I don’t drink regularly…</p>
<p>fyi, precalc is like that; the grades are all over the board; each topic is mutually exclusive and it doesn’t build on previous knowledge (we are experiencing similar “fun” with that course in my house, and she is visiting the teacher on a weekly basis)…unfortunately, grades around here are few and far between so raising a bad grade is not that simple…even by January…but we are hopeful…</p>
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<p>Rockville Mom: Sometimes the teachers give very hard assessments at the beginning of the quarter so that the kids work harder through out the quarter to bring up their grades. Also, it is the total number of points that determine the quarter grade. A teacher can give a quiz that is a few points and if you miss one or two questions, the grade goes way down, when it is just one or two questions wrong. I also found that second and third quarters tend to be harder than the first and last quarter of the year.</p>
<p>Try not to worry so much about your son’s grades. I would be more inclined to ask your son how he likes the teacher. Generally, my kids get their best grades with teachers they think are great teachers. If your son complains about a teacher, then think about trying to move him to another class.</p>
<p>The one good thing at our high school with AP teachers–you get the same teacher all year.
Regular and honors teachers can change from one semester to the next. This is why I would pay more attention to the vibes you get if your son likes or does not like his teachers.</p>
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<p>RVM-we have it too and I have the same experience. I have finally learned in senior year that I can’t sweat it when I see a failing grade on a test…eventually she always pulls through with at least a b in the course!</p>
<p>Yup - precalc does have that reputation - that’s why he is not taking honors - just regular. But his erratic grades are pretty much the norm in every subject - not just math. It worries me as to how he will do in college with only 2-3 major grades per semester.</p>
<p>mdcissp - part of S2’s nature is that he rarely has a teacher he dislikes - he just kind of goes with the flow. I don’t know if a 13 out of 20 qualifies as just missing one or two questions - but yes - I am trying not to worry so much about his grades.</p>
<p>holliesue - you are right - last quarter I was all worked up over English - and he did end up with an B for the quarter - it was a low B - but our system only shows the letter grade - which generally works in his favor. I just hate logging into this grade site every night - there’s always something ridiculous. Of course, I can’t stop checking either.</p>
<p>Rodney - perhaps I need a drink in hand for this nightly ritual. Or at least a piece of dark chocolate. Both would work as well.</p>
<p>Grades: I don’t know your home situation, but many teens stay up all night and come to school tired. Poor sleep habits can impact grades Rockville Mom: Make sure your son gets a good night’s sleep and eats a healthy, nourishing breakfast. Pack him a good lunch with energy bars, fresh fruit and protein. Some times grades improve with a good night’s sleep and healthy food. I am very strict about not staying up all night on a school night.</p>
<p>Rockvillemom - did you know that they can retake one quiz per quarter? They have to tell the teacher within a few days of getting the quiz back. Have him tell the teacher that he wants to redo the E. </p>
<p>edline has caused a lot of stress in my house. Actually D1 and I have been having a lot of arguments over the past few weeks regarding time management, etc. I admit I am a control freak and a nag. So we are trying something new. She is not going to tell me any of her deadlines and I won’t nag her. But if I see grades slipping in edline, I know I will be all over her.</p>
<p>Rockville, my son was just like that and it drove me crazy. His 5 week progress report would come home and lots of screaming and yelling, grounding and taking things away would ensue, all to no avail. He would buckle down for a few weeks and pull his grades up so they were decent (high 80’a) by the end of the quarter but rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat…</p>
<p>When his 1st 5 week report came home his freshman yr with a 68 in Earth Science and a 72 in Math A I said enough is enough - I can’t go through this for 4 yrs. I pulled him out that day and by the next Monday he was in private school. It didn’t take more than a few days for him to turn it all around and he has never looked back. I stopped asking him about his homework, grades, etc., and figured (correctly) that getting detention for not handing in homework would put an end to the nonsense and being in classes with 10 kids would stop the day dreaming or whatever else he was doing in class instead of paying attention. </p>
<p>Best decision we ever made. I only wish we had sent him in middle school. </p>
<p>His grades are all online but I don’t even know the name of the site you have to go to get them.</p>
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<p>RVM: I can see why you are frustrated. The weekly meetings sound like a good idea. I know that it will be hard, but you might want to try checking the grades less often. You might get less aggravated if you didn’t see each grade as it comes up.</p>
<p>During dinner last night, my daughter was appalled to realize that I sometimes check her grades online. She is very organized and independent, and generally lets me know how things are going. She was offended that I was “checking up” on her. I realize that I take a lot of things she does for granted. I see how independent and mature she’s become in the past year, and I feel that she is pretty well prepared for college.</p>
<p>I have really cut back on checking D’s grades this year as I realize that next year she will be on her own! Alot less arguing in our house this year over her school work! She generally pulls through with B’s and A’s so I have just learned to let go!</p>
<p>RVM - We have the same or similar system here in the public schools of Broward County Florida. Every grade (hw, test, quiz, assignment, project, lab) is posted online and current. It is a blessing. It is a curse. My son, is like yours in that he goes up and down during the 9 week grading quarters. The last week before the end of the quarter is a stressful time for both of us, with him scrambling to lock in the higher grade for the quarter. It is good that we can see what our kids are doing in the event that there is a problem however, now that they are HS Juniors, we should be pulling away from the constant monitoring. It is tough. We feel that we have a horse in this race and these grades, especially Junior year, influence which colleges will be possible for them (to get into). I completely commiserate with your Edline angst (ours is called Pinnacle). Let me tell you, in two years, when our kids are freshman at college, we will not know how they are doing academically unless they choose to tell us. I am looking forward to this at some level and concerned at another (what if they get into trouble and don’t tell us until it is too late…as seen here on CC in countless threads?). We will have many discussions before college in our home about being proactive in college and not afraid to ask/seek help whenever it is needed. We can only hope.</p>
<p>mdmom - yes - I know he can retake one quiz per quarter - I guess the E would be the one to do! But then of course he has used up that privilege for the entire quarter by the 2nd week - not great. I think I need to come up with a catchy name for this issue - like “road rage” only it’s “Edline Angst” or something of the sort. I wish I could check less frequently - but I feel so much pressure to push him to keep his grades up this year and I do think my involvement helps some - as long as I remain calm and refrain from going crazy late in the evening.</p>
<p>emilybee - although he attends a large public hs - I really think the fault lies with him - not the school. There is plenty of extra help - lunchtime - after school - before school - available if he wants it. The one thing that this is showing me, however, is that he belongs at a smaller college. I know he wants some sports excitement and the energy of a campus with a lot of school spirit - but I think the academics must come first - and he clearly needs the support that he will get at a smaller school. </p>
<p>On our visit to Elon - our tour guide stressed the writing center and how helpful it has been to her - I know that is something many schools offer - but I think I need to pay more attention to features like that. Elon also is set up where students take 4 4-credit classes per semester - rather than 5 3-credit classes - and I think this would also be beneficial.</p>
<p>In S2’s defense - he is taking a tough courseload - 7 classes - no study halls at our hs - all solids. I suggested he take an art class for fun or gym - so as to have 6 real classes rather than 7 - but he was not interested in either option. So, he has 7 academic classes and that is probably too much. But, we will have our meeting tomorrow and see what he has mapped out for precalc - and then we can move on to strategies for handling this year more effectively. He will be picking his classes for senior year in a few weeks - and I am going to insist he only take 6 classes and take art/music/gym for the 7th one.</p>