<p>I agree, these holidays are much too close together. I was ready to stop giving 8 presents, but my husband (the softie) wants to continue.</p>
<p>I have to admit that we’re having frozen latkes tonight. My sister made homemade ones on Saturday. We had an early family party while all the college kids were home.</p>
<p>Happy Hanukah. I just put my electric menorah in the window. This is the first year it’s been up before the neighbor’s Christmas decorations.</p>
<p>Mazal tov Rodney! Great news! Happy Chanuka everyone! May we all be blessed with miracles of great college acceptances!</p>
<p>Mazel tov, Rodney! So excited for you and your D!</p>
<p>I am waiting in a parking lot for S to be finished with his community service group - they have no idea it is the first night of chanukah (and this is run by the town) . Anyway D is waiting in her dorm for us. She will be with ya tonite for the holiday by ichat. Presents are waiting too. </p>
<p>I hope you all enjoy the “eight crazy nights.”</p>
<p>ahhh… the aroma of latkes in the air. Nothing like picking them up right from the pan before they make it to the table…</p>
<p>[Bloomington</a> Police search for suspect in anti-Semitic attacks - 13 WTHR](<a href=“http://www.wthr.com/story/13596165/bloomington-police-search-for-suspect-in-anti-semitic-attacks]Bloomington”>http://www.wthr.com/story/13596165/bloomington-police-search-for-suspect-in-anti-semitic-attacks)</p>
<p>Bloomington - Hanukkah takes on added significance for the Jewish community in Bloomington.</p>
<p>Police there are investigating five acts of what they call anti-semitic vandalism in the past week.</p>
<p>The Hillel House is one of the centers targeted by vandals. It is a meeting place on the campus of Indiana University. Tonight, many are gathering at Hillel House to celebrate the first of eight nights of Hanukkah. </p>
<p>On the first day of a festival that marks the triumph of good over evil, members of the Jewish community in Bloomington are struggling to overcome the malicious attack.</p>
<p>“There was a rock thrown in the kitchen,” asked puzzled IU student Shelli Goldzband.</p>
<p>Goldzband just learned about the five acts of vandalism targeting Jewish facilities in the past week.</p>
<p>Police say someone threw rocks into windows --and damaged Hebrew books at the library in the Hillel House, where Goldzband volunteers each week.</p>
<p>“I’m really sad, just really sad,” said Goldzband.</p>
<p>“Why would anyone raise a hand to someone who’s done no harm to you,” asked Yehohsua Chincholker of the Chabad House.</p>
<p>The Chabad house was twice targeted, most recently Tuesday morning, when someone threw a rock into an upstairs window shared by three women, none of them Jewish.</p>
<p>I was actually looking for a positive Hanukah story to share, but came across this instead. Not the uplifting story I was searching for - but worth mentioning all the same.</p>
<p>go on you tube and search Yeshiva Maccabeats…it will definitely cheer you up with a Chanukah twist…</p>
<p>[look on YouTube for these words “Candlelight The Maccabeats” - p3t] </p>
<p>Our Chanukah dinner is done and cleaned up; and the fry oil smell lingers; my daughter’s BF had NEVER had latkes; or lit a menorah…he made my daughter say the prayers (she had to remember them) and ate literally 8 latkes w applesauce; he asked me if I can make them again!!!..</p>
<p>Of course I will keep you all posted about the Elon Experience…hopefully my daughter will share too!!! So far, lots of congratulatory videos to my daughter from the admissions staff; haven’t received the “official” packet yet but I’ve already booked flight and hotel rooms for March orientation…got a great fare!! (and free hotel room from points!)…</p>
<p>Dec 15th should be interesting; friends and relatives waiting to hear from their ED/EA schools…and of course, from everyone here on our online home away from home…</p>
<p>Rodney - that was great! Just what I needed - thanks!</p>
<p>^Awesome video!!! Do you know who made it?</p>
<p>Thanks Rodney, I just showed that to my S2 he loved it I expect that by tomorrow his entire NFTY group will have viewed it. I going to pass it on to S1 tomorrow with his Chanukah note.</p>
<p>Had a great Hannukkah dinner with our Costa Rican exchange student (and another Jewish family and their CR exchange student). The kids loved latkes and had a great time playing dreidel!</p>
<p>Hanukkah is a bit on hold at our house - we’re lighting candles, but it’s very much overshadowed by basketball and a very busy performance schedule (D’s and mine this weekend). Also, H is the master latke-maker (not Jewish, but was born with a potato in his hand) and HE’S at a work conference until Monday night. So we’ll have more of an “end-of-the-holiday” feast. I’m guessing D’s BF and our Japanese student will eat a ton.</p>
<p>And we try to do “different” presents for Hanukkah - this year I let the two girls take their BFs out for a nice dinner on us while D1 was home last week.</p>
<p>rodney, mazel tov to your D. I haven’t been on as much as I used to, so I missed it when you first posted. It is a lovely Hanukkah gift for your family.</p>
<p>Happy Hanukkah to all the parents on this thread!</p>
<p>they took away my link…awwww </p>
<p>let’s try again: [YouTube</a> - Candlelight - The Maccabeats](<a href=“The Maccabeats - Candlelight - Hanukkah - YouTube”>The Maccabeats - Candlelight - Hanukkah - YouTube)</p>
<p>I think it’s an acapella group from Yeshiva U…</p>
<p>Happy Chanukah to everyone!</p>
<p>I have a situation that I hope you all can help me with. D is taking a very hard schedule this year. She is a junior. She had a great first quarter, but not without some struggles. The problem is that she is taking an AP class that most people take as a double period. She was not told this when putting her schedule together last year and only signed up for it as a single period. Because of that she is falling behind in the class. Teacher has been understanding and has extended some of the deadlines for her, but now it’s just snowballing. She was going to change her schedule for next semester to drop an elective and take this AP as a double period, but I started thinking why not switch now.</p>
<p>She met with her guidance counselor yesterday and asked if the switch could happen now. GC said it could with both teachers approval and her administrators approval. She forgot to ask what it would look like on her transcript. I did a little research and it would show on her transcript as a withdrawal from the class and would list the grade she has in the class at the time of withdrawal, which is an A. Then she would get the grade twice for the double period AP class. Which is also an A. So it would actually help her GPA because the AP class is weighted and the elective isn’t. </p>
<p>What do colleges think if they see a dropped class with an A? Will it matter? It’s just an elective. Is this something the GC would need to explain in her rec letter?</p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>MDMom: I would check with the GC, but it doesn’t sound like a big issue to me to drop an elective with an “A”. The GC should explain it in her rec next year. It sounds like the switch is a good idea. It’s a shame that the GC didn’t recommend this when she set up her schedule. It’s great that she still has an “A” in the class despite the circumstances.</p>
<p>momjr - unfortunately, some of her other classes have been suffering! If she makes the switch now, she has a chance to pull the other classes back up. But at least this would be a double weighted A which will help. </p>
<p>I am really annoyed that the GC didn’t say anything about taking it as a double period last year. No one did. </p>
<p>D is supposed to check with GC again today to find out the impact on her transcript, etc.</p>
<p>^^sounds like a perfect solution; also, that’s what the “additional information” question is geared towards; but even if your daughter is using that for something else, either the GC or your daughter herself could write a little blurb to go along with her applications…</p>
<p>And many schools recalculate GPA based on the core classes anyway.</p>
<p>Happy Hannukah! Cute video, thanks!</p>
<p>Rodney,
I just logged on and came to your email with the exciting news–awesome!! Congratulations to you and your daughter! I know how much she wanted Elon and it’s beyone thrilling that it has happened for her! We’ll be holding our breath until 12/20 when the EA results are released…again CONGRATS!!!</p>