<p>thank you, Marian, that’s reassuring. We want to keep all the doors open.</p>
<p>Well, we had a guidance night last week, where we had to choose classes. My son ended with a very easy schedule-four academic classes, English, Foreign Lang, Math, Bio, which he’s taking now, plus PE, and elective. So it’s three classes where he’ll learn something new. The school doesn’t allow any doubling up at all, ever. My second attempt to meet with a GC ended up with getting an “auto reply” from her, saying they won’t be seeing anyone until end of March, since they are busy “scheduling”. So yes, I have to say I am pretty disappointed. I’d like to keep my son challenged, so I am thinking of maybe signing up for online science course with CTY. Anyone tried Honors Chem or Physics and how was it? Please share, if you can. Thanks!</p>
<p>vvs2010–What’s the “elective”? Why can he not take a History course, for example?</p>
<p>Our school has summer school for two purposes–kids who need to retake Alg., Geometry, or a language, or kids who want to get PE out of the way during the summer. I think all of my kids did this–it’s more fun in the summer (the getting hot & sweaty part) and frees up the schedule during the school year.</p>
<p>The GCs are fine with as difficult a schedule as the kids want to take.</p>
<p>I think I would go camp out at the guidance office. Or maybe it is time to meet with the principal. How big is this school?</p>
<p>OP,
Have you looked at the Bio book and curriculum that is used for 9th grade? My D attended a very competitive private school for 8th grade, where they also spent the year on Bio. She was required to repeat Bio in 9th grade (required for all 9th graders) and while she ended up with an “A” in the course, the high school Bio course was much more challenging than 8th grade and it was not easy for her at all.</p>
<p>^^Ho History is available until 10th grade, no summer school here either unless you’re failing a class. The electives are art, music, or shop. The school is about 1500 kids.</p>
<p>Bay-I have looked at the Bio book and the notes that HS teachers post online. The book, while by a different author, was very similar in content, and the tests/projects look similar as well. We also spoke to a current 9th grader. I do hope there will be some topics new and challenging to my son.</p>
<p>We found in two different public schools easy permission to add one course by our kids eating a brown-bag lunch in class, rather than go to cafeteria for a full 45-min period. The older two liked this because the cafeteria situation was not pleasant or helpful to them socially. The younger one, at an upscale suburban progressive public, knew what his older sibs did with lunch-period, so asked and the request granted. Obviously there are pro’s and con’s, but it’s a way to add a course, although some folks don’t favor it because they want the social or down time of a lunch period. I taught my kids to pack their own quiet sandwich, brown-bagged, the night before. I had them use a fresh orange, rather than a beverage so nothing ever spilled. They finished it quickly in class and threw the bag away, all within l5 minutes, not to be irritating to others. It couldn’t be in a lab class, obviously, and the teacher had to give the nod.</p>
<p>My older 2 also all declined “study hall” although the younger one liked having it to do some homework prep during school hours.</p>
<p>I also agree with Onward above that you’re entitled to a meeting with the Principal, as new to the district, rather than being treated as the GC must do for most parents familiar with the school system. Try to get an app’t with the principal, simply because you’re New and have many questions. If s/he asks you the GC’s name, that’s fine because he’ll summon up the records or perhaps consult before or after your meeting, none of which will harm you or your child; it might even help. You could also pose it this way: I either need to meet with the principal or be permitted to meet with the GC sooner, because I am new. (That’ll likely get the principal to tell the GC to schedule you). So choose what you want next. a meeting with principal or GC. If you feel you can resolve this at the GC level, stick with that. Good luck.</p>
<p>
I hope this came from an informed source! Our D took summer school to retake a course she hadn’t failed but just wanted to have a B, not a C-minus, on her transcript. They replaced the grade with the summer school course grade. While most everyone else labeled the summer school kids as flunkers, and even her own VP came around to ask her what she was doing there, she just said “I want to bring my grade up.” There, it was unusual but still permissible. I’m just sayin: even if most of the summer school kids are there for one reason, yours might attend for a different reason…although if it were me, I’d be using the $ saved from private school to send a child to some better summer enrichment situation with other motivated kids, rather than get pegged with the summer school crowd if that’s not an attractive label. ALso my D did this between l0th and llth grade, when people already knew she was okey dokey smart.</p>