<p>Senior/parent breakfast was this morning…it’s really the school’s way of getting kids to the graduation rehearsal that follows on time. The breakfast would been a non-event, except that the speaker was our favorite teacher - the one who wrote Son’s rec letters. I was feeling emotional, so on the way in to work I put in the Wicked CD and listened to *For Good *and sobbed. Glad traffic was slow - gave my eyes time to get back to normal.</p>
<p>I don’t know how some of y’all manage to host big parties. It’s going to be all I can do to get the house together by the time my parents arrive tomorrow. The house was in such good shape over the weekend…but each day brought the contents of some kid’s school locker, gym locker, dance locker, etc. What a mess!</p>
We find it offensive as well, as well as misleading. And considering the mixup last week when they couldn’t even get the merit awards straight, there is no way they are getting son’s finaid grant information. He should have only turned in the merit scholarship (full ride) that he accepted. I guess the No Guidance Counselor Left Behind training didn’t work, since the GC in charge of scholarship compilation couldn’t seem to understand that the two different sheets of paper with differing amounts were different scholarships, despite one clearly being for the American Legion oratorical contest and the other for Boys State.</p>
<p>Once graduation is over, I am going to write to the superintendent’s office and inquire about this whole issue. I am betting that the superintendent’s office has no idea of the gameplaying that is going on…</p>
<p>I just don’t see how a studen’ts need-based aid information could be helpful to anyone else. Since the GC’s office doesn’t know your family’s personal finances, they can’t even tell whether a school is being generous or stingy.</p>
That’s why our school split it into two separate ceremonies. An evening one for the big awards, and a morning one for the lesser awards. It still takes hours. There’s actually a third one I’ve never been to just for athletics as well. That said, these award ceremonies seem more meaningful to me than the dreadful ones in elementary school.</p>
<p>I’ve been researching OOS publics for my D. Some have OOS tuition of $22,000 and some of $14,000. Unless the GC looks up the tution cost of every single school for which they have an award letter, the numbers are once again, meaningless.</p>
<p>It really can get quite complicated, can’t it? My friend’s children’s school has the non-honors students wear graduation gowns in one of the school colors, and the honors students wear their graduation gowns in the other school color. I’m not sure how I feel about that…</p>
<p>And the nickel and diming that is going on…it is hard to keep track of what costs what and when to get this or that embellishment. The senior parent listserv just recently had some parents voice some of these concerns.</p>
<p>Let’s see – S will be wearing the only cap and gown color that there is (in one of the school colors). He now has a NHS stole, gold honors stole and tassel (the other school color). I confess that all of these were reluctantly purchased by him at my insistence (we paid for them). He got a performing arts cord the other day. He refused to join other honor societies, so I think that is all he’s entitled to wear. The Key Club has a cord, I believe, but I don’t think any of his activities do (debate, forensics, mock trial, quiz bowl). I think he will wear his bling (huge state champion ring with the stone in the same school color as his gown). He also will wear his academy medallion, which was awarded on last week’s academy awards day. </p>
<p>Son’s gf goes to a different high school. I had to laugh when she told us a few weeks ago that last year’s senior class president ** made his own cords ** of his own design. Since he was a speaker at the graduation, everyone got to see them. I suppose he must have slipped them on at the last minute, before the schoolfolk to do anything about it.</p>
Good job! So, now that you know who she is, have you been able to figure out why the big secret? ;)</p>
<p>
Exactly why I rented space. No way could I put a party together and have a presentable house to host it! My hat’s off to the families who can pull that off.</p>
<p>
Marketing. “Our graduating class received X thousand/million/skillion dollars in free money for college last year!” If they want the number to be really high, naturally they want to include every dollar they can find out about – regardless of the source. I suppose the FA awards do reflect positively on the guidance counselors, in theory at least. Looking at the process from the other end, I’m not too impressed with those scholarship claims. I’m sure they reflect something, but not necessarily the quality of education and/or counseling the school offers.</p>
<h1>theorymom, I second the massage suggestion! I hope you get some personal time to mark this milestone, recover from the stress, and celebrate the closure. It’s been such a long haul for you and your son. Finishing up and moving on should be joyful in itself! Oh, and ops about the karma quote. What I’d give for a quote button on this forum! Sorry!</h1>
<p>geek_son is fast asleep. He may not be going in today after all, which would be fine with me. I think this year has been his best school year ever, nice for him to wrap up on a high note, but it’s still been a long year.</p>
<p>I’ve told Son that he should get medals from all over the house - his sister’s track and gymnastics medals, his choir medals…spread them out all over his chest. Don’t know if a kid could get by with that…but I bet they totally could get by with buying cords in every color of the rainbow…everyone else would think it was just from some group they weren’t in.</p>
But how? The GC had nothing to do with filling out any of the finaid applications. Ds had three big finaid awards. We do have significant need, because of dh’s business. The three big finaid awards were from schools that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need (UChicago, Georgetown, Notre Dame). Unfortunately, the need awards weren’t enough to make attendance at these schools feasible for s. The GC told us she’d never had anyone apply to UChicago before. (?) She didn’t suggest any of these schools to son; we did our own research. Like at many public schools, the GCs seem to be focused on state universities/colleges. (And there is nothing wrong with that; my state has fabulous state schools, and our state flagship ended up being one of the last on the table for consideration by son, but it, too, ended up being blown away by the full ride offered by the LAC.)</p>
<p>Downtoearth
I sure hope your health issues are easily resolved. Having to worry about your health on top of all the stress right now is certainly not fair. I wish you a speedy recovery.</p>
<p>It’s weird, I ended up in the emergency clinic yesterday afternoon with dreadful scary symptoms - I felt like I was going to faint, dizzy, tunnel vision, flashing light along the periphery of my vision and was nauseated for a good 5 hours.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with me was the verdict - blood tests fine, pulse fine, blood pressure fine(thankfully - I was thinking stroke or the onset of diabetes, or I was going to have a siezure or something), so that must have been my very own version of a delayed panic attack. Couldn’t dare have one before it was all over now could I? So just when I can finally breathe a sigh of relief… hmmmm Wonder what a good psychiatrist would say about all that?</p>
<p>When D was tiny and almost sliced off the tip of her finger, I handled the blood and the trip to the ER with all three kids in tow admirably…except that once she was all sewn up I blacked out. #theorymom, I hope it’s just delayed panic and nothing that recurs.</p>
<h1>theorymom and missypie - I can relate. When S1 was about three, he laid his forehead open at the neighbors’ house, and it bled, as head wounds do, like the dickens. I scooped him up, made arrangements for my D, calmly gave the neighbor messages for my H, buckled S1 into his carseat, drove the 9 min. to the ER (which is why we didn’t call the ambulance) with one hand behind me, holding the clean dishtowel to his (gushing) head. And so on through triage, doctor visit, sutures, etc.* Drove him home, walked through the door with him in my arms, handed him to H, and passed out.</h1>
<p>But really, #theorymom, I’d rather hear that you’d taken the afternoon at a day spa, than the ER! (Glad you’re fine, though.)</p>
<p>*All through childhood he made a superior Harry Potter, thanks to the zigzaggy scar.</p>
<p>Our school has 3 different colored robes–red for IB full diploma candidates, white for California Scholarship Federation members (basically honors kids who aren’t IB), black for all others. There are 2 lines of graduates–one line led in by the val, one line led by the sal. Next comes CSF, IB and senior class and school officers. Then the other graduates. </p>
<p>I don’t have any problems with this. This is one of the few times that academic achievement is spotlighted and honored at our school.</p>
Our school does that. The number is pretty impressive. But the school made a much bigger deal (YAY for that!) out of the amount of money, supplies, etc., the graduating class raised for various local charities. That number was also very impressive, and set a new record for not only our school district, but our entire area, as well. They did it by collecting donations from the school and community, and coordinating and submitting heart-felt, well-crafted presentations and solicitations for support to charitable foundations and those known to support the targeted causes. </p>
<p>There were plenty of awards announced for this, that, and the other, but the school and the kids were most proud of the graduating class’s all-time high fundraising record. :)</p>
<p>Graduation was last night. As we were getting out of the car, Son put on the cap and gown - for the first time. Son has a HUGE head (hat size is 8 1/4, I think), and the cap would not fit at all. He was just going to have to carry it. DH and I found our seats, which were prime (benefit of working for the school district, I guess) and found we were sitting next to the family of S’s best friend! The graduation venue is an outdoor concert pavilion, with most of the seating under cover. However right as the graduates were to march in, it started pouring rain! Of course, the rain ended as soon as the last graduate was under cover. We saw S, who was wearing his cap - some nice girl had pinned it on, barely. As a result, his walk across the stage to get the diploma was - odd - because he was trying to keep the cap on his head!</p>
<p>My son would never do such a thing (unfortunately…remember I had difficulty getting him to purchase the ones he’s entitled to!). But I am going to look for a “Cords-R-Us” type place online. I’ll have lots of cords for the CC HS Class of 2009 graduation (which will be June 25, when the last of our kids graduates, right!!!</p>
A lot of them are available on Amazon. There’s also a homeschooling site – homeschooldiploma.com – with very reasonable prices on a smallish selection of cords, stoles, medals, and tassels.</p>
ops about the karma quote. What I’d give for a quote button on this forum! Sorry!</h1>