Oh no, mosb, my S was not a recipient of the 4 year attendance award. He got his first exemplary attendance award EVER this year for not missing school in the first 3 grading periods of the senior year. And I think the school made a mistake there, but I was not keeping his attendance, so I can’t prove them wrong. I think the 4 years of perfect attendance is an outstanding accomplishment, because I personally get 5 sick days a year at work and I use them all and then think that I could use another 2 or 3.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the good wishes and helpful tips on the move. Soon to be 8th grade sone is really keen to go , such an adventure. I had looked into the schools and did notice a disconnect with above 10th Grade…will definitely do some more research on that. I feel that it’s not exctly rocket science at his level of schooling and he has a small group of friends, not wildly sociable so think hell do just fine. my biggest issue is selling the house and going so far from the college freshman, I know what a big deal it is to come home those first vacations and share experiences with friends. Only we’d be in a whole other country where she’d know no one (other than us, and that would get old pretty darn quick!).
We are still working out the details but I think we are leaning more towards staying put till at least the beginning on Jan that way College girl gets to come home for T’giving and Xmas to do the friend thing and we all start fresh for the new year. No doubt there will be many more decisions to be discussed and made in the coming weeks. As so many have said before, I thank all the people on this thread who are so helpful and supportive through all our challenges we share here.</p>
<p>D received a Dollars for Scholars Award last night! We were quite surprised that it was actually a bit more than we thought it would be. 36 kids got awards, some like my d, somewhat unexpected!! They hold a separate DFS awards ceremony from the other senior awards ceremony. Not expecting D will get anything at the other awards ceremony as I am sure it will be the same 5 kids getting all the awards !</p>
<p>Keylime and Hollisue: Congrats to your S and D on their awards!</p>
<p>Happy64: I think that your plan to wait to move until January makes a lot of sense. I agree that it’s important for freshman to be able to come home and touch base the first few months of college. My D1 had a great adjustment to college, but she still had a few tough moments that first semester. We either visited or had her come home once a month at the beginning. By winter break school felt like home and she was sad to leave for a month.</p>
<p>Tonight is our HS’s community awards program and I have to sit on the stage and present the PTA scholarships. UGH! I am proud that the PTSA added two new scholarships this year. We used to spend much more money on After Prom Party prizes than scholarships, and I made it my mission to change that.</p>
<p>My daughter will not win any awards other than an honor roll recognition. She’s a good student, and has really enjoyed high school from a social perspective, but she’s always been a kid who valued her free time. She chose to not play a varsity sport, apply for NHS, or try out for plays. We got the award naches with D1. I’m thankful that CC has taught me to “love the kid on the couch” and appreciate her for who she is. She’s a mature, independent, happy young lady who is ready to leave her comfort zone and head off to college.</p>
<p>With less than 2 weeks to go, senioritis has definitely kicked in here. D came downstairs yesterday morning with a “whoops - the AP Spanish project I thought was due tomorrow is due today”. It’s a big undertaking, so while she thought about going into school late and working on it in the meantime, she decided to take a deep breath, admit to her teacher that she was not prepared, and take the consequences (he had said no excuses for lateness - large point deduction). Lucky for her, the teacher was familiar with her wacky schedule and history of timely submissions, and gave her a break. So after that fortunate occurrence, she came down this morning and said “whoops - I forgot that I have a voice recital tonight”. OK. Scramble to get dress, shoes, etc. before getting her off to social studies scholarship breakfast at 7:00 this morning. She said she is “so done” with high school. Really?</p>
<p>She did find out that she got into a program she really wanted at her college; they have a Great Conversations program focusing on studying and discussing great books and works of art. It looks very intense but very fun - great fit for her. I think that’s where her mind is at these days.</p>
<p>Mnmomof2 ~ Congrats on your D’s Co-Val award!</p>
<p>Schokolade ~ Congrats on your S’s team winning the tennis championship!</p>
<p>VAMom ~ Glad your S got an exciting prom date. My S also decided to attend on the late side, and luckily got the date he wanted.</p>
<p>FlMathMom ~ Sorry about your S’s summer job, hope he find something else.</p>
<p>
^ LOL, Amandak! I saw these…</p>
<p>Keylimepie ~ Congrats to your S on his awards and monetary scholarhip! In the case of the kids w/4 years of exemplary attendance, that is almost impossible to imagine in my book. :eek:</p>
<p>MOSB ~ I think you might be extra-concerned about kids spreading germs when they are sick because your D is a singer. I know I tend to watch my S’s hands like a hawk, lol.</p>
<p>
^ Hahaha, so true, FlMathMom.</p>
<p>Holliesue ~ Congrats on your D’s award!</p>
<p>Cooker ~ good to hear your D will be in the program of her dreams.</p>
<p>Happy64, its great to hear how excited your soon-to-be 8th grader is about the big adventure. Attitude is more than half the battle when it comes to moves, international or otherwise. I think the January move sounds a good compromise dont worry about your son starting mid-year. International schools (which typically see a 20-30% annual turnover) always have kids transitioning in and out in January and most have special orientation programs for those families. Im sure CIS has something similar. January newcomers often say its easier to make friends because everyone makes a fuss over them whereas in the fall, there are so many new kids that its easy to get lost in the crowd.
I think its wonderful too that you can be so sensitive to your college age daughters feelings. We moved across the street two months after my D left for uni and I wasnt prepared for how much she minded! My parents had moved from one foreign service posting in Asia to a new one in Africa when I left for college and it hadnt bothered me at all so I was amazed at my Ds reaction.
Finally, your D may be pleasantly surprised by how many of her friends will ask if they can come visit her next summer in Denmark.
Oh, and also have to say how impressed I am by the students reported here - not just because they’re high achieving but because they sound so happy and well balanced .</p>
<p>If I had a spare $23M i would already have an place in Manhattan. The DUMBO apartment would be for when I felt like slumming. ;)</p>
<p>Lived in the city from '78-85. 44th & 2nd. My parents insisted I live in a doorman building.I really wanted to be on the upper West side. </p>
<p>My son has only been sick once since he was a toddler and even then he was rarely sick. He got a few pox on his hand when he was in 2nd grade even though he had the vaccination. That was it. He did miss school but only because I pulled him out for two weeks every year until 4th grade to go to Florida. He has also missed days for funerals and family weddings out of town. </p>
<p>I think it was because I put him outside in his carriage to nap every day all winter long when he was a baby and I didn’t obsessively wipe his hands.</p>
<p>"I thought Dumbo was a Disney movie about an elephant with big ears. What am I missing? "</p>
<p>Schokolade, Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (DUMBO)</p>
<p>I was just discussing this exact issue last night. I think it is appalling what they are spending on the Graduation Night Party when they could hold it in the school instead of some secret location and save all that money and give it to the kids for scholarships. </p>
<p>Things are pretty lousy here and of course they involve my son but this time through no fault of his own. I don’t even want to get into it because I feel like every time I post about him it’s drama central. </p>
<p>If you don’t see me much around these parts it’s because I think I have finally hit my limit with how much college related nonsense I can take-what he needs more than anything else is to get out of this town and that HS and move on-I thought Senior Year would be so wonderful for him but it has been anything but-some great moments but overall very draining on so many levels.</p>
<p>You guys are great-I love hearing how everyone is doing-I just have nothing positive to post on this end and I am sick of hearing myself whine-so that’s that.</p>
<p>Just thought I would post this so if you don’t hear from me for a while you’ll know why and won’t worry about me.</p>
<p>Pepper: if you’re still reading, please know that I’m thinking of you and hoping things turn around for you and your son.</p>
<p>MOSB: Been meaning to post this for a while. The preparations for SB’s recital have exhausted me just reading them. After this, her wedding will be a breeze. I hope you can enjoy the actual recital. When is it?</p>
<p>It really does seem strange to be reading about your children who are still in school since we are done. DS goes back to work today at his very flexible job at a locally-owned furniture store. He was the designated driver last night for his brother’s 21st birthday party trip to Dave and Busters and I was the babysitter.</p>
<p>For those of you who live in or near NYC, my husband and I are consideringtaking our first “empty nest” trip to NYC the first week in December. Mizzou’s basketball team play at MSG on Dec. 6 and right now we can get a RT flight for $200. But we need some advice on hotels that won’t cost an arm and a leg. Any ideas?</p>
<p>Pepper03 – Just come and shoot the breeze – most of the ‘college stuff’ is over – we’ll miss you (and your frying pan!)</p>
<p>Happy64 – So glad your S is excited about the move…that’s half the battle. It’ll make it easier for him to get rid of things, part with friends, not that is a big problem in the facebook age, etc. Can you find someone to start Danish lessons with now? Maybe through your DH’s future company? I’m sure most people there speak English as they teach it early in the schools but it’s always nice to know the basics. </p>
<p>Cooker – You are a better mom than I am. I would have totally lost my cool…but at least she remembered the recital in the <em>morning,</em> not 20 minutes before show-time.</p>
<p>DS’ grandparents, as part of his graduation gift, are giving him $5K to pay for his dorm next year. That will cover the dorm and I think leave a little to go towards the meal plan. What’s the best way – for convenience as well as for FAFSA or tax purposes – for them to do this? Write a check directly to the school? I posted this question in the financial aid forum too, but thought I’d ask my Class of 2011 buddies as well. He is getting some grant money, and the sub and unsub student loans, and we are getting a PLUS loan too. Probably won’t do that again, but just for this first year, we want the convenience of knowing everything is covered. So, we don’t want this gift to screw up any of that. It’s really a shame when somebody wants to give you $5K and you have to worry about the implications of it instead of just being happy!</p>
<p>OWM, one way to go cheaper in NYC is to look at Hotwire hotels. Another is looking for bed and breakfasts. The tripadvisor forum for NYC is a good place to look for recs. When we did a family trip to NYC just about 5 years ago, I booked a b&b on the upper west side (Jack and Judy’s B&B) at a really reasonable rate. “Reasonable” here means by NYC standards, not by what the word “reasonable” usually means. :eek: ;)</p>
<p>We are still going to be 3 years from empty nestdom, though we get occasional tastes of it, especially during the summer. It seems cleaner, quieter, and the shampoo and conditioner seem less likely to disappear from our bathroom. :)</p>
<p>We’re very much looking forward to the empty nest - although for the time being ours will be quite full. D1 arrives tonight with the van full of her stuff, which will live here while she’s in Puerto Rico this summer. She leaves in 2 weeks. Japanese D leaves in 5 weeks. It will be blissfully quiet with just D2 for 2 months, and then poof - we’re alone (we do have 3 cats and a dog, which will do very well as dependents and entertainment).</p>
<p>D was editing her Calc project last night - a video having to do with math concepts a la Legend of Zelda. A Chem final she doesn’t really care about, a Lit paper she says will be “fun,” and a few creative projects for AP Gov will finish out her year. She’s tired of getting up in the morning, but otherwise she’s still OK with going to school every day. Only 6 more days, anyway. </p>
<p>Today apparently was Senior Skip Day - some large group is going to a baseball game, but D had no intention of joining them. Japanese D misinterpreted it that Seniors were being given the day off; imagine her disappointment when I said I was not excusing her!</p>
<p>D amused herself last night by looking at electives at her college. Definitely like cooker’s D she is much more interested in what she’s doing next. Sounds like they’ll have something of the same experience in Great Books seminars. Yay!</p>
<p>D1 says she had mixed feelings driving away from college. She has the usual feelings - definitely ready to be done, but also having lots of great memories. She did pick us up some hot fudge sauce to go from our favorite Boston-area ice cream shop. I found it fitting that our preferred flavor is “Bittersweet.”</p>
<p>Add me to the list of those who do not see the wisdom of the overnight extravaganzas. These expensive, over the top parties are not needed. In our district, a lot of kids walk away with electronic stuff (TVs, laptops!), gift cards, etc. The party is at a laser tag/bowling venue (the volunteer coordinator goofed and told the volunteer parents, so the secret is out). An army of volunteers solicits gifts, volunteers, etc. all year long. I think the marginal effort/expense of the extravaganza versus a more down to earth party is not worth it. Put the effort/$$ into a scholarship fund or a class gift (new equipment, upgraded technology, increased counseling). Rant over.
cgpm - how lovely! very complicated question - you are wise to put some thought into the matter!
Re NYC (former local here) - the travel/search engines previously mentioned are good. Be sure to consider a fancy hotel in Hoboken NJ. Path trains make Hoboken more accessible to midtown than a lot of Manhattan (at half the cost). Just a thought…</p>
<p>Our school district used to have a horrible time with drinking and driving on prom night. That problem has been greatly alleviated by holding our all night after prom party at the HS. It ends up costing about $10k to put on. The kids love it… Even more than the prom…and it keeps them safe and sober!! I do agree we could probably cut back on prizes but it is a huge motivator for them to stay all night! I have worked on the committee for years and am happy to report it is a huge success in helping keep the kids safe!</p>