<p>PRJ…I guess you and I will have to keep each other posted in the next year and a half. I think my S would like Pitzer too if it weren’t in CA. Too close for comfort for him. I think we are going to visit Warren Wilson this year so I will let you know how it goes. My S is going to a school called THe Mountain SChool for his Spring semester this year that sounds a lot like Warren Wilson. Organic farm, everyone works 3 hours a day and goes to school. My S has almost 1000 hrs. community service and it is all stuff he loves to do and loves doing it. College admissions are far from his mind… that is what draws him to WW. He is just a little worried about the small student body.</p>
<p>It’s the first day of school here in NY and the house is strangely quiet.</p>
<p>geogirl - my kids went back to school August 10th! I think starting today makes WAY more sense.</p>
<p>Wow, that is early! To balance it out though, my kids have school until the 24th of June. They sometimes can be done early depending on which regents test they are taking. We need that extra few weeks!</p>
<p>First day of school for D2 in SoCal. She was finishing up her vocabulary yesterday for the 4 chapters of APUSH she had to read over the summer. Guess you can tell what kind of kid she is!</p>
<p>First day of school went well for D2. She did have a schedule change, but said it was good because she liked the new AP English teacher better. She is still trying to get her independent study PE approved for her horseback riding as she is competing and jumping her horse on a national level. Our high school has never been good about recognizing all that she does for her sport, yet we have kids that surf and skimboard who get PE credit! Can you tell we live in a beach town!</p>
<p>Day 2 for DS. His summer assignment for APUSH was to read/study three chapters and be prepared for a test on day 1. “Don’t worry mom, this is stuff I’ve learned since 4th grade.” I suggested that maybe the material is a little more indepth than his previous classes and maybe he really did need to do more that just read the chapters. Test was posted today - seems my DS has misjudged the material and will now need to bring his grade up, rather than just do well. Ugh - those type 2’s are hard to parent! Hopefully he has learned his own lesson.</p>
<p>Our D has her third test/quiz for APUSH today. She’s doing really well, but the test/quiz schedule is intense–today is school day 6! Her teacher has a great reputation, so we will see how it goes.</p>
<p>D has her first APUSH test on Friday (day 4 of school) which covers the 4 chapters she had to read over the summer. She told me last night she will study for it tonight and tomorrow night. We will see if she does look stuff over tonight as she tends to be a last minute kid!</p>
<p>Fisrt day of school for my D today. There’s one faculty she doesn’t get along in her HS. She found out that she will be her advisor for the coming year. What does an advisor do other than signing papers? Would it be a big deal that her advisor doesn’t like her?</p>
<p>Iglooo - I guess it would depend on what the advisor was responsible for as to whether or not you would want her to be advising your D if she does not like her. If the advisor really does not have any say in things at school for your D then it is probably alright. We do not have advisors at our high school for the students.</p>
<p>I am not sure how it works. I know advisors sign course selections. Other than that what else they do I have no idea.</p>
<p>At our school advisors are supposed to be someone a student can approach if they have issues in a class. Your advisor can be a liason or spokesperson for you. I think there is also time set aside for specific discussion about school issues. What advisors really appear to be are homeroom teachers. My son is not fond of his current advisor. I don’t think it matters.</p>
<p>The advisor doesn’t like my D. The advisor is a young lady and they had a fall out. Should I be worried?</p>
<p>Iglooo I think it would depend what the advisor does at your particular school. But it seems to me she should have the right to switch if the one assigned won’t be helpful for her. What’s the point of having an advisor you don’t trust? </p>
<p>D has been hit hard with APUSH reading but no tests mentioned yet, so it’s interesting to see others are already having them. She’s loving the class though.</p>
<p>Iglooo, I agree, you need to find out what your daughter’s advisor does and how, or if, it influences your daughter’s school year. I don’t feel like our advisors are powerful enough to worry about, but it may be different at your school.</p>
<p>I just got D2’s new school’s administrators all whipped up. I had an email thread with 10 people on the cc, and had a conference call with the headmaster and the academic dean. At the end of our conversation, the headmaster asked me, “Have we met already in person.” I said, “Yes, I was that small Asian lady who said…” She said, “Oh, yes, I remember you, and I hope to see you very soon.”</p>
<p>My issue with them was that they messed up D2’s IB schedule, and couldn’t bother to answer my email within 24 hours. They made me sound like some crazy mom who wanted to switch my kid in and out of classes. No, I just wanted them to fix their mistakes.</p>
<p>When I came home tonight, there was a nice email for D2 that everything was fixed. I haven’t told her all the communication I’ve had with the school. I said to her at dinner time, “If anyone should ask or complain about me, just roll your eyes and tell them that I am just a bit nuts.” She laughed, “I know.”</p>
<p>…What’s the point of having an advisor you don’t trust?..</p>
<p>Gwen, My D’s school is a small place. No need to aggravate the situation by requesting a switch. As far as no harm is done, it’s OK. I’ll have to ask around to learn what advisors do. Probably not much.</p>
<p>oldfort - I have also been the “crazy” mom when the school was not being helpful. I would have told my D the same thing as you did to just tell everyone I’m a bit nuts!</p>
<p>We are our kids’ best advocates. Last year, I was the crazy mom who had to insist that my kid be allowed to take a higher level class on independent study. Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t ones to burn bridges. You never know who will be writing your kids’ LORs! ;)</p>
<p>One piece of advice, go into it with a solution in mind. If your D doesn’t get along w/the advisor, ask for another one. Some friends of ours had a falling out with their counselor and promptly asked to be assigned to another one. They told the AP that it would be beneficial to both parties.</p>
<p>Instead of the ‘us’ vs ‘them’ approach, DH and I use the “there’s a problem, we’d like to work with you to fix it.” approach.</p>