<p>momreads: My son was required to get all his homework and studying completed before VT vs Boise State kick off - - what a game!</p>
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<p>Sounds like an amazing program. Is this a pubic or a private? I dont think there is anything like that in the publics or privates in our area. Sounds Very cool.</p>
<p>fogfog: Truly an amazing program: forty students - two full-time teachers, one lab per day, two tests per week (DS had to drop sports for the summer) The class went to the mountains for a week (half the class at a time) to conduct field tests on water, plants, study fossils and even help the fish and game rangers tag and collar an elk for research. Wish I could have done that when I was a kid. (This school is private, his middle-school was public)</p>
<p>That sounds like a neat opportunity. My 2014 son took biology and earth and space science online to replace boring middle school science courses so he’s taking chemistry and AP environmental science this year. Unfortunately, there is now a state biology exam that has to be passed in order to graduate. Despite my request, the school district did not give him the test in 7th grade when he took biology. Now he’ll have to take it after he eventually takes AP biology.</p>
<p>WOW
I am amazed how these kids fit it all in–
Does that mean no sports, no summer camp, no church/or/scouts typs of things too?</p>
<p>I would think these opportunities are way cool and any kid would love to do it.
Our schools aren’t nearly that accomodating. I know when we looked for private school for our older student (now a sr)–we went to several local privates and got the “we are a college prep” lecture and yet they were behind where our student was for math and science. We finally found someplace (a private) and it took a mtg with the Headmaster to change our students curriculum…</p>
<p>With kiddo 2 we are trying a different approach–Different kids need different things…</p>
<p>Well, my D has her first Position of Leadership in high school - she is president of her choir. And how did she get this esteemed position? She’s the only one who ran!</p>
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Good for her! Neither of my kids would/will ever run for anything even though I have encouraged them to many times.</p>
<p>Day 3 here. So far he says he likes it, but got a little frustrated with his math homework last night. There is no “review”, they jump in to new stuff right away. He is actually very strong in math, but hates when he doesn’t get something immediately.</p>
<p>She’s the only one of my three who will run for things. My son was VP of his choir his senior year, but that was a negotiated thing with the girl who wanted to be president, so they wouldn’t have to run against each other.</p>
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<p>Congrats Missypie!</p>
<p>At our students’ hs, the same kids who were class officers etc in 6th grade–seem to be the only ones who can win in 7th,8th, and 9-12…
to the point of being absurd…
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.then last year–someone ran against THE guy who expected to be pres. He’s the toungest of a family --where everybody is part of the “in” group…
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the students were just tired of him and his attitude–and he lost by a landslide to a new guy! So here it is Sr. yr–and he is NOT Pres. Was a very interesting turn of events in the workd of teenager drama.</p>
<p>Our Sr has never run for anything–however our 9th grader ran in 7th and 8th grade. We were very pleased that although not elected–kiddo2 wrote a speech and campaigned. Never know until you try ;o)</p>
<p>School elections are ridiculous (probably no more ridiculous than political elections, however.) One year in middle school, D ran for some office. The votes split precisely down gender lines so because there were more boys in the group, the boy won.</p>
<p>Third day here. One eye opener for D - she has 3 honors classes and one accelerated. SHE actually made a comment about the difference in the make-up and behavior of her classmates in that one particular class. Hmmmmm…never thought she’s notice. Yeah, she probably could have been placed into that honors class (if I pushed a little), but she didn’t want it, and I didn’t want to overburden her. </p>
<p>Now she says “maybe” next year. She cracks me up! She likes to be surrounded by people who do their schoolwork and get good grades, but she doesn’t want to work too hard! HAHAHA!</p>
<p>Only doing marching band (did I say “only”?) and JV cheerleading right now (are those oxymorons? A friend thought so). Fortunately, those two are finished in December, then only the musical in the spring (if those grades are maintained 
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<p>No complaints about any teachers yet - she actually likes all of them (so far). </p>
<p>Also hoping to participate in a zoological volunteer program, starting in December.</p>
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<p>You just described my '11 D. She would rather bring up the rear of an AP class than lower herself to get a very high grade in a “regular” class.</p>
<p>'14 D is trying to decide whether to stay in pre-AP Geometry or drop down to regular. Her grade is poor, but they haven’t done a bit of geometry yet…just a series of quizzes on what they alledgedly learned in Algebra last year.</p>
<p>Gongrats Missypie. 90% of life is showing up! She had the interest and the guts to run.</p>
<p>Fogfog: I told my son he has two choices: he can be a scholar-athlete or a scholar. The Summer honors biology program was truly unique. S14 has travelled out of state to compete in regional or national baseball tournaments for the past four summers. He had a really neat opportunity to do that again, but I told him he had to make a choice. As he has played a lot of high quality baseball already, he chose the high quality biology for the summer. He made some great friends too. Now, he is back into baseball and taking AP BIO with some other demanding courses. He has been told that it will take superior time management skills to get out of high schol al that is offered. He is in the choir and does plays and writes for the paper. (No scouts) It is a challenge, but his eyes are open.</p>
<p>^^ Glido
that sounds like an amazing amazing program…had it been available here–I think our sr would have chosen the same path your student has taken–
though it would have meant losing out on some things kiddo has really enjoyed, there is not way to know.</p>
<p>What an incredible and enriching opportuntiy your student is getting–far superior to the standard programming so many students must take.</p>
<p>^^ As for the honors and AP track–
we have seen first hand that the roads diverge at the freshman level–and the kids in honors/AP are different in many ways from the regular classes.
One thing we kept tell ing kiddo 2 was "if you want to get rid of those students who are acting like that (not being nice, are picking on kiddo, etc etc) just wait until hs when the kids take regular math/science/foreign language etc etc…you hardly see them ever again…</p>
<p>Our Sr commented last yr that in one particular class–kiddo had no clue who some of the students were as they hadn’t been in any of kiddo’s classes for 3 years–(and the class is less than 200)</p>
<p>Our district doesn’t offer any advanced or enrichment programs over the summer…just “regular” and catch-up/make-up classes. </p>
<p>The only AP class freshman are allowed to take is Human Geography and the only AP sophomores are allowed to take is World History.</p>
<p>With that said, our district had a girl who made the news because she had the highest GPA in school history but wasn’t allowed to be Val because she was graduating in 3 years and the Val has to be a 4 year grad. They showed her transcript on the news. We were supposed to be wowed by all the awesome grades, but what I noticed is that she had been allowed to take A LOT of AP classes freshman and sophomore years. So…exceptions are made.</p>
<p>I understand all about districts making rules regarding valedictorians. When my oldest son was a HS sophomore, he thought about graduating a year early (he would have been just 16). He would have had seven or so AP classes and already had the numbers needed to be a National Merit Scholar. </p>
<p>Then, some members of the class ahead of him got word of his thinking. They ran to their parents complaining that he did not have the right to be the valedictorian of their class. And if he were, he might apply to the same prestigious university they wanted to go to and they would not get in (his GPA and SAT was much higher than any of theirs). Their parents went to the principal, who agreed that no one could graduate early and be the valedictorian. </p>
<p>So he graduated with his class – as its valedictorian, and his classmates were just thrilled that he stayed with them. He became the school’s first ever National Merit Scholar and its first ever National AP Scholar. </p>
<p>Oh, and as for that prestigious university they all wanted to attend – he never applied. He really did not like the place.</p>
<p>As luck would have it, our district actually had the words “four year graduate” in their written policy. The rationale is that there aren’t enough weighted (AP) classes to fill up four entire years, so at some point, a student has to take some unweighted classes, lowering their GPA. The girl in question may well have still been val with a bunch of unweighted classes thrown in, but I could understand the argument. She was recoginzed as co-val. Our state gives a small scholarship to one val from each HS, so the other (4-yr) val got it. (As if this fabulously brilliant girl with so many options needed it anyway…)</p>
<p>Our district did away with the val title – to much grubbing, I guess. No speech at graduation, etc. But, the schools still rank, which means someone (or someones as the case may be), know he or she is number 1. Not sure what the advantage is.</p>
<p>No way would you ever get a 3 year graduate near the top of the class, though. Rank is determined by grade points (not the grade point average). So, all the kids with 4 years of full course loads come out ahead.</p>
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<p>Yes, and in our school district exceptions are made for almost every so called rule if the right person asks for the exception.</p>