<p>S’s prom is this weekend. In a first for me, he just presented me with a waiver to sign for the post prom party, so I guess he was telling me the truth about who was hosting and parent supervision. I pointed out that now that he is 18, I don’t have to sign. I did anyway so he wouldn’t have to have that same conversation.</p>
<p>I live in the Chicago suburbs now. I grew up in a rust belt town; not sure what to think about a wavier for a party.</p>
<p>15 days until D graduates. Last AP tomorrow, two finals left along with senior project and its over! I might trade the Santa Ana winds for the firce storms and flooding we had last night. D had an AP early this morning and she woke up to about a foot of water in the street with wavelets on the driveway. Instant panic as she couldn’t get out. She called a classmate who lives up the street and whose house is a bit higher so was dry and then she managed to find her tall gum boots and was able to walk to her ride. Catastrophe avoided.</p>
<p>I hadn’t watched the news the last day or two, and didn’t know about the fires until my friend in Poway texted to say they might have to evacuate (her neighbors down the street had to) – she’s seven months pregnant and was super stressed about having to pack up stuff, and deal with the dogs while her hubby was at work. Fortunately, the wind changed directions, and it’s tentatively looking like they will be ok. I just can’t even imagine having to deal with that while pregnant. And they just finished some remodels on the house and the baby’s room. Sending out positive vibes for everyone in that area. </p>
<p>Sending prayers for safety for all in the area of the fire!</p>
<p>2018dad: My son was not wild about the AP Physics exam – at first. But, he had a bit of time to reflect on it and called his older brother to chat. He decided it really was not that bad, and maybe he did well on it. Here’s hoping that he’s right. As for AP gov, he felt very confident about it. He self-studied for it, too. He made the comment that he worked until the final two minutes of the exam. So did two other guys. The rest were done so early. He is not sure if they did anything on the exam, because they gave just minimal answers. You gotta give examples, he said, with the free response. Next up: AP econ, and he looks for really good results there. As he put it, it’s a math class to him. But with track meets, prom and AP exams, he’s spent. He was in bed last night at 7:30.</p>
<p>Prayers go out to all dealing with Santa Ana winds. DH and I lived in San Diego for a while pre-kids (and I grew up in Northern California) so I am familiar with the high danger. Take care, all!</p>
<p>DS said AP Gov was the easiest AP he’s ever taken. Maybe it was because he fell asleep on the couch at 8 pm the night before??? Now all he has left are the two econ ones, which he has been told are pretty difficult. At least they were last year. </p>
<p>My S16 took AP Gov yesterday and was asleep before we got home from work! It was his first AP and he thinks he did okay.</p>
<p>The danger of San Diego fires puts things into perspective, doesn’t it. All of you SoCalers are in our thoughts.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you guys are talking about but I’m very disappointed with the admissions this year </p>
<p>We are in the home stretch of high school for these kids. Wow, so hard to believe! S14 is done with APs. Prom is Friday! He seems much more relaxed. He was honored by the school board last night for making states with Quiz Bowl. I felt like Forest Gump… “We went to the school board, AGAIN. We met the superintendant, AGAIN”. lol</p>
<p>My thoughts and prayers are with everyone threatened by the fires. </p>
<p>D has been focused more on make-up work than her AP exams. She said she has been “having fun” with those…whatever that means. One more to go then she’s done with AP. Unfortunately, she still has a pile of make-up work and an AP Lit project due next week that counts for 20% of her total grade. I’m just holding my breath. Senior awards are on the 20th. Finals are the end of next week. We need about 30 days added to this month.</p>
<p>@Dave_N What do you mean, a waiver for a party? Is it a school-sponsored/sanctioned thing or just a private party. If the latter… weird!</p>
<p>@staceyneil In our county we provide PTSA-organized after-prom parties, in partnership with schools etc. It’s a huge deal and designed to provide a safe and fun and SUPERVISED alternative to private parties. <a href=“When the prom ends, Howard County keeps party going with After Prom events”>When the prom ends, Howard County keeps party going with After Prom events; Even people who don’t go to prom might go to the after-prom. I would expect there’s a waiver to protect the PTSA/school.</p>
<p>Ah, that makes sense if it’s connected to the school. Our school does something similar for graduation night. I thought he was talking about a private party, though, which seemed really odd!</p>
<p>@jashbela
I know your child was waitlisted to some Ivy schools and Duke but accepted to Michigan, Vandy and GTech. Those are wonderful schools!</p>
<p>@2018dad and @GertrudeMcFuzz - Just saw the NBC video of the fire online - so close to many homes and so scary. Keeping you and all those affected by the fire in my thoughts and prayers. Hoping you awoke to better news of it under control this morning.</p>
<p>@ordinarylives - Sending well wishes your way for a speedy recovery for your D.</p>
<p>@eyemamom - So sorry to hear about your mom. Hope she stabilizes soon and that she has a smooth transition into a new home.</p>
<p>@Classof2015 - So sorry to hear about your S’s nose - owww! Glad though he chose a sweet girlfriend, who is helping him get through it.</p>
<p>@Agentninetynine - the grad announcements sound cute, and with mailboxes so often inundated with junk mail, I think it’s definitely a good thing they’ll stand out! Hopefully the realization that your D’s FA is in jeopardy will expedite completion by your accountant’s office.</p>
<p>@jashbela I agree those are excellent schools even if they were not your S’s first choice, he’s lucky even his safeties were such excellent choices. I’m sure you’ve seen from the pages for those schools , how many kids were desperate to get in there. So he’s a lucky guy 
</p>
<p>@2018dad - Seems like the San Diego fires are mostly under control this morning. Hopefully the wind will die down. We also have unseasonably hot and dry weather in the PNW. It’s supposed to get up to 92 today!</p>
<p>Disaster averted - our accountant came through for us yesterday and tax forms have been sent. Hopefully this won’t affect her financial aid.</p>
<p>Spygirl took the AP Gov test yesterday and said it was the easiest one so far. She was done fairly quickly and then had to twiddle her thumbs until release time. She’s actually going to school today - first time in something like 10 days. More AP tests on Friday.</p>
<p>It is a private party at someone’s second home. That’s what was so surprising to me. It’s gracious of them to host and I’m not litigious, so I signed and didn’t advise him not to sign. </p>
<p>Depending on your state law and what transpires, that waiver might be worthless anyway. I wrote a law review article about those release forms eons ago.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good wishes everyone - looks like the fire is contained & we are back to normal today, even if looking at triple-digit temperatures. Usually these fires hit in October after a long dry summer. We’re already dry in May so it could be a LOOONG fire season this year.</p>