<p>A friend of D’12 attends Reed and really loves it. She says that it’s really, really easy to avoid the drug culture (something she was worried about as a HS senior) and that the community is really friendly and creative. This is definitely a kid who ran her own race in high school, so I’m glad that it’s working out so well for her.</p>
<p>I doubt that my D will go to prom but I guess you never know. She served on a committee to put on the big semi-formal dance last year and had to go and hated it. Her friends like to get together and play Set or Settlers of Catan or bake or watch movies. A few go to dances and always urge the others to go along but the majority of the group prefer to stay away. I suspect that the dress would be the most appealing part of the experience. She has never encountered drugs at school though she knows that there are kids who partake.</p>
<p>Keepme, those sorts of unfair and annoying scheduling things like Driver’s Ed are the things that send me over the edge. I went with my eldest Ds to set up a driving test appointment and we were actually told, “There are no appointments.” As in EVER. Ugh. When it came time for D #2, I’d learned my/our lesson and found a driving school that scheduled everything flexibly and administered the driving test at their school. It was so easy. I dread going through it all again here where, once again, I don’t know the system.</p>
<p>I’m sorry they eliminated the honors breakfast. 
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<p>Everyone at D’s school goes to prom, even without a date. It’s a really big deal, and it’s a very well planned evening. The ticket includes transportation, “cocktail” hour, dinner and the after party.</p>
<p>D is taking the ACT tomorrow and I feel oddly unprepared. I have no idea if we have pencils at the house, and I just now printed her ticket to get in, as well as the list of prohibited calculators. I really hope her calculator is not on the prohibited list. I also need to hunt down a watch. Such a different feeling than when she took the PSAT and SAT. Weird. </p>
<p>Good luck to your D suzy and all other little ones taking ACT tomorrow. I think it’s hard to get the energy level up for the second test particularly if your kid had a good first one. Best wishes!</p>
<p>Good luck to your D Suzy and I think it’s a great thing that it feels anticlimactic. She’s going in with a great SAT and a great PSAT so there should be no stress with this test, it’s a win-win no matter what the outcome. Forget the concern over pencils, calculator, watch…all that stuff. The only thing I’d keep in the ritual is the pre-event sushi dinner! Best of luck to her!</p>
<p>D"s doing the ACT tomorrow too, no prep since she took the SAT a couple of weeks ago. AH well, it is what it is. I have a feeling if she repeats it will be the SAT but we’ll see.</p>
<p>My S’12 plays Settlers of Catan with his friends ALL the time!</p>
<p>I’m several pages behind in the thread, so sorry if I’m breaking our collective train-of-thought, but CB is releasing PSAT National/State Summaries today (Nt’l is up & I <em>hope</em> States are coming soon). Here is the link for those interested:
<a href=“SAT Suite of Assessments – Reports | College Board”>http://research.collegeboard.org/programs/psat/data/cb-jr</a></p>
<p>Junior average scores were slightly down (compared to 2012) in CR & Writing, but math stayed the same as 2012. For our state (KS), my DS would need a 3 point drop to make the cutoff. His score is at the mean since 1999, but he would have missed the cutoff last year & a couple of years ago, so I’m not highly optimistic. Nevertheless, I’m going to monitor all the state summaries and hope that some Good Samaritan will help me interpret KS scores when they are posted. #-o </p>
<p>GoAskDad…thanks for the link, it’s interesting information. Good luck to you and all the kiddos who are waiting.</p>
<p>Our update…heard back from the elementary Principal and they are going to do an honor roll breakfast next week! I’m glad they changed their minds. Meanwhile it will probably be Friday when S2 won’t be at school. But oh well, that’s usually how things work for me lol. No word about Drivers Ed yet.</p>
<p>Anyone for starting a private Facebook Group for parents of 2015ers called The Loony Bin? I’d join. 
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<p>@GoAskDad - Thanks for the info. We have less than a week for SAT scores from Jan. That’s what I’m waiting for. </p>
<p>We backed out of a couple school visits we had planned for this month. Our schedule is getting kind of crowded and I want to give some more time to D to consider her options before we spend money on a trip like the one we had planned. We are keeping one that’s fairly close to home. </p>
<p>@GoAskDad It looks like we’ll have to wait until September for the actual state reports to get released to the public (although I think September 2013 is a typo - I think they mean that the reports are embargoed until September 2014). I am interested that they show a decrease.</p>
<p>Seeing the average PSAT scores, does help you put things in perspective. I’ve been on CC with my S11, D13 and S15 so I’m used to seeing CC type scores. When my D16 came home with scores slightly below the average posted on the above mentioned website, it startled me to say the least. After that I began to help students at my school who were trying to understand scores that were even lower. You get a contorted idea of average on CC.</p>
<p>I agree that CC does warp the idea of average, Apollo.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good luck wishes for D! I WISH we were having sushi. She would never even consider it. Pickiest eater ever, although she is making a concerted effort to expand her palate. I will, however, be getting up bright and early to cook her some bacon as requested. </p>
<p>OHMomof2, good luck to your D and to anyone else’s kiddo who will be experiencing the joys of early Saturday standardized testing. </p>
<p>Interesting that more sophomores took the PSAT than juniors!</p>
<p>@Apollo6 – I’m game for a FB group. In a private group we could share more info than I feel comfortable posting in this public forum.</p>
<p>I am in too!</p>
<p>@keepmecruisin I’m seeing more of a group thing for daughter’s high school prom, too, vs. a couples event. I like it. 2015 daughter recoils whenever talk drifts to frilly, sequined prom dresses, so she’s planning on wearing a tailored tux. I’m all for it, as it saves me a chunk of money. </p>
<p>My D won’t discuss prom or looking for a dress.</p>
<p>If we had a private forum, we could post pix of our kids in their fancy prom garb. :)</p>