<p>D. is having a test on the first 8 chapters of APUSH today. Same day she’s having her AP chem test. this is going to be a tough day! So far she absolutely loves both subjects.</p>
<p>PN–congrats to your S for making the Improv team. I hope he is having fun this morning. What did you end up doing about the state of his room? Heh, I “worry” about that sort of stuff too–funny!</p>
<p>Thanks, momsings and everyone!</p>
<p>I did two things in his room - I pushed the things leaking out of his closet back in and shut the closet door, and I picked up gum wrappers and candy wrappers on his desk and threw them away. </p>
<p>The three current members of the team arrived just before 6:00 am and went up to his room, turned on the light, and sang a song about him being on the team. then they told him he had 5 minutes to get ready and came downstairs with us. Then whisked him away to pick up the third new player - there are 6 in all. They were going to have lunch at one girl’s house and then go to school. It was really cute. :)</p>
<p>good luck to maxwell’s D on her big tests today!</p>
<p>I really hope when it is time to look at schools my daughter steers clear of the “elite” ones. I went through this already and what it got her brother was one WL and two rejections-while a lot of other really great schools not only wanted him but would even give him merit aid! I am glad he didn’t spend his HS years trying to achieve acceptance to those types of schools-it may or may not have made a difference but as tough as the rejections were I cannot imagine him being any happier than where he ended up.</p>
<p>My daughter is far more driven than he is though and it’s going to be hard if she chooses to go that route-he more or less applied to see if he was “good enough” while she has already planned out her entire HS schedule to maximize her opportunities. We went to open house last night and I am more than a little concerned with her schedule-I had advised her not to double up on the science but she insisted-but add that to her sports commitments as we already discussed and I think she is going to be overwhelmed.</p>
<p>I will say though that she is settling in this week so she must be figuring it out. I am very happy our school, which is just getting into the AP class offerings, will not let sophomores take them. I am sure if I insisted they would but she has enough on her plate.</p>
<p>I love hearing about what “our” kids are up to!</p>
<p>PN, was he surprised and happy? Homecoming is approaching here, and the boyfriend of a friend’s daughter (y’all follow that? 
) wants to ask her by decorating her bedroom. Friend is taking the afternoon off to clean her D’s bedroom. Truth be told, I’d have to probably do the same if it was my D. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Pepper03, looking at this thread had me wondering why our D’s school offers APs only for juniors and seniors, but I realize that there’s enough pressure on them already so it may not be a bad thing. Like you, I don’t want to get into the whole elite school drama.</p>
<p>I overheard a conversation a couple of days ago when I was driving D and a couple of her friends from their school to an audition at another school. One friend who is together with D in several Honors classes said to another girl (who isn’t in Honors) that her course load means hours and hours of homework. </p>
<p>This thread also makes me grateful that D’s bus comes at 7:20!</p>
<p>PN-congrats on your S’s selection.</p>
<p>Maxwell-Good luck your D.</p>
<pre><code>D got 44 new member to her club during club rush week.It’s good experience for her.She is a shy person.So talking and convincing kids to join her club is a big thing for her.She said"Mom, its so easy to talk to people now.I am not scared any more".The change i have been waiting for finally happened.
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<p>Triple A I have shy kids so I know how awesome that is! Good for her! That is a huge deal! My son emerged from his cocoon towards the end of sophomore year in HS and I am watching my daughter trying to find her way as well. It is just the best feeling to watch them face and overcome their fears!</p>
<p>Yay AAA!</p>
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<p>Absolutely. S didn’t like math or science much but enjoyed taking AP English and History and Gov. Those credits have now, as a college frosh, allowed him to have already satisfied core/gen ed requirements. And he was always able to take his favorite music classes, drama, etc., because he didn’t load up on every AP possible. In the end, his music paid for a big chunk of his college in the form of scholarships :)</p>
<p>S is mostly doing great with everything. His youth symphony started rehearsal last night, and he had a blast. He did, however, neglect an English assignment that was due today, so will have to turn it in late–such is life!</p>
<p>Trying to catch up on thread activity. Congrats to those with recent DD/DS successes!</p>
<p>There was a question upthread about 10th graders taking the PSAT. At DSs school, the official PSAT day in Oct is designated College Readiness Day. Jrs take PSAT and those who opt-out take ACT (not sure if ACT “counts” or is a practice test). Sophs also take PSAT, but pay $15 for the test. Sophs who opt-out of PSAT take a practice ACT (free). Frosh take PLAN and Srs devote the day to organized community service, helping toward the graduation service hours requirement of 25 hours over 4 years. The afternoon for 9-11th graders is spent discussing college prep, with meetings & presentations designed for the particular grade. So, for example, 9th graders will learn about 4-year HS planning with a focus toward college preparedness. Ill be interested to see what 10th graders learn this year. Overall, I think its a great idea for the school to sponsor a day like this.</p>
<p>On a related topic, DSs school is now offering tutoring & special early-AM classes to Srs taking the ACT for the first time. The schools weekly newsletter describes how Srs should take the ACT in Oct, Nov or Dec (I think those are the dates). Another mom & I were talking about this and it seems odd that the HS doesnt focus more on test prep in the Jr year. Maybe Im off-base, but I thought most students focus on SAT/ACT in Jr year. At least the Srs we know well have already tested - and most all are done though a few kids are trying to raise their scores in October. Just found that interesting, but hopefully some students take advantage of this test prep, espc if theyve never tested before.</p>
<p>My daughter is taking the PSAT and the extent of her test prep is the booklet they gave her when she registered for the test-I doubt she will do much and since this test is purely practice for this year it seems almost like a good idea to go in and take it cold-it will give her a good idea of what she needs to work on for next year. She knows the importance of it Junior year-it ended up being very important for her brother-it depends a lot on which school they end up going to if it matters or not.</p>
<p>Well the dreaded class ranks are out and despite a great second semester they dropped. Of course she is upset and determined to find out what happened-time she is wasting that would be better spent on just doing her own thing. I told her she had a great freshman year and it doesn’t matter how that relates to what anyone else did-she did her best and did fantastic. I hate rankings. She is almost obsessed with doing at least as well as her brother. I don’t quite know what else I can say to her to make her cut this out-does anyone her have older kids who have done well and younger ones who are competing with them like this? They get along very well-better than when he lived here-and I would hate something like this to cause any problems in their relationship.</p>
<p>On a positive note she seems to have caught her second wind and is settling in to her schedule. It didn’t hurt that she had all day Sunday to just stay home in her pajamas and catch up on everything-including cleaning out the stinky sports bag!</p>
<p>Pepper, I hate class ranks. I’m lucky that D’s high school doesn’t rank and the kids don’t even know where they fall by decile until senior year. My kid would implode if she knew anything right now.</p>
<p>There are two older girls in this family and my youngest is the most intense and competitive of the three. I don’t think I’d have much luck getting through to her if she were comparing ranks and competing for top place, even if it were only in her own mind. We are lucky though that she’s in a different school and there really isn’t any basis for comparison.</p>
<p>It’s good news that your D is settling into her schedule. I wish I could say the same here. It’s a whirlwind week of holidays, practices, 3 major tests and 1 paper and D is feeling the pressure. I don’t like being reeled into her vortex of crazy but there I went last night and ended up having to talk history with her for ma-a-a-ny hours.</p>
<p>I try and redirect her towards more positive things to be thinking about and stress life is about doing your best-not competing with everyone else to be the best. </p>
<p>Competition is good in its proper place-she is a little bit out of whack on this but I will keep trying to at least assure her that no matter what she does if she is giving it her best efforts that is what matters-the rest of it-such as class rank-is out of her control. </p>
<p>It would be nice if she was at a different school or one that didn’t rank but she is happy there and it is the right place for her-she needs to work through this and I think she will.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t mind helping with History-it’s about the only thing she is learning I feel competent in! ")</p>
<p>It is difficult to convince kids to look beyond grades and that they are more than their GPAs and ranks! (Yes, I hate class ranks, too.)</p>
<p>S2 is not doing well in honors algebra 2. He feels he puts in lots of hard work and efforts and still can’t get good grades. He understands the lessons taught and can do the homework but it takes him a long time to complete. He could not finish quizzes and tests on time, either. I am wondering if honors level is appropriate for him. He wants to stay in honors and refuses to move to a regular class. GC said S2 is not alone in his struggle and we can wait and see until the end of this grading period. I think the earlier the better if he needs to change classes. I am torn and dont know which one is better for him. If he moves to a regular class it will hurt his pride I am sure, but it is also hard to see him upset and stress out… …</p>
<p>sunnyday - if I were you, I’d talk to S about getting one on one help from a peer tutor, a professional tutor, a parent, an older sibling, or the teacher. The right choice depends on your situation - is he more comfortable getting help from a peer or from a professional outside the school? Can you afford private tutor? Is the teacher a good teacher who would have time to work with him outside of class? It’s quite possible that this course is a big jump in difficulty (I mentioned up thread that it was in our HS). It’s also quite possible that he would benefit form some individual tutoring now, early in the year, and that he may not need it for very long. It’s math - it’s better to get the foundation strong now at the beginning of the year. Waiting until the end of the first grading period is an administrative answer, not an educational one. Why wait while the hole gets deeper? He may be fine in the honors class after getting help early on, whether his problem is conceptual, or a problem with his study habits, or whatever.</p>
<p>I’m not saying it’s an emergency, or that things won’t work out just fine on their own. But I’d lean toward applying some extra resources now on the front end of the year instead of waiting, as long as your son is receptive to the idea.</p>
<p>PN-He has started a group tutoring class (once a week) outside the school since end of the summer. The same tutor who has helped him last year with his geometry. Somehow it does not seem to help so far. S2 complains he is confused with the tutor’s lessons which tend to be a little fast paced comparing to school’s curriculum. So this tutor has agreed to give him one on one lesson. But the problem is that S2 does not think this tutor can help him. I am in the process of possibly finding a new one. He has been going to tutorial for help from his school teacher as well. It just concerns me that there maybe an issue with how S2 processing the math solving skills.</p>
<p>I agree with you that algebra 2 is a big jump in difficulty and also it was in 8th grade when S2 took the alg 1. I don’t understand why they do algebra 1, geometry and then algebra 2. The teacher also commented that it is possible because of the gap year between alg 1 and alg 2 that makes alg 2 hard for many kids.</p>
<p>I definitely need to check in here more often! I’ve been out of town on business and thought I’d see what was happening and found lots of new info. It’s just so helpful to me to find out what other people are dealing with. </p>
<p>I’m on my way to “meet the teacher” evening at Ellie’s school—all I remember from last year was getting a real sense for how much ground they have to cover between classes. </p>
<p>Hopefully I be back later to read the last couple weeks’ of posts in more detail soon.</p>
<p>Today kind of sums up the highs and lows of D15’s high school experience. Two tests. One was Biology. She was totally lost, and according to her, so was most of the class. Dreading that grade. But Honors History’s first test went great. She said she missed at most 2 questions out of 50. :)</p>
<p>My daughter is just not going to be a STEM major. lol</p>
<p>S had a math test today. He’s been working on eliminating silly mistakes, so he’s started checking over his whole test a second time before he turns it in. But today he has a cold, and there were no tissues in the room, and he couldn’t go to the bathroom to get tissues during a test, so he sniffled his way through the exam and then turned it in to go blow his nose before checking it. Something about that makes me laugh. I’m not sure why. I guess I’m just weird…</p>