@curiouspup Maybe a bit? Is it a school your DD is going to be attending? Could you hold off until the summer to send the email after all the admissions stuff for this cycle are over? I do think it is nice to acknowledge a job well done though.
@labegg Our school just this year started offering a weighted option for band (concurrent w/ community college) w/ some extra work. And our elite chamber choir is now weighted. In part, for those musical kids who want to keep their rank - they would have dropped band/choir to keep it. And this a way to keep those talented kids in!
On the flip side, if #3 is going to MIT, she will at least use the free tuition year at UT. In the past at our HS, we actually had the top three game the GPA the last reporting period so that #2 could use that money.
@labegg she is applying there but no decision til March. I think I will wait but tell him later how much it was appreciated. After March. There are several very thoughtful AOs we have met.
@labegg We were in the same boat, DD was an athletic trainer all 4 years and it was double blocked with no weighting.
Thank you for all of the supportive comments, everyone. 
We’re doing OK, and really, so many people have been through worse, so it’s hard to complain.
Graduation party - I’ve thought about it a little. S is the type to prefer a small gathering, so it won’t be a big bash, but I’m sure we’ll do something.
I am also in agreement that I wish there was a better way that wouldn’t necessitate students gaming the system. I was a little naïve earlier in DS18’s high school career and didn’t consider the game until another parent enlightened me. That was just before his junior year. I can’t say that we would have done things differently but it changed our approach from that point forward. But the gaming of the system is already having an impact on DD23. She’s pretty high up at her middle school if there were such a thing as rank in MS. So she’s already thinking that direction for HS. Some well meaning adults have already advised her to take Spanish in 8th grade so she can get the on-level class out of the way before HS and take Spanish II as a weighted class. Problem is she really wants to take Latin which isn’t offered in MS and would therefore be an on level class her freshman year. In addition, she really loves to cook and is quite good. She wants to take culinary arts classes for fun, but those are also on level so she’ll need to decide which she wants more. The super high rank or the classes. And it shouldn’t have to be that way.
In our news DS received an invite to interview for CME at Ole Miss! Now to coordinate it around an already busy schedule. Hoping to see if we can do it the same trip as his band audition but the dates that were given as options were before that weekend.
I assume our son and his group of friends are doing something for graduation. They’re going to the Finger Lakes between the end of school and graduation.
My girls go to different schools, so we will have one graduate the morning of June 1st and the other graduate in the afternoon on June 9th. Their 18th birthday is also in June (the 25th). I decided to wait and have a combo graduation/birthday party for them on June 24th so we will be past any friends’ parties and can celebrate everything at once. The date and location is all I have figured out at this point, as my parents’ own a facility next to the offices for their business that they rent out for parties and all. Lucky I can have the party there for free.
Our school system does not rank students. Thank goodness, I say! There’s already so much stress surrounding academics I can’t imagine the scene if people were dealing with rankings as well.
DD wants a graduation party. We’ve mulled over where to have it. We have plenty of room at our house but it would be more stressful even if hiring a caterer. If we did it at our club I can just arrange everything through the event person but then I’m stuck with their food options. Tons of parties around here but they are all open house type because everyone is flitting amongst all of them. It won’t be right after graduation because that’s the traditional senior beach week so almost everyone will be away.
@labegg Are the rankings already final for graduation? My D18’s school released mid-year report but graduation rankings are not finalized until April.
My daughter and I wrote emails to principals, the superintendent and board members to change a policy regarding fine arts & gpa. Her school counted unweighted art & theater classes in their gpa but didn’t count band, choir & dance. They changed the policy this year for all incoming freshman. The school does not input any athletics in the gpa but the student is missing a chance or 2 chances when double blocked of taking a weighted class.
Our school stopped ranking this year. I guess it is for the better. It sounds crazy trying to work the system. We never really thought too much about it. I assumed my girls would have been ranked higher than they actually were, but it was because they were in band. I think its sad that kids can’t, or won’t, take a fun class they would really enjoy just to try and keep their rank up.
My D’s school doesn’t rank, and I am so glad it doesn’t. D is very competitive and I am sure she would have thought twice before taking orchestra. She’s not a great musician, but playing with her orchestra has really enriched her life. I agree it is really sad that kids miss out on the arts to maintain their rank.
Ugh. Lots of rumors flying around that UMD was releasing their EA decisions today around 5pm, but nothing.
Plenty of suspense around here. I think me more than DD (hubby is not the type to get hyped up).
I wish we had a date rather than this “by February 1” tease.
We’re planning a grad party a few weeks before the end of school. Graduation is during the day,
midweek so that will limit family being able to attend the actual event and we don’t want to compete with the flurry of activity the last two weeks. She’ll have family and close friends here at the house, we have a good outdoor party space. Probably an early evening thing - BBQ or catered, she can decide. There are a couple schools that draw a fair number of kids from her high school so if D ends up attending one of those big draw schools, we’ll include all the kids who will be attending there as well.
I’m guessing tomorrow!
No graduation party here. S18 isn’t interested.
He got accepted into College of Charleston today. The link won’t work for the financial information. He says it won’t make a difference for his plans to attend Franciscan. However, it is nice for him to have another acceptance.
Eventful day on U of L front. DS was invited to interviews for the Guaranteed Entrance to Med School program and the Brown Fellows scholarship. Also accepted into the Honors Science LLP.
Funny thing was earlier this morning he was texting me telling me if he didn’t get a GEMS interview he thought he might just go ahead and commit to U of K. Guess it isn’t all over yet after all.
We will do a graduation party. Graduation is the Friday before Memorial Day and it will be hot as blazes here in Arizona pretty much any time after May 1. D’s 18th birthday is April 25 so we might try to group the two together. The sticking point is we are starting a kitchen remodel (shoot me now) and it will be touch and go whether it will be done in time to have it here. Hoping if it isn’t complete one of our good friends would let us use their home. I was hoping D wouldn’t want a party since she is not super social and is very shy BUT she absolutely wants one. Sigh.
Re graduation party, S has a small tight group of friends. Thinking of reaching out to another parent about co-hosting but need to chat with A first.
Re ranking, S would never have been super high, just not motivated enough, but we’ll never know because they don’t rank. Honestly so happy they don’t. Also, band/chorus all meet before and after school, so our kids can do it all!