8 hour M-F school band camp this week brought back reality for my daughter. She won’t admit it but she’s ready to go back.
S20 got a list of her classes so we could get our books online but we don’t know which order her classes are in. The kids like to know so they can figure out who their homeroom teachers are and who they will have lunch period with. I’m not sure when they will get the final class schedule but they go back to school next week.
We don’t really have a homeroom, I guess technically it is second period which is 5 minutes longer for announcements.
We know what classes she has, just not the order. Knew that in March. Both my kids were athletes and that never got them anything schedule wise!
Our school starts in the second week of August too and the kids got their “final” schedule last week, but they still can drop/change some classes till the second week of school I think.
Got almost all his books today, IB English SL has 11 novels/plays to read in addition to two for the summer. I am guessing there will be significantly more “homework” in the coming year. Glad that books for physics/math/global politics are going to be used for the next two years, so at least this time next year we will spend much less book $$$.
We only have to pay for lab notebooks and some material fees most of the book are on their iPad (provided by the the school but we pay for the optional insurance). Novels are either in downloadable for free or available at the library.
@3scoutsmom
I am actually happy that DS’ school is still using paper-based materials. Lol. His English teacher specifically told them that he wants them to heavily annotate the books (thus no library books nor ebooks) they read and they have to read them “slowly”, whatever that means. I read leisurely almost exclusively ebooks now, but I do wish I could underline/write down sometimes, the tactile inputs from pen/paper seem to have stronger imprints on my memory than an ebook screen.
Our school uses a program where they can annotate ebooks and the teacher can see their annotations and notes.
Our school starts after Labor Day.
The kids get their schedule the first day of school. 1st period, they go to an assigned room where they get their schedule. We don’t buy any school supplies before school starts. Good thing is, we can get discounted school supplies! stores here discount prices a week after school starts.
We don’t buy any books - school provides them with it.
@3scoutsmom Do you by chance know the name of the program that lets them annotate ebooks? I’d like to mention it to our principal and English teacher. We get textbooks free, both hard and digital copies, and the districted started distributing iPads to the class of 2021, so we missed out on that. But, we have to buy hard copy books for English that can be annotated. I’m sure anything that can help lower-income families not spend more money on supplies is fabulous!
While D20 doesn’t have her schedule, she does know what classes she’s taking. By the time they’re juniors, they pretty much get what they ask for. She will have cheer last period. They offer it then so that they can practice off-site at a specialty cheer gym that has sprung floors.
@tutumom2001 I just asked DS, he doesn’t have his school iPad home for the summer but thinks it’s called Noteability, I know DD runs a kindle ap on her personal iPad to annotate too.
I’m always jealous of the kids that get out of school in May, until I see these mid-August start dates. In NY, we start the Wed after Labor Day.
Our District did it to match most colleges. I think its a short summer after graduation when you get out in mid June and start college in mid August.
@stencils
Lol. It is not fun to be one of the very few May “summer out” kids when no summer camps are open and most if not all extracurricular are still business as usually on. The only benefit I was told early school start in August is to have more prep/learning times for the AP exams. Now only if all schools are on the early schedule…
Just my opinion by this age kids are too old for summer camps and most have jobs. That or summer school.
Our school year runs late August to late May. I like it because the first semester is over as Christmas break starts and APs are over just before finals start.
That’s exactly why are district did it. Seemed strange to have first semester exams after Christmas break.
We normally start third week of August and get out end of May. First semester ends right before Christmas break. This year only, we have a later post-Labor Day start and end mid-June. This means finals are AFTER Christmas which is a complete bummer. Also, AP tests are normal time which leaves a lot of dead time leading up to the last day of school. (Some AP classes basically end teaching after testing.) At least it is one year only…
On the topic of short summers after HS graduation, my 2018 grad is already languishing and his UC college doesn’t start until the end of September!! He has too many short trips, orientation, wisdom tooth surgery, etc to get a significant job during the summer, but it is a looooonnggg wait for the next phase to start! He also can’t take any community college classes over the summer - they have to wait for the summer after freshman year to do that.
we start early as well Aug 15th. Schedules were supposed to be out but a software issue (third year in a row three different software problems) has impacted that for several districts in TX. would be nice to know the schedule to start working on conflicts but it will all get worked out in the end. Makes walk your schedule day a little bit of a waste however. Love getting back to the early start that finishes first semester before Christmas and lets out at end of May. makes for nice long breaks and fits to the schedules of most colleges better.
All three of my kids start school on Wednesday August 22nd this year, that’s OU, UT Dallas and TX public high school.
DS18 (he gets back from his summer program at UTD the 4th or the 5th) is coming with us to Norman, OK to help move DD (who gets back from Germany the night of the 8th) back into her apartment on the 13th, then I’ll drive down to Dallas to get DS moved into his dorm and orientation on the 14th and I’ll stay for parent orientation, that should give me time to get DS20 settled for any last minute things he needs before school starts on 22nd.
I hope things work out so that DD can give DS a ride for Thanksgiving and Christmas break, she’ll have a car but he won’t.