Well a little good news for D. The Research in Engineering Apprenticeship (REAP) D was accepted into is going virtual (rather than cancel outright) and she still will still get the 1500 stipend.
Well at least it is happening and hopefully she will get something of value out of it.
And Texas and Minn are allowed to re-open for in-person K-12 classes this summer. Maybe that bodes well for ACT testing for some districts.
@TVBingeWatcher2 CONGRATULATIONS!!!
@homerdog I suspect they may need the extra time to figure out the score distribution. Offering only a subset of the full AP test, the scores may be less easy to predict than the traditional test. Also the makeup dates go through June 5, which is later than usual. But July 15 seems like a long time away!
Congrats to your daughter!! @TVBingeWatcher2
Maybe weâll drive to Texas so S can take the ACT! I wish theyâd tell us in advance if our site wonât hold it.
Wonderful news!!
I have not read anything about summer school at our district. We did get an email that UIL will allow limited training in school facilities starting June 8th.
Congrats to your daughter, @TVBingeWatcher2 !
Thank you @JanieWalker, @Momof3B @havenoidea, @mamaedefamilia
Glad to have this input. My D does tend to get stressed. We talked it through a lot before she signed up for it, and she was adamant that she wanted to do it. H and I felt as if it sounded beneficial in terms of the skills learned, and D was pushing to take it as it is an honor at her school to be recommended for it and a competitive process to get into the class. She even had to sign a contract of sorts stating that she agreed to stick with it and also sign up for AP Research the next year and take the AP exams in both. It will also be her first year taking any APs (normal at her school - they donât offer any until 10th grade), and sheâll have a very challenging schedule - itâs going to rock her world in comparison to this year, I think (when she did the most rigorous offered by the school, basically, but still had a reasonable amount of free time). Reading, reseraching, and writing are her strongest academic skills, though, I think, so hopefully itâs a fit in that regard, and that may help. ?
@TVBingeWatcher2 - congrats to your daughter!
Yesterday, I sat down with D21 and we outlined her plans for summer (starting today). She was chosen to help with a research project that we think is going to happen after all, and she can do much of it on her own during the months of June and July. August is when she is supposed to do the rest of the work with others, but if that is not allowed due to COVID, then she can do what she can on her own and communicate with her project director over Zoom. She will also write supplemental essays all summer (the âWhy Xâ essays, which most of her schools will likely have for this application season) and finish her Common App essay. She has two more virtual college interviews this week, and hopefully two in-person interviews late this summer. Two volunteer gigs will likely begin in mid-June, so she will also participate in those as usual (she does those every summer). She also has a project she does with her sister year-round, and that can continue through the summer. So it looks like her summer 2020 will be minimally affected by COVID, which is great. The biggest bummer is that she earned a national award (different from the award she was just nominated for) and the ceremony was going to be a big giant deal this summer, but the ceremony is now likely canceled. She already got the medal and certificate in the mail.
She will start seeing her friends again in a couple of weeks, outside, everyone spaced far apart. They have been meeting each week multiple times at night over Zoom, and they all look forward to seeing each other again soon.
Her classes are almost finalized for next year. I just have to check with the registrars to make sure all the right paperwork was accepted. Sheâll do online AP European history, online multivariable calculus through CTY, and eight college courses (four each semesterâŠtwo Spanish, two semesters of physics, three semesters of English, and one art).
It feels good to have D21âs plans set and finalized. Gives a comforting feeling of control during a time where no one really has much control, if you know what I mean.
Today is the last day for HS and MS homework to be turned in, and I may have a celebratory drink with lunch if D21 gets hers turned in on time. Itâs been a daily battle with the MS daughter, and constant reminders to D21. I think the school did the right thing to take away grades to keep the playing field level. But for some of the really driven kids, no tests and completing the homework for no grade turned into âwhatâs the point?â. Distance learning pass/fail when no one really believed they would actually give a fail grade does not work well in our house.
I would say Iâm looking forward to summer, but like most of you that is kind of messed up right now. Vacations, college visits and soccer tournaments all canceled.
D21 did get her same summer job from last year, making snowcones. Her hours are pretty light, because instead of the usual 2 permanent locations, plus the trailer that is at ball tournaments, parties, etc, there is only one locaton open. But 10 hours a week is better than nothing. She could use the time to study for (hopeful) ACT and get essays started anyway.
S just finished AP Lang w/ no problem and felt good about it. Got a Teddy Roosevelt prompt.
Hope it went for others here taking it too!
One more on Friday afternoon and then the school year is a wrap
We had a power surge that knocked out the wifi router and all computers on AC power 10 minutes into S21âs AP Lang test. Fortunately, he was working on a laptop that was not plugged in, and didnât lose anything. But he was worried that he might not be able to upload at the end since there was a break in connectivity.
In the end, everything uploaded without incident, so after four APs S21 just has a math final and junior year will be in the record books.
AP Tests in the rear view mirror now. We may be celebrating shortly with a dozen donuts!
S21 has no issues with AP Lang test todayâŠthis school year is officially over!!! Heâs celebrating by meeting up with his fellow newly appointed band leadership team at a local park (staying 6 ft apart and with masks of course!)âŠthey just received their new show music for 2020-21 and want to get started on all things marching band!
Lots of ups and downs here at our house for our daughter. First, she applied for a couple of new jobs because she was not loving her current job with COVID restrictions and when she asked to be put back on the schedule, they were not enthusiastically welcoming - I think their response was âOK, weâll keep you in mindâ, which she took to mean that they wouldnât be able to give her many hours. Anyway, she got a call back from one of the places she applied (Panera) and had a phone interview today followed by a request for an in person interview for tomorrow at 2:00pm. Sheâs very happy about that.
AP Lang went fine and uploaded fine. She thinks she probably got a 4, which is about where she thought sheâd be. All good
Then, we got the email about next yearâs Marching Band - confirmed what we knew was going to happen- the 4 day overnight camp they all attend to learn the show has been canceled and camp will take place at the high school. Such a bummer. They do so many fun bonding activities/events in the evenings - and she loves rooming with her friends. Sheâs hoping that this camp wonât just be: march all day, go home, repeat. Weâll seeâŠ
Then we got an email from the park district - theyâve decided not to open the community pool or run any camps/activities during the months of June and July. That means several of her friends who thought they had camp counselor or lifeguard jobs lined up for summer suddenly find themselves out of work and are freaking out. Thatâs bad, but the fact that my daughter applied for a new job and has an interview for tomorrow - BEFORE the onslaught of all the newly unemployed teenagers in town start looking for new jobs is a good thing!
Just one more AP on Friday, plus two more regular class final exams and sheâs done for the year.
AP Lang uploaded fine and S thinks he did really well. That was his last AP test and school and junior yr are over.
@3kids2dogs ugh that stinks about band camp and the POOL! D21 is going to be very bummed if thatâs the case here. Itâs been proven that the virus doesnât move through water so itâs just the distancing thatâs an issue. Weâre hoping they just limit the number of people but I could see that as problematic anyway because the lifeguards will want everyone six feet apart and wonât be able to know who families are, etc. Kind of complicated I guess. Glad your D got that interview at Panera. D21 is adverse to working in any sort of food service capacity so we are still hoping some retail options come through. Maybe some people wonât want those types of jobs and some will open. Otherwise, sheâs out of luck.
She did just jump on the Intro to Psych class on Coursera. I didnât pay for it so itâs not really official but (shhhh) she doesnât know that. I caught her taking notes so sheâs taking it seriously. There are weekly quizzes but I know they are just multiple choice and graded electronically. I thought this would be a good idea because she says she thinks psych would be interesting and considering it for a major. She has no room in her schedule for AP Pysch next year. So, she likes it or hates it and it can be an option or eliminated as a major. Sheâs also considering Political Science or Government so Iâm hunting around for a class that seems interesting for that. Some colleges have great summer programs with these classes (Wake, Davidson come to mind) but Davidson cancelled theirs and Wakeâs are still $800 and I think we are just looking for free at this point.
AP Lang was easy for her. Itâs her wheelhouse. And sheâs now a senior!
S21 still has a week and a half left of school. They were scheduled to have finals the first week of June but canceled them. Teachers are able to give cumulative tests if they want, but they can only be weighted like a regular test as part of their 4th quarter grade, rather than a separate percentage of their final grade. None of his teachers have chosen to give a cumulative exam so all he has left are some projects.
Because he knows everything (along with S19) and definitely more than his parents, he did not listen to us when we encouraged him to apply for summer jobs weeks ago. He has applied for several recently, but hasnât heard back so Iâm not optimistic unless he does a little research to find out what currently closed businesses might be opening up and need staff.
Weâve been planning to head to my familyâs house at the beach just to get away (itâs a 2 hour drive) but itâs been unseasonably cold. Last week, the beaches were officially opened though initially hotels and rentals were not, which would have meant less people. However, that changed last week. We normally always go for Memorial Day weekend, but we will wait and go up in the middle of the week, hoping that there will be less people. We may have the kids look for jobs up there because I realized they might be short staffed at many places as there is a huge contingent of Europeans who come for the summer and work there. Obviously most wont be coming now. So we will see how things look and if places are hiring and they are able to get jobs then we might just go and stay for most of the summer.
Still havent heard from S19âs college as to fall plans but supposedly making a determination in June. D17âs campus was one of the first to announce starting fall semester three weeks earlier and finishing finals before Thanksgiving. She stayed in her off campus apartment this spring and will stay there this summer working. We havenât seen her since January and not sure when we will since it involves a 6 hour plane ride. ?
AP Lang also finished here with no problems. I havenât heard any issues this week about uploading, so maybe those have been mostly resolved?
@nichols51 In regards to AP seminar, it seems that your D is quite invested in making a success of this class. My D was open to it, but mainly doing it because I thought it would be beneficial. I think that makes a huge difference.
@homerdog Thanks for the reminder about Coursera. I think D21 and S18 would both benefit- such a cool way to explore different topics.