<p>We are labeling clothing, updating the cellular wireless plan, making lists and checking the "Ultimate List" twice, asking questions about DC's recently arrived fall schedule, and generally in a twit about the start of school next week. The Loomis campus (athletics fields anyway) is largely underwater from Hurricane Irene, and we are wondering whether we will have to punt across to "the Island" when we arrive next week.</p>
<p>All kidding aside, I'd love to have a place where parents going through their first year of separation can offer news, insights, and support, and if any kids want to join in with their issues or veteran advice, I'm sure we'd all gain from that, too. Veteran parents of course encouraged, too. So here it is. Pull up a seat and let us know how it's going for your family!</p>
<p>There are two roads into campus – I am sure that Island Road will be above water in a week, even if Batchelder Road is not. I was a girl day-hop back in the day … and I remember specifically that Island Road was <em>high enough</em>.</p>
<p>The buildings on campus are all high and dry. It’s the fields, specifically the meadows fields, that are flooded. And they will dry out soon enough.</p>
<p>I wish my boys had gone to Loomis, but the older one did attend Salisbury for a PG year. I was particularly surprised by how much time parents spent at the boarding school – the ones in the area anyway – and how often we took other kids whose parents were not close by out for meals when we were there. One faculty member said that parents were in and out of the dorms all the time – which I found surprising. </p>
<p>One problem we ran into was needing to make an urgent call to our son during study hall hours when all phones were off. IIRC we ended up calling the infirmary which was answering the phone and relaying the message to his advisor who was able to get our son on the phone. It seemed particularly convoluted in this day and age … Loomis may be very different however, and it’s six years later in the instant communications age.</p>
<p>We are T-minus 2 days from making the trip down to St. Andrew’s for our firstborn. A few weeks ago, I started feeling like it was the end of an era (a little sad, but also sort of “Wow, we have a high schooler”, as well as increasingly happy with the choice of school mixed with “Why didn’t we just keep her at home for another 4 years?”)…but honestly, the aftermath of Irene (we’re living at my inlaws until power is restored at our house) has kind of thrown that all out of whack.</p>
<p>D made contact with SAS “big sister”, advisor, and roommate over the past few weeks, which added to the excitement and also the finality/reality of BS. As planned, we spent a LOT of time together as a family this summer, including a few out of state trips. I highly recommend this to anyone in the same situation…no sleepaway camps for any of the kids to cut into family-together time.</p>
<p>My wife was over at our house with the girls this week to pack the clothes in between clearing out the fridges. Thankfully, we had washed over the course of last week into Saturday right before evacuating. I don’t look forward to carrying the trunk and other bags & boxes over the stretch of driveway that is still impassable.</p>
<p>We’re sneaking away for one last semi-impromptu family getaway. I’ll post again on Sunday or Monday after we get back from Delaware.</p>
<p>Sixth year in a row of doing this and it never gets boring. Second guy going back for third year and I know that as soon as we unload, make the Walmart trip, that he will tell us we can go. Luckily for him we do have to skidattle.
Thanksgiving they hem and haw about going back. By end of the Christmas break they’re excited to get back. By Spring they consider it a second home.</p>
<p>As a parent of a returning student (junior, 2nd year bs) my d made a comment at Thanksgiving that “when I get back home…” . We both looked amazed when it came out of her mouth, it was just so natural. </p>
<p>She was smiling and strangely enough, I felt GREAT! I was not hurt like I thought I would be and in many ways comforted in the idea that she had found her “place” and was happy!</p>
<p>I missed her and the first year was tough on both of us. I awaited her return in June, but was honest that I would be looking for her return to school this week, I was right.</p>
<p>Unlike many parents of teenagers, I had a extraordinary summer with my bs daughter, but the time has come and I am glad move in day is just 5 days away!</p>
<p>And always remember, we “expert” parents are always here to support and comfort. We have been there, some more than once, done that and got great t-shirts.</p>
<p>Well, the suit cases are pulled out and the last minute labeling is in the process. This last week of summer was tough for me. It feels like a slow motion good bye. D will be flying to school with her father and I will drive S to his school in a few days. I hope I’ll be able to hold it together and not embarrass him with a tearful good bye.</p>
<p>Yep, We’re a second year family too. Our D left for school and it doesn’t feel as rough as it did the first year. Somehow it’s part of our rhythm now. She’s happy - checks in we miss her - but the grieving we felt last year is pretty much gone as we revel in her adventures.</p>
<p>She did say the first year went faster than she expected. And we were delighted to see that she’d made and maintained friends from all over the world and was well taken care of. Best decision (and the hardest) we’ve ever made.</p>
<p>Our situation is mixed. DD#1 (rising senior, entering 2nd year of BS) can’t wait to get back to her school and friends. Life in the “'burbs” is excruciatingly boring, lol :-). Context: A year ago she wasn’t particularly happy socially (definitely not the rah-rah school spirit type), and it took until after Christmas to “find her people.” However there was never a question that for her it was academically superior to the school she left–and for that reason alone she was willing and able to tough things out. Bottom line: After all we’ve been through with this child’s education, I’m thrilled that she is eager to return to school. She was ready to fly and she is getting what she needs.</p>
<p>On the other hand we dropped off DD#2 (freshman, different BS) on Tuesday and it’s off to a less the optimal start :-/. Lots of questioning going on, difficult phone calls.</p>
<p>Day 0 – Picked up at airport late in the evening, arrived at school, found his room, went to bed. Day 1 – Unpacked. Roommate and other dorm mates arrived. Registration. Day 2 – Email home:
“Where is my dental floss?”
Reply from home (3000 miles away):
“Wherever you put it when you unpacked!” Day 3 – Email home in response to parent’s comments regarding the vague possibility the house might be about to wash away in a hurricane:
“I have dental floss.” Day 4 – Email home:
“Where are my books?”
Reply (paraphrased):
“See reply #1 above!” Day 5 – Phone calls so incessant that parent was ready to pull the phone cord out of the wall. Day 6 – Classes started. Day 7 – The phone stopped ringing. Completely. Day 8 – Stopped by admissions office to announce he loved school so much he wanted to volunteer as a tour guide.</p>
<p>Dropped off SevenDaughter in Delaware yesterday. </p>
<p>I thought St. Andrew’s had a great process in terms of making new families/students feel welcome. The small size of the student body helps make the day less intimidating than it could have been…no traffic jams anywhere and no frustrations (as far as I could see/hear/sense) despite it being a hot and muggy day.</p>
<p>We had been without power for a week (just got it back on Sat), so our packing was a bit scrambled. Forgot to bring her pillows (nominees for parents of the year!)…but nothing that a trip to Kohl’s couldn’t fix. Also picked up a fan despite D’s protests that she didn’t need one. Because we postponed this shopping trip until after all the planned activities were over, we were one of the last families on campus…but D was already involved with the “break the ice” activities scheduled, so there was no teary goodbye.</p>
<p>It was fun to reconnect with some parents and students from our revisit day, and meet adcoms and new advisors. Daughter’s roommate and roommate’s parents were very nice. Oh, and I finally got to meet fellow SAS parent/CC forum member ops!</p>
<p>Headmaster Tad Roach’s words of welcome were just as reassuring as his addresses on the revisit day, making SAS’s mission and points of differentiation clear. He also took the time to introduce each faculty member present, which was a nice touch.</p>
<p>Here’s an observation about the day from my wife: D seems to have several layers of advisors/mentors in place…from her dorm parents, seniors on dorm, sophomores from her advisory who stopped by (and provided snacks!), plus her “big sister” (a senior) and faculty advisor.</p>
<p>Another thing that I am personally happy about…the relative proximity of the school. 2.5 hours on the road beats 7…especially after carrying a heavy trunk halfway to her room before being rescued by students. And even then, I fell asleep right after dinner last night.</p>
<p>I’m trying hard to avoid calling or emailing SevenDaughter for the first few days/weeks as advised by SAS. I have snuck in a few administrative texts (stuff like “You may have to turn your wireless mouse off then on again if the computer does not ‘see’ it”) which have largely gone unreturned.</p>
<p>Yesterday, we came home from running BTS errands for SevenDaughter2 and there was a voicemail from her older sister…from what I could make out, the traditional first night square dance was a hit, as was the Third Form mud bog march. SevenMother and I were heartened by the excitement in her voice, which allowed us to sleep a little easier last night.</p>
<p>Exie daughter is overseas. We’ve already maxed out the calling card. School says limit contact to once a week. Sigh. (We broke that rule already ). We did meet her hosts via SKYPE and the mom cooks better than I do (sniff sniff). </p>
<p>Suddenly I’m envious of everyone whose students are within a few hours by flight or car. What was I thinking? (D, however, loves her adventure so I take solace that she’s having a blast but still getting tough academics).</p>
<p>Discovered that Amazon’s overseas units recognizes my US account and will ship care packages from there much cheaper than trying to ship all the things she asked us to send later. I was thrilled. Her response? - A quick Facebook note saying “Cool! Will figure it out later. Got to go study.”</p>
<p>Yep. (sniff, sniff). They stay abroad the entire time. Travel home for the holidays is strongly discouraged because it disrupts the language and cultural immersion (which I think makes sense). </p>
<p>She’s so enamored with the experience so far (we discussed the pros and cons with guidance from great parents on this board) that she wants to re-up for another year (not allowed) or live abroad after she graduates from college (sigh).</p>
<p>But - she laughs that it’s a way to fulfill one of my bucket list items. We’re heading there for the holidays and her family is already prepping for it. I will say that I love Skype for letting me meet her family and talk to them online after she arrived. I think SYA did an amazing job shaping this year’s classes :-)</p>
<p>@ Exie, I feel your pain. My D is starting her 2nd yr. abroad. Fortunately she’s strongly considering college back in the state (fingers crossed).
As for our move in story, she traveled with one suit case and I Fed-xed her other bags directly to school a week in advance. They are stuck in customs. Needles to say, mom is in the dog house.</p>
<p>DS is going back tomorrow. He received lots of text messages from classmates around the globe and he is excited to reunite. He got all the honors classes he wanted and likes his schedule. No more 8 o’clock Monday AM physics lab. Chem lab is on a different day in afternoon. Looking forward to a good year. It was a great summer, and I am happy fall has arrived.</p>
<p>Muf - lol!. We were up until 1am streaming Netflix in the hotel while packing and repacking and standing on a stool with a weight device to get her down to the max limit in her main bag and in her carryons. Then we arrive at the airport and the airline is waiving weight overages for the other kids and parents who didn’t bother to read the guidelines - argh - and or the parents are arriving and paying for multiple huge bags. So I’ve been told to expect that her winter clothes, boots, etc. will be stuck in Customs when I send them too. I’ve also been informed by USPS that there are restrictions on what I can mail (clothes, shoes, scarves, my dignity, even photo albums etc. aren’t allowed). It’s me that wants to throttle her for being so attentive to rules. I was willing to pay the $75 for the overweight bags. I’ll be spending at least that much to ship via Fedex - the only reliable way to insure the stuff isn’t stolen or opened. The director said I could label it “Used personal items” but then laughed and said “Good luck getting it to her, though.” Now what does she want? Her SAT prep books. I saw the price to Fedex those. I’ll need a home equity loan. </p>
<p>Ahh -the life of boarding school parents and their smart, ambitious kids.</p>
<p>RBG2 - glad your son is adjusting and happy. I was worried for a while, but all’s well that ends well! The second year will be MUCH easier. By the third it will be “been there, done that” and on to the college process. :)</p>
). We did meet her hosts via SKYPE and the mom cooks better than I do (sniff sniff). </p>