Maybe the sharks swam up north to escape the Hurricane! We see them often on the FL/GA line - they like to swim by the submarine base around JAX and also near NASA & Patrick AFB @ Coco Beach.??..maybe they are getting a big jacuzzi in the ocean right now off the coast of FL!
@Golfgr8 , you are made me chuckle. Definitely, not going into the water.
@Golfgr8 , yesterday I had purchased the insect repellent wipes by Off that you had mentioned.
Good idea! We placed several packages in the gym bag and backpackā¦then kept a few in our car. We needed them yesterday. Really convenient to use. We watched practice and DH commented on how many more flyining insects there were this year compared to lastā¦also many more acorns on the groundā¦think this is a sign of a lot of snow this winter?
Good luck to all the students and families starting school this week!
How are the sophomores settling in?
Kiddo seems to be right back where he left off. We hear less from him than we did last year - and I didnāt think that was possible! He is a tour guide, just had his first solo tour. Said it was fun. Thatās pretty much the news.
I am already counting the days until Parents Weekend. Sigh.
My kiddos will only stay on the phone for approximately 4 -5 minutes then they say " Ma, I have to goā¦I am in the middle of something. At least the twins will respond to text messages . These teens are slowly growing away from us and becoming good independent people. Planning to bring winter clothes for Parent Weekend. My son is already 6ā3" and continues to love math. My daughter is already thinking about which college would be a good fit. @CateCAParent, I definitely miss my precious babies ā¦
I had a wonderful family visit. They still made time to study for upcoming exams. There are so many study abroad programs to choose from. Andover has forums on a wide variety of topics to assist parents towards the college goal for their teens. I tried to meet all of their teachers. ( Still out of breathe from running across campus yesterday. ) I hope everyone enjoyed making memories with their teens !
The PSAT was given at our school yesterday during a Parents Weekend ?. Anyone else had their kiddo sit it out, or did they take it?
My teens had taken the PSAT exam. The PACT will be given in January 2020.
We had a great family weekend at Mercersburg, and just got home a couple hours ago! The school administered the PSAT on Wednesday so it did not interfere with the festivities.
It was nice to spend some time with our son and give him some love and comfort. The past couple weeks have been difficult for many on campus due to a very recent death of a 2019 alum, followed by a departure of a friend and key football teammate. Unfortunately that friend made poor choices and in the process let a lot of people down. Thankfully DK2 kid found support at school to help process these events, and it was nice to actually see him and be there for him in person.
Weāre looking forward to Thanksgiving when he comes home for over a week
May I ask why a school would have kids take the PSAT in the fall of sophomore year? What is the rationale? Are there concerns that it might amp up the anxiety and paranoia around standardized tests and college admissions? Isnāt it a little early to be adding to that pressure?
Got back late yesterday from Parentsā Weekend. Was pretty fantastic. Weather was perfect (it pretty much always is becauseā¦ Santa Barbara). Kiddo is thriving. Teachers were good, got real feedback. They have new chorus and theater teachers, and the performances were phenomenal. I am always blown away by the talent the students at these schools have.
Kiddo took the PSAT on Wednesday, too. They also gently started with the college-related presentations to parents. It was like they had read CC, addressing all of the concerns about whether boarding school students are at a disadvantage, etc (spoiler alert: they arenāt). The panic in the room was palpable.
There was also a lot of talk by the faculty and administration about the stress and mental health issues that students are dealing with these days, and I get the sense that they are truly putting effort into figuring out what to do about it. I appreciated their honesty that there seems to be an issue at Cate, and that they are working on an answer head on.
@dramakid2 ā that sounds like a lot for a kid to handle. Sorry to hear your son is going through it, and glad you could be there for him in person.
Actually I have friends with kids in public school who took the PSAT this past weekend. I donāt know about other schools, but Mercersburg may be using the PSAT results to get a preliminary idea of whether kids should focus on SAT or ACT prep during junior year. Professional prep for either test(s) is included in tuition, which is a nice bonus.
WOW @dramakid2 - that is nice that prep is included !
@CaliMex thatās when the PSAT-10 is administered, the fall of 10th grade. See https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10 All public and private (day and boarding) schools that Iām familiar with administer the PSAT-10.
As to āwhy,ā here is the rationale of the College Board: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/taking-the-tests/compare-psat-nmsqt-psat-10
Not all schools, clearly 
Rationale might also be related to the College Boardās revenue stream?
Too many kids (and parents) are overly focused on and overly anxious about college admissions at younger and younger ages. Iām not convinced this isnāt a factor.
Correct. All schools that Iām familiar with, which clearly is not all schools.
FWIW - increasing number of private schools are going test optional for 10th grade PSATā¦what a reliefā¦itās just too stressful and costly an endeavor for some schools - especially if your school is prepping for itā¦there were some schools we know down south where kids started taking it in 9th gradeā¦that will give them 4 years of College Board revenue.
Just to add - I think pushing the PSAT and prepping for it at a young age is stressfulā¦but then again, there are high stakes involved @ trying to get into the hopper for National Merit Finalistsā¦many schools pride themselves on the number of semi-finalists and finalists they have. Itās a huge to get that award if youāre a kid (or parent).
While it was apparently on the schoolās general calendar, they didnāt mention anything about the psat to parents. There was no prep for it that I am aware of. The explanation we got at parents weekend was they see it as a way to gently introduce the testing to the students when there are low/no stakes. It is a way to diffuse stress of the unknown. They are introducing the students to what the college counseling office does in little bites. That doesnāt offend my sensibilities.
Kiddo certainly didnāt think it was any big deal. But he does see his senior friends stressing out with apps. The notion that somehow sophomores can be shielded from the college insanity despite their friends going through it is naive. I think it is healthy for an adult to give him basic background info about what it is all about (much like sex ed!).
Cate has a contract with a test prep company that provides a basic prep class to all students junior year, but individual tutoring is extra. Not 100% sure of that tho. FWIW, I have totally bought into the ātrust us, we got this college thing coveredā Cate messaging. They are telling us to chill the heck out for our kidsā sake, so that is what I am going to do.