<p>Newly announced calendar dates:</p>
<p>Reception Day Class of 2012: June 30
March Back: August 17
First Day of Classes: August 21
Acceptance Day: August 23
Plebe Parent Weekend: March 14 - 15, 2009</p>
<p>PPW is not in October????</p>
<p>I just verified with the moderator of perspective that PPW is indeed NOT in October. And, she informed me that Labor Day Weekend is a home game, so the plebes will not get to leave for that weekend either.</p>
<p>I know that in the past PPW was in the spring. I was reading a book about one of the first female grads and when she was a plebe PPW was in March. </p>
<p>I wish PPW for class of 2011 was in March. We went to WP for A-day in August and then again for PPW in October. It would have been nice to have them more spread out.</p>
<p>I agree, PPW in March is a good idea. Visiting West Point as plebe parent is tiring...there are so many new experiences. I barely had time to absorb what had happened on A-Day when it was time to return for PPW last year. </p>
<p>I think the plebe parents will now have a great excuse to go to a fall football game, which will probably make for a much more relaxing visit with your plebe than the action packed PPW weekend.</p>
<p>I guess there are plusses and minuses. If you live far away and you were only planning on doing R-day and PPW then this would probably be disappointing. Going for a football game will be a much different experience than going for PPW. With the expense of flying, some parents may not go for a football weekend. There's not much any of us can do about it ... we'll all figure out what works best for our situations I'm sure.</p>
<p>P.S. For those of you who don't know, West Point in March (Gray Period) is not nearly as nice as West Point in October (Fall Foliage). :-(</p>
<p>Not to mention the possibility of a spring blizzard that weekend - :eek:</p>
<p>But these things are beyond our control.
ProudMomma - would you consider going for A-Day now?</p>
<p>Try to think of PPW in March as a wonderful opportunity - even if the weather is bad. Parents won't have to choose between A-Day and PPW because of scheduling/money issues. With many months in between there may not be hardship to do both. Both are one-in-a-lifetime events that I HIGHLY recommend. </p>
<p>I saw my d for A-Day in Aug., PPW in Oct., Thanksgiving, and Christmas, which was wonderful. But since she won't be home for Spring Break, I won't see her until summer. Feast and now famine.</p>
<p>Another fun twist is 2009 graduation. Anyone (including my family) with pre-paid reservations at the Thayer for a May 30 graduation is now wondering what to do. I called the Thayer today and the words of the gal that answered the phone were "it hit us like a ton of bricks". The week that graduation was moved to is already booked up with other guests and activities, so they can't just "slide" us back a week. This is going to get interesting......could be the biggest dollar refund week in the history of the hotel at 1200 bucks per room for a 4 night block!</p>
<p>Response to JustAMomOf4: "ProudMomma - would you consider going for A-Day now?"</p>
<p>I have already made my reservations! We are actually very lucky because we live in Upstate New York ... just a short 2 hours away. I plan on being there for all of the big days, and a few football games too! I just feel bad for the parents that can't afford several trips a year that now won't see their kids until probably Thanksgiving. June to November is a long time! </p>
<p>As for the weather ... we had 24 inches of snow last Valentines Day and we had a similar storm for St Patricks Day (March 16th)! Whatever the weather, I am sure we will all be so happy to see our kids that it really won't matter.</p>
<p>By the way JustAMomOf4 ... love your name ... sounds like we have a lot in common :-)</p>
<p>I see it now! Albany! Just up the river!
No doubt - those spring nor'easters can really dump some snow! </p>
<p>I plan on going for some football as well! Fall in generally a really busy time - esp for parents with other kids in school - there could definitely be some plusses to going to PPW in the spring.
We are 3 hrs away in PA - so it is not such a big deal for us to travel either - for those who come from outside the northeast, perhaps more will come for A-Day and then be able to come for PPW in the spring as well.</p>
<p>I am not sure about A-Day - #4 of the 4 could be moving into her college dorm that day! :eek:</p>
<p>Shogun - when is graduation in 2009? June?</p>
<p>Graduation was moved from May 30 to May 23, 2009</p>
<p>See you there, shogun...</p>
<p>Will you go to Ring Weekend on September 12-13?</p>
<p>MOT--
No. We won't be going to ring weekend. Our next trip to WP will likely be graduation.</p>
<p>shogun, </p>
<p>Can you even believe we're discussing graduation? Here, on college confidential? It was just 3 years ago we were looking forward to R-Day. Now 500th Night is over, Ring Weekend isn't far away, and then Branch Night. I'm blown away by how fast this is going.</p>
<p>MOT--yep pretty strange! This next year is going to fly by!</p>
<p>Can anybody tell us how much liberty the cadets have on A-Day? What are the walking privilege restrictions? Can they visit with family Saturday and Sunday? Can you go to Mass with your Cadet on Sunday? Any info would be appreciated.</p>
<p>ProudMomma,
NOTE: This is based on Class of 2011's A-day so things could change. </p>
<p>Saturday after the parade the plebes have duties to do before they are released for walking privileges. The amount of time varies by company. My son was a lucky one and was released about 30 minutes after the parade. He had walking privileges until half an hour before taps (11:30 I think). Sunday he could leave as early at 6 a.m. He did not want to sleep late and asked us to pick him up at 7 a.m. He didn't have to be back until the 7 p.m. formation. So, yes you will be able to go to mass with your cadet. </p>
<p>Walking privilege boundaries are: to the north-within the main gates; to the south-Bear Mountain traffic circle, including Bear Mountain Inn and the park that is adjacent; to the east-the west bank of the Hudson River; and to the west-west side of 9W, including businesses on the west side of the road.</p>
<p>One thing...if you are off post with your cadet don't wait until the last minute to take him back. There can be a wait at the gates and he will not want to be running to make formation.</p>
<p>I can only tell you what happened last year. In no way should you think the same will happen this year. Many changes are taking place at WP, so this may have changed too.</p>
<p>My d was released after the parade/review and her company's inspection was complete - about 1:30. The cadets were granted Walking Privileges with a special exemption. Walking Privileges has local boundaries - Highland Falls, up to Bear Mtn. State Park, but not over the bridge, etc. (Boundaries are posted numerous times, I just don't remember all of them.) The Special Exemption was given for the first time ever and gave the parents the opportunity to take our cadets directly back to our hotel/motel rooms outside of the Walking Privileges boundaries. No restaurants, malls, movies, etc. To the hotel and back only. I believe it was within either a 75 mile radius or an hour's drive. I think the cadets had to be back on post at 11:00 pm. (Not certain, though. My cadet was sick and needed to go back sooner.)</p>
<p>Sunday was a free day for the cadets, and I was able to spend most of it with her. Yes, you will be able to attend services with your cadet. My d had to be back for accountability formation at 7:00 pm. </p>
<p>Once she left to report back, I stayed for the Band Concert at 7:30 at the amphitheater, and it was wonderful. </p>
<p>I purposely booked my flight out for Monday morning, so I could spend as much time as possible with my d on Sunday.</p>
<p>Repeating again - A-Day 2008 may be totally different. Walking privileges have been a constant for many years on Sat. (after parade) and Sun., so you can probably count on at least that much. </p>
<p>We only found out about the Special Exemption Saturday morning through Prospective-net. If you haven't joined, I'd highly recommend it.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>WAMom68 and wpmom2011 - thank you for the information. I know things are changing for the upcoming year, but at least this gives us a basic outline of how things work. Hopefully A-Day won't change much since they moved PPW and it will really be the only time we get to see our plebes before Thanksgiving (home game for Labor Day - I understand that means the cadets won't have leave that weekend). Again, thanks for your input.</p>