Hello!
What a wonderful letter, ChoatieMom!
Good luck for mid-term grades to all of your kids!
Something different: do the students enjoy playing music together in small bands (rock/pop…) in their free time? Clubs? Or is music only played in more formal classes? My daughter enjoys playing and singing for fun and pleasure.
@Ranu67 --At Choate they have a number of clubs, an a capella group (maybe two or three?), and several music groups. Orchestra is an audition group; the others I believe accept most with experience. And let’s not forget clubs like the DJ club, lol!
It sounds very nice!
Thank you!
Have to be honest about “free time.” The amount of unscheduled time available depends on what EC/sport you are doing. Crew takes up A LOT of time, while hiking is only twice a week. DD is hoping to get more involved in clubs once crew is done. Her varsity sport takes up less time than her intramural one.
Grades are up but cannot find teachers’ comments… Where can I find them? Please help 
Ditto. Do not see any teachers’ comments.
Yep, no comments. Perhaps they are only given at the end of the term? 
Disappointed!
Comments are only given with term grades.
@ChoatieMom Thank you for clearing that up for us, the newbies!
Haha, I was clicking everywhere on the page to see where those comments were hiding!
There will be a “Term Reports” selection under “Student Information” on the Parents Portal when they become accessible after first-term grades are posted.
Does anyone know how participation in several summer programs at Choate can influence acceptance into high school? My daughter did a writer’s workshop after 6th grade and academic enrichment this past summer after 7th grade. She had high pass in all subjects other than Algebra where she had a pass. Is this taken into consideration in the application process since they have had an opportunity to see how she performs?
The summer programs do not influence decisions. Consider the experience as enrichment for your daughter and as a good way for her to see what the campus and surrounding town are like. Many summer classes are not taught by Choate faculty, and the summer programs generally do not approximate the level, rigor, and delivery of the normal school year. If your daughter did connect with a permanent faculty member during her time there and she made a memorable, positive impression, that teacher may be helpful in answering questions for you during your daughter’s application process if she decides to apply. Your daughter will mature quite a bit over the next year, and Choate will be evaluating her as an eighth-grader against the global pool of other eighth-grade female applicants during her application round. I would focus on having a strong eighth-grade year.
Maybe I should have worded this better. The summer programs are not meant to be admissions exercises. They are meant to be enrichment programs and are independent of Choate’s regular admissions and academic programs. If an outstanding kid should happen to make a special connection with a member of the staff or faculty who happen to be on campus over the summer, that connection could be worth a positive note in the applicant’s admissions file, but I wouldn’t choose to attend a summer session at any BS in the hopes that it would increase admissions chances as it probably won’t.
You can actually just strike-through “probably.” Summer programs, whether at boarding school or college, are cash cows for the institutions, bringing in revenue when the student body is away. Attending a summer program at Choate is not an admissions advantage. When the time for college apps comes, the same thing applies - Harvard Summer School is not a back door into Harvard College. There are many valid reasons to attend a summer program, but gaining a boost for admissions is not one of them.
Thanks, ski. I was trying not to be harsh as there is always someone who will post how their summer connection with the school definitely helped their application, and who am I to dash hopes, but your assessment is what I believe to be true.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.
Parents Weekend was busy and well-run. Here is some news about the PMAC, as the students call it:
http://www.choate.edu/page.cfm?p=1450&newsid=1710
Busy is right! We need a vacation from our Parent’s Weekend vacation!
If our football team were in the college ranks, there may be an NCAA investigation going on… How are we admitting kids who are transferring after their junior years in HS as sophomore’s at Choate? Double repeats in one year??? Does the NCAA permit that??? And how is Yale directing so many PGs to us? If these kids are getting ANY merit based aid it could be viewed as an improper payment by the NCAA if Yale had ANYTHING to do with them choosing Choate. I remember when we were just a typical prep school football program. Now we look more like IMG Academy when it comes to football yet we dont have the guts to play them or anyone like them… I hope we are playing by the book and not compromising our admission standards and if we aren’t, then lets have the guts to play quality opponents outside of the NE prep universe.