Yeah, gotta trust the Sorting Hat! 
@GoatMama Love the reference! At my DD’s school the freshman get to pick the theme for the senior ring banquet and their theme they chose this year was Harry Potter! The seniors loved it!
So, week 2 came and there is more homework. But daughter is in control thanks to lowering Spanish level and having an open slot after dropping pottery. She still has to study all day during weekdays, but is expecting to have most of weekend time free.
Thanks @MA20I2. Good to know. Does anyone know why they don’t turn on the AC at these schools? Just curious. I know DC’s dorm has AC.
Daughter’s room does not have an air conditioner installed. But offices, classrooms, dining hall, and all the shared areas were air conditioned. It’s just how they have historically been I guess. They don’t usually stay in dorm rooms during daytime. Good for the environment too.
In most cases like this, it’s not a question of not turning on the AC; it’s that AC does not exist.
It seems that, across the board, kids have been having issues with the foreign language class the first week or two. My kid considered dropping down a level because, she swears, she is clueless about what’s going on in class. Her adviser disagreed, so she had no choice but to stick it out. She has been doing about 1.5 hours foreign language homework daily, and last night reported getting a 100 on first test. Yep. BS people know what they’re doing.
This was our first year with a foreign language. Our middle school doesn’t offer a foreign language. In fact, our high school only offers 2 years of Spanish taught ONLINE and proctored by a teacher that doesn’t even speak Spanish! (one of the many many many reasons she chose a boarding school) That first week of classes started on a Wednesday and her first Latin vocabulary test was on Friday. She called Wednesday while staring at the lengthy list of words and their many forms, just knowing she was going to hate Latin and fail. She dug in during study hall that night though, fell instantly in love with Latin and has aced every test since. And then I got to tell her “I told you so”!
Same here. Our middle school doesn’t really have a true language (mix of intro language and culture) so DD was starting over. She opted for Arabic which is pretty hard as she’s indicated that its very hard but she’s excited.
“Pretty” hard would be an understatement. Best of luck to your D.
I received an interim report from her advisor this week and she assured me that my DD is doing great. Smiles all around. Her teachers enjoy her and she’s handling the workload! Everything a Mom wants to hear! They are is the midst of switching programs right now, so I’ve gone this time without being able to see her assignment grades and class grades. She had an advisor meeting yesterday though and I received a call from an ecstatic girl still pulling straight A’s!!
My dd is a college freshman (BS grad last year) and is once again, grappling with all the same issues as your freshmen - huge workload, new culture etc. When she told me she got a D on a paper, it was a bit of a shock. She had all As her last 2 years of BS. However, because of her BS experience, she is able to understand how to adjust to the new expectations and not get rattled. (She spent Sat night doing homework while her friends were at rush and also learned to embrace the syllabus which is used differently in college) The lessons your children are learning these first few weeks will be very useful in 4 years! Chimney kid is very happy in her new digs after just a few weeks partially because she remembers being not quite happy for her first six months of boarding school and then getting over that hump and finding out she was in her happy place all along. Everything old is new again!
Ps Fwiw she also had to drop down a level in french when she started BS.
Social Interaction is very important for daughter, as it was the biggest reason that she chose boarding school. Building new relationships is energy consuming difficult activity for her, being a introvert. Fortunately, her roommate sounds very sweet and extrovert. Not only that they are getting along well, but also other girls are seem to be invited to their room frequently, and daughter is enjoying that very much.
A small disappointment is that she is finding it very difficult to get along with girls from Korea, even though she is a Korean-American. We had thought that they would be a window to Korean culture for daughter. According to daughter, they are socially too savvy that she finds it rather uncomfortable with them. Maybe it will take time. Will see.
@SculptorDad I’m not sure how much your daughter has been raised in Korean culture but there is a real pecking order and hierarchy amongst Korean students in boarding school, based on age and seniority. Maybe that is playing into the dynamic she is encountering. It’s very different than how American students interact with each other. Korea-born Koreans seem well versed in it and seem to intuitively understand the “rules”. It’s definitely a cultural difference.
@doschicos, thanks for your insight.
She hadn’t have much cultural experience yet. Sounds like it will be an interesting experience!
@SculptorDad Does she speak fluent Korean? I found that at my DD’s school, the girls really settle in with the other girls that speak their native tongue. I also believe that it’s big cultural difference as well. Growing up in Korea, Japan, China, etc is quite culturally different than being raised as a Korean-American, etc…
From what I hear, it seems kids of different origins/cultures/socioeconomic backgrounds mix very fluidly at my children’s school. Maybe that will happen over time at these other schools.
Language isn’t an issue. Maybe it’s an issue. She could be expected to culturally accustomed due to her language fluency.
Also there is this “social savviness” that is hard to explain. Imagine bunch of diplomats all smiling yet trying to take advantage of the situation whenever possible. She isn’t used to that.
Welcome to high school girls of all cultures!
I’m sure there’s an added cultural “savviness” that she will have to learn/endure. But all the girls are going through it. High school girls, especially 9th/10th graders, use passive aggression, fake smiles, online postings, & secret vernaculars like air! :((
She would love to experience the girls stuffs though. It’s a challenge that she wanted to take for long time. 