Maybe people were “triggered” by the name?
Interesting… but if you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya… 
I’m half-kidding. I imagine a change like this would indeed take a considerable amount of advanced planning. Thanks for sharing that, @DroidsLookingFor !
Oof!
We fell in love with The Gunnery (as it was known then) back in 2012/13 when looking at schools for my D. We actually had intended it to be kind of a “practice visit/interview” because there were other schools that she had much greater interest in… but then we visited and were captivated by the campus , the progressive and thoughtful leadership, and the kids and faculty we met. It would have been her school of choice if she hadn’t decided to go to an all-girls school. A few people we know who were not very familiar with the BS world heard her talking about The Gunnery and asked us why she was looking at a military school… LOL
So, I’m currently hunkered down in the basement waiting for the hail to start. Every alarm in town has gone off due to an apparently serious Tornado warning. We occasionally will get a bad storm with a tornado Watch or warning in late May, but never this late in the summer. Who expects tornadoes in the Berkshires, for crying out loud? It’s anything but flat land around here. We did actually have a whopper, back on Memorial Day 1995. Did a tremendous amount of damage In Great Barrington and surrounding towns, and killed several people who were on the main road Riding in a van very close to our farm. Also destroyed one of our barns. So, we take these sirens very seriously…
Damn. I left the ruby slippers upstairs in the closet… ?
OK folks - is anyone having their student take a year off from BS or choosing to take the year remotely?
We aren’t. Are you, @Golfgr8 ? How is everyone doing?
I am just crossing fingers that DD at least gets to get on campus long enough to make some connections, even if they end up switching to remote. If we start the whole BS year remotely, it will be emotional fallout over here! (I’m already dealing with that with the other 3 kiddos who know their classmates and have to do remote. Well, 2. DD1 is already homeschooled so her life doesn’t change much.)
@Golfgr8 our 2020 BS grad has deferred her freshman year of college (after graduating BS a semester early and getting sent home in March from a gap semester) so she will now be a 20 year old freshman next fall which is not great, but I think she made a reasonable choice for herself. Her college is having very very minimal in person classes and it is across the country from where we live. She is very clear that on-line classes are not for her but it stings a bit to see everyone else moving into dorms etc. She had started a FB group for students and had looked forward to meeting the kids.
Thanks for the update @chemmchimney - we have followed your student’s journey over the years. Sending virtual hugs to you and your kiddo!
Sounds like a great decision. I have heard of numerous college deferrals, and think it’s a great choice, especially this year. With limited travel opportunities, what to do? I have heard i) get a pilot’s license; ii) Mtn. biking in Moab and amateur paleontology in Utah; iii) business start-ups; iv) freelance writing.
Am increasingly comfortable with sending kiddos off to BS and LPS, as their schools’ plans seem well thought out. Especially BS, it sounds like it will be a very controlled environment, unlike a college setting, and we know the kid would rather be taking classes outside and biking, training and trail running, than be home with us 
@chemmchimney Could be that your child has a great experience this year learning about what they want to pursure in college. I think college Freshman might be up for a rough ride. And being 20 as a Freshman isn’t old. Wishing your kid all the best.
Three cheers for old, decrepit dorms. In the age of COVID, who knew having no central air system, 100 year old windows, and a $10 shelf fan would bring such advantages.
The culmination of a 2-year plan …
2 days ago we loaded up the car and began a 4 car ride that marked the beginning of DDs high school journey.
Masks, social distancing, COVID tests were not what we envisioned but it’s where we find ourselves. The school has done an awesome job in making us feel comfortable and ‘arrival day’ was organized and welcoming.
Even though I’ve had months to prepare it’s hard when it’s been just the two of us for so long…
So now this empty nester has to figure out what to do with herself in the midst of a pandemic.
Hope everyone’s ’D-day’ goes well.
@amumof2 you just brought back so many memories (sans masks, isolation etc)!
Good luck and hugs to all who are dropping off kiddos for the first time! ?
Extra hugs for those who are dropping off/saying goodbye for subsequent times. It continues to get harder ?
I’m looking towards our “drop off” day with extreme excitement and devastation. I’ve gotten too used to having him around.
In case you missed it, good article this week in the Wall Street Journal @ college admissions during this crazy time. See link below. Hoping it works!
Sigh. Just went back and read the first few pages of this thread. It used to be a light and happy place to discuss anything that came into your head, a place to steer away from serious stuff. So, in an effort to bring this thread back to form…
Who’s putting together a Halloween care package to send to their kiddo?
ChoatieKid was heavily into special effects (read: gore), so, along with the usual spiders/webbing, skeleton string lights, and candy, I made sure to include a premium FX kit with all the goodies to produce stomach-churning results. Choate allowed students to come to class in costume on Halloween but, junior year, he was asked to leave his first class of the day as his half-blown-off face with empty eye socket and blood-soaked white shirt was deemed too disrupting. Good job, ChoatieKid! (Good job, ChoatieMom?)
Now that he’s an adult with a place of his own, he’s getting several Amazon packages with items for his lawn—foam cemetery headstones and skeleton parts to “rise” from the grave, windsock ghosts, outdoor scary string lights, and lots of the usual spider webbing. And this tee-shirt:
I decided against the shirt that read, “I’m the Quiet Neighbor with the Big Freezer” as he’s new to the neighborhood, and that might not be the message he wants to send just yet.
He can buy his own candy now.
So, what are you sending to your students this year?
Omg. I need that shirt!!! We have skeleton flamingos in our yard. The closest Halloween package DS is getting is new running shoes, since he wore through the soles of his current pairs.
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I can guarantee @ChoatieMom, that I’ll be needing new cocktail recipes soon.
Halloween is on a SATURDAY!!! I’m so excited. Yes I am a grownup.
I love group costumes and often make my family comply. One year we were star wars characters, one year we were avengers, etc.