Parents of the HS Class of 2009 (Part 1)

<p>D said AP lit was pretty easy, no details. She excels in writing though.</p>

<p>S was exhausted after the APLit exam, but was pleased with his essays. His fave author is Vonnegut, and he used Slaughterhouse Five in the symbolism essay. I was thrilled to get THAT much information.</p>

<p>Chintzy - I hear you there about the AP credits, so many schools won’t let you take a credit if it is in your major. D found out that she will have to take no fewer than three placement exams at Orientation, she is getting the credit but the tests will determine whether you get placed in second or third semester Bio/Chem/Language, etc. She is just praying for that 5 in Calculus so she won’t have to take that again
and digging up those Latin notes after a year won’t be fun either
</p>

<p>Does anyone know where to get single-use packets of laundry soap? I figure she stands a better chance of doing it’s a little more convenient (wishful thinking, huh?) My d has a bean bag chair in her room which is just perfect as a clothes hangar; maybe she should just take it with her for her dorm room.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=crzymom]

Does anyone know where to get single-use packets of laundry soap?

[/quote]

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<p>This gives me an idea. On the Soldiers’ Angels board, we used to brainstorm ideas for “themed” care packages – a flat rate boxful of useful or fun goodies to send for holidays or just whenever. Maybe some of those would make good graduation presents too!</p>

<p>A laundry care package:

  • small plastic hamper or door-mount canvas bag
  • individual soap packages
  • sewing kit with buttons
  • bathtub clothesline
  • roll of quarters</p>

<p>A bathtime care package:

  • microfiber travel towel
  • back scrubber
  • nice-smelling soap or shampoo
  • flip-flops</p>

<p>A “sweet dreams” care package:

  • twin XL sheets or soft, cushy pillow
  • sleep mask
  • lavender-scented lotion
  • chamomile or blackberry teabags</p>

<p>What do you think?</p>

<p>^^
great idea geek_mom</p>

<p>S came home from AP and slept an hour and then track–came home happy–going to state–I put balloons on the door. They are reading Mrs Dalloway in AP class and have a big project. He hates the book and like so many such as The Secret Life of Bees–they are just too female orientated for him–I think there are so many more general books than this. He hated The Great Gatsby also for much the same reason. As an aside I loved TIM by C. McCullough (sp?) and think it is worth a read. and geekmom and crzmom love the suggestions.</p>

<p>Something that proved REALLY useful for S1, a generally un-handy guy: a tool bag</p>

<ul>
<li>screwdriver w/multiple heads</li>
<li>duct tape (in various colors)</li>
<li>allen wrench</li>
<li>cable ties</li>
<li>lightweight hammer</li>
<li>tape measure</li>
<li>scissors</li>
<li>packing tape</li>
<li>flashlight</li>
</ul>

<p>D said AP Lit was “easy” – “they had a question from Shakespeare!” (which apparently makes it “easy
”). Half way there. She’s actually cleaning her desk/shelves at the moment.</p>

<p>Zetesis–how much are you paying her:)</p>

<p>She informed me that her study area reflects the state of her mind the last few weeks – everything all messy. With two APs done (and both dubbed “easy”) and a 159/125 on her final AP English project on Chaucer, I think she’s just feeling HAPPY! It’s SO nice to see!!</p>

<p>I love the tool kit idea and am giving one to my graduating nephew along with a gift card to his college bookstore for graduation. I found tool kits in pink for girls online but haven’t found any in stores. My d is an “anything but pink” kind of girl, but it is so cute as far as tool kits go.</p>

<p>BBB had some last year – but too cutsey for my taste. Home Depot and Walmart had tool bags about the size of a large lunchbox and I just bought stuff to go in it.</p>

<p>I went pack to my Official Packing Journal (each page has a different category of goods and coding as to which box they were packed in
a sick woman, I am!) and have found a couple more items that I put in the tool bag:
– box of jeweler’s screwdrivers (great for computers, electronic gear and fixing glasses)
– door stop
– bungee cords
– air pressure gauge/tire repair kir (for folks who take bikes to campus)</p>

<p>I basically did the same thing with a medical bag –
– cough and cold remedies
– bandaids
– thermometer
– neosporin
– tummy drugs
– vitamins
– pain reliever
– cough drops
– OTC allergy meds</p>

<p>We’ll see pretty soon how much of this stuff was actually USED this year! S1 has said he uses the tools more often than he expected, and he was VERY glad to have them during move-in, both for his own benefit and to help others get settled in. This week is Scav Hunt as his school – I assume the tool bag is in action!</p>

<p>DD’s County Championship track meet went really well. They only announced the seniors over the speaker system
no walk:(</p>

<p>DD ran two PR’s, and scored in both races. S2 won 2 events, and scored in two others, S1, who has been injured much of the year, still ran well, and scored in his event. Both girls and boys teams won the county title:D</p>

<p>Oregon101, our kids will qualify at their regional meet, next week. I’ve always had two of my three kids qualify. I expect the same this year. If S1 was up to speed, he most likely would have also
it would truly take a miracle to get him there this year.</p>

<p>This is crazy – I go off for 1+ day to catch up on my real life, and this thread explodes! How am I supposed to keep up w/ all this???</p>

<p>Re: Calc AB test – S said “it was hard.” He also said the 2006 test, which his teacher passed out as one of many practice tests, was “easy” in comparison. He specifically mentioned that one since it was from D’s year. Great! Oh well, he has to take Calc in college anyway.</p>

<p>chintzy – D started out as Bio major at WFU, so couldn’t use her AP Bio credit for anything. She has since switched to a Health & Exercise Science major, and could have used the credit – figures, right? Also, going back to your earlier post about the “free” laptops at Wake – one thing to keep in mnd is that since all students have a computer, D believes there’s less “incentive” for theft. (Unattended power cords are another matter, though.) Would a Mac may become more of a target? (Not that theft is a huge problem, though, from what I know.)</p>

<p>Thanks for the lists - even though I didn’t ask for them. S is leaving for China tomorrow and I need to round up things like that. He’ll be gone until the last week of July - I am absolutely not liking this. (Although H has used up ALL of his points to fly him home for Ds graduation for a few days.)</p>

<p>CBB-that’s a good point about having an extra computer lying around, and thanks for the heads up about power cords.</p>

<p>

Oops! Obviously this should be “Would a Mac become more of a target?” I guess my brain is a little fuzzy this morning! :)</p>

<p>Finally, after months and months of nagging I got S to the doctor for his shots. It was 12:15 and we were told everybody was taking a lunch break from 12:00 to 1:00!!! Whoever heard of an entire doctor’s office shutting down for lunch. We had been told to just stop by anytime, no appointment necessary because a nurse gives the shots. So, we are back to square one on that. It won’t be happening on a Friday, that’s for sure, so the nagging begins anew next week.</p>

<p>S will take a minimalist approach to packing. He has already said he isn’t interested in a TV, refrigerator, microwave, radio or any other gadgets in his dorm room. He doesn’t have them in his room at home and sees no need to change that. I have never gotten him to use any first aid stuff, other than ice. Regardless of how sore he may be he doesn’t like Ibuprofin or any medicine for that matter, so that would be a waste. His plan is to have a few clothes, IPod and laptop. No posters, no tools, no printer, etc.</p>

<p>Do any of your high schools have the tradition of “senior prank”? Over the years I’ve heard some very disappointing stories of property damage, disruption, even arrests. </p>

<p>But maybe the tide is turning. Here are 2 local “pranks” from the class of 09.</p>

<p>One group of seniors came in overnight and set up 3 trampolines, a moon bounce house and a small pool in the senior parking lot. They grilled hotdogs all day and people chilled and played between classes (saw picture of one teacher bouncing).</p>

<p>At another school, a group of seniors devised this secret, overnight plot: they planted a tree and flowers, mulched and built a bench for the front of their school. </p>

<p>Yay for good kids.</p>