Parents of the HS class of 2010 - Original

<p>scualum, Great that she is thinking of it (is she back at school so maybe there has been talk among the friends) and great that she is asking you for assistance. </p>

<p>It sounds very similar to what my D wants, except the location. When we went to a talk by a Stanford guy and he kept touting the weather, she just kept saying "boring, boring" She could possibly be in some schools in the midwest, but that's probably as far west as we would venture. I do like the benefits of being able to drive.</p>

<p>scualum--you are one lucky parent! :)</p>

<p>So far I have had 3 kids who pretty much knew what they wanted (and got it) tho I did have to refrain child #2 from looking all over the country (Let's keep it to THIS side of the Mississippi, okay? ) but child #4 is still a mystery. His needs may turn out to be very simple, or he may be clueless. We'll see how things are next year at this time!</p>

<p>scualum - what great news. I'm still waiting for my D to really get interested in her college search. She did enjoy the visits though.</p>

<p>All she really knows is that she wants to stay relatively close to home (probably no more than an 8-hour drive, preferably closer).</p>

<p>scu alum - guess you were on a "need to know" basis and didn't know it until now!
While her new focus is terrific, keep your mom role and look out for the things she may be overlooking or discounting without realizing their value. SOme things are concrete, others are variables....</p>

<p>She is back at school and perhaps that is driving the thinking forward... but I think it was mostly background processing - that and knowing that she had this week coming up to actually go visit....</p>

<p>So, how are everyone's kids settling into their junior years? </p>

<p>My D started yesterday, and she said it was fine except she still has to decide whether to take an additional course. She has an unexpected free period (one of the classes she wanted conflicted with a class she needed to take, so the GC gave her a free at the end of the day). She found a class and her GC gave it the ok, but she's still uncertain about whether she should take it. She told me she'd make a decision today, and something tells me she'll be taking it.</p>

<p>She's diving right in. Had homework from 3:30-11:30 yesterday, which is silly.</p>

<p>Honestly, the kids in high school work so much harder than the college students.</p>

<p>school is going ok for both kids. I asked them last night if the hw was managable and if they were keeping up ok and they said yes.</p>

<p>When I did all my book buying I missed one of D1's APUSH books. She has 7 books in this class plus the 2 summer reading ones. Well I overlooked one. I had make a nifty price comparison spreadsheet and this one was the same cost at 2 sources, so I waited to decide which bunch to put it in and then I forgot about it... H was ready to blame the school for adding this book to the list late as they have done before, but no it was my fault.</p>

<p>So Tuesday's hw was reading from guess which book, the one we didn't have. She tried calling kids who live close to see if she could borrow, but couldn't hook up with anyone. LUCKILY she went to the teacher first thing and told him what happened. GOOD THING, as there was a pop quiz which she didn't have to take. Hope this is a lesson! If she had tried to slip by in class, I know some other kids were giving her summaries, she would have been burned. So she was able to borrow a copy last night and my exhorbitant shipping copy arrived today.. </p>

<p>That's all for drama here so far :)</p>

<p>She has looked at the upcoming college visits to school to see which classes they conflict with. Unfortunately, none during "easy" classes so far. She may try to hit one or two anyway. Just the Sept visits are up on the school calendar so far.</p>

<p>Because of her chorus victory she will be able to audition for all-state.</p>

<p>If Queen's Mom or any "second time around"ers can answer a question I posed in the PSAT thread- I want to buy some old tests for practice and want to be sure that the format is the same as it is currently. Has it been three sections for a while and similar to the current sections?</p>

<p>The HW has been silly since grade school.</p>

<p>I will not allow D to do HW past 9 (OK, 10 if she is studying for a test). I am more than happy to talk to any teacher that tries to give her a bad grade because of it. Luckily this has not been necessary yet.</p>

<p>D is doing fine. Her AP classes are a little scary but she did well on her first AP World quiz. She is doing VERY well in Math and her teacher adores her so we are hoping for a good recommendation from her.</p>

<p>jackief, I didn't see your post (I must have been typing when you posted). The oldest test I ordered was from 2004. It was the same format. Do not order the Wednesday, October 17, 2007 test because that's the one they gave out in the practice booklet last week. </p>

<p>I only ordered 4 tests. That with the study guide (I have Princeton, I think) has been more than enough. D still has 2 tests to take before October.</p>

<p>Thanks Queen's mom and thanks for the tip!! No practice book for us yet, school just started and it probably won't be distributed until next week. 2004 were the oldest available to purchase. I am going to buy several as I will reuse (photocopy) for DD2 who is a freshman and a weaker standardized test taker than D1. (private school called us concerned with D2's SSAT scores to see what our feelings were with her handling the work, we said we thought she would be fine, she was admitted and has received mostly A's in middle school but does work harder for them in English)</p>

<p>HW is pretty heavy here. I looked recently and couldn't find the guidelines, it was 30 mins/subject/night in 7th and 8th grade so I think it is 45 per in HS except H and AP might be up to 60. They have two "no homework weekends" per year and they are definitely something to look forward to! I have been going to bed before my older D for longer than I can remember.. By the time she gets home from school around 6:30 and has dinner and shower, she is lucky to get started by 8. Our school was requiring at least one free period and many kids take two. D will have to see how she handles it since she is now auditing choir in her free.</p>

<p>Nice to hear everyone's kids are off to a good start. D said she didn't get much homework yesterday - her first day - but I'm sure that will change. She's taking either 3 or 4 AP courses (will know by the end of the day), a pre-AP course, an Honors course, plus gym, band and an Ind. Research Project - so, I'm sure the workload will increase.</p>

<p>Just ordered the PSAT booklets. Queen's Mom, wish I had seen your note about not ordering the Oct. 17, 2007 test before I placed my order. Well, I guess it could be worse than losing $3. </p>

<p>Just realized that I have a long afternoon free. D has always come home from school late, but I always had to pick S up early. Now, he's playing football at the middle school, and that means he doesn't need to be picked up until 5:00 or so. I'm going to have to find stuff to do with my afternoons this fall! Something tells me that won't be a problem.</p>

<p>Ditto, Queen's Mom, I also "wasted" the $3 on the 10/17/07 test administration.
Don't need to give the Collegeboard any extra $$. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>I also wasted the money, but considering how much of my money the college board will get before this is all over, $3 is a tiny drop in the bucket.</p>

<p>Heh, my kid is still doing his summer reading. First full day is tomorrow.</p>

<p>LOL mathmom. First day is a Friday? wow that is strange and is the latest I've heard of.</p>

<p>Jackief - I was about to write the same thing. </p>

<p>Mathmom - hope your S finishes his summer reading. D had to write an essay on hers in English today.</p>

<p>LIMOM, it's good practice now to find something to fill a few extra afternoon hours for when your 11th grader heads off in a few years. I have 2 at home still and even though I'm now back to being chief taxi driver, I feel the difference in the activity level/demands on my time already. I'm daydreaming about the day when my class of 2010 child goes off, leaving me with just the one (!). It's both scary and exhilarating.</p>

<p>Acme, I'll also be left with one at home when my 2010 D leaves for college. Have you come up with any plans for your free time? I'm a morning person, so I like to get my errands/housework done in the morning. In the past that only left me with a free hour, sometimes 2. Now, I'll have at least 4 hours free every afternoon! Hard to imagine what to do with that time! It's only for the fall, so by the time I get used to it, it will be coming to an end - sort of a tease, really.</p>