<p>Youdon'tsay - I was wondering how your S fit in all those APs as that would be close to impossible for D. She's taking honors pre-calc, and 4th year Spanish is called Pre-AP at her school. Plus there's PE, Wind Ensemble, and I think a research class. If she takes one more class, that means no lunch, and since she does sports everyday after school, I think she needs that break and the food. You're right though, your S's schedule sounds pretty hard to me!</p>
<p>zoosermom - my D would love to take AP studio art - she just can't fit it in to her schedule. I doubt next year will be any better because for senior year, she'll have to take AP Eng. Lit, AP Spanish, AP BC Calc, AP Gov, AP Econ., AP BIO, AP Stats, plus PE and Wind Ensemble. Sounds insane to me! Maybe she can skip the bio or the stats. She'll have to talk to her counselor, I guess. I do know she's planning to do an Intel project her senior year, so that will have to be taken into consideration as well.</p>
<p>Yeah, he wanted to take another AP as well, but the VP called and said there was a scheduling conflict and so he had to drop that elective and will try to take it next year.</p>
<p>My S's sport is a ninth period, so spring semesters feature looooong days.</p>
<p>My ambitious S2 took 4 APs his sophomore year, including English Lit. For junior year, we're looking at EPGY AP English Language or a dual enrollment college English course (he wants to avoid the scheduling & travel this option would impose). This coming year he's in AP Chem, APUSH, French 4, and Calc BC independent study (got a 5 on Calc AB). And music, music, music. :)</p>
<p>The scheduling thing is why I don't know whether D is taking 4 or 5 APs - they didn't have all the classes scheduled yet, and her GC thought there might be a conflict. We'll find out at the end of August. I guess - but I am hoping for 4. </p>
<p>Interesting how sports are done as a 9th period at your S's school. D's school has 10 periods, and she's always gone periods 1-10, with a lunch. I believe she had a free period last year which she used to do volunteer work most days. At D's school, sports are all after 10th period, from 3:30-5:30/6:00, M-F, plus Sat. mornings (2-3 hours), plus games/meets. It's a crazy schedule, and she's a three-season varsity athlete, so as you can imagine, she keeps very late hours. Truthfully, I think we'll hardly see her at all this year. :(</p>
<p>catbird - very impressive - 4 APs as a soph. That's very rare in D's school - unheard of, really. The only APs open to sophs are AP Euro and AP Bio. I'm sure there are some people who have been given special permission to take additional APs, but most people don't ask, and I don't know of any. I don't even know of any sophs who took AP Bio, but I think they're allowed to if they want to.</p>
<p>Three sports and 10 classes? Phew. A few of our sports are during the day for credit, but most are after school (ninth period) or before school (zero hour)for credit. Of course, you also can play on a team and not get credit, but why not get the PE credit if you're going to be at practice anyway? Well, I guess some may forgo the PE credits in favor of a waiver so as not the hurt their GPA. We don't care that much ...</p>
<p>are your kids with nine and ten periods on block schedules? We have a seven period day with sports after that (3-5 or with crew travel from the boathouse more like 3-6)</p>
<p>So for the seven periods they allow max of 6 classes and minimum of 5. D has petitioned to take a seventh, last year was shot down, this year there is a chink in the armour and it might be possible to audit a seventh. </p>
<p>There are only around 10-12 APs and half of them are languages. If a student wants to take more than two honors or AP classes they get extra scrutiny and it is strongly discouraged. But I will say that IMO all the classes are very rigorous and in cases where there isn't an AP or honors option the class is still very worthwhile with engaging teachers.</p>
<p>Small private school with about 60 students per grade.</p>
<p>LIMOM- what other sports does your D do? I'm glad we don't have manditory Saturday commitments for sports! Although spring crew has a meet practically every weekend it is nice to have some weekends free.</p>
<p>Yes, we are on a 4/day block.</p>
<p>If there are seven periods, why do they only allow six classes? Is one of those periods lunch?</p>
<p>Lunch is during one of the periods, you either eat/5th period or 5th/eat. They want kids to have a free period for downtime/catch up/makeup work. Quite a few kids (maybe a quarter of the class) have two frees. So she has been wearing them down to let her audit chorus during her seventh period. They barred her from the auditorium last year.</p>
<p>I do see their point and they don't want kids to get overloaded/overstressed. If they are taking a challenging courseload there is tons of work. Plus if she does drivers ed through school they can do their practice driving during free. At this point I am letting her continue to tilt at the windmills and giving her moderate support.</p>
<p>jackief - no, D's school is not on block scheduling. The school offers 10 periods, and many kids don't come in until 2nd or 3rd, or they come in early and leave early - but D and most of her friends are there from 1-10. Most of them take a lunch, and some have a free period in addition to the lunch. It's a pretty full day, as you can tell, especially with a demanding courseload. </p>
<p>At D's school (a public - very competitive), kids are supposed to be recommended for AP/Honors/Regents classes, but parents are allowed to override recommendations. I think most kids end up where they belong though.</p>
<p>Mine is having 1-10 with a lunch. No block. AP/IB English, History, Bio, Calc, honors Italian, Yoga, IB Art, Journalism (she's editor of newspaper and lit mag so that's a required period) and honors Latin. She does have a lunch this semester, though, but not the second semester because of TOK. She doesn't do music and her fencing is club fencing because her school doesn't have a team.</p>
<p>Here in NY AP assignments are common in part because the school year goes till the end of June - so we miss A LOT of classroom time compared to schools that start in August and don't have multiple winter breaks. There's really only two APs that sophomores take here World and Physics. Once in a while there's someone who gets ahead in science. My oldest took AP Bio as a sophomore. Our school offers a couple of dozen APs but I don't think anyone takes more than 10 or so and most considerably less. We have sort of a complicated schedule - lunch is a half period - but it boils down to seven periods, plus an extra early period that has only a few offerings - the special arts program courses, health and gym I think. Gym and science labs tend to take up one of those periods, so my older son never took more than six academic courses. My younger son does seven, but two are orchestra.</p>
<p>In our school, some sophomores do jump ahead and take science AP's but, generally, AP European History is the first AP level class that most sophomores take. </p>
<p>My mind is also a little boggled at the thought of seven AP classes at once!</p>
<p>LIMOM--My D is actually thinking about taking her SAT II's during the May sitting. I know that that might sound kind of crazy, what with AP tests coming up, but we were thinking that if she takes SAT II's in the same subjects as her AP tests, that perhaps much of the information will be fresh in her mind.</p>
<p>It's not crazy at all. AP US History and the SAT2 are very similar. My son ended up doing the SAT2's in June because Physics C and the SAT2 aren't as good a fit. He was still in good shape though because they spent the time after the AP reviewing for the Regents Tests that NYS requires.</p>
<p>Thanks, mathmom, that's good to know, especially since US History is probably going to be one of the subject tests that she takes.</p>
<p>momonthehill/mathmom - the reason I selected June for D's SAT IIs is that it gives her more study time. She's very busy in the spring with sports and if her research project makes it to state, they usually go at the end of Apr/beginning of May - I just didn't want her to get overly stressed out about SAT IIs and APs. </p>
<p>mathmom - at your kids' hs, are they allowed to take AP physics without having had regents physics? That's what it sounds like. At D's school, that's not the case, but she got special permission to self-study for the exam over the summer so she'll be able to go into AP Physics this year. Which class prepares you for the SAT II - regents physics or the AP? Or do you know what the difference is between physics B and physics C? I'm not even sure which one she's taking!</p>
<p>Yes, a few years ago they eliminated honors physics and substituted AP Physics B. It's taken by sophomores. The serious physics kids then take Physics C later (usually as seniors or juniors). Because our system skips Earth Science for the honors kids (they do Regents Biology in 8th grade) it gives them room to do three AP science courses in high school. My older son was the victim of many science conflicts (due to Latin and Comp. Sci) and took Regents Physics as a freshman. He didn't feel it covered all the topics he needed and/or he'd forgotten a lot by junior year. AP Physics B I think covers the SAT2 material pretty well. Physics C requires Calculus B doesn't. C isn't as comprehensive as B, but goes into greater detail. Half the year you do mechanics and half the year you do electricity and magnetism and there are actually two separate AP exams and scores. Physics B covers a wider range of topics including mechanics, thermodynamics, fluids, waves and optics, electricity and magnetism, and atomic and nuclear physics. Spark notes has a pretty good description of what the SAT2 covers: SparkNotes:</a> SAT Physics: Content of SAT II Physics</p>
<p>I am still trying to get my head around the 10 period days. How long are class periods and when does your day start and end? I understand that a few of the periods are optional, but for teachers who teach during this time, are they paid extra and how many periods does the standard union contract cover? How is the extra instruction/pay covered?</p>
<p>Whoa, mathmom! Thanks for that link to the Sparknotes. Never heard of that site. </p>
<p>It looks like the practice tests are mouse/keybd, not pencil/paper. Is that right? And with immediate results?? </p>
<p>If so, it would be a much friendlier way for Son to study for US History II in Oct/Nov. </p>
<p>(I'm still mad as a hornet that we didn't know about SAT II last spring when he was prepping for AP test. The least the school could have done is MENTION that the test exists. Oh well. Live and learn.)</p>
<p>mathmom - thanks so much - you always seem to have the answers when it comes to things like this, so I knew you would be able to explain the physics thing to me. Now I just have to find out which AP Physics class D will be taking - and hope that it will prepare her for the SAT II. I'll forward the link to the SparkNotes site to D - I'm sure she'll find it helpful as I'm pretty sure she's used it for other subjects.</p>
<p>At D's school, the accelerated kids start with Earth Science in 8th grade. In D's year, they took the Math A regents in 8th grade as well - so they were accelerated, but not enough to take Calculus in 11th grade, so she'll have to take it her senior year. Her school doesn't offer Honors physics - but normally won't let kids take the AP until after they complete regents physics. She didn't want to double up on sciences because of the lab periods, but she wants to take both AP Physics and AP Bio, so she figured if she did regents physics over the summer, that means she'll be able to do AP Physics junior year and AP Bio senior year. Luckily, her school gave her permission to do that (provided she scores high enough on the exam this August - not sure what "high enough" means though).</p>
<p>jackief - I'm pretty sure classes are approximately 40 minutes long, and they go from 7:15 - 3:15 (or something like that - not positive because I drop D off at 6:50 in the morning and she never comes home earlier than 5:30, most days considerably later). I have a feeling most teachers have schedules that either start early/end early or start later/end later - with a few exceptions, of course. Obviously, not all courses are offered every period. No clue at all about extra pay, how many periods the standard union contract covers, etc. - but like I said, they probably work that out by either giving teachers free periods during the day, or more likely, by splitting the schedules - early start/early finish, late start/late finish. It definitely gives the kids who want more classes the opporunity to them - but it also puts a lot of pressure on the competitive kids, or kids with competitive parents, because they feel like they have to load up their schedules with tough classes. For D, it doesn't matter - she practically lives at the school anyway. She always has things she has to take care of before school starts, and then sports and other ECs afterwards. There are many nights that I pick her up at 9:30, 10, 11, or even after midnight (those nights are rare - but up to 11, not unusual).</p>
<p>DougBetsy - D's school is pretty good about letting the kids know whether the class they're in is preparing them for the SAT II - and I agree, the school really should mention that the tests exist. Luckily, you know now.</p>