<p>Kelowna, that’s the exact reason I didn’t push ds to do the practice test. He didn’t want to lose confidence going in. I sent it to a cc friend who has a sophomore who wasn’t allowed to take the PSAT this year. :(</p>
<p>And, how many think Kelowna’s idea of “bombed” would be aspirational for the rest of us??? ;)</p>
<p>Ds has too much going on right now and is dropping some balls. Anyone else’s kid refuse to use a planner? It’s maddening.</p>
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Sorry to hear he missed that one problem. :)</p>
<p>Seriously, I doubt any kid who scores perfectly on the ACT is going to actually bomb the PSAT.</p>
<p>S2 left the house in a foul mood today. All Region choir auditions are this afternoon and today was the day that his allergies decided to act up. I’m sure he’ll do fine, but he’s a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to his music. Not in anything else, to be sure. Now we just have to wait until 10pm to find out how he does. His private voice teacher and his school director keep telling him he’ll make first chair easily - I hope they’re not setting him up for disappointment.</p>
<p>Youdon’tday: Our kids have been using planners since 3rd grade! The grade school they went to was very big on getting them used to writing down HW, projects, etc to help them with time management and prep them for HS.
This year, their HS just rolled out a school wide program using the iPad2. All students rec’d one at orientation. I am completely amazed at what they have these kids doing on these things…</p>
<p>Well, S2 pulled it out of his hat - he made 1st chair at All Region today. At least he’ll be in a good mood for a couple days. One audition down, 2 more to go to get to All State. He was 3rd chair at state last year so I hope he does at least as well.</p>
<p>Wow megpmom! Great news!!!</p>
<p>Congratulations to your S megpmom! I know how much hard work goes into earning a seat in these select groups. D earned a chair in her regional orchestra a couple of weeks ago qualifying her to audition for all state as well. </p>
<p>Homecoming dance was this evening and I am sure my D is enjoying a wonderful evening with her boyfriend. They certainly were a very nice looking couple if I do say so myself. So glad she is able to make these special memories!</p>
<p>Congratulations to your S Megp… That is great. </p>
<p>Youdontsay- My S who is a freshman absolutely refuses. D is fanatical about hers. Both have used them since first grade. In every school they attended they were required.</p>
<p>MegP - Congrats to your son!</p>
<p>Vandy - Thanks so much for the visit report. JMU and Mary Washington were on my long list, but I haven’t really discussed them with son. He seems set on heading to the opposite coast. I’d really like to find him some schools within a 6hr drive that meets his “warmer” climate desire and can fit into our budget. I’m keeping an eye on the VA budget and OOS costs.</p>
<p>congrats MegP</p>
<p>S down with a cold/sore throat etc… and taking rest. So just had a relaxing two days after PSAT.</p>
<p>That is awesome news MegP!!</p>
<p>MegP: that’s awesome news! Congrats!</p>
<p>Did our visit to UNC-Asheville this weekend; they had an Open House yesterday and it was prime leaf peeping season. She liked it; the Humanities overview and the Honors program professor made positive impressions and she liked their substance free housing. I think Asheville’s vibe did a lot to help her view of UNCA; I liked it, but since it’s the first of the schools on her list that she visited, I’m not sure if it will make the final cut.</p>
<p>The ride there is a beast; it felt way longer to me than it should have probably because you really have to drive the road while going through the Blue Ridge Mountains. I’ll admit that I started realizing that sending #2 off is going to be much more emotional than with #1. We’re trying to figure out where the next visit(s) will be. We have another college panel visit this week (Chicago, Columbia, Rice, Brown & Cornell.) </p>
<p>She gets her SAT scores back on Thursday so that may or may not adjust her list. I’m hoping it will give some insight into how she did on the PSAT’s as well, since she says they were way easier than the SATs.</p>
<p>Great news, MegP! My D is talking about auditioning for All State orchestra in New Mexico where she attends boarding school but I don’t know how she’ll do it with no parents there to get her to an audition. I’m doubting she will pull it off.</p>
<p>SAT practice test on Sunday made S’s “brain hurt” as he puts it.
Found him up at 1:30am still working on his AP Bio lab. Praying he makes it thru his Track workout. It will be his first day back doing a “full strength” work out since pulling his hamstring.</p>
<p>Tuesday is the HS college fair. Both kids have a short list of schools they want to stop by, so it should make for a quick evening.</p>
<p>S turns 17 on Weds…where does the time go :(</p>
<p>And with Halloween coming up, I am in desperation mode finding costumes!
S = Ron Burgandy aka “Anchor Man”
D = Her and a few girls from Cheer are going to be “Skittles”. She will be the Green Skittle. Green capri tights, tutu and a green shirt with a White “S” painted on it.</p>
<p>Happy Monday everyone :)</p>
<p>megpmom- It is interesting how different states handle All State Chorus. It sounds like your choral auditions are similar to band in our state. Our band has district auditions followed by region & then only those most qualified audition for All State. In our state anyone can audition for All state chorus and the auditions take place on the same day across the state. They do solos, sight reading, scales, tonal memory, and music theory. They will know if they made it in a few days once the cut off scores are released. My daughter scored high & she has made it every year so we hope she will make it again.</p>
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<p>I hope he didn’t bomb the actual test but trust me when I say he bombed the one at home… and we are not talking about a few missed questions ;-)</p>
<p>OK, term is nearing and He is really worried about his AP Spanish grade. He landed his first B the last quarter of last year in Spanish 4. Not that he suddenly quit learning or caring, the class simply gets very difficult at this point. He studies for this class, has a tutor for conversations but the teacher has very difficult grading scale and very high expectations. Which is great, because he will learn the language. What worries us quite a bit is the fact that we might be looking at the constant B in that class. How will this affect his chances when it comes to application time? What we are finding out, unfortunately too late, is that top aspiring students at his school are avoiding Spanish, choosing other languages instead for the very reason of insane grading. S has spoken to the teacher several times, spoken to GC - who knows about the situation but feels helpless. Any suggestions, other than stop worrying ??? 
I can’t stop thinking that it will have dire consequences…</p>
<p>I just read the rest of posts. CONGRATS megpmom!!!</p>
<p>Kel- My D is facing this with APUSH. Impossible grading by teacher and with the exam at the end the students typicall end up with high marks. I am probably in the minority at CC but I really am not going to stress over a B, as long as the work is done, effort is put in. D is not aiming ivy however so I dont think a B will prevent her from attending college.</p>
<p>Kelowna, my D is probably going to get her first B+ in AP Lang. The teacher grades everything on a 9 point scale as they would on the AP exam and then for the purposes of the grade in the class converts that to a numerical percentage. D has had a mixed bag of marks. She started out doing fairly well, but in the last couple of weeks, she has received some 5’s/6’s which convert to C’s/C+'s! These kind of grades are really unfamiliar to her and she has had a bit of a hard time wrapping her head around it. This teacher is also very well known for her level of difficulty and most students hope to avoid her. I am glad she is in the class and have reassured her that a B+ is not the end of the world. Her school is on a six point grading scale, so she has to reach the 94 mark to get the A. That does not leave a whole lot of room for mistakes.</p>
<p>D’s field hockey team completed the regular season last night with a 13-1 record and an undefeated regular season district championship! There one loss came to an out of district regional power. District tournament starts next week and coincides with both days of the fall orchestra concert.
D has to beg for mercy from the orchestra director today who is not known for his great patience with these matters.</p>
<p>95 in that class for an A. The ironic thing is she thinks S’s language skills are great!
I am not worrying about one or two Bs, I am worrying about Bs in 9 quarters (he will have her this and next year as well). Heck, I would not care about this at all but it might put a stop sign on his college admission plans :-(</p>