<p>We have 4 1/2 weeks left here. We just finished state testing. D1 came home from college this weekend and S2 has 3 weeks left S3 thinks it is summer, but it is not.</p>
<p>Finals today and tomorrow and then we are done! I donāt remember looking forward to summer break quite so much as this year. I do wish however that someone would have warned me how quickly high school goes by. D will be home for a week and a half before heading on a church missions trip to New Orleans, home a week after that, and then a week at the Rotary Club Youth Leadership Award camp. She can fill out the rest of her summer with taekwon do and prepping for the PSAT and SAT this fall. Who am I kidding, sheāll be sleeping and hanging out with her friendsā¦</p>
<p>We have 4 more weeks of school here. S is really working hard, trying to pull up his grades. He was ecstatic that he brought his C in alg2 up to a B (so far) for this marking period. That class been the bane of his existenceā¦straight Cs all yearā¦lol. I laugh because his teacher always mentions āhis creative approach to problem solvingā. I bet he writes awesome rec letters. Iām just wondering which B has turned into a C. That kid just loves his 3.1 GPA :)</p>
<p>Hi, everybody! Youdonātsay encouraged me to join this thread, so here I am! She and I both have sons in HS classes of '10 and '13. I also have a daughter in the HS class of '16.</p>
<p>S1 was a typical overachiever - athlete, Eagle Scout, outstanding student, etc. He is studying biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. S2 is just as bright, but otherwise the exact opposite of his brother. Not athletic, hated Boy Scouts, does not see the point of school. On the plus side, he has a big heart, does great with kids, and is a well-spoken extrovert. I used to push him a lot, but that didnāt do any good, so now I donāt do much more than occasionally bug him to start his homework.</p>
<p>Weāve told him he may end up at the local college - he thinks weāre joking! Iāve explained how hard it is to get into college, and that he needs to think of ECs and grades. Now it really is up to him. A gap year may be what he needs.</p>
<p>Thatās it in a nutshell. I think I will be much lower-key during this college search. Heāll get in somewhere, eventually, and things will work out.</p>
<p>lol, reeinaz, your son sounds a lot like mine! He has made the honor roll (As and Bs) exactly one quarter of his entire academic career.</p>
<p>Iām looking forward to getting to know all of you! :)</p>
<p>Waving at ML!!!</p>
<p>Last day of school here. In less than 4 hours D2 will be a rising Juniorā¦</p>
<p>Welcome MaineLonghorn! </p>
<p>And RobD, my D cannot wait to join your daugther in the ranks of rising juniors! She is really tired of sophomore year. Last AP World test today (I know she already took the AP exam:(). Last violin recital as well. Still two papers, two projects, a book to read and other misc. English assignments and final exams.</p>
<p>Welcome ML! Funny how many people have both a '10 and '13. Almost all of S2ās high school friends had siblings in S3ās class.</p>
<p>Hi, ML!</p>
<p>Lots of news ā known and unknown ā for ds2. Left the house in a suit as heās cross-examining witnesses for a ātrialā today at school. We also learned who his new principal is. And, hopefully, we learn about that D.C. program today and he learns whether heās exempt from his most dreaded final. We hope so! Finals start Friday here and go through Wednesday of next week, I think.</p>
<p>I got my HOBY Ambassador back from her three day seminar today. What a wonderful and moving experience she was able to have with some of the finest kids our state has to offer. She was so impressed with her fellow ambassadors and the ambitions they have to change the world or at least their little part of it. My D cried telling me of one boy in her group who had overcome challenges in his life and described himself as a nobody in his school, but this weekend at the HOBY seminar he was accepted and felt like a somebody. My D said they all enveloped him and reasured him that he was an important person. My D said he was going to make it his goal to be more confident and help others like himself. Go HOBY!!</p>
<p>Iāve been lurking on this thread for awhile, and figured it was time for me to finally join in as well. Sā13 still has about a month of school left. It has been a fairly busy month so far, with 2 AP exams and 2 SAT Subject Tests scheduled for this coming week, then state exams and finals in all subjects through the end of June, as well as presentation night for his science research program, and several soccer tournaments. He is still thinking about next yearās schedule. Currently signed up for 3 AP classes, plus heavy duty science research program commitments, plus varsity and year-round club soccer, plus some fairly time consuming ECs. He is more of a math and science guy, so he is a bit daunted by the prospect of taking both AP English and APUSH, the latter of which is renowned at his school for being an extremely heavy duty workload. Not sure if I should be encouraging him to give it a try (he is more than capable and I am pretty sure he could handle the workload) or letting him lighten his load, given that heās already taken 2 APs already, and will undoubtedly take at least 3 more senior year, plus do Intel/Seimens competitions. I am pretty sure his school will check the āmost rigorousā box regardless, but will colleges wonder why he didnāt take APUSH?</p>
<p>Welcome, LCSMom! Same boat here with the decision about APUSH and AP Language. My D decided not to put herself through it. She decided to do only AP Language after talking to other students who had done both. </p>
<p>The competition seems to keep ramping up. My solution is to come here and sometimes share what I read with her, sometimes not. I am going to look up HOBY, it sounds great.</p>
<p>The final tests is over, my DD is now totally relaxed, slept over 16 hours after last exam. Then games playing and goofing around, eating junk food all the times, she knows how to reward herself:)
Same as LCSMOM, DD booked 2 SAT subject tests next week, but so far she is still in relaxing mood, has not started reading yet.
DD got accepted for NSLC on Mastering Leadership program for the summer, beside name of this pricy summer program, I donāt if this can help her with future college application. No further plans for the summer, she may prepare for SAT test, participate Color Guard training and make contribution to her volunteer hours.
LCSMOM, may I ask how can one do/start āIntel/Seimens competitionsā, any pointers? Appreciate any suggestions.</p>
<p>Since this is bumped up Iāll update.</p>
<p>Finals for the next three days, then done. SAT II on Saturday. Iām worried about how itāll go because of the all-day trip to the water park on Friday. He didnāt get the DC program. Major bummer. I hope he likes the internship as thatās the only thing on his plate for the summer. Well, that and lots of fun ā¦</p>
<p>nerdyDad, at Sās school, they have a three year science research program, culminating in projects that are submitted to the Intel Science Talent Search and/or Siemens competition. Although being part of an āofficialā science research program at oneās school is undoubtedly helpful, I donāt think its a necessary pre-condition to participating. </p>
<p>Here is a link to the Intel Science Talent Search FAQ: </p>
<p>[Society</a> for Science & the Public - Intel STS - FAQās](<a href=āhttp://www.societyforscience.org/page.aspx?pid=274]Societyā>http://www.societyforscience.org/page.aspx?pid=274)</p>
<p>and here is one for Seimens: </p>
<p>[Siemens</a> Competition](<a href=āCollege Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Toolsā>Search for Scholarships ā BigFuture | College Board) </p>
<p>If your DD is interested, check with your school to see if they can help her get started. Finding a mentor who can help guide the student as he or she does research is an important issue.</p>
<p>S2 is essentially done with school. He still has to attend for 3 more days, but since he is exempt from all of his finals, I guess he just takes a book and reads. I think a couple of his teachers will let them go to the park across the street from the school and hang out. A giant waste of time, but theyāre required by law to actually be at school. </p>
<p>His summer school at the community college starts next Monday and he will spend his afternoons volunteering at a theatre camp and his evenings rehearsing for The Mikado - his days are pretty full, at least through June. He also needs to finish drivers ed. Nine months after he started it, he still has 2 drive times left. Iām glad they give him a whole year to complete it!</p>
<p>LCSMOM: thanks for the information. My DDās school is very new school, I donāt think they have any research programs yet. Itās very hard for a HS student to self-start a project with ideas and limited resource if parents are not in academic fields.
I may ask around to see if any friends have ideas.</p>
<p>Hi everyone! Welcome new posters! NerdyDad- if you have a local university then the best thing is for your DD to think about something sheād like to study (a broad area of interest) and then contact professors in that area. Most profs LOVE a free set of hands for the summer.</p>
<p>Hope everyone had a nice long weekend.</p>
<p>blueshoe: I also got my HOBY Ambassador back from his three day seminar. S2 also absolutely loved it. He met so many wonderful kids, a third of which were high school class presidents. In our state, to S2ās advantage, the girls far outnumbered the boys.</p>
<p>Iād never heard of HOBY before this thread. Is this only for sophomores?</p>
<p>YDS: as far as I know, HOBY is only for sophomores. Upperclassmen (who are ex-HOBY Ambassdors?) can apply as volunteers.</p>