<p>Just spoke to DD who is having the time of her life at Mock Trial Nationals in Indianapolis. They competed against two teams today and will do the same tomorrow. The top two team finishes will compete in a 3rd round. She’s loving meeting kids from all over the country. She took the AP Chem test Monday and then caught the 4:30 am flight Tuesday. it’s been a fantastic experience. She’ll do the makeup AP English exam. Life should get somewhat saner after spending the last month preparing for this competition. She bagged on prom because she had literally so little time to prepare for AP Chem. Next year she’ll be singing a different tune.</p>
<p>Cheermom, I hope one person’s mistake doesn’t cause problems for the rest of the group. At Son’s english AP test, I guess the proctor reported back to the hs principal that the kids were disruptive. Then apparently there was a squirmish in the parking lot (son thinks it was just kids goofing around after the long test) which was again reported to the principal. I sure hope this does not cause problems for the kids, or their test. The funny thing is my son goes to kind of a nerdy school (a specialty engineering public high school) and the kids are usually well-behaved. All the teachers at the hs who heard this were surprised as they never (well almost never) have discipline problems.</p>
<p>I created this whole long post about how junior year (and the sacrifices our kids make) is a big determining factor in their college experience, but then I realized I’m speaking from a scientific pool of 1.75 kids (my daughter who’s in college, and my son who is in our HS Class of 2014). I guess what I meant to say is: don’t kill yourself trying to be this super-academic person just to get into “a good school”. Be true to yourself. Take the classes and do the ECs you genuinely like. If you pretend to be someone you’re not, you’ll end up in a school you don’t want, or a life you don’t want. Don’t do things just to make it look good on college apps. You have a whole life ahead of you. If there was ever a time to be real, this is it. Get the school and the life you want. Not the one you think you should want.</p>
<p>Congrats to your DD Go2Mom - Mock Trial Nationals is a blast - filled with wonderful kids, but so little time to prepare the new case! Best of luck.</p>
<p>As the kids entered my library to take the AP Stat test Friday afternoon, I told them to take out their phones, check that they were off and then place them in their backpacks on the floor. No problems there. In my previous school, I would announce that the kids, if they wanted, could leave their phones (turned off, of course) in my office and collect them after the test. Most kids did that, because they did not want anything to go wrong. My son just did not take his to school during testing.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Son '14 admitted that the AP Language test was a royal pain in the butt, but he’s hoping for an okay score. He was pretty beat taking the exam as he had the district track meet the night before. Ran a personal best in the 1600 and goes onto regionals in a week or so. </p>
<p>Next up: AP Bio, and his teacher has a heck of a spread of food for that morning – Chick-Fil-A biscuits (I’m picking those up en route to school), sausage balls, eggs, smoothies, fruit. She wants the kids to be fed and do well on the exam. No donuts – kids will crash off the sugar high.</p>
<p>I’m offering peppermints, if they so desire them.</p>
<p>It’s awesome to hear about all these fun prom plans. S has an all day tennis tournament today- I hope they finish up before pictures at 4pm and dinner at 6pm. I think the post pron plans involve camping in someone’s yard. My s is going with a long time friend. </p>
<p>S had to take 2 exams yesterday (stats and Lang) that is a lot of writing with no real lunch break. He hasn’t been fun to live with but seemed better yesterday. Euro is next week so I am not expecting a lot of attention on Mother’s Day. He’s aide took a multiple choice practice test and he got 10 right out of 80. Uh oh</p>
<p>What an excellent experience for go2daughter! :)</p>
<p>Classof2015, beautifully stated.</p>
<p>momreads, Congratulations to your son on another great meet! S3 also thought the AP language was tough. The multiple choice he was good with, the essays were harder. One he felt good, another he had a harder time with. He heads into Bio and USH next week, which were his subject tests last weekend so I’m hoping the crossprep pays off. He took the night off and saw The Great Gatsby with friends. He gives it a thumbs up saying it felt very modern.</p>
<p>We’ve barely seen Spygirl this week, with SAT prep, APUSH test studying, spring sport, doctor appointment to be released post- concussion to play spring sport, and now prom. </p>
<p>Spygirl is going to prom with her BF & a group of friends. One of the moms is hosting the kids tonight, preparing the entree while the rest of us are bringing side dishes. It’s a relaxing and inexpensive way for them to enjoy dinner. </p>
<p>After prom the group goes to a favorite coffee house - naturally, because this is Portland 
- and then the girls are staying overnight at the same house they had dinner. </p>
<p>Between testing and her major EC ramping up, I don’t foresee life slowing down until the day we get on the plane in June.</p>
<p>Have fun at prom everyone! Such a night of memories!</p>
<p>And good luck with all the test-takers this coming week.</p>
<p>Waiting for an update on today’s competition…I so wish I was there. :(</p>
<p>I also heard that at our school, out of 146 seniors for the class of 2013, $22 million awarded in merit aid! I knew there was a reason we decided to bite the bullet and go private.</p>
<p>Apparently the school offering the most merit aid this year was Seattle U. They offered a ton of money to our kids.</p>
<p>DS’14 had a 5-hour APUSH review this morning. That is one dedicated teacher!</p>
<p>Happy Mother’s Day to everyone. Gone are the days when we’d all get some hand made card or picture, but I’ll be happy to get a big hug. The best Mother’s Day gift is being with our beautiful children.</p>
<p>Happy Mothers Day to everyone! Enjoy your day with the kids as we only have a year plus before they leave the nest for the next part of their life’s journey.</p>
<p>Happy Mother’s Day!</p>
<p>S14 got home from the BPA National Leadership Conference in Orlanda last night around 7 pm. He did say he was able to study for AP Bio quite a bit. He reviewed a few last minute things this morning. He says he is as ready as he’ll ever be. Once he takes the APUSH exam on Wednesday, he’ll pretty much just have to worry about Pre Calc for the rest of the year. I really don’t like how early the AP exams are.</p>
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<p>I still got two hand made cards this year… and big hugs. 
(Though I also have to admit oldest didn’t even call… 
)</p>
<p>Creekland, oldest did call but it was to ask me to schedule an appt for a haircut! Did not have a clue it was Mother’s Day. Boys!</p>
<p>Well, it’s another AP day - Physics B. S14 was pretty excited about all his AP tests and said he’s actually looking forward to them. A totally different kid if you asked me from the beginning of the year suffering from anxiety (test) and stress. We are so surprised that the last 2 months of this junior year turned out this way but happy that something has finally clicked for him.</p>
<p>ognopgod, I sent an e-mail to my son telling him that if he was planning to call that we would be home after 8:00 as we were going out for my “mother’s day” meal. He did call me to wish me a Happy Mothers Day, otherwise he probably would have forgotten too. </p>
<p>Yesterday junior son was asked by a girl he hardly knew to go to her school’s prom. He was flustered as she came to the door to ask and when she left he didn’t know if he said yes or no. Unfortunately it was for this Saturday so I had to remind him that he was already committed to going camping with his scout troop (he’s kind of “in charge” of this trip so couldn’t get out of it if he wanted.) He had to track down her number from mutual friends then have that awkward conversation about not going because he was out of town. In this case it was true but I felt sorry for the girl as it took a lot of courage to ask him. Of course she asked him ONE WEEK before the prom so she shouldn’t be surprised he had other plans, but I sure wish he would have REMEMBERED this at the time she asked so it didn’t look like a lame excuse for him not to go.</p>
<p>I am so glad I am not a 16/17 year old girl right now…or a boy for that matter.</p>
<p>kjcphmom, thanks for the tip! I will start dropping hints early enough next year! I agree with you about being a teen these days. My son would have reacted the same way too if he was asked something unexpected like this. Very flattering though!</p>
<p>My oldest did wish me Happy Mother’s Day over skype chat shortly after midnight, so he did actually remember. When he called for something else later in the day though, he didn’t mention it. I guess he thought he had done his duty. I got breakfast in bed from my other two, and plenty of hugs, but no cards.</p>
<p>My two sons took me out for lunch at a local Mexican restaurant – it was excellent. This was after I took son '14 to the doctor. He had been hacking so hard, and his nose just kept running. I asked a battery of questions and decided he needed the doctor. He’s now on meds and feeling a bit better. Took the AP Bio exam this morning – I’ll get my update later. </p>
<p>The kid’s busy life continues. Has a project due for BC Calculus tomorrow. Is required to attend the Spanish Honor Society inductions Tuesday night. Then, it’s the APUSH exam Wednesday. All week, it’s track practice after school. And he probably will be refereeing youth soccer Saturday. Keeping track of his schedule makes me tired.</p>