Parents of the HS Class of 2014

Parents of Class of 20xx
5541

<p>Congratulations to all the new seniors!! :)</p>

<p>DS has been “trying” me this week! He’s been out of school three weeks now and I’m ready for him to go back! haha He is wanting a car (he has a truck, so he’s not lacking for something to drive). But the car is OLD - 1987 Subaru. DH is a mechanic and doesn’t want any part of it. So they keep putting me in the middle. I don’t see any problem in it if DS wants to waste his money, but DH is insistent that he doesn’t need it. DS left this morning for a scout canoe trip - not to return until Sunday. Maybe the car will be sold by then! ;)</p>

<p>I’m ready for our Texas trip! We leave in a little over two weeks. Not sure when we’ll get the Midwest trip in. I know we have a few Texans on here … my younger DS (10yo) is also going and so is my sister and her 4yo grandson (to occupy younger DS). What fun things are there to do in Austin & College Station? I know she plans to take the kids to Galveston to the beach while we’re in Houston. And we are planning to go to Sea World & Schlitterbahn on our two down days in between College Station & Austin.</p>

<p>Have a great weekend! The weather is going to be beautiful here!! (Wish I was canoeing with DS!!)</p>

5542

<p>Hi All</p>

<p>Good luck to of the kids taking the ACT tom. </p>

<p>Does anyone recall off the top of their head when the SATs from last week, and when the APs scores will be available?</p>

<p>K2 has the ACT. And then is taking a math course this summer…the book arrived this week. This was K2s idea and I wonder how motivated K2 will be in the coming weeks.
Beyond the math course, a 3 week EC camp…K2 is home.
Appt for SR pic has been made. </p>

<p>K1 will start PT for the injury in the coming week. Landed a job for the summer today. Will be working at a nice firm for a pretty accomplished boss. Negotiated an hrly rate a tad above 10% over the offer.</p>

5543

<p>Wow, fogfog! Congrats on K1’s job and negotiating skills!</p>

<p>I don’t know about SAT, but I think APs come out around July 5-8 (depending on your location).</p>

<p>Good luck to the ACTer’s</p>

5544

<p>beadymom,</p>

<p>On the east side of the UT campus there is a small (and free) Texas Memorial Museum which is just about perfect for most 10 year-old boys. It has dinosaur footprints and various fossils of prehistoric animals, along with many other exhibits a boy that age would probably love. There is also a Blanton Museum of Art on campus, though it is a bit pricey for what it offers.</p>

<p>Then there is the LBJ library and museum to the east of campus which some might find interesting, particularly if they were fans of LBJ. </p>

<p>There is a hill in the western part of Austin, right on Lake Austin (created by a dam on the Colorado River), called Mount Bonnell, that has steps leading up and that provides a wonderful view of the lake (river), downtown, and the surrounding area.</p>

<p>In town, there is Lady Bird Lake (also formed by a dam on the Colorado), which has a nice hike and bike trail alongside it, and has Barton Springs, which is a popular swimming hole, feeding into it. Also, on that lake is the Congress Avenue bridge with all the bats that many tourists enjoy watching.</p>

<p>The state capitol building is about a mile south of UT, which has interesting grounds, and walking to it along Congress Avenue one will pass the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, which some find enjoyable.</p>

<p>Another highlight some visitors like to visit is The Oasis, a restaurant on a hillside overlooking Lake Travis. The lake isn’t looking too healthy these days though, with the drought we’ve been having over the last several years.</p>

<p>I am not going to discuss 6th Street, as that is more for adults, not for a family vacation.</p>

<p>Anyway, those are a few of the sights I take visitors to see.</p>

5545

<p>fogfog … I believe the SAT scores will be in on the 20th.</p>

5546

<p>Welcome to all the newcomers. And I’m so jealous that many of you have finished up junior year. Next week is finals for go2girl. She’ll be done on Thursday. So one more weekend of the evil eye and I hope to have my daughter back!</p>

<p>This week I’ve been focusing on finding a good 8th grade option for my son. His current middle school is pretty large and chaotic. He’s just not thriving and I want him prepared for the transition to high school. Right now he gets to retake every test, turn in assignments late, etc. He just doesn’t seem to take it seriously because, well, the school doesn’t seem to take it seriously.</p>

<p>Enjoy the sunshine! I’ve just poured a virtual gin and tonic for all of you!</p>

5547

<p>Go2mom – I’ll take a double - S just told me his ACT testing center canceled the test! Why did I pick a school in a low lying area? I’m heading home (with snacks and peppermints purchased for the big test) and S asked me to see if I can book him at another location. </p>

<p>Anyone have experience with test centers rescheduling? Do they try to do it right away?</p>

5548

<p>fogfog - I’m impressed that K1 has gotten a job so quickly, and a GOOD one at that! I think most kids with a premier sports summer planned would wallow in pity when confronted with an injury. Kudos!</p>

<p>Classof2015 - I would see if there are any “standby” seats available in other testing sites, but I think when the big snows cancelled centers, an alternate date was given, or the registration could be applied to another test date. Is there any way to call the ACT people? Perhaps a counselor at the cancelled site would know what to do and you might even be able to reach her through phone or email from the school’s website. </p>

<p>Keeping our fingers crossed for ACT readiness tomorrow. DS wants ONE more point. We’ve been holed up in a group study room at the library working on ACT prep by 9:00 am each day to get a couple hours in before PE summer school. DS’s best friend’s mom found out and sent her son along. Hope they both get what they want! These good guys deserve it - on the ONE day this week that neither boy had class, camp or physical training they left our “study group” and headed to volunteer (unasked) at the local crisis nursery for 4 more hours.</p>

5549

<p>thanks maryjay – ACT site says it’s too late for standby registrations. The email said they’ll notify S by email of the rescheduled date. I hope it’s soon.</p>

5550

<p>good luck and focusing power to all taking the ACT tomorrow!</p>

5551

<p>Good luck to all ACT takers.</p>

<p>I just finished ordering summer reading books (5). My guy was “thrilled.” He’s not my reader… They get Life of Pi, The Kite Runner, Their Eyes Were Watching God, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and Beloved. I asked him if he had been able to get any of the books off this year’s graduating class. Of course not. Buying used I was able to get them all at slightly over $30, but most of that is postage. I’d have rather offered that amount to graduating kids… Oh well. Someone has to keep USPS in business I suppose.</p>

5552

<p>May today be the last day of standardized testing until next May’s AP exams!</p>

5553

<p>^ Yes. Lets hope so.</p>

<p>Summer reading here includes</p>

<p>Frankenstein
Robinson Crusoe
Brave New World
The Loved One</p>

<p>K1 read them so we have copies.</p>

5554

<p>…And, they’re off! ACT BOUND!</p>

5555

<p>Sent DD off to the ACT with a handful of cough drops, a pile of tissues, extra decongestant, and, of course, some mints! I agree with BarnardMom - no more standardized testing until next spring!!</p>

5556

<p>classof2015 - yikes about the last minute cancellation. I imagine a last second scrambling to find a location could have been a real headache. Hopefully he gets to do it asap.</p>

<p>D is at the ACT now. Since it’s more uncommon here she had to take it 45 minutes away. This is her 3rd time and she admitted to her dad on the way that having her friends and boyfriend take it with her was distracting and she was too self conscious to eat snacks. She seemed well rested, in a good mood and even said she’d try to sit in the front so the other kids didn’t distract her. Finally - at test 3 she gets that. We’re hoping for a 1 or 2 point increase, which I think is reasonable.</p>

<p>We’re taking her for a college interview on Friday and adding along a little vacation with one of her friends. </p>

<p>Summertime is finally here! We said today since she doesn’t have as much going on we’re going to have her get all her apps done in August, then the grades and recommendations can get sent when school starts again. </p>

<p>Summer books: Wuthering Heights, Mrs Dalloway, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</p>

5557

<p>At my son’s school, they don’t put up summer reading and math assignments until around August 1st, because they want them doing them at the end of the summer.</p>

<p>I do agree with the sentiment about standardized testing! Next stop: May 2014 I hope.</p>

5558

<p>Ah, sometimes I realize my kid so doesn’t fit in with this crowd of kids. I believe d will be reading her older sister’s Shades of Grey trilogy. Practically choked up with pride, I am. </p>

<p>I think today is the last ACT, no matter what the score, and we may need to completely revamp the college search. Her grades are great. Her class rank is top 3%, but without those ACTs, she might as well be at the bottom of the class. Without significant merit, which is almost always tied to a standardized test, we can barely swing the huge state schools, and the kid really doesn’t want to go big. </p>

<p>Yes, today I am a Debbie Downer, but the kid didn’t study, even though school’s been out for two weeks and work has been pretty minimal since it’s just been set up. She couldn’t sleep, so she’s not well rested. Can we just hope the altoids are magic?</p>

5559

<p>DS’s summer reading consists of:
Shift (everyone in the school, staff and students will read this one)
1984 (for Alienated Hero, he has read this before)
Gulliver’s Travels (for Irish Lit, thank goodness it isn’t Ulysses!)
Into the Wild (for American Lit)</p>

<p>Not as tough this year as some! I’m sure these won’t even be touched until late July or early August! (Actually one of the last three will be scrapped, because he will be taking two of the three courses, but we won’t know which ones until mid-July)</p>

5560

<p>Maryjay60…I am just curious; what is the book Shift you mentioned? And I am very impressed that a high school has courses like Irish Lit, or any English elective, for that matter.</p>