Exciting news from our house!
S17 received a local rotary scholarship yesterday for 1K and apparently has a roommate!
Now we just need to survive the 2.5 weeks of He** that is the spring musical…
@CoyoteMom, there’s a big mall (Woodfield) close to O’Hare; also Bed, Bath & Beyond and IKEA.
Congrats on the scholarship @eandesmom and the roommate. I should ask S17 if they assigned him anyone yet, but he’s been pretty much non-responsive since the combined AP Calc/IB History exams today…
@CoyoteMom I’m pretty sure S17 is ok with khakis or dress navy pants with shirt & tie for graduation–that’s what his brother S15 wore. I’d even live with a polo shirt if he insisted… He’s also pretty casual-- gym or cargo shorts with t-shirts/hoodies to school, but he will wear collars and buttons when pressed… He’s loving his new MSU 2021 wear–I can hardly wash it fast enough.
@Fishnlines29 I’m sorry about the accident, but hopefully D isn’t sore anymore, and got her 1st one done without much harm. Both my guys have had small accidents already. S15 was turning off our road because the road was blocked by a previous accident, and ran off the side of the road onto the guide wire for a power pole… He was fine, but tore the front bumper on his car. S17 was driving into the city for a job shadow, and there was fresh snow, one way streets, and lots of traffic. He got caught in an intersection when the light turned red, and got side swiped–the drivers side was bashed up and the front driver wheel was bent–again, he was fine, but shaken up, the car was old, so it was totalled. I’m glad they’re both through the 1st accident and none the worse for wear. And they’re both back to confidently driving again–S17 has even driven downtown again…
I think he’s just over half done with IB/AP exams. Last week wasn’t as bad as he expected with English and Bio. But today was rough. He doesn’t think he did well on AP Calc (not surprising), but thought the 1st part of IB History was fine. History is his “thing” so he’s not stressed and can just write and answer. After his last big exams next week, he’s pretty much coasting through until graduation in mid-June.
My kid called today to say that she and nearly all of her classmates were ‘blindsided’ by a major portion of the AP Calc exam. It was apparently pretty bad, by their report. She has had an A or A- in the class all year, and will have to take Calc next year in college anyhow, so the AP exam isn’t too big a deal… If her school didn’t require all kids in the course to take the exam, I would have told her to skip it. Wondering what others thought of the exam.
The kids here usually wear shorts and t-shirts under their caps and gowns. My D wore spiked heels with her shorts because her gown was mis-ordered and was too long.
Do the kids at your school decorate their caps?
The biggest “scandal” here is changing the colors. Boys and girls used to wear different colors, now they are going to wear the same because of transgender students. I don’t care either way but some people got really bent out of shape about it…
No cap or gown for us… D’s school requires white dresses for graduation, very specific style guidelines, and dress and shoes must be approved by Dean of Students a month in advance of graduation… We were thrilled to find her dress on our first shopping attempt. It didn’t even need alterations!
Needless to say, D looks forward to college and the absence of a strict dress code!
They expect the kids to dress “nice” underneath the cap and gown. Dress pants/skirt & shirt with collar or a dress. But not too dressy. It’s not prom and they ask the girls NOT to wear high heals because the stage setup isn’t designed well for anyone with spikes. And your gown covers most of the outfit up. Although many choose to ignore it.
Our kids have worn the same color for years. And I think they should. Irregardless of transgender kids, there is no reason we are segregating the young men & women in this way. Their sex has nothing to do with their education. I remember being pissed in H.S that I had to wear a white gown, instead of the nice solid green the men got to wear.
@cameo43 I heard this about AB Calc from other places. My son took the AB test last year and it wasn’t a big deal for him. Curious if any of his friends took it this year and what he will have to say about it tomorrow.
I think the school requests nice attire under the gowns but it’ll be a battle here. Son has decided that his track gear should be acceptable anywhere and with the gown covering it I’m not sure I really care but we’ll see how that day goes.
Son didn’t think the AP calc exam was too bad. They had just completed a practice exam in class and he said the MC sections were similar to the practice exam. Some students on the AP calc section of this forum thought questions were worded strangely but son said that’s how he’s always seen them. Maybe his teacher has a clue or he totally bombed the test and just has no idea? Anythings possible
Forgot to answer about decorating the cap & gowns.
No decorating of the cap & gowns. Specifically not allow. I don’t know why it seems like a fun tradition. Much better than looking at sea of exactly the same hat. Our graduation is in a basketball stadium and the parents sit above the students who sit on the floor.
Do your kids get to sit with their friends or in alphabetical order. I always assumed it was alphabetical. But our H.S. have given up on that. Lets them sit with friends, each students holds onto a card which has their name & info on it for the administrator to read. More accurate than trying to read from a list.
I looked at my son’t portal. While he’s grades aren that good… a few too many C’s for my liking. He will graduate from college & keep his spot in university at his current GPA. With 3 weeks left to go and half his classes (the AP’s) essentially done I don’t think he can really screw up his grades unless he doesn’t show up for the finals in the two classes that have them, or doesn’t show up for his final band performance. He tests well so is likely to do well in both his Government & English final exams without a lot of studying. English looks like a C+ now… but it’s likely to climb back to a solid B just by his finishing an assignment he got an extension on.
I’m so frustrated with his Government grade. Same old, same old… A’s on test and a D in homework/classwork and thus only a C+ in the class. He knows the material just doesn’t turn in or do a bunch of the seat work/classwork. I sure hope that the style of grading classes is better for him at university.
@curiositycat333 at least you’ve been brave enough to check grades. Son is basically done here. Senior trip is tomorrow (which he refused to attend because it’s just a bowling trip) and then Friday they go through the motions. I get a weekly e-mail with his grades and late/missing assignments and so far they’ve been pretty good and few missing assignments (whew!) so hopefully not much has changed this week.
Here they are forced to sit alphabetically. I honestly have no idea if they can decorate caps or not because neither of my boys would do it. We have a similar arrangement as @curiositycat333 with kids on the basketball floor and parents in the stands. We do get 2 tickets per family for floor seats but I’ll sit with my parents, etc.
Our HS grad ceremonies are a little too formal considering they’re held in the gym 
Each student is given 6 tickets for the gym & other guests sit in the auditorium & watch it remotely (those seats are more comfy, but S17 said I can’t sit there Students were told that decorating caps is not allowed … “don’t write/tape anything on the top of your cap–it’s a mortarboard, not a billboard”. Girls wear dresses, boys wear dress shirt/tie/pants/shoes, & students sit alphabetically.
S17 doesn’t know if he wants a family/friends grad party. Grad is 1 month away, so I told him he has until Memorial Day weekend to decide. Last year he was invited to 2 parties on the same day, so I’m hoping other kids invite him to parties so I don’t have to throw one
S17 has taken 3 AP’s so far – Eng Lit, US Gov’t, & Music Theory. Music Theory lasted 5 hours because each student had to sing for the proctor – jeez. Tomorrow is the last one – Comparative Gov’t. Grades are looking good so far this year, but there has always been one C on every report card since middle school 
S17’s not going to prom; no surprise there. All HS Seniors in the County go to Kings Dominion for their senior trip. S17 wants to go to Beach Week with friends, but hasn’t committed yet. I’d like to plan a Beach Month after S17 leaves for college :))
Hope your D is doing better, @Fishnlines29! As I PM’d you, let me know if you need help. I’ve been in the claims business for 30+ years.
Nice to catch up on a few days’ posts. S17 had his Prom and Thespian Banquet, this past weekend. He LOVES to dress up, as long as it’s only for special occasions. He was thrilled that his GF picked a navy blue dress, so he would wear the red jacket he has his eye on at the tux shop. It had black trim on the lapels and with black slacks and bow tie, and black & metal vintage sunglasses, he looked like he was ready to attend a Dean Martin concert in Vegas circa 1961! His GF was stunning in her dress, and they had a blast. Large groups often rent party buses here. But DS just took pics with all his friends, and decided to forego the bus, to have a nice romantic dinner w/ just the 2 of them. They drove themselves to the brand new US Bank Stadium, where Prom was held in a banquet area adjacent to the row of fancy Sky Boxes. Wish I could have chaperoned the dance, but I was already helping at his friend’s house, where the after-party took place, and I didn’t want S to feel like I was following him and his GF around all night. Prom is mostly seniors, so there are usually fewer problems than the other dances, like homecoming, when students from all the grade levels attend.
Kids were pretty pooped by the time they got to the after-party, and most just eat pizza and snacks, and lay around, talking. It was a gorgeous evening so girls didn’t have to worry about bringing along a coat, and boys got to keep their jackets. We don’t always get this lucky with Prom weather in this part of the country! Most of the 50+ kids left the after-party before the 2 am ending. Also, my friends who were hosting, made it clear that no alcohol would be allowed, so that kept some kids from the original large group away. Weekend ended with S being awarded his final acting award for his MS and HS career, and although he love band and choir, he very well might be auditioning for a play or musical when he gets to St Olaf. :-"
The kids decorate only the caps, not the gowns, and not all choose to do so. Ironically, out of 5 kids, this is only my second time attending graduation. Oldest son went to an alternative HS where the 20 odd kids graduated from the Tilles Center, lol! D attended her graduation. Middle son decided that he of the 760 verbal SAT and 36 English ACT was going to blow off his final English HW so he failed and didn’t get to walk. After summer school, we attended a small ceremony where middle son was the only student whose native language was English. Third son could have walked but didn’t want to.
Like @curiositycat333 , the kids can choose who to sit with and are given cards to write their names on. They used to do a girl row and then a boy row and it looked nice with the two color gowns. Now that everyone wears the same, I don’t know if they will still do alternating gender rows. At the prom, they hand up cards as well so they can be announced. Middle son wrote “James Bond” on his card.
@NolaCAR, @rienrah, @rosered55 - Thank you for sharing all the the tips about the bus (yay for public transportation!), the lovely hotels in Beloit, and the tip about Thanksgiving break being so short, given the week in October for fall break. I will look into Southwest - that makes a lot of sense with such a short travel window. And yes, Really liked the tips,about IKEA and B,B+B - I think it makes so much sense to fly, and pick up what CoyoteSon needs out there!
@eandesmom-Congrats on the Rotary - every little bit helps!, and I bet E1 is excited about having a roommate assigned already.
@cameo43 - yes - CoyoteSon also mentioned that there were two of those free response problems that were trouble - the last problem confused him so much that he just left it blank because he didn’t think he could figure it out (ugh - will have to work on test taking techniques for college - can’t earn even a point of partial credit if you leave it blank!).
And everyone else - thanks for sharing graduation sartorial plans and prom/party stories…
@cameo43 That is true about test taking that you can’t earn even a point of partial credit if you leave it blank But I’d consider leaving it blank to come back to if you have more time & don’t have a clue a good test strategy. Better to get the problems you DO know correct that waste time figuring out a problem you have no clue about. And if you leave it blank it’s often easier to notice that you should come back to it.
Talked with my son about the grades in English. He said he talked with his English teacher and she tells him he’s done enough to pass English no matter what he does at this point. And we have a 3+ weeks left of school. Given that passing is a D and that’s not good enough for college. He needs to not drop the ball. Grade currently stand at a C+ but was an B+ only a week ago. He should be able to easily pull it back up to a B and it would be better for making sure his GPA is in the range for not being recinded. I wish she hadn’t told him that. He does still have 2 essays to finish and he can finish this project she only gave him 1/2 the points for.
@CoyoteMom the roommate isn’t actually assigned. He’s connected with a kid on the admitted students FB page and the other boy asked him to be roommates. According to S17, the student is the gay version of himself. Which was a pretty cute comment I thought. The boy did tell S after he’d asked him to make sure it wasn’t an issue. S could care less, total non issue. That said, it’s just a request they make (as I understand it) when filling out the housing contract. They’d both already requested the same LLC (sustainability) but we won’t see actual housing stuff until July I think, they do it after all the kids are registered for classes.
I guess we will know more once we see the actual paperwork and process, fairly sure they will go over it at orientation. I’m not sure if the roomie is going to the same session as S17 but he does have the same major (or same college at least).
S17 would prefer a suite over the standard so we will see if that’s what this kid wants too, it is a bit more $$ but not awful.
Today is the last day of school for my son! He will be working at school all next week and has to return Wednesday for Senior breakfast and graduation practice but as of today high school is officially DONE! <:-P
Cute story about your S, @eandesmom! Cool that he’s already connected with a future roommate!
Congratulations, @smakl70 and S!
Graduation, Senior Party and our own 2-family grad party are all in the planning stages, as we have about 3 weeks left! Here how Grad time goes down in our neck of the woods:
Senior are asked to wear nice but not formal clothes beneath their gowns. Nothing allowed on the mortar boards. Kids have to sit alphabetically, but I like the idea of sitting with friends. All our seniors carry a card with their name on it, anyway. Main issue is that our class sizes are HUGE. Nearly 680 for 2017, so the ceremony is VERY long. And since it’s such a large group, the ceremony can’t be at the school - no place large enough. So we all trek to the U of MN and have it in their hockey arena, which holds about 9,000 people, so no tickets are required. Even with some of kids’ families bringing the entire extended family we don’t come close to filling the place. 2 students are chosen from those to audition, to present graduation speeches, vs. it being the top academic students. Makes for more interesting stories and speeches, so I like it. BUT the poor kids whose last names are at the end of the alphabet! The arena is more than 1/2 empty by the time the ceremony gets to their name! Parents jump in their cars, to head back to school to get into their volunteer position for the big, all night Sr Party. Graduates are given snacks and use a large drawstring plastic bag to exchange their fancy grad clothes for comfy clothes. Then they are herded onto buses, and driven around town, until the parents who are volunteering make it back to the school. It goes from 10 pm to 5 am. It’s a very strict lock-in, and kids can only leave school if a parent is picks them us, even at the end, at 5 am.
Most of the seniors sign up and participate in the Sr Party, for the party, which parent volunteers spend about 8 months planning and executing. I know it sounds crazy, and if you could see everything that the parents create, you’d REALLY think we are crazy, but it’s a way to gather all the seniors for one last party together, vs breaking up into a bunch of smaller parties, where some kids will feel left out. And it for safety reasons. We work with the police and a team of parent monitors to (try to) make sure there are no drugs or alcohol at the party. Buses drop the kids off, and parents show up at 5 am to pick the kids up. With my S16 I volunteered most of the night, and it was nice to see the wide diversity of kid types at our HS having fun. The kids DO really have a great time. Since S17 is my last one, I am more involved with the planning and fundraising this year, and it’s been a very fun, well-organized group of parents. It’s been great to meet new people, even now, as our years as HS parents winds down!
After all the graduation events and parties are over, DH and I will be switching gears to being College kid parents, and onto to the “adventure” of trying to figure out how to pay for both of them at the same time, and getting creative with low cost ways to enjoy empty-nester-hood!