<p>@jjkmom, most students in my son’s HS take physics in 9th grade. The course being offered is similar to the Physics First program, as described here: <a href=“Physics First - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics_First</a> . They offer both regular and honors courses. I think the kids that struggle with math take bio in 9th grade. Otherwise, the sequence is physics, bio, chem, then one or more of the AP sciences. </p>
<p>And I think the way his school labels the language courses is misleading–French 3/4 is actually second year French! </p>
<p>@bookgeek mom, our HS science starts from 9: Biology, 10: Chem & AP Biology, 11: Physics & AP Chemistry, then final senior year with AP Physics & Computer science. My DD math track is 9: Algebra 2/trigonometry H, 10: Math analysis / Calculus A, 11: Calculus BC then final year Multi-variable Calculus … but I heard some don’t suggest kids to do complex math in HS unless kids want to go into science and engineering fields. My DD is good with those subjects but she refuses to have future career in those areas which made me upset that she didn’t even have open mind and give herself more options. I wonder if anyone have kids like mine who doesn’t know what he/she wants to be or already have kids know exactly what they want to be in the future or already work hard toward a major in college.</p>
<p>Aack - I can’t believe this thread is already 7 pages long & I just found it! </p>
<p>Hi everyone - I have a D1, class of 2014, who is almost at a decision on her college, so time to start thinking of D2, class of 2018. I recognize a couple of familiar “faces” from the 2014 thread. </p>
<p>My D2 is a force of nature - an extreme extrovert in a family of introverts. She has an opinion on everything & must express it at all times. She’s also sweet, generous & smart as a whip. One of those kids who drives us INSANE at home but teachers will tell us that she is perfectly behaved in class. She and my DH butt heads constantly, with mom as mediator. Sigh…</p>
<p>So I look forward to having a community to share her HS years with & I look forward to getting to know each of you and your kids over the next few years.</p>
<p>Welcome, @GertrudeMcFuzz mom, I am looking forward to learn from your experiences with your D2 since she sounded closer to my D2 who will be going to middle school. My D1, class of 2018, doesn’t know what she wants to do yet, she is introvert and shy when she is outside but fun and crazy at home. but my D2, class of 2020, is more like your D2, so it will be interesting to learn more about how you are going to guide her for the next 4 years. My D1 is a good student but basically against any future career advices we provide to her, we just cant figure out what interests her. </p>
<p>Welcome GertrudeMcFuzz! Good to see you again. My Class of '14 DS is gathering up his options as well. Happy to be taking this second trip with you.</p>
<p>My DD’14 is a runner - and the girls on the H.S. cross country team have already friended her on the social networks. They sent her a team shirt and she will start training with them over the summer. It is all happening so fast.</p>
<p>Welcome, @GertrudeMcFuzz mom, I am looking forward to learn from your experiences with your D2 since she sounded closer to my D2 who will be going to middle school. My D1, class of 2018, doesn’t know what she wants to do yet, she is introvert and shy when she is outside but fun and crazy at home. but my D2, class of 2020, is more like your D2, so it will be interesting to learn more about how you are going to guide her for the next 4 years. My D1 is a good student but basically against any future career advices we provide to her, we just cant figure out what interests her. </p>
<p>Hi there, @GertrudeMcFuzz and @Glido. Fellow 2014’er here to repeat the ride with you guys. DD18 met with her prospective HS basketball coach yesterday and is considering summer league with them. But her HS choices are still in limbo so can’t commit to anything just yet. DS14 is off to an admitted students event with DH today and tomorrow where he will meet with his prospective coach, sit in on classes, stay overnight with a student, etc.</p>
<p>Welcome Gertrude! Good luck to your D1 and to Gliddo’s S on the college decisions (and to any other parents who are waiting on the last decision letters today). I went through that last year with S’13 and am very happy to have a few years off before decision anxiety comes along for S’18 (enough to think about for HS decisions this year).</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome everyone - looks like a good group is shaping up here. </p>
<p>@glido and @2014novamom - it is interesting to have two that are four years apart. We have two graduations in June (on the same day), then will have two freshmen - one in HS, one in college. Both will be back to the bottom of the heap so to speak, and will climb in parallel through the next four years. So glad i have these threads to chat on so i don’t drive them crazy!</p>
<p>D1 was deeply involved in music (choir) throughout middle and high school and is going off to major in Vocal Performance in college. D2 has not found something she is so passionate about. She plays softball (badly) but isn’t that into it. She did have success at her school’s Science Olympiad this year, getting a first place in the county & moving on to the State competition next weekend. So maybe she’ll keep up with that. She has signed up for Drama as her freshman year elective & boy is that appropriate - maybe it will stick!</p>
<p>Hello all, I’m fairly new to the site, but “DH” to somebody already here (see if you can figure out who)…</p>
<p>Regarding the AP bio conversation that started back in January - I teach the class at the public HS where I work, and I have had two students try taking the AP course without taking high school level biology first - one sophomore, one freshman. The sophomore struggled, got middle grades (B’s and C’s) and didn’t do well on the AP exam - and that was before they revised the AP bio exam in 2013 and made it significantly harder to get a 4 or 5. The freshman is taking the course this year and has done better (A’s and B’s), and we don’t know about exam result yet. As a result of this experience, my generic advice is take the honors biology course first. That being said, exceptional students are exactly that - exceptional. If you really think your kid is capable of skipping straight to AP bio, then try a simple experiment - get an AP bio test prep guide, have your kid take a practice exam, and see how they do. If they already have the knowledge base to do fairly well, then perhaps going straight to the AP class could work for you. I’d also ask your child’s current science teacher for advice about this, because they’ll know your kid’s strengths and weaknesses in science better than anyone (hopefully!). Also remember one last thing - parents rule. I don’t know how much this plays at private schools, but at public high schools if the parent is willing to make enough noise, you can get your kid enrolled in any class you want. This is especially true here in California, where we have open enrollment laws - hence I have a freshman in my AP bio class. :)</p>
<p>Regarding math class choices, and common core:
In California, the common core program being rolled out is that math is now all “integrated math” - that means that your old algebra, geometry,and trig classes are being shuffled up and re-dealt as integrated math 1, 2, and 3, taken in 9th, 10th, and 11th grade. In my district, this change is happening <em>immediately</em>, and teachers are going to be teaching math classes in Fall '14 for which they do not have textbooks. Yeesh. Only after finishing the complete series will a student be able to move on to a pre-calculus class… and then when do you take calculus? While this makes it look like students won’t get to calc before they graduate high school, the plan is to have two points in the process - mid 7th grade and mid-10th, I think - where exceptional students can be placed into an accelerated class that will zip forward through a year and a half of math in one semester, putting calculus back within reach. I have no idea how well this will work - those accelerated semester courses sound like a potential pitfall where students could get very lost, and once students get lost in math, they rarely get un-lost. To say the least, I am concerned. Fortunately my 2018 D2 is already completing geometry in 8th grade, so she will be minimally impacted by this - but being able to complete geometry at her age may be disappearing in the state very soon.</p>
<p>And as a HS science teacher, my deepest fear is that they’re thinking about doing the same thing with high school biology, chemistry, and physics. Yikes.</p>
<p>Welcome @TitanAPBioTchr mom, and so glad to know you are ap biology teacher in California! With the recent common core, our HS had to change the prerequisites for courses, especially for math and science. My 2018 DD1 also will finish geometry in 8th grade and will start Algebra 2/trigonometry H and Biology H for the 9th grade. But I also have 2020 DD2 and 2022 DS that will need to adapt the changes. I am concerned because it seem like this common core standard was forced upon the public education and didn’t get much buy-in from the teachers. I just need to trust school, teachers and politicians in this case…</p>
<p>Start the countdown everyone - four years from today our kids will have their college acceptances/rejections in hand & will begin the process of deciding among them. </p>
<p>I saw a very interesting post on another thread that demonstrated just how very few of even the tippy top kids make it into an ivy or equivalent. There are simply far far more qualified applicants than spots in these institutions. So if you have a D or S who thinks they are ivy material, it might be wise over the next few years to hunt down those other colleges that are just as wonderful, but not so highly competitive, & get your kids excited about those. </p>
<p>I have to add that I think that may be a bit of a struggle for us, as D2 usually establishes a strong opinion based on the barest minimum of information. I have already dangled the possibility of University of Central Florida to her, which offers a full ride plus other goodies to top students AND is in Orlando, Fl right next to Disneyworld, and she dismissed it with “too many bugs”. It is a bit early for these conversations I suppose!</p>
<p>Indeed - those four years in high school go much faster than you expect. </p>
<p>And what you say about how very many “qualified” students there are for the very few spots that exist at the very tippy-top schools (what were referred to as super-reaches or even the HMFRers by some the parents on the Class of 2013 thread) is very true. As an example, Duke accepted 2,697 students out of an applicant pool of 29,300 during regular decision this year (797 were accepted during early decision out of 3,180 applicants) to fill an expected class of 1,700 (<a href=“http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2014/03/27/duke-accepts-2697-applicants-class-2018”>http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2014/03/27/duke-accepts-2697-applicants-class-2018</a>) . I saw an estimate that approximately 5,000 of the applicants were valedictorians. Many of the students not offered admission were more than qualified and I imagine would have done well. There are simply not enough beds and that’s true of all those very competitive schools. </p>
<p>So, the idea of finding multiple schools that fit the bill for your kids (some competitive, some less competitive, and maybe some in the middle) seems pretty smart. The saying I see over and over hear on CC is “love thy safety” and it’s good advice.</p>
<p>But for now, we’ll encourage S’18 to focus on having fun with the last year of middle school and to think about what he wants to get involved in next year in high school.</p>
<p>Hi everyone. D1 is in class of 2015 and I have enjoyed that thread the last few years. S1 is my 2018er, and a typical middle child. Not nearly as driven as D1, and has been in her shadow academically. But a very smart, exceptional kid in his own right. His HS starts in 8th grade, so he has spent this year getting used to the school and the expectations of the teachers. Started out rough. Had always been a mostly A’s and a few B’s kid in middle school, then everything was coming up B’s and C’s despite working his butt off til 11pm every night. Finally time to acknowledge his ADD issues and try medication. Huge effect. Grades shot up, seems happier and more confident. Last quarter he missed all A’s by 2 points in an accelerated curriculum. That said, we are nervous about pushing him too much next year. I did advocate to place him in honors Geometry, but decided to leave him in regular Bio I. His schedule next year is Geometry H, Bio I, English II, French I H, Western Civ, Sacred Scriptures and Latin II. Should be a fun ride for the next 4 years!</p>
<p>DD’18’s last middle school home track meet today - can’t believe how much she grew up! She is very excited about startng H.S. next year. She already knows most of her classes, but not math placement yet - she has to take a placement test in a week. She is our 3rd to go to H.S. - they are each very different.</p>
<p>@GertrudeMcFuzz mom, you mentioned that you introduced UCF to your DD, and its a school offering full ride to top students. I don’t know how far do u live from FL? Is distance something we should consider for our DS? I live in CA, and know many friends who have kids go to UCs so they can be close to home; also see kids study Ivy or Out of states find jobs or in relationships and not return back to home state. Should we be thinking about that? DD1 is my first child and she wants to go to UCLA the only school she visited, but my family and friends encourage us to think about Ivys which are all far away from home. I know I will be busy with 2020 DD2 and 2022 DS, but still debate on whether we should consider schools out of States with good offers. $$ is defiantly a factor we need to consider since we have 3 kids.</p>
<p>@vistajay mom, welcome. I’m glad to know you find a way to help your DS with his ADD, but wow, he has tough courses, two level 2 foreign languages (French2 and Latin2!) sounds hard…I know Foreign languages are requirements for high school and colleges, but sometimes I wonder how many people actually use them. My DH took French back in HS, he doesn’t remember anything and suggest my DS to either take Mandrin or Spanish based on number of people spoke, but my DD is interested in learning Korean (love dramas) or Japanese (comics or cartoon) and we don’t know how to help or advise her. My DD1 alllso had couple courses missed A by less than 1% (89.xx%) but will stay with her muddle school record. DD will start HS after Sept laborious day.</p>