@Mar789 wow! How on earth do your kids do so many ECs? Our D21 is a ballerina and has class or rehearsal for about 30 hours a week. She has little to no time for anything else since homework is 3-4 hours per night! Our S19 is the same with XC/track. It’s time intensive. He has two other ECs that take less than two hours per week but, as a junior with four APs, he has no time for anything else.
By study do you mean doing many practice tests or actually studying math/verbal material? My twins will take PSAT next year as Sophomores so we haven’t even entered the standardized test zone yet. Any tips are helpful. Thanks.
@homerdog Wow that is a lot of time for dance!! My daughter dances 6 hours a week. So it’s not too time consuming. The track and school play rehearsal is definitely a juggling act for my son. My daughter is learning to juggle dance with play rehearsal as well. Clubs only meet once a week so that’s not too bad and Scouts meet once a week but with many weekend activities. It’s definitely a juggling act but somehow it all works out.
@Mar789 ah. I get it. 
Still impressive. Our theater kids have rehearsal at the same time that the sports kids have practice. Kids would never be able to do both. In fact, for most of our sports teams, you’re not even allowed to miss practice for anything other than illness or a family emergency. Three unexcused absences and you’re off the team! That means no other clubs that meet after school are an option and almost all clubs meet after school. It’s a bummer.
@homerdog That is a bummer. Sports meet after school and play practice doesn’t start until 6:00 so it is doable for students to do both. As far as missing practice I think if someone misses the practice the day before a meet they will not be permitted to participate in that meet. Our high school just switched to a block schedule with a common lunch. Many clubs meet during lunchtime which is great for the kids with after school activities.
Doing both club & sports has also been D21 delimma as well. She’s is NOT an athlete so was going to do Track but since practice isn’t held at her school and she has 2 after school clubs (Math team and Art club) so we’ve decided to forgo track this year and see how her team/clubs pan out. She also will be on a premed track in college… well for now. I know how things can change. She’s been a Girl Scout for 8yrs and was just awarded her Silver Star! She works with Autistic youth and young adults (for last 2yrs and assisted with putting a sustainable program in place for them) and will continue thru HS. She loves it. Now waiting to see how she did this semester. Final grades won’t be posted until two weeks from now. So hopefully she keeps all her A’s.
D21 is turning 15 today. She is upset that it is on a weekend so she has to wait until Monday to get her permit - that means she won’t get her license on her 16th birthday. Oh well - she will survive! She passed the on;one tests so all she has to do now is show up at the DMV and pass the eye test and get her picture taken.
We go back to school Monday - I am sure it is going to be a hard transition back into the early morning wake ups. Especially since she had 4 of her friends sleep over last night and they are staying again tonight - she will be exhausted by Sunday night!
I know from S18’s applications that some colleges recommend/require 3 years of foreign language but do you know if that means reaching level 3 or 3 years in HS? S21 started his language in middle school so is in level 2 already. He doesn’t love it and I am wondering if he completes level 3 sophomore year, would that be enough? His HS only requires 2 yrs of language and the school has some great electives in History and English which he prefers.
I always thought kids really need four years of foreign language as well as four years of English, math, and science. Three or four years of social studies is usually fine. That’s what looks best. It’s early. We don’t know where the kids want to apply so maybe it’s best to plan on that for now and it can be adjusted when choosing senior year classes (i.e. Dropping foreign language then).
i would ask your guidance counselor. Our S19 will have studied French through senior year. Started in French 2 freshman year and will take AP French next year. Our D21 will do the same. Do they love it? Not really. But it’s what’s done by the top 20 percent of kids at their school So, one, it keeps them competitive. Two, we think it’s important for them to learn another language. And, three, for the schools S19 is applying to, he will need a 4 or a 5 on the exam in order to not take foreign language in college. This gives him options. He can test out or continue if he likes when he gets there.
My dd18 took Latin I in 8th grade that counted for 1 year of the four so this year her senior year not taking a language. Dd21 taking the same track.
@burghdad I think that’s pretty typical too. By junior year, you have an idea of colleges and/or majors and you can decide what to do for senior year. You want to be careful not to gap yourself though. Lots of kids have to take FL placement tests (depending on their major) once they get to college and they are rusty if they didn’t take FL senior year. If FL is required by the college and the student isn’t interested in languages, it’s probably best to figure out how they can pass out of the requirement instead of having to take a few semesters once they are off at school.
My D19 is only doing 3 years of French. She really hates it and has taken advanced classes in so many other subjects I am not going to push it. D21 is in Spanish 1 and has an A but doesn’t like it so far (I think it is more because of the other kids in class than the actual class), but if she hates language as much as D19 I will only make her go through level 3 as well. I keep trying to encourage her though because we live in Fl and Spanish would be a huge help in the future! Our school only requires 2 years of language but I told the kids our family requires 3 years. :))
D21 got her permit today. Her older sister is almost 17 and still doesn’t have her license and never wants to practice driving. This one has already driven almost an hour today! It’s pretty stressful because I have a huge SUV but I guess she has to get used to it sometime! She already asked if she could drive her older sister to school tomorrow!
Hello all, D’s butt is dragging on the this first day back. She is finishing homework then going to bed before 7:30… =P~ (
I haven’t posted in a bit. We are ~10 miles from the debris flows in Montecito and are safe.
But, about 1/4 of the students at DS17’s school live in either the flood area or south of there so that they haven’t been able to get to school from Tuesday on. The same is true with the teachers, a number of whom commute from Ventura. (The freeway and all the roads are closed. Amtrak just started running again, and they are using whale watching boats to ferry critical commuters like hopital personnel.)
So far, we only know of friends of friends who have died, but we likely have friends who lost their homes. DS21 has not been that worried about his friends, so we are trying to not seem overly curious about whether he has contact with all of them by social media. DH has gotten “checked in safe” messages from all his trail running friends who live in that area.
Finals are next week, so the HS teachers decided yesterday that they will each either “1.Cancel the final exam and replace the exams with classroom learning activities that will not negatively affect student grades if they are absent due to natural disaster.
Or 2.Administer a final exam, but the grade will be applied only if it will positively impact the student’s overall grade.”
He says his AP Physics 1 teacher was already thinking of having the final but not counting it if it would bring the grade down. I agree that it’s important to at least study for and take a comprehensive test in an AP class, since the AP test doesn’t get moved just because you have missed 7 days of the year due to fire and for some a week or more due to flood.
He’ll probably also have a math final, but probably just projects for English, Art, and Spanish.
Welcome @Mar789 and anyone else who has joined recently!
@momtogkc From what I’ve read here on CC, I think that 3 years of foreign language means reached level 3. DS17 took 4 years with the last being junior year. The UC system requires 2 years and strongly recommends 3 years, so I think 4 years is not at all universally required. I would check the colleges your D’s might apply to. DS17 ended up at a college that doesn’t even require any foreign language.
How old is your D21 to have gotten a permit already? My S21 wants to drive as soon as possible…also unlike his older brother, who got his license at least a year late. But, he’s 14 now, and I’m not looking forward to him driving. He’s a daredevil and not the “rule following” type.
Prayers. I don’t even know what to say. So devastating.
@Ynotgo I am so glad to hear you guys are safe - must be so scary! I am impressed you aren’t bugging S about his friends. I am so nosy, D has a friend who live in St. Thomas and I bugged her about him every day after the hurricane. “Have you heard anything from friend yet? Anything? Nothing on snap chat? Instagram?!” She must have been mildly annoyed with me but she loves him and knows I do too so she understood.
D21 just turned 15. In FL you have to be 15 to get your permit and 16 to get your license. She has already driven (just around the neighborhood so far) every day and we have only had one fight, not too bad. I have a huge 3 row SUV so it is not easy for her to drive, she is having a hard time figuring out how far over she is on the road. I may have had mild heart attack when I thought she was going to hit a mailbox! :))
@Ynotgo, adding my good wishes for the safety of your friends and neighbors to those above. We have been devastated to hear about the losses.
@momma2018, my two older kids also had language in middle school and took three years in high school before taking the Standard Level IB test for their language. Both were accepted to many colleges, so I don’t think you need four years of language in high school. If you’ve taken language and max out, you aren’t expected to take more. In my kids’ case, they could have taken another year: both took Standard Level language exams, as opposed to Higher Level language exams (you have to have at least two SL exams and most students have three), so each could have taken an extra year of language. Instead, they chose Higher Level courses that suited their academic interests in science and math. It wasn’t an issue for any college. I wouldn’t worry about it.
@Ynotgo, sending positive vibes your way. Regarding the question of foreign language, based on my experience with S18, 3 years of foreign language is enough for all but the elite schools. My D21 started this year in honors French II and will take AP as as junior. She’s already planning what elective she’ll be able to take senior year!
@Ynotgo best wishes to your family and community. Been to that area and i always thought it is one of the most beautiful places in California.
Long term lurker here. Looking forward to the discussion here as my oldest started high school this year so I am navigating this process for the first time. I feel so clueless when I read these boards when comes to the PSAT, summer programs, ECs etc.
My S21 just completed his first semester at a large public high school. He was able to finish the Fall semester with a 4.0 gpa (4.5 weighted) but just barely. He is taking 3 honors classes (history, geometry and english) and has no other ECs outside of basketball. I always wonder how kids on these boards are able to have so many incredible ECs while maintaining their academic records.
My wife and I are recovering Dragon parents. S21 attended a magnet school for junior high. There I was constantly pushing my son to the point my wife would joke I was just not helicopter dad I was a “drone dad” hence the name. I am trying to dial that back while finding a healthy balance. Anyone else feeling the same?
@dronedad, Welcome and yes, The struggle is real!