My D21 started HS last week - she was at a grade 6-12 school and left for a different one. So she left some good friends behind, but so far the transition has been smooth and she loves her teachers!
APs aren’t available until sophomore year.
@chippedtoof Exactly! These scheduling issues are time-sensitive and dealing directly with an immature freshman may not be the best course of action on something as critical as the course list/schedule. We have a convoluted block schedule that complicates things and even most parents are confused by it.
S21 is laid back and not very assertive. He needs more coaching from us to get there and the school needs to understand that not every 15 yr old is going to have a grasp on the Importance of getting their preferred classes and the urgency of making decisions before the options disappear.
Welcome all new comers.
School starts Monday here. Last week, the day after open house, all the parents and kids taking HGAP were strongly encouraged to go to a meeting with the APHG teachers…Basically they wanted to parents and kids to understand how much work is involved and organization is required. They also said a student can drop down in the first 6 weeks if they fill they are over their head.
D21 is taking the SAT right now, she wanted to take it. She likes to compete with herself, wants it to compare to her previous year’s exam.
No pressure as it means nothing.
We are not shooting for any selective schools, goal is auto merit for us.
Welcome @Teacher3 @CatBee @palm715 and any other new folks!
Hope his schedule is sorted out soon @CatBee!
DS21 started high school last Monday while DS17 and I were on an eclipse trip. I was sorry to miss his first day(s) of school, but happy that he is being so independent about waking up on time and getting himself home via crosstown bus.
We only had ~60% eclipse here–DS21 was lucky to have physics class during maximum eclipse. Their class only had 3 solar glasses between the kids (including the ones I sent), but they shared and were one of the few classes that went outside.
He has really improved in his interest in academics. He had grade and attendance problems in 7th and 8th until we dealt with issues related to him being transgender. Things seem good now. Fingers crossed! I have to work on his official name change paperwork this fall, but the school has been good about using his new name on everything.
His math class was standing-room-only with 45 students this week. They are adding a section, so he expects his schedule will change a bit next week. (It is Math II, Math III and Precalculus compressed into 2 years.)
We have a back-to-school event for his art academy next week, but the event where parents go to each class for a few minutes isn’t until mid-September.
@BingeWatcher So jealous your D want stop take the SAT - I am having a hard time getting my D19 to want to take it! 
D21 is doing well in school so far. We are taking D19 on a college tour up north next month and decided to let the other kids come along. D21 really wanted to see the schools as well so she will come on the tours with us while S23 and DH wander around town.
@Ynotgo Your comment about independence struck a chord as my S21 has stepped it up a notch as well. I really like it when they surprise me in such a good way 
Ours has been setting alarms, scheduling his study time (and managed to do well on his first high school quiz), and coordinating with his nearby friends on “commuting” to school together. We had a talk last night and he decided to minimize any changes to his schedule, so it was good to see he’s been thinking about that as well without our prompting. Fingers crossed is right
Hi, just became a member, looks like there is a lot of information and help here and I look forward to this journey! My son is in 9th grade and his course load is –
English Honors
Pre-Calculus
Pre-AP World History
Earth Science Honors
P.E
Band - percussion
Spanish 3
Hi all, been trolling cc for a bit and am finally diving in! My S21 starts school next week and we just got his schedule today. Happy with the teachers and the way the classes are lining up. Also have D18 who has 4 tough APs on her plate. Enjoying this weekend before freshman and senior year hits.
Looking forward the hanging out with you all here!
Welcome, @apaj and @Veronica02!
Welcome, @apaj and @Veronica02. Hoping all your kiddos have a great year!
Huge sigh of relief! First day of school and for the first time ever both kids like ALL their teachers! How insane is that?! Not surpised for D18 as she has 4 APs and those teachers tend to be the cream of the crop. But so pleasantly surprised and happy D21, he totally lucked out.
exhale
Do I have the energy to get into another Class of XX thread? 8-}
I have a freshman and a senior. To be honest, my senior has taken most of my bandwidth lately. We just submitted all her college apps, though, and now just waiting for other people to do their part. I say “we” because no matter how much people think the kids should do stuff completely on their own, they can’t and they shouldn’t. Plus some of them won’t unless prodded. So it becomes “our” journey.
Nice to see some dancers here, too. My D18 is an advanced ballet dancer and also teaches. Doesn’t want to major in dance, and to be honest I am looking forward to her being done. I will miss seeing her perform, but I will not miss the crap that goes with trying to make sure she has a life around ballet. It’s been a struggle. Oh, did I mention I have six pairs of pointe shoes to sew this week?
Anyway, enough about her, lol.
My freshman is a black belt in karate, so pretty much the opposite of her sister even though she, too, teaches at her dojo. She is not as intense, but just as focused. She has a nice balance in her life, at least right now. She will start a couple volunteering gigs next week, so we will start on the hamster wheel again.
And she will start learning to drive soon (summer birthday).
@-)
Hi @bearcatfan ! Do you think your D18 will continue to dance in any capacity in college? Our D21 is deep into ballet and we do wonder if we will have to consider dance when she looks at schools. She won’t major in ballet or any type of dance but I think she’d probably miss it if she quit entirely. If she wanted to continue, we would have to find a place where she could continue to take class and perform but with a LOT less time involved. We’ve got some time, of course. I’m already curious how that will figure itself out.
Nutcracker cast going up soon. Let the drama begin! :))
Hey @bearcatfan I’ve seen you over at the Class of 2018 thread! We have some things in common - a senior and freshman with the senior being the more intense one.
My senior has spent years playing soccer but like yours with ballet, is not interested in playing in college. She quit her club team cold last year. It became all about getting recruited and less about the joy of playing which turned her off. I think she got burned out too and agonized over balancing the time demands of sport/school/extracurriculars. When she was filling out college apps and had to assign times to her activities, she was surprised when she realized she spent and average of 10-12 hrs/wk, 50 wks/year on club soccer, for YEARS AND YEARS. She’s super happy to be free of that time commitment and I’m happy that she’s showing the maturity to focus on what’s important to her. But I do miss sitting on the sideline seeing her play…
S21 is more laid back, still getting his organizational skills together, but very capable. He’s into multiple sports but all at a recreational level. More of a generalist. He’s been flying under the radar a bit around here as a lot of focus has been on D18’s all-important junior year and now senior year. But as a freshie, he’s swimming with the big fish now so I’ve got a closer eye on him this year
@homerdog I think my DD would love to do something dance-related in college (dance team?), but it remains to be seen if she will have the time as a nursing student. I told her to audit a dance class, take a pilates class at the campus rec center, do something for stress relief. Just don’t sign up for something that will eat away at your life and the time you have available to, I don’t know, study for your future career?
@Veronica02 It was funny when we had to stop and add up all those hours for some of her applications, too. No wonder she never had time to do anything, lol. There were things she would have loved to do, but made choices. I wish I had said no to ballet more often when she was younger.
Ugh, Nutcracker. It’s honestly not a big deal here - the big deal is the spring fundraising performance - but it just adds another level of stress. My daughter already knows she’s dancing Chinese, as she has for the last three times. She’s fine with that since she is well-suited to the choreography and it is less stressful than Mirlitons, which in this production involves dancing with a stool (long story, lol).
Hi @CatBee
We are (D21) on a block schedule as well. I feel your angst about schools promoting “Self-advocacy” over parental involvement. My D21 is a very young 13-year old HS Freshman who is slightly behind her peers in social/emotional maturity. I decided I will attend any future counseling appointments with my daughter. I am the parent, I know my daughter best.
I’ll check in here too. I have a D18 and D21 just like many of you. D18 is a math whiz and diehard sports person, like me. D18 quit club soccer cold too, in between her sophomore and junior years. She had played since pre-K.
D21 is more a writer, plays club badminton and loves to sew. Badminton is a spring sport and she wants to play for her school’s team. So far, 3 weeks into her freshman year, all is well. My expectation is that D21 will not as much as the “grade machine” that D18 is. Thankfully, D21 is a hard worker too. D18 set a good example.
Like @bearcatfan I only have enough bandwidth for D18 at the moment, since we have yet to submit one college application and she still has 20-22 schools on her list. But I’ll try to visit as often as I can.
Welcome @sushiritto and @bearcatfan! Good luck with your 18ers! My daughter is a dancer but has told me she does not plan to dance in college. My guess is she’ll change her mind. I have a '13, '16, and '19 besides my '21, and so this is an “off” year. :)>-
Well, poop.
My freshman brought her school pictures home today and the envelope is empty. I called LifeTouch and they said they had no record of her pictures being ordered, despite me producing a confirmation number and proof that I paid on my Visa receipt. My older daughter’s pics are just fine.
They are reprinting the package I ordered, and mailing them to me, but it was a bummer.
Welcome to high school, kid. 8-|
D had her first 0 in bio, thank goodness for the parent auto emails .I saw her grades before her teacher handed them out, She forgot to put her name on an assignment. I told her to got talk to the teacher (Coach). He let her re-do it.
Other than that she is stressed out daily by Debate and bored with Alg 2. She is has ONE lunch friend and he seams like a lovely boy edit:
Introvert in new large school has caused tears for mom and anxiety for both