Mine has a sudden interest in learning to crochet, which I think is lovely.
She has all A’s and A- on her transcript, except a lone B+ in honors Spanish as a 9th grader so she has room to breathe for sure. She won’t let grades slide as a matter of personal pride (that B+ gnawed at her), but she is clearly relaxing a bit. And crocheting.
Herding kids together seems like a recipe for disaster.
Our school did testing of all students 48hrs before returning from break on Monday with very few positives (only 1 senior tested positive). I am curious to see how things look next week as the virus is clearly circulating in the community. Most of her class is wearing KN95 or N95 masks now, and recent studies show these to be highly effective. My only concern for possible infection is lunchtime, as it is too frigid to be outside.
My D22 is knitting. We all got knitted coasters for Christmas. 
My DD is neither knitting NOR crocheting, but I just took up embroidery. Wondering what that says about me, lol!
My non-pleasure reading D22 asked me to bring home the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks today (I work at a college). Funny thing is that she’s already read this book. An excellent read btw, and a good movie adaptation!
@Southoftheriver Oh my gosh, I’m sorry to hear that. Are you in NorCal proper? We’re in the Bay Area and crossing fingers that school stays up and running. The first week was rough with a bunch of students and teachers out, but after a ton of testing and, I don’t know- time?, things seem to be settling down. I’m just holding my breath that we’re going to make it through the surge.
Re: Senioritis - S22 was working really hard to get to 2nd Semester Senior status. Now that he’s here he’s definitely less stressed, and we told him he just can’t tank. His favorite classes/teachers are his APs so I’m not too worried, but I won’t be surprised if he comes home with a B in choir - which is not easy to do! 
Will recommend it to mine as well. She has recently taken up reading as her hobby something I have hardly seen over years (she hasn’t read that much other than academic reading since her middle school years).
No senioritis with D22. She’s focused on finishing strong and besting her brothers finish. Hope she does!
My D25 is very aware of what her S22 has done previously. She keeps score.
We also have a D16 but her path was (and is) so different from D22 there is no competition.
Between the wait for college decisions, back to school , COVID news, it is unsettling to wonder if Jan 22 is starting to look more like Jan 21 for parents of college bound kids. I heard of a few colleges going online but am hoping things settle down in a few weeks/months. Best wishes for all families to stay safe and healthy!
Great interview re: college admissions stress among high achievers and the documentary “Try Harder!” Stress Among High School High-Achievers: Filmmaker Debbie Lum on "Try Harder!"
Good to see you here @CaliMex! Last time we talked was way back in 8th grade, about SF schools. And now here we are with seniors.
Oh, that is lovely news! How exciting!
We were supposed to be headed to a scholarship comp day at D22’s favorite school this week, but she came down with an ill-timed illness. Ultimately she tested negative, but we had to make a decision before results came back due to the logistics of travel from our state and cancellations needed. She can attend in mid-Feb, so that will be fine, and truth be told, I was relieved to avoid connecting through the mess that is the Seattle airport right now. One positive thing about Covid is the current ability to easily change flight plans!
Thanks. Sorry to hear your D22 got sick - good to know there’s another session in Feb. Best wishes that it goes well!
We’re headed to Oxford next weekend for a quick visit - a couple of my daughter’s friends will show her/us around. She also wants to schedule a US East Coast visit in April in case she hears good news in March - so I am looking for reasonably-priced tickets with flight change/refund flexibility; if none exists and she’s rejected by her remaining schools, one thought is to just hang out in NYC for a few days (although it would be somewhat bittersweet for her in such event).
My daughter’s school went to all classes P/F for spring 2020. There has been no apparent effect on college admissions for the classes that have carried those transcripts into the last and current cycles.
Generally, AOs should know the schools from which applicants are applying and their grading policies and put a student’s grades and standing in the appropriate context. COVID has forced everyone to be a little flexible in how high school records are assessed, whether it’s grading polices, testing or extracurriculars.
I sure hope so. My D22 got a B in Precalculus in 11th, but because of distance learning, didn’t feel prepared enough for Calculus in 12th so decided to retake Precalculus. I hope this decision isn’t a nail in the coffin 
I feel you. 2020-21 was rather unfair to a lot of kids depending on what their schools did. We did not have internet at home until spring of 2021 (We live in a temporary structure and cable company wasn’t willing to hook us up for years…except finally for covid sympathy reasons), so S22 struggled in classes that were 3 days a week online last school year. He did well in the classes where the teachers sent home good ol’ fashioned worksheets and text books. Public library was closed because of Covid so our previous internet access was not available. Explained this in the additional info section of common app but not sure how it will play out from perspective of colleges especially since it was his AP grades that suffered. And many other kids in his school did just fine and are applying to the same colleges. Guess we’ll find out in March…
Oh wow. That is an enormous struggle and obstacle. I’m sorry to hear that your family experienced this. I sure think that explaining this will be an important aspect of the application. Best of luck to you!