@InfoQuestMom Fortunately, marching band is twice a week at night and robotics is just once now and they do not conflict. Marching band will end by the end of October and robotics doesn’t pick up until after kick-off in January. So it’s doable for now. We’ll see how it plays out when the other clubs get into gear too.
He went to a meeting for Model UN this week and thought it was very interesting. A new cyber security club is starting soon and he’s interested in that too.
Thanks for the encouragement @mom2twogirls — I completely agree. Here’s to another new week!
My daughter is enjoying 9th grade. She still doesn’t like the math teacher but she likes the others. She wasn’t looking forward to gym but seems fine with it now. She is doing figure skating team and film club for now and will be doing gymnastics this winter. She is also fairly active with girl scouts still.
She isn’t a child who wants to do much homework so it is a bit of a challenge. It isn’t really time management as much as not wanting to get to work. However she would be horrified to go to school without her work being done.
Got an e-mail from HS today that S22 will be taking a practice PSAT on 10/10, while the 10th and 11th graders are taking the PSAT. We are in the middle of apps with D19 so it’s hard to believe we have another one not that far behind.
First couple of weeks have been okay so far.
S22 is not the hardest worker and in the past we have had to keep on top of him to make sure assignments were completed. We have decided to cut the cord this year and let him sink or swim on his own. We told him we are here if he needs help with anything and let us know if he is struggling with anything. Hoping he learns to become independent and take ownership of his grades. Expecting a few bumps in the road but hopefully no disasters. Fingers crossed.
S22 is cruising along. 1st quarter exams are already coming up in 2 weeks! His grades could be a little higher, but they are about where I expect given his other activities. He ended up getting a major role in the fall musical, and rehearsals started last week. He is already doing cross country 5 days a week right after school, and club soccer 3 nights a week. Luckily, the musical director has been able to work with his soccer schedule. He just goes to musical rehearsal after soccer ends. His soccer coach also seems supportive of the musical, but that is going to be tested.
Yeah, my d22 is really adjusting. She texted happy with her first English essay grade today. She went to the math teacher with some questions for an assignment (I love when my kids are organized enough to ask needed questions and smart enough to know what they don’t know). She is settling into being a freshman class treasurer and so escornce Olympiad and math league stuff. She tried a yearbook club meeting and decided it wasn’t for her (and would have conflicted with a science Olympiad thing she wants to do). She volunteered at a homecoming carnival fundraiser and saw a bit of a football game. Both of those are activities usually outside her comfort zone.
Her math grade isn’t quite as high as she would like, but something easy enough to bring up with effort and knowing now what the teacher is looking for/patterns in quizzes, etc.
fingers crossed, it seems like we are going to have a good year!
Our school has all 10 & 11th graders take the PSATs. All 9th graders go on a field trip to visit a college. They don’t expect students to seriously look into picking a college yet but just introduce them to the idea of thinking about college. For some students it is the first time they are hearing that college is a possibility and other students have visited colleges already esp if they have older siblings.
The 12th graders get to do things like ask teachers for letters of recommendation if needed, work on college apps if needed and there are other options like first aid/cpr training. I can guarantee my daughter will be happy to get out of classes for the day.
What is the testing schedule your kids will have? Either set by the school or just what you plan on? We had a very basic college meeting at school a few weeks ago and the testing schedule was briefly talked about. PSAT 9 in April of 9th, PSAT 10 in April of 10th, and SAT in April of 11th are all required as standardized tests. PSAT in Oct of 11th is by sign-up.
I was thinking I’d have my son take the PSAT in Oct of 10th as well, but then I read that it is the same test as the PSAT 10 that he will take later that year. Or do they have multiple versions, like the SAT?
And I was thinking of having him take the SAT just before or after the PSAT in 11th, since he could study over the summer for both of them at the same time.
I still find all the different PSAT variants confusing. With our S 2016 we basically signed him up for the PSAT anytime for practice with the real-deal test in his Jr year. With our D 2022 the school basically sits all freshmen, sophomore, and juniors for the PSAT on the same day.
What we have advised her is that as a freshman it will cover some content that he has not seen yet, so don’t worry about the answers. Instead, get accustomed to the process, filling out the paperwork, and managing her time. She will have different goals in her sophomore year in preparation of the “real” test to follow.
9th graders at our school are taking the PSAT 8/9 on Oct 10. In tenth grade, they will take the full PSAT for practice, then the real deal in 11th.
Grades 9-11 also take the PSAT/NMSQT at my kids’ school on 10/10. It’s great practice for the younger ones.
At my daughter’s school, 9th graders can take the PSAT 8/9. All 10th graders take the PSAT, then 11th graders can take it again. Every year there are several National Merit Scholars plus many more at the Commended level. We are in California, so the score for National Merit Scholar is very high.
S22 got his first college solicitation mailing yesterday. Ironically, it was from a college that traditionally was a rival to the college I attended, at least socially if not academically. B-)
Nice! How did your son end up on their radar?
@sfSTEM , it was a generic letter inviting him to request info about how to choose a college (you will end up seeing a lot of those!), and I can only speculate they got his name from a list of students taking the PSAT next week or perhaps based on his taking it last year. Meaningless in and of itself. I was just surprised the solicitations were starting as a freshman, as they started soph yr with my older kids.
This is all so overwhelming. I didn’t go to college and really want my s22 and s24 to go. I feel like it’s going to be a part time job figuring all of this out. Ugh, I don’t even know how anything works.
Deep breath, @shuttrbg22 ! You, and they, will be ok. Lots of time to figure it out. For now, let them concentrate on taking the hardest courses they can reasonably handle, get them involved in school activities, and support their interests.
My 9th grader took the 8/9 PSAT a week or so ago. His school is transitioning to full IB K-12, but is full IB in high school. Currently, he is in higher level math and biology. In September, there was a city-wide college fair (mainly regional colleges and universities). We went. At his suggestion, he wore a tie. I asked him to talk to several admissions counselors at universities that seemed interesting to him. Since he was nervous and is introverted, this was difficult for him. But, he did a good job. With a bit of coaxing, he even had a long conversation with a rep from an the engineering school at Mississippi State. He learned about a form of engineering that I had not heard of (I am a lawyer) and is right up is alley. Last week, he received his first college mailer from Iowa State, where his grandfather went to college.
First quarter grades are in and S22 did great. Time to plan his celebratory meal at his favorite restaurant! His cross country season is over and club soccer is on winter break, but HS soccer tryouts start today and his HS musical opens in about 2 weeks. And so we roll on! S22 wants a drum set for his upcoming birthday. My spouse swears that is not happening…
@Peruna1998 our district is IB from Pre-K through 12. The diploma program for 11/12 grades is optional, but the PYP and MYP is not. We’ve really enjoyed it being IB for the younger grades. Likely, my S22 will do the diploma program as well. We have a parent meeting for that coming up in a couple of weeks.
We also have a reasonable number of AP classes. So it’s a decision to make about which path to follow.