@NCSwimmom the CWRA tests are administered in both the III and VI Forms to get a beginning and end snapshot using this approach.
Are the sacrifices going to be worth it? We feel like having both our kids away from home, beginning in ninth grade, has been an enormous sacrifice on our part, for many reasons. The pleasure of seeing our kids daily is sorely missed . . . though we feel extremely fortunate having only an hour-long drive to SAS. But the dictionary defines a sacrifice as something forfeited for the sake of another thing of greater value or claim. Nearly two and three years later, we simply nod in agreement that SAS has turned out better for our two than any other option we had envisioned. Naturally, all four of us have experienced some difficult moments along the way. Right now, our junior son reports that all his activities, in a particularly grueling sports season, are leaving him constantly tired, more than heās ever been before. Thatās painful for us to hear. We have faith that he is going to push through this period and finish in good shape, happy with what he has achieved. (Whatever goals he has are his own, as we have always been content that his ship is pointed in the right direction and heās good enough taking advantage of these many opportunities.)
My hope is that all SAS families are able to say one, two, three and four years later that it was worth it. Most actually do, from what I see. (This thread, and another titled St. Andrews, does have posts that indicate regrets and caveats by some.) Good Luck! ~O)
One of our twin daughters will also attend SAS this fall as a new 10th grader. Revisit day was all we had hoped for and more. I cannot wait to be a SAS family and know the experience will be transformative for our daughter. Our other twin daughter will attend St. Paulās. They were eager for their own identify and turf to explore. We admire their courage and conviction. Onwards and upwards! Huge shout out to Charger 78 and Seven Dad for being SAS ambassadors. This is a special place!
Glad to see some new additions to the SAS family here on CC. As I ride off into the virtual sunset, please feel free to rally round the banner that ops first flew so high on the forum.
@Charger78 - Thanks for the kind words and advice : )
Do you know if incoming IV formers also take the CWRA or do they only take it as VI formers?
I hope your V formerās ship can find a safe harbor soon or at least sail into calm winds and following seas ; ) Seeing how busy SAS kids were during our revisit day I can easily see how a student (especially a V former) can get exhausted. Just listening to the lunch announcements about sports, after school activities and just completed/upcoming events was enough to make me tired!
@Twinsdad499 - I am glad to āmeetā a fellow SAS 2018 parent with a new 10th grader/IV former ; )
Seven dad- longtime lurking parent who changed ID because it was too revealing. Anyways-you and your wisdom introduced us to boarding schools and St. Andrewās and we are blessed to have our son be able to attend SAS this fall. Sad we may never get to meet however since your daughter is graduating.
Wanted to ask about the science curriculum. The website indicated Bio, Chem, physics sequence. Is that required and what most students do? Also what is math like at SAS. Is there a placement test that allows skipping to next course even though not taken in school. We are international so this is quite an adventure we are about to embark. Canāt thank you enough for all your posts and wisdom. I even mentioned you to Mr. Roach when we met him and how inspiring you are. Many thanks!
Math:
Your son will take a math placement test in second half of May (and language too, if he is trying to place into a foreign language class). It takes a little while to process all those tests, but heāll eventually be notified of the placement, and will have summer homework (see post 578 above).
Sometimes a student is on the cusp of belonging in one class or another. Theyāll reach out to the family and try to get a sense of what the likely best starting point is, then watch closely for the first month of school, and switch classes if need be.
Science track:
99% of incoming III form students take Bio.
Every couple years a kid will come in and specifically request a different track (this is only for die-hard fans of the Physics>Chem>Bio plan). It requires departmental approval, and the student must have the required math background for the class (found online: academics>course catalogue>science). For example: Honors Physics requires that the incoming student be taking Honors Algebra 2 & Precalculus (or higher).
There are careful considerations here. Every other kid in your grade will be taking Bio, so you miss out on a common experience point. And it is how SAS introduces critical scientific inquiry, so anyone choosing a different path should have a strong science background.
A very science focussed kid could take Honors Physics > Honors Chem > Advanced Studies (AS) Bio > then AS Physics and/or AS Chem in senior year (you can ādouble scienceā if you drop history that year but itās a grueling task).
Hope that helps, feel free to PM with more questions (that offer always open to any interested parents/students)
@Calmpony: Thanks for your kind wordsā¦Iāll be sure to re-read them the next time someone beats me up because they feel Iām anti-ACRONYM school or an āSAS-uber allesā type booster or whatever.
I think seekers has addressed your questions squarelyā¦so Iāll just add that my daughter is a double-sci senior and seems to be handling things fine. She was also a double language frosh and sophā¦and finally gave one up so that she could take some of the electives other kids had been enjoying since their first year at SAS. She did the Bio, Chem, Physics (all Honors level, I think) track, and then her two AS (Advanced Studiesā¦as SAS does not offer classes tailored to the AP) Sciences this year. She is planning on being a Chem E/BioChem major in college.
As for Math, if your son is a high level math student alreadyā¦rest assured that the school has experience handling at least one case like his. Pretty sure that thereās a junior boy who had exhausted all the āregularā math courses offered by either soph or junior (this year). Very very bright guy, according my daughter.
Again, thanks for your kind words and welcome to the SAS family.
Advanced studies clarification-so after taking these courses do many students take the advanced placement tests or is it impossible because of different material covered?
I think most kids take some AP tests. The degree to which AS courses prep for AP tests varies by subject. I know my daughter (a junior) was told to sign up for the English and Calculus tests with no real extra studying suggested. Kids who choose to sign up for AP tests in other areas would be wise to buy a test-prep guide and go through sections their class may not have covered (to oversimplify, I think AS often goes deeper into material where AP goes wider).
Some people do and some donāt take the tests post AS classes. For example, last year as a junior, my daughter did. This year, as a senior, not so much.
I was never a pro-AP test Parent because I never expected her to opt out of lower level classes. I know that I placed into a harder French class my first year at Penn and got my butt kicked.
Iāve heard people argue for APs in terms of āitāll save you money because youāll pay for less creditsāā¦but know of exactly one person who finished their degree early due to AP credits, a crazy schedule, and summer school work. And in the major my daughter intends to pursue, I think NOT taking a collegeās foundation classes could be a mistake.
And donāt get me wrong, I think they do cover material thatās on the testā¦they just donāt āteach to the testā (which IMO could restrict teachers unduly). Some individual review is always suggested (or has been in my daughterās case).
Iām not an SAS student, but at my school, it is exactly as @seekers and @SevenDad described. We have many classes that are not AP because the school does not want to have to teach to the test and do not want to submit the syllabus to the College Board. Depending on the subject, the amount of outside prep needed ranges from a little to a lot.
Speaker is Associate Head of School Will Speers, standing in for Tad Roach while the latter is on a mini-sabbatical (Mr. and Mrs. Roach have been out since January., if I recall correctly, returning for the recent revisit days as well as graduation week festivities) through August.
Housekeeping question - so if boys are supposed to wear tie and jacket to classes, how do most boys wear their shirts? All wrinkly out of dryer or is there a service for shirts? I understand everyone is supposed to do their own laundry (have heard rumors that the washing machine arenāt great-is that true?) but I canāt see III former boys ironing.
@Calmpony: A few thoughtsā¦First, some may use āeasy careā cotton-poly blend shirts that donāt require as much ironing. Second, if taken out of the dryer at the right moment, I find that many all cotton shirts present well enough to wear under a blazer. Finally, I think it will depend on the kid. I personally loved learning how to press a shirt back in high school, and still do it to this day.
Two other factors come into play. There is the option to get clothes sent to a local dry cleanerā¦so some kids might get their class-dress shirts done this way. Additionally, the school did a test of a laundry service similar to that offered at other boarding schools this yearā¦I havenāt kept tabs on if they plan to roll it out to the whole school next year (as there is no ānext yearā for our family).
As to the quality of the laundry facilitiesā¦have you ever run into any school (whether that be BS or college) laundry facility that was āgreatā? I have not.
Neither. Most boys wear all-cotton iron-free shirts and pants, which do indeed come out of the dryer wrinkle-free. Brooks Brothers and Lands End are where I remember buying them for my son (who graduated two years ago).
This weekās [Friday News from Campus](https://madmimi.com/p/6a6026?fe=1&pact=29699947034) offers some photos that capture the Free Day spirit (as a follow-up to post 592 above). Scroll down to the last four shots.
Parents, grandparents, and alumni hover around their inboxes every Friday, eagerly awaiting these incredible glimpses into life at SAS. They always offer very thoughtful reflections and recap some truly inspirational moments. (Kudos to Will Robinson!)
Any prospective family would do well to look through a random selection of [these newsletters](http://www.standrews-de.org/Parents/friday-news-from-campus/index.aspx), as they give a very authentic look inside the life of the school. [if the link breaks, just go to the Parentās Center on the school website, and look for Friday News].
This week includes a note that the Math Team did very well in the state championship (Go Saints!). Iāll throw in this quote from one of the competitors "my heart was beating at like 100 miles per hour while I was doing the [tie breaker], which coincidentally I found to be the speed of the two trains in the problem "
So course selection forms have to be sent in soon and just wondering if anyone can tell help us with language selection. DS has had a bit of Chinese, Spanish and latin but no real preference. Open to trying French too. Which language is well taught at SAS and is popular? Want DS to really enjoy learning a language.
Daughter takes Latin at SAS and believes it a strong program. Many students take Latin, some to the 4th or even 5th year. I imagine the modern languages you mentioned are well represented too but canāt speak to those as directly.
Can anyone tell me why Greek I & II are only 1/2 credit courses? DS was interested in taking Greek but it appears that he would run out of Greek after two years (I & II in IV form and AS Greek in V form). I am assuming that 1/2 credit means the course is only a semester long.
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