<p>Yeah, one of those nervous looking kid might've been mine! Or nervous and tired. Hopefully they're having a great time getting to know kids from all over the country.</p>
<p>I'll post later as well if I hear from my son.</p>
<p>I heard from my boyfriend at 10:00 tonight (NY time - Saturday evening)
He said that it was a great day, and they had just finished up the dance.</p>
<p>We heard from our D last night after the mixer. It was a very brief conversation. Basically, she said that they practiced 'formations', standing, turning, etc. She said her room-mate was from the west coast and was very nice. She also said the mixer was fine, although she didn't sound too enthusiastic, which surprised me. She also said her cell phone had no reception in the dorm so she had to go outside to call. Then it was "I gotta go, bye" and that was it. Maybe it was a 2 minute conversation with the phone being passed between my H and myself. Not a lot of information. It was hard to hear her; I don't know if she was speaking quietly or if it was the phone reception. Oh, well.</p>
<p>Today they are scheduled to do the CFA (Candidate Fitness Assessment), which take place this morning (Sunday). Hopefully, once that is over she can relax and enjoy the seminars and other activities.</p>
<p>I'm guessing I won't hear from her again until after the graduation ceremony on Friday.</p>
<p>Similar experience here - a little over a minute long conversation, and he sounded like he was speaking softly.</p>
<p>We spoke with our son earlier today. He called to say happy father's day to his dad and spoke with everyone here. The phone connection yesterday was pretty bad but good today. He said they did CFA this morning and a lot of kids didn't do too well. He says the weather is hot and humid- something he is not used and really getting to him since we live only a few blocks from the ocean and our temperature here is usually around 70 with no humidity. He also said the food is better than he expected. He didn't seem to cared much about the mixer though. He also texted a couple of times as well to get the latest on our family gathering today.</p>
<p>My S called today to warn me about the credit card bill from his gift shop shipping spree. He said they've been up since 5 AM and did a lot of activities including 2 mile run, Q&A sessions, and different classes. He says it's a blast and becoming fast friends with kids in his group. So much excitement in his voice.</p>
<p>It's Thursday morning and I haven't heard from my D since Monday evening. I'm guessing she is having a good time and doesn't feel the need to call, or maybe she just doesn't have the time. In any case I see this as a good sign! </p>
<p>Like enjoylife's son, she had an opportunity to go to the cadet store. She said she needed to buy some shirts (for home use) since the polo shirts she was issued were 'huge' on her. : ) </p>
<p>I did ask her about Sunday Chapel. I had hoped that they were going to be able to go to the beautiful chapel on site, but it sounds like they didn't. I believe she said that all the kids were gathered in a hall or auditorium (I'm unclear as to exactly where they were) and then Catholic kids and the Latter Day Saints kids (and probably some other religious denominations) left this area for their own Chapel time. My D said that the large group of remaining kids had a Christian/Protestant service with what she described as 'new age' music. Now the church our family attends has a choir that sings traditional sacred hymmns accompanied by organ music, so what my D described as 'new age' in reality could have been contemporary christian music. Maybe someone else's child can explain this more accurately.</p>
<p>As I memtioned, today is Thursday and the last full day of SLS. According to the schedule, it's 'Military Training' day. This is the day they needed their loose fitting pants and long sleeve tee shirts. It will be interesting to hear what they will be doing today. It's hard to believe that their week is nearly over.</p>
<p>Well, I finally heard from my D this evening at 9:45 PM east coast time. She said that she had been very busy and a bit tired the last few days. She said that she actually put her cell phone aside so she could spend time hanging out with her squad rather than make calls. I was rather happy to hear that.</p>
<p>I asked her about the seminars; the first one she didn't care for (and I won't mention what it was); the Physics seminar was more nuclear physics and she said she realized how little physics she knew despite taking Honors Physics 1 this past year. She also took a Leadership seminar which she enjoyed and the instructor gave the students an autographed copy of his book. She said the the number of kids in class varied, with some of the language classes having the smallest number of students (6 or so).</p>
<p>She only had about 15 minutes to talk this evening as the kids had to be back in their rooms at 10 PM. I did ask her about the 'Military Training' and she quickly said they did get some hands on experiences and they saw a Black Hawk Helicopter. She had to go so I didn't get any more details.</p>
<p>She said that the graduation ceremony scheduled is low key so it doesn't sound like if you are not there to watch, you are not really missing anything. She said the other kids were great and that they plan to keep in touch.</p>
<p>I'm looking forward to hearing more details after she is home and rested.</p>
<p>My S called as well while he was packing tonight. He found out he passed CFA and that was the whole conversation because the phone connection was pretty bad. Looking forward to hear what he has to say about the whole experience.</p>
<p>Enjoylife,
Congratulations to your son for passing the CFA! You must be so proud. It's one less hurdle for him (and you) to have to worry about</p>
<p>I talked to my D this morning after SLS ended. Her grandmother picked her up and is taking her to her aunt and uncle's house in NJ. D will fly home on Wednesday after visiting with the relatives.</p>
<p>Again, because of the cell phone connection it was difficult to really hear what my D was saying, but she said it was a good experience and will be keeping intouch with her room-mate, another gal and a few of the guys. She also said she was looking forward to summer vacation. </p>
<p>I'm looking forward to hearing your son's impressions. I also hope other parents and even kids take time to share their thoughts; if for no other reason it will be of use to parents of future SLS participants.</p>
<p>Thank you, <a href="mailto:O2B@C">O2B@C</a>. He was happy that he passed it because he thought he didn't do too well and thought he could have done a lot better.</p>
<p>I can't wait to hear what you daughter thought of the whole experience.</p>
<p>I know that my D didn't pass the CFA, but she wasn't expecting to. She did tell me today that the interview with her squad leader went well. He asked her about grades, SAT & ACT scores, leadership positions and athletics/sports and based on what she told him and his review/impression of her attitude, teamwork, etc at SLS he told her that he was recommending her. That made me happy and proud.</p>
<p>I guess this explains when I was passing the phone to her Dad at 9:54 PM Thursday evening she said that she had exactly 6 minutes to finish up the conversation and get inside her room! I guess she can follow orders - now if it only worked at home! : )</p>
<p>When I was at SLS last summer, I received an autographed book from the instructor of the leadership class. </p>
<p>It turns out it is the book West Point sent us a few weeks ago that must be read prior to R-day next week, "In Search of Ethics." Is this the one she received? If so, she may as well read it now!</p>
<p>I read some of it last summer, but am finishing it up now. One more week!</p>
<p>Derek08,
My D is still back east visiting relatives, but I will ask her about the the book title.</p>
<p>Did you know right after SLS that West Point was for you, or did you still need time to decide? I'm guessing that you kept in touch with SLS friends; did most of them end up applying to WP?</p>
<p>Best wishes to you as you enjoy this final week at home before you travel east to begin your 47 months at West Point. Take care and stay healthy!</p>
<p>I did the summer programs at WP, Naval Academy and AFA and preferred WP to the others. WP was very structured and organized, and the history was incredible, the place was just beautiful and reallly blew me away. The two other academies' summer programs were very laid back (compared to WP) and I knew while I was there that I definitely didn't want to apply to them. Naval Academy was HUGE too. I just didn't care for either of them. I felt very confortable at WP, and knew I'd apply there, but I definitely didn't like the humidity. I'd never experienced anything like that before and hated it, but I'm ganna suck it up and deal with it.</p>
<p>My group of friends from SLS kept in touch via facebook and my space. Someone started an SLS 2007 page and we all communicated via that. And you'll be glad to know that everyone I kept in touch with that applied got an appointment :-)</p>
<p>I'm leaving tonight for the east coast. We're ganna spend a few days getting used to the time change and humidity and sight see a little before Monday. </p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>Derek08,</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. It was good to hear that all your pals from SLS that applied received appointments. I appreciate you taking the time share your thoughts about SLS and post-SLS as I imagine you're busy preparing to leave.</p>
<p>Best of luck with Beast and beyond, and we will all hope for low humidity this summer!</p>
<p>Take care and Godspeed.</p>
<p>Good luck, Derek08! My S described West Point exactly the way you did, loved everything about it except the humidity. He pretty much decided that this is where he wants to go and only applying to a few other schools just to make us happy. We are beginning to worry that we may have a long road ahead of us.</p>
<p>Hi Enjoylife,
Glad to hear that your son had a great time at SLS and has made the decision to apply. My D arrives from NJ tomorrow along with her grandmother, who will visit with us for about a week.</p>
<p>I still really haven't heard many details from D about her experiences. She says that she wants to wait until after she gets home to tell us about it. Although it sounds like her first day back will be spent catching up with her friends and not with us, but I'm okay with that (really).</p>
<p>She did say her squad was amazing and became very tight. She said that the cadets were 'chill' and didn't yell if someone messed up. They didn't tolerate kids snickering or making comments under their breath about other kids'abilities - which is good to hear. She said the dining hall was huge and since the tables sat only 10 people that 4 members of her squad would have to sit at other tables (there was always a cadet at the head of the table).</p>
<p>She also said that there were conversations among the kids curious about why they were selected for SLS. I think they concluded it was strong grades. She also said just about everyone was involved in sports (lots of football players) and many kids were / will be team captain.</p>
<p>She said the cadet store was just like a department store (is it a PX?) She said it even sold Dooney & Burke handbags.</p>
<p>I'm really looking foward to having her home and hearing about her week.</p>