Campus Tours and college prep #GeorgiaCollege #daughter #HighSchoolSenior

I'm taking my daughter on her final campus tour today.  This one is the most likely candidate for her.  She still likes Wesleyan and Agnes Scott, but funds are a big factor.  It still won't be inexpensive.  Given the distance, she'll have to live on campus.  She isn't likely to have transportation, unless we get really lucky, so there's that too.  She starts her final year of high school in August, so now we have to work on what's next.

I'm not forcing my kids to go to college.  But, given their chosen areas to work in, it's hopefully beneficial.   I've done all I can to get them ready for stepping out, I only hope it's enough.  In the mean time, we're off to see what campus looks like and start the process for applications.

Congratulations Graduates! #family #HSgraduates #MeadowcreekHS

Particularly my son on graduating High School. Meadowcreek HS walks today. For one of my son's best friends - Shiloh walks Sunday.

Meadowcreek High School is #AllIn #MonstaX @Meadowcreek-High-Alumni-and-Community

This has been percolating in my head for a while.  My kids' school has the theme of "All In" this year.  As soon as I saw it, my brain plugged in the song by Monsta X.  I've sat on it for a while, but decided it was time to share.  My daughter will just have to make do.

At least I posted the version with english subs. :)

Friday Frustration (Parenting a high school boy)

I haven't talked about school or my kids or their education in a while, and for relatively good reasons.  I think, primarily, though, it's because I don't want to sound like the whiny unsatisfied parent that expects too much of her kids.  I also don't want to sound envious of my friends and their kids (though there are times that I am).  Recently, though, I've come to the conclusion that sometimes you have to share so that someone else can shine a light on your problem or so that you can find out you're not alone.

So, last school year my son did well for his first semester of 9th grade.  He made honor roll and I patted myself on the back that I'd made the right choice in putting him back in brick and mortar.  Second semester he started off as well as he did first.  Then second half of the semester hit and he decided doing work in Math and Spanish was optional.  I think in his way he thought he had it covered, knew what he was doing, etc etc.  By mid-semester he was failing both.  Thankfully, his teachers stepped up as much as they could and with his dad and I standing over him he passed math without any problems.  Spanish, though, was apparently beyond recovery.

We did a lot of talking over the summer and thought we had it all covered by the time school started this year.  He would be challenged by advanced classes, hopefully keeping him from getting bored.  Up until the last week I was under the impression it was all under control and he was on top of it.  Then I got a reality check.  Failing.  3 core classes.  PreCalc, AP World History, and Literature.  Not because he didn't understand the material, but because he wasn't turning in work.

I've checked in with his teachers.  The best thing for him to do is catch up on what he hasn't done and stay on top of what still has to be done.  So, I had a talk with him.  Then his Choi instructor had a talk with him.   He's making no excuses for himself, he just didn't do it.  I've let his friends know that he's under consequences so that hopefully peer pressure will help him step up.  He has a deadline to get it done by.  I can only hope that this works.

In the meantime, I have to wonder what I've done (or am doing) wrong.  I thought I'd given him a good base for responsibility and getting things done.  He made a comment, though, the other day that makes me wonder what other choices haven't worked out properly.  His comment?  If I hadn't pulled him from brick and mortar for MS, he'd be more social, maybe work better.  Throws your thoughts for a tail spin and makes you double think all of your choices.  I did what I thought was best at the time, but it's the end result you watch for.  So far my end results in this haven't turned out well.

I'm not looking for reassurances about what we've done, just stating what's happened.  Maybe a parent

who's gone through this before can shine the light that will flip the switch for my son, maybe not.  Ultimately, I'm having to learn the hard way that it's HIS life and HIS choices that will change the tide.  I appear to be the parent that's along for the ride desperately trying to steer a teen, that or I'm trying to herd a cat that wants to be on both sides of the door.

#WW My son's first HS Homecoming game

Friday First

So, I didn't get first day of school photos for my kids out on time as they didn't have the same start date.  So, here are my two on their first day of school.

Monday musings - School summary and hard choices

With the struggles we've had this year with school, we finally completed the school year. This past year I've had to watch my honor roll students turn into students with Cs and Ds. My son will apparently have to attend summer school to move up to high school as well. It's disappointing and frustrating on my part to know that I failed to keep them on track and doing better.

I found out at the last minute that his science class actually qualified to receive Carnegie credits by taking an EOCT. It caught me off guard only in that respect, it didn't change the effort (or lack thereof) that had been put into the class during the year. Both that class and his accelerated algebra class had EOCTs instead of finals. He did very well in Science and acceptably well in Math. Unfortunately, his efforts at EOCT weren't enough to bring his average up to an good level, so we did not accept the Carnegie units associated with them. I can only hope that he'll complete summer school well and get a fresh start next year at high school and be able to pull things out the way I know he's capable of doing.

As to my daughter, I have a hard choice to make now. As in, where will she be attending? I can put her back in GCA (I preliminarily put her on the enrollment list), I can leave her at GOC (her preferred choice), or I can send her to brick and mortar. I guess what we'll have to do this week is figure out what the best option is for her and go from that. I haven't been impressed by the teaching (or lack of) when it comes to math especially. She adores her language arts teacher and is fine with her social studies teacher. Her science teacher she has mixed feelings about. Personal feelings aside, though, I'm going to have to make sure whichever choice we make will give her the support she needs in her classes.

So I cannot call this year successful by any stretch of the imagination. It's a veritable stew of factors that created a disaster of a meal. I can only pray that it all works out with the choices that we make from here on out.

Musing about schools (HS specifically)

I've had a few people question my thoughts on putting my son back in brick and mortar, especially if he's going in to the school we're zoned for. I've talked with the district superintendant, I've talked with the school's principal, and as of last week I have talked with the man who would be my son's counselor. I'll admit, the school isn't perfect, not by any means. However, I've been given enough hope to believe that it's not half as bad as rumor has it made out to be. If not, I'll address that as those issues arise.

In the meantime, though, I'm tired of the struggle. To get my son to do his work. To get my son to do his work properly. To get my son to turn in his work. To admit that he needs help. To talk to me (or anyone) about issues. At this point, I just want him to pass 8th grade. My once honor/principal roll, straight A student, has crashed and burned in a royal way this year.

When it comes to helping my child, those of you that know me, know I don't do some subjects. It isn't going to happen. My husband works late (and constantly) so getting support there is a struggle too. Getting teacher support means my son has to either a) ask for help, or b)be pushed into it by me. If nothing else, the last 2.5 school years have taught me that my son isn't suited for being schooled at home (at least not by me). That doesn't leave a whole lot of options for us.

Yes, we could try to move. We are, though, upside down on our mortgage and houses in our area just aren't selling well (or don't seem to be). I don't see us moving for several more years, so moving to another zoned HS isn't going to happen. I can do a permissive transfer to another school, something I'll certainly keep in mind if I decide that our HS isn't going to work out. Doing it straight out, though, doesn't seem to be likely to happen.

So, my son is off to a "regular" brick & mortar next year. Doesn't matter if he's repeating 8th grade or moving up to 9th. The stone wall that I ran face first into this year has made that determination for us. So here's praying that he does well enough on the remainder of this year, that he at least remains where he should be grade wise. I really don't want to encounter the 8th grade wall a second time with him.

GSMST

I took my kids to the information session for the Gwinnett School of Math, Science, and Technology. We've been considering putting my son in the lottery there for HS. I have to admit, I was already very interested in it to begin with. My son has decided he's interested now too. He enjoyed getting to listen to two of the current students (Senior/Sophomore) and the curriculum AP. He was impressed with their honesty toward the work that would have to go in. He also realized that being the only 8th grader at GOC to be taking ALL accelerated/gifted classes may not be such a bad thing after all. He's already taking accelerated algebra, so if he makes it into GSMST he'd be going into Geometry. From there he realized he'd be doing pre-calculus in 10th grade.

I had as much fun listening to him and watching his face as we listened as I did to the principal/AP/students talk. He doesn't care for the idea of having to STUDY quite so much, but he loved the idea of the 'extras' he'd get for doing so. By the end of the evening, we turned in his form for the lottery. Now we wait until Feb. 10th to see if he gets in.

On the other hand, I will mention that I was talking to another mom earlier this week. I mentioned putting him into GSMST and we ended up talking a bit. She had a friend who was looking at GSMST, but that student was more into the arts side of things than the science/math side. GSMST emphasizes the MATH side. If you have a student that is not interested in the MATH side, they may want to reconsider putting their name in the pot.

Also, there's only one chance to get in. Rising 9th graders are put into a lottery for 350 slots (they're expecting twice that number to apply). You either make it into the school at that point or you don't. You don't get a chance to get in after 9th grade. So here's hoping that we get in.

There's another information meeting in January. I may take hubby back next time so that he can hear the talk, we'll see. In the meantime, they do have the presentation they gave on their web site. If you have a rising 9th grader, you may want to consider looking at the site for information.

FLASHBACK - Culture Club

I blame this one on an SMHS buddy who was doing a blast from the 80's this month. I was a semi-in-the-closet CC fan. I certainly didn't mind it on the radio. It's hard to believe it's been 25 years since I graduated HS. I had been dating my to-be hubby for a couple of years by this point, too. So, there, a little bit of insight into my HS self.

Choosing Schools

Next year my son will be in 8th grade. One more year and he'll be entering High School. Based on what he wants to do with his life (right now) he wants to try to get into the Gwinnett School of Math, Science, and Technology. A charter high school not too far from home. That one, though, always has a lottery, so it's hard to get in. Also, you can ONLY enter in 9th grade, so if you don't make it in then, you don't make it in. If you fail out, you cannot reenter. Given all this, we have to put together alternatives "just in case".

This has led to me looking into what's out there. There is, of course, Georgia Cyber Academy. The school my kids are currently attending. A public virtual state charter school. It will remain on the list as a "possible".

Personally, though, I'd really like to see him go to a brick and mortar high school. I'm not at all thrilled with the high school we're zoned for (Meadowcreek). So, I'm looking at permissive transfers to other high schools. The likely-hood of him getting a transfer to one of our preferred schools is relatively slim. I have, though, started investigating Duluth HS. According to Atlanta Magazine (Jan 2012), it's one of the top 50 in the state (they ranked it #35). This past year, Duluth HS was one of those listed as accepting transfers. So, the potential is there, I just have to keep an eye on it to see how it shakes out.

Then again, I haven't totally ruled out doing a virtual school. Gwinnett county opened their Gwinnett Online Campus HS Charter last year. They're opening their middle school next year, with a 4th-5th grade a year after that. We did attend an informational meeting recently to see what it was about. The kids liked the concept of the middle school so much that they asked to be put on the list for possible registration. I'll make the comparison between it and GCA on another day. The HS, though, had approximately 168 students total at registration last year. The graduating class for 2012 has 12 members. It will, of course, grow. They don't, though, ever expect it to be big.

I'm still doing my research, still gathering my data. I think, though, that I have some good ideas on the drawing board. Now to get them to have more form and substance.

Reflections

What is it about some things that make us reflect back on life? I was watching only part of Psych (at tv show) that was set at a high school reunion. Later that evening, I found myself thinking back to high school. I was an athletic geek who didn't quite fit in. I was accepted by the geeks because I kept up with them, but not totally welcomed. I was accepted by the athletes only up to a point because I wouldn't compete for the high school (gymnastics).

I attended my 10th high school reunion, but found myself pretty well alone. Those that I had once hung out with that attended, I no longer had anything in common with. Only one person there that I knew was I able to carry on a conversation with. So when my 20th reunion came up, I passed. I had no interest in going back and seeing people who I had even less in common with than before.

I can't say I hated high school. I had a great many good times and enjoyed the challenges that I had with the teachers who put them in front of me. I took AP English and History. I was a member of FBLA and the Latin club. I was given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take part in a program that wasn't continued. Fernbank Science Center supported a program for 10th graders that allowed us to attend Fernbank for half day and high school for the other half. I was able to take computer science, astronomy, chemistry and more. Classes that made a huge difference. I had more friends through Fernbank than I did at my regular high school.

Looking back, I know now that I should have followed up on the option to transfer high schools. I didn't attend my home high school in the afternoons during my sophomore year. Instead I attended one closer to the Science Center. I believe I'd have been a lot happier and my reunion would have been more successful.

As to the reunion I did attend, it wasn't unenjoyable. I just could have found better things to do with my time.