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outwest
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | CA |
| Posts: | 598 |
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Posted: Fri May 2nd, 2008 04:23 pm |
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All the students of the class of 2008 are winding down their high school careers. My D has gone to school late every day this week because her HS is testing the other grades and the seniors don't test. The seniors have had motivational speakers and other activities instead. Next week is AP testing. Is my D studying for them? NOT! Prom is coming and all the other things are happening in quick succession. There is a senior breakfast day at Disneyland, another day where the seniors spend all day sitting in the quad having a massive picnic while everyone else walks by on the way to class. After the AP tests all her AP classes are doing just fun stuff! Since her HS doesn't end until June there are several weeks left. Senior ditch day is coming, but she will go to class because all the teachers give the seniors extra credit points for just showing up and she is a point monger. Her girl scout troop (which has waned the last several months) has $1,385 left to spend or they have to give it back to the counsel. They are deciding where to go for fancy dinners, what charity they each want to donate to, which play to go see, etc. She has been applying for different summer jobs and is excited for her future. It's all good.
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Consolation
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 9th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 488 |
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Posted: Sun May 4th, 2008 04:38 am |
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My S seems to have more on his plate than ever! He has 5 AP exams, the all-state orchestra festival, a violin recital, a string quartet recital and two other performances of the quartet, a performance at our minister's installation ceremony tomorrow, and a masterwork preformance for school. I don't think he is going to the prom. I think he also has a Model UN thing. And weekly track meets. At least the youth symphony is done for the year.
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peabodie
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| Joined: | Thu Aug 9th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 26 |
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Posted: Sun May 4th, 2008 10:53 am |
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| D is studying like crazy for AP tests, even had me wake her at 8 a.m. Saturday so she could get an early start. She doesn't mind that, but she is frustrated because she still will have final exams in all her AP classes, plus each class requires at least one major project after the AP tests. Apparently some people in the school district complained about AP classes not having to do enough work in class after the AP tests (we don't get out of school until June 20) so they have added a ridiculous amount of work for those students.
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Deja
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| Joined: | Thu Apr 13th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 187 |
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Posted: Sun May 4th, 2008 11:28 am |
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peabodie wrote: D is studying like crazy for AP tests, even had me wake her at 8 a.m. Saturday so she could get an early start. She doesn't mind that, but she is frustrated because she still will have final exams in all her AP classes, plus each class requires at least one major project after the AP tests. Apparently some people in the school district complained about AP classes not having to do enough work in class after the AP tests (we don't get out of school until June 20) so they have added a ridiculous amount of work for those students.
I feel sorry for the AP students. I feel that they are already being penalized by having to cram in a whole year's worth of material in 8 months, while AP students in states that start school in August have all that extra time to prepare for the AP exams. Instead of a major project, why not simply continue teaching the students additional college-level coursework in that subject?
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Alumother
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| Joined: | Fri Mar 24th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 201 |
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Posted: Sun May 4th, 2008 03:39 pm |
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S is just carefully calibrating his studying to get no lower than a B-.
Good lord.
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HijinksAndSue
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Posted: Sun May 4th, 2008 03:43 pm |
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I'm overwhelmed just looking at MY desk calendar for May, so can only imagine what my D is thinking ... she has two AP tests, one (English Lit) she doesn't feel she has to study a lot for and one (Psych) which she definitely DOES.
The tradition at her school (and perhaps others?) has been that if you are an AP student who takes the AP test, you DON'T have to take a final exam in that class. But LAST MONTH the head of the county BOE decided that all seniors HAVE to take a final exam in their AP classes as well. Needless to say didn't fly well with the kids (or for that matter, I'm sure, their teachers). No one knows for sure at this point how "hard" the tests will be but am thinking given the situation and knowing the teachers, both will cut them SOME break ... but it does extend the month (her exams are May 28-29 or 29-30, can't recall which) -- and those are the ONLY TWO finals she has, so here she thought she was DONE by Memorial Day weekend. Boo.
Plus of course band concert, choral concert, senior banquet, music awards ceremony, drama awards ceremony (not sure about senior awards, since music and drama get theirs separately and she has never won an award other than music or drama LOL) and all that stuff ... they do their class picnic after their graduation rehearsal so that's not until June 10 (they got a bad draw in the graduation lottery so they're one of the last schools in the county to graduate since there is only one facility they use).
PLUS she has her final USY spring convention for four days, two concerts (Rilo Kiley and Swell Season) and her vocal recital with her teacher, plus the 18th birthdays of three members of her "crew of five".
May/June should be a good early lesson in time management for her!
She had prom Friday night so that was the official kickoff to "the season."
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hummingbird
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Posted: Sun May 4th, 2008 07:06 pm |
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Yes indeed, school is winding down! My S graduates at the end of May. His school offers only a few AP classes total, so he only has one AP exam - later this week, it's AP Lit and Comp. He has been reading a lot of works of literature in preparation for it. This is his strongest subject, so he's not concerned. Other than that, he's not really very busy. The school play he was in just closed a few days ago, so that's finished. He has a few exams coming up, and he feels prepared for them.
His "big thing" coming up is his Capstone project. He's been working on it all year, and it includes a paper and a visual component. His visual component is a theatrical vignette. After Capstone is over, it should be smooth sailing for him. The seniors don't have a skip day, but they are having a picnic at a park after school later this week. The last day of school for the seniors includes a catered senior breakfast, graduation rehearsal, awards & recognition assembly, and an all-school pizza lunch. The next day, he graduates. Everything is looking pretty rosy for him right now (knock on wood!).  Last edited on Sun May 4th, 2008 07:10 pm by hummingbird
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defyingravity1
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| Joined: | Mon Jan 7th, 2008 |
| Location: | NYC |
| Posts: | 75 |
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Posted: Sun May 4th, 2008 07:24 pm |
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Tonight I have a performance for my Musical Theatre/Opera class and that is to function as our final. Then i have this week of classes, and then this weekend and then a Spanish final, a Sociology final and a voice jury and then I go home next Wensday.
This week I have:
Make up Spanish hw
A 4 page English paper
A one page English evaluation
A journal and review of a show ( I am doing Patti Lupone in Gypsy) for voice
Thank god no APs to study for. I did AP Lit last year and Ap US my junior year,
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ellenrch
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| Joined: | Fri Aug 24th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 81 |
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Posted: Mon May 5th, 2008 02:44 pm |
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| You're right, outwest: It's all good. I'm seeing a lot of teenaged exuberance lately, and it's fun to watch--almost shakes me right out of my empty-nest blues! My S is hanging out with friends every chance he gets, which I think is just right and the very best way to bring his senior year to a close.
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riviera
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| Joined: | Tue Jan 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 108 |
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Posted: Mon May 5th, 2008 06:07 pm |
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| Concerning AP exams, my son is rather relaxed: his college will not take any AP credits except maybe Calculus. So he is still taking the exams but the outcome will not really matter. He has still six weeks of school left, including the spring concert, a day at Great America (theme park), the senior picnic, grad night. The prom was a couple of weeks ago. Time's flying fast!
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HijinksAndSue
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Posted: Mon May 5th, 2008 06:37 pm |
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<<Concerning AP exams, my son is rather relaxed: his college will not take any AP credits except maybe Calculus>>
Same here, which makes it less pressure as well ... the AP exam doesn't affect her grade at all. The only AP exam her college will even look at was English Comp last year, to place out of a required freshman writing class into upper-level writing, and she got a 5 so she knows she's good to go.
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bumpyroad
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Posted: Tue May 6th, 2008 12:26 am |
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My D's school lets the seniors do a "senior internship" the last month of school - so with the exception of AP calculus she's done with tests. She's spending the month sorting wildflower seeds at a botanical garden. At first I wasn't sure, but this seems like a good idea. Not much was happening in class anyway for the seniors and this way they get some exposure to the outside world after 4 years of a heavy homework load.
In her case it's a good thing anyway, because after making the big push to pick a college she's ready to coast for a while. And it's nice to have her a little more available at home instead of seeing her disappear into her room to do homework.
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lfm
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| Joined: | Sat Jul 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 115 |
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Posted: Wed May 7th, 2008 03:20 am |
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riviera wrote: Concerning AP exams, my son is rather relaxed: his college will not take any AP credits except maybe Calculus.
My son's school wont give any AP credit, so my son is not taking the exams. So, he is having an easy time of it right now. We homeschool, so his three AP classes are basically done. He does have to finish up some self study courses.
He is working hard this week. Early next week he will find out if he is going to the Math Olympiad Summer Program. If he is, then he has 3 weeks to finish up his school work, do some home work for the summer program, and take some caltech placement exams. We are taking a weeks vacation during those 3 weeks, I hope he can come!
If he isnt going then he has 7 weeks to finish up his school work and take the caltech exams. He will have a chance to work during that time and earn some money.
I am torn by which outcome I would like.
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ellenrch
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| Joined: | Fri Aug 24th, 2007 |
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Posted: Thu May 29th, 2008 07:27 pm |
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I have to post this here because I'm sure it will resonate with others, and I'm afraid over on the other board my S might be called a slacker  His only exam was at 1 pm today. All the May, post-AP, fun projects have been turned in. Prom was great, but graduation isn't until June 10. During lunch break today he had to run a school-related errand, so I drove him. At 12:39, he asked to stop for takeout barbecue even though I knew there would be a line. At 12:52, we left the BBQ place, with his enormous order of cholesterol-elevating goodness in hand. At 12:58 (we made all the lights), we pulled up in front of school. Me: When are you going to eat that? S: Oh, I'll just eat it in class until Mr. X asks me to stop. He'll probably want a bite of it first. Me: Why aren't you taking your backpack? S: I can't carry it and my lunch, too. All I need is a pen. Me: Sigh. S: Yeah, this is my last official act of high school: dashing into my last exam carrying barbecue and a pen.
He was so pleased with himself. I'm pleased with him, too, and I laughed right along with him. It's almost over.
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outwest
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | CA |
| Posts: | 598 |
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Posted: Fri May 30th, 2008 06:19 am |
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 That is cute. Tonight my daughter and a couple friends went to 'The Hip Kitty,' a jazz place where underage people can go and then are kicked out at 10:30. I asked about homework. She said, "Huh?" I asked about the paper she had to turn in. She said, "I'll get it done." and off she went. It's a school night. Oh, well. She, too, is done. She graduates on June 12th. Between now and then there won't be a lot of work, I am sure. Yah, she's slackin'.
Last edited on Fri May 30th, 2008 06:21 am by outwest
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HijinksAndSue
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Posted: Fri May 30th, 2008 05:59 pm |
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My DD's last official act at school was SUPPOSED to be taking her AP English Lit final yesterday morning ...
But the teacher (who may I add is the best teacher she has EVER had) handed out their final grade sheets before the test and told them if they were happy with their grades, they didn't have to take the final ... but if they wanted to raise the grades, they could take it.
She had an A so her last official act was walking into her final, looking at her sheet, putting it down and leaving school for what I guess was the last time until graduation rehearsal on June 10.
Somehow, despite serious senioritis, she appears to have pulled straight As this quarter (I think this is the first time in high school, maybe once before). I suspect the teachers were much more lenient to the 4th quarter seniors than usual ...
So we're going out to celebrate tonight, aka shopping.
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hummingbird
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Posted: Fri May 30th, 2008 09:33 pm |
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My son's last day was today. They started off with a catered breakfast for the seniors, followed by graduation rehearsal, an awards ceremony (he received the Social Studies merit award), a pizza lunch for the entire school, and yearbook signing.
He's done!
Graduation is tomorrow afternoon, and we are having about 25 family members over for a BBQ dinner afterward.
Next week: college orientation/registration! 
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CarolynLawrence
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
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Posted: Sun Jun 1st, 2008 11:24 pm |
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Congratulations to your son, Hummingbird. My son also graduated yesterday. We went out to lunch afterwards with his long time girlfriend and her family, and it was a nice way to celebrate. His school has a never-ending series of events leading up to the actual graduation --- luncheon for families, church service, trip to Disneyland, boat dance, etc. Last night, the school had the grad night party at a local amusement park. Son had a great time, but I can tell he is feeling a little down this afternoon now that it's all over.
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mominva
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | DC Suburbs |
| Posts: | 336 |
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Posted: Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 03:35 am |
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Congratulations, Carolyn (and son!) and all the other newly graduated.
On to the next adventure!
Last edited on Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 03:35 am by mominva
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Deja
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Posted: Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 10:19 am |
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Yes, congratulations to the new graduates!
Our high school has its graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 14. I told my son that as soon as the seniors graduated, he would then step up to become a senior!
In my school system, there are three grades where you enjoy class status -- 5th grade (my youngest right now), 8th grade, and senior year. When I pointed this out yet again, my 11 y/o asked, "What about college?" Good question! I would think that senior status would be more meaningful in a small college than a large university.
Last edited on Mon Jun 2nd, 2008 02:31 pm by Deja
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