High School Class of 2016/College Class 2020

[czycropper]

I am an upcoming Sophomore this year, and my biggest tip is to please make sure your kid knows that freshman year is the beginning of the rest of their lives. I see so many students at my highschool just blow it off and don't take it seriously, this ladies and gentlemen will be the future burger flippers of America. In middle school I was a "C" or "B" average student. I now beat myself up over a low "A". Highschool is a completely different change. From this point forward this is how colleges view you it doesn't matter who you were before, it's a new start so why not accomplish something? Clubs are also a great choice! I am in Key Club, HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), and Glee club. I will also probably be joining Spanish club this year. Most importantly, try your best! Get involved and take things seriously. You'll end up being somebody!

That's exactly what I have told my DD, the minute you walk through the door at the high school your future begins! I had a neighbor whose DD got involved into too many things as a freshman and her grades went down. She regretted it when it was time to apply for colleges and she didn't get into her first choice because her GPA was not up to standard.

Clubs - my DD has already signed up for Debate Club since she was recruited while she was at the middle school debate club. She says that's about the only club she wants as a freshman. The cheer coach was upset when she heard that she wasn't trying out for cheer since the coach had seen my DD cheer for the rec competition team but my DD decided that she wanted to concentrate on dance and academics.

Sleep - when my DDs aren't going to a camp they both sleep in until 11 am! I'm going to start cutting that by next week because my freshman DD is going to have a rude awakening since her bus will be picking her up at 6:45 am staring on Sept. 6th. At least my middle schooler will have a little longer to sleep - her bus doesn't come till 8:35 am.

I have a question - what to y'all do about supplies for your high schooler? Our high school doesn't give out the supply list until the first day of school and by that time all the sales are over!!! I want to take advantage of some of the sales, what should I get?

 

[MamaLema]

DS13 is starting the day after Labour Day

He's actually not nervous at all, he just finished summer school at the high school and earned a credit.

He will be going to and from school with DS15 and he knows at least 10 kids.

 

[TN Hockey Mom]

Our oldest, DS13, starts High School full time on August 14th. They have a half day freshman orientation on August 13th. He's very excited! I just hope that excitement lasts longer than the first couple of weeks of school.

He's in band camp at the moment, therefore, he's already making new friends. He had Percussion Camp July 17-19 and full band camp July 23-August 3. They had a car wash this past Saturday and are having a pool party the last evening of band camp. They should know each other pretty well when school actually starts.

I'm not too worried about him getting up when school starts. Before band camp, he was already doing an internship with a local radio station that puts on live music at lunch time. He's been going into work with me around 8:30, then going to his internship at 10:15.

We've already got his schedule. If he can survive his 1st semester of freshman year, I think he'll be fine. It appears to be pretty tough (Honors English combined with a Honors World History Class, Honors Intro to Physics, Honors Algebra 1 and Band).

Time will tell.....

 

[MomofKatie]

I have a question - what to y'all do about supplies for your high schooler? Our high school doesn't give out the supply list until the first day of school and by that time all the sales are over!!! I want to take advantage of some of the sales, what should I get?

I bought all the basics- things she needs no matter what, for any class. Pens, pencils, filler paper, pencil cases, folders, cow notebooks, index cards, etc. We will get any specific items during the first week of school, based on which subjects she gets.

 

[punkin]

I haven't even thought about supplies yet. I think I will wait 'till she actually starts school. I remember my older one going to school the first week with nothing but one spiral notebook and a pen. We did all our shopping later in the week.

She will have 7 classes (one is PE and one is Orchestra, so those need different supplies). I figure that two loose-leafs (one for morning classes and one for afternoon) and pens and pencils should be all she needs. She has a calculator from last year, as well as a ruler, protractor, and compass. She has colored pencils and markers (required last year but hardly used). She has graph paper (again, required last year but hardly used) Anything else can be bought on an as-needed basis.

I think she will be OK.

 

[jfranklyn]

I almost passed right by this thread thinking my kids were too young, and then I realized that my DD13 will be in the class of '16! I can't believe i'm old enough to have a child in high school! Anyway, she starts September 6th, she's very excited, and already has 3 high school level classes under her belt, so the only thing she's nervous about is the size of the school and getting lost!

 

[dismom9761]

I can't believe so many are starting high school at 13. Here kids are 14 or 15 when they start. A few are 13 but only for a few weeks. Cut off date is sept 1.

My two high schoolers will be in one sport at a time and not sure about clubs. Neither are interested but it looks good for college so I am insisting they choose at least one to be involved in.

My boys get up early every morning because of football workouts but then take 3 hour naps. The first weeks of school should be interesting.

My biggest battle right now is getting them to do their summer work. My older three( one is an 8th grader) have math, books to read, and a project. They start school on 8/16

 

[MomofKatie]

I can't believe so many are starting high school at 13. Here kids are 14 or 15 when they start. A few are 13 but only for a few weeks. Cut off date is sept 1.

DD's birthday is 9/4. When she started K here, the age restriction was that they had to be 5 by 10/15. We went ahead and started her, but a lot of parents in her preschool class were going to hold their summer/fall birthday kids and start the next fall.

She is one of the very youngest in her class every year. She has only 2 other friends that started school in NC that are younger, and they are all early September birthdays (she has a friend with a Nov birthday that started school in CT and a friend from Germany that won't turn 14 until January!). She will only be 13 for the first week of school- they start on 8/27.

2 years ago, NC changed their cutoff date to the same as y'all in GA- 9/1. I'm glad DD didn't have to wait until she was almost 6- she was already reading at 4, and she was READY at almost 5 to start "big school".

 

[punkin]

2 years ago, NC changed their cutoff date to the same as y'all in GA- 9/1. I'm glad DD didn't have to wait until she was almost 6- she was already reading at 4, and she was READY at almost 5 to start "big school".

The cutoff here used to be December 31, same as it was in NY where my oldest started school. Where we lived in NY, everyone pretty much kept to the cutoff and started their kids in school accordingly. However, when we moved to Maryland, DD's classmates were considerably older because EVERYONE was keeping the kids back a year if they had summer or fall birthdays. It was particularly bad with boys. DD19 actually had a boy/man in her graduating class who was 20 yo (she was 17).

I guess the school system capitulated to the inevitable and moved the cutoff back incrementally. The year DD13 started school it was November 30. Now it is September 1. She is among the very youngest in her class...some are going to turn 15 before she turns 14.

 

[mskani]

My "baby" will start high school on 8/17. I can hardly believe it! When I joined the DIS, shortly before our first trip to WDW, he was only TWO years old!! He will be joining his older sister and will be wearing regular clothes for the first time since pre-k. I'm excited for him, but it is a little bittersweet.

 

[Anne34]

My "baby" starts high school Aug 27th. She is our last to go (one in college, other a senior). She is really excited and has been going to the volleyball camps and is trying out for the team in August.

DD will turn 15 the week after school starts. Our cut off date is 9/1. She was so bummed when she couldn't go to school with the big kids, but we found a wonderful Pre-K prgram for her. She was reading already and doing math problems. She now takes advanced/honors classes, so it was an ok decision.

 

[luvmy3]

I can't believe so many are starting high school at 13. Here kids are 14 or 15 when they start. A few are 13 but only for a few weeks. Cut off date is sept 1.

Our cut off is Dec.1 so my 2 dses will be 13 when they start. My dd, who is starting this fall, is 14.

So I keep asking dd what kind of bag she wants for HS and she doesn't know. Anyone know what the kids use?

 

[padams]

Our cutoff date is 9/1. However, many families in our area, especially those with boys, "redshirt" their summer and even spring birthdays. DS's October birthday puts him in about the middle of the his class in terms of birthdays.

 

[HannaBelle]

Hey everyone! I am going to join the party, DD14 will start her freshman year on August 27th. We have about a month of summer break left.

She is the baby and her older brother is now a sophomore in college. Everyone has been giving good advice and I would add one more thing. Have your kids start keeping track of their accomplishments, awards, volunteer hours and activities, they will want this info handy when filling out college applications. Also start the college search during sophomore year, junior year is jam packed and can be a bit overwhelming.

DD14 has decided to not play volleyball and basketball or join the band. DH and I are at a loss! She was in the “gifted and talented” program in elementary and middle school and is planning on taking as many Pre-AP & AP classes as possible. I would love to see her do some kind of sport. After watching the Olympics, she is considering giving diving a try since they practice after school…lol…

I am excited for her and her new adventure!

 

[luvsJack]

DD will start high school next Monday! I can't believe my baby is starting high school!

She is very nervous but she keeps saying she will be fine after the first day. Yesterday we got her schedule completed and she met the new Show Choir director (which she loves already!) and while we were there we walked around a little bit so she could find her classes. I think that helps a lot.

As for supplies, we are buying pens, pencils, a binder and paper for the first few days and then the more detailed stuff after she goes to class.

They are on a block schedule so she will take 4 classes each semester. The first semester looks to be fairly easy for her, but her second semester is going to be pretty intense. I thought we should even it out a little, but the advisor said that this will give her the chance to get used to the schedule everything before the tougher classes happen. They gave her a planning sheet showing everything she has to have over the course of the 4 years, so she has been excitedly planning it all out.

 

[CrazyCakeLady]

Our cutoff date is 9/1. However, many families in our area, especially those with boys, "redshirt" their summer and even spring birthdays. DS's October birthday puts him in about the middle of the his class in terms of birthdays.

We're also in Atlanta and this is my experience as well. There was not a single boy in DD12's kindergarten class that hadn't turned 6 before school started! It was nuts. There were boys in her class who turned 7 before some of the girls even turned 6.

Back to the topic of rising freshmen, DD14 starts high school this month. I don't think it will be as huge of an adjustment for her because she is at a private school and is just moving from the JH to the HS on the same campus. There will be some different rules... mostly new privlidges, but I expect the transition to be relatively smooth.

My biggest issue will be getting her the specific supplies she needs when school starts because she doesn't start back until the week of 8/20 and the public schools around here start back 8/6. By the time we get her supply list, Target's back-to-school section will look like a war-torn country with very few survivors!

 

[czycropper]

Well, yesterday my DD's guidance counselor called about her schedule since she's doing the Gifted & Talented Dance in the afternoon. So I know part of her schedule but the disappointing part is that she's not going to be able to take Biology this year and will wait to take it as a sophomore . But she will be able to get the Financial Literacy requirement out of the way her first semester, she has been put on the top of the list to take that one.

She'll have Geometry first thing at 7:30 (she won't be too happy about that one), Financial Literacy, Honors English and Honors History. She's doing Spanish II online. She's going to have her hands full with also dancing 2.5 hours a day after her academic courses, then once a week Debate Club and she still doing a couple of classes at her dance studio. She's also been asked to be on the high school newspaper staff (she did it in middle school)-the guidance counselor told me that we should be getting that letter by the end of the week. In our high school it's a teacher recommendation-her Honors English teacher is married to her 8th grade Adv. English teacher so it seems that the high school has already seen her articles. I didn't tell her that part so I can't wait to see her face

 

[dismom9761]

My biggest issue will be getting her the specific supplies she needs when school starts because she doesn't start back until the week of 8/20 and the public schools around here start back 8/6. By the time we get her supply list, Target's back-to-school section will look like a war-torn country with very few survivors!

I have that problem also. My kids are in private school and don't start until 8/16. Public schools start Monday. I have tried to buy some of the things I think they will need but every year I have trouble finding supplies.

 

[punkin]

We received a recorded call from the High School yesterday directing everyone to the school website. I told DD, who told me that: she has looked at the website already; there's no new information; please calm down...I have everything under control.

 

[Cinerbelle]

My DD starts her first year of HS on 8/15. This year should be very interesting for her since my hubby is a teacher and the head varsity football coach at the same school. This could be tricky!