High School Class of 2016/College Class 2020

[snoodledoo]

DD just turned 14 on Thurs and is starting school 8/8.

I thought it was odd that tryouts for the Fall sports begin 8/6 - before school starts. Is that common?

I'm really nervous for tryouts. She is coming from a very small charter school and will only know a handful of girls going into a very large school, so making the team could really be helpful for her to make friends quickly. (Fingers crossed!)

 

[hereyago]

OP: thanks for starting this thread! Dd13 will start high school this fall. She will actually be attending my former high school's rival lol. She is excited and I am excited for her as well. She won't start until day after labor day and 9th grade orientation is a few days before. She knows which classes she will be taking just not know in what order yet. There are so many clubs but she wants to do one that has community service. I have told her even the guidance counselor told thie kids high school is no longer play time and yes you may like your friends and want to take classes but that may not happen and now is the time to start their own paths. I have bought her basic supplies just waiting to see what other things I need to buy lol. Wishing all our kids successful years!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

My son is going into 9th as well. He got into a STEM H.S. (science, technology, engineering, and math) so he is leaving his old classmates behind and joining a school that serves 3 school districts.

He will have to take public transit. I think he is more worried about the bus than school. I could drive him, but I'm not letting him know that I'm open to that because I want to have him try it first.


He had to say goodbye to band. They don't offer it at his new school. He had so much fun in band for three years and he would have gone on a trip to Hawaii this year on a band trip had he decided to go to the regular h.s.


I'm so anxious. I know he is excited about getting into this school, but I know how difficult it is to start anything new.

 

[padams]

DD just turned 14 on Thurs and is starting school 8/8.

I thought it was odd that tryouts for the Fall sports begin 8/6 - before school starts. Is that common?

I'm really nervous for tryouts. She is coming from a very small charter school and will only know a handful of girls going into a very large school, so making the team could really be helpful for her to make friends quickly. (Fingers crossed!)

Our school has tryouts for fall sports a couple of weeks before school starts. The teams practice before school starts because many of them will have their first games the week that school starts.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Hi, I'd like to join in. My youngest daughter will be a freshman starting Sept. 4th. I have another daughter who will be a junior.

Looking forward to an exciting year. They both play volleyball, and I always enjoy watching their games.

 

[SpecialK]

My youngest son will be a freshman, and my oldest will be a junior. I'm so glad to have them on the same schedule and at the same school again.

 

[hereyago]

To the other parents: will you /haveyou set a limit to how many clubs or activities they can do? Dd's school has like 60 plus clubs.

 

[lisajl]

Add my family to the group. We are actually on our last child so we have been through this before. But, as with others, each child is different.
I think our youngest DS will do better than the other two.
He has seen their mistakes and has learned from them.
Plus, we kept DS out of kindergarten till he was 6, so he is 15 going in a freshman. Much more mature than some of his friends. He has a few friends that are 15, also. What a difference a year makes.

Good luck everyone!
Lisa

 

[punkin]

Add my family to the group. We are actually on our last child so we have been through this before. But, as with others, each child is different.
I think our youngest DS will do better than the other two.
He has seen their mistakes and has learned from them.
Plus, we kept DS out of kindergarten till he was 6, so he is 15 going in a freshman. Much more mature than some of his friends. He has a few friends that are 15, also. What a difference a year makes.

Good luck everyone!
Lisa

Wow!!! and my "baby" will only be 13. She won't turn 14 'till November. That's a pretty big difference to have with your classmates.

I have a concern. DD has been sleeping in all summer. I have no idea how she is planning to wake up for a 7:15 am school start if she is currently sleeping until 11 am (at least) and not going to sleep until midnight or so.

 

[jetskigrl]

To the other parents: will you /haveyou set a limit to how many clubs or activities they can do? Dd's school has like 60 plus clubs.

I have the opposite problem. DD isn't interested in clubs. I keep trying to tell her she needs to find something she wants to participate in (I think ours has at least 50 also). I hope she finds at least one club to participate in.

 

[lisajl]

Wow!!! and my "baby" will only be 13. She won't turn 14 'till November. That's a pretty big difference to have with your classmates.

I have a concern. DD has been sleeping in all summer. I have no idea how she is planning to wake up for a 7:15 am school start if she is currently sleeping until 11 am (at least) and not going to sleep until midnight or so.

Yea, my son just turned 15. He has about 6 friends that are 15 so he is in good company. My son has been sleeping in too! Trying to get him moving before I go to work is a pain!
Let me know if you find something that works!

 

[SpecialK]

My two both sleep late in the summer. The first week of school is tough, but they get back on a schedule pretty quickly.

My freshman will turn 15 in Dec. and the junior will be 17 in Oct. I've always been happy that they had later birthdays so they've been in the middle age-wise.

As for sports/activities, we limit it to one of each maximum per semester. Much more and homework starts interfering with sleep, and with my oldest we found out very quickly what a negative impact that can have.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

My oldest has been staying up way too late and then sleeping the day away! I start putting limits on "bedtime" beginning August 15th. It gradually gets earlier as the month of August goes on. There is no reason she needs to be up that late.

As far as clubs are concerned, my kids play volleyball and then they join 1-2 other activities such as student council. I don't think they could find the time for anything more.

I am also excited to have both of my daughters back together again. It was hard for the past two years when one was in high school, and the other still in middle school. They are going to be fighting over the bathroom in the morning though I'm afraid. They don't like taking showers at night because their hair gets all messed up by morning.

 

[punkin]

About clubs...DD13 is going to be in Orchestra and she is VERY serious about her sport. Her sport will take up 4 days per week practice (2 hours minimum, not including class, private lessons, and competitions). Her instruments require at least 2 hours per day practice. I don't know how she'll have time for anything else. I hope she actually has some time for academics or we will have to reconsider some time commitments.

 

[MomofKatie]

DD was involved in 1 school sport (soccer) and one club (Natl Jr Art Honor Society) in her lastyear of middle school. She also participated in club (extracurricular) soccer. It was just about perfect, time commitment-wise.

Right now, she is interested in continuing in Art Honor Society in HS. She is still involved in club soccer, and will play HS soccer if she makes the team. She might want to become involved in another club- maybe a service-oriented one. We'll have to see how much time academics take up.

 

[momof1princess]

well, school starts august 20th, and band camp begins tomorrow morning at 8:00am! finally, DD14 will be doing something other than playing video games and texting! lol

not sure what clubs she'll want to join...she did say she wanted to be on the yearbook staff, but that's not a club, and there's an application process. in middle school, she was in band, beta club and student council; i'm hoping she makes it into the HS beta club.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I hope that my dd will get involved in a club or two also. She has been in Jr. civitain for the past two years at the middle school, and she was in the Mathlete club. Cheer takes up a LOT of time though so it would have to be something that would fit in with that.

Just a side note, I started buying school supplies today. Summer is almost over.

 

[-DisneyFreak-]

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!

 

[wdwmom0f3]

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!

Great advice! A friend of mine is the Freshman Advisor and she came over to the middle school and met with the students and parents and told us the very same thing. It really is true. This is another reason why I LOVE being able to check our children's grades online.

 

[punkin]

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!

Maybe I should let DD read this. Of course she already has 2 Cs in classes she took in middle school that count on her high school transcript for college, so she's a year too late for your wonderful advice.