My eldest is starting high schoo! Anyone else?

[TimeforMe]

My DD, who is a "young" 14, will be starting high school next week. Our town is in the process of building another h.s. because of overcrowding, however, that won't be done for at least 2 years. In the meantime, her freshman class is 635 students! We went for orientation yesterday and she received her schedule and was totally overwhelmed! I feel so bad for her She has always been very gregarious and had lots of friends, but this last year has become very selective (and a little shy) about who she really likes to "hang" with. She thinks many kids are so shallow and cliquey and she is totally not like that. I know there's not a whole lot I can do to help ease the transition, but would just like to hear if anyone else's kids are experiencing this. I hope she finds her niche She is trying out for cheerleading, but is lacking the confidence I feel she needs and also plays an instrument and will be in the orchestra. I remember this teenage angst and it was not fun

 

[supercarrie]

I am not going through it (I will be a junior in HS this year) but I remember starting it and being totally overwhelmed, also. I almost cried going into both middle school and high school. We do have a foreign exchange student who is staying with us for the year and is from Greenland, and although she will be a senior, is so nervous about high school. They don't change classes in Greenland - the teachers come to them, along with a lot of other differences.

I do understand her "selectiveness" about choosing her friends - I hate shallow people and cliques, and so many teenagers are like that. I jokingly tell my mom that I hate people my age except for my friends.

Just give her hugs and reassure her that it will be okay. Has she gone through the high school and found where all of her classes are? They don't do that at my orientation. Tell her that the first couple days will be hard, but after that she will get used to it and settle in.

 

[maryann4086]

My daughter starts HS after labour day, unfortunately orientation is during the week we are in WDW,. will have to go in first day i suppose. The whole school has a total enrollment of 735, so its a good size.

 

[Towncrier]

My DS James starts high school next month. He's already signed up for marching band. He spent the last half of the summer learning how to march and play drums at the same time. His first band competition is tonight, the second one is tomorrow night, and this Friday is our first home football game of the season. And school doesn't start for two more weeks.

I think that I'm more overwhelmed by this high school thing than he is.

 

[bfeller]

My baby is starting high school next Monday. My DS is going to be a senior. They had schedule pickup/school walk thru yesterday. She is so nervous about getting lost. She made the freshman volleyball team and is starting to feel a part of the school. Like yours, the school is big and it is hard to make anything. I hope your DD makes cheerleading because it is nice when they walk in the school on the first day that they feel like they belong. Good luck with orchestra.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

My 13 yo DS starts high school Monday. DD is a junior. DS has been going to marching band and soccer practice since last week so he will know kids in all grades, plus big sis. We got schedules a few weeks ago and there is an orientation tomorrow night. I think he will be ok because of being around the school with his sister and because of knowing band and soccer players.

The best thing for your DD to do is be a part of a group, like cheerleading and orchestra. Once she has a group, the school doesn't seem so big.

 

[SeaSpray]

My older DS, 14, will be starting high school the Wed. after Labor Day. I can't believe I have a child in high school!!! LOL I feel like *I* was just in high school myself (even though I graduated 23 years ago). *ouch* that hurt...saying I graduated 23 years ago

We live in a very small town. He will be attending a vo-tech high school, but had he stayed in the public high school, he'd have had a graduating class of about 50-60 students. He's really looking forward to the larger vo-tech. The incoming freshman class isn't very large either, about 325 kids, but compared to 60 kids, that's a lot!

I hope all of our DC (darling children) have a good freshman year!!!

 

[KimRaye]

DS starts HS Monday. I'm nervous FOR him! He spent 6 weeks this summer at the school so, he's somewhat more comfortable but, he's coming from a small, close, private school and, jumping into a larger, suburban, public school. Like I said, I'm the one who's nervous!

 

[bsnyder]

Lots of changes at my house too!

DS#2 is a junior, but he transferred this year to a new school. It's a public high school with 2100+ students. This is the first time any of my kids have gone to public school. DS is hoping to play basketball here, and already knows a lot of the kids, so far the transition has been an easy one.

DS#1 went off to college this weekend! His classes start tomorrow, and I'm SO hoping that he likes it and finds his niche.

Good luck to everyone!!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

<font color=navy>My ds (#1 child) starts HS on the 27th. We had our first mom's meeting last night. He's going from a smaller school of about 250 students total to a much bigger school, but he's not worried (so he says). They had a 4-day orientation during the summer so the kids got to meet other students and get to know what to expect and what's expected of him. They already have a couple of retreats scheduled and a welcome frosh dance in September.

 

[Nancy]

My oldest DD is also starting high school the day after labor day. She was in public school until 7th grade, then we put her in a private school for a number of reasons. She's basically a good kid, has some friends I don't really care for...but don't all kids? She is going back to a public high school and I worry that she'll be overwhelmed by the size and not really knowing too many kids. She has orientation on Monday morning and she doesn't even want to go to that!!I have a feeling it's going to be a LONG first month of school!!!

 

[MerryPoppins]

My DS (15) started his freshman year on the 15th. He was so scared, but he has adjusted quickly. He no longer is concerned about getting lost and he is making new friends in his classes. He really likes the new freedoms high school brings. I think it will be good for him. Anyone else have a high school that doesn't have marching band until 10th grade? He's got one more year of regular band before he starts marching.

My DD (11) started middle school the same day. She also has made a quick adjustment to changing classes and a larger school. She is excited about starting band.

I challenged my kids to meet someone new each day, for a while. They've been coming home telling me about somebody they introduced themselves to in a class. Soon they found that they "knew" quite a few people.

It's always hard when you aren't able to see your old friends as much. And new surroundings aren't as comfortable as the ones you've lived with a while. Here's hoping that all of your kids find the new schools exciting and fun.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

My mom's eldest (me) is graduating from high school this year.
I go to a small private school which is grades 7th-12th. So I started there in junior high and didnt have to do the big high school adjustment because I was already at the school.

 

[CarolG]

Our younger DS started high school (9th grade) August 7. They had orientation the week before, but DS was out of town at football camp. (Why did they schedule orientation when both the football team and the band were away at camp? )

He knows a lot of the kids already from middle school, but he's met several new people that were not in his classes the last couple of years. Most of them seem to be girls, including a cute blonde who's one of the new football managers.

He's always done his homework as soon as he gets home so he'll time to go outside or talk online to his friends. So his biggest adjustment is having football practice until 6:00-6:30, and then doing homework after that.

He also only has four classes this semester (block scheduling); he's got honors English, honors biology, algebra, and computer applications (required elective).

And our older DS started his freshman college classes a couple of days ago... but that's another thread!

 

[fklhou]

My middle child is starting high school this week. Luckily, her brother is a junior and has been through the process.

 

[SeaSpray]

Daughter of amid:

That's exactly how the public Middle/Senior High School is here in our town. DS14 has already been there for two years (7th and 8th grades) and would've still been there for the next 4 years if he hadn't decided he wanted to go to the vo-tech.

How many kids are in your graduating class? Our school system here is excellent, and the kids are getting a free public education in a setting very similiar to a small, private school. But DS14 really didn't like the idea of not meeting any new kids at all for the next 4 years. We moved here to MA when he was entering 4th grade, and believe it or not, cliques were already formed. He does have a couple of good friends, but one of them is also leaving the public school this year, so he had absolutely no desire to stay at his school for another 4 years. DS11 was only going into 1st grade when we moved here, so he has a much wider circle of friends, but even he doesn't like the small amount of kids in town.

The small class sizes are excellent for learning, but I can understand why my DSs would like the idea of a larger school. I didn't meet my own best friend till we both went to Junior High, because we were from different parts of town. Here in this town, the group of kids you start with in kindergarten is the SAME EXACT group of kids you'll graduate high school with.

I've had my sons involved in a lot of other activities so they'd have the opportunity to meet more kids, and experience some diversities. Other than that, there's not much else I can do in such a small town....

 

[Amusement Park Junkie]

DD turns 14 next week and starts High School the following Tuesday. She's nervous and excited. Nervous because it's all new and she won't know what to do or where to go. This is a problem when it's totally unacceptable to do anything different from anyone else, right? She's excited, however, about meeting some new girls. I think 23 of the 30 kids in her 8th grade class are going on to the same High School, but she wants nothing to do with them. They're all either geeks or too caught up in themselves trying to be cool. None like here, right in the middle (LOL). There are about 950 students, with about 250-300 freshmen. Small by some High Schools, but it'll seem huge to her.

 

[meeshi]

My oldest dd (14) is starting high school on Monday. She is a cheerleader so has been having practice every morning for the last two weeks and was able to get to know some of the older girls and is not as nervous as she was. We also live in a small town so the school isn't very big.

 

[pixiedust218]

DD(14) will be starting high school Wed. after Labor Day. He has freshman orientation on Tues. Aug 27. I am happy for him, but at the same time, hard to believe that I will have a son in high school. He will be attending the same high school his father and I attended, so it does bring back a lot of good memories. Good luck to all who are starting high school....They are times you will never forget!