OT: High School

[stitchlover]

This is totally off topic...

My baby picked up her high school schedule last night. I cannot believe this child is about to be 15 years old and starting high school. Makes me very sad and happy at the same time. At least they built a 9th grade campus (right next to the high school) and she won't be in the BIG high school for another year. She is so shy and was so overwhelmed last night at schedule pick up. I hope the first day of school goes smoothly.

This is her 3rd year in this school district and she said she still feels like the new kid. We moved from a large town with 12 junior highs and 6 high schools to a small town with 1 middle school and 1 high school. So the transition to high school here should be much smoother than the bigger city we lived in. Out here she has already been in school with the same kids for 2 years.

Like I said totally off topic. But am a little nervous for her. She has one week before school starts.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My DS14 just finished up his first week of high school. He loved it. He joined the after school Robotics club and is very excited.

All 9 thru 12 are in the same school so he's mixing with the older kids. Four middle schools feed into this High School. It's huge. It hasn't been a problem so far except his classes are all over the buidling and he barely makes it from one to the other before the bell rings.

Once your DD gets used to it, I bet she'll love it too.

I wanted to add if they have an afternoon with a walk thru so the kids can "walk" their classes, take her. It's very helpful. It's also a great time to decorate or organize the inside of her locker if she has the locker and combination yet.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Best of luck to her. Ninth grade ended up being one of my favorites.

 

[SoScary'09]

Ah, freshman year. I'm sure once she gets in the swing of things she'll have a great time. High school is a little more freedom so she's sure to enjoy herself!~

 

[froggy5657]

High School is a wonderful time of self-discovery. My advice is to join clubs!!!! There she can meet people with similar ideals, and interests. I have made so many wonderful friends through the musicals. Just my two sense

 

[916chipndale]

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[softball chick]

That was me not to long ago (and my little sister this year), and I was going from a small private Catholic school to the big public high school so it was quite an adjustment for me being the shy, keep-to-myself girl that I sort of was back then. But once I got the swing of things, high school has been the best years of my life.

The biggest thing that will help is get involved! I know it sounds cheesy and everyone says it but it's so true! I joined volleyball and theatre my first month and met some of my best friends through them. Good luck to her starting off! She is going to love it and do awesome! (and good luck to you too for getting through the "sending the baby off" thing...my mom survived and I'm sure you will too )

 

[stitchlover]

Thanks for all the thoughts and comments. I just worry about her because her defense mechanism is to just shut down and act like "I don't care". When she actually really does care. I do have to say I don't worry as much now that we live in a smaller town. I asked her this evening if I needed to be concerned and she said "No, give me a few weeks and everything will be fine."

I have talked to her about joining a group or a club but she keeps saying no. I really wish instead of getting a jump on her foreign language credit I had insisted she join the choir. She really loves singing and did quite well in the middle school choir. She was a member of the Texas Girls' Choir for about 4 years and it really brings her great joy to sing. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Hopefully I can get her to "plug in" somewhere.

 

[stitchlover]

i start high school september 1st? im a little nervous because i am one of the youngest in the whole school, and im a little short (but im finally growing thats good at least) im also a shy kid and am nervous im going to get lunch with all the seniors. well ill found out my scheduele august 26th.

Good luck to you. You sound a lot like my "baby". She just hit 5' this past year and we were soooo excited about that. I hope it is a smooth transition for you.

 

[916chipndale]

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[USAswimmer626]

As a rising sophomore in high school, I'll provide my advice for freshman year.

1. Don't let academics slip through the cracks. Although you'll probably hear other students and parents say that freshman year doesn't count toward college, IT DOES. A college looks at everything in the application process, and freshman year counts no less than sophomore year or junior year.

2. Get involved. Seek out extracurricular activities during the first month of school. Attend maybe 6 or 7 meetings, and decide on 2 or 3 clubs that you really want to join. Be active in those clubs so that leadership opportunities will arise in sophomore and junior year. Colleges love leadership as much as they love good grades.

3. Run for student government. Whether or not you are elected, it's a great way to get involved in the school and meet new people.

4. Don't get discouraged. Don't let one bad grade set the tone for the entire academic year. Put all grades, good or bad, behind you and approach each test, paper, and speech, as if it were your first impression.

Hope this helped!

 

[chickie]

We're going through this with middle school this year. Our dd is about the youngest in the class and is pretty small compared to all her friends. We have 5 elementaries piling into one middle school. Today is her first day, but I went up there with her yesterday to walk around with her schedule. She seems pretty confident, but I'm sure she's nervous. One of the hardest things this year will be learning 3 different locker combinations, regular, gym and orchestra.

Oh, and USAswimmer626, my dd is on a USA swim team, too. She loves it!