Parents of Middle schoolers?

[PaulaSue]

Do you have a harder time taking (from teachers or them missing a week of school work and making it up) the kids out of school for vacations?

Our next trip is not for 2 years but I am a planner. DH can't get off during the kids summer vacation and I want to figure out the best time during Food and Wine Festival to go.

TIA!

 

[allison443]

I think you are going to get a range of answers, it seems some school districts are really strict while other schools can be lenient. You can probably find out the school's policy now, to help with your planning. Can you arrange your trip to include a weekend and maybe check if you have any school holidays or half days during that time?
Have fun planning!

 

[mjkacmom]

I have an 8th grader, and there no way I'd ever take her out for more than a day - and there is no way she'd let me! It took her a week to make up a day last year (I took the kids out for great wolf lodge - she almost killed me). I did take her out in 6th without a problem, though. She has a couple of hours of homework alone, never mind classwork. And in math, she'd be lost. She also has concert choir as a graded class, and she'd get points off for unexcused absences, since she couldn't make up being there.

I took my kids out in elementary for vacations almost every year.

 

[Becky2005]

I think it would all depend which grade in Middle School, what activities your child is in, etc...

My kids did choir -- being there for their choir concerts is part of the deal of being in choir. I think the teacher would be not very happy if I pulled them during a week the choir concert was planned for. My daugther was also in orchestra besides choir, so we had those concerts too.

Then there is state testing, so you don't want to pull them for that. Especially in 8th grade when those test scores determine which classes they will get in for High School.

My kids both did the 6th grade play, that's early in the year but no way could I have pulled them out if they were participating in the play.

My DD was on the cheer squad, so basketball season was out. This year my son is on the wrestling team, so that season would be out.

That's all beyond the work they would have to make up, which if the one week my son was sick in 2nd grade is any indication -- it would be a HUGE amount of work.

My DD last year was out for 7 weeks even with homebound tutoring, got behind in Math & forget her French! She never did get caught up with that.

There are *so* many variables when a good time is. I know our school takes the week of Thanksgiving off. I know there are several short weeks you could make it work but that would depend on your school district. I know we have 1/2 day Thursday, all day Friday & all day Monday type of weeks. If I were to pull them, that would be the kind of week I would attempt to use. I believe Columbus day is one of those, then January MLK day is one, I know we have one in Feb. (President's day?) as that is when the choir is doing their trip, so the kids only have to miss 1/2 day of school.

I know it's possible for it to be done but your kids may not be happy with what they have to do to try and recover from it. I know I've read on here before where after the kids have done it once, ask not to be pulled out again. It's just an individual thing.

I would just try to look at the school calendar & find out when there are some long weekends in there & use that as the starting point. I know we get our next school calendars out at least by February, so have some time to plan (if your school district works the same way). I know the 2010-2011 school calendar is on the next board meeting's agenda. We should be knowing what it is probably by this December.

 

[XYSRUS]

Here's my experience...I would take them in the Fall b/c most of the early work they do is review from last year. Took my kids in the Fall, no problem. All my kids are smart, the 2 oldest advanced....took my kids in May-OMG the teachers are nuts with their year end "projects". I call it just make a kid do a project for 100 points-UGH. Then last year my oldest came home to find out he made Nationals in Science Olympiad so we had to leave for that 4 days after Disney. He must have missed about 23 days of school last year. It wasn't pretty but he maintained his 4.0. Never again. Point of story...Go in the Fall-early-Sept. Off my soapbox.

 

[Katy Belle]

I currently have a 6th grader. He would probably flunk if I kept him out a week. Honestly. He's having a hard, hard time keeping up with the major amounts of homework and the organization of all things Middle School. Also, in his school he would get ZEROS with no chance of a make-up grade for ALL assignments and tests that happen while he was gone. I would not do it.

Katy

 

[Allison]

I have an 8th grader and it would not work to take her out of school. With 8 classes it would just be too hard to get caught up and she is a straight A student. My high schooler missed a week last year because of an illness and struggled to get caught up again. It definitely affected grades.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I have a 6th grader and an 8th grader and I wouldn't do it, it would just be too much work to make up.

 

[yeahdisney]

We will miss 6.75 days from school. We just did teacher conferences this week. Both our kids have great grades first quarter. The fifth grade teacher said she is going to give us all of her homework the week before we go. I snagged her spelling book from the conference and we are doing the unit she would miss- this long 4 day weekend. She will have a book report due for November, which has not been assigned yet, and we will do it before we go. December's book report (I hoping we can take that book with us) and then she will complete it when we return. Volleyball finishes the weekend right before we leave. And she has a orchestra concert 2 days after we return.

The third grade teacher said DS will need to keep a daily journal entry, 1 entry for each day. And she will send his spelling with us. She thinks that is all she will have us do, along with his regular reading, and writing 1 short story summary (which we are also doing this long weekend). Having said that, DS just missed the last 6.75 days of school from the Flu A+, each day I went in and got his homework and turned in his completed homework and I asked if I could give him 2 units worth of spelling test he missed- so she wouldn't have to-and she saw we kept him up with his school work.

Next year DD sixth grade- I'm planning like the other posters around a long weekend off decreasing missed days to less then 4 and I'm thinking that will now be our traveling times.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Took my kids out last year - oldest was 7th grade. They missed only 4 days.

Our district is really strict. So I lied and said they were sick so they could make up the work. In the end it didn't matter since DS said he made up the work but when I saw his grades the next week, they had plummeted because he didn't do a darn thing.

There was tons of work for him to make up too. He told me later that he thought it was just too much to make up so he decided not to do it.

My 3rd grader was stressed the week we got back because she was worried about not being able to make up all the work. She had alot too. But she did get all of hers done.

So no more trips during the school year. It's just not worth it for us.

 

[happymommy]

My kids go to a private school, so the school isn't the issue. They have families take vacations all the time.

The issue for me is that it is WAY too much work to make up. My son is in 7th grade, and I wouldn't pull him out for vacation right now. Missing one day can be a lot of work to make up. We go on vacation over spring break, which is mid March for us, and in the summer.

I would also love to go to F&W festival some day, but it is not going to ever happen with my kids!

Why not look into another time of the year, when you husband can take off? Or find out if someone can watch your son so you can go?

 

[KirstenB]

Our older dd just started middle school this year. The last time we took her out was 3rd grade. Even in upper elementary here, it just got to be too much hassle with making up all the work/tests etc.

Having said that, once they start middle school they need a doctor's note, or a funeral for the absence to be excused. If the absence is unexcused, the teachers do not have to let the student make up work. We pulled dd out for 1 day, and 2 of the teachers gave her zeros for that homework, per their policy.

We just bagged it, and have gone to WDW in summer the last 2 years. Unfortunately, I guess this is what we'll be doing from now on, ugghhh!!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Once my oldest two hit middle school, we stopped taking them out. It was just too much information and work for them to miss, and comfortably make up. Not to mention sports schedules and other activities.

I would look for shorter trips around long weekends--check the school calendar. Hopefully there's something that can work for you.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We did it and it was fine. We had done it all though elementry and I had planned to stop in middle school but I mentioned this fact to the asst. principal in passing and she asked why???

We took him out though 8th grade and he never suffered any for it. And in reality, grades mean nothing till high school so.....

High school ; no way could he miss more that a day or too. honors and AP classes just move tooooo fast and the grades are very imporatant for that scholorship he wants!!!

So glad we got those last few years in.

 

[mjkacmom]

We took him out though 8th grade and he never suffered any for it. And in reality, grades mean nothing till high school so.....
.

Grades matter here - if she gets anything less than an A in vector classes, she can't take them in HS. I guess it depends on the school system - I don't know of anyone here who would risk taking them out of MS for a vacation.

 

[happymommy]

Grades matter here too - my son is in highschool algebra, and has to have a certain grade to advance (since he's in an advanced class, has to be a very high B). Not on "permanent" record for college, but definitely matters! Too much in tutors and tuition to not matter.

 

[Kimkimba]

I have a 6th grader and I would not take him out of school. The work would be almost impossible to make up successfully. It's hard enough on a daily basis.

 

[tinkerfan1]

Wow, I guess it really does depend on the school. We have a 10th grader and an 8th grader. We have gone to DW several times in the past several years and had no problems making up work. Now, it has not been "excused" but they have been able to make up their work and their grades have not suffered. We have had them miss 3 days around Thanksgiving several times (including this upcoming vacation). I was even considering going the week after Thanksgiving next year and letting them miss 5 days. My oldest will be in 11th grade and wanting to visit colleges, too, so I'm still not sure. We'll see. My oldest son has missed several days already this year due to the flu (swine, probably) and has made up that work as well. Those days will not be held against him.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I'm sorry, but I would have gone and stayed with my grandparents if my parents had ever tried to pull me out for a week in middle school. Missing even 1 day set me behind for weeks because we had so much homework. My dad tried to take us out for one day once and I freaked out because I knew what that would mean for me in terms of catching up. I won. We didn't take that day off after all. Please, please, please don't do this to your child. The stress from trying to catch themselves up will be terrible.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We did it and it was fine. We had done it all though elementry and I had planned to stop in middle school but I mentioned this fact to the asst. principal in passing and she asked why???

We took him out though 8th grade and he never suffered any for it. And in reality, grades mean nothing till high school so.....

High school ; no way could he miss more that a day or too. honors and AP classes just move tooooo fast and the grades are very imporatant for that scholorship he wants!!!

So glad we got those last few years in.

Ok, I guess I should not say they "don't count" but they are not on a public record that will follow you child to college or beyond. In our system, the 8th grade teachers must recomend a student for a honors class in HS. No certain grade required. The teacher should know your child well enough that one weeks of grades IF they fall should not effect that decission.
Certainly get your child's input. Socail situations, sports, clubs etc may also come into play for your child. It will not work for every child but it can work and did for us. We ( including DS) had no regrets, grades stayed A's and DS has all honors classes in HS.