Parents of the Class of 2019

[yeahdisney]

Last final starts tonight at 7pm....
DS is ready to be done.

 

[mom2rtk]

Last final starts tonight at 7pm....
DS is ready to be done.

Good luck to him! It's been a semester I'm sure they're all ready to be done with.

DD finished hers yesterday afternoon.

 

[Colleen27]

DD is home and getting used to Michigan time again. She flew in Monday and promptly pulled an all-nighter to finish her last paper for her Japanese culture class while she had me on hand as a research assistant, because she chose a topic so obscure - an ancient form of dance associated with the rural prefecture where she spent her exchange stay - that not having access to any of the *three* libraries in/around her school with excellent Japanese studies collections very nearly sank the whole idea. Fortunately, her Japanese host mother was able to help with translation of some resources that we couldn't find digitized in English when her own Japanese fell short, and her professor was very impressed with the finished project. Now I think she plans to spend the next two weeks on the couch, playing MarioKart with DD12, before her wintersession class starts on the 4th.

 

[design_mom]

Last final starts tonight at 7pm....
DS is ready to be done.

Good luck to him! Mine has been done since last week. Final grades were released yesterday and he got all As and A-s. He was a little disappointed in a couple of the A-s but I am am happy/proud.

He also got an internship in his field. He thought he was interviewing for a potential summer position -- and I think that's still the plan, but they asked if he could come in over winter break to learn the ropes (He's home till January 18). He said he might be able to come on his off days from his grocery store job but he also needed to make some money over break. They asked how much he expected to make over the break from the grocery and offered him a little more to work for them exclusively. (So I think it technically it'll be fewer dollars per hour, but DS said he'd much rather work there.) So far he is L-O-V-I-N-G I-T. So he's planning to work there for the next month and then again next summer.

He also signed with 3 friends for his apartment next year. It looks a lot nicer than anything I ever saw as an off-campus apartment when I was in college. I hope he enjoys it and everyone remains friends. One of the other boys has been his roommate for the last 2 years so they should get along OK. And DS will have his own bedroom/bathroom. I know that having his own space will make a big difference to him.

 

[bjscheel]

So far he is L-O-V-I-N-G I-T. So he's planning to work there for the next month and then again next summer.

Yay that's such a good thing to have arranged and to love it makes it all the better. Sounds like everything is coming out great for him!

DD got all A's as well. School announced today no spring break, which is not surprising. I think all of her classes are in person, most would be small, and maybe the science class/lab will split up like last semester. (Hopefully if they do though, her friend will still be in her section- he was going to give her rides to the 8 am lab.)

 

[yeahdisney]

Finals are in - he passed everything. Differential equations was taxing him.
I telling you- this kid is giving me gray hairs.
Merry Christmas

 

[mom2rtk]

Mizzou announced today that all Res Life students will need to test before returning or test upon arrival. Which is fine. It's about time they started acting more proactively. But since the area campus is in generally required symptoms for testing previously, I hope they make it easier for students to obtain the test. DD will likely test here at home a few days before going back.

 

[laughinplace199]

DS's school is sending a test home for students to self administer and FedEx back to the lab before they can return to campus. Same procedure as when they moved in over the summer. In the past, on campus you could only get tested if you had symptoms or if you were a close contact of a positive person. Not sure if any of that will change - I guess we'll find out at the end of January when he goes back.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

[PollyannaMom]

DS’s school is requiring testing prior to arrival (same as before) and again on campus. They are ramping up surveillance testing as well.

 

[design_mom]

DS's school is doing the same process as in the fall for dorm students. First stop on campus is drive-thru testing in the basketball arena parking lot. When you complete the test, you get a wrist band. You can't get into your dorm the first week without the wristband.

Last semester, the school had separate testing procedures for sick students, but they also did "surveillance testing" for asymptomatic students. It was "random but not random." DS got called for it 5 times during the semester, but his roommate only got called once.

 

[mjkacmom]

She got the job! She went from not being able to find any shadowing opportunity to getting paid $15 an hour in a hospital. She’s so happy and relieved, starts Tuesday.

 

[bjscheel]

She got the job! She went from not being able to find any shadowing opportunity to getting paid $15 an hour in a hospital. She’s so happy and relieved, starts Tuesday.

Yay! Is this just for winter break or longer term?
We’re looking at field experience for summer. The camp I was hoping for says they are staffed but for her to still apply. She’s been offered something locally that pays well but it’s not the area she wants unfortunately.

 

[soccerdad72]

Son is spending most of his time during break trying to start locating Co-op options for fall semester - that will be his first (of 4 co-ops that he needs to do for his program). I'm hoping along the way he finds a good opportunity for a summer co-op/internship as well, but we'll see.

 

[mjkacmom]

Yay! Is this just for winter break or longer term?
We’re looking at field experience for summer. The camp I was hoping for says they are staffed but for her to still apply. She’s been offered something locally that pays well but it’s not the area she wants unfortunately.

It’s just for winter session, but since all of her classes are remote, she told them she could continue if needed. Good luck to your daughter, at least she has a backup.

 

[bjscheel]

It’s just for winter session, but since all of her classes are remote, she told them she could continue if needed. Good luck to your daughter, at least she has a backup.

Yesterday DD got a very enthusiastic response to her resume! He said they had one cabin counselor position left which he would be happy to offer her, but that they should Zoom and see if she would be interested in something higher up the chain. If not, it sounds like they would be able to have her do some extra things beyond camp counselor since it is for Field Experience credit. Hopefully they will be able to Zoom this week and figure out where she fits in but sounds like there will definitely be something for her.

I'm very happy, she really wanted to be at a camp and this one is super nice and close enough to come home on a day off here and there. And maybe a place that could work out for Internship and/or future job.

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

Soooooo.....winter quarter update. Stanford invited frosh, sophomores and special circumstances back on campus. Multiple town halls and communications throughout December. I thought their plan was good. We planned to drive her to campus so she can have a car and because she has an underlying condition and we did not want her to fly. Her move in date was Jan 4. Late Dec, Stanford pivoted and decided to have Special circ students move in Jan 4 to Jan 9, and pushed off the rest of Frosh and Sophomore to move in two weeks after classes start. That was ok, but my daughter does have special circumstances permission, but her roommate does not. My daughter was still supposed to move in Jan 4 and would have been in quarantine protocol from Jan 4 through the first 2 weeks of school, THEN her roommate would arrive on Jan 23 and they would have to go through the roommate’s two weeks of quarantine FOR A TOTAL OF FIVE WEEKS OF QUARANTINE PROTOCOL CONFINED TO HER ROOM EXCEPT TO PICK UP FOOD, GO FOR TESTING, OR BRIEF OUTSIDE EXCERCISE!!!!! That seemed awful! Quickly, my daughter’s pod of seven identified a family member‘s unoccupied home about an hour from school and arrangements were made to move in for the two and 1/2 weeks before they could move in to dorms on Jan 23. These kids were awesome in how the came up with careful plans for them all to get tested, who needed to quarantine in Airbnb’s after travel to CA before move-in to the house, etc. We did no family interaction for Christmas, got tested, switched gears on travel dates, and planned to travel in a way to minimize contacts as much as possible and rented a tiny house Airbnb in Boulder Creek, CA for her to do her quarantine time and wait to take a test and wait for test results. (Cutest tiny house nestled in a redwood forest—we loved it). I drove from Texas to California with my daughter in December and I flew home last Sunday. Stanford classes start tomorrow Monday Jan 11th. All of the six kids moved in to the relative home over the last three days, depending upon when their self imposed quarantines ended and test results received. Last night, we got notified by email that Stanford cancelled the Frosh and sophomores coming back on campus for winter quarter, and saying they can come in the summer . Now, instead of making preparations to jump in to the new 10 week academic quarter, the six kids (one of her pod decided to not come back) are all scrambling to figure out where to go after the two weeks in the house are up. I am just so exhausted by it all.

 

[design_mom]

Ugh... That is so frustrating and I feel terrible for them. My son's school kind of did the same thing fall semester -- all sorts of last minute changes, pushed back move-ins, and classes changed from in-person to online at the last minute. It was annoying for us (in-state, driving distance) but I can't even imagine what it was like for people coming in from out of state who had to change travel arrangements multiple times, etc.

They have *promised* that spring semester will be different/better, but we'll see. Spring semester at DS's school doesn't start till 1/25 and I think he's scheduled to move in 1/22. We'll see what happens.

 

[bjscheel]

My daughter was still supposed to move in Jan 4 and would have been in quarantine protocol from Jan 4 through the first 2 weeks of school

Last night, we got notified by email that Stanford cancelled the Frosh and sophomores coming back on campus for winter quarter, and saying they can come in the summer .

Yikes, so have some kids been moving in since the 4th and now have to leave?

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

Yikes, so have some kids been moving in since the 4th and now have to leave?

Under the initial plan, Frosh and sophomores and special circ students were all moving in between Jan 4 and Jan 9. Prior to move in, Stanford changed to Pushing off the general population of Frosh and sophomores (dubbed Group B) move in for two weeks until Jan 23, only letting special circ students (dubbed Group A) move in to the dorm Jan 4-9. (The student newspaper reported Friday night that there were 43 new student cases last week on campus, most of whom moved in last week that had been positive at move in testing and were sent to isolation Immediately. Unbelievable! But probably contributed to Stanford’s pivot yesterday). In the new announcement yesterday, those special circ students and Residence Staff that had already moved in can stay, they don’t have to move out. My daughter has sent an email to see if she will still be allowed to move in, since she had asked to delay until the group B move in on Jan 23 (which has now been cancelled). I feel pretty sure they will still let her, but none of the rest of her pod is special circs. So will she be on campus with no “pod” to interact with? Will the others all go back home (the furthest is from D.C.)? It will all work out, just all up in the air at the moment.

 

[Eureka]

DS is going back to his off campus house tonight. He’s been home since a few days before Christmas and has finished week one of his three-week winter class (online). It’s been fun having him home but he said going back to the house (where I think two guys have already come back) will help him focus more and feel like it’s school. Fair enough. He’s having a COVID test Tuesday - the university has had a lot of large testing events around when students are coming and going - and said he’s probably coming back next weekend for the long weekend (he’s an hour away and has the car he shares with his brother, who’s still doing senior year of high school online) and then he’ll go back and stay until probably spring break.

He thinks one of his classes (small seminar) will be in person which he’s happy about and will go back to his job as an “ambassador” which is pretty much a mask monitor. But I think the first week of classes are all online so that won’t start back up for awhile. He said the fall semester wasn’t great the way it had to be but was what it was. Sounds like he and his housemates have had some fun though hanging out in the house, which feels normal-ish. He did well - two A and three A minus - so we‘re happy. I just hope the vaccinations can continue to roll out in a timely manner. Dh and I are probably in the last bunch who will be able to get them but I am hoping for both my kids that colleges will require them and then are able to offer them to students. May be a pipe dream but I’d love DS17 to be able to start college in the fall a little more normally.