Parents of the High School Class of 2017/College 2021

[robinb]

NY has a 12/1 cutoff, correct? Here in NJ it's 9/30 and my dd makes it by a few weeks. She's the 2nd youngest in her class. Lots of her friends will be turning 15 this fall not long after my dd turns 14. The start of college will be interesting since she won't be a legal adult.

Mine too. She turns 14 this week so she was always one of the youngest in her class.

 

[3smithboys]

I was always the youngest in the class too. I was 13 when I started 9th grade and turned 14 in February. My DS just turned 15 last week and will be starting 9th grade!

 

[Colleen27]

Count me in, DD is also a high school Freshman. I'm looking forward to it, I completely enjoyed DS's high school years. DD is not an athlete and had no interest in marching band. She has joined the athletic trainers and likes being part of the support team. We have student orientation this week, she is looking forward to getting her schedule and meeting new kids. We moved to the area recently and we have all been looking forward to her making new friends. My DS is starting his Doctorate of Physical Therapy program the same week she starts high school. I truly do not miss the younger years, I prefer these teen years

I was starting to think I was the only one!

My only thread to hold onto is that he's on the freshmen football team and if any of his class grades fall below a C he's off the team. Hopefully that will motivate him to not let things go.

That's my hope or my son too. He's been skating on test scores for years, knowing that in our school the all-important MEAP matters more than making passing grades when it comes to promotion/retention decisions. And he took full advantage of that - he's smart enough to score high-proficient on the tests but inconsistent and unmotivated when it comes to homework and classwork. He kept his 8th grade marks up to maintain football eligibility, and I'm hoping he'll stay motivated enough to do the same in high school.

My oldest dd just started high school last Wednesday.... felt the same way I did when she started Kindergarten and didn't want to hand her over.... I am sure by the time my others make it, it won't be so hard.....

Now kindergarten, that's hard. My youngest is starting full-day K this year and I do think I'm going to have a hard time on her first day.

 

[aprilgail2]

NY has a 12/1 cutoff, correct? Here in NJ it's 9/30 and my dd makes it by a few weeks. She's the 2nd youngest in her class. Lots of her friends will be turning 15 this fall not long after my dd turns 14. The start of college will be interesting since she won't be a legal adult.

Yes- so for the first 1/3 of the school year she will be 13. Same as kindergarten for the first 1/3 she was 4. She will be going to college at 17 for the first 4 months!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

.

but he begins try outs with the football team on Tuesday, so he'll be on campus every day. .

DS started football camp today at the high school. It will be 5 days a week until school starts. I hope being with his classmates and upperclassman will make it a more comfortable transition for him.

It's really hard for me to believe. We moved to our current house right before 2nd grade and that seems like yesterday.

Same here. We moved in right before DS started 3rd grade. Now he's going to be a freshman.

DD just started pre-school and she will be in 4th grade this year.

 

[Briarmom]

I'm in this group. Somehow.

 

[Stimpy]

Yes- so for the first 1/3 of the school year she will be 13. Same as kindergarten for the first 1/3 she was 4. She will be going to college at 17 for the first 4 months!

My DS also will be only 13. I was also one of the youngest in my class & went to college at 17. It's funny that I had no problem with it when it was me. I thought I was perfectly mature When I think of him, it's totally different! He definitely has the intelligence for his grade level but I always worry about his maturity. He just seems so innocent & naive about things still sometimes.

Our schools don't start for another 3 weeks yet. They start the week after Labor Day this year.

 

[Xcited4Disney]

NY has a 12/1 cutoff, correct? Here in NJ it's 9/30 and my dd makes it by a few weeks. She's the 2nd youngest in her class. Lots of her friends will be turning 15 this fall not long after my dd turns 14. The start of college will be interesting since she won't be a legal adult.

If I remember correctly, NY's cutoff is 12/31

 

[shoney]

If I remember correctly, NY's cutoff is 12/31

NYC's schools were always 12/31, but the Long Island districts that I know of were always 12/1.

My DS13 starts high school this year, too! He won't be 14 until mid-October. He has a friend who started school in the city and moved out here in the 4th grade. He won't turn 14 until late December.

It is so amazing to me how fast it really went. I keep saying I'm too young to have a kid in high school

 

[blueiis99]

Count me in. DD starts high school this year. Just found out that they won't have the first day till sept 9.
This is my last of 3. Where has the time gone?

 

[marcyinPA]

My guy has freshman orientation today. He is already at the school for band camp, and will return to band after orientation. Our school made a lot of changes this year, so even though I am not new to the school, I feel like a brand new parent. Our school has been on block scheduling for years, but this year they switched freshmen only to a traditional schedule. One if the pitfalls of this change is that many kids have messed up schedules. My son doesn't have Spanish in his schedule and was only given English 9 for 1/2 a year. My friends son was given 6 study halls. Hoping the guidance counselors are available today to fix the schedules for these kids. My DS emailed his counselor but never received a response.

 

[jamiesmom07]

Mine just finally hit 5 ft!! He has a huge personality which makes up for what he lacks in height right now, but most of his friends are 1/2 to 1 foot taller than he is. He has big feet though- size 9- so he's gotta grow into those paws, right? ! His brother, who is 18, is 6 ft tall, but I think he got all the tall genes. I am only 5'3" and my DH is 5'8" on a good day .

I know where you are coming from! DS will be a Freshmen this year as well, he is only 5'3" and wears a size 10 shoe, he keeps asking me when he'll grow into his feet His dad is 6'1" and I'm only 5'2" it's a toss up for that poor kid....So here's to hoping that they both grow into their paws!

 

[mamacatnv]

My guy has freshman orientation today. He is already at the school for band camp, and will return to band after orientation. Our school made a lot of changes this year, so even though I am not new to the school, I feel like a brand new parent. Our school has been on block scheduling for years, but this year they switched freshmen only to a traditional schedule. One if the pitfalls of this change is that many kids have messed up schedules. My son doesn't have Spanish in his schedule and was only given English 9 for 1/2 a year. My friends son was given 6 study halls. Hoping the guidance counselors are available today to fix the schedules for these kids. My DS emailed his counselor but never received a response.

If that had been my DS's schedule he would have kept his mouth shut and happily skipped off to 6 study halls

I remember being a Sr. and thinking that the Freshman looked so young!

My DD will be 15 just before school starts, she is 5'9 and towers over most of the boys but I remember that age and the boys eventually catch up in the later years of high school. My DS is 6'4, he was always huge

 

[bjscheel]

I'm here! It is my oldest so this is our first time. We did freshman orientation last week and that made her feel better as she got her schedule and we took notes on where each class is located. So we've got that worry out of the way.

So now all she has to worry about is who to sit with at lunch! I'm really hoping her friend situation improves from middle school. It's not been very good and I'm hoping high school brings some new friends and new maturity to the mix. Even if her BFF would just be a good friend it would help but I'm not counting on it. There is a new girl who seems nice so I'm hoping she can be a new friend.

Going to be a nerve-wracking day on Monday!

 

[MINILvr]

My youngest DS started high school yesterday. It should be interesting to see how things go. He came from a very small grammar school and is now going to a fairly new/still growing military high school. I hope he realizes it is more than just wearing fatigues most of the week.

 

[aprilgail2]

I'm here! It is my oldest so this is our first time. We did freshman orientation last week and that made her feel better as she got her schedule and we took notes on where each class is located. So we've got that worry out of the way.

!

Our school does it so much better now than when I was in school. When I went you didn't step foot in the high school until the first day of school and that day you got your schedule and locker number. My daughter is going to the same school- so far we went one evening for orientation. We went one evening for AP orientation. The last week of jr. High they actually got up at high school time, went to the high school bus stop and took bus to the high school and had a simulated "mini" day of classes. Next week they get their schedules and lockers and go in for a "walk through" where they find their classrooms and lockers ( no parents allowed!). So they give them ample prep before school even starts next month!

 

[jbmom]

My oldest ds is going to be a freshman, I'm still having a hard time grasping the concept! His orientation and ipad roll out is next week already. He has actually grown quite a bit and put on some muscles this summer so he's starting to look like a high schooler!

I love the person he is becoming so I don't miss the younger years as much as I thought I would. What does bother me is vacations! We put off several places we wanted to visit until both boys were a bit older and now I feel like I'm running out of time with them.

 

[camreesmom]

I'm with this group, too

Our middle DD is starting high school in two weeks. They've already been at the school for band camp the last two weeks so I think that is going to help a lot with the transition. I am just thankful her middle school years are over because they were filled with drama!

We also have twin DS's that will be seniors in college, DD17 who is a senior in HS and DD10 starting 5th grade. I know how fast the high school years fly since our twins already went through it but it seems different with the girls. I think I'm going to be in tears most of the year.

Our high school has orientation for freshman on Thursday night so they can walk through their schedule and find all their classes and parents can meet their teachers.

 

[mommyjam]

My oldest DD is also a freshman this year. Today is the 1st day of school and I don't know what to do with myself. I am just sitting here waiting for them to come home, but she has band till 5, so I have to wait till then to hear how her day went. She was really nervous about starting today, so I hope it goes well.

 

[Colleen27]

Our school does it so much better now than when I was in school. When I went you didn't step foot in the high school until the first day of school and that day you got your schedule and locker number. My daughter is going to the same school- so far we went one evening for orientation. We went one evening for AP orientation. The last week of jr. High they actually got up at high school time, went to the high school bus stop and took bus to the high school and had a simulated "mini" day of classes. Next week they get their schedules and lockers and go in for a "walk through" where they find their classrooms and lockers ( no parents allowed!). So they give them ample prep before school even starts next month!

Our middle and high school share a campus/building so there's not a lot of getting lost worries for freshmen who came up through our district - the high school classroom layout is a mirror image of the middle school, with a shared (staggered times) lunch room, gym, and pool at the connection between the two. But we still have an orientation day where the kids will get their lockers and combinations, schedules, and be able to look around to get a feel for where everything is. I like that they do it before school starts, but at the same time from a travel/family perspective it is a little annoying to have a mandatory attendance day on a random Thursday 2 weeks before the school year starts (and all 4 grades have a day - shorter for upperclassmen but still required for getting books, schedules, and school photos/ID).

I love the person he is becoming so I don't miss the younger years as much as I thought I would. What does bother me is vacations! We put off several places we wanted to visit until both boys were a bit older and now I feel like I'm running out of time with them.

That's getting to me too. Right now I feel like the days of family vacations are over. Between football and band, my son doesn't get a summer vacation and my ex has him for at least part of the few break times during the school year. So unless he shows us something that we've never seen before, academically, that makes us think we can continue to take advantage of our district's very reasonable absence policies we can't really do big trips together any more.