School pictures today

[MNFootballMommy]

Nope--heck, the class lists aren't even posted until 3 hours before Open House begins here. Plus our Open House overlaps with a soccer game, so DD will be attending in her uniform. I am glad there won't be school pictures that night!

 

[Nancy]

My last kid in highschool..for her senior year... just got her schedule mailed to her...basically show up for a full day on 09/07..picture will be in the next few days after that.

I have never been to an open house in highschool, never had parent/teacher conferences either..they are only offered if your kid needs them or if a parent feels the need for one. I don't..so I don't go.

I am so bad that I didn't even look at the schedule...just told my daughter as long as she knows where she needs to be and when then all is good.

 

[claudia]

You never met any of your girls' teachers when they were in high school .

I never met any of DS's teachers at the high school level (he was a straight A student, so we never went to a parent/teacher conference). He wanted to do it on his own and we had no problem with that.

 

[goofy!]

What happens if the time you are assigned doesn't work for you. I have for the last 3 years taken off from work the Friday that our schools do registration. We go when we get around and both kids are ready to go. And we get there at some time between their hours of 8 am and 1 pm. I would hate to have assigned times. With my luck, DD at one school and DS at another school, would get the same time slots. That doesn't work.

You would think that the schools would send home the medical forms before registration for the parents to fill out. NO....you have to go to the school and get the form and fill it out ON THE DAY OF REGISTRATION - can't get it early. And why, oh why can't they print out the information that I gave them last year, ask me to verify that the information is still the same or if corrections need to be made, make them and turn in the sheet. My kids have had the same Dr with the same phone number for 8 years. The same emergancy contact for 10 years. Why do I every year have to keep regiving you this information????? It would make it so much easier and faster.

And for all that is holy - I am sorry, but I will NEVER send a blank signed check in with either of my kids. The schools have preprinted receipts, that you mark what you are buying - so why in the world doesn't the office have these on hand the weeks leading up to registration. You would think that it would be a piece of cake to call and ask how much this cost or that cost - or heck even better, put the thing on the schools website and let me look it up myself.

There were every few kids at the HS registration that didn't have atleast one parent with them. That was upper and lower classmen. They all go on the same day - it's a free for all.

There are several days of registration and each grade has pretty much a half day. If your last name starts with A and you can't make the A time slot, you just go during a different time during your grade level. The time slots are really to control the flow of people over the day, not set in stone.

We do get all our forms mailed to us before hand to be filled out. The kids bring their filled in forms in and get their registration checklist signed off so that they can proceed to the next station. Last station is schedules for high school. Middle school does not get schedules until the first day of school.

We also get a list of fees. Some are mandatory, some are optional. You can send your child in with a signed check (I didn't say blank check ) or several checks depending on what you are purchasing. You need different checks for parking passes, school pictures, fees, etc, depending if the school is doing something or a booster club is sponsoring.

Most info can also be accessed via infinite campus or the school's website.

Our registration is short and sweet. I spent about a half hour at our middle school registration and the kids have never spent more than an hour at high school registration.

 

[goofy!]

I never met any of DS's teachers at the high school level (he was a straight A student, so we never went to a parent/teacher conference). He wanted to do it on his own and we had no problem with that.

Sophomore, junior and senior year we did not go to P/T conferences for the same reason. Our son was carrying a 4+ GPA and we really did not need to interfere.

I did log into Infinite Campus every so often just to keep up with what he was doing.

 

[monsterkitty]

We used to do pictures during registration, but the parents complained that it took to long so we stopped doing that. Many said it was a waste of their time. Now we take pictures within the first two weeks of school during PE or music classes.

As for Open House or Back-to-School night, the only way we can get parents there is to feed them. So, we have a BBQ at 5:30 on the first day of school and then back-to-school starts at 7. 90% of the parents leave after we feed them, but at least we got to talk to them while we were eating!

 

[sunnyday123]

Sophomore, junior and senior year we did not go to P/T conferences for the same reason. Our son was carrying a 4+ GPA and we really did not need to interfere.

I did log into Infinite Campus every so often just to keep up with what he was doing.

Exactly. I don't think my parents ever met a high school teacher.

 

[golfgal]

Well, I'm not the one you asked, however, yes, I have met them -- most of the time at parent/teacher conferences. Why else would you need to meet them in HS -- particularly as you say you have good schools & your kids are good students? Mine wants to handle her own affairs at this age.

Maybe this is why our schools are so much better, because parents care enough to go sit in class for 10 minutes to see what is coming up for the year. No one even really "meets" the teachers. There is no "registration" at our school, we don't buy gym uniforms or have book fees, the kids turn in medical information on the first day of school. They are just saving an instruction day for school pictures, big deal. As far as the kids wanting to do it themselves all I did was sit in the passenger seat of the car while DD15 drove to school then went to Sam's Club with DS18, haven't seen the twins since. Oh, boy, I guess I am the worst helicopter parent out there .

 

[Mimi1965]

Maybe this is why our schools are so much better, because parents care enough to go sit in class for 10 minutes to see what is coming up for the year..

That's got to be the reason!

 

[AshleyW]

I think that sums up things pretty nicely.

 

[doxdogy]

That is a bit of stretch. You have absolutely no idea how the rest of the the schools in this country stack up against the "GREAT" schools of Minnesota. Then to decide that if a parent does not go and sit in a classroom that they don't care. My high school did not have open house, nor did it have a quasi meet and greet for the parents. Doesn't mean my parents didn't give a flying fig.

Maybe this is why our schools are so much better, because parents care enough to go sit in class for 10 minutes to see what is coming up for the year. No one even really "meets" the teachers. There is no "registration" at our school, we don't buy gym uniforms or have book fees, the kids turn in medical information on the first day of school. They are just saving an instruction day for school pictures, big deal. As far as the kids wanting to do it themselves all I did was sit in the passenger seat of the car while DD15 drove to school then went to Sam's Club with DS18, haven't seen the twins since. Oh, boy, I guess I am the worst helicopter parent out there .

 

[golfgal]

That is a bit of stretch. You have absolutely no idea how the rest of the the schools in this country stack up against the "GREAT" schools of Minnesota. Then to decide that if a parent does not go and sit in a classroom that they don't care. My high school did not have open house, nor did it have a quasi meet and greet for the parents. Doesn't mean my parents didn't give a flying fig.

Or maybe I was making a smart alack comment to some posters that are making a huge deal out of nothing??

 

[Sparx]

REALLY??? You can't get through the hallways here on open house night with all the kids/parents, etc. Our school has it so the parents follow the kids' schedule-staying in each class for 10 minutes or so getting basic information on what will be happening for that year. The kids are welcome to come but they usually come and put their things in their lockers and catch up with friends. We have been doing this before school started since the kids were in elementary school and it is REALLY nice-especially since the kids can haul in all of their stuff.

My high school only did this with the freshman. Then we had registration with the other grades where the upper classmen would come in and pick up their schedules and buy their parking passes and pick out the lockers. It only took about 30 minutes.

 

[claudia]

Maybe this is why our schools are so much better, because parents care enough to go sit in class for 10 minutes to see what is coming up for the year.

That must be it.....

 

[declansdad]

The kids have school pictures today . When they were in middle school they took pictures at the open house before school started and the high school finally caught on to the fact that this is a good idea. They don't have to waste a day getting interrupted in class to go down and get their pictures taken. It is also freshman orientation day so the marching band does a stand still performance in the gym for that. Back to school is getting closer.

Does anyone else's school do pictures before schools starts?

Really, here it takes 30 minutes and hour tops. I guess we are behind the times up here in the great white north.

 

[golfgal]

Really, here it takes 30 minutes and hour tops. I guess we are behind the times up here in the great white north.

It isn't physically possible to move 2000 kids through pictures in 30 minutes.

 

[declansdad]

It isn't physically possible to move 2000 kids through pictures in 30 minutes.

No but all 2000 kids don't all go stand in line at the same time. It called scheduling a class or two at a time.

 

[MichelleVW]

Regional differences I guess because our back-to-school night is always packed to the gills. I like seeing my kids' teachers, being able to put a face to a name for the ones I don't know, and catching up with the ones from previous years. It's also a chance to parents to catch up with each other. We are a fairly small community, only about 1200 kids in the high school so maybe that has something to do with it.

!

1200 kids in high school is not all that small!

You never met any of your girls' teachers when they were in high school .

Honestly not on purpose. I knew the cheerleading coach, and random teachers that I would see at a football game or basketball game. DD would introduce me and that was that.

 

[Mimi1965]

Our school must be strange because they have about 90% attendance for the 9th and 10th graders and about 50% for juniors and seniors. .

So there is 2000 kids at their school and you can tell the percentages of all the parents who attend the open House?
amazing

 

[sunnyday123]

Or maybe I was making a smart alack comment to some posters that are making a huge deal out of nothing??

I think what people are making a "huge deal" out of is the way you are judging those who have children and put them in daycare. You have repeatedly said they are "dumped" with strangers randomly pulled out of the phone book, repeated over and over how much better your schools are because parents go to open house with their high schoolers, and wondered why people bother to have children if they are going to use daycare.

And there is no statistic you can quote that can make me believe schools in MN are the best in the country. When people drone on and one about the same thing and brag endlessly, it makes others think the opposite of what is being said.