The schools here start in the beginning of August, semester ends before winter break, and then the end of the school year is in May. They take four classes per semester and the classes cover the entire year in one semester. So it was really hard to transfer in.
- He had to drop AP World History because it isn't offered at our High School. He still ended up taking the AP exam, we'll see how he did in a month or so.
- He had to drop orchestra because there wasn't room in his schedule!
- He is the only Sophomore in AP Biology. I guess they aren't allowed to take AP classes until Junior year here.
- His advanced English class is called "AIMS" here. I think it's a program they have to test into. Since he was in a similar program in elementary school, he was able to move right in. It is a lot of work, but he didn't think it was any harder than his honors classes in his old school.
- He had to ride a shuttle to a different school to take German. They don't offer it at his school. So now he has two years foreign language. Next year they won't have the shuttle. I think he's supposed to do three years foreign language for college? Problem.
- Math was really hard. He missed learning about several topics and had to pick it up on his own, or by asking for help after school. It's hard to transfer into a math class mid year. You just aren't sure what you've missed! Not all programs teach the subjects in the same sequence. This has been a huge stress for him.
He was able to do great in all of his classes, considering that he moved right after end of semester in Washington (which was beginning of fourth quarter here). He got a high A in Biology, an A in English and an A in German. But that math class was killing him. I know he could've done it if he hadn't moved in the middle of the school year. I feel bad for him. His first B. But he is okay, and ready for next school year. Some other things that made his last month of school really stressful:
- He was running on track, so he didn't get home from school until about 5.
- Early morning seminary. He loves it, but he also had one month less to finish memorizing all the scripture masteries and finish reading the Doctrine and Covenants so that he could honor.
- Mutual one night a week, violin lessons one night a week, Family Home Evening one night a week. It made for some late night homework.
- Violin audition. He auditioned for the Phoenix Youth Symphony. The excerpts he had to prepare were really hard. Really, really hard.
- Lifeguarding. He started working a couple weeks before school got out. So the day after track ended, he started working. He would go right after school, and not get home until 6:45. Add in everything else, and it made for no free time.
I think I was more stressed out about his life than he was. Those weeks when he needed to spend every minute studying, he wasn't able to. But he did his best and ended up with an 88 in the class. Unfortunately, their GPA doesn't count pluses or minuses, so an 88 is just a B. Not a B plus. So now he has a B on his GPA. But he is a great kid, a well rounded student, and a hard worker, so I'm hoping the GPA won't affect his scholarship potential.
And now that the stress is behind us, and all he is doing is lifeguarding (and finally having a social life!), it's all good.
1 comment:
Chantel was driven like that and to get anything less then and "A" was not acceptable. She literally badgered her teachers into giving her an "A" after all.
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