First Day as Sophomores

Okay, the first day was last week. But I took this picture on the first day, so at least I was on the ball for that.

Wonder Twin Sophomore Powers... ACTIVATE!

Gripes about Groups

As the first year of high school comes to a close around here, I'm feeling a need to vent about one particular part of school that didn't go so hot, Student Council.

The Girl tried, really tried, to be involved with Student Council this year but she was literally a day late and a dollar short for most everything. She was constantly missing events and meetings simply because she never knew when things were happening. Communication for this group is right at the level of sending smoke signals. Mostly news is just passed on by word of mouth (or texting) and just like that classic game of Telephone, along the way the messages would get garbled and lost.

Now you are saying, I'm sure that if she put forth a little more effort, she would have been able to participate more. People, I'm telling you she tried! She would ask her friends, text officers, check her Facebook and walk by the Student Council bulletin board all the time and she still had no idea what was going on...for an entire school year!

Right now she's at the Student Council banquet. We found out about it yesterday. She was told to bring a dessert and it started at 6:30. At 6:15 she started getting texts from people asking where she was because it started at 6:00. That's been Student Council in a nutshell. (And, no. I didn't send a dessert.)

I don't know if it's the officers in charge right now or the overly-taxed, mostly absent advisor or what, but I am completely done with Student Council.

I wish she were. But, alas, no.

I thought that Cross Country was unorganized, but at least there was a written schedule and a phone number of somebody who actually knew something you could call. The problems with Cross Country came mostly with being told things like, "It's just like we did last year". When I would point out that we weren't around last year, there would be an honest moment of surprise and then apology. Unfortunately, this scenario happened over and over and over during the season, but at least we did eventually get answers. I take solace in that THIS year, we'll be in the know.


The Girl has now left the Student Council banquet to go to Dance Team try-outs. I'm not down with this. Not at all. But I'm putting on a brave face and letting her make her own decision. The parent letter she brought home after the first try-out read like a nightmare; required uniforms, year long fundraisers, dance camp, hours of practice for 2 minutes of performance one a week. Ugh. I am filled with dread. Please, please, please just let it be organized at least!

Update: She made the team!

Freshman Camp

Yesterday, on a day that could melt you right where you stood, the kids had Freshman Camp. Before I go on, I just have to mention this. I know that organizations use the word "camp" in their events to try to lighten the situation up. You think, "Oh, it's just camp! Camp is fun!" In reality, most of the time, these so called camps are just big drags bordering on complete nightmares. There is nothing "camping" about it. Unless you are actually spending the night somewhere and there is a snack cooked over a fire at some point, I think the word camp should be left out of the naming process. But that's just me.



Anyway. Freshman Camp involves all the incoming kids and their parents jamming in the auditorium. It was standing room only by the time everyone got in. "Welcome to high school, blah, blah, blah." Then they sent the kids away leaving the administrators alone with the parents, most it seems who had shown up gunning for a fight. A bunch more blah, blah, blah and then they opened the floor up for questions.



Hands shot up all over the place. As the first woman stood, I thought we would never hear her. But everyone did because she was yelling. Everyone who asked a question was yelling! These people were upset! Mostly they were upset about the traffic, the drop-off situation and parking. And those ARE all upsetting things, but honestly there isn't anything to be done about it. The whole school is surrounded by a construction site. It's literally hell on Earth over there. The views out every window are construction vehicles and partially built walls. It's not fun. It's not funny. But that is what we all signed up for so truly we all just need to suck it up!



Other than that people were yelling about dress codes, emergency procedures, weapons searches, lack of air conditioning, (Where this woman's kid went to elementary school, I would like to know. Nobody has air in the city!) and the lunch room only serving junk food. It was an impressive meeting. One of the most interesting ones that I've ever been to. There were happy moments though. Like when it was announced that cell phones were confiscated on sight. Everyone applauded. That announcement was topped with that the kids' grades would be updated daily on the website along with homework assignments. Big, big applause for that!



After that we got to go find our kids and wander around the building locating their rooms, teachers and lockers. Only one of The Girl's teachers was in the building and ZERO of The Boy's. That didn't make this mommy very happy to say the least. The Girl's schedule takes her on a nonstop-up-and-down-corner-to-corner-roller-coaster-daily-tour of the building. It's not pretty. The Boy's has more of a flow to it.



But the biggest shock of the day came with their schedules. They are on completely different schedules with completely different sets of teachers. Now I know it's a big place, but I didn't think that this was even possible being that they are on the same team. Not one teacher in common?!?!


Again, not a happy mommy here. Not happy at all. If you put me in the auditorium right now, I'd probably start yelling.