October 25, 2017
Sydney and I spent the evening at Madison’s High School listening to their information night for incoming Freshman. I thought that this was a tough decision for Madison two years ago, hah!! It’s even tougher now. Sydney is in 8th grade and will be choosing her High School in the next few months. She is not sure where she wants to go, although she knows where she doens’t want to go.
Sydney really wants to try to play Volleyball in High School. Madison’s High School has no sports but they have an agreement for students to participate in sports at the other two High Schools. Unfortunately, if Sydney goes to Madison’s High School she has to try out at the same school her sister had to try out at, and that was the worse possible experience you can imagine. We’re all pretty sure that by virtue of her last name, Sydney would not make the team. But, if I took her to a High School with open enrollemnt, about a twenty five minute drive away (assuming I don’t hit traffic) she would make the Freshman team and just might get pulled up to JV right away. The wild card is the school up the hill. It’s a bit of a lottery to get into that school and quite a few parents are still wanting that school over the options for our town. So I can put her in, but I’m not sure that she will get in. She isn’t playing for their coach’s Club either, but at least she would have a chance at it. She is such a bright young lady, her brain moves fast and she’s perfectly capable of keeping up with the academics at that school, but she still worries a little. I worry a little that she would be a small fish lost at sea at a school with a good 2500 Students. They have a pretty good music program, where she could take violin until she gets the confidence to try out for their Strings Orcehstra. She could play her French Horn too I think. There is a little more rigor to their program, and a little less room for the creative side. They have more of the Clubs that she wants, and she likes the block schedule. They have some excellent Academics too. She could be involved in the International Baccalaureate program and that has a great deal of appeal. But kids talk, and the talk is...academics - overwhelming academics. Academics are extremely important but sometimes there should be something more.
Madison’s school will offer her the chance to have different opportunities. No Block schedule, but with three trimesters, they end up getting fifteen classes a year, which leaves room for the Core classes plus classes that may not be in their Academy but that they show interest in. I like the potential for internships for them, and the College credits that they can acquire to help them getting started in College. Still not completely sure I like the trimester system though.
I can’t do a darn thing about Volleyball. The Freshman coach has a personal beef against their parents, all because we didn’t pay to play at his Club. And the JV coaches are too weak to stand up to the Freshman coach and run their own team. If Sydney goes to Madison’s high school, there may not be team sports, she has to be ready for that potential. And I think overall she is, she likes the idea of a smaller class size where she can get to know her classmates, her teachers, and be known. She likes the idea that she has a little more freedom in her schedule in order to be creative, but to take in all the Academics that she really wants in her High School experience. But I think a part of her just really wants to go to the same school as her sister. They might fight a lot; and I mean a lot, but at the end of the day, having your sister somewhere on campus to talk to is a nice bit of comfort on a tough day.
Because Madison is already enrolled at the school, Sydney is in. I will do the paperwork to put her into the system. But I will also do the paperwork to see about sending her to the High School up the hill. If I do, she can decide. If I don’t she loses all control over her next four years. At this age, there is so very little control that kids have over their world, I think that it’s only fair that Sydney get to make the same choice that her sister got to make. Would my life be easier if they went to the same school? Yes in many ways, but some ways it would make it just as difficult. Getting them out of the house at an earlier time will be an incredible challenge for Sydney (the school up the hill starts even earlier than Madison’s school). At some point, having them ride together to school with Madison driving (gulp) might be pushing it in an extreme way.
Either way, it should be an interesting four years of High School for Sydney. I think Madison is making this school work for her, and in positive ways. I think that if Sydney decides that she wants the same school I do think she can make it work too. By letting her choose, if she goes to the same school as Madison then she will go into the whole experience with a better outlook than if we told her she had to go. And if she chooses up the hill, then we are all getting up earlier and trying to keep her from getting herself overwhelmed with the expectations she has for herself and from the school. Mom and Dad want good grades yes, but we also want them both to come out whole at the end of the day.
I’m pretty sure that High School choice was never meant to be this difficult to figure out. But here we are, trying to decide anyway. Sigh!
As for Bradley, more than likely, he will be attending a completely different school from his sisters and I can’t even begin to figure out how I feel about that. But THAT is defeinltely a Challenge for another day!
Closing out the 31 For 21 Challenge for day 25. Have a great night Folks!
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