Culture of Holton-Arms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many girls take geometry during summer before grade 9?

My understanding is no one needs to take summer math with the current math tracking - integrated math covers 3 years of material during freshmen and sophomore years (rather than take geometry or any math in the summer). I think 10-15 girls get recommended for integrated. The rest of the freshmen start in geometry (gets you to AB Calc) or honors geometry (gets you to BC Calc).

And as a parent of a senior, I don’t think anyone needs high school math beyond multivariable. No college will turn a kid down bc they took multivariable rather than number theory. If your kid is that advanced, spend the extra time doing research, more ECs, math contests or AP test. Holton STEM scholars or global scholars are amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many girls take geometry during summer before grade 9?

My understanding is no one needs to take summer math with the current math tracking - integrated math covers 3 years of material during freshmen and sophomore years (rather than take geometry or any math in the summer). I think 10-15 girls get recommended for integrated. The rest of the freshmen start in geometry (gets you to AB Calc) or honors geometry (gets you to BC Calc).

And as a parent of a senior, I don’t think anyone needs high school math beyond multivariable. No college will turn a kid down bc they took multivariable rather than number theory. If your kid is that advanced, spend the extra time doing research, more ECs, math contests or AP test. Holton STEM scholars or global scholars are amazing.

There are 5-6 freshman girls in the algebra 2 honors class too. But most of them are new girls who joined Holton in 9th grade. I think only one girl or two girls placed out of geometry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many girls take geometry during summer before grade 9?

My understanding is no one needs to take summer math with the current math tracking - integrated math covers 3 years of material during freshmen and sophomore years (rather than take geometry or any math in the summer). I think 10-15 girls get recommended for integrated. The rest of the freshmen start in geometry (gets you to AB Calc) or honors geometry (gets you to BC Calc).

And as a parent of a senior, I don’t think anyone needs high school math beyond multivariable. No college will turn a kid down bc they took multivariable rather than number theory. If your kid is that advanced, spend the extra time doing research, more ECs, math contests or AP test. Holton STEM scholars or global scholars are amazing.

There are 5-6 freshman girls in the algebra 2 honors class too. But most of them are new girls who joined Holton in 9th grade. I think only one girl or two girls placed out of geometry.

I don’t know about the new girls but there are at least 10 girls who placed out of geometry from Holton middle school and are in the new integrated math class (which is above geometry and gets you to multivariable senior year). And there may have been girls who placed above that, my daughter says there were but I never followed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many girls take geometry during summer before grade 9?

My understanding is no one needs to take summer math with the current math tracking - integrated math covers 3 years of material during freshmen and sophomore years (rather than take geometry or any math in the summer). I think 10-15 girls get recommended for integrated. The rest of the freshmen start in geometry (gets you to AB Calc) or honors geometry (gets you to BC Calc).

And as a parent of a senior, I don’t think anyone needs high school math beyond multivariable. No college will turn a kid down bc they took multivariable rather than number theory. If your kid is that advanced, spend the extra time doing research, more ECs, math contests or AP test. Holton STEM scholars or global scholars are amazing.

There are 5-6 freshman girls in the algebra 2 honors class too. But most of them are new girls who joined Holton in 9th grade. I think only one girl or two girls placed out of geometry.

I don’t know about the new girls but there are at least 10 girls who placed out of geometry from Holton middle school and are in the new integrated math class (which is above geometry and gets you to multivariable senior year). And there may have been girls who placed above that, my daughter says there were but I never followed up.

I think you misunderstood what i was saying. Yes, there are 10-12 girls in integrated math; they are still covering geometry in that curriculum. In addition, however, there is at least one girl who went to Algebra 2 honors (instead of integrated math), which required passing a geometry test. A bunch of the new girls are also in Algebra 2 honors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many girls take geometry during summer before grade 9?

My understanding is no one needs to take summer math with the current math tracking - integrated math covers 3 years of material during freshmen and sophomore years (rather than take geometry or any math in the summer). I think 10-15 girls get recommended for integrated. The rest of the freshmen start in geometry (gets you to AB Calc) or honors geometry (gets you to BC Calc).

And as a parent of a senior, I don’t think anyone needs high school math beyond multivariable. No college will turn a kid down bc they took multivariable rather than number theory. If your kid is that advanced, spend the extra time doing research, more ECs, math contests or AP test. Holton STEM scholars or global scholars are amazing.

There are 5-6 freshman girls in the algebra 2 honors class too. But most of them are new girls who joined Holton in 9th grade. I think only one girl or two girls placed out of geometry.

I think we are taking past each other which is my fault as I usually expect these threads to devolve into a debate about rigor. I knew you meant girls were in algebra II but I wanted to be sure those unfamiliar with Holton knew integrated math (and even geometry honors) is advanced math.

I don’t know about the new girls but there are at least 10 girls who placed out of geometry from Holton middle school and are in the new integrated math class (which is above geometry and gets you to multivariable senior year). And there may have been girls who placed above that, my daughter says there were but I never followed up.

I think you misunderstood what i was saying. Yes, there are 10-12 girls in integrated math; they are still covering geometry in that curriculum. In addition, however, there is at least one girl who went to Algebra 2 honors (instead of integrated math), which required passing a geometry test. A bunch of the new girls are also in Algebra 2 honors.

[Anonymous]

I think we are taking past each other which is my fault as I usually expect these threads to devolve into a debate about rigor. I knew you meant girls were in algebra II but I wanted to be sure those unfamiliar with Holton knew integrated math (and even geometry honors) is advanced math.

[Anonymous]

Prior to the changes to the curriculum, there were (and are since the current class went through prior to the change) somewhere around 7 girls (give or take) in multivariable calculus as seniors. I suspect that will be about the same number when the rising grades get there. But no college cares if you even get to BC calc (AB for sure, esp science / math majors).

And the integrated math in MS is ideal for increasing the understanding of Algebra which is so key for the college admissions process

[Anonymous]

NP. Thank you to all the PPs. I have a very smart girl who has a hard time finding her people, and we were thinking of having her apply next year for 9th grade. If a big chunk of the US students aren’t in a tight friend group, then it sounds like Holton may not be a good fit for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prior to the changes to the curriculum, there were (and are since the current class went through prior to the change) somewhere around 7 girls (give or take) in multivariable calculus as seniors. I suspect that will be about the same number when the rising grades get there. But no college cares if you even get to BC calc (AB for sure, esp science / math majors).

And the integrated math in MS is ideal for increasing the understanding of Algebra which is so key for the college admissions process

Just to be clear: integrated math is basically cramming the material that would normally be covered in three years (geometry, algebra 2, pre calculus) into 2 years, to make up for the two years of algebra 1 in MS. Relatively to the pre-change curriculum, it means going much slower in MS and faster in HS (again relative to the traditional approach. I don’t see how that’s “key for college admissions”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. Thank you to all the PPs. I have a very smart girl who has a hard time finding her people, and we were thinking of having her apply next year for 9th grade. If a big chunk of the US students aren’t in a tight friend group, then it sounds like Holton may not be a good fit for her.

There are many girls who join in 9th grade and find their people. My daughter is good friends with several girls who joined after MS.

[Anonymous]

Holton’s main method of welcoming in new 9th graders is thru pre-season sports. It will be easier to make friends if your daughter plays a fall sport. They can try a sport they’ve never done before (field hockey and cross country come to mind as sports that don’t require prior experience), but they are 5 days a week after school so if your child is just not into sports that might be too much. You can easily get athletics credit through dance, exercise classes, etc but may not have the same bonding experience through those as in a sport. There is also some preseason for drama but the participation in that is very grade specific.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. Thank you to all the PPs. I have a very smart girl who has a hard time finding her people, and we were thinking of having her apply next year for 9th grade. If a big chunk of the US students aren’t in a tight friend group, then it sounds like Holton may not be a good fit for her.

There are many girls who join in 9th grade and find their people. My daughter is good friends with several girls who joined after MS.

About 20-25 girls join in 9th and eventually find their people, but it takes time. My daughter’s friends are almost all girls that started together in 9th. It is easier if your child is very outgoing, confident and socially savvy. There will definitely be plenty of academically strong girls like her—it may just take her a long time to feel socially integrated into school. Academically she will probably love it. It’s challenging and encourages active participation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've been at the school since lower, my daughter is now in the upper school near graduation. We loved the lower school and middle school as well. Upper school is a different story.

Upper school is a great fit for many girls, unfortunately, it has not been a great fit for my daughter.

If your daughter is off the charts smart, Holton is fantastic academically and I don't think you can find a better school.

On the most part, the teachers are exceptional.

Socially, the girls are extremely cliquey - if your daughter finds her clique, she will thrive - if not, she's going to be very lonely because it's difficult to make really close friends outside of school unless your daughter is on a team sport outside of school or has other resources to meet friends. And the amount of homework and test preparation in upper school is insane, so she's not going to have a lot of extra time.

Culturally, the school is extremely liberal and the girls are intolerant of girls who do not follow the same ideology. If your daughter/family is moderate or conservative, it's going to be a rough road for your daughter.

I hope this helps.

We are in Upper School now, and I agree with this poster that US is very challenging. Girls have their cliques and are not open to changing them. The US is a huge pressure cooker though, too. Be prepared for girls to get competitive and mean about it. The girls are all mostly over achievers so it creates a toxic environment. They are definitely not supportive of each other. Its quite the opposite of what we thought would happen in an all girls school. It is cut throat. Not diverse at all, too. The school is liberal but there is definitely a lack of diversity especially for this area which has been disappointing.

The administration is okay, not great. They don't listen to the girls complaints and just tell them that if they don't like it they can leave. The HOS is leaving which is great. I don't know anyone that is a fan. It will be interesting to see who they bring in. It will take time for any meaningful change to occur.

The families are mostly super wealthy. A lot of designer stuff being used/worn. We're probably on the high end of the annual incomes for the families that attend but I try to keep my DD grounded. No need for her to have a Louis Vuitton bag in high school!

LS is fine. MS gets bad. And US is toxic. If you enter is LS plan to leave for middle and high. It's just not worth it for the mental health of your child. I wish we had left but it was too late as we were in too long and too deep at that point.

This post is odd. And biased. You never hear this kind of thing from parents of children who are happy and have friends, so, grain of salt. Also, this poster hasn’t tried public and apparently isn’t aware that it would be similar. Also lots os weird bragging about upper end income. Weird post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many girls take geometry during summer before grade 9?

My understanding is no one needs to take summer math with the current math tracking - integrated math covers 3 years of material during freshmen and sophomore years (rather than take geometry or any math in the summer). I think 10-15 girls get recommended for integrated. The rest of the freshmen start in geometry (gets you to AB Calc) or honors geometry (gets you to BC Calc).

And as a parent of a senior, I don’t think anyone needs high school math beyond multivariable. No college will turn a kid down bc they took multivariable rather than number theory. If your kid is that advanced, spend the extra time doing research, more ECs, math contests or AP test. Holton STEM scholars or global scholars are amazing.

There are 5-6 freshman girls in the algebra 2 honors class too. But most of them are new girls who joined Holton in 9th grade. I think only one girl or two girls placed out of geometry.

That makes sense, top 30% of students in DCPS and MCPS either take geometry in 8th grade or concurrent with algebra 1. So if those came in to Holtonx they’d be done with it and on to the next math class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Just to be clear: integrated math is basically cramming the material that would normally be covered in three years (geometry, algebra 2, pre calculus) into 2 years, to make up for the two years of algebra 1 in MS. Relatively to the pre-change curriculum, it means going much slower in MS and faster in HS (again relative to the traditional approach. I don’t see how that’s “key for college admissions”.

I think what the PP was saying is that it isn't so much cramming in HS, but a deliberate choice to do the groundwork of Algebra slower so that there is better understanding. As for the college admissions, part, I assume PP is referring to the fact that college standardized testing is not about calculus.