9th grade parents what do you like and not like about the school you selected

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good Counsel:

Pros:
Kid likes it
Kid is having fun
Broad amount of extracurricular activities
Sports

Cons:
School is too big
Seems like they admit in a broad range of people/academics
Not as personalized as I would like

These "cons" are mostly what GC is known for. The broad range is so that families with multiple kids all have a place at GC. Did you not know this going in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School- Baltimore Private

Like- Class size, curriculum, communication, ECs, organization, professional skill development opportunities, love of learning culture

Dislike- Food, amount of homework, too many parent events, too dressy for my liking.

With taking full advantage of study hall, on some nights homework is still 1hr+. For context though, kiddo has straight As and is a little obsessive.

With that being said, I can see how culture might influence this and become problematic.

DS is loving school. Each day comes home and is so excited to share all of the new things he's learning or gets to experience.

Socially it's been a great fit too. DS is on the non-sporty side, but still found a great intramural and a great group of kids.

Name the school. Useless a$$.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: School outside of DC

What we love:
It's a good fit socially for both our DDs.
It's not super big but also not super small.
Lots of ECs.

About 1-2 hr of HW a day but they have study hall and the weekend to do it.

What we don't like:
The long car line
It's hard to balance sports, a job, driving lessons, and fine arts activities. My oldest wants to do everything. At the school my kids were at previously it was easier to balance fine arts and sports because sports weren't double-blocked.

Just fyi, I think OP is looking for info. on schools in this area so names of schools are important and unnamed schools, especially out of the DMV area are not necessary or helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Counsel:

Pros:
Kid likes it
Kid is having fun
Broad amount of extracurricular activities
Sports

Cons:
School is too big
Seems like they admit in a broad range of people/academics
Not as personalized as I would like

These "cons" are mostly what GC is known for. The broad range is so that families with multiple kids all have a place at GC. Did you not know this going in?

GC is like a public school you pay for.

It’s a money-making machine overly focused on sports.

It’s always been less academic than all other area catholic schools.

People are opting to bite the bullet and pay more for better options. After all, why pay all that tuition when so many students wind up at Salisbury, Towson, or SEC schools?

[Anonymous]

hate that i have to pay more than 50 grand per year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Counsel:

Pros:
Kid likes it
Kid is having fun
Broad amount of extracurricular activities
Sports

Cons:
School is too big
Seems like they admit in a broad range of people/academics
Not as personalized as I would like

These "cons" are mostly what GC is known for. The broad range is so that families with multiple kids all have a place at GC. Did you not know this going in?

Siblings usually have similar academic abilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Counsel:

Pros:
Kid likes it
Kid is having fun
Broad amount of extracurricular activities
Sports

Cons:
School is too big
Seems like they admit in a broad range of people/academics
Not as personalized as I would like

These "cons" are mostly what GC is known for. The broad range is so that families with multiple kids all have a place at GC. Did you not know this going in?

Siblings usually have similar academic abilities.

Not true at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Counsel:

Pros:
Kid likes it
Kid is having fun
Broad amount of extracurricular activities
Sports

Cons:
School is too big
Seems like they admit in a broad range of people/academics
Not as personalized as I would like

These "cons" are mostly what GC is known for. The broad range is so that families with multiple kids all have a place at GC. Did you not know this going in?

Siblings usually have similar academic abilities.

Not true at all.

Right. We have 3. Two are in all accelerated classes/one is above average intelligence, but has learning disabilities. The plan is NOVA diocesan Catholic high school. I’m actually thrilled there are schools that can accommodate all of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Name of school
What you like
What you don't
How much HW a night on average
How is your kid liking it?

9th grader at SJC
Likes:
*The teachers all seem energetic and intelligent. I was impressed during back to school night.
*Love how assignments are easy to keep track of on Canvas.
*Kids seems friendly. My non-athletic child has a group of people they’ve connected with.
*I like how structured the school is.
*My child enjoyed the Froshmore dance.

Dislikes:
*The parent community seems a bit disjointed. Not a huge fan of the mothers/fathers club structure.
*Homeroom isn’t really fleshed out, more of a study hall
*Lunch lines get long
*Nitpicky but school day end times are varied.

Homework:
My child is in mostly honors (hon bio, hon english, hon alg/geometry) and they have about 2 hours of homework per night. Math homework every night and some type of reading for English. The other classes give hw 2-3 times per week.

Overall we’re happy with the school and my child is enjoying it. I had concerns because they aren’t athletic, but it seems they were unwarranted.

[Anonymous]

9th grade at GDS

Likes:
Kids seem friendly. It's not instantaneous, but making friends with new and returning students
He really likes 5 of 6 teachers
The classes are so much more engaging than in middle school. He's liking English and math for the first time. He says the English discussions are lively and interesting

Dislikes
Parents are not part of the conversation. No grades posted (but I see the benefit of that too!)

Homework: The block schedule helps a lot. So far, it's not as overwhelming as we feared.

[Anonymous]

Would love to hear Maret feedback

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Counsel:

Pros:
Kid likes it
Kid is having fun
Broad amount of extracurricular activities
Sports

Cons:
School is too big
Seems like they admit in a broad range of people/academics
Not as personalized as I would like

These "cons" are mostly what GC is known for. The broad range is so that families with multiple kids all have a place at GC. Did you not know this going in?

GC is like a public school you pay for.

It’s a money-making machine overly focused on sports.

It’s always been less academic than all other area catholic schools.

People are opting to bite the bullet and pay more for better options. After all, why pay all that tuition when so many students wind up at Salisbury, Towson, or SEC schools?

Or Dartmouth, or Penn, Or Notre Dame, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Counsel:

Pros:
Kid likes it
Kid is having fun
Broad amount of extracurricular activities
Sports

Cons:
School is too big
Seems like they admit in a broad range of people/academics
Not as personalized as I would like

These "cons" are mostly what GC is known for. The broad range is so that families with multiple kids all have a place at GC. Did you not know this going in?

Siblings usually have similar academic abilities.

Not true at all.

+1 And lots of private schools admit siblings, so you will find some degree of this everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Sidwell.

‘Nuff said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good Counsel:

Pros:
Kid likes it
Kid is having fun
Broad amount of extracurricular activities
Sports

Cons:
School is too big
Seems like they admit in a broad range of people/academics
Not as personalized as I would like

These "cons" are mostly what GC is known for. The broad range is so that families with multiple kids all have a place at GC. Did you not know this going in?

GC is like a public school you pay for.

It’s a money-making machine overly focused on sports.

It’s always been less academic than all other area catholic schools.

People are opting to bite the bullet and pay more for better options. After all, why pay all that tuition when so many students wind up at Salisbury, Towson, or SEC schools?

Or Dartmouth, or Penn, Or Notre Dame, etc.

Or Yale...geez...you just can't please some people.