Call from Sidwell WL?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this I ridiculous! If they called, then they should offer a spot or at least tell us where we are in the process. Its sending false hope in my opinion and I'm sick of it!

Disagree. They don't know if they are a first choice or if they were accepted elsewhere that you are happy with. Clearly they may have spots and are working through to see who their realistic options from the Waitlist might be.

Agree. Think about it from the school's perspective. You know you will have a spot open up in the near future. If you call WL Family A to offer them the spot, you have to leave that offer open for a reasonable period of time. But if WL Family A has already chosen another school, and just neglected to inform Sidwell, then Sidwell will be sitting around waiting for WL Family A to respond. Meanwhile WL Family B (the next family in line) is left hanging. Especially with Spring Break upon us, the response time for some WWL families may be slow if people are out of town.

Makes perfect sense to keep checking with the WL families to ensure the list is current.

[Anonymous]

oops, I meant that I agree with the 2nd poster who disagreed with the 1st poster ... got that?

[Anonymous]

My DC was admitted to 6 at Sidwell ( not off wait list). Any advice for a smooth transition?

[Anonymous]

congrats! we were in the same position last year. tips based on our experience:

*do sign up for jumpstart--a week long summer "camp" offered at a very reasonable price to the new 6th graders. the new kids get to bond, meet some teachers, get to know the school in advance.
*go to as many of the social events over the summer as you can. you will get invitations closer to summer. we were amazed by the number of informal gatherings for new kids/families over the summer. we went to lots of them, and as a result, my dc felt super comfortable starting last fall.
*the community is super welcoming.
*the school is rigorous. that's what we wanted, but it was a shock as my dc came from a very different kind of school. looking back it probably took a few months before DC really felt settled in.
*if your dc is involved in a lot of outside sports/activities, think about whether he/she can continue those given the amount of hw. my dc had two outside sports in the fall and got pretty stressed out trying to balance the sports commitments with the new school ones. after the fall, dc dropped one sport so the rest of the year would feel less stressful. we had no way to know in advance last summer how that would feel as his prior school had very little hw and it was easy to spend many hours a week playing sports.
*you and your dc will love the lunch program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this I ridiculous! If they called, then they should offer a spot or at least tell us where we are in the process. Its sending false hope in my opinion and I'm sick of it!

It's not daycare. Or the DCps lottery. They don't simply move down the list in a "process"

[Anonymous]

So does that mean that if we haven't received a call, it's unlikely that DC will get in off of the WL? This is for K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this I ridiculous! If they called, then they should offer a spot or at least tell us where we are in the process. Its sending false hope in my opinion and I'm sick of it!

It's not daycare. Or the DCps lottery. They don't simply move down the list in a "process"

I'm sure they do exactly that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this I ridiculous! If they called, then they should offer a spot or at least tell us where we are in the process. Its sending false hope in my opinion and I'm sick of it!

It's not daycare. Or the DCps lottery. They don't simply move down the list in a "process"

I'm sure they do exactly that.

And you know that because...?

[Anonymous]

So where did the original 9th grade offerees choose to go instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:congrats! we were in the same position last year. tips based on our experience:

*do sign up for jumpstart--a week long summer "camp" offered at a very reasonable price to the new 6th graders. the new kids get to bond, meet some teachers, get to know the school in advance.
*go to as many of the social events over the summer as you can. you will get invitations closer to summer. we were amazed by the number of informal gatherings for new kids/families over the summer. we went to lots of them, and as a result, my dc felt super comfortable starting last fall.
*the community is super welcoming.
*the school is rigorous. that's what we wanted, but it was a shock as my dc came from a very different kind of school. looking back it probably took a few months before DC really felt settled in.
*if your dc is involved in a lot of outside sports/activities, think about whether he/she can continue those given the amount of hw. my dc had two outside sports in the fall and got pretty stressed out trying to balance the sports commitments with the new school ones. after the fall, dc dropped one sport so the rest of the year would feel less stressful. we had no way to know in advance last summer how that would feel as his prior school had very little hw and it was easy to spend many hours a week playing sports.
*you and your dc will love the lunch program.

Thank you for the advice.

[Anonymous]

PP How dos math placemtn work at Sidwell for kids in 6th at Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Heard they are not going to wait list for 7th grade. Anyone else hearing that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:congrats! we were in the same position last year. tips based on our experience:

*do sign up for jumpstart--a week long summer "camp" offered at a very reasonable price to the new 6th graders. the new kids get to bond, meet some teachers, get to know the school in advance.
*go to as many of the social events over the summer as you can. you will get invitations closer to summer. we were amazed by the number of informal gatherings for new kids/families over the summer. we went to lots of them, and as a result, my dc felt super comfortable starting last fall.
*the community is super welcoming.
*the school is rigorous. that's what we wanted, but it was a shock as my dc came from a very different kind of school. looking back it probably took a few months before DC really felt settled in.
*if your dc is involved in a lot of outside sports/activities, think about whether he/she can continue those given the amount of hw. my dc had two outside sports in the fall and got pretty stressed out trying to balance the sports commitments with the new school ones. after the fall, dc dropped one sport so the rest of the year would feel less stressful. we had no way to know in advance last summer how that would feel as his prior school had very little hw and it was easy to spend many hours a week playing sports.
*you and your dc will love the lunch program.

I would add, if your DC does an out of school rec team, see if there is a corresponding team for the grade/sport and consider switching to that team if there is space. Playing on a Stoddert rec or other out of school team can be great to get to know a few of the other kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this I ridiculous! If they called, then they should offer a spot or at least tell us where we are in the process. Its sending false hope in my opinion and I'm sick of it!

It's not daycare. Or the DCps lottery. They don't simply move down the list in a "process"

I'm sure they do exactly that.

No, they don't. They balance the grade with gender and other considerations. If the next 5 kids on the wait list are all boys who play baseball, they aren't going to take all of them. They will balance with girls who play soccer or play the violin.

[Anonymous]

If you weren't admitted and not WL, is there still a chance you could be admitted if you reapplied in another year? Has anyone experienced this? DS wasn't admitted or WL for PreK.
We have accepted at another school that and if all goes well will remain there and apply out for middle or high school. Wondering if there is any chance DS would be admitted since they gave us a flat out rejection this time around.