How is your 4th grader at CES doing so far?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 5th but last year she was exhausted after school for the first couple months. Like kindergarten all over again. But the workload was totally man
ageable and she loved the teachers and integrated well socially. Overall she loves it, but she was exhausted those first couple of months. And she didn’t like the long bus ride.

My 4th grader is having the exact same reaction. Loves it, but is exhausted. It's not the work, but the new routines, and expectations. Glad to hear it only lasts a couple of months

[Anonymous]

its going well. My DS is liking school and is excited about what the class is learning thus far. There are two categories of kids that I have observed thus far. One group of kids are the perfectionists and there is some anxiety and stress involved in new challenges that they want to continue performing at a high level. The other category are the less motivated but equally bright children who actually could benefit from a little motivation influenced by some stress and anxiety. In general I think these kids could all benefit from each other and it seems like a good group thus far and the teachers seem top notch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:its going well. My DS is liking school and is excited about what the class is learning thus far. There are two categories of kids that I have observed thus far. One group of kids are the perfectionists and there is some anxiety and stress involved in new challenges that they want to continue performing at a high level. The other category are the less motivated but equally bright children who actually could benefit from a little motivation influenced by some stress and anxiety. In general I think these kids could all benefit from each other and it seems like a good group thus far and the teachers seem top notch.

Mine was definitely in the second category, and really benefited from being pushed to work to her potential, instead of half-assing her work so she could read through the rest of class.

The big projects with all the incremental deadlines were great for allowing kids to screw up a couple of times and still recover on the final grade—once they'd learned the lessons the hard way. Lots of growth in 4th and 5th, and I'm definitely seeing the results in her middle school magnet work. Can't say enough good things about her experiences at the CES (well, HGC when she started).

[Anonymous]

So happy to hear the posts about the kids learning from their mistakes. I have a very lazy, unmotivated but bright child who I really hope will follow the example of the other kids. And i hope he learns how to study, organize his work and set deadlines for himself. Elementary years are a great time to make mistakes and learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:its going well. My DS is liking school and is excited about what the class is learning thus far. There are two categories of kids that I have observed thus far. One group of kids are the perfectionists and there is some anxiety and stress involved in new challenges that they want to continue performing at a high level. The other category are the less motivated but equally bright children who actually could benefit from a little motivation influenced by some stress and anxiety. In general I think these kids could all benefit from each other and it seems like a good group thus far and the teachers seem top notch.

This is a really weird generalization. DS and his friends are bright kids who work hard but don't take themselves too seriously. They do not need more stress and anxiety. They are happy at the CES. I do see many many more of the anxious kid type.

[Anonymous]

How do you know this? Do you go to school with them each day?

[Anonymous]

Many of the CES kids are there because their parents had them doing middle school level work at home by the time they were in first grade. The stress and anxiety is superimposed onbthem by the parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of the CES kids are there because their parents had them doing middle school level work at home by the time they were in first grade. The stress and anxiety is superimposed onbthem by the parents.

Honestly, this was not our experience when our DD was at the CES a few years ago. We were at Pine Crest, and didn’t really see the kind of parental pressure that DCUM always attributes to CES families. There were definitely a few kids who seemed to be naturally pretty high-strung, but I don’t know of anyone who was doing tons of outside supplementing or test prep.

[Anonymous]

Mine loves the literacy work and the classroom dialog but has had some adjustment difficulties. She is exhausted every afternoon and has found that she has to actually read the whole question (all questions have multiple parts). She is finally learning that school is more than reciting an answer and filling out the worksheet in 5 seconds and then getting to read for most of the day. She is overwhelmed not with the work but with learning how to learn in school and increasing her stamina for the much longer day combined with actual hard work throughout the day. Hopefully she will adjust in a month or two.

[Anonymous]

My 5th grade CES kid is having experiencing a pretty big challenge right now. He had a good transition in 4th grade because homework packet is due once per week. Still minimal tests. But since the beginning of this semester, homework became everyday, including math, writing and reading. Average two long essays each week for only homework section. Test coming up every week. These kids now need to learn how to keep up with multiple tasks. That’s more challenging than task itself it turned out. I guess this should be what middle school schedule look like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grade CES kid is having experiencing a pretty big challenge right now. He had a good transition in 4th grade because homework packet is due once per week. Still minimal tests. But since the beginning of this semester, homework became everyday, including math, writing and reading. Average two long essays each week for only homework section. Test coming up every week. These kids now need to learn how to keep up with multiple tasks. That’s more challenging than task itself it turned out. I guess this should be what middle school schedule look like?

I think that’s teacher - dependent. My kid had more homework in 4th than 5th! But she’s in 6th now at a non-magnet middle school and the homework load has been so manageable to her because she’s used to it. No homework stress so far this year, which has been great.

[Anonymous]

Please say which CES your child is in!

I’m 10:44 with the child at Chevy Chase and no homework, and she’s definitely not stressed out and not exhausted. I had to enroll her in a lot more activities than last year at her request.

Perhaps some centers ramp up slower than others?

[Anonymous]

Not a CES parent, but our school has been invaded by Center kids (Chevy Chase) which added dozens of kids last year when we lost our 6th grade. They comprise almost 60% of the school or more now. Reading about all of the extras your kids get makes my blood boil. Meanwhile, local kids can't even have lunch together anymore because recess and lunch were split up.to accommodate your kids. Our Principal could care less about the social emotion damage done to our kids who are sitting alone at recess.

And here you are worrying about your kids enrichment when local kids are not getting the attention they need from teachers and falling through the cracks.

This private school (Center) within a public school needs to end. Hope you all realize how lucky you are at the sacrifice of the local kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a CES parent, but our school has been invaded by Center kids (Chevy Chase) which added dozens of kids last year when we lost our 6th grade. They comprise almost 60% of the school or more now. Reading about all of the extras your kids get makes my blood boil. Meanwhile, local kids can't even have lunch together anymore because recess and lunch were split up.to accommodate your kids. Our Principal could care less about the social emotion damage done to our kids who are sitting alone at recess.

And here you are worrying about your kids enrichment when local kids are not getting the attention they need from teachers and falling through the cracks.

This private school (Center) within a public school needs to end. Hope you all realize how lucky you are at the sacrifice of the local kids.

You are the poster who already complained vehemently about this situation at Chevy Chase. You were told to calm down, because lunch would be divided anyway, since there are three grades at this elementary, not the standard six. Thus the grades are more populated and can’t fit in the cafeteria.

As for enrichment, most of us wish this was the standard for all kids. Some of us have other kids who did not get in, we know the feeling!!!!
So you don’t need to be so bitter and antagonistic. I enriched my son’s education at home when he did not get in, and now he is in a selective high school program.

Strategize for your long term goals instead of complaining. It will get you further.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a CES parent, but our school has been invaded by Center kids (Chevy Chase) which added dozens of kids last year when we lost our 6th grade. They comprise almost 60% of the school or more now. Reading about all of the extras your kids get makes my blood boil. Meanwhile, local kids can't even have lunch together anymore because recess and lunch were split up.to accommodate your kids. Our Principal could care less about the social emotion damage done to our kids who are sitting alone at recess.

And here you are worrying about your kids enrichment when local kids are not getting the attention they need from teachers and falling through the cracks.

This private school (Center) within a public school needs to end. Hope you all realize how lucky you are at the sacrifice of the local kids.

How do you figure that? There are 18 classroom teachers at the school, and 6 of them are CES.