Middle School Magnet Test

[Anonymous]

Same at my kids HGC. In addition, at the end of the school year with some kids continuing to the middle school magnets and other kids headed to different middle schools it was very emotional for all the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same at my kids HGC. In addition, at the end of the school year with some kids continuing to the middle school magnets and other kids headed to different middle schools it was very emotional for all the kids.

[Anonymous]

Apparently the worst day at the HGC's is the day the admitted students go visit Eastern/Takoma during the school day. They come back excited with their new school trinkets. Really tough for a kids disappointed they didn;t get in. Even my kid who did not apply to a middle magnet felt left out of the party.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the worst day at the HGC's is the day the admitted students go visit Eastern/Takoma during the school day. They come back excited with their new school trinkets. Really tough for a kids disappointed they didn;t get in. Even my kid who did not apply to a middle magnet felt left out of the party.

Ugh. I hadn't even thought of that.

[Anonymous]

The only thing the magnets are good for is people who live in east MoCo and then hope/pray their kid gets into the magnet or off the waitlist.
Also must hope/pray that the west county kids don't bother to take the test or accept because of their 1 hour bus ride commute halfway to Baltimore.

[Anonymous]

Why do you say that the magnets aren't good? I can see declining bc of the bus ride but they do seem to offer much more than the regular MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Who cares what the reasons are? I don't care about your reasons, PP, and neither does the school system.

Rules are rules. Brilliant kids are brilliant kids.

The magnets were created to desegregate - plain and simple. Geographically, some applicants have an advantage, as those in clusters where people are happy with their homes schools usually do not apply.

We are in such a cluster where few apply. I'm not desperate to get my kids out of their home base. But if you can't stand your middle school, the magnet is a way out - and sometimes a direct avenue to Blair's magnets.

Huh? Are you the crazy troll teacher who was posting a few days back on this forum? Your post makes no sense whatsoever. Are you bipolar?

You say it if for brilliant kids, but that the magnets were actually created to desegregate? So which is it? And I really did not know that the schools in MCPS were segregated.

You say some kids have a geographical advantage because people from better schools do not apply? So that would mean that Coldsprings ES HGC should not have any student in it because it is in the heart of "W" schools cluster, and there would be no competition to get in. So the median scores to get in should be lower than other HGC schools - whereas in fact it is higher.

If you are in a cluster where few apply, should your child not have a better chance of getting in, since she took the test. Oh wait - yeah, she is not brilliant. So, she really does not have geographical advantage...or does she? But, you do not want to leave the home base, so why are you on this thread if your kids are not interested in this track.

And if magnets are not really that desirable except for people in bad middle schools then I bet no one would even care to get into Blair magnet because it is a part of the same desegregation effort where kids from good home schools do not come. So, should that not change the demographics of Blair magnet? Should it not have less Asians and Whites from high SES households?

The way the magnets are placed and set up now they are most ideal (logistically) for those bright students who are in krappy home schools. It's the big fat carrot holy grail way to get a decent education in half of the county, since there is no tracking, compelling honors classes or catering to above average students housed within each school.

[Anonymous]

Then why do so many people apply? The applicants aren't all coming from bad middle schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:based on past years, my prediction -

Results will be mailed out on Feb 12th (Thursday) and will reach homes by Feb 13th (Friday).

Since Monday is off, parents and students will have 3 days to stew on the results, before they can start ringing the admissions office to find out why their kid did not get in.

That seems like a good idea actually. My child is in an HGC where almost everyone applied (and not everyone will get in) and I think it would be easier to find out the results on a Friday of a three day weekend then to have to go back into school the next day.

Agree. When DS got accepted to HGC, he got his letter a day after everyone else in his class. He had kids making him feel bad, telling him that he must not have gotten in. Wouldn't want to repeat that!

Were these kids accepted into HGC, too?

If so, I certainly wouldn't want my kid around them.

Yes, it was other kids accepted to HGC. Got extremely lucky in that they all got into Pine Crest and DS got Oak View! He still doesn't like the main kid who teased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:based on past years, my prediction -

Results will be mailed out on Feb 12th (Thursday) and will reach homes by Feb 13th (Friday).

Since Monday is off, parents and students will have 3 days to stew on the results, before they can start ringing the admissions office to find out why their kid did not get in.

That seems like a good idea actually. My child is in an HGC where almost everyone applied (and not everyone will get in) and I think it would be easier to find out the results on a Friday of a three day weekend then to have to go back into school the next day.

Agree. When DS got accepted to HGC, he got his letter a day after everyone else in his class. He had kids making him feel bad, telling him that he must not have gotten in. Wouldn't want to repeat that!

Were these kids accepted into HGC, too?

If so, I certainly wouldn't want my kid around them.

Yes, it was other kids accepted to HGC. Got extremely lucky in that they all got into Pine Crest and DS got Oak View! He still doesn't like the main kid who teased.

Hopefully the Oak View kids will all be nice when the MS Magnet results arrive (which I heard were staggered last year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the worst day at the HGC's is the day the admitted students go visit Eastern/Takoma during the school day. They come back excited with their new school trinkets. Really tough for a kids disappointed they didn;t get in. Even my kid who did not apply to a middle magnet felt left out of the party.

Ugh. I hadn't even thought of that.

I am always amazed at how over protective parents are... it's healthy for kids to experience dissappointment. really tough and worst day? Wow how sheltered. If your kid is that fragile they should stay firmly tucked up under mommys wing and not go to a big bad magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The way the magnets are placed and set up now they are most ideal (logistically) for those bright students who are in krappy home schools. It's the big fat carrot holy grail way to get a decent education in half of the county, since there is no tracking, compelling honors classes or catering to above average students housed within each school.

I think that you must have forgotten that there is also an upcounty magnet middle school program, which serves the following high school clusters:

•Clarksburg
•Damascus
•Gaithersburg
•Magruder
•Northwest
•Poolesville
•Quince Orchard
•Seneca Valley
•Watkins Mill

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the worst day at the HGC's is the day the admitted students go visit Eastern/Takoma during the school day. They come back excited with their new school trinkets. Really tough for a kids disappointed they didn;t get in. Even my kid who did not apply to a middle magnet felt left out of the party.

Ugh. I hadn't even thought of that.

I am always amazed at how over protective parents are... it's healthy for kids to experience dissappointment. really tough and worst day? Wow how sheltered. If your kid is that fragile they should stay firmly tucked up under mommys wing and not go to a big bad magnet.

For last year, visiting days at both Takoma and Eastern were in the evenings. It is during the school day for the HGCs. At least at my daughter's HGC, when letters went out last year, the kids emailed each other, but didn't really talk about it at school. That's the way it should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same at my kids HGC. In addition, at the end of the school year with some kids continuing to the middle school magnets and other kids headed to different middle schools it was very emotional for all the kids.

You will see this after MS and HS. Not easy for some kids/parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Apparently the worst day at the HGC's is the day the admitted students go visit Eastern/Takoma during the school day. They come back excited with their new school trinkets. Really tough for a kids disappointed they didn;t get in. Even my kid who did not apply to a middle magnet felt left out of the party.

Ugh. I hadn't even thought of that.

I am always amazed at how over protective parents are... it's healthy for kids to experience dissappointment. really tough and worst day? Wow how sheltered. If your kid is that fragile they should stay firmly tucked up under mommys wing and not go to a big bad magnet.

For last year, visiting days at both Takoma and Eastern were in the evenings. It is during the school day for the HGCs. At least at my daughter's HGC, when letters went out last year, the kids emailed each other, but didn't really talk about it at school. That's the way it should be.

Is there a separate parent meeting for the magnets? Or do parents and students attend the evening sessions together?