What kind of grades do average Poolesville smacs kids get?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poolesville SMaCS sophomore. All A's so far but marking period ends today and kiddo has an 88% in Earth Space Science but thinks the teacher hasn't yet graded something. WGPA of 4.79.

Wow, thats great for your sophomore. Any advice/tips for my freshman who seems to be struggling in smacs?

Time management, study skills, self sufficient/advocacy

I have a senior in smacs at Poolesville and I call BS on what you mentioned above..

Time management (aka don’t go to sleep):
DC gets to the bus stop at 6:30 am. They get home from school at 5:30 pm. A long day right? Saying Time management is complete BS bc it’s basically a parents/teachers demoralizing way of saying don’t go to sleep, Don’t have ANY downtime or be able to relax. Since dc started smacs they go to sleep at 1 am… every night…even more so if they are doing a sport. There.is.just.too.much.work in a single 24 hour period for the solution to just be “time management”.

Study skills (aka self study/pay for tutors for all classes bc the teachers don’t do sh*t):
Since freshman year dc has been self studying 80% of their smacs classes bc their teachers could care less….some teachers are so notorious they don’t even reply to emails about WHEN to retake test if my child was sick or aren’t clear about which DAY a particular project is due. For example..for a worksheet/lab they will say to one block it’s due Monday and to another block they will say Tuesday. Smacs is divided into two blocks for each graduating year. Chaos ensues and all the students gaslight each other about when it is due. It turns out it was due Monday…so the Tuesday block got screwed. It’s hard to let it slide, when this has happened multiple times.

Self sufficient/advocacy aka cheat off others or get upperclassmen papers/lab reports:
Once the teachers don’t respond or reciprocate and are not willing to help. The next step for smacs kids is to start cheating on tests and a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level! I was shocked when my dc told me this. It’s blatantly obvious that the teachers know this and don’t even look up from their desks during tests. They could care less with this rampant cheating bc higher grades make them look better to the administration. There are many problems with this scenario…one of which is it severely punishes the students who doesn’t cheat because they end up with lower grades because those who DO cheat push the grade average up.

With only 5 hours of sleep, how can your child deal with the chronic sleep deprivation? Is it normal for smcs students? Do they regret attending this program?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poolesville SMaCS sophomore. All A's so far but marking period ends today and kiddo has an 88% in Earth Space Science but thinks the teacher hasn't yet graded something. WGPA of 4.79.

Wow, thats great for your sophomore. Any advice/tips for my freshman who seems to be struggling in smacs?

Time management, study skills, self sufficient/advocacy

I have a senior in smacs at Poolesville and I call BS on what you mentioned above..

Time management (aka don’t go to sleep):
DC gets to the bus stop at 6:30 am. They get home from school at 5:30 pm. A long day right? Saying Time management is complete BS bc it’s basically a parents/teachers demoralizing way of saying don’t go to sleep, Don’t have ANY downtime or be able to relax. Since dc started smacs they go to sleep at 1 am… every night…even more so if they are doing a sport. There.is.just.too.much.work in a single 24 hour period for the solution to just be “time management”.

Study skills (aka self study/pay for tutors for all classes bc the teachers don’t do sh*t):
Since freshman year dc has been self studying 80% of their smacs classes bc their teachers could care less….some teachers are so notorious they don’t even reply to emails about WHEN to retake test if my child was sick or aren’t clear about which DAY a particular project is due. For example..for a worksheet/lab they will say to one block it’s due Monday and to another block they will say Tuesday. Smacs is divided into two blocks for each graduating year. Chaos ensues and all the students gaslight each other about when it is due. It turns out it was due Monday…so the Tuesday block got screwed. It’s hard to let it slide, when this has happened multiple times.

Self sufficient/advocacy aka cheat off others or get upperclassmen papers/lab reports:
Once the teachers don’t respond or reciprocate and are not willing to help. The next step for smacs kids is to start cheating on tests and a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level! I was shocked when my dc told me this. It’s blatantly obvious that the teachers know this and don’t even look up from their desks during tests. They could care less with this rampant cheating bc higher grades make them look better to the administration. There are many problems with this scenario…one of which is it severely punishes the students who doesn’t cheat because they end up with lower grades because those who DO cheat push the grade average up.

With only 5 hours of sleep, how can your child deal with the chronic sleep deprivation? Is it normal for smcs students? Do they regret attending this program?

Yes, my child is sleep deprived, it’s difficult. It’s a definite grind. Many of their friends are in the same situation and complain likewise. Regretting the program depends on each individual and their circumstance, but we are definitely regretting it. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Self sufficient/advocacy aka cheat off others or get upperclassmen papers/lab reports:
Once the teachers don’t respond or reciprocate and are not willing to help. The next step for smacs kids is to start cheating on tests and a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level! I was shocked when my dc told me this. It’s blatantly obvious that the teachers know this and don’t even look up from their desks during tests. They could care less with this rampant cheating bc higher grades make them look better to the administration. There are many problems with this scenario…one of which is it severely punishes the students who doesn’t cheat because they end up with lower grades because those who DO cheat push the grade average up.

This is so classic. Disgusting anti-Asian racism talking about "a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level!" and the post is not removed but if there are dissenting opinions against another race or ethnicity the posts get deleted right away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Self sufficient/advocacy aka cheat off others or get upperclassmen papers/lab reports:
Once the teachers don’t respond or reciprocate and are not willing to help. The next step for smacs kids is to start cheating on tests and a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level! I was shocked when my dc told me this. It’s blatantly obvious that the teachers know this and don’t even look up from their desks during tests. They could care less with this rampant cheating bc higher grades make them look better to the administration. There are many problems with this scenario…one of which is it severely punishes the students who doesn’t cheat because they end up with lower grades because those who DO cheat push the grade average up.

This is so classic. Disgusting anti-Asian racism talking about "a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level!" and the post is not removed but if there are dissenting opinions against another race or ethnicity the posts get deleted right away.

DP here. While I agree with you that what the PP said “certain ethnic group” was not appropriate and completely not necessary,I think you are missing the bigger picture here. What I got from the post is that the PP was trying to explain the negative side to the smacs program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poolesville SMaCS sophomore. All A's so far but marking period ends today and kiddo has an 88% in Earth Space Science but thinks the teacher hasn't yet graded something. WGPA of 4.79.

Wow, thats great for your sophomore. Any advice/tips for my freshman who seems to be struggling in smacs?

Time management, study skills, self sufficient/advocacy

I have a senior in smacs at Poolesville and I call BS on what you mentioned above..

Time management (aka don’t go to sleep):
DC gets to the bus stop at 6:30 am. They get home from school at 5:30 pm. A long day right? Saying Time management is complete BS bc it’s basically a parents/teachers demoralizing way of saying don’t go to sleep, Don’t have ANY downtime or be able to relax. Since dc started smacs they go to sleep at 1 am… every night…even more so if they are doing a sport. There.is.just.too.much.work in a single 24 hour period for the solution to just be “time management”.

Study skills (aka self study/pay for tutors for all classes bc the teachers don’t do sh*t):
Since freshman year dc has been self studying 80% of their smacs classes bc their teachers could care less….some teachers are so notorious they don’t even reply to emails about WHEN to retake test if my child was sick or aren’t clear about which DAY a particular project is due. For example..for a worksheet/lab they will say to one block it’s due Monday and to another block they will say Tuesday. Smacs is divided into two blocks for each graduating year. Chaos ensues and all the students gaslight each other about when it is due. It turns out it was due Monday…so the Tuesday block got screwed. It’s hard to let it slide, when this has happened multiple times.

Self sufficient/advocacy aka cheat off others or get upperclassmen papers/lab reports:
Once the teachers don’t respond or reciprocate and are not willing to help. The next step for smacs kids is to start cheating on tests and a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level! I was shocked when my dc told me this. It’s blatantly obvious that the teachers know this and don’t even look up from their desks during tests. They could care less with this rampant cheating bc higher grades make them look better to the administration. There are many problems with this scenario…one of which is it severely punishes the students who doesn’t cheat because they end up with lower grades because those who DO cheat push the grade average up.

This was not my kid's experience at all. Did a time consuming sport and took all the hard classes. Found the peer group supportive. I can count on one hand the times they were up late studying across all 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poolesville SMaCS sophomore. All A's so far but marking period ends today and kiddo has an 88% in Earth Space Science but thinks the teacher hasn't yet graded something. WGPA of 4.79.

Wow, thats great for your sophomore. Any advice/tips for my freshman who seems to be struggling in smacs?

Time management, study skills, self sufficient/advocacy

I have a senior in smacs at Poolesville and I call BS on what you mentioned above..

Time management (aka don’t go to sleep):
DC gets to the bus stop at 6:30 am. They get home from school at 5:30 pm. A long day right? Saying Time management is complete BS bc it’s basically a parents/teachers demoralizing way of saying don’t go to sleep, Don’t have ANY downtime or be able to relax. Since dc started smacs they go to sleep at 1 am… every night…even more so if they are doing a sport. There.is.just.too.much.work in a single 24 hour period for the solution to just be “time management”.

Study skills (aka self study/pay for tutors for all classes bc the teachers don’t do sh*t):
Since freshman year dc has been self studying 80% of their smacs classes bc their teachers could care less….some teachers are so notorious they don’t even reply to emails about WHEN to retake test if my child was sick or aren’t clear about which DAY a particular project is due. For example..for a worksheet/lab they will say to one block it’s due Monday and to another block they will say Tuesday. Smacs is divided into two blocks for each graduating year. Chaos ensues and all the students gaslight each other about when it is due. It turns out it was due Monday…so the Tuesday block got screwed. It’s hard to let it slide, when this has happened multiple times.

Self sufficient/advocacy aka cheat off others or get upperclassmen papers/lab reports:
Once the teachers don’t respond or reciprocate and are not willing to help. The next step for smacs kids is to start cheating on tests and a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level! I was shocked when my dc told me this. It’s blatantly obvious that the teachers know this and don’t even look up from their desks during tests. They could care less with this rampant cheating bc higher grades make them look better to the administration. There are many problems with this scenario…one of which is it severely punishes the students who doesn’t cheat because they end up with lower grades because those who DO cheat push the grade average up.

Do you mean that the teachers couldn’t care less? You said that they could care less twice, so I assume it’s not a typo, but that suggests they care very much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poolesville SMaCS sophomore. All A's so far but marking period ends today and kiddo has an 88% in Earth Space Science but thinks the teacher hasn't yet graded something. WGPA of 4.79.

Wow, thats great for your sophomore. Any advice/tips for my freshman who seems to be struggling in smacs?

Time management, study skills, self sufficient/advocacy

I have a senior in smacs at Poolesville and I call BS on what you mentioned above..

Time management (aka don’t go to sleep):
DC gets to the bus stop at 6:30 am. They get home from school at 5:30 pm. A long day right? Saying Time management is complete BS bc it’s basically a parents/teachers demoralizing way of saying don’t go to sleep, Don’t have ANY downtime or be able to relax. Since dc started smacs they go to sleep at 1 am… every night…even more so if they are doing a sport. There.is.just.too.much.work in a single 24 hour period for the solution to just be “time management”.

Study skills (aka self study/pay for tutors for all classes bc the teachers don’t do sh*t):
Since freshman year dc has been self studying 80% of their smacs classes bc their teachers could care less….some teachers are so notorious they don’t even reply to emails about WHEN to retake test if my child was sick or aren’t clear about which DAY a particular project is due. For example..for a worksheet/lab they will say to one block it’s due Monday and to another block they will say Tuesday. Smacs is divided into two blocks for each graduating year. Chaos ensues and all the students gaslight each other about when it is due. It turns out it was due Monday…so the Tuesday block got screwed. It’s hard to let it slide, when this has happened multiple times.

Self sufficient/advocacy aka cheat off others or get upperclassmen papers/lab reports:
Once the teachers don’t respond or reciprocate and are not willing to help. The next step for smacs kids is to start cheating on tests and a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level! I was shocked when my dc told me this. It’s blatantly obvious that the teachers know this and don’t even look up from their desks during tests. They could care less with this rampant cheating bc higher grades make them look better to the administration. There are many problems with this scenario…one of which is it severely punishes the students who doesn’t cheat because they end up with lower grades because those who DO cheat push the grade average up.

Do you mean that the teachers couldn’t care less? You said that they could care less twice, so I assume it’s not a typo, but that suggests they care very much.

It's sarcasm.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t trust what are said anonymously. Anyone could write bs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Self sufficient/advocacy aka cheat off others or get upperclassmen papers/lab reports:
Once the teachers don’t respond or reciprocate and are not willing to help. The next step for smacs kids is to start cheating on tests and a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level! I was shocked when my dc told me this. It’s blatantly obvious that the teachers know this and don’t even look up from their desks during tests. They could care less with this rampant cheating bc higher grades make them look better to the administration. There are many problems with this scenario…one of which is it severely punishes the students who doesn’t cheat because they end up with lower grades because those who DO cheat push the grade average up.

This is so classic. Disgusting anti-Asian racism talking about "a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level!" and the post is not removed but if there are dissenting opinions against another race or ethnicity the posts get deleted right away.

DP here. While I agree with you that what the PP said “certain ethnic group” was not appropriate and completely not necessary,I think you are missing the bigger picture here. What I got from the post is that the PP was trying to explain the negative side to the smacs program.

No what you are missing is blatant racism and choosing to ignore it.
To the OP of that post can you clarify what you meant by "a certain ethnic group" did you mean the Central European/Russian kids? The Jewish kids? Black, Brown or Yellow?

[Anonymous]

I don't know why that person is so angry at a specific ethnic group and hope the other students pick up that this kid's mom is racist, but most SMCS kids really like the school and like each other. Most of the families are really nice too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Poolesville SMaCS sophomore. All A's so far but marking period ends today and kiddo has an 88% in Earth Space Science but thinks the teacher hasn't yet graded something. WGPA of 4.79.

Wow, thats great for your sophomore. Any advice/tips for my freshman who seems to be struggling in smacs?

Time management, study skills, self sufficient/advocacy

I have a senior in smacs at Poolesville and I call BS on what you mentioned above..

Time management (aka don’t go to sleep):
DC gets to the bus stop at 6:30 am. They get home from school at 5:30 pm. A long day right? Saying Time management is complete BS bc it’s basically a parents/teachers demoralizing way of saying don’t go to sleep, Don’t have ANY downtime or be able to relax. Since dc started smacs they go to sleep at 1 am… every night…even more so if they are doing a sport. There.is.just.too.much.work in a single 24 hour period for the solution to just be “time management”.

Study skills (aka self study/pay for tutors for all classes bc the teachers don’t do sh*t):
Since freshman year dc has been self studying 80% of their smacs classes bc their teachers could care less….some teachers are so notorious they don’t even reply to emails about WHEN to retake test if my child was sick or aren’t clear about which DAY a particular project is due. For example..for a worksheet/lab they will say to one block it’s due Monday and to another block they will say Tuesday. Smacs is divided into two blocks for each graduating year. Chaos ensues and all the students gaslight each other about when it is due. It turns out it was due Monday…so the Tuesday block got screwed. It’s hard to let it slide, when this has happened multiple times.

Self sufficient/advocacy aka cheat off others or get upperclassmen papers/lab reports:
Once the teachers don’t respond or reciprocate and are not willing to help. The next step for smacs kids is to start cheating on tests and a certain ethnic group will get the upperclassman papers/projects from years past and cheat on a whole other level! I was shocked when my dc told me this. It’s blatantly obvious that the teachers know this and don’t even look up from their desks during tests. They could care less with this rampant cheating bc higher grades make them look better to the administration. There are many problems with this scenario…one of which is it severely punishes the students who doesn’t cheat because they end up with lower grades because those who DO cheat push the grade average up.

Yeah I did mean any of what you wrote.

Time management means planning out when you’re going to do assignments and other things that are not academic. Using time wisely.

Study skills means applying different student strategies to different subjects as needed. Including adjusting how much practice is needed and what outside sources would may need to use to help study and validate their learning. Getting past test to review is a study strategy. No different that getting sample problems or test prep for SATs. If teachers know this and don’t change the problems that is on them.

Self sufficiency/advocacy doesn’t mean going it alone or having to teach yourself everything. But it does mean you may need to form a study group or schedule time to discuss things with a teacher outside of class. It does mean understanding your resources like if you are not getting responses from the teacher talking to the the subject team lead or your counselor about the problem.

The program ain’t meant to be easy. It’s meant to be a challenge. Either that is something your student it up for or it’s not.