Sidwell v. NCS - 4th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

Look it's the anti Beauvoir mom again ! Her child didn't get into NCS so she spends all her time bashing all of the schools on the Close. Remember when she said she was going to have to "pull her kids from the school" ?

We didn’t even apply to NCS. This is the attitude I mean. Real concerns about Beauvoir’s academic rigor and culture are dismissed as “well your child didn’t get into STA or NCS.” We don’t want our child at NCS. I know it’s hard to believe but we are looking for something better for our family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

Look it's the anti Beauvoir mom again ! Her child didn't get into NCS so she spends all her time bashing all of the schools on the Close. Remember when she said she was going to have to "pull her kids from the school" ?

We didn’t even apply to NCS. This is the attitude I mean. Real concerns about Beauvoir’s academic rigor and culture are dismissed as “well your child didn’t get into STA or NCS.” We don’t want our child at NCS. I know it’s hard to believe but we are looking for something better for our family.

I read this three times and didn’t know what you mean. Are you at Beauvoir? Are you concerned with NCS due to Beauvoir ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It 100% may be that we didn’t get lucky with our parent cohort. I think the “is it is” question is a fair one. I don’t think it is! Our friends are also planning on leaving- the focus on wealth and class is distasteful. The school hasn’t been rigorous academically. We are pretty low maintenance parents but friends of ours who have tried to change things (nicely, I promise) just get ignored. Beauvoir is a waiting area for parents who want to send their kids to NCS and STA and no parents will complain because they want their outplacement to go well.

All good to know. Is it the faculty/admin ignoring them or parents? Depending on what the changes are, I can see being ignored by faculty as a problem, but I wouldn't be bothered by the parents. I’ve heard there are more nice parents than mean ones, but laid back, down to earth isn't what comes to mind to describe the typical parent there. There are some, but I do agree that it looked like a lot want the associated prestige. During my tour, a couple applying to PK asked about numbers that go on to NCS and STA. And after visiting, you can tell it's not rigorous at all, but none of these schools are rigorous PK-3rd grade.

That's a feature not a bug. Lots of homework and worksheets isn't how young kids learn best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

Look it's the anti Beauvoir mom again ! Her child didn't get into NCS so she spends all her time bashing all of the schools on the Close. Remember when she said she was going to have to "pull her kids from the school" ?

Outside of the cathedral schools
Beauvoir is known to be extremely weak academically. In recent years most all 60 kids going to sta or ncs each year from bvr couldn’t even get into Sidwell or GDS. So if your daughter gets into Sidwell go there.

I thought Beauvoir kids who wanted to go to ncs/sta applied early, so they would never have applied to GDS or Sidwell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

Look it's the anti Beauvoir mom again ! Her child didn't get into NCS so she spends all her time bashing all of the schools on the Close. Remember when she said she was going to have to "pull her kids from the school" ?

Outside of the cathedral schools
Beauvoir is known to be extremely weak academically. In recent years most all 60 kids going to sta or ncs each year from bvr couldn’t even get into Sidwell or GDS. So if your daughter gets into Sidwell go there.

I thought Beauvoir kids who wanted to go to ncs/sta applied early, so they would never have applied to GDS or Sidwell.

This is correct. Most BVR kids apply early decision to NCS/STA. I’m not a few do regular decision. My girls only ever applied to NCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It 100% may be that we didn’t get lucky with our parent cohort. I think the “is it is” question is a fair one. I don’t think it is! Our friends are also planning on leaving- the focus on wealth and class is distasteful. The school hasn’t been rigorous academically. We are pretty low maintenance parents but friends of ours who have tried to change things (nicely, I promise) just get ignored. Beauvoir is a waiting area for parents who want to send their kids to NCS and STA and no parents will complain because they want their outplacement to go well.

All good to know. Is it the faculty/admin ignoring them or parents? Depending on what the changes are, I can see being ignored by faculty as a problem, but I wouldn't be bothered by the parents. I’ve heard there are more nice parents than mean ones, but laid back, down to earth isn't what comes to mind to describe the typical parent there. There are some, but I do agree that it looked like a lot want the associated prestige. During my tour, a couple applying to PK asked about numbers that go on to NCS and STA. And after visiting, you can tell it's not rigorous at all, but none of these schools are rigorous PK-3rd grade.

That's a feature not a bug. Lots of homework and worksheets isn't how young kids learn best.

Agreed. Point being, it's not a slight against Beauvoir.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

Look it's the anti Beauvoir mom again ! Her child didn't get into NCS so she spends all her time bashing all of the schools on the Close. Remember when she said she was going to have to "pull her kids from the school" ? [/quote

Outside of the cathedral schools
Beauvoir is known to be extremely weak academically. In recent years most all 60 kids going to sta or ncs each year from bvr couldn’t even get into Sidwell or GDS. So if your daughter gets into Sidwell go there.

In recent years ? You are completely making things up at this point. There are not 60 Beauvoir kids in the last five years who even bothered to apply to Sidwell and gds. Most BRV kids want to go to STA and NCS and most get in and most do just fine. This mother is so pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are at Beauvoir now and counting down the days until we are done (not headed to NCS). Run from the Close! The parent community is terrible and Beauvoir has been a disaster. I would not select a school with a high proportion of Beauvoir parents or kids.

Look it's the anti Beauvoir mom again ! Her child didn't get into NCS so she spends all her time bashing all of the schools on the Close. Remember when she said she was going to have to "pull her kids from the school" ? [/quote

Outside of the cathedral schools
Beauvoir is known to be extremely weak academically. In recent years most all 60 kids going to sta or ncs each year from bvr couldn’t even get into Sidwell or GDS. So if your daughter gets into Sidwell go there.

In recent years ? You are completely making things up at this point. There are not 60 Beauvoir kids in the last five years who even bothered to apply to Sidwell and gds. Most BRV kids want to go to STA and NCS and most get in and most do just fine. This mother is so pathetic.

This post was about choosing between ncs and Sidwell in 4th and the point was Sidwell is stronger at that entry due to the fact that bvr is legit known to be weak academically in this area and their kids largely do not have luck getting in to other top schools like gds or Sidwell in 4th grade. It’s not about if they wanted to apply anywhere else besides sta/ncs- was about the fact that they couldn’t get in anywhere else even if they wanted to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is in 2nd grade and will be applying to schools next year (for entry in 4th). We live in Cleveland Park right between Sidwell and NCS, so are focused mainly on those schools but will also apply to a few others (and yes, I know Sidwell would be in Bethesda at first). I'm interested in everyone's take on which would be the better fit, particularly in the elementary and middle school years, assuming she could get in. Academically DD should be able to keep up at either school -- she has scored in the 99th percentile in both math and reading on all six standardized tests given in 1st and 2nd grade. She is a voracious reader, is very funny and thoughtful, and really loves history and science. But she is also shy, sensitive, slightly anxious, and young for her grade (June bday), and although she has tried lots of extracurriculars (sports, theater, has played an instrument for two years, etc.), she hasn't found any activities that she loves & in which she has particular talent. In other words, we have no idea what her "thing" will be in high school, so we don't really care which school has better athletic facilities or high school arts offerings -- we're focused almost exclusively on (1) academics and (2) her happiness/becoming a kind and confident person. DH and I don't feel strongly enough about single-sex education to make it the deciding factor, and we're pretty sure she could do well in either environment.

Many of her closest friends go to Beauvoir and will be going to NCS, but we don't think that means it is necessarily the best fit for her. But I'm saying that because when she tours NCS she is going to see lots of friends which might have a big impact her opinion. We don't know a soul at Sidwell. By reputation Sidwell seems like it will have more diversity (race, religion, and socio-economic) and is less likely to have a "mean girls" vibe in her formative middle school years, but I worry about what people say on this board about the lack of teacher/admin support / lassez-faire vibe there. All indications are that DD still needs coddling for a few more years, and DH and I have extremely demanding jobs and need the school to play a very active role. Thanks.

Sidwell lower school will move to the main campus by the time your child starts 4th grade

[Anonymous]

there is no avoiding mean girls, every school has them, a lot depends on the class year. our DC at sidwell had a good year, years above and below had all sorts of mean girls issues. NCS is infamous for mean girls, and while they have worked hard to shed that reputation it is still an issue

[Anonymous]

When my kids were at Beauvoir, the STA admissions team came by for an outplacement meeting. There were ten people from STA there and they took turns on the microphone and stood and took questions. They also had several former BRV students - current STA students on the panel. STA knew that almost every parent at the meeting had STA as their first choice and that 80 percent those kids would get in. Overall, it was an impressive presentation.
Two weeks later, Sidwell came by Beauvoir for the same outplacement meeting. Two women sat in chairs, spoke a little about the school, took a few question, and then left. Low energy would be a compliment.

The fact is, most BRV kids and their parents, have no interest in Sidwell. If they did, they wouldn’t have gone to Beauvoir in the first place. They would have applied to Sidwell in K and yes, believe or not, some would have been accepted.

All that said, Sidwell is a girls school. Nobody should send their boys there !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my kids were at Beauvoir, the STA admissions team came by for an outplacement meeting. There were ten people from STA there and they took turns on the microphone and stood and took questions. They also had several former BRV students - current STA students on the panel. STA knew that almost every parent at the meeting had STA as their first choice and that 80 percent those kids would get in. Overall, it was an impressive presentation.
Two weeks later, Sidwell came by Beauvoir for the same outplacement meeting. Two women sat in chairs, spoke a little about the school, took a few question, and then left. Low energy would be a compliment.

The fact is, most BRV kids and their parents, have no interest in Sidwell. If they did, they wouldn’t have gone to Beauvoir in the first place. They would have applied to Sidwell in K and yes, believe or not, some would have been accepted.

All that said, Sidwell is a girls school. Nobody should send their boys there !

What does this mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my kids were at Beauvoir, the STA admissions team came by for an outplacement meeting. There were ten people from STA there and they took turns on the microphone and stood and took questions. They also had several former BRV students - current STA students on the panel. STA knew that almost every parent at the meeting had STA as their first choice and that 80 percent those kids would get in. Overall, it was an impressive presentation.
Two weeks later, Sidwell came by Beauvoir for the same outplacement meeting. Two women sat in chairs, spoke a little about the school, took a few question, and then left. Low energy would be a compliment.

The fact is, most BRV kids and their parents, have no interest in Sidwell. If they did, they wouldn’t have gone to Beauvoir in the first place. They would have applied to Sidwell in K and yes, believe or not, some would have been accepted.

All that said, Sidwell is a girls school. Nobody should send their boys there !

I was with you until the last sentence. What does that even mean?

[Anonymous]

if you are looking for 4th grade, you are probably going to be there through high school, so look at these places holistically. I wouldn't send a girl to the NSC high school (although would send a boy to St Albans). But there are happier places than both - including GDS and Maret.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When my kids were at Beauvoir, the STA admissions team came by for an outplacement meeting. There were ten people from STA there and they took turns on the microphone and stood and took questions. They also had several former BRV students - current STA students on the panel. STA knew that almost every parent at the meeting had STA as their first choice and that 80 percent those kids would get in. Overall, it was an impressive presentation.
Two weeks later, Sidwell came by Beauvoir for the same outplacement meeting. Two women sat in chairs, spoke a little about the school, took a few question, and then left. Low energy would be a compliment.

The fact is, most BRV kids and their parents, have no interest in Sidwell. If they did, they wouldn’t have gone to Beauvoir in the first place. They would have applied to Sidwell in K and yes, believe or not, some would have been accepted.

All that said, Sidwell is a girls school. Nobody should send their boys there !

I was with you until the last sentence. What does that even mean?

I think it means what is says. Sidwell is a nice school for girls.