Pulling 8th Grader (Longfellow) out for week and half before winter recess

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:International plane trip where the seats are thousands of dollars cheaper to fly earlier in December?

Disney?

My guess is an international trip so that there is more time overseas. This happens regularly, most the people I know who do this don’t post asking about it because they know that their kid is already ahead in math so making up the missing work is easy. We have friends who go to India, Singapore, Japan, and Korea for extended trips to see family. The tickets are less expensive and the weather is a lot better. Our friends who went to Japan for most of the summer came back talking about how hot and miserable it was but they don’t want to pull their kids from school for the extended trip. It is a trade off.

[Anonymous]

This trip may be worth it for you and your family, but my Longfellow kid had issues making up work last year (as an 8th grader) because she was sick. She had to reach out a bunch of times, and come in after school for several days to take quizzes and tests she missed. It clearly annoyed some teachers, and they were not at all helpful. One teacher gave her a zero on an assignment that she turned in and she had to reach out to him 3 times before he realized his error.

She loved her teachers at Longfellow (except that last one) but they do not help much for absences. She was out for two days at a bad time of year and it was pretty hellacious to get caught up. The time leading up to winter break had a ton of tests and quizzes (except for that last Friday).

[Anonymous]

Since our pyramid policy was no assignments over breaks, tests couldn’t be given the first week back. That meant pretty much every class had a test prior to winter break so kids didn’t have to worry about studying/retaining material for several weeks. Your DC will probably have a lot to make up work in January, while at the same time keeping up with new material. And teachers are far too busy to prepare make up work in advance; your child can/will get it upon returning.

My kids both said no to missing school for trips by about 8th grade when they started taking HS level classes. It wasn’t worth the effort required to get caught up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do it. Once they get to HS they can barely manage to skip a single day. Then they are gone.

They need to reach out to teachers and get everything organized and be prepared to bring their computer and stay on top of lessons.

YOLO, my friend.

OP here. We are thinking of high school and the inability to visit family (from two different countries in Asia) for the next few years while he's in high school. This is the last chance and their grandmother is very old and will likely not make another 6+ years (when both kids are out of high school).

[Anonymous]

I don't understand this, OP. Most of us with family in Asia and kids in HS manage to visit our families just fine. Summer/winter breaks are long enough for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this, OP. Most of us with family in Asia and kids in HS manage to visit our families just fine. Summer/winter breaks are long enough for that.

My family is in Malaysia, and my husband's family is in India and Australia. Two weeks isn't enough time. It's also very expensive if we wait until after December 19th. Unaffordable for our family of four. We also cannot travel in the summer because of airline costs and because my son is in an academic program all summer. I was thinking of doing what one of the posters suggested--discuss with Longfellow counselor and see if this can be accommodated, with the understanding that it falls on my son to complete all homework, quizzes and tests. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Longfellow administration on this. He's a good student, all As, including last year's Algebra I H final (received an A on the final) that had to be reweighted due to the overall poor performance of those who took Alg I H. I'm surprised to see so many parents saying not to do it. Is 8th grade that much harder than 7th grade? It honestly didn't seem like he had much work the last couple of weeks of school, other than some quizzes/tests.

[Anonymous]

So you could go over break, you are just choosing not to spend the money. Yes, its expensive to fly over winter and summer breaks, like everyone else.

What "academic program" runs all summer for middle schoolers"?

[Anonymous]

Maybe a week to 10 days before summer break starts would work better? You need to take jet leg into consideration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this, OP. Most of us with family in Asia and kids in HS manage to visit our families just fine. Summer/winter breaks are long enough for that.

My family is in Malaysia, and my husband's family is in India and Australia. Two weeks isn't enough time. It's also very expensive if we wait until after December 19th. Unaffordable for our family of four. We also cannot travel in the summer because of airline costs and because my son is in an academic program all summer. I was thinking of doing what one of the posters suggested--discuss with Longfellow counselor and see if this can be accommodated, with the understanding that it falls on my son to complete all homework, quizzes and tests. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Longfellow administration on this. He's a good student, all As, including last year's Algebra I H final (received an A on the final) that had to be reweighted due to the overall poor performance of those who took Alg I H. I'm surprised to see so many parents saying not to do it. Is 8th grade that much harder than 7th grade? It honestly didn't seem like he had much work the last couple of weeks of school, other than some quizzes/tests.

But you are choosing to miss a week and a half of 8 subjects in December over missing one measly summer program!

[Anonymous]

In your shoes, I would prioritize meeting the grandma and do either one or two countries. If you absolutely must take the extra week, return after the break is over instead of missing days before the break. At least he won’t have to make up a bunch of tests/quizzes/assignments.

[Anonymous]

The international vacations have been going on for years and pose a tremendous burden on teachers. Choices for family have to be made but bear in mind that attendance is important for both school and work. Do employers grant such long vacations? Know colleges don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this, OP. Most of us with family in Asia and kids in HS manage to visit our families just fine. Summer/winter breaks are long enough for that.

My family is in Malaysia, and my husband's family is in India and Australia. Two weeks isn't enough time. It's also very expensive if we wait until after December 19th. Unaffordable for our family of four. We also cannot travel in the summer because of airline costs and because my son is in an academic program all summer. I was thinking of doing what one of the posters suggested--discuss with Longfellow counselor and see if this can be accommodated, with the understanding that it falls on my son to complete all homework, quizzes and tests. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Longfellow administration on this. He's a good student, all As, including last year's Algebra I H final (received an A on the final) that had to be reweighted due to the overall poor performance of those who took Alg I H. I'm surprised to see so many parents saying not to do it. Is 8th grade that much harder than 7th grade? It honestly didn't seem like he had much work the last couple of weeks of school, other than some quizzes/tests.

Your child is not in 8th grade. Your child has five 8th grade classes and two high school classes. If it was 7th grade or if he did not have high school classes we wouldn’t respond the same way.

[Anonymous]

What is this every year summer-long academic program for middle schoolers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is this every year summer-long academic program for middle schoolers?

SHe's full of BS. Its way cheaper to fly internationally in early december compared to December or Summer. If they can afford academic enrichment all summer long and international flights, they can afford to fly over breaks and summer. They would just rather save money and burden teachers.

[Anonymous]

I'm fascinated, what kind of job do you and your husband do where you can both take that much time off? I need to get into that line of work!