Basis PCS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was the invitation/notice for the Back to School Night sent already?

I hadn't received anything....

It was in last Friday's e-newsletter. Call school if you aren't getting those yet.

In the meantime what grade is your child in - each grade does BTS night on a different day (all next week though).

[Anonymous]

BASIS is a good addition to DC. Keep schools like this coming and we'll dig out from under this mess within 15-20 years.

[Anonymous]

They also seem to have addressed the recent turnover with a new principal more likely to create a good foundation in the administration, and some good new teacher hires.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was the invitation/notice for the Back to School Night sent already?

I hadn't received anything....

Here are the days/times for Back to School nights from the newsletter last week.

Tuesday 9/8
Back to School Night (5th & 8th grades)
6:00 - 8:00 PM

Wednesday, 9/9
Back to School Night (6th & 7th grades)
6:00 - 8:00 PM

Thursday, 9/10
Back to School Night (9th-11th grades)
6:00 - 8:00 PM

[Anonymous]

Any 5th grade teachers we should watch out for and strategies that worked with them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any 5th grade teachers we should watch out for and strategies that worked with them?

The returning teachers are pretty strong. The one thing that I've found some of the newer teachers (not just 5th grade) tend to do is underestimate the amount of time their homework would take a child to do. So ask them at BTS night how much time they expect the students to spend on homework for his/her class. And if your child is regularly exceeding that time, schedule a meeting to discuss and hopefully they will course correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also realize that - just like people lie about how much they are working - they also lie about how much time their kid spend on homework. For some reason, it makes them all feel better to claim that their kid spends X hours on homework when the reality is the spend 0.5X or less.

People also lie about how little time their kids spend on homework just to boast the smarts of their kids.
There are BASIS kids who are tutored privately, but nothing is mentioned about it.

So many BASIS parents have previously written on these forums that the 30 math problems usually take about 30 minutes (averaging a minute a problem) even in Algebra II or Precalculus. They create a fantasy world and even start believing it...

[Anonymous]

Parent of Honor Roll student now in Algebra 2 in 7th grade -- 30 problems takes around an hour with no distractions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of Honor Roll student now in Algebra 2 in 7th grade -- 30 problems takes around an hour with no distractions.

Same for my 8th grader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BASIS is a good addition to DC. Keep schools like this coming and we'll dig out from under this mess within 15-20 years.

Fantastic. Future parents of children to be born five or ten years from now can look forward to accruing the benefit of living in a city with stellar public schools. We'll cheer for them from MoCo, Fairfax and jobs we can't retire from (to pay the loans we took to afford private schools).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:BASIS is a good addition to DC. Keep schools like this coming and we'll dig out from under this mess within 15-20 years.

Fantastic. Future parents of children to be born five or ten years from now can look forward to accruing the benefit of living in a city with stellar public schools. We'll cheer for them from MoCo, Fairfax and jobs we can't retire from (to pay the loans we took to afford private schools).

I wish we could move more quickly but Mayor Bowser and Kaya Henderson (and her foundation backers at CityBridge) perpetuate the view that all DCPS schools can improve to acceptable levels. That just is not true. In the meantime, they discourage charters at almost every opportunity while paying lip service to co-existence and collaboration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a brand new 5th grader at Basis.

We had already our share of tears, due to the homework workload . My DS is coming from a quite relaxed elementary school so he is feeling the pressure.

Can anyone share how is decided if they attend Algebra? My DS had been allocated to Maths 7/8 ( another source of complains..." So much work mama").

So far I'm quite happy with the school and syllabus. Seems ambitious but pretty much aligned with the European standards.

Thanks!

The placement test is not that specific. If you THINK your child should be in Algebra I (which will make a tremendous difference potentially in the first few years at BASIS because with a large enough cohort (15 kids in Algebra II now) you are half a section so you are pretty much guaranteed a peer group where they ought to move troublemakers out then go to the HOS and PUSH HARD. You can always drop back, but you will never be able to catch up. Dunno if that was where you were going......... but important to know for incoming 5th graders

[Anonymous]

That also adds some consistency to who is in your element - if you are in the most advanced maths, there is usually only one section they can place you in

[Anonymous]

do any 5th grade parents know how many kids are in Algebra I this year?
Last year it was half a section of 5Si............

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:do any 5th grade parents know how many kids are in Algebra I this year?
Last year it was half a section of 5Si............

How many new 5th graders or how many 6th graders?