Freshmen Orientation at High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:eh, we arrived in a new town about a week before school started. Our rental house was not ready for us so we had to get a crappy hotel room in another county. I was in the process of selling a house in a another state, trying to get the mess with the rental house straightened out, trying to figure out what we were going to do if the rental house did fall through, all while dealing with open houses for my kids in brand new schools, in brand new school districts. To top it off, my husband was out of state overseeing the movers at our former home.

I had to drive 30 minutes to get to my son's freshman event and I brought my very well behaved younger son with us (I wasn't about to leave him alone in that hotel room). My youngest came with me into the parents' meeting. Ideally that wouldn't have happened but sometimes life is not ideal and we just gotta roll with it folks.

We are not talking about the parent meeting.

We are talking about when the freshmen come to the school for a half day, go through their class schedule with the other kids, and do some sort of assembly.

If your kid's freshman orientation did not have a parents meeting, would you have tagged along with your kid as the only parent there at an even obviously for just the kids, or would you have run over to starbucks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:eh, we arrived in a new town about a week before school started. Our rental house was not ready for us so we had to get a crappy hotel room in another county. I was in the process of selling a house in a another state, trying to get the mess with the rental house straightened out, trying to figure out what we were going to do if the rental house did fall through, all while dealing with open houses for my kids in brand new schools, in brand new school districts. To top it off, my husband was out of state overseeing the movers at our former home.

I had to drive 30 minutes to get to my son's freshman event and I brought my very well behaved younger son with us (I wasn't about to leave him alone in that hotel room). My youngest came with me into the parents' meeting. Ideally that wouldn't have happened but sometimes life is not ideal and we just gotta roll with it folks.

We are not talking about the parent meeting.

We are talking about when the freshmen come to the school for a half day, go through their class schedule with the other kids, and do some sort of assembly.

If your kid's freshman orientation did not have a parents meeting, would you have tagged along with your kid as the only parent there at an even obviously for just the kids, or would you have run over to starbucks?

Well, I didn't exactly know what was going to happen during my kid's orientation (they didn't even call it orientation). I assumed it was an open house where he would get his schedule, we would see his classrooms and meet his teachers. What actually happened was he was sent down the hall with the other freshman and I was directed to the parents' meeting. That is where we (the parents) were told that we could leave and come back later for our kids.

Leave? Leave and go where exactly? My son didn't even have a cellphone so that I could text him to tell him where I was going. (Yep - that was me peeking down the halls to see if I could spot him so that I could give him a heads up that I was leaving the school but would be back).

I wound up going out to my air conditioned van and waiting for the thing to end. I wanted to be there for him when they let the kids out.

Luckily the AC in my van keeps things cool....some folks might not be so lucky with their cars. I'm sure I looked like a helicopter mom out there hovering in my mini van...oh well.

[Anonymous]

FCPS needs to have a general information session for parents of rising high school students that explains the high school curriculum, diploma requirements, IB, AP, the variety of academy programs, and extracurricular activities. FCPS is a huge school system with many different high schools and a wide variety of programs. For example, some schools offer certain foreign languages that others don’t, or diploma/trade certificate programs, or a music/art/theater focus. The assumption is that students will attend the school they are zoned for, but when the county offers so much variety in programs, how are parents supposed to know what’s available to our students? It’s overwhelming. If students are expected to attend their base high school, shouldn’t they all be basically the same and offer the same subjects, diplomas, programs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs to have a general information session for parents of rising high school students that explains the high school curriculum, diploma requirements, IB, AP, the variety of academy programs, and extracurricular activities. FCPS is a huge school system with many different high schools and a wide variety of programs. For example, some schools offer certain foreign languages that others don’t, or diploma/trade certificate programs, or a music/art/theater focus. The assumption is that students will attend the school they are zoned for, but when the county offers so much variety in programs, how are parents supposed to know what’s available to our students? It’s overwhelming. If students are expected to attend their base high school, shouldn’t they all be basically the same and offer the same subjects, diplomas, programs?

They have that in the spring when the kids are picking their schedules

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs to have a general information session for parents of rising high school students that explains the high school curriculum, diploma requirements, IB, AP, the variety of academy programs, and extracurricular activities. FCPS is a huge school system with many different high schools and a wide variety of programs. For example, some schools offer certain foreign languages that others don’t, or diploma/trade certificate programs, or a music/art/theater focus. The assumption is that students will attend the school they are zoned for, but when the county offers so much variety in programs, how are parents supposed to know what’s available to our students? It’s overwhelming. If students are expected to attend their base high school, shouldn’t they all be basically the same and offer the same subjects, diplomas, programs?

They have that in the spring when the kids are picking their schedules

August the week before school starts is too late for that information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:eh, we arrived in a new town about a week before school started. Our rental house was not ready for us so we had to get a crappy hotel room in another county. I was in the process of selling a house in a another state, trying to get the mess with the rental house straightened out, trying to figure out what we were going to do if the rental house did fall through, all while dealing with open houses for my kids in brand new schools, in brand new school districts. To top it off, my husband was out of state overseeing the movers at our former home.

I had to drive 30 minutes to get to my son's freshman event and I brought my very well behaved younger son with us (I wasn't about to leave him alone in that hotel room). My youngest came with me into the parents' meeting. Ideally that wouldn't have happened but sometimes life is not ideal and we just gotta roll with it folks.

We are not talking about the parent meeting.

We are talking about when the freshmen come to the school for a half day, go through their class schedule with the other kids, and do some sort of assembly.

If your kid's freshman orientation did not have a parents meeting, would you have tagged along with your kid as the only parent there at an even obviously for just the kids, or would you have run over to starbucks?

Well, I didn't exactly know what was going to happen during my kid's orientation (they didn't even call it orientation). I assumed it was an open house where he would get his schedule, we would see his classrooms and meet his teachers. What actually happened was he was sent down the hall with the other freshman and I was directed to the parents' meeting. That is where we (the parents) were told that we could leave and come back later for our kids.

Leave? Leave and go where exactly? My son didn't even have a cellphone so that I could text him to tell him where I was going. (Yep - that was me peeking down the halls to see if I could spot him so that I could give him a heads up that I was leaving the school but would be back).

I wound up going out to my air conditioned van and waiting for the thing to end. I wanted to be there for him when they let the kids out.

Luckily the AC in my van keeps things cool....some folks might not be so lucky with their cars. I'm sure I looked like a helicopter mom out there hovering in my mini van...oh well.

Your high school kid probably needs a cell phone.

[Anonymous]

I will go with my incoming freshman to the afternoon open house where they hand out schedules and PE uniforms. However, my freshman will be doing all the talking to receive/pay for these things while I stand quietly to the side as a parent. She is old enough to speak for herself.

I will not attend the freshman orientation. That will be her time with her peers to figure out where the classrooms are, meet the teachers, etc. She doesn't need, or want, me there. She will be going to college in four years, driving in two. I think she can handle it.

[Anonymous]

I’ve sent three kids thru high school. The day where you pay school fees, get the gym uniforms, get your class schedule- always lots of parents there. I think it just depends on your kid but it definitely isn’t weird to go as a parent. But the orientation where you meet the teachers, have a pep rally, etc.- DEFINITELY DO NOT GO TO THAT!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:eh, we arrived in a new town about a week before school started. Our rental house was not ready for us so we had to get a crappy hotel room in another county. I was in the process of selling a house in a another state, trying to get the mess with the rental house straightened out, trying to figure out what we were going to do if the rental house did fall through, all while dealing with open houses for my kids in brand new schools, in brand new school districts. To top it off, my husband was out of state overseeing the movers at our former home.

I had to drive 30 minutes to get to my son's freshman event and I brought my very well behaved younger son with us (I wasn't about to leave him alone in that hotel room). My youngest came with me into the parents' meeting. Ideally that wouldn't have happened but sometimes life is not ideal and we just gotta roll with it folks.

We are not talking about the parent meeting.

We are talking about when the freshmen come to the school for a half day, go through their class schedule with the other kids, and do some sort of assembly.

If your kid's freshman orientation did not have a parents meeting, would you have tagged along with your kid as the only parent there at an even obviously for just the kids, or would you have run over to starbucks?

Well, I didn't exactly know what was going to happen during my kid's orientation (they didn't even call it orientation). I assumed it was an open house where he would get his schedule, we would see his classrooms and meet his teachers. What actually happened was he was sent down the hall with the other freshman and I was directed to the parents' meeting. That is where we (the parents) were told that we could leave and come back later for our kids.

Leave? Leave and go where exactly? My son didn't even have a cellphone so that I could text him to tell him where I was going. (Yep - that was me peeking down the halls to see if I could spot him so that I could give him a heads up that I was leaving the school but would be back).

I wound up going out to my air conditioned van and waiting for the thing to end. I wanted to be there for him when they let the kids out.

Luckily the AC in my van keeps things cool....some folks might not be so lucky with their cars. I'm sure I looked like a helicopter mom out there hovering in my mini van...oh well.

Your high school kid probably needs a cell phone.

Well, yes, he did. And we had intended to get him one before the start of school. We had also intended to be moved into our rental already and to know a few neighbor kids.......but, alas, twas not meant to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs to have a general information session for parents of rising high school students that explains the high school curriculum, diploma requirements, IB, AP, the variety of academy programs, and extracurricular activities. FCPS is a huge school system with many different high schools and a wide variety of programs. For example, some schools offer certain foreign languages that others don’t, or diploma/trade certificate programs, or a music/art/theater focus. The assumption is that students will attend the school they are zoned for, but when the county offers so much variety in programs, how are parents supposed to know what’s available to our students? It’s overwhelming. If students are expected to attend their base high school, shouldn’t they all be basically the same and offer the same subjects, diplomas, programs?

They have that in the spring when the kids are picking their schedules

Does each HS have its own info session? That would be useful after a student has decided to attend a particular school, but what I’m looking for is an info session that describes what’s available for HS students across FCPS. Who knows, my child may want to attend an IB school instead of an AP one, or attend one of the academies like the health career one at Mt. Vernon or the computer/IT one at Edison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs to have a general information session for parents of rising high school students that explains the high school curriculum, diploma requirements, IB, AP, the variety of academy programs, and extracurricular activities. FCPS is a huge school system with many different high schools and a wide variety of programs. For example, some schools offer certain foreign languages that others don’t, or diploma/trade certificate programs, or a music/art/theater focus. The assumption is that students will attend the school they are zoned for, but when the county offers so much variety in programs, how are parents supposed to know what’s available to our students? It’s overwhelming. If students are expected to attend their base high school, shouldn’t they all be basically the same and offer the same subjects, diplomas, programs?

They have that in the spring when the kids are picking their schedules

Does each HS have its own info session? That would be useful after a student has decided to attend a particular school, but what I’m looking for is an info session that describes what’s available for HS students across FCPS. Who knows, my child may want to attend an IB school instead of an AP one, or attend one of the academies like the health career one at Mt. Vernon or the computer/IT one at Edison.

You’re probably just best off contacting those schools directly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs to have a general information session for parents of rising high school students that explains the high school curriculum, diploma requirements, IB, AP, the variety of academy programs, and extracurricular activities. FCPS is a huge school system with many different high schools and a wide variety of programs. For example, some schools offer certain foreign languages that others don’t, or diploma/trade certificate programs, or a music/art/theater focus. The assumption is that students will attend the school they are zoned for, but when the county offers so much variety in programs, how are parents supposed to know what’s available to our students? It’s overwhelming. If students are expected to attend their base high school, shouldn’t they all be basically the same and offer the same subjects, diplomas, programs?

They have that in the spring when the kids are picking their schedules

Does each HS have its own info session? That would be useful after a student has decided to attend a particular school, but what I’m looking for is an info session that describes what’s available for HS students across FCPS. Who knows, my child may want to attend an IB school instead of an AP one, or attend one of the academies like the health career one at Mt. Vernon or the computer/IT one at Edison.

You’re probably just best off contacting those schools directly.

I agree, but I shouldn’t have to do that. There should be an FCPS “High School 101” info session for parents of middle school students as well as people moving into FCPS from other systems. I think the reason FCPS doesn’t have one is to cut down on the number of requests to attend an out-of-bounds school. However, parents should be able to easily find out about the variety of courses at FCPS high schools without digging through the website for each school. I came from a county where the high schools were basically carbon copies of each other, with the same courses, diploma options, etc. That’s not the case here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs to have a general information session for parents of rising high school students that explains the high school curriculum, diploma requirements, IB, AP, the variety of academy programs, and extracurricular activities. FCPS is a huge school system with many different high schools and a wide variety of programs. For example, some schools offer certain foreign languages that others don’t, or diploma/trade certificate programs, or a music/art/theater focus. The assumption is that students will attend the school they are zoned for, but when the county offers so much variety in programs, how are parents supposed to know what’s available to our students? It’s overwhelming. If students are expected to attend their base high school, shouldn’t they all be basically the same and offer the same subjects, diplomas, programs?

They have that in the spring when the kids are picking their schedules

Does each HS have its own info session? That would be useful after a student has decided to attend a particular school, but what I’m looking for is an info session that describes what’s available for HS students across FCPS. Who knows, my child may want to attend an IB school instead of an AP one, or attend one of the academies like the health career one at Mt. Vernon or the computer/IT one at Edison.

You’re probably just best off contacting those schools directly.

I agree, but I shouldn’t have to do that. There should be an FCPS “High School 101” info session for parents of middle school students as well as people moving into FCPS from other systems. I think the reason FCPS doesn’t have one is to cut down on the number of requests to attend an out-of-bounds school. However, parents should be able to easily find out about the variety of courses at FCPS high schools without digging through the website for each school. I came from a county where the high schools were basically carbon copies of each other, with the same courses, diploma options, etc. That’s not the case here!

That sounds like a huge hassel when all that information can be found online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS needs to have a general information session for parents of rising high school students that explains the high school curriculum, diploma requirements, IB, AP, the variety of academy programs, and extracurricular activities. FCPS is a huge school system with many different high schools and a wide variety of programs. For example, some schools offer certain foreign languages that others don’t, or diploma/trade certificate programs, or a music/art/theater focus. The assumption is that students will attend the school they are zoned for, but when the county offers so much variety in programs, how are parents supposed to know what’s available to our students? It’s overwhelming. If students are expected to attend their base high school, shouldn’t they all be basically the same and offer the same subjects, diplomas, programs?

They have that in the spring when the kids are picking their schedules

Does each HS have its own info session? That would be useful after a student has decided to attend a particular school, but what I’m looking for is an info session that describes what’s available for HS students across FCPS. Who knows, my child may want to attend an IB school instead of an AP one, or attend one of the academies like the health career one at Mt. Vernon or the computer/IT one at Edison.

You’re probably just best off contacting those schools directly.

I agree, but I shouldn’t have to do that. There should be an FCPS “High School 101” info session for parents of middle school students as well as people moving into FCPS from other systems. I think the reason FCPS doesn’t have one is to cut down on the number of requests to attend an out-of-bounds school. However, parents should be able to easily find out about the variety of courses at FCPS high schools without digging through the website for each school. I came from a county where the high schools were basically carbon copies of each other, with the same courses, diploma options, etc. That’s not the case here!

OK. Have you considered voicing this opinion to FCPS?

[Anonymous]

They should publish an online video that we can all reference.