Tell me about TPMS Magnet

[Anonymous]

My daughter was accepted to the TPMS Magnet program. I always assumed that we didn't have a chance of being accepted so I never paid too much attention to the threads about the program. Tried searching the forums, but I couldn't find much recent information about the types of activities/classes offered. Is it the quality of the teachers that make the program so desirable? (We'll be attending the info meeting, too.) Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Congrats OP. My son got in too and I’m also interested in more info.

(And any info on Eastern too as he’s waitlisted there.)

[Anonymous]

My daughter's accepted to Eastern. Would really appreciate any feedback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter's accepted to Eastern. Would really appreciate any feedback.

Congrats to all of your kids. I would start a separate thread on Eastern if I were you.

[Anonymous]

I'm in a similar position as OP. Kid who has always been far more interested in humanities than math, and definitely not the child who was looking for extra math enrichment, as he'd rather write and illustrate a book.

Now he's in at TPMS and waitlisted at Eastern. Basically, I'd love to know if there are kids like him who are happy at the TPMS magnet. I've always assumed that was the choice for kids who love math and computers as much as he loves putting on elaborate productions with his siblings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in a similar position as OP. Kid who has always been far more interested in humanities than math, and definitely not the child who was looking for extra math enrichment, as he'd rather write and illustrate a book.

Now he's in at TPMS and waitlisted at Eastern. Basically, I'd love to know if there are kids like him who are happy at the TPMS magnet. I've always assumed that was the choice for kids who love math and computers as much as he loves putting on elaborate productions with his siblings.

My kid will be going to TPMS and loves to read. Strong interest in history in particular. Has almost zero experience with computers (none at all until joining MCPS this year). No coding experience at all. But loves math and science in addition to literature.

[Anonymous]

DC is in 6th grade at TPMS- the kids definitely don’t need prior computer experience. We are very happy with the magnet teachers and most of the non-magnet teachers as well. There are a lot of smart kids outside of the magnet program as well and DC is thriving there. The English curriculum is not challenging, but this is true everywhere in MCPS except for Eastern. A lot of kids get into both programs these days so it’s not like the TPMS kids are only into math/science and vice versa at eastern. There are a lot of all around smart kids in both of these programs.

[Anonymous]

What I really want to know is how people get their kids to TPMS. As best I can tell, it's a bus to Eastern from the west side of the county, and then a shuttle to TP. Both of us work and Silver Spring is not on the way for either of us, so carpooling would be very difficult, unless we find a really accommodating set of families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I really want to know is how people get their kids to TPMS. As best I can tell, it's a bus to Eastern from the west side of the county, and then a shuttle to TP. Both of us work and Silver Spring is not on the way for either of us, so carpooling would be very difficult, unless we find a really accommodating set of families.

Yes all of the buses go to Eastern first (from everywhere) so it’s a long commute from the west side of the county. Many people do carpool or drop their kids off from farther away. We’re not as far, DC doesn’t mind the bus, and it’s an opportunity to see friends who go to Eastern since they share buses, so this hasn’t been an issue for us. But getting on a bus at 6:30 to go far does require commitment and passion for the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is in 6th grade at TPMS- the kids definitely don’t need prior computer experience. We are very happy with the magnet teachers and most of the non-magnet teachers as well. There are a lot of smart kids outside of the magnet program as well and DC is thriving there. The English curriculum is not challenging, but this is true everywhere in MCPS except for Eastern. A lot of kids get into both programs these days so it’s not like the TPMS kids are only into math/science and vice versa at eastern. There are a lot of all around smart kids in both of these programs.

Can you tell me more about the English program? My kid is fed up of pointless worksheets in 5th grade and could do with a lot more challenge in English. I was hoping middle school would help esp as he got in to TPMS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I really want to know is how people get their kids to TPMS. As best I can tell, it's a bus to Eastern from the west side of the county, and then a shuttle to TP. Both of us work and Silver Spring is not on the way for either of us, so carpooling would be very difficult, unless we find a really accommodating set of families.

Accommodating - they do all the driving and your only contribution is your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I really want to know is how people get their kids to TPMS. As best I can tell, it's a bus to Eastern from the west side of the county, and then a shuttle to TP. Both of us work and Silver Spring is not on the way for either of us, so carpooling would be very difficult, unless we find a really accommodating set of families.

Accommodating - they do all the driving and your only contribution is your child.

Why are you being unpleasant to a stranger about something that doesn’t involve you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I really want to know is how people get their kids to TPMS. As best I can tell, it's a bus to Eastern from the west side of the county, and then a shuttle to TP. Both of us work and Silver Spring is not on the way for either of us, so carpooling would be very difficult, unless we find a really accommodating set of families.

Accommodating - they do all the driving and your only contribution is your child.

No - Accommodating in the sense that they are willing to do all the afternoon pick-ups (and we do only morning) because it'd be really hard to regularly take off in the middle of the work day. Sorry you lack the ability to conceptualize such a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is in 6th grade at TPMS- the kids definitely don’t need prior computer experience. We are very happy with the magnet teachers and most of the non-magnet teachers as well. There are a lot of smart kids outside of the magnet program as well and DC is thriving there. The English curriculum is not challenging, but this is true everywhere in MCPS except for Eastern. A lot of kids get into both programs these days so it’s not like the TPMS kids are only into math/science and vice versa at eastern. There are a lot of all around smart kids in both of these programs.

Can you tell me more about the English program? My kid is fed up of pointless worksheets in 5th grade and could do with a lot more challenge in English. I was hoping middle school would help esp as he got in to TPMS.

English, history are not going to be that good at TPMS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is in 6th grade at TPMS- the kids definitely don’t need prior computer experience. We are very happy with the magnet teachers and most of the non-magnet teachers as well. There are a lot of smart kids outside of the magnet program as well and DC is thriving there. The English curriculum is not challenging, but this is true everywhere in MCPS except for Eastern. A lot of kids get into both programs these days so it’s not like the TPMS kids are only into math/science and vice versa at eastern. There are a lot of all around smart kids in both of these programs.

Can you tell me more about the English program? My kid is fed up of pointless worksheets in 5th grade and could do with a lot more challenge in English. I was hoping middle school would help esp as he got in to TPMS.

English, history are not going to be that good at TPMS

Yes, but they are not really worse than the rest of the county except for Eastern magnet... DC has a good English teacher but they only read 4 books per year (this is the curriculum). No real at home writing assignments though they do some writing in class (for HIGH as well). DC hasn’t been doing worksheets in English at takoma, though I have heard of this at other schools. But the CES grade 4/5 humanities program is definitely more advanced than regular MCPS grade 6.