Anonymous wrote:Both Crew and Cross Country are no-cut sports and great ways to meet and bond with other kids. Like all Fall MCPS sports, cross country starts in mid-August (maybe Aug 9 even this summer), so if that might be of interest, keep timing in mind when planning summer trips.

Crew is an interesting mixture of big and small - but group of kids across 4 grades - 100+, but once you start racing in the spring, kids settle into boats which is a group of 8 + coxswain. Based on performance, kids do end up moving around in boats a bit.

Best advice for a freshman is to join something(s) in the fall. Regular contact outside the classroom builds friendship.

Does BCC allow 8th graders to audition for placement in a more advanced band/orchestra for 9th grade?

Orchestra for sure. Otherwise there's no guarantee she'll meet the same kids in her courses.

The IB MYP is school wide so will not make the school feel any smaller. Band/Orchestra will help as only certain kids are going to participate. Your DD should explore her interest in terms of elective classes and extracurriculars. Talk to people at Orientation before school starts. Get to know the kids in your neighborhood who attend the school.

lots of clubs and possibilities

Both Crew and Cross Country are no-cut sports and great ways to meet and bond with other kids. Like all Fall MCPS sports, cross country starts in mid-August (maybe Aug 9 even this summer), so if that might be of interest, keep timing in mind when planning summer trips.

There's a Learn to Crew week in the summer; if she likes it, there are no cuts in Crew, and it's a tight-knit group.

There are grade level specific bands and orchestras which were a huge way that my DD found her people at B-CC. All band kids are required to attend the home football games as Pep Band, which was a nice social outlet. The kids get to know each other well that way. She also joined a few extra-curriculars. forensics (speech) was a nice, smaller one that she met both other freshmen and some upperclassmen and all of the practices are during lunch. She also does drama so met people that way. It is a big school, but once your child makes a few friends, it really doesn't feel so overhwelming.

I think there’s Jazz Band. The band and orchestra teacher does have a lot of extra things and so that’s probably your best bet besides clubs.

IB doesn’t really start until 11th grade. The orchestra and band have overnight trips and are a nice group. Otherwise, BCC does a poor job imo of helping kids socialize. It doesn’t help that a lot of classes are mixed grades and the teachers can change mid year.

OP my DD starting there next fall too. There are lots of things for your DD to explore her interests and find her niche. My DD does a sport outside of school and she's pretty new to MoCo school but her older friends tell her there's lots of clubs and other ways to find 'your people.' Maybe our kids will be friends!

If she's in IB, she'll develop a cohort of sorts within the school.

I would encourage her to be herself and to explore her interests. They're kids just like her and she has a lot to offer. She has to believe that about herself and this isn't really something you can perfectly set up or do for her.

Just encourage her and let her figure it out on her own. Developing social skills with your peers is about half of what high school is about.

My DD will be starting at BCC as a 9th grader, coming from outside MoCo and a much smaller school that she has been at for all her schooling. She is very nervous about not knowing anyone and how she will make good friends. She plays a sport ok-well, but likely not well enough to make a team at a big school with kids that are very talented. She plays an instrument and also is quite bright with good grades.

Doe the Middle Years IB kids take a lot of classes together, and become a little bit of a school within a school? What about band opportunities? Is there a chamber orchestra she can join as a Freshman? Thanks - just trying to see what we can do to help her feel more excited than nervous.