Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school became too large after the admissions changes so there are not enough spots for students to participate in the popular clubs. The school board didn't think about the lower achieving students getting blocked out of these competitive clubs.

Why do I have a hard time believing this? Could it be because the school didn't appreciably change size after the admissions change? Or that the admissions change happened years ago and there has been plenty of time to adjust since then?

Popular clubs get filled. Add 400 more students - 100 per grade- and you have more demand but not supply. There are not enough classrooms or teachers to sponsor new clubs. They are limited in size due to fire department limits in a room.

The research labs are also have constraints so they want more students to do outside mentorship. You can choose to believe it or not.

I heard they were targeting more than 120 kids for outside mentorship. I had no idea it was due to lab size. Don't know how many finally made it to outside mentorship. Last year it was 25 or below.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school became too large after the admissions changes so there are not enough spots for students to participate in the popular clubs. The school board didn't think about the lower achieving students getting blocked out of these competitive clubs.

Why do I have a hard time believing this? Could it be because the school didn't appreciably change size after the admissions change? Or that the admissions change happened years ago and there has been plenty of time to adjust since then?

Popular clubs get filled. Add 400 more students - 100 per grade- and you have more demand but not supply. There are not enough classrooms or teachers to sponsor new clubs. They are limited in size due to fire department limits in a room.

+1
I’m a fan of the new admissions process generally but I would have added 50 kids a grade not 100. It’s a big additional change in size.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there limits to the number of kids can be in particular 8th period activities? What are the most sought after 8th periods? Any that your kids would say to steer clear from? Can kids change mind after start if lose interest or not a match with the kids/teacher sponsor?

I know that some of the clubs require tryouts.
I also know that the rocketry club is booked until October.

Almost all the clubs are booked right now. Seems like most of the freshmen got blocked out of sign ups / were not told about sign ups in time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school became too large after the admissions changes so there are not enough spots for students to participate in the popular clubs. The school board didn't think about the lower achieving students getting blocked out of these competitive clubs.

Why do I have a hard time believing this? Could it be because the school didn't appreciably change size after the admissions change? Or that the admissions change happened years ago and there has been plenty of time to adjust since then?

Popular clubs get filled. Add 400 more students - 100 per grade- and you have more demand but not supply. There are not enough classrooms or teachers to sponsor new clubs. They are limited in size due to fire department limits in a room.

The research labs are also have constraints so they want more students to do outside mentorship. You can choose to believe it or not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school became too large after the admissions changes so there are not enough spots for students to participate in the popular clubs. The school board didn't think about the lower achieving students getting blocked out of these competitive clubs.

Why do I have a hard time believing this? Could it be because the school didn't appreciably change size after the admissions change? Or that the admissions change happened years ago and there has been plenty of time to adjust since then?

Popular clubs get filled. Add 400 more students - 100 per grade- and you have more demand but not supply. There are not enough classrooms or teachers to sponsor new clubs. They are limited in size due to fire department limits in a room.

Anonymous wrote:The school became too large after the admissions changes so there are not enough spots for students to participate in the popular clubs. The school board didn't think about the lower achieving students getting blocked out of these competitive clubs.

Why do I have a hard time believing this? Could it be because the school didn't appreciably change size after the admissions change? Or that the admissions change happened years ago and there has been plenty of time to adjust since then?

The school became too large after the admissions changes so there are not enough spots for students to participate in the popular clubs. The school board didn't think about the lower achieving students getting blocked out of these competitive clubs.

The Sysadmins club. You can email them at sysadmins@tjhsst.edu; they have a very competitive admissions process.

Anonymous wrote:There are a ton of clubs that are not competitive/don't require any sort of try out. I would venture to even say it is the majority. 8th period is an awesome part of the TJ experience-- some of the clubs are for pure fun (Scrabble, Book Club, outdoor club) that are great to mix with a more academic club.

What are some of the "competitive" clubs at TJ and what are the limits (# of students they can take)?

There are a ton of clubs that are not competitive/don't require any sort of try out. I would venture to even say it is the majority. 8th period is an awesome part of the TJ experience-- some of the clubs are for pure fun (Scrabble, Book Club, outdoor club) that are great to mix with a more academic club.

Anonymous wrote:Are there limits to the number of kids can be in particular 8th period activities? What are the most sought after 8th periods? Any that your kids would say to steer clear from? Can kids change mind after start if lose interest or not a match with the kids/teacher sponsor?

There are limits - some are simply is you sign up early and get a seat. Some are team based clubs where if you aren’t on the team you don’t get to go to the club meetings.
Kids can change their mind at any time and pick different clubs to go to every week based on what has seats available when sign ups open.
You can also bail on clubs whenever you want and switch to new ones or go to study hall.
Very low pressure system that works out for everyone from the super hard core club kids to the more chill kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there limits to the number of kids can be in particular 8th period activities? What are the most sought after 8th periods? Any that your kids would say to steer clear from? Can kids change mind after start if lose interest or not a match with the kids/teacher sponsor?

AFAIK ... the kids are encouraged to try as many clubs as they want as long as they are interested. for 1-2 months they give you a chance to try a few clubs. Please dont go after the most popular clubs, instead as what your child is interested in and encourage him/her in that club

I am OP and my question was to know if kids have interest if they could join the club or if limits/tryouts— was hoping was not, but had guessed would be knowing other FCPS HS have those so even if interested, may not be able to be in club. Thanks for all responses.

Anonymous wrote:Are there limits to the number of kids can be in particular 8th period activities? What are the most sought after 8th periods? Any that your kids would say to steer clear from? Can kids change mind after start if lose interest or not a match with the kids/teacher sponsor?

AFAIK ... the kids are encouraged to try as many clubs as they want as long as they are interested. for 1-2 months they give you a chance to try a few clubs. Please dont go after the most popular clubs, instead as what your child is interested in and encourage him/her in that club

Anonymous wrote:Are there limits to the number of kids can be in particular 8th period activities? What are the most sought after 8th periods? Any that your kids would say to steer clear from? Can kids change mind after start if lose interest or not a match with the kids/teacher sponsor?

I know that some of the clubs require tryouts.
I also know that the rocketry club is booked until October.

Are there limits to the number of kids can be in particular 8th period activities? What are the most sought after 8th periods? Any that your kids would say to steer clear from? Can kids change mind after start if lose interest or not a match with the kids/teacher sponsor?