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Anonymous wrote:We will be new at GWES as well. Has anyone visited with their child? I was hoping there would be an orientation for the kids but it doesn't sound like it

Heard from a friend whose child has been there for 2 years that communication is not that great but they were extremely happy with everything else.

Are you going to go to the Orientatin?

Anonymous wrote:We'll be new there too. Considering that we got the letter in July I have hopes for the communication. (At our last school that's the type of information we would have gotten after school started)!

Will your kids be bused? I am worried about what might be a very long bus ride.

That's the stuff we would have gotten after school started too. We always had to get our supply list online.

My kids will take the bus though I do worry about them going on the Beltway.

We'll be new there too. Considering that we got the letter in July I have hopes for the communication. (At our last school that's the type of information we would have gotten after school started)!

Will your kids be bused? I am worried about what might be a very long bus ride.

We will be new at GWES as well. Has anyone visited with their child? I was hoping there would be an orientation for the kids but it doesn't sound like it

Heard from a friend whose child has been there for 2 years that communication is not that great but they were extremely happy with everything else.

That would be the letter. It discusses the PTA and and it has the supply list as well.

I heard rolling backpacks were good to have too. Apparently there will be lots of books sent home. They were rather pricey but I got mine from LLBean. The return policy makes it all worth while.

10:42 here. Which letter? I got a welcome new students letter, which I should probably read more carefully.

Did you get the letter today? There are zero PTA officers.

Second poster here. Likewise, OP.

OP here. I look forward to possibly meeting the second poster.

A school's PTA is a chapter of a national organization, pays dues to the national. A PTO is autonymous and organized on site.

what is the difference between a PTA and a PTO?

I'm in the same boat, OP. My child was at Oakcrest and is moving to GWES due to the boundary changes. I went to the orientation (which you may have as well), and here were my impressions:

The facilities are good. There was soap in the bathrooms, smart boards, etc.

Oakcrest had a LOT of homework. I have heard that the GWES approach, though also heavy on the homework, is a little more creative. Or at least it has been.

I spoke with the instrumental teacher (I have an enthusiastic horn player), and while the intrumental teachers don't really know officially if they're back 'til August, he seemed like a nice guy who expected kids to practice, and knows the instrumental teacher at Oakcrest well.

PTA: No idea, but this was my experience going from our neighborhood school to the magnet. The neighborhood school had a really strong PTO that was very involved in the daily goings-on, worked really hard on real issues like parent liasons and advocating for adequate unding and staffing. Lots of parents involved even if they worked full time outside the home (most did). Because I was local, it was easy to be involved. The magnet PTA was a PTA as opposed to a PTO, and although I signed up and became a member, I didn't really get involved beyond that as I was far away, and I'm not really sure what they did anyway.

Anyway, looking forward to some other responses!

We have two children that won the lottery and will be starting this fall.

Does anyone have any experience with this school? Anything they are willing to share?

I have head good things about it. That its more hands on than other schools. That this year it will be TAG only and that there will be a lot of homework.

What's the PTA like?