in the current 4th grade, there is a mix, as always of kids from all over the area. about 50% live in Dc and 50% out of DC. Out of the 20 or so kids from non DC, there is a wide spread, with a majority in Bethesda and chevy chase, but several from fairfax county (mclean usually) and arlington VA as well as some from silver spring and even PG county. And then the DC kids are also spread out -- some from "east of rock creek" as people say, but most from NW, but still all over NW.

re their previous schools, about half the boys are from beauvoir, but kids come from a huge mix of public and private. Some of the other private schools which kids come from in 4th grade this year are WIS, WES, NPS, St Patricks (not sure if anyone this year actually), Flint Hill, and many different public schools. 7th grade entry has even more private schools (and as well the same publics) feeding as many families want to stay in public school through elementary.

Does a current STA parent know if most/all of the boys in the current 4th grade reside in DC and did they attend private school prior to attending STA? We do not live in DC and our son does not currently attend private school. I'm curious if, other than Beauvoir, there is another school where the boys come from.

Why don't they do it at NCS? Is it not equally important for girls to be good sports?

Equivalently, just because a school has a high "work-load" rigour, as you put it, it does not mean the school does not also challenge students intellectually. I would argue STA does both.

You have to distinguish between rigour due to intellectual challenge and rigour due to very heavy work loads. I think many of the schools in this area, private and public, have trouble telling the difference between the two.

I would say it was ridiculously rigorous. My son learned how to spell every state and capital, and had to identify every capital, bird, flower, state song, nickname, and map. All in about 10 days. You can argue that it wasn't useful, but it sure tested the kids on memory.

Anonymous wrote:
Actually I remember reading with some amusement--maybe on this thread, maybe on another--a post that said the kids seemed to fall over themselves to yell "nice play" and "good try" during this part of the visit.

And from what I have heard, the admission staff are vary of behaviour that is put on. i.e. if a kid does something something unusual, something that seems too put on.

to the state capitol and bird memorizing poster -- do you even have a son there? and if so, if he is just a 4th grader (and in his FIRST quarter of his FIRST year), do you think it is not academically rigorous? then why send him there if so?!

They do a whole lot more than that -- and there is only one class memorizing that stuff anyway. My son is older and besides perhaps St Anselms, I am not sure any other area school (excluding NCS) is as rigorous.

I'm not sure it's true though. Even when the kids are shouting "good job" (and they were), in the end, kids will show a lot about themselves when roughhousing in game like crab soccer. They're only 8 or 9 when they go in, and they are notorious for forgetting the things extremely important to their parents (but not to them).

Anonymous wrote:I've heard that you can bribe a kid to be best behaved when you walk in and shake hands and look them in the eye and introduce yourself blah blah but the "real" kid comes out during this kind of play.

Actually I remember reading with some amusement--maybe on this thread, maybe on another--a post that said the kids seemed to fall over themselves to yell "nice play" and "good try" during this part of the visit.

Anonymous wrote: Just like any other part of the visit, they look for the interaction. Is the boy a good sport? Is he engaged? I've heard that you can bribe a kid to be best behaved when you walk in and shake hands and look them in the eye and introduce yourself blah blah but the "real" kid comes out during this kind of play. So my advice to any of you actually applying, make sure that you tell your son to be a good sport and a good friend and a nice kid during the game too!!

Actually, I think they play it just so the kids burn off some energy, which is fine. I'm pretty sure they don't do it to see if kids are good sports--or if they do, it doesn't work any better than what other schools do to try to ferret out the same information. I don't think anyone would argue that, as a group, the kids at STA are nicer or better sports than the kids at any other school. I'm not saying they are meaner than other kids, either. I'm just saying that if crab soccer were the best means of separating nice kids from nasty ones, we would expect to see STA have a disproportinate number of nice kids. It doesn't.

And can we please try to avoid equating a punishing homework load with being academically rigorous? Having fourth graders spend hours memorizing state capitals and birds isn't rigorous, just time-consuming.

It is also meant to be fun! The boys like it -- and that is part of STA, they get boys. They understand that they need to be out and about and not cooped up and sitting and listening all the time...so part of the playdate/visit is actual playing. They usually play crab soccer or crab football or sometimes I've heard basketball. Athletic talent does not matter. My son's year the least athletic kid (and someone half the size of my son) scored two goals in a crab soccer game. probably the only time in that kid's life he scored two goals in anything actually, but that is not what mattered. Just like any other part of the visit, they look for the interaction. Is the boy a good sport? Is he engaged? I've heard that you can bribe a kid to be best behaved when you walk in and shake hands and look them in the eye and introduce yourself blah blah but the "real" kid comes out during this kind of play. So my advice to any of you actually applying, make sure that you tell your son to be a good sport and a good friend and a nice kid during the game too!!

Do they do the same thing at NCS? If not, why not?

That is RIDICULOUS!

It's NOT a sports tryout. They have the boys play a game with a ball or something like that. Nothing particularly athletic required; I think it's just to see how they get along with other boys, play as a team, etc. I don't see anything wrong with it. Although I don't believe they do anything like this at Landon, which is supposed to be sports mad (although no-one ever talks about its higly regarded music program).