Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have had 2 at Blair. Most of my oldest kids friends from both Takoma and Blair were from the Whitman district, and they NEVER wanted to go to home school. The W schools still don’t have the same magnet electives nor do they have the club selections that Blair has…

Yes, W's are a weak substitute for anyone who has been to Blair. I can understand why they'd not want to go back.

DCUM's house band: Blair and the W's.

I don’t even understand this comment. I was the poster who said I had 2 at blair and my oldest had more friends from the W schools. We are not in the W district NOR in the DCC……. My home school was fine, but not great. The W kids wanted MORE Math, Science and Comp Sci that is offered at Blair. Plus they we on robotics, science bowl, debate, the newspaper, etc… ALL of which is Better at Blair. It just is. I might mention, the English and History at Blair is top notch too.

I think the posters bad mouthing PH are those who do not have high performing kids. These are lottery batch I am guessing? No one in the previous years where admission was based solely on merit and tests, did not love PHS. I think its not a bad thing if students who do not really belong there return to their local HS. Good for these students, and good for PHS too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have had 2 at Blair. Most of my oldest kids friends from both Takoma and Blair were from the Whitman district, and they NEVER wanted to go to home school. The W schools still don’t have the same magnet electives nor do they have the club selections that Blair has…

Yes, W's are a weak substitute for anyone who has been to Blair. I can understand why they'd not want to go back.

DCUM's house band: Blair and the W's.

Anonymous wrote:I have had 2 at Blair. Most of my oldest kids friends from both Takoma and Blair were from the Whitman district, and they NEVER wanted to go to home school. The W schools still don’t have the same magnet electives nor do they have the club selections that Blair has…

Yes, W's are a weak substitute for anyone who has been to Blair. I can understand why they'd not want to go back.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 11th at RMIB. They don’t regret it and like the peer group a lot—a lot of smart, quirky kids who are generally supportive of each other and inclusive. Seems like less social drama than most HS. But they are pretty often stressed out and the IB program has some weird bureaucratic hitches. I definitely would not push a kid into applying. I was totally checked out of the process and mine applied without my really even knowing (maybe I signed something?). I do remember driving them to the test.
I am a little concerned that they’ve now made the application much easier and kids who aren’t as committed will apply on a whim. I don’t recommend it unless they are really looking to swim in the deep end. You also have to consider that the I.B system is very different—much more metacogniton stuff (theory of knowledge being a required class) and much more process of learning, deep dives, etc.

How many AP tests (self-study) do most kids take by the time they finish 12th grade?

DC is not doing any self study AP, some kids do that, but not necessary.
He has done 6, will do 3 more AP senior year, these are all AP classes. plus the 6 IBs

I had one at Blair and have one currently at Wheaton Engineering.

Blair has amazing courses and teachers, but the climate can be a bit competitive with some jerky tudes from outside-enriched nerd-jocks. There has been a push to be more cooperative and even a class that deals with bias towards women and URMs is stem. They are making progress. Sometimes the extra period feels long, but having the ability to take extra classes especially w/ electives is great. Admin is supportive and with it. My kid is flying through Ivy math due to amazing math teacher at Blair. Oldest turned down RMIB, Blair CAP and both Wheatons for Blair magnet. I think RMIB would have been the ideal choice for her subject wise, but not w/ the commute + the workload. Blair was the best fit for her, especially w/ the math options, and it worked out, even though, it was stressful at times.

My youngest is LOVING Wheaton Engineering. Chose it over Blair, and it was the right one for her. Wheaton is more focused, more hands on, more collaborative. Not as intense as Blair. We have been very pleased with teachers in and out of the magnet. Admin could be more organized/pro-active. Impressed w/ Wheaton's college admits -- some excellent schools there. Also, they had the most Engineering admits to UMDCP. Society of Women Engineers and Robotics are popular clubs. SWE is very collaborative and hands on and does very well in area electric car racing. Nice atmosphere for a girl in STEM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 11th at RMIB. They don’t regret it and like the peer group a lot—a lot of smart, quirky kids who are generally supportive of each other and inclusive. Seems like less social drama than most HS. But they are pretty often stressed out and the IB program has some weird bureaucratic hitches. I definitely would not push a kid into applying. I was totally checked out of the process and mine applied without my really even knowing (maybe I signed something?). I do remember driving them to the test.
I am a little concerned that they’ve now made the application much easier and kids who aren’t as committed will apply on a whim. I don’t recommend it unless they are really looking to swim in the deep end. You also have to consider that the I.B system is very different—much more metacogniton stuff (theory of knowledge being a required class) and much more process of learning, deep dives, etc.

Thank you for this input. I have a 10th grader at RMIB. So far (9th and 10th), the workload has been manageable and not at all stressful. Kid is usually asleep by 9:30 and has time to relax after school (doesn't have a ton of ECs but plays a sport). We are in the cluster, so the commute is a non-issue. Though the education has been fantastic so far, I am worried about 11th and 12th. I have been intrigued by the early college options at MC, but my child wants to continue on with RMIB.

I think if a kid is a perfectionist, determined to get straight As, and takes the most rigorous courses, it's a grind. If a kid is more relaxed, okay with some Bs, and is strategic about having some "lighter" courses in the mix, it's not bad at all. Like most things, it can be what you make of it. The peer group is definitely awesome, big difference from the home school.

My kid is at RMIB and I agree with this. The peer group has been amazing for my kid. MCPS insists on doing ‘peer review’ for things like Math and English. At RMIB, this has actually been useful!

The in-class discussion are actually interesting and useful, according to my DC.

And, it’s been an interesting group of kids with various interests - athletes, musicians, drama kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 11th at RMIB. They don’t regret it and like the peer group a lot—a lot of smart, quirky kids who are generally supportive of each other and inclusive. Seems like less social drama than most HS. But they are pretty often stressed out and the IB program has some weird bureaucratic hitches. I definitely would not push a kid into applying. I was totally checked out of the process and mine applied without my really even knowing (maybe I signed something?). I do remember driving them to the test.
I am a little concerned that they’ve now made the application much easier and kids who aren’t as committed will apply on a whim. I don’t recommend it unless they are really looking to swim in the deep end. You also have to consider that the I.B system is very different—much more metacogniton stuff (theory of knowledge being a required class) and much more process of learning, deep dives, etc.

Thank you for this input. I have a 10th grader at RMIB. So far (9th and 10th), the workload has been manageable and not at all stressful. Kid is usually asleep by 9:30 and has time to relax after school (doesn't have a ton of ECs but plays a sport). We are in the cluster, so the commute is a non-issue. Though the education has been fantastic so far, I am worried about 11th and 12th. I have been intrigued by the early college options at MC, but my child wants to continue on with RMIB.

I think if a kid is a perfectionist, determined to get straight As, and takes the most rigorous courses, it's a grind. If a kid is more relaxed, okay with some Bs, and is strategic about having some "lighter" courses in the mix, it's not bad at all. Like most things, it can be what you make of it. The peer group is definitely awesome, big difference from the home school.

The peer group is not what I expected, in all good ways. Very smart and intellectually curious, but far less intense than I anticipated. There are always the kids who are going to put a ton of pressure on themselves but that seems more the exception than the rule based on what I've seen and heard from DC.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 11th at RMIB. They don’t regret it and like the peer group a lot—a lot of smart, quirky kids who are generally supportive of each other and inclusive. Seems like less social drama than most HS. But they are pretty often stressed out and the IB program has some weird bureaucratic hitches. I definitely would not push a kid into applying. I was totally checked out of the process and mine applied without my really even knowing (maybe I signed something?). I do remember driving them to the test.
I am a little concerned that they’ve now made the application much easier and kids who aren’t as committed will apply on a whim. I don’t recommend it unless they are really looking to swim in the deep end. You also have to consider that the I.B system is very different—much more metacogniton stuff (theory of knowledge being a required class) and much more process of learning, deep dives, etc.

Thank you for this input. I have a 10th grader at RMIB. So far (9th and 10th), the workload has been manageable and not at all stressful. Kid is usually asleep by 9:30 and has time to relax after school (doesn't have a ton of ECs but plays a sport). We are in the cluster, so the commute is a non-issue. Though the education has been fantastic so far, I am worried about 11th and 12th. I have been intrigued by the early college options at MC, but my child wants to continue on with RMIB.

I think if a kid is a perfectionist, determined to get straight As, and takes the most rigorous courses, it's a grind. If a kid is more relaxed, okay with some Bs, and is strategic about having some "lighter" courses in the mix, it's not bad at all. Like most things, it can be what you make of it. The peer group is definitely awesome, big difference from the home school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at Blair Magnet. Socially, 9th grade was rough, but 10th grade has been much better so far. Academically, it has been a good fit. The workload (outside of Functions, which DC eventually dropped) has been totally manageable. DC is very much looking forward to the magnet electives in 11th and 12th grade.

We had a similar experience, but our child didn't drop functions even though it was a huge amount of work. Our child had been in an elementary magnet but we didn't apply to the MS magnets. MS was difficult socially because our child didn't really fit in anymore. It didn't help that they were taking math and science classes with older kids. They had no problem socially in 9th grade because they still had friends from the elementary magnet that they had kept up with. However, the bulk of the HS magnet comes from the MS magnet, so I can see how it could be difficult for a student who didn't attend the MS magnet socially.

My impression is that the magnet is for a certain type of kid whose needs socially and academically aren't well met at the home school. There are plenty of very smart kids who are able to find their path at their home school. one of our children did fine at the home HS. The other needed to be at the magnet.

Bogus post. How can an MCPS MS kid take a science class with older kids?

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 11th at RMIB. They don’t regret it and like the peer group a lot—a lot of smart, quirky kids who are generally supportive of each other and inclusive. Seems like less social drama than most HS. But they are pretty often stressed out and the IB program has some weird bureaucratic hitches. I definitely would not push a kid into applying. I was totally checked out of the process and mine applied without my really even knowing (maybe I signed something?). I do remember driving them to the test.
I am a little concerned that they’ve now made the application much easier and kids who aren’t as committed will apply on a whim. I don’t recommend it unless they are really looking to swim in the deep end. You also have to consider that the I.B system is very different—much more metacogniton stuff (theory of knowledge being a required class) and much more process of learning, deep dives, etc.

Thank you for this input. I have a 10th grader at RMIB. So far (9th and 10th), the workload has been manageable and not at all stressful. Kid is usually asleep by 9:30 and has time to relax after school (doesn't have a ton of ECs but plays a sport). We are in the cluster, so the commute is a non-issue. Though the education has been fantastic so far, I am worried about 11th and 12th. I have been intrigued by the early college options at MC, but my child wants to continue on with RMIB.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at Blair Magnet. Socially, 9th grade was rough, but 10th grade has been much better so far. Academically, it has been a good fit. The workload (outside of Functions, which DC eventually dropped) has been totally manageable. DC is very much looking forward to the magnet electives in 11th and 12th grade.

We had a similar experience, but our child didn't drop functions even though it was a huge amount of work. Our child had been in an elementary magnet but we didn't apply to the MS magnets. MS was difficult socially because our child didn't really fit in anymore. It didn't help that they were taking math and science classes with older kids. They had no problem socially in 9th grade because they still had friends from the elementary magnet that they had kept up with. However, the bulk of the HS magnet comes from the MS magnet, so I can see how it could be difficult for a student who didn't attend the MS magnet socially.

My impression is that the magnet is for a certain type of kid whose needs socially and academically aren't well met at the home school. There are plenty of very smart kids who are able to find their path at their home school. one of our children did fine at the home HS. The other needed to be at the magnet.

I've never heard of an MCPS student being allowed to take higher level science with other grades in MS. Did your child go to private school for middle school or are you in a different district?

Also wondering this. First off, our MCPS didn’t offer any ‘higher-level’ science courses. They DID allow kids to take higher level math.

I'm told that for certain affluent schools in western moco anything is possible but in the "low rent" areas you're out of luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at Blair Magnet. Socially, 9th grade was rough, but 10th grade has been much better so far. Academically, it has been a good fit. The workload (outside of Functions, which DC eventually dropped) has been totally manageable. DC is very much looking forward to the magnet electives in 11th and 12th grade.

We had a similar experience, but our child didn't drop functions even though it was a huge amount of work. Our child had been in an elementary magnet but we didn't apply to the MS magnets. MS was difficult socially because our child didn't really fit in anymore. It didn't help that they were taking math and science classes with older kids. They had no problem socially in 9th grade because they still had friends from the elementary magnet that they had kept up with. However, the bulk of the HS magnet comes from the MS magnet, so I can see how it could be difficult for a student who didn't attend the MS magnet socially.

My impression is that the magnet is for a certain type of kid whose needs socially and academically aren't well met at the home school. There are plenty of very smart kids who are able to find their path at their home school. one of our children did fine at the home HS. The other needed to be at the magnet.

I've never heard of an MCPS student being allowed to take higher level science with other grades in MS. Did your child go to private school for middle school or are you in a different district?

Also wondering this. First off, our MCPS didn’t offer any ‘higher-level’ science courses. They DID allow kids to take higher level math.

I have had 2 at Blair. Most of my oldest kids friends from both Takoma and Blair were from the Whitman district, and they NEVER wanted to go to home school. The W schools still don’t have the same magnet electives nor do they have the club selections that Blair has…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader at Blair Magnet. Socially, 9th grade was rough, but 10th grade has been much better so far. Academically, it has been a good fit. The workload (outside of Functions, which DC eventually dropped) has been totally manageable. DC is very much looking forward to the magnet electives in 11th and 12th grade.

We had a similar experience, but our child didn't drop functions even though it was a huge amount of work. Our child had been in an elementary magnet but we didn't apply to the MS magnets. MS was difficult socially because our child didn't really fit in anymore. It didn't help that they were taking math and science classes with older kids. They had no problem socially in 9th grade because they still had friends from the elementary magnet that they had kept up with. However, the bulk of the HS magnet comes from the MS magnet, so I can see how it could be difficult for a student who didn't attend the MS magnet socially.

My impression is that the magnet is for a certain type of kid whose needs socially and academically aren't well met at the home school. There are plenty of very smart kids who are able to find their path at their home school. one of our children did fine at the home HS. The other needed to be at the magnet.

I've never heard of an MCPS student being allowed to take higher level science with other grades in MS. Did your child go to private school for middle school or are you in a different district?