I was up at the crack of dawn today...well, earlier than that! Just a lot of things going through my mind. Crazy work week ahead, Chris had a Bad Day yesterday so I was uneasy about if he'd be able to go to school today, but he seemed good and left the house with a smile. What a trooper he is.....
Grace sprained her ankle yesterday evening running around the 'hood. So she had a bad wake up this morning....And a little fight with her neighborhood friend while hobbling to school. UGH, Monday. Tears before 8am is never good!
And then, my Alison came home from a sleepover yesterday and dropped a bit of a surprise on us. She had tagged along with her friend and her mom to an Open House at St. Joseph's Academy (all girls Catholic high school). She fell in love with it. Immensely. I have never seen such excitement and energy radiate from her! She came running in the house with all these papers and brochures, bounding around looking for us...and asked me to sit down with her so she can 'talk about this'.
She had called me earlier in the day to ask if she could go along to this Open House and then come home after that. I was at the grocery store, and quite honestly, it did not really register with me WHERE she was going. I just heard 'with Rosie and her mom, St. Joe's....home after' and I absently said 'sure honey that's fine see ya later'. My mind was on Chris, what to make for dinner, catching up on housework etc.
So I sat down at the kitchen table with her, and she started talking. She had such great things to say, I was so impressed with her perspective. She says St. Joe's is 'so much better than Fairview'. I asked her to explain what makes her think this. She went on to very animatedly point out the school's mission statement, which 'says it all' Alison claims.
"We encourage each student to develop positive values and to articulate her thinking so that she can be a leader making constructive contributions to society. We endeavor to nurture the talents of each young woman so she becomes a woman of faith with global perspective who is striving for integrity and preparing for life'
"MOM" she says, "Fairview doesn't CARE about developing my CHARACTER, they just want us to make the grades to make our school rank well enough on the stupid state report card so the parents will vote for levys'.
????What????? What 13 year old has that kind of (somewhat accurate) perspective? She goes on to say:
"I would have so much more enrichment opportunities at St. Joe's than I would EVER get at Fairview. " Her example was how her 8th grade DC class trip was cut due to funding cuts, but at St. Joe's, she will have some sort of trip every year....annual retreats, trip to NYC, overseas trip as a senior....
Oh and then there is the 'block scheduling' that is set up in college schedule format, which she explained thoroughly to me. Four classes each semester, each class like 80 minutes long, so there is more opportunity for the teachers to use interactive teaching methods - rather than rushing to fit a lesson in to a 38 minute period. AND, it prepares them for college schedules as well. This was new to me, I did not know high schools do this, and well...it makes a lot of sense to me!
How did she feel about wearing a uniform?
"It would be so much easier than the stress of trying to be 'fashionable' every day'
No Boys?
' Half the DRAMA with my friends has to do with immature boys, so I wouldn't mind not having to deal with THAT. I would still have plenty of chances to hang out with boys, they just won't be in my FACE every day'
(Her dad LOVED that comment)
Leaving all your friends after 8, 9 years, starting with all new girls?
'I'm not really concerned about making new friends, that's easy mom.'
Yes, Alison is an independent, smart, intuitive, talented and energetic young girl with a strong drive to be challenged and to enjoy new experiences. How did I miss this? The thought has never entered my mind that she may be wanting/searching for a different direction as she enters high school? I feel guilty sometimes because we (have to) give so much attention to Chris and his needs....I easily forget that Alison has needs too of a different sort. She needs to be stretched. It never ocurred to me that our public high school would not fulfill all her needs other than the basic college prep education.
So....we agreed to sign up for the entrance/placement exam on November 8th. No choice really, as that is the last test date where she can be considered for tuition aid based on her test results. We will also start to apply for other need and merit-based aid because that is all due by the end of November! If she can get enough financial assistance to bring the tuition (*gulp*) down to a more manageable monthly payment, we will let her do it if she feels strongly about it. But I told her she still has to think very hard about this. Because of application and testing deadlines, we have to move forward with some things, but it does not mean she is officially going. She is also going to schedule a 'shadow day' soon too so she can spend a day at the school soon. I told her this is not a decision to make in one day based on one happy visit to the school - that I have not even seen yet.
The tuition is unbelievable outrageous! She has the grades and merit to get some assistance (I hope), need-based, who knows if we 'qualify' for that. We FEEL like we should ha! But most likely we won't...
This is one of those 'life moments' where we hope we make the right decision. Will this be a good investment toward's Alison's future? Absolutely. Will we have to make some sacrifices in order to get her this opportunity? OHHHHH YEAH...it just makes me nervous, in today's economy, trying to squeeze out that extra cash. When she can get a perfectly 'good' education at our public high school. Sometimes it's hard to be a parent!
I do have one running related mention for today...my official results were posted online today - UGH UGH UGH! It says 37:50!!!! What? My average pace was supposedly 12:12. What? Not once when I looked at my Garmin was I ever over a 11:50 pace! Can there be such a discrepancy between my watch and a race clock?
I guess I don't really care - I thought about calling but, it's not a big deal. It was my first race and the time does not matter, but it sort of changes my psyche a little? I have run that distance twice in training and did not work as hard as I did during the race, and finished better than 37 minutes both times. So I just don't get it. I can't imagine it took me 4 minutes to get to the start line...I am stumped!
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About Me
- Cyndi
- I am 41 years old, married, mom to three great kids, and work full time. I discovered running in July '08, starting with the C25K program. I ran my first Half Marathon in May '09 and I'm looking forward to the next one in October!
7 comments:
Wow. What a bright, mature girl who really knows what she wants. Her obvious love for this school and its philosophy shows her passion for learning and growing as a person that could literally change the path of her life. Good luck with the placement exam and tuition assistance.
I dont fully understand what you mean with your race time discrepancy, but dont sweat the final digits. You did great. Let the numbers serve as motivation to try to do just a little bit better next time.
Cyndi: Sounds like you have quite the girl there ;-) Love it. Parenting is very hard. That's why we need to exercise to sort our thoughs out, right! I'm heading out now for a long walk myself.
I have two things to say about school. First, I had an opportunity to go to an all girls Catholic high school but didn't because I wanted to stay with my friends in public school. I'm not one to regret, but I feel that there would have definitely been more opportunities and options for me if I chose the private school option.
Second, I send my kids to private school. It's why I work so hard. It's expensive, and it's a sacrifice. But to see them thrive as they do and know how much opportunity they are getting makes it worth every penny to me.
Good luck with it all...if it's meant to be, it will be!
I would ignore the race numbers, that happened to me once. ( 2 min discrepency). Unless you are qualifying for The Boston Marathon then it doesn't matter.
I'm excited for you and your daughter. It sounds like your daughter inherited your intelligence. :)
How nice to not have to worry about the "boys" at school.
Cyndi,
Sounds like your daughter has her head on straight. Hope it works out for you folks. I know with those applications that they will take into consideration special situations, which i would think Chris and Gracie's conditions might qualify as special.
BBF I cannot tell you wonderful this was to read about Alison. She's a smart, independent girl who knows what is important and is looking for an academic challenge. You should be proud of her. How logical and honest her answers were about the school. She clearly put some thought into it before she spoke to you...ummm I am 36 and I don't always do that :-) You are raising a future leader of this country.
I hope that Chris gets some peace and that these Bad Days are fewer and fewer as the meds take effect. I am sure that he can use a break from this. Glad he had a smile on his face this morning.
Poor Gracie, she was having a case of the Mondays. Nobody wants to be crying before 8am...she's young and for her tomorrow is another day.
You're an amazing mom. You and Mike should be so proud of your kids they are clearly special.
xoxo
Wow your daughter sounds amazing. I dont even think and never have thought that far into things! Shes really wanting to prepare, something i really WISH i could have had the opportunity to do. If there is any advice i can give as a college student is prepare as much as possible. My high school education was poor. I'm a good student, great grades but the crap i learned in high school did not prepare me for the real world, or for college. I'm sure this school is super expensive as are the catholic schools around here but if i had the opportunity to do it again, i would have went somewhere else, even if it meant paying, so i could get the best eduaction possible. If shes is saying this at 13, she really knows what shes talking about. Go Alison!
You and your husband sound like great parents to all of your children. :)
I want to echo everything everyone else has said- seriously, you have such great kids, you should be proud! (way to sum it up so perfectly, Shosh).
From a different perspective, I didn't go to a private high school, but I went to a private college (a small liberal arts college), and there were definitely more opportunities, but also more pressure. I also think that school/life is what you make of it. It's up to you to make the effort to participate and get involved, which you can do no matter where you go to school, and if you learn those lessons, they will carry you well throughout life.
Good luck with the testing and application process. My SIL is working on going to grad school, and by association we're all sort of pulled into the mix to help (but I'm happy to).
And about your official time, I wouldn't worry too much. Lots of things can happen to mess them up. At the race I did in September, they had almost everyone's ages posted incorrectly, so the results were all wrong in the age groups. They finally figured it out, but unless there's money or a trophy involved, I would go by what your Garmin time was (it sounds like it was more accurate anyway). = )
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