Tag Archives: high school

family, personal

school for liesl next year

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it’s no secret i dig my daughter’s school. i’ve posted about that before.

recently, we received the curriculum plans for the school next year. here’s the list of what the 9th grade and 10th grade will cover in their morning “seminar” next year (liesl is in 9th grade this year, so the 10th grade curriculum will be her experience next year).

Ninth Grade:
1) The Art of Drama / Study Skills
2) Thermodynamics
3) Social Justice through Biography
4) Probability, Permutations & Combinations
5) History of Visual Art
6) Human Anatomy
7) Modern Revolutions
8) Geology
9) The Novel: The Grapes of Wrath
10) Organic Chemistry

Tenth Grade:
1) Computer Science / Mechanics
2) Play Production
3) Physiology and Nutrition
4) Ancient Cultures
5) Logarithms & Surveying
6) The Holy Books
7) Acids, Bases and Salts
8) Social Justice in the Community
9) Sustainable Agriculture / Environmental Field Science
10) The Art of Language and Poetry

humor, news, youth ministry, youth work

no vampires at this school!

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ok, this just totally cracked me up. after rumors of student vampires infiltrating the school spread like wildfire, the headmaster of a boston college prep school issued an email to all the parents (and students) that there were not, actually, any vampires at their school.

here’s a snippet of the article:

Boston Latin School headmaster Lynne Mooney Teta issued a notice to parents and students yesterday quashing rumors of vampires at the school. An odd move for the head of a historic elite preparatory school, but Teta and Boston public school officials declined to elaborate on what triggered the unusual message.

They did, however, adamantly offer assurances that no one at the school has been hurt, arrested – or bitten.

“The headmaster believes that the outrageous rumors had reached a point where she had to say something to families to ensure that all students felt safe and respected,” said Chris Horan, School Department spokesman.

this just left me thinking: when you go to lengths to tell a group of teenagers that something doesn’t exist, doesn’t it usually confirm their suspicion that they were right all along, and that there’s just a cover-up?! too funny.

music, youth ministry, youth work

high school installs “mosquito” to keep students moving along

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this just seems nuts to me, almost abusive. i’m sure you’ve heard of the “mosquito ring tone“; but in case you haven’t: the high pitched sound is able to be heard by (roughly) those under 25, but not older ears. it was originally developed as an anti-loitering device (mainly used outside stores and such). but teenagers quickly co-opted it, and it’s now an extremely popular ringtone for teenagers (they can hear text messages coming in during school, but their teachers can’t).

but now, the “safety and security” thing is being used by the very people charged with training, educating, and caring for teenagers. short story: the administration of a public school have installed the mosquito tone in the hallways of the school to keep kids from loitering.

for their safety.

really?

wait. really?

i mean, if it were REALLY about the safety and security of the students, why did you — mr administrator — choice an annoyance that you cannot personally hear. if you’re going to choose annoyance to placate your own annoyance, why not just toss out tacks on the floor; or maybe hire carrot top to stand in the hallway. or, better yet — mr “i really can’t stand teenagers, and only keep this job because i like annoying people” administrator — why don’t you just stand in the hallway yourself.

ok. i’m ranting.

but i’m just baffled that this would be allowed. i’m baffled that parents haven’t risen up. i understand that high schoolers can be, well, troublesome. fair enough; you might need the occasional “nothing to see here, ma’am, move along.” but not a constant annoyance in the name of “safety and security.”

geez.

ok, here’s the article about this, from the chicago tribune

here’s a little snippet from the article:

Jefferson High School administrators have a new way to get students to move along between classes rather than congregate in the hallway.

Annoy them.

In the past week, the school installed a “mosquito.” The $800 machine, developed in Wales, emits a high-pitched noise that teens can hear but most adults over 25 can’t.

The idea is to keep students flowing rather than block the stairs and elevator in one particular first-floor hallway.

family, personal, youth ministry, youth work

so excited about my daughter starting high school

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liesl will start attending a new private high school this fall that’s part of the school she’s been attending the last few years. it’s called the waldorf high school of san diego. it’s tiny to begin with — 14 students in the freshman class (which will be the only class this fall). but for those 14 kids, they have 2 full-time faculty, 4 part-time faculty, and 2 or 3 visiting faculty.

i am so stoked about the education and experience she’ll have this year.

we went to a faculty/parent/student potluck and school-year kick-off thingy the other night, where they went over a bunch of info about the year, and we had a chance to get to know the teachers and such. and we got her schedule for the year. it’s so freakin’ cool:

every morning, all year, they have a ‘seminar’ (like a block study) for a concentrated number of weeks, taught by the various faculty (including the visiting peeps). these will cover: history of drama, geology, social justice. modern revolutions, descriptive geometry, human anatomy, thermodynamics, the grapes of wrath, organic chemistry, and history of art.

then they have a period that is literature and history three days a week, and dance two days a week (this is the kind of thing that will really engage liesl), followed by a period that is choir one day a week, and algebra the other four days.

they can choose french or spanish (liesl will take french), and she’ll have that every day while the kids taking spanish have lunch (then she’ll have lunch while the spanish kids are in class).

the afternoon periods are different each day: monday and thursday are “movement” (which is a waldorf way of saying “P.E”), wednesday is band (they have a totally cool dude of a band leader, who’s also a performing jazz guitarist), and tuesday and friday are art. this “art” chunk is a kick. they start with 4.5 weeks of metalsmithing (yeah, the geology teacher is also a female blacksmith!), 8 weeks of creative writing, 3 weeks of community service, 2 weeks of glasswork, and 17.5 weeks of fine art.

then, there are optional after school programs for sports.

we’re totally pumped (as is liesl). this is one of the main reasons we’re moving (and downsizing), so we can afford to make this tuition a priority.

a little reminder for those who might be newer to my blog: i’m a huge fan of public schools, and we only switched to a private school because liesl’s learning style didn’t fit the public school, and she was dying (academically and emotionally). the private school we chose isn’t a christian school – we want our kids to learn in an environment that includes people of other beliefs and faiths, and to learn to be salt and light in the world. as for cost: well, this is one of the main reasons why we’re downsizing and moving today.