Dear Neglected Blog...
So, can you blame me? I have 4 kids, remember??? :) Last week was super busy as my oldest (FA son) went off to college. THAT was an experience! I think I cried about half of the way home. I've talked to him more since he left, however, than I usually do. Don't know why I am so upset! Made me realize though just how precious and fast those high school, junior high and elementary school years are. They are important! That's why, in my opinion, you (as parents) should be involved. Those years won't be around forever - be present while you can! One good thing about dropping my oldest off at college is that all my other kids got excited for when they will go to college (except my daughter says that she wishes it didn't have classes there LOL!).
Not much to report over the past couple of days. My son is bringing home some really great grades and his teachers have sent the papers home with him to show us. We also got home a PTO newsletter last week. I heard from another Cross Country mom who is starting a parent group for XC (Cross Country) and track and wants help. She wants to try to get the XC/Track trailer spruced up nicely. Maybe painted...maybe murals on the outside...definitely cleaned and organized better on the inside. Coach Redditt has so much memorabilia from over the years...he needs a little help making it shine! There was another XC meet on Monday and I missed it because I went to the wrong place! The team placed first and we had about 7 runners who were in the top 10 in their race! My son was one of them...so proud! The XC team seems like a little family to me...they joke and clown around together and get along. My son's one of the youngest and I'm glad to see that the older kids aren't picking on him, etc.
The Open House for the school is coming up next week and I'm hoping to make it in order to finally get an official tour from my son. I've seen the main parts of the school, but he's excited to show me the rest. He apparently is making quite a few friends and usually has a funny story to tell me about them most nights. He is also very tired. Between XC and getting home late before getting started on homework he's had less sleep than he did when in Jr. High. He's still adjusting. I told him I've been tired SINCE high school. That was no consolation!
There was a fight in school last week...I posted about it in the comments section. Basically about 8 kids got in a fight in the morning and were sent to Alternative School because of it. This was the same morning as the "search" (which was coincidental - it was preplanned search). I was disappointed to hear about it, but as Mr. Hicks told me when I asked him about it a "Please know that ALL is well...there are always a few who spoil things." I'm not worried because of this fight. I hate to have to write about it, but I did promise to be honest. One of the parents I talked with about it said that it is very unusual to have another fight - this one and the Starburst fight (one of her boys graduated from FWCHS and one is still there - they've been involved with the school for 3 years now). Hopefully those involved learned a lesson and will think twice before fighting again. This one may have been over an Almond Joy bar...not sure, but I do know that I'm not worried about my son's safety because of this fight. Mr. Hicks is ruling the school with a heavy hand of justice - I'm sure it makes the other kids think twice before losing their temper. Mine has been threatened within an inch of his life...:)
That's about it for now. This week has been ALMOST as busy as last week, so I can't promise a post tomorrow, but I will try! Homework is getting harder and helping my son with it is eating into my blog time!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
BUSY BUSY BUSY
No time to post except to say....that there will be no post today :).
Seriously, the economy in the Memphis area MUST be getting better, because I've had one of the busiest weeks in a few years! Please bear with me as I don't have time to blabber today.... stay tuned!
Seriously, the economy in the Memphis area MUST be getting better, because I've had one of the busiest weeks in a few years! Please bear with me as I don't have time to blabber today.... stay tuned!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Snack Crackers, Wally and Back Pack Searches....
Well, I've stopped numbering my blogs. I have been getting a neck ache swinging around to count the days on my calendar to see what we are up to. It's been a few weeks since school started now, so I figure that's good enough!
I dropped my son off this morning and was directed by a worker at the entrance of the school to drive around to the back because they were doing a "search" today. A "search" is a random backpack/purse, etc. search of the students to check for cell phones, weapons, etc. I suppose that a smart child might chuck any contraband on his/her way to the back of the school, but maybe not. My son didn't have a chance - he was in the car with me! After asking him if he had removed the grenade from his saxophone case (joking of course!) I drove him to the back. He went in and I could see in the gym that they had a station of sorts to check kids as they entered. I saw Mr. Hicks walking up the hill chatting with a few students after I dropped my son and pulled up to ask "why". He said that they do 9-10 random searches a year. It's routine. They look and they use a wand to detect metal (according to a boy who caught a ride with us to the back of the school).
Although I don't like treating kids (or anyone) as if they might have something illegal/bad/against-the-rules on them, I understand it. This is 2010. We all submit to searches in places that are normally safe JUST IN CASE. Take, for instance, Costco. Everytime I leave that place my cart is checked to make sure I don't have any extra packs of 10,000 snack crackers. I am always a bit offended that I spend money to get treated like a shoplifter, but for some reason (samples, er, did I say that?) I keep going back.
Another example....airports. After 9/11 we have all had to endure longer lines and invasive searches of our possessions and sometimes bodies in order that all will be well and as it should be. I think having searches in school keeps the kids who may try to pull something on their toes and keeps everyone safer. None of the kids seemed that put out about the search - only a little irritated that they had (some of them) to walk around to the back of the school. I know Fayette Academy had the right to search and drug test and at some points did just that (as my son had to subject to random testing while there). I think nationwide, with school shootings and drugs, etc., schools have faced the reality that sometimes kids will try to pull something and have reacted by instituting searches, etc. Don't you just wish we could all go back to the Leave It To Beaver Days (granted I was NEVER alive in those days, however the reruns on TV looked pretty nice)!
So, still waiting on some additonal verified facts for my blog on the demographics and statistics involved with Fayette County high schools. Stay tuned!
I dropped my son off this morning and was directed by a worker at the entrance of the school to drive around to the back because they were doing a "search" today. A "search" is a random backpack/purse, etc. search of the students to check for cell phones, weapons, etc. I suppose that a smart child might chuck any contraband on his/her way to the back of the school, but maybe not. My son didn't have a chance - he was in the car with me! After asking him if he had removed the grenade from his saxophone case (joking of course!) I drove him to the back. He went in and I could see in the gym that they had a station of sorts to check kids as they entered. I saw Mr. Hicks walking up the hill chatting with a few students after I dropped my son and pulled up to ask "why". He said that they do 9-10 random searches a year. It's routine. They look and they use a wand to detect metal (according to a boy who caught a ride with us to the back of the school).
Although I don't like treating kids (or anyone) as if they might have something illegal/bad/against-the-rules on them, I understand it. This is 2010. We all submit to searches in places that are normally safe JUST IN CASE. Take, for instance, Costco. Everytime I leave that place my cart is checked to make sure I don't have any extra packs of 10,000 snack crackers. I am always a bit offended that I spend money to get treated like a shoplifter, but for some reason (samples, er, did I say that?) I keep going back.
Okay - check out Wally's hair...maybe we are fine in 2010 :).
So, still waiting on some additonal verified facts for my blog on the demographics and statistics involved with Fayette County high schools. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
No Blog on Monday - what????
So, it was an extremely busy weekend and I've neglected my blog - already! Let me sum it up for you...
Friday night was the FWCHS first football game against Munford. I am sad to report that FWCHS lost 33-0. That was a bummer, but the game was fun to attend. There was a pretty good crowd of kids and parents at the game. The cheerleaders were GREAT! They also had the "Tiny Divas" which are the mini-cheerleaders (little girls). The lady in front of us asked my daughter if she wanted to join and told her she could. :) I was able to register for PTO officially and receive my PTO card (which gets you into games for $1 off!). I also bought a ticket for the band 50/50 raffle (if you win you get 50% of the amount collected). Unfortunately I didn't fare much better than the football team in that contest! My son made me drop him off and walk in separately from him - who knew a mom could be SOOOO uncool? He found several friends to hang with (one who actually goes to FA). I saw several parents and kids I knew. It was typical...Friday Night Lights....
Saturday was my son's first Cross Country meet in Jackson. The coach, Coach Redditt, transported the kids to Jackson himself where I then met up with them to watch the races. The kids had a lot of fun goofing around and talking prior to the meet. There were a lot of schools there! My son, the freshman, drank a little too much before the 2-mile race and had a side ache the whole time. He came in about middle of the pack though - that's pretty good for having a side ache and being new to the sport! One of the FWCHS girls came in #21 out of about 100 girls or so. So proud of her! The older boys came up to say hello to me while I was speaking to my son. I can tell that they welcome him to the team. They were giving him advice and not just blowing him off.
On Sunday I went shopping with my older son (the FA son) for college necessities. One REALLY nice thing about FA was Project Graduation. At Project Graduation the kids are "locked in" to an after ceremony party in which they play games and have fun. They also win prizes! My son got a lot of what he would need for college by winning prizes and through the care package they gave everyone at the event. He also received several gift cards. I barely had to pay anything out of pocket when shopping - that was really nice. I'm failing to mention, however, that I also had to pay $150 and participate in a few fundraisers his senior year in order for them to gift the $300 worth of items to each kid. But...it was still a really nice event and my son loved going. To my knowledge they don't have anything similar to this at FWCHS.
Still no problems to report from my FWCHS son. Oh - he did say his locker was pretty small, but he's going to come through that okay, I think :). He's actually becoming more responsible already and worried about his grades, etc. He's trying to figure out what he should be after college. If only I knew!
If I catch my breath this week I will prepare a blog about the demographics and statistics associated with FWCHS. I've been compiling info and want to share soon...
Friday night was the FWCHS first football game against Munford. I am sad to report that FWCHS lost 33-0. That was a bummer, but the game was fun to attend. There was a pretty good crowd of kids and parents at the game. The cheerleaders were GREAT! They also had the "Tiny Divas" which are the mini-cheerleaders (little girls). The lady in front of us asked my daughter if she wanted to join and told her she could. :) I was able to register for PTO officially and receive my PTO card (which gets you into games for $1 off!). I also bought a ticket for the band 50/50 raffle (if you win you get 50% of the amount collected). Unfortunately I didn't fare much better than the football team in that contest! My son made me drop him off and walk in separately from him - who knew a mom could be SOOOO uncool? He found several friends to hang with (one who actually goes to FA). I saw several parents and kids I knew. It was typical...Friday Night Lights....
Saturday was my son's first Cross Country meet in Jackson. The coach, Coach Redditt, transported the kids to Jackson himself where I then met up with them to watch the races. The kids had a lot of fun goofing around and talking prior to the meet. There were a lot of schools there! My son, the freshman, drank a little too much before the 2-mile race and had a side ache the whole time. He came in about middle of the pack though - that's pretty good for having a side ache and being new to the sport! One of the FWCHS girls came in #21 out of about 100 girls or so. So proud of her! The older boys came up to say hello to me while I was speaking to my son. I can tell that they welcome him to the team. They were giving him advice and not just blowing him off.
On Sunday I went shopping with my older son (the FA son) for college necessities. One REALLY nice thing about FA was Project Graduation. At Project Graduation the kids are "locked in" to an after ceremony party in which they play games and have fun. They also win prizes! My son got a lot of what he would need for college by winning prizes and through the care package they gave everyone at the event. He also received several gift cards. I barely had to pay anything out of pocket when shopping - that was really nice. I'm failing to mention, however, that I also had to pay $150 and participate in a few fundraisers his senior year in order for them to gift the $300 worth of items to each kid. But...it was still a really nice event and my son loved going. To my knowledge they don't have anything similar to this at FWCHS.
Still no problems to report from my FWCHS son. Oh - he did say his locker was pretty small, but he's going to come through that okay, I think :). He's actually becoming more responsible already and worried about his grades, etc. He's trying to figure out what he should be after college. If only I knew!
If I catch my breath this week I will prepare a blog about the demographics and statistics associated with FWCHS. I've been compiling info and want to share soon...
Friday, August 20, 2010
Day 12...Let's check it out first - before we "brow" about it...
Day 12...Let's check it out first - before we "brow" about it...
So, I went to the open house at West Jr. High last night because my daughter made me (Thursday night - today is Friday and I'm misnumbering my blogs - forgive me I'm not a professional!). While waiting for the open house to begin I struck up a conversation with a couple whom I've known for many years. They have a child at Fayette Academy (high school), but also a child at West Jr. High (and I believe their older child was in public school until high school as well). They were asking about my older son (FA son) and we got to talking about my other son (son #2). I told them that we had decided to put him at FWCHS this year and I got "the eyebrow" from the mom of the couple. Do you know the look...like, "Are you crazy???".
LOL After "the eyebrow" the mom quickly said, "Well, when (their West Jr. High student) hits 8th grade we are putting him on the waiting list at FA." I simply said that they should check out FWCHS first - before making that decision. I told them that we've been pretty pleased so far, that our son likes it a lot, and that we were happy to be saving the tuition money towards college (this is where the dad of the couple jumped in and said that it would be nice to save that cash). I don't know that the mom was really taking me seriously - I know she has other relatives at FA and she may have gone there herself. That's fine - some people want to send their kids to a certain school for tradition, but...in these tough economic times I am hoping that people will see that they don't HAVE to send their child to private school in Fayette County to get an EDUCATION. Tradition is one thing...education is another. I think "the eyebrow" was indication that she felt my child wouldn't receive an EDUCATION at FWCHS. I believe she browed without really knowing the facts...
I had someone tell me today that they know people who have "mortgaged the farm" in order to sacrifice and send their child(ren) to FA. I feel sorry for those folks. We were lucky that we could afford to send our older child to FA without it being a big burden on the family. Not all folks are so lucky. Can you imagine sacrificing family vacations, entertainment or even necessities just to send your child to a school because you've seen and passed on "eyebrows" regarding FWCHS and feel your child won't be protected/educated there without knowing the facts? I say NO MORE EYEBROWS!!!
Check Fayette County public high school out for yourself, as I did, before you brow about it! :) Go to the open houses, go to the 8th grade day in the spring, go meet with Mr. Hicks and get a tour of the school, talk to other parents whose children go there. The truth is (for my family)...I am comfortable sending my child to FWCHS - just as comfortable as I was sending my other child to FA. I also feel like the education won't be delivered in exactly the same way (as it differs at every school), however it will be delivered.
So...that's it for today. I'm looking forward to the start of FWCHS football season tonight - Go Wildcats!
p.s. My son also has his first Cross Country meet this Saturday in Jackson, TN - Go Wildcats! He's super excited and has his brand-spanking-new uniform ready to go! FYI...FA always just threw old mis-matched uniforms at the Cross Country team. Seriously - they didn't match from boy to boy. It wasn't really "up there" on the list of priorities for FA sports and they got scraps and then they got dropped last year as a team. I see that they've possibly brought the team back from their website this year, so I'm happy for those students who are interested in running 3.2 miles at FA this year! What a great sport for the kids - it might just encourage them to jog/walk/run when they are done with school to stay in shape.
p.p.s. I've been in Coach Redditt's trailer for Cross Country/track at FWCHS. Although not the most organized office, he has boxes of donated shoes, etc. for kids who can't afford them and also proudly displays all his trophies and photographs of athletes from over the years. Meeting Coach Redditt last year and seeing his trailer (when he helped the West Jr. High Cross Country runners) helped me to formulate an idea of how much some of the staff at FWCHS care about the students. Sometimes it's the little things and the simple moments in life that cause a person to do what they do...
So, I went to the open house at West Jr. High last night because my daughter made me (Thursday night - today is Friday and I'm misnumbering my blogs - forgive me I'm not a professional!). While waiting for the open house to begin I struck up a conversation with a couple whom I've known for many years. They have a child at Fayette Academy (high school), but also a child at West Jr. High (and I believe their older child was in public school until high school as well). They were asking about my older son (FA son) and we got to talking about my other son (son #2). I told them that we had decided to put him at FWCHS this year and I got "the eyebrow" from the mom of the couple. Do you know the look...like, "Are you crazy???".
I had someone tell me today that they know people who have "mortgaged the farm" in order to sacrifice and send their child(ren) to FA. I feel sorry for those folks. We were lucky that we could afford to send our older child to FA without it being a big burden on the family. Not all folks are so lucky. Can you imagine sacrificing family vacations, entertainment or even necessities just to send your child to a school because you've seen and passed on "eyebrows" regarding FWCHS and feel your child won't be protected/educated there without knowing the facts? I say NO MORE EYEBROWS!!!
Okay - maybe not literally NO MORE EYEBROWS (please reference David Bowie above...not pretty for a guy or a girl)
rather,
So...that's it for today. I'm looking forward to the start of FWCHS football season tonight - Go Wildcats!
p.s. My son also has his first Cross Country meet this Saturday in Jackson, TN - Go Wildcats! He's super excited and has his brand-spanking-new uniform ready to go! FYI...FA always just threw old mis-matched uniforms at the Cross Country team. Seriously - they didn't match from boy to boy. It wasn't really "up there" on the list of priorities for FA sports and they got scraps and then they got dropped last year as a team. I see that they've possibly brought the team back from their website this year, so I'm happy for those students who are interested in running 3.2 miles at FA this year! What a great sport for the kids - it might just encourage them to jog/walk/run when they are done with school to stay in shape.
p.p.s. I've been in Coach Redditt's trailer for Cross Country/track at FWCHS. Although not the most organized office, he has boxes of donated shoes, etc. for kids who can't afford them and also proudly displays all his trophies and photographs of athletes from over the years. Meeting Coach Redditt last year and seeing his trailer (when he helped the West Jr. High Cross Country runners) helped me to formulate an idea of how much some of the staff at FWCHS care about the students. Sometimes it's the little things and the simple moments in life that cause a person to do what they do...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Day 9...Disappointment...
Day 9...Disappointment
I title this blog "Disappointment" not because anything MAJOR happened, but rather we found out today that our son won't be able to participate in both after school band (jazz later in the year) and sports throughout the year. Ugh. He likes both! I guess that's part of high school though - narrowing your interests so that you go off and find yourself in the real world. We were hoping that he could be involved with sports and do band this year, but it's just not going to work according to the band instructor. He was nice enough to call and discuss this with me and express his interest in my son being part of the band. He is trying to grow a great group of musicians, but is competing with all the sports teams for practice time and unfortunately the two types of activities don't mesh. I'm afraid if my son DOESN'T participate in sports we'll have way too much energy on our hands! :) Well, at least he's still in band CLASS and can play his instrument there.
Anyway...I said I would discuss the school organizations. This is a subject that is NOT disappointing, in fact I am very pleased. Originally I thought FWCHS didn't have what it should in the way of clubs/organizations, but that's only because I was checking the website. There are actually many more than listed on the website and the school offers (what I think is) a great selection of clubs/organizations! Check it out...
STUDENT CLUBS/ORGANIZATIONS:
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
BETA CLUB
CHESS CLUB
MATH/SCIENCE CLUB
ENGLISH CLUB
SOCIAL STUDIES CLUB
FRENCH CLUB
SPANISH CLUB
INTERDENOMINATIONAL FELLOWSHIP ORGANIZATION
FUTURE TEACHERS OF AMERICA
FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS OF AMERICA
FAMILY CAREER COMMUNITY LEADERS OF AMERICA
SKILL USA (CAREER AND TECH STUDENTS)
FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA
LIBRARY CLUB
DRAMA CLUB
FWCHS VOICES (CHOIR)
ASPIRE TEAM (DRUG-FREE AWARENESS)
MAJORETTES
FAN CLUB (ATHLETIC FANS)
and the Social Clubs:
LADIES OF INTELLIGENCE
UNIQ
ELITE SISTERS OF EXCELLENCE
ROYAL PREP SOCIAL ALLIANCE
KAPPA LEAGUE
ALLIANCE OF KINGS
Now, what you don't find is an Ecology Club which you do find at FA (which has also received national recognition), but likewise there are several here which FA doesn't have. On the FA website, the only non-athletic clubs that are listed are: Drama, Art, National Honor Society, Mary Margaret's Garden, Student Council, and Ecology Club. Several years ago FA started having club time during school every few weeks that included Spanish Club, Chess Club, etc., but by my son's senior year they had done away with that and I'm not sure if they have started any of those clubs back up. On the RCA website it lists only: Student Government Association, Beta Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes as school non-athletic organizations.
According to Mr. Hicks on NGA night, the kids will have a day to come to the gym and sign up for the clubs/organizations they are interested in. I'm not sure if they do club time during school or after school. We'll see....
FYI....
My son still hasn't joined a gang, he still hasn't been offered drugs and he still hasn't been beaten to a pulp :). So far so good...I rate FWCHS with high marks almost 2 weeks in. I'm hearing the same from other friends (parents) I know. Feels good that our September tuition payment will be going to my son's college savings account instead of high school...
FYI....
There IS a late bus for after school activity kids starting about Sept. 7th (it coincides with after-school tutoring schedule). HOORAY! My son should be able to ride this bus home once this date rolls around so we won't need to worry about picking him up from school. How nice!
I title this blog "Disappointment" not because anything MAJOR happened, but rather we found out today that our son won't be able to participate in both after school band (jazz later in the year) and sports throughout the year. Ugh. He likes both! I guess that's part of high school though - narrowing your interests so that you go off and find yourself in the real world. We were hoping that he could be involved with sports and do band this year, but it's just not going to work according to the band instructor. He was nice enough to call and discuss this with me and express his interest in my son being part of the band. He is trying to grow a great group of musicians, but is competing with all the sports teams for practice time and unfortunately the two types of activities don't mesh. I'm afraid if my son DOESN'T participate in sports we'll have way too much energy on our hands! :) Well, at least he's still in band CLASS and can play his instrument there.
Anyway...I said I would discuss the school organizations. This is a subject that is NOT disappointing, in fact I am very pleased. Originally I thought FWCHS didn't have what it should in the way of clubs/organizations, but that's only because I was checking the website. There are actually many more than listed on the website and the school offers (what I think is) a great selection of clubs/organizations! Check it out...
STUDENT CLUBS/ORGANIZATIONS:
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
BETA CLUB
CHESS CLUB
MATH/SCIENCE CLUB
ENGLISH CLUB
SOCIAL STUDIES CLUB
FRENCH CLUB
SPANISH CLUB
INTERDENOMINATIONAL FELLOWSHIP ORGANIZATION
FUTURE TEACHERS OF AMERICA
FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS OF AMERICA
FAMILY CAREER COMMUNITY LEADERS OF AMERICA
SKILL USA (CAREER AND TECH STUDENTS)
FUTURE FARMERS OF AMERICA
LIBRARY CLUB
DRAMA CLUB
FWCHS VOICES (CHOIR)
ASPIRE TEAM (DRUG-FREE AWARENESS)
MAJORETTES
FAN CLUB (ATHLETIC FANS)
and the Social Clubs:
LADIES OF INTELLIGENCE
UNIQ
ELITE SISTERS OF EXCELLENCE
ROYAL PREP SOCIAL ALLIANCE
KAPPA LEAGUE
ALLIANCE OF KINGS
Now, what you don't find is an Ecology Club which you do find at FA (which has also received national recognition), but likewise there are several here which FA doesn't have. On the FA website, the only non-athletic clubs that are listed are: Drama, Art, National Honor Society, Mary Margaret's Garden, Student Council, and Ecology Club. Several years ago FA started having club time during school every few weeks that included Spanish Club, Chess Club, etc., but by my son's senior year they had done away with that and I'm not sure if they have started any of those clubs back up. On the RCA website it lists only: Student Government Association, Beta Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes as school non-athletic organizations.
According to Mr. Hicks on NGA night, the kids will have a day to come to the gym and sign up for the clubs/organizations they are interested in. I'm not sure if they do club time during school or after school. We'll see....
FYI....
My son still hasn't joined a gang, he still hasn't been offered drugs and he still hasn't been beaten to a pulp :). So far so good...I rate FWCHS with high marks almost 2 weeks in. I'm hearing the same from other friends (parents) I know. Feels good that our September tuition payment will be going to my son's college savings account instead of high school...
FYI....
There IS a late bus for after school activity kids starting about Sept. 7th (it coincides with after-school tutoring schedule). HOORAY! My son should be able to ride this bus home once this date rolls around so we won't need to worry about picking him up from school. How nice!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Day 8...Parent-Teacher Night for NGA (Ninth Grade Academy)
Day 8...Parent-Teacher Night for NGA (Ninth Grade Academy)
So, as I've mentioned before...FWCHS has the "Ninth Grade Academy" or "NGA" for short. It seems NGA is its own micro-environment within the high school. NGA is described as a "small learning community of approximately 300 scholars which allows more individualized instruction despite a large high school population". Their focus points to one thing..."Success is the ONLY option". The kids as a group have an induction ceremony, knowlege bowls, homeroom structure, weekly content area and vocabulary benchmark testing, in-school math tutuorials, after-school remediationa and credit recovery, community service projects, honors recognition and eventually a graduation ceremony.
I have heard a lot of parents comment that it is a nice transition year for their kids to have it set up this way. They are with the other freshman on their own floor and it seems to work pretty well. The kids who have Honors classes may travel outside that micro-environment as well as some elective classes, but for the most part they are all together and Mr. Hicks says this has been a very successful approach to Freshman year for the kids.
So, tonight was Parent-Teacher night. Here are my reflections:
I'm pretty tired tonight (we didn't get done with NGA meeting until about 7:45pm, then dinner then showers now blog), so I think I will wait to explain all the school clubs/organizations in the next blog. There are a lot more than I thought - I was pleased to learn that tonight at the meeting.
Anyway...that's it for Day 8. Remember...FWCHS's first home football game is this Friday night - maybe you/your family should start to invest a little time into cheering for FWCHS Wildcats!
So, as I've mentioned before...FWCHS has the "Ninth Grade Academy" or "NGA" for short. It seems NGA is its own micro-environment within the high school. NGA is described as a "small learning community of approximately 300 scholars which allows more individualized instruction despite a large high school population". Their focus points to one thing..."Success is the ONLY option". The kids as a group have an induction ceremony, knowlege bowls, homeroom structure, weekly content area and vocabulary benchmark testing, in-school math tutuorials, after-school remediationa and credit recovery, community service projects, honors recognition and eventually a graduation ceremony.
I have heard a lot of parents comment that it is a nice transition year for their kids to have it set up this way. They are with the other freshman on their own floor and it seems to work pretty well. The kids who have Honors classes may travel outside that micro-environment as well as some elective classes, but for the most part they are all together and Mr. Hicks says this has been a very successful approach to Freshman year for the kids.
So, tonight was Parent-Teacher night. Here are my reflections:
- WOW - I am truly, and I mean this, truly impressed with the NGA presentation tonight. I got there a little late, but basically I walked in and was greeted at a table where I signed in as a parent and received a nice looking NGA brochure, Freshman Class Procedures page, a Scholar Expections/Grading explanation page and schedules for both the Freshman and Varsity Football teams. I was directed to the cafeteria where I found a room full of parents, students and families.
- Mr. Hicks was talking through things when I arrived. He answered some of the questions I still had about my son's school year, like course information, ACT testing, TCAP testing, etc. According to Mr. Hicks, FWCHS's ACT scoring is not exactly where it should be...yet. He is optimistic that it can improve. He explained that EVERYONE at FWCHS takes the ACT, including those that don't care one bit about college so don't try hard on the test and those who are severly disabled. Their "college bound" population average is more like 22 on the ACT scale. When I called last year to FA inquiring about their ACT average I was told it was probably a 22 or 23. Mr. Hicks also stressed that the kids won't be taking the "bare minimum" of graduation requirements. For example, the minimum requirement for math is 3 credits, however almost all scholars will end up taking no less than 4 and maybe 5 credits (this is Mr. Hicks' doing - he pushes the kids to take more than they need)
- Several teachers and the Athletic Director also got up to talk as well as the lady in charge of the NGA. It sounds like a successful, solid program geared to nurture the Freshmen kids to success. I am inserting the brochure so you can see what it looks like! It was actually in color, but my scanner only does black and white...
- The Athletic Director also talked about the many sports FWCHS offers (so far no soccer...yet) and invited folks to go to the table in the back of the room to sign up for the Freshmen sports. He also mentioned that if the kids aren't doing well academically, they don't play athletically. Good plan.
- I thought tonight was an effective (but long...over an hour) way to explain to parents the ins and outs of NGA. I certainly understand everything a lot better now. Glad I went!
I'm pretty tired tonight (we didn't get done with NGA meeting until about 7:45pm, then dinner then showers now blog), so I think I will wait to explain all the school clubs/organizations in the next blog. There are a lot more than I thought - I was pleased to learn that tonight at the meeting.
Anyway...that's it for Day 8. Remember...FWCHS's first home football game is this Friday night - maybe you/your family should start to invest a little time into cheering for FWCHS Wildcats!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Day 7 - GANGS AND FIGHTS AND GANGS AND FIGHTS????
Day 7 - GANGS AND FIGHTS AND GANGS AND FIGHTS????
Okay - so the title is what you've been wondering about, right? Thought so! I had heard rumors of gangs and fights at FWCHS for years. I know that the newspaper covered one several years ago...maybe 2000? (shortly after we moved to Fayette County) which involved a whole group of kids in the parking lot...who were then arrested. Well, I THINK I have some info you might be interested in. I had to do a little research myself before I brought this up. I didn't want to speak on something if I didn't get more facts, and now that I have some, let me let you know where I got them and what they say!
Sources:
Sheriff's Department
Other parents
FWCHS students (besides my son)
My son
Facts:
From sheriff's department source when I asked about the prevelance of gang activity/fighting at FWCHS:
"Are there drugs and gang activity present – yes, but here is the catch – you will find this in ANY school. Even the most expensive and elite of private schools still have narcotics and gang activity present. Skimming through some of the reports 2008 to present I only spotted two reports involving narcotics (marijuana) that students were caught with at Fayette Ware. There were 7-8 assault reports that I saw. These were generally fist fights between students. Two of those assaults involved a student brandishing a knife. As far as gangs, gang activity is present in Fayette County . What one must realize, however, is that you will not find many areas of the United States where there is not some form of gang activity present. One of our narcotics officers has specialized in gang activity and has shown us much of the graffiti “tagging” on street signs and such that indicate the presence of activity within neighborhoods. There are students that identify themselves with some of these local gangs, some who have readily admitted to such. I still would have to say that overall we do have considerably safe schools, especially when compared to many of the incidents that take place in Memphis City and Shelby County Schools . The key is that parents must be involved in their children’s lives to keep up with what is going on. We recommend keeping up with their social networking sites such as facebook and myspace...
One element that we have added to the Sheriff’s Office this year is a trained School Resource Officer that will be available to respond to all of the Fayette County Schools. A School Resource Officer has the advantage of specialized training in dealing with youth within the schools. We are also making efforts to have our SRO present during typical “hotspots” of the school day at Fayette Ware such as morning intake, lunch, and evening dismissal.
From some FWCHS students:
"I have heard that a fight or two may have been gang related but i have never seen anything to make me believe so. "
"...there arent many fights to begin with. I have loved being at Fayette Ware. Mr. Hicks does everything he can to make sure the gang stuff stays out of the school. (sheriff dept)...holds meetings with Mr. Hicks and the faculty to let them know what's gang related....I have learned alot, not just school related, but real life experiences too."
"I am friends with everyone there, and in my 3 years there, I haven't seen or experienced anything with gangs. FW really is a good school, with a lot of smart people there, and we have very few fights a year. I think last year there were two, but gangs have never been a problem. With the uniforms, all gang related colors are banned and we do not see any signs of them at all - Mr. Hicks makes sure of that. Of course there are a few bad eggs, just as every school has, but all in all mostly every one gets along and helps each other if need be. The teachers are great, and most will go out of the way to help you."
From another parent:
"It’s just not there in my eyes. I have sat through honors assemblies, award’s days, etc… if anyone makes more than a peep – Mr. Hicks calls them out in front of the whole school. It’s obviously not silent, but they are a lot quieter than a group of parents would be. I just quizzed (my son) on it. He said if there were gangs, 'Mr. Hicks would take ‘em out. Everyone is afraid of Mr. Hicks.' My general feeling is that if students who attend the school don’t know about them, how pervasive can they be?"
From my son:
My son also reports not seeing any gang-related activity, signs, etc. Of course, being my child, I don't know if he'd realize it if he did! :)
On Friday Matt did say that Mr. Hicks talked with everyone about a fight that happened at school. It was not gang related...it was over a Star Burst Fruit Chew. Although satisfying and delicious, I'm not sure a Star Burst Fruit Chew was worth the 90-day suspension that the kids involved in the fight got. According to my son, Mr. Hicks addressed the students, told them about the fight, the call to the sheriff's office after the fight and the 90-day suspension for the fighting students. He stressed to the kids how NOT WORTH IT it is to fight at FWCHS because there is a zero-tolerance policy towards fighting. I applaud Mr. Hicks for handling the situation swiftly and being honest with the kids in order for it to be a lesson to them. I also applaud him for immediately removing trouble makers from the school so that the other kids there can LEARN!
MORE INFO:
While at FA, my older son told me of a couple times when police had to be called to the school for instances that involved students with bad behavior and/or locker checks for weapons. I also know that some friends of his, whom he grew apart from, started to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Let us not (as parents) kid ourselves...we know very well that this type of behavior happens at any high school (and most junior high schools). We should know because I'm sure a lot of us encountered it growing up as well.
FUNNY STORY:
While at FA my older son took several art classes. One assignment called for them to draw their hands in several different positions - of their choosing. My son drew a beautiful sketch of his hands in about 4 or 5 poses. His art teacher, who appreciated my son's talent, hung it on the wall. While strolling by my son's piece of art, the Headmaster saw it and suspected my son was involved in gang activity due to the positions that the hands were drawn. He took the piece of art and called my son to the office because of it. If you knew my son this would be laughable...just as his art teacher thought it was while she came to my son's defense. Because she knew my son and had known him since 3rd grade, she went to bat for him with the Headmaster and then called me to let me know what had happened. My husband and I were furious that a piece of art had gotten my son into trouble and made him feel guilty for no reason. We went in and demanded the artwork back from the Headmaster (who had kept it just in case my son started wearing colors or busting a cap at school, I guess). We went home and proudly displayed his beautiful sketch on our refrigerator and told him not to worry about what other people thought about when he created art. :)
CONCLUSION:
I figure that a handful of fights and 2 drug incidents since 2008 can't really justify the rumors I've heard that FWCHS is riddled with gang violence and drugs.
p.s. I've told my son to NOT fight, to NOT get lured into a fight and to NOT be stupid and stage or participate in a fight for a Youtube video. Those smart law enforcement officials...surfing social networking/video sites for illegal school info is a GREATEFFIC idea! I bet you anything that school administrators do this too.
p.p.s. When searching for FWCHS videos on Youtube, most are of pep rallies and/or kids acting silly.
p.p.s.s. The first home football game at FWCHS is this Friday. Why not come visit your community high school and cheer the team on???
Okay - so the title is what you've been wondering about, right? Thought so! I had heard rumors of gangs and fights at FWCHS for years. I know that the newspaper covered one several years ago...maybe 2000? (shortly after we moved to Fayette County) which involved a whole group of kids in the parking lot...who were then arrested. Well, I THINK I have some info you might be interested in. I had to do a little research myself before I brought this up. I didn't want to speak on something if I didn't get more facts, and now that I have some, let me let you know where I got them and what they say!
Sources:
Sheriff's Department
Other parents
FWCHS students (besides my son)
My son
Facts:
From sheriff's department source when I asked about the prevelance of gang activity/fighting at FWCHS:
"Are there drugs and gang activity present – yes, but here is the catch – you will find this in ANY school. Even the most expensive and elite of private schools still have narcotics and gang activity present. Skimming through some of the reports 2008 to present I only spotted two reports involving narcotics (marijuana) that students were caught with at Fayette Ware. There were 7-8 assault reports that I saw. These were generally fist fights between students. Two of those assaults involved a student brandishing a knife. As far as gangs, gang activity is present in Fayette County . What one must realize, however, is that you will not find many areas of the United States where there is not some form of gang activity present. One of our narcotics officers has specialized in gang activity and has shown us much of the graffiti “tagging” on street signs and such that indicate the presence of activity within neighborhoods. There are students that identify themselves with some of these local gangs, some who have readily admitted to such. I still would have to say that overall we do have considerably safe schools, especially when compared to many of the incidents that take place in Memphis City and Shelby County Schools . The key is that parents must be involved in their children’s lives to keep up with what is going on. We recommend keeping up with their social networking sites such as facebook and myspace...
One element that we have added to the Sheriff’s Office this year is a trained School Resource Officer that will be available to respond to all of the Fayette County Schools. A School Resource Officer has the advantage of specialized training in dealing with youth within the schools. We are also making efforts to have our SRO present during typical “hotspots” of the school day at Fayette Ware such as morning intake, lunch, and evening dismissal.
From some FWCHS students:
"I have heard that a fight or two may have been gang related but i have never seen anything to make me believe so. "
"...there arent many fights to begin with. I have loved being at Fayette Ware. Mr. Hicks does everything he can to make sure the gang stuff stays out of the school. (sheriff dept)...holds meetings with Mr. Hicks and the faculty to let them know what's gang related....I have learned alot, not just school related, but real life experiences too."
"I am friends with everyone there, and in my 3 years there, I haven't seen or experienced anything with gangs. FW really is a good school, with a lot of smart people there, and we have very few fights a year. I think last year there were two, but gangs have never been a problem. With the uniforms, all gang related colors are banned and we do not see any signs of them at all - Mr. Hicks makes sure of that. Of course there are a few bad eggs, just as every school has, but all in all mostly every one gets along and helps each other if need be. The teachers are great, and most will go out of the way to help you."
From another parent:
"It’s just not there in my eyes. I have sat through honors assemblies, award’s days, etc… if anyone makes more than a peep – Mr. Hicks calls them out in front of the whole school. It’s obviously not silent, but they are a lot quieter than a group of parents would be. I just quizzed (my son) on it. He said if there were gangs, 'Mr. Hicks would take ‘em out. Everyone is afraid of Mr. Hicks.' My general feeling is that if students who attend the school don’t know about them, how pervasive can they be?"
From my son:
My son also reports not seeing any gang-related activity, signs, etc. Of course, being my child, I don't know if he'd realize it if he did! :)
On Friday Matt did say that Mr. Hicks talked with everyone about a fight that happened at school. It was not gang related...it was over a Star Burst Fruit Chew. Although satisfying and delicious, I'm not sure a Star Burst Fruit Chew was worth the 90-day suspension that the kids involved in the fight got. According to my son, Mr. Hicks addressed the students, told them about the fight, the call to the sheriff's office after the fight and the 90-day suspension for the fighting students. He stressed to the kids how NOT WORTH IT it is to fight at FWCHS because there is a zero-tolerance policy towards fighting. I applaud Mr. Hicks for handling the situation swiftly and being honest with the kids in order for it to be a lesson to them. I also applaud him for immediately removing trouble makers from the school so that the other kids there can LEARN!
MORE INFO:
While at FA, my older son told me of a couple times when police had to be called to the school for instances that involved students with bad behavior and/or locker checks for weapons. I also know that some friends of his, whom he grew apart from, started to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Let us not (as parents) kid ourselves...we know very well that this type of behavior happens at any high school (and most junior high schools). We should know because I'm sure a lot of us encountered it growing up as well.
FUNNY STORY:
While at FA my older son took several art classes. One assignment called for them to draw their hands in several different positions - of their choosing. My son drew a beautiful sketch of his hands in about 4 or 5 poses. His art teacher, who appreciated my son's talent, hung it on the wall. While strolling by my son's piece of art, the Headmaster saw it and suspected my son was involved in gang activity due to the positions that the hands were drawn. He took the piece of art and called my son to the office because of it. If you knew my son this would be laughable...just as his art teacher thought it was while she came to my son's defense. Because she knew my son and had known him since 3rd grade, she went to bat for him with the Headmaster and then called me to let me know what had happened. My husband and I were furious that a piece of art had gotten my son into trouble and made him feel guilty for no reason. We went in and demanded the artwork back from the Headmaster (who had kept it just in case my son started wearing colors or busting a cap at school, I guess). We went home and proudly displayed his beautiful sketch on our refrigerator and told him not to worry about what other people thought about when he created art. :)
CONCLUSION:
I figure that a handful of fights and 2 drug incidents since 2008 can't really justify the rumors I've heard that FWCHS is riddled with gang violence and drugs.
p.s. I've told my son to NOT fight, to NOT get lured into a fight and to NOT be stupid and stage or participate in a fight for a Youtube video. Those smart law enforcement officials...surfing social networking/video sites for illegal school info is a GREATEFFIC idea! I bet you anything that school administrators do this too.
p.p.s. When searching for FWCHS videos on Youtube, most are of pep rallies and/or kids acting silly.
p.p.s.s. The first home football game at FWCHS is this Friday. Why not come visit your community high school and cheer the team on???
Friday, August 13, 2010
Day 6...we're settling in...
Day 6...we're settling in...
So, not much to report (which is good, isn't it???) from Day 6. My son 1) still likes school 2) is depressed he is going to have to buckle down and study hard this year! 3) is still sore from Cross Country practice 4) wouldn't want to be anywhere else (school) right now. He's content, I'm pleased and I'm wondering if you guys get the point...do I really need to write each day for the rest of the year??? LOL I will because I think it's important and it's also giving me more of a reason to discuss school with my son each night. He's a teenage boy and I'm just a mom - not usually much of a reason to have conversation, right? This blog forces me to be inquisitive and talk with him about his experiences at school each night.
Now, I don't want anyone to get the impression through this blog that I'm "knocking" FA. I'm not. My older son enjoyed his time at FA and we were usually happy with the school, etc. Some of the staff and teachers there were first rate and my son loved them. I think with their ongoing updates to the campus they will have even better facilities in years to come and more room to accommodate sporting events, etc. It is any one's right to send their child(ren) to the school of their choosing. We originally sent our older son there because we thought FA would better prepare him for college. We should have looked harder into FWCHS first though (in hindsight). I'm not sure the college prep advantage is that far off at both schools. It is my firm belief that good students will perform well where ever they go to school. A lot has to do with the student's drive, parental support, etc. My kids have always tested high within Fayette County public schools (TCAP, etc.). I know they were on the level of private school education because of their entrance testing at FA (we had our FWCHS son tested for FA when we hadn't yet decided on where to send him for high school). He tested high - my first son did the same when he was applying to FA.
I can tell you that FWCHS has a lot lower average on the standard college test (ACT) than FA. This is a statistic. However...FWCHS is a lot larger in students and has to include students who may not be focusing on college/learning in their averages. In listening to the new FCS Superintendent, Dr. Gray on his TV interview from last week (http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12853700 ) , I heard him say that they have a goal to raise the FWCHS ACT test score average 2 points over the next couple of years. That is actually a HUGE deal. With a school as big as FWCHS, to raise the school average 2 points would be a great accomplishment! He said they have a plan in place and he has been working with Mr. Hicks (principal) for more support in implementing the plan and providing additional services to help students raise their scores.
FWCHS is having their open house on Thursday, Sept. 9th at 6pm. I am looking forward to meeting all my son's teachers! I guess my son is through his first week at FWCHS (through the first 5 days)...he hasn't been picked on, he hasn't been in a fight, his teachers are demanding excellence, he hasn't been offered drugs, he hasn't seen/heard of/been asked to join a gang, and he's already participating in extra-curricular activities. Hmmmm this sounds amazingly close to my older son's first week at FA. :)
So, not much to report (which is good, isn't it???) from Day 6. My son 1) still likes school 2) is depressed he is going to have to buckle down and study hard this year! 3) is still sore from Cross Country practice 4) wouldn't want to be anywhere else (school) right now. He's content, I'm pleased and I'm wondering if you guys get the point...do I really need to write each day for the rest of the year??? LOL I will because I think it's important and it's also giving me more of a reason to discuss school with my son each night. He's a teenage boy and I'm just a mom - not usually much of a reason to have conversation, right? This blog forces me to be inquisitive and talk with him about his experiences at school each night.
Now, I don't want anyone to get the impression through this blog that I'm "knocking" FA. I'm not. My older son enjoyed his time at FA and we were usually happy with the school, etc. Some of the staff and teachers there were first rate and my son loved them. I think with their ongoing updates to the campus they will have even better facilities in years to come and more room to accommodate sporting events, etc. It is any one's right to send their child(ren) to the school of their choosing. We originally sent our older son there because we thought FA would better prepare him for college. We should have looked harder into FWCHS first though (in hindsight). I'm not sure the college prep advantage is that far off at both schools. It is my firm belief that good students will perform well where ever they go to school. A lot has to do with the student's drive, parental support, etc. My kids have always tested high within Fayette County public schools (TCAP, etc.). I know they were on the level of private school education because of their entrance testing at FA (we had our FWCHS son tested for FA when we hadn't yet decided on where to send him for high school). He tested high - my first son did the same when he was applying to FA.
I can tell you that FWCHS has a lot lower average on the standard college test (ACT) than FA. This is a statistic. However...FWCHS is a lot larger in students and has to include students who may not be focusing on college/learning in their averages. In listening to the new FCS Superintendent, Dr. Gray on his TV interview from last week (http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12853700 ) , I heard him say that they have a goal to raise the FWCHS ACT test score average 2 points over the next couple of years. That is actually a HUGE deal. With a school as big as FWCHS, to raise the school average 2 points would be a great accomplishment! He said they have a plan in place and he has been working with Mr. Hicks (principal) for more support in implementing the plan and providing additional services to help students raise their scores.
FWCHS is having their open house on Thursday, Sept. 9th at 6pm. I am looking forward to meeting all my son's teachers! I guess my son is through his first week at FWCHS (through the first 5 days)...he hasn't been picked on, he hasn't been in a fight, his teachers are demanding excellence, he hasn't been offered drugs, he hasn't seen/heard of/been asked to join a gang, and he's already participating in extra-curricular activities. Hmmmm this sounds amazingly close to my older son's first week at FA. :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Day 5: Please put your belt on BEFORE you go to school...
Day 5...
Oh my son....pulled up this morning to FWCHS and he doesn't have his belt on. Ugh! This is not something new as my son is a little disorganized and it has been a continual fight in school for him to wear his uniform completely and correctly. What's a mom to do? :) The good news (in my eyes) is that a uniform is required. I will explain...
I've noticed that there is a lot less decision, fight and general worry about outfits, etc. when a school uniform is required. You have a certain set of clothing, everyone has the same selections and there is no need for massive clothes shopping and/or fashion upkeep. FA does not require a uniform, although has some guidelines for what is appropriate, etc. My older son was never too worried about what to wear, however I'm afraid it would have been an issue if my daughters had attended there. Not sure if RCA requires a uniform. All Fayette County Schools require uniforms and I'm just fine with that. Some people say it doesn't allow them to express themselves, etc. but kids can insert colorful socks or hair accessories, etc. into their outfits to mix them up. I am fine with them not having complete freedom of expression too - they are there to LEARN for goodness sakes! Of course, if it had been me when I was in school I'm sure I would have organized a school protest against uniforms!
My son attended Cross Country practice last night and tonight and is SORE! I was happy to hear that Coach Redditt allowed them to practice indoors due to the extreme heat. Better to have the kids ALIVE to run at their first meet! Not sure about FA uniforms yet. Last year I paid about $125 for a uniform (not including the shoes), warm-up and duffel bag at FA for my older son's soccer needs. They did provide a fundraiser for the boys to earn money towards the uniform/equipment, however my son didn't sell enough to cover the total expense. We got a bill in the mail for the rest of the expense a few weeks before school was out. I'm not complaining...too much...about the required items. They were very nice and he could have sold more, but...it was one more bill at the end of the year when we were trying to pay for other graduation-related stuff. I would have also liked him to get a few more years' worth of use out of the uniform/equipment. It was only used for last spring. Hopefully they'll recycle the uniforms for the other boys, but what to do with left over warm-up/duffel?? Maybe I will create a quilt. Forget that - I can barely sew! At least FA has soccer...still working on that for FWCHS and waiting to hear from the Coach-elect at FWCHS (Mr. Hicks has spoken with him and he should be contacting me - this is progress!).
So I'm hearing some informative and nice things through your comments. Thank you Mr. O'Brien (school board member/martial arts guru - I know him don't worry!) for explaining the bathroom funding. I revise my statement...maybe someone should ask to increase the maintenance funds to include bathroom renovations at OES! :) My kids have been attending there since 1999 and still they are in as bad of shape as they were then (some of the restrooms anyway - some are fine). I am tempted to go up there and start gutting the bathrooms myself, however now I have a blog to write! Seriously, I appreciate your comments and am learning things myself through them. Please feel free to forward the link to the blog to friends - whether they have kids in school or not.
Part of having a successful school system is having COMMUNITY support (not just parental). Speaking of that, I feel as if FWCHS possibly/maybe/might not be receiving as much support from the Fayette County community as it deserves. I am just as guilty as anyone to this point - before my son was directly involved I didn't think much about looking into/supporting FWCHS. I only attended one football game - I think in the year 2000 - and have only been there for school board meetings or Cross Country meets with my older son while he was at FA. In my hometown EVERYONE (well, just about) attended high school sporting events and knew what was going on at the public high school. We had businesses/organizations donating money, supplies and time to different school events. My hope is that each year this aspect of support grows for FWCHS. All taxpayers have a vested interest in making a school system great (property values anyone & future residents anyone???) - I just wish more people would realize that!
My son said he's making friends at school - both other freshmen and upperclassmen. He saw his Cross Country captain at WalMart tonight and seems to like him a lot. The kid (who is older) was nice enough to come talk to my son and recognize him, etc. So far no bullying or other types of negative behavior towards my son from anyone. He is adjusting to the demands of the new schedule and has begun to crack down on his two page Science vocab. Can anyone refresh me on Boyle's Law??? I had to quiz him and I forgot how much I once knew.
So, that's it for Day 5. As my hands are cramping up I wonder if I'll make it to Day 25!
p.s. I was conversing with a friend tonight who is the mother of two FA students (one just graduated and one is still in high school). I was telling her about my son being at FWCHS this year and that we were putting tuition money towards a college fund instead. She said something poignant to me after explaining that until her son graduated recently her tuition bill for two kids was about $1000 a month (which adds up to $10,000 - $11,000 a year depending on how many months are on your payment plan). She said, "You know, paying tuition at FA has kept me broke for years." Just thought that was interesting - I'm wondering what anyone would do with an extra $10,000 - $11,000 a year????
Oh my son....pulled up this morning to FWCHS and he doesn't have his belt on. Ugh! This is not something new as my son is a little disorganized and it has been a continual fight in school for him to wear his uniform completely and correctly. What's a mom to do? :) The good news (in my eyes) is that a uniform is required. I will explain...
I've noticed that there is a lot less decision, fight and general worry about outfits, etc. when a school uniform is required. You have a certain set of clothing, everyone has the same selections and there is no need for massive clothes shopping and/or fashion upkeep. FA does not require a uniform, although has some guidelines for what is appropriate, etc. My older son was never too worried about what to wear, however I'm afraid it would have been an issue if my daughters had attended there. Not sure if RCA requires a uniform. All Fayette County Schools require uniforms and I'm just fine with that. Some people say it doesn't allow them to express themselves, etc. but kids can insert colorful socks or hair accessories, etc. into their outfits to mix them up. I am fine with them not having complete freedom of expression too - they are there to LEARN for goodness sakes! Of course, if it had been me when I was in school I'm sure I would have organized a school protest against uniforms!
My son attended Cross Country practice last night and tonight and is SORE! I was happy to hear that Coach Redditt allowed them to practice indoors due to the extreme heat. Better to have the kids ALIVE to run at their first meet! Not sure about FA uniforms yet. Last year I paid about $125 for a uniform (not including the shoes), warm-up and duffel bag at FA for my older son's soccer needs. They did provide a fundraiser for the boys to earn money towards the uniform/equipment, however my son didn't sell enough to cover the total expense. We got a bill in the mail for the rest of the expense a few weeks before school was out. I'm not complaining...too much...about the required items. They were very nice and he could have sold more, but...it was one more bill at the end of the year when we were trying to pay for other graduation-related stuff. I would have also liked him to get a few more years' worth of use out of the uniform/equipment. It was only used for last spring. Hopefully they'll recycle the uniforms for the other boys, but what to do with left over warm-up/duffel?? Maybe I will create a quilt. Forget that - I can barely sew! At least FA has soccer...still working on that for FWCHS and waiting to hear from the Coach-elect at FWCHS (Mr. Hicks has spoken with him and he should be contacting me - this is progress!).
So I'm hearing some informative and nice things through your comments. Thank you Mr. O'Brien (school board member/martial arts guru - I know him don't worry!) for explaining the bathroom funding. I revise my statement...maybe someone should ask to increase the maintenance funds to include bathroom renovations at OES! :) My kids have been attending there since 1999 and still they are in as bad of shape as they were then (some of the restrooms anyway - some are fine). I am tempted to go up there and start gutting the bathrooms myself, however now I have a blog to write! Seriously, I appreciate your comments and am learning things myself through them. Please feel free to forward the link to the blog to friends - whether they have kids in school or not.
Part of having a successful school system is having COMMUNITY support (not just parental). Speaking of that, I feel as if FWCHS possibly/maybe/might not be receiving as much support from the Fayette County community as it deserves. I am just as guilty as anyone to this point - before my son was directly involved I didn't think much about looking into/supporting FWCHS. I only attended one football game - I think in the year 2000 - and have only been there for school board meetings or Cross Country meets with my older son while he was at FA. In my hometown EVERYONE (well, just about) attended high school sporting events and knew what was going on at the public high school. We had businesses/organizations donating money, supplies and time to different school events. My hope is that each year this aspect of support grows for FWCHS. All taxpayers have a vested interest in making a school system great (property values anyone & future residents anyone???) - I just wish more people would realize that!
My son said he's making friends at school - both other freshmen and upperclassmen. He saw his Cross Country captain at WalMart tonight and seems to like him a lot. The kid (who is older) was nice enough to come talk to my son and recognize him, etc. So far no bullying or other types of negative behavior towards my son from anyone. He is adjusting to the demands of the new schedule and has begun to crack down on his two page Science vocab. Can anyone refresh me on Boyle's Law??? I had to quiz him and I forgot how much I once knew.
So, that's it for Day 5. As my hands are cramping up I wonder if I'll make it to Day 25!
p.s. I was conversing with a friend tonight who is the mother of two FA students (one just graduated and one is still in high school). I was telling her about my son being at FWCHS this year and that we were putting tuition money towards a college fund instead. She said something poignant to me after explaining that until her son graduated recently her tuition bill for two kids was about $1000 a month (which adds up to $10,000 - $11,000 a year depending on how many months are on your payment plan). She said, "You know, paying tuition at FA has kept me broke for years." Just thought that was interesting - I'm wondering what anyone would do with an extra $10,000 - $11,000 a year????
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Day 4..."May I help you, m'am?"
Day 4...
"May I help you, m'am?" That's what I heard about 5 seconds after entering the FWCHS office this morning. It was busy and there was a staff of about 4 people at the front desk, including some (it seemed) student helpers, one of which is who asked me this question. I went in this morning to turn in my son's proof of residency information. It was nice to be greeted so politely first thing in the morning (or anytime for that matter!). I was directed to the office where I needed to turn in the info. While I was there I saw Mr. Hicks (principal) in the hallway as the first bell rang. He was talking with students on their way to class. I didn't bug him because he was busy, but it's nice to see a principal out conversing with the students.
While I'm at it let me tell you that FWCHS seems like a very clean and organized school. I noticed the cleanliness while there in the past attending school board meetings. Whoever is cleaning that place is doing a good job! You will find that at most Fayette County public schools (Southwest Elementary, OES and West Jr. High are my frames of reference), but job well done here. It also smells good (weird observation, but often I think schools smell like pencil shavings!). I didn't have a chance to visit the bathrooms, but hopefully they are in good condition. Bathrooms are a pet peeve of mine in schools - some of them in FCS are in need of repair (OES). The board needs to approve some money for updates (or maybe the principals need to ask)!
So...I told my son to go in this morning and finish switching his elective coursework. Mr. Hicks told me to have him come in to meet with him. I got a call from Mr. Hicks about 30 minutes after I left the school. He was chuckling because he said my son's elective course wasn't until next semester and my son told him, "I'm just trying to get it changed early." Mr. Hicks said that he had to call because my son was being so "mature" and "serious" about getting his class changed before January. LOL In hindsight I guess we (meaning me) freaked out a little about changing my son to the correct electives. It was nice to talk with Mr. Hicks on the phone and I'm glad he called me just to share something he got a kick out of. He said they were going to go ahead and get things changed now so to not worry about it. I can tell this man does not treat the children as just numbers within his school - he treats them as individuals. I've heard this about him before. He also explained to me that the "advisory" period on my son's schedule is on there as a point of state rules. It's just to show what each student is involved in and that my son has an advisor at FWCHS.
One thing of note...one reason why I am adamant about changing my son's coursework is to get him into a summer class program offered at SW TN Community College. A friend of mine has a daughter who found out about the program a few years ago when she began attending FWCHS. It is an engineering program and my son is good at math, so we figured it might be a good thing for him to take elective coursework along those lines at FWCHS in order to get accepted to/excel in a program of this nature. I talked to this friend this morning while at another school and she told me that not only will her daughter be done with all graduation credits at the end of this semester (she is a senior this year) but she has nearly earned her Associates Degree from taking this summer coursework and will be completely done with that degree come graduation time. Just think...graduating HIGH SCHOOL with an Associates Degree in (I believe it's electrical) Engineering. What a benefit for immediate job hunting OR for scholarship/college applications. I'm encouraged to hear that all of this began with FWCHS. Hopefully we'll be able to have our son accomplish the same thing while he's there. My older son took dual-credit courses while at FA to earn 6 credits towards college which is great, so FA offers college credit options as well.
Yesterday afternoon I emailed the Cross Country coach regarding practices, etc. and this morning I had a reply email waiting for me. I still haven't received a response from my email to the 9th grade advisor from the the other day, but I'm not certain that is a working address and by this point the matter has already been resolved by Mr. Hicks.
Funny/Disturbing story...we were riding to the store tonight (me and all of my children). My FWCHS son said, "Mom, a girl hit my butt today.". I said, of course, "WHAT???" Since I had both sons in the car with me I asked my oldest son, "Did any girls hit your butt at FA?" He reluctantly said, "Yes, sev-er-al (do you hear the bragging) times." I said, "WHAT???" I went on to tell them BOTH (which I guess I never thought to cover previous to this date) that no girls should be doing that and they shouldn't do that either (which, reportedly they don't - only receivers of said hitting:). My oldest (FA graduate) said, "But what if we sort of liked it?" Oh boy......why didn't someone warn me about having kids (just kidding of course)!!!
"May I help you, m'am?" That's what I heard about 5 seconds after entering the FWCHS office this morning. It was busy and there was a staff of about 4 people at the front desk, including some (it seemed) student helpers, one of which is who asked me this question. I went in this morning to turn in my son's proof of residency information. It was nice to be greeted so politely first thing in the morning (or anytime for that matter!). I was directed to the office where I needed to turn in the info. While I was there I saw Mr. Hicks (principal) in the hallway as the first bell rang. He was talking with students on their way to class. I didn't bug him because he was busy, but it's nice to see a principal out conversing with the students.
While I'm at it let me tell you that FWCHS seems like a very clean and organized school. I noticed the cleanliness while there in the past attending school board meetings. Whoever is cleaning that place is doing a good job! You will find that at most Fayette County public schools (Southwest Elementary, OES and West Jr. High are my frames of reference), but job well done here. It also smells good (weird observation, but often I think schools smell like pencil shavings!). I didn't have a chance to visit the bathrooms, but hopefully they are in good condition. Bathrooms are a pet peeve of mine in schools - some of them in FCS are in need of repair (OES). The board needs to approve some money for updates (or maybe the principals need to ask)!
So...I told my son to go in this morning and finish switching his elective coursework. Mr. Hicks told me to have him come in to meet with him. I got a call from Mr. Hicks about 30 minutes after I left the school. He was chuckling because he said my son's elective course wasn't until next semester and my son told him, "I'm just trying to get it changed early." Mr. Hicks said that he had to call because my son was being so "mature" and "serious" about getting his class changed before January. LOL In hindsight I guess we (meaning me) freaked out a little about changing my son to the correct electives. It was nice to talk with Mr. Hicks on the phone and I'm glad he called me just to share something he got a kick out of. He said they were going to go ahead and get things changed now so to not worry about it. I can tell this man does not treat the children as just numbers within his school - he treats them as individuals. I've heard this about him before. He also explained to me that the "advisory" period on my son's schedule is on there as a point of state rules. It's just to show what each student is involved in and that my son has an advisor at FWCHS.
One thing of note...one reason why I am adamant about changing my son's coursework is to get him into a summer class program offered at SW TN Community College. A friend of mine has a daughter who found out about the program a few years ago when she began attending FWCHS. It is an engineering program and my son is good at math, so we figured it might be a good thing for him to take elective coursework along those lines at FWCHS in order to get accepted to/excel in a program of this nature. I talked to this friend this morning while at another school and she told me that not only will her daughter be done with all graduation credits at the end of this semester (she is a senior this year) but she has nearly earned her Associates Degree from taking this summer coursework and will be completely done with that degree come graduation time. Just think...graduating HIGH SCHOOL with an Associates Degree in (I believe it's electrical) Engineering. What a benefit for immediate job hunting OR for scholarship/college applications. I'm encouraged to hear that all of this began with FWCHS. Hopefully we'll be able to have our son accomplish the same thing while he's there. My older son took dual-credit courses while at FA to earn 6 credits towards college which is great, so FA offers college credit options as well.
Yesterday afternoon I emailed the Cross Country coach regarding practices, etc. and this morning I had a reply email waiting for me. I still haven't received a response from my email to the 9th grade advisor from the the other day, but I'm not certain that is a working address and by this point the matter has already been resolved by Mr. Hicks.
Funny/Disturbing story...we were riding to the store tonight (me and all of my children). My FWCHS son said, "Mom, a girl hit my butt today.". I said, of course, "WHAT???" Since I had both sons in the car with me I asked my oldest son, "Did any girls hit your butt at FA?" He reluctantly said, "Yes, sev-er-al (do you hear the bragging) times." I said, "WHAT???" I went on to tell them BOTH (which I guess I never thought to cover previous to this date) that no girls should be doing that and they shouldn't do that either (which, reportedly they don't - only receivers of said hitting:). My oldest (FA graduate) said, "But what if we sort of liked it?" Oh boy......why didn't someone warn me about having kids (just kidding of course)!!!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Day 3...Getting up early is for the birds!
Alright...one negative for FWCHS...my son (with me driving) now has to leave the house at 6:55am instead of 7:30am (if he were going to FA), BUT....that leaves plenty of time for me to get him to high school in Somerville (for those who don't know there is only one high school - public - in Fayette County and it is located on north Hwy 59 about 5 minutes north of the Somerville town square) and still get my girls to school on time. We take a back route in and guess what...very little traffic to contend with! I pull up to the front curb and drop him about 7:20am (classes start at 7:25am). My girls don't start at their schools until 8:25am, so the morning works out nicely (despite lack of sleep!). He COULD take the bus, but that would require an even earlier morning - on the bus at 6:15am. No way!
FA phased out buses a couple of years ago and most parents bring their children or carpool (if the kids aren't driving themselves). That is fine for most folks, but it would be a problem had my son gone there this year. I would have had to find a ride for him coming home from school. He rides the bus home now from FWCHS and is home by about 3pm-ish. Glad that worry is off my shoulders.
What about after-school activities, you may ask? Well...I found out today...wait for it...that...wait for it...FWCHS has a LATE BUS for after-school activity kids! What a great concept, right? This allows kids who want to participate but might not have a parent to pick them up at 4pm-ish to go ahead and participate and still catch a bus home. What a wonderful service for kids who don't yet drive and who have parents that work and can't give them a ride. I heard this from my new FWCHS parent friend today and BOY was I excited! My son will be participating in Cross Country and/or marching band this fall and I was perplexed on how to get him home. Now my mind is half at ease...it will be fully at ease once I call and get the specifics on the late bus and make sure he's qualified to ride it home.
So far I have spoken with: Mr. Hicks, office workers, Coach Redditt (Cross Country), Mr. Holmes (band) and Mr. Kebschull (FWCHS website admin.). I can't tell you how nice everyone has been and how receptive/helpful they have been to me thus far. My son reports the same of his teachers. We were on the website this weekend (www.fayettewarehighschool.com ) and he was pointing out everyone to me (teacher photo). He is happy about going to school in the morning and seems positive when returning home.
I have semi-figured out the last hour question (advisory). It seems that it isn't a true hour, but only the end of their day. He basically has 4 classes: Reading, Science, English and Instrumental Music this semester. He'll have 4 new classes next semester. The homeroom serves only as a brief starting point for the day (announcements, notes home, etc.) and then you have lunch thrown in. Each class, if you remember from blog #1, is 90 minutes. He will have 4 credits at the end of this semester. All of that is important (as I found out with my oldest) when it comes time to figure out if you can graduate or not! I hear Mr. Hicks is not a fan of study halls, so I'm not worried that my son will be thrown into some deep pit of boredom. It all seems to be working out.
I will be going to the office tomorrow morning to finish up registration (proof of residency - thank you Dr. Gray for enforcing this system wide!) and also to finish the task of getting his elective course work switched to something different. I think it's pretty neat that FWCHS offers course work towards a certain skill set. The older I've gotten the more important it seems to find direction and interest BEFORE you are off to college and take a bunch of filler classes because you don't know what you like/dislike. I'm hoping that the FWCHS course work will either gear my son towards engineering or show him that he can't stand it so he doesn't waste time in college.
One thing I've noticed so far is that communication to parents might be a little less frequent at FWCHS than at FA...I haven't gotten any notes on marching band or cross country (which both start tomorrow) - had to call and ask for info. But...that could be my son just not getting the info to me. FA was always pretty good about sending notes or emails about different issues. I also haven't heard about any homework/grade checking service via the internet like FA had with "Renweb". That was a nice service and something that I will miss, but it was an "extra" and I'm okay with not having it if need be. The other mis-communication came with summer reading. Turns out that it was supposed to be mandatory, but since the kids weren't sent home a letter about summer reading (it was only on the website and I happened to see it and made my son do it) then Mr. Kebschull is going to speak to administration to get it turned into extra credit rather than mandatory reading and cleared up for next year's freshmen. He apologized for any confusion (on behalf of the school) and promised to look into it.
I finished up the first edition of the FWCHS newsletter today. I hope people get involved with the PTO at the school - I am glad I have! The officers are first rate and so wonderful! In putting together the newsletter I discovered that they ran a mural contest for the students last year and had the winning design painted on the outside of the school and the other designs painted on the inside. They also added landscaping to the grounds this summer and several other things. The biggest thing is that the PTO is trying to change the graduation ceremony from the gym to Bellevue Baptist Church. This is important to me because the one negative I constantly hear about FWCHS is that the graduation is horrible due to the fact that people are stuffed into a hot gym. I definitely want a better experience for my son in 4 year's time!
That's it for Day 3. So far, so good....that makes a mom pretty darn happy...:)
FA phased out buses a couple of years ago and most parents bring their children or carpool (if the kids aren't driving themselves). That is fine for most folks, but it would be a problem had my son gone there this year. I would have had to find a ride for him coming home from school. He rides the bus home now from FWCHS and is home by about 3pm-ish. Glad that worry is off my shoulders.
What about after-school activities, you may ask? Well...I found out today...wait for it...that...wait for it...FWCHS has a LATE BUS for after-school activity kids! What a great concept, right? This allows kids who want to participate but might not have a parent to pick them up at 4pm-ish to go ahead and participate and still catch a bus home. What a wonderful service for kids who don't yet drive and who have parents that work and can't give them a ride. I heard this from my new FWCHS parent friend today and BOY was I excited! My son will be participating in Cross Country and/or marching band this fall and I was perplexed on how to get him home. Now my mind is half at ease...it will be fully at ease once I call and get the specifics on the late bus and make sure he's qualified to ride it home.
So far I have spoken with: Mr. Hicks, office workers, Coach Redditt (Cross Country), Mr. Holmes (band) and Mr. Kebschull (FWCHS website admin.). I can't tell you how nice everyone has been and how receptive/helpful they have been to me thus far. My son reports the same of his teachers. We were on the website this weekend (www.fayettewarehighschool.com ) and he was pointing out everyone to me (teacher photo). He is happy about going to school in the morning and seems positive when returning home.
I have semi-figured out the last hour question (advisory). It seems that it isn't a true hour, but only the end of their day. He basically has 4 classes: Reading, Science, English and Instrumental Music this semester. He'll have 4 new classes next semester. The homeroom serves only as a brief starting point for the day (announcements, notes home, etc.) and then you have lunch thrown in. Each class, if you remember from blog #1, is 90 minutes. He will have 4 credits at the end of this semester. All of that is important (as I found out with my oldest) when it comes time to figure out if you can graduate or not! I hear Mr. Hicks is not a fan of study halls, so I'm not worried that my son will be thrown into some deep pit of boredom. It all seems to be working out.
I will be going to the office tomorrow morning to finish up registration (proof of residency - thank you Dr. Gray for enforcing this system wide!) and also to finish the task of getting his elective course work switched to something different. I think it's pretty neat that FWCHS offers course work towards a certain skill set. The older I've gotten the more important it seems to find direction and interest BEFORE you are off to college and take a bunch of filler classes because you don't know what you like/dislike. I'm hoping that the FWCHS course work will either gear my son towards engineering or show him that he can't stand it so he doesn't waste time in college.
One thing I've noticed so far is that communication to parents might be a little less frequent at FWCHS than at FA...I haven't gotten any notes on marching band or cross country (which both start tomorrow) - had to call and ask for info. But...that could be my son just not getting the info to me. FA was always pretty good about sending notes or emails about different issues. I also haven't heard about any homework/grade checking service via the internet like FA had with "Renweb". That was a nice service and something that I will miss, but it was an "extra" and I'm okay with not having it if need be. The other mis-communication came with summer reading. Turns out that it was supposed to be mandatory, but since the kids weren't sent home a letter about summer reading (it was only on the website and I happened to see it and made my son do it) then Mr. Kebschull is going to speak to administration to get it turned into extra credit rather than mandatory reading and cleared up for next year's freshmen. He apologized for any confusion (on behalf of the school) and promised to look into it.
I finished up the first edition of the FWCHS newsletter today. I hope people get involved with the PTO at the school - I am glad I have! The officers are first rate and so wonderful! In putting together the newsletter I discovered that they ran a mural contest for the students last year and had the winning design painted on the outside of the school and the other designs painted on the inside. They also added landscaping to the grounds this summer and several other things. The biggest thing is that the PTO is trying to change the graduation ceremony from the gym to Bellevue Baptist Church. This is important to me because the one negative I constantly hear about FWCHS is that the graduation is horrible due to the fact that people are stuffed into a hot gym. I definitely want a better experience for my son in 4 year's time!
That's it for Day 3. So far, so good....that makes a mom pretty darn happy...:)
Friday, August 6, 2010
Day 2....My son is a freshman!
WELCOME TO MY BLOG (or attempt at one!)...
Just getting started, but I thought this Blog Spot might be a helpful way for other parents in Fayette County to get a perspective on the public high school vs. private high school in Fayette County, TN. We just enrolled son #2 at the public high school and he's a freshman. Son #1 went to private school in Fayette County, so I will present a perspective on both types of education through this blog. This should be interesting! I will try to update daily and be HONEST - the good, the bad, the ugly.
From now on (here and in future entries)...
Fayette Academy = FA (http://www.fayetteacademy.com/)
Rossville Christian Academy = RCA (http://www.rossvillechristian.com/)
Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School = FWCHS (http://www.fayettewarehighschool.com/ )
Fayette County Schools = FCS (http://www.fayette.k12.tn.us/ )
A bit of history...
I grew up in the Mid-West and there was ONLY public school to choose from in my hometown. We moved to this area in the mid-90s and all of my children attended/are attending FCS since 1999. Son #1 went to Oakland Elementary until 7th grade and then transferred to FA. Son #2 went through Oakland Elementary and West Jr. High through 8th grade and is continuing on to FWCHS. I also have one in West Jr. High (was at Southwest Elementary last year) and Oakland Elementary this year. That's 4 kids...pray for me please!
Once our oldest son (now graduated) became a senior and we started thinking about college and tuition, etc. we reflected on all the $ we had spent on private education (approximately $33,000 total for grades 7-12) and how that would have possibly been better saved towards college. Don't get me wrong...FA was a nice school and my Son #1 had very little in the way of problems there. But, we had heard some really nice things about FWCHS from family friends and contacts and decided that we would give it a try and put the money we would have been spending on private tuition towards a college savings fund for Son #2. With two other children left after him we are hopeful that this plan works!
The one big thing I am nervous about is the one thing that FWCHS is missing compared to FA (relevant to my son anyway)....a soccer program. This was a big hurdle for us as Son #2 LOVES soccer! FA started their soccer program about 5 years ago and the coach is a really great coach/role model. FWCHS doesn't have a soccer program...YET! One thing I did was email Mr. Hicks (principal of FWCHS) to tell him how much my son would like to play soccer. HE WAS RECEPTIVE! He said he would like to have soccer at FWCHS and will talk with one of the teachers who formally played semi-pro soccer to see about coaching. I am waiting to hear back on this - I'll keep that endeavor updated within this blog. Hopefully there can be at least an intramural team this year with travelling next year. With the popularity of the YMCA soccer in Fayette County I think this would be a great plus to our public school system.
When I said that FWCHS doesn't have soccer compared to FA, I failed to mention something in reverse...last year FA cut out their Cross Country program because it wasn't popular enough with the kids (however the interest has remained steady there since Son #1 started the 7th grade and running Cross Country)...basically it was on the bottom of the totem pole as far as sports there and they just did away with it in 2009. FWCHS not only has a Cross Country team, but also a Track and Field Team - something FA doesn't have either. So...it runs both ways I suppose. If I can help to get soccer implemented at FWCHS I will be one happy momma!
This is Day 2 of the 2010-2011 school year. I didn't think about creating this blog until today, so let me give you a brief synopsis of Day 1 for Son #2 at FWCHS:
Day 1:
School starts at 7:25am which is good since I have to drop my younger children at Oakland Schools by 8:25am. After one final check of his cool new hairdo in car mirror, I dropped Son #2 off at the FWCHS gym for an assembly. I basically said, "Good luck!" and secretly winced because I am unsure about how it "works" at FWCHS. He went nervously into the assembly and I left. He was to ride the bus home and I was nervous about that too, but...
at the end of Day 1 Son #2 reported that HE LIKED IT (oh - he made it home fine on the bus)!!! Whoo hoo! He was directed after the assembly to his homeroom where they gave him info on school supplies, his schedule, etc. FWCHS has the "NGA" or "Ninth Grade Academy" and basically all the 9th graders have classes together in their own hall separate from the rest of the high school. Honor students (my son has some honors classes) do have to venture out to other classes, however.
He made it through the day finding comfort in fellow friends from West Jr. High (as well as making a few friends with East Jr. High kids). We are a little confused about his schedule, so I emailed Mr. Hicks and got a response within a couple of hours. He told me to tell Son #2 to come to his office for help with changing his schedule.
FWCHS has a pretty well-rounded curriculum with electives chosen in a certain field or course of study (Son #2 was signed up for the wrong field and we wanted to change). They also run on a "block" schedule where they take different classes first/second semesters and complete one whole credit per class each semester. That will be good for my son as he gets bored easily. The class times (from what I understand so far) run 90 minutes instead of an hour, so they fit more class time in the 90 days during the semester than would a high school with 1 hour class periods. Hope this makes sense!
The course and graduation requirements can be found on the FWCHS website. FA and RCA offer the same on their website. One item of note...I believe FWCHS offers a lot more choice of classes than either FA or RCA. For instance, my son will be able to pick between French and Spanish for a foreign language - at FA & RCA only Spanish is offered. This is another reason (class choices) we decided to try FWCHS.
Moving on...
After looking at his schedule post-Day1, we are not certain what the "advisory" period he has during 7th hour is - I just emailed the counselor this morning and am waiting to hear back. We don't want Son #2 stuck in study halls - would rather he take other elective classes if possible. I know it's the first week, so I'm going to give her until Tuesday morning before I call to check up. At FA Ms. Scates (the counselor/advisor) would usually respond ASAP via email or call you back if you left a message. We'll see how that compares at FWCHS.
One thing of note also...FA always had "required summer reading". Because I checked out the FWCHS website this summer I saw that they also had a summer reading list, but this must be "extra credit" because we never received a note or mailing home about mandatory reading. I'm trying to clear this up and will mention to Mr. Hicks/Dr. Gray (new superintendent) that maybe next year a note should go home through the Jr. Highs (maybe it was supposed to and just didn't?). Anyway...it was a good thing to do for my son this summer when he claimed he was bored!
So that's it for my first entry and Day 2. Hope you found my blabbering helpful! I know I got my info from others going through FWCHS last year, so maybe next year(s) you'll be able to say the same thing! Beth :)
p.s. Forgot to mention that over the summer I also had contact with the officers of the FWCHS PTO to offer my services to the PTO (newsletter for the school). I WAS SO WELCOMED...I feel I have made parental friends and allies already! When my older son started to attend FA I twice contacted (once by phone and once in person) the PTO president at the time. Although we had a brief, friendly conversation in which I offered my help with PTO projects or a newsletter, etc., I never heard back from her about helping with anything. That was disappointing to me as a new parent. I told you I was going to be honest...anyway...see you next entry!
Just getting started, but I thought this Blog Spot might be a helpful way for other parents in Fayette County to get a perspective on the public high school vs. private high school in Fayette County, TN. We just enrolled son #2 at the public high school and he's a freshman. Son #1 went to private school in Fayette County, so I will present a perspective on both types of education through this blog. This should be interesting! I will try to update daily and be HONEST - the good, the bad, the ugly.
From now on (here and in future entries)...
Fayette Academy = FA (http://www.fayetteacademy.com/)
Rossville Christian Academy = RCA (http://www.rossvillechristian.com/)
Fayette Ware Comprehensive High School = FWCHS (http://www.fayettewarehighschool.com/ )
Fayette County Schools = FCS (http://www.fayette.k12.tn.us/ )
A bit of history...
I grew up in the Mid-West and there was ONLY public school to choose from in my hometown. We moved to this area in the mid-90s and all of my children attended/are attending FCS since 1999. Son #1 went to Oakland Elementary until 7th grade and then transferred to FA. Son #2 went through Oakland Elementary and West Jr. High through 8th grade and is continuing on to FWCHS. I also have one in West Jr. High (was at Southwest Elementary last year) and Oakland Elementary this year. That's 4 kids...pray for me please!
Once our oldest son (now graduated) became a senior and we started thinking about college and tuition, etc. we reflected on all the $ we had spent on private education (approximately $33,000 total for grades 7-12) and how that would have possibly been better saved towards college. Don't get me wrong...FA was a nice school and my Son #1 had very little in the way of problems there. But, we had heard some really nice things about FWCHS from family friends and contacts and decided that we would give it a try and put the money we would have been spending on private tuition towards a college savings fund for Son #2. With two other children left after him we are hopeful that this plan works!
The one big thing I am nervous about is the one thing that FWCHS is missing compared to FA (relevant to my son anyway)....a soccer program. This was a big hurdle for us as Son #2 LOVES soccer! FA started their soccer program about 5 years ago and the coach is a really great coach/role model. FWCHS doesn't have a soccer program...YET! One thing I did was email Mr. Hicks (principal of FWCHS) to tell him how much my son would like to play soccer. HE WAS RECEPTIVE! He said he would like to have soccer at FWCHS and will talk with one of the teachers who formally played semi-pro soccer to see about coaching. I am waiting to hear back on this - I'll keep that endeavor updated within this blog. Hopefully there can be at least an intramural team this year with travelling next year. With the popularity of the YMCA soccer in Fayette County I think this would be a great plus to our public school system.
When I said that FWCHS doesn't have soccer compared to FA, I failed to mention something in reverse...last year FA cut out their Cross Country program because it wasn't popular enough with the kids (however the interest has remained steady there since Son #1 started the 7th grade and running Cross Country)...basically it was on the bottom of the totem pole as far as sports there and they just did away with it in 2009. FWCHS not only has a Cross Country team, but also a Track and Field Team - something FA doesn't have either. So...it runs both ways I suppose. If I can help to get soccer implemented at FWCHS I will be one happy momma!
This is Day 2 of the 2010-2011 school year. I didn't think about creating this blog until today, so let me give you a brief synopsis of Day 1 for Son #2 at FWCHS:
Day 1:
School starts at 7:25am which is good since I have to drop my younger children at Oakland Schools by 8:25am. After one final check of his cool new hairdo in car mirror, I dropped Son #2 off at the FWCHS gym for an assembly. I basically said, "Good luck!" and secretly winced because I am unsure about how it "works" at FWCHS. He went nervously into the assembly and I left. He was to ride the bus home and I was nervous about that too, but...
at the end of Day 1 Son #2 reported that HE LIKED IT (oh - he made it home fine on the bus)!!! Whoo hoo! He was directed after the assembly to his homeroom where they gave him info on school supplies, his schedule, etc. FWCHS has the "NGA" or "Ninth Grade Academy" and basically all the 9th graders have classes together in their own hall separate from the rest of the high school. Honor students (my son has some honors classes) do have to venture out to other classes, however.
He made it through the day finding comfort in fellow friends from West Jr. High (as well as making a few friends with East Jr. High kids). We are a little confused about his schedule, so I emailed Mr. Hicks and got a response within a couple of hours. He told me to tell Son #2 to come to his office for help with changing his schedule.
FWCHS has a pretty well-rounded curriculum with electives chosen in a certain field or course of study (Son #2 was signed up for the wrong field and we wanted to change). They also run on a "block" schedule where they take different classes first/second semesters and complete one whole credit per class each semester. That will be good for my son as he gets bored easily. The class times (from what I understand so far) run 90 minutes instead of an hour, so they fit more class time in the 90 days during the semester than would a high school with 1 hour class periods. Hope this makes sense!
The course and graduation requirements can be found on the FWCHS website. FA and RCA offer the same on their website. One item of note...I believe FWCHS offers a lot more choice of classes than either FA or RCA. For instance, my son will be able to pick between French and Spanish for a foreign language - at FA & RCA only Spanish is offered. This is another reason (class choices) we decided to try FWCHS.
Moving on...
After looking at his schedule post-Day1, we are not certain what the "advisory" period he has during 7th hour is - I just emailed the counselor this morning and am waiting to hear back. We don't want Son #2 stuck in study halls - would rather he take other elective classes if possible. I know it's the first week, so I'm going to give her until Tuesday morning before I call to check up. At FA Ms. Scates (the counselor/advisor) would usually respond ASAP via email or call you back if you left a message. We'll see how that compares at FWCHS.
One thing of note also...FA always had "required summer reading". Because I checked out the FWCHS website this summer I saw that they also had a summer reading list, but this must be "extra credit" because we never received a note or mailing home about mandatory reading. I'm trying to clear this up and will mention to Mr. Hicks/Dr. Gray (new superintendent) that maybe next year a note should go home through the Jr. Highs (maybe it was supposed to and just didn't?). Anyway...it was a good thing to do for my son this summer when he claimed he was bored!
So that's it for my first entry and Day 2. Hope you found my blabbering helpful! I know I got my info from others going through FWCHS last year, so maybe next year(s) you'll be able to say the same thing! Beth :)
p.s. Forgot to mention that over the summer I also had contact with the officers of the FWCHS PTO to offer my services to the PTO (newsletter for the school). I WAS SO WELCOMED...I feel I have made parental friends and allies already! When my older son started to attend FA I twice contacted (once by phone and once in person) the PTO president at the time. Although we had a brief, friendly conversation in which I offered my help with PTO projects or a newsletter, etc., I never heard back from her about helping with anything. That was disappointing to me as a new parent. I told you I was going to be honest...anyway...see you next entry!
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