Yesterday was a looooong day. I arrived a little before 9:30 to help set up. HS graduation was at 11:00 am, kindergarten promotion was at 2:00 pm, and 8th grade promotion was at 4:00 pm. Then we had to pack up. I think we were done at about 6:30 pm.
The HS graduation was very serious, the kindergarten promotion was cute, and the 8th grade promotion was loud and boisterous.
A number of our middle-school students attend athletic centers. These are all-day training facilities that feed on parents’ desires to have their kid be a star athlete. The focus is on getting the kids into private high schools that excel in sports. Parents are under the impression that the center is also a school, but they aren’t. Instead they help the families enroll in various independent study charter schools, like mine. Kids only have 1 1/2 to 2 hours to do their school work, then parents don’t understand why their child needs to do more work at home. It is not uncommon for parents to request that their child repeat the 8th grade, in order for them to be bigger, stronger, and faster when the start HS. One of these centers rented the ballroom next to the one we used for graduation. They had an open bar and parents were getting hammered before the ceremony (and even more so afterwards). We tried asking people to leave their alcoholic beverages outside, but there were only two of us manning four sets of doors, so some parents just walked down to the other doors. I think next year we’re going to put a sign in the hallway -- no alcohol allowed beyond this point.
A very busy and long day for you, Paddy. I would have thought that the HS graduation would be the last and the young kindergartners first in the morning.
We used to do that, but the place is a mess after the 8th grade promotion and we want everything perfect for the HS graduation, as that’s really the most important one. So we switched the order and the hotel staff cleans up after the 8th grade mess.
Happy weekend, GN. Anyone heard from Dv8 lately? Hope he’s doing OK.
Happy Saturday, Gerbil Nation!
Good morning, Sven!
Excellent thread-pic, Mac!
Sven -- I haven’t heard from Dv8. I hope all is well with him and Harper.
Yesterday was a looooong day. I arrived a little before 9:30 to help set up. HS graduation was at 11:00 am, kindergarten promotion was at 2:00 pm, and 8th grade promotion was at 4:00 pm. Then we had to pack up. I think we were done at about 6:30 pm.
The HS graduation was very serious, the kindergarten promotion was cute, and the 8th grade promotion was loud and boisterous.
A number of our middle-school students attend athletic centers. These are all-day training facilities that feed on parents’ desires to have their kid be a star athlete. The focus is on getting the kids into private high schools that excel in sports. Parents are under the impression that the center is also a school, but they aren’t. Instead they help the families enroll in various independent study charter schools, like mine. Kids only have 1 1/2 to 2 hours to do their school work, then parents don’t understand why their child needs to do more work at home. It is not uncommon for parents to request that their child repeat the 8th grade, in order for them to be bigger, stronger, and faster when the start HS. One of these centers rented the ballroom next to the one we used for graduation. They had an open bar and parents were getting hammered before the ceremony (and even more so afterwards). We tried asking people to leave their alcoholic beverages outside, but there were only two of us manning four sets of doors, so some parents just walked down to the other doors. I think next year we’re going to put a sign in the hallway -- no alcohol allowed beyond this point.
A very busy and long day for you, Paddy. I would have thought that the HS graduation would be the last and the young kindergartners first in the morning.
We used to do that, but the place is a mess after the 8th grade promotion and we want everything perfect for the HS graduation, as that’s really the most important one. So we switched the order and the hotel staff cleans up after the 8th grade mess.