Twenty minutes ago, Jennifer left Auburn Senior High for the very last time. Locker cleaned out, yearbook signed, last French test completed, paintings done (I know, I helped) and word jumble done (Gary helped with that). 

Done, done and done. All she needs to do now is walk across the stage on Sunday at the Auburn High School stadium and this 12 year journey is done, and the reset button is hit for college (Seattle University). 

I've been watching the Decorah Eagles since February, I can here the 3 fledged chicks crying int he background. They are as big as their parents and calling out to them as they fly away and then come back, and fly away again. They have left the nest, almost. Mom and Dad are hanging around to call encouraging squeals, but the young eagles now have to hunt for themselves. 

Much like this summer, Jennifer will have to be learning to hunt for herself. Landing back at home, calling out, but in 10 more weeks, flying away, probably for good (I'm assuming she won't be one of those grads that will be moving in to the ol' homestead 4 years from now, but we'll see).

She was grousing that Gary and I need to get out more, and stop waiting for her to come home. Gary quipped that on Sept. 18, when she's experiencing her first days as a Redhawk, we''ll go to Hawaii for two weeks. She frowned. Yes, J, mom and dad can start leaving the nest too.

Meet the teachers

It was open house at J's high school last night. And since Gary went last night, my turn.

So that meant arriving late, as usual, and then trying to find her class in the maze that can be this Auburn high school.
First up was her history teacher, which Jennifer and I agree gives off the vibes of a lost puppy. But he has a love for vintage guitars, and jazz, and he's a lute, and his wife is going through chemo right now...so I told Jennifer to have his back and be nice to him. I like him.

Math teacher is her v-ball coach, and when I asked about ways to push Jennifer, she rolled her eyes.

"Frankly, she's so good at math, I'm not sure you can push her now," Ms. Farris said.

Great. I'm not going to tell J that.

Chemistry check, senior project group (led by the lead football coach) check, and French teacher, check. Alas, most of the time is was a handful of us showing up for these meetings, maybe 6 or so. Sometimes as few as 3. And I could tell that we weren't the parents that really needed to show up.

In fact when Farris asked her class if their parent were coming tonight, J raised her hand along with a few others.

"Of course," she said, looking at Jennifer. "Your parents are always there."

Finally, last check in.

It's her AP lit teacher, who seems like a sharp man. Of course no one asked questions but me, usually (I asked gary if it was the same for him last year and it was)

But after his speeal, I came up and asked him his favorite books or book and how many times he'd read it (for me and J it's GWTW, I've read it 4 x, she's read it 2x).

He looked at me blankly for a second and then sputtered out The Great Gatsby, and a few others that I can't remember, having read them in college but yeah, that was about it. When I asked what he liked about it, I could tell a. he'd never been asked this before and b. certainly didn't want to engage in follow up questions.

OK, fine. Time to go home anyway and engage myself in the mindless TV program of dances with stars.

Checks, and more checks

It was registration day at my daughter's high school yesterday, and all I seemed to be good for is writing the checks.

Yearbook...$60. $63 if you wanted a name plate

ASB card...That will be $130 please. $50 for a replacement if you lose it.

Sports card...(yes, there is a difference) $30

PTSA...$15

And if we want a discount to all the games all year long, a family pass if you will that will be $180.

And this doesn't count the $$ for the school clothes shopping and the school supplies.

That sucking sound you here is my bank account.,

Beginnings and endings

Haven't posted in awhile, but frankly, I"ve been exhausted.

End of summer, start of school, and not only that, the start of 9th grade, HIGH SCHOOL, for Jennifer. She had her entire week's clothes planned out last Sunday night across the living room couch. Complete with shoes and jewelry. Her father took her the first day, to arrive precisely at 7:45 am, where a friend would be waiting to walk with her to her locker.

Instructions to dad: No hugging, no honking or waving goodbye. For heavens sake, don't get out of the car or acknowledge your daughter in any way. Don't say "Have a good day grumpy cheeks" or any other of your pet names for her.

Anyway, first day good. And today was her 15th b-day. So we took two or her friends out to the mall, but first to dinner, where they chattered like magpies at the end of the table, and refused to let us join their conversation, as they compared their first week of school.

As Gary headed home, I took them to the mall.

"Mom, you're not going to come with us are you," J. asked, as I made to tag along with.

Okay fine, pick me up at the book store in an hour. Answer your cell when I call.

Walking ATM at your service

Today, Jennifer registered for classes at Auburn Senior High. And it was like going to Disneyland. Stand in a lot of lines, pay a lot of $$. There were lines for ASB, yearbook, PTSA, PE lockers, which were respectively $45, $75, $30 and $5. And oh yeah, pictures, $30 please.

And of course she had to have a new pair of jeans (for registration?) and pick just the right top. When she finally got her class schedule, she quickly found her friends and started comparing. There are one or two in every class, it seems. But none in French, in which she might be the only freshman.

We were going to get her sports card, but then I opened up my big mouth and said yes, she's had a physical, but no the doc hadn't signed her report. Nope, no card for you. My daughter glares. I decide I'm going to forge the stupid signature(after waiting about an hour) and take it back, but then my honest Abe hubby tells me no, that could get us in trouble.

I'm still considering.

Eighth grade graduation

It's not as uncommon as I first thought, according to this NYT piece.

I think the principal said it best when he did a Rent-like countdown at Friday's graduation at Cascade Middle School.

70 days- they are 9th graders, at the bottom of the heap again.

360 days-most of them will have their drivers' licenses

1300 days, they will be graduating high school, on the road to college or a craft, we hope.

And as a parting piece, here is a slide show about a professional musician who taught band in middle school. God bless her.

High School, the final choice

It looks as if J is going to Auburn Senior High School. She's registered (and they didn't lose it, not once) and she's waivered and in the honors program.

It came down to where the majority of her friends were going AND (before you start pelting me with snarky comments about being the adult) checking out the honors program. You must understand she's in a school that is now a bit in the hood, and has great honors program. And she's thrived, and found a good set of friends that we'd hope she'd group up with three years ago when Thomas Academy closed, and scattered her friends (then) to the four winds.

So there it is. I do plan to at least talk to her biology and math teacher, and maybe lit, and check out how enthusiastic they are about their jobs. But for now, the decision's been made, and she's signing up for the sports teams as we speak.

High School Angst, Part III

I've just been trying to untangle where J. is actually registered at for next year.

I guess the answer is both at Auburn Mountainview and Auburn Senior High. I received a letter in the mail last week, announcing that AMV had received J.'s waiver and it had been accepted. Now, could we please register her for classes.

????

J. had already sent one registration packet in about two months ago. They lost that. So she filled out another one and sent it to counselors from AMV visiting the school. They lost that too. Well, maybe lost isn't the right term.

Through some form of IT magic I don't understand, the registration packet ended up over at ASH, so she's all set for classes over there. They are now awaiting her waiver to be approved (I waivered her to both schools, until we made up our minds.)

So this weekend, we were filling out class schedule #3 to AMV, and I'm calling the district offices today, to see whither her waiver to ASH. Frankly, at this stage of the game, I'm about ready to cut bait and let her go to ASH. She has a good group of friends, she's in the honors classes she wants, and I've been reading blogs about the school. Both students and parents have posted some pretty good comments. They were pretty negative before 2004, before AMV opened. I think ASH had over 3,000 kids then. Overcrowding seemed to be making both the students and the parents act like lab rats.

Unless of course, the waiver has been lost in the IT ether too. And I have no idea whether her best friend, who started this fall down the rabbit hole, has been accepted into ASH as either.

Knowing Karma as I do (even before I started watching My Name is Earl), let me guess. J. ends up going to ASH, and BF gets kicked back to AMV, where she was set to go in the first place.

Social vs. Scholastic, Part Duex

Okay, it's coming down to crunch time.

J. is on track to go to Auburn Mountainview, and the fix is in (I think). We had been planning on inertia making sure her BF came with her, but just before spring break started this week, we learned she'd turned in her waiver to Auburn Senior High School. Damn it.

So now what?

Mountainview is a superior school, with generally better teachers, and more honors offerings. However, if BF goes to Auburn Senior High, there goes J.'s afterschool ride, and there goes most of her friends.

Now, I know, you can always make new friends. But these friends are a good lot. And they will have more influence over her as time goes on, I know.

So do you pick a better school, or an established group of friends, all on the honors track? And for those of you that remember this angst from 3 months back, yes, I'm still chewing on it.

The New Black, Part Deux

First off, we watched this post on a friend's blog tonight and just laughed! B-word, the new black. It's a Tina Fey SNL skit on Hillary.

Which brings us to the new black under my roof. J. took a career/skills test at school, and came out with high marks in science, leadership and persuasion. And assertiveness. Not so much on accommodating skills however.

"A bit bossy, huh?" I laughed.

"I am not!" she said.

I pointed out this was a good thing, referring to the "the new black."

Society or Scholastics

Coming down to the wire on what high school to go to.

Both girls agreed to go to an open house at Auburn Mountainview, and I think they were impressed, even though most of their friends are still going to Auburn Senior High. To recap, J.'s BF was slated to go to Auburn Mountainview, so we thought the matter was settled. But then BF's dad (parent's are divorced) wants her to go to Auburn Senior High. So the tug and pull continues.

There are more honors classes at AMV, and it's a newer school. But the refrain of "all my friends are going to ASH" is beginning to wear Gary and I down. Everyone once and awhile a helpful friend sez, "You need to be the adult here." Thanks for that.

That's the school where all the snobs go

That's the biggest argument so far on where J. wants, and doesn't want to go to school. All along, her father and I were thinking of wavering her yet again out of the Kent School District and sending her to Auburn Mountainview High School.

But apparently, she's made a bunch of friends her middle school, which are all going to Auburn High. Except her BF, of course, who is going to Auburn Moutainview, but is busy needling her parents on the issue as well to change their minds.

She'd do well at either, of course, it's just that Auburn Mountainview is less crowded and has a program that sets the kids on the college/career track from the get-go called ROAR. But all her friends are going to AHS. She might have trouble getting into the AP classes she wants. But all her friends go to AHS.

So round and round we go.

"The only thing that's better about Mountainview, mom, is that the boys are hotter there," she said, during one of this loop-de-loop discussions.

If her dad heard that, he might change his mind.