[+]If there's the dc of a celeb/"bold-named" in your dc's class is it completely 'normal'-- do they interact w/class, go to school functions. Do they befriend any of the other parents? Are your dc friends? BTW -I'm a public school parent, just curious.
65 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]Good question, but I believe most people on here will feel that they are to "cool" to answer question.
[ Reply | Options ]I grew up in WashDC. Parents of my friends were household-name politicians and journalists. (Nothing like talking to BF's dad when his face is on the TV in the background.) Just act normal and talk about normal things. But don't pretend you don't know who they are.
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Hey! Sidwell alum here. Big names were everywhere. But unlike NYC, the big names in DC actually WERE important. Not just rich or famous.
[ Reply | Options ]politicians are NOT important. they are high-level bureaucrats. they are not glamorous. and they are ugly. would much rather see movie stars at curriculum night than some loser congressman.
[ Reply | Options ]Let me assure you, top pols are every bit as exciting as movie stars. And second-tier pols as boring as your average TV actor.
[ Reply | Options ]I'm the Sidwell poster and I wasn't referring only to politicians, in fact, didn't think of them in that post. Bob Woodward, Marion Wright Edelman, Mike Wallace, etc. But of course, meeting Bill and Hillary at the annual auction was cool too.
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there was a celebrity dad we knew. his wife was really nice and did all pick-up/drop-off. he was usually on tour, but when he was around he was not very nice. our kids were friends, but even at playdates, if he was around he was really cold and aloof. i think it had more to do with being a jerk than being a celebrity, though! didn't volunteer to fix/build things like many of the other dads or anything like that.
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there was one family in dd's school. very normal. mom (who was the celeb) would pick up her own kids and others after school in her suv. kids participated in plays, chorus, fundraising - just like anyone else. Parents showed up to conferences etc, no fanfare. i didnt know her personally (differnt grade)but she always said hi to me and everyone else and she had several close friends in other moms who were not celebs/super wealthy. It;s probably one of the few places where they can feel normal. their kids hung out with all the kids in their classes.
[ Reply | Options ]When I was a little girl I saw Roxie Roker and her kid at the airport. That kid, who was about my age, grew up to be that one guy on the radio. And they totally snubbed my mom and I.
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I'll bite- there is the dc of a famous actress in my ds's preschool class- I noticed this child from the get go because they are exceptionally beautiful looking- had no idea whatsoever that the parents were famous until I got the class list. This should give you a clue- they are very low key parents- the less famous parent is an active member of the school community - the much more famous one is much lower key- just modestly does pick up and drop off- some kids in the class with nannies do playdates with this child- who, despite being child model looking- is a typical charming normal 3yo-you'd never know in a million years.
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Not me, but a good friend's dc goes to school w/dc of someone extremely famous. My friend has become a "mom friend" of this actress and it is hilarious to think about b/c my friend is so down to earth and non show-biz. But the kids have play dates together etc. and she and this actress are just like regular mom friends.
[ Reply | Options ]i'm a public mom with experience with a couple bold-faced names. the ones i know are completely normal in their interactions with the class but there are boundaries. the home is pretty much off limits, personal information isn't included on the class list. that sort of thing.
[ Reply | Options ]We have the child of a very famous personality in DS's class. The Dad (the famous one) has been around upon occasiona nd his wife goes to all b'day parties etc. It must be hard for her but she sucks it up! Very good for the kid, I think. Half the class skips parties because of country houses but they go.
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[+]Gift ideas please for twin 6yo ds and dd. $25 each. thanks!
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the fun of the jewelry making kit is MAKING the jewelry as well as wearing it. I see nothing wrong with that. It takes skill and creativity. Girls would like an ant farm too and she can play with it with her bro and I have a sneaking suspicion that bro will want in on the jewelry making.
[ Reply | Options ]by the way, I am the OR and I am an engineer. always loved science. and I loved creating and designing things. Perhaps that what inspired my ideas. Get over yourself already and silly concerns about being un-pc. Girls can do whatever they want today!! I hope you moms out there are not denying your little girls pink and frills and jewelry making kits because you think it is not pc.
[ Reply | Options ]I think that either is fine as a gift individually, but together they scream "I believe in ridiculous gender stereotypes". IMO, if you don't know the DC well enough give something you know they would really like, give something gender neutral. (And I would consider the ant farm a gender-neutral toy, not a "boy" gift.)
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mindware is a great company to check out for books and games that are challenging, especially for kids who are puzzle-solvers
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[+]When do sibling applicants hear about kindergarten? Not sure that my ds will get in and very nervous.
16 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]If you applied through Early Notification then you hear sometime in December or January. If you're so nervous, what's the matter? Why can't you talk candidly with the AD. If you're nervous, maybe the school isn't the right fit for the next child. I have three dc in three different schools. Sure it's a lot of work, but I care that they have the right place for themselves. I get so annoyed with selfish parents who just want expedience and don't look at other schools for second, third and fourth kids. Did you even bother to apply to another school or two? Take the tour?
[ Reply | Options ]I hear that schools are trying to admit more only children from older parents so they won't have so many difficult sibling cases.
[ Reply | Options ]The dumbest kids in my ds class are siblings. Schools should take kids who merit the spots and not stupid siblings. Would help for development too.
[ Reply | Options ]Dinging sibs is surely *not* good for development! It just makes families angry.
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Our #3 was dinged, with 99erbs, 2nd round hunter scores, and with what our psd was such a good school report, she did not think it was worth applying elsewhere. So we didn't, and ended up having to scramble. Sometimes there is just not enough space, we were not big donors, just kind of unimportant people.
[ Reply | Options ]OMG I can't even imagine how upset you must have been, assuming this post is real (and I really want to believe it isn't).
[ Reply | Options ]Sadly, it is real, and while dc is very happy now at another school, I feel unwelcome at the school now, and I used to be very involved. I feel like they do not like us, and it is hurtful for younger one to now come along to school functions etc. Raises questions I do not want him to deal with at such a young age.
[ Reply | Options ]wow... that is a really awful position that the school put your family in!! I just hope it works out better for your 3rd in the long run. I can totally see how it now colours the experience for you/your elder two DCs too. We are applying out this year with our 1st but your post makes me very nervous for #2/3 in a couple of years!
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There are so many sibs in my ds class that there is barely room for any new families in the school. Agree that sibs tend to be the weakest in the class and the parents get really clannish.
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[+]What are the boarding schools close to NYC that are good? Which are good but not all that well known?
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[+]ps 87 or ps 166? Which is better? Do either have extra teachers in the classroom?
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[+]Looking up some old posts about preschools in westchester - particularly Elmwood in White Plains. Most seem very favorable but a while back someone called Elmwood a "Pressure cooker". What does that mean and does anyone know how it is now?
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neither. just make sure your child gets plenty of rest and read to them a lot and analyze stories and pictures
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[+]Hollingworth Science camp parents - read your post. Fascinating. If you don't mind - what is he cost of the camp? Thanks
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It is 2200 for the month of July. It is a great camp. Yes, it is tough to get into, but for a few hours of pain, your dc can go there for the next 4 or 5 summers. And it is completely untrue and unfair to say they get a kick out of it. We've done the waiting overnight thing twice now for 2 dc and we've found them to be extremely nice and respectful.
[ Reply | Options ]I agree w/you. The admin. does not get a kick out of it. There are just more dc than the camp can accommodate, and this being NYC, the line waiting becomes another endurance trial. That said, the camp is a wonderful learning experience for dc and worth some hours of parental discomfort.
[ Reply | Options ]NP: Former Hollingworth Preschool parent here. There are much better ways they could handle the science camp sign-up that would avoid having people line up at 3am and they know it. Lisa likes it.
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but then it would be entirely chance whether your kid gets in or not. At least this way, the parent has some control over the process.
[ Reply | Options ]NNP: The process is basically only fair now to people who read UB. Normal people would show up shortly before the stated time, not at 4am. Therefore, they have no chance. It's BS.
[ Reply | Options ]actually, the Hollingworth people were the ones who first warned me that I would have to show up early. They wouldn't tell me how early, but I took it upon myself to figure it out via a UB search. I feel bad for the parents who didn't know, but there's always next year. I noticed that the two parents who arrived at 8 pm the night before were parents who showed up too late the previous year.
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Sorry, this is summer camp, anyone who is interested and able to apply within a reasonable time frame should have a shot at getting a spot for their child. It isn't a question of who is the absolutely freakiest parent who can get there 2 days before and sleep out.
[ Reply | Options ]I think you should be able to apply for summer camp in March frankly. It's New York, there are a lot of people. As a parent of kids who go there I liked knowing that I had some control about them getting in. It is an amazing camp for kids who enjoy science and I'm determined to find the money for it as long as my kids want to go there. At least you don't have to wait in line every year and they do try to make it nicer with food etc.
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np: either the lottery will suck or lining up will suck. I think it's better to let parents who really want their kids to attend to be able to do what it takes to get them in, i.e. stand in line for hours. There's a large degree of self-selection here -- kids who come from families where the parents are extremely motivated and involved and want the best for their kids. Not saying that parents who don't line up aren't like that, but the ones who do are definitely like that.
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You are one of those parents who would have to stand there 36 hours in advance if necessary, right? A lottery would put a stop to your competitiveness. How about the folks that don't have the time to stand in line like that? They are not supposed to have a shot for their children?
[ Reply | Options ]it's not competitiveness, but you're entitled to view it in the most negative light possible. It's a bunch of parents who are willing to stand in line for their kids. What's wrong with that? And we weren't in line for 36 hrs. More like 5 hrs and it was in the early morning hrs, so it's not as though most of us has other things to do (other than sleep).
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I think it's great that the parents are willing to do this, once, for their kids. It's more fair, IMO, than a lottery, which is dumb luck. Can't phone this one in. Parents aren't freaky, or not more than any other place in NYC, for sure - but it does select for families for whom this will be a longtime, valuable experience and they know it.
[ Reply | Options ]I live in NYC and think this is ridiculous. A lot of the popular summer camps fill up early (Oct-Nov-Dec). I know when I called Riverdale in Feb to get a spot for my dc that year, I was told they had been filled up in November for his age group. So the next year, I knew better and signed him up in October. Point is, why does H-worth have this line up thing? Why can't they just accept apps (in the mail) starting on X date (with an earlier date for returning campers) and then when an age group fills up, it fills up. But the middle of the night thing is just plain idiotic.
[ Reply | Options ]Hollingworth camp only has 30 spots or so for kindergarteners and they fill up in a matter of minutes, not days or weeks. And there are very few spots (1-2) for older grades. So it would be really difficult to accept apps via mail. Admission would then be left up to the efficiency, or lack thereof, of the mail service. You would have people wanting to hand delivery their apps to make sure they get in early enough, and then you'd end up with the same problem. The main issue here is the high demand for very few openings.
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[+]Claremont Prep - please give me your feedback on the school. What do you know about it? Would you send your DB there??? TIA
16 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]We started recently and have been very happy and feel secure there. It's a little big for us (5 kindergarten classes of 16 kids), but maybe just because we are coming from a different preschool. It has the benefits of a large school through (great afterschool program, great facilities, great extras (DC is doing half year of French twice a week, music program has them singing hard stuff (DC demonstrated warm up vocal scales they do and last week told me the song they are singing is hard and my DC has taken private music lessons for almost 2 years)), etc. Most importantly, I feel that if there were ever any issues (behavior, academic, etc), they would be there in a second to do what it takes to solve this problem. All the heads of the sch...
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only in K but seems like they have it in hand. Heard from a mom with a 1st and 3rd grader that they have weekly spelling tests. In K math they are learning place value (up to 100), coin values and equivalencies, skip counting, measuring with unifix cubes, general stuff that they prob do at all other privates I would think. They are learning about various parts of a narrative (I can't remember details too well...think it was something about how to give details in different ways, POV, things like that). Also do journals (standard I assume everywhere), handwriting without tears, etc. Also go library (a kind of big one) once a week and do swimming once a week and PE twice a week. I'm sure I'm not doing justice to teachers' efforts, but th...
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I don't get it. Dc is in kindergarten and has been taking private music lessons for almost 2 years? What does that mean?
[ Reply | Options ]My dc also just started in K and so far I am so impressed with the school. I really have a hard time imagining what more he might be getting at a "TT." His teachers are amazing-- better even than at his fancy preschool-- and the parents seem really nice. I like the headmaster very much and agree about the overall professionalism. I think the school has managed to hire very good people who really know what they're doing. It's well organized. The kids in ds' class seem nice, bright. Haven't seen any behavior issues so far. Ds loves it and we're really pleased. I would suggest checking it out if you're interested and don't give too much weight to what you read here. I haven't come across any unhappy parents there yet.
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2.5 years there. Pulled our son out. There is a culture of Bullying at that school that can no longer be ignored. 80+ families left last year. Parents were promised 2 teachers in each classroom, now it's a shared assistant without telling the families ahead of time. It's a mess, and the headmaster is professional schmoozer who is only interested in getting families to donate. He is not a problem solver, and clearly leans in the favor of the wealthiest families.
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[+]Other than at Dalton, does it matter who interviews you? Think I've read here that it makes no difference at Collegiate. What about Riverdale? How do you think they decide who meets with DOA and who meets with assts?
11 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]I always figured that when you meet w/DOA, there must be something on the app that stands out slightly...even at the schools where it really doesn't matter if you meet with the DOA or not.
[ Reply | Options ]I kind of agree - I think for the majority it's random, but it's certainly not a bad thing if the DOA interviews you whereas who knows if not....
[ Reply | Options ]I think it's probably random to a certain point. I mean, there MUST be candidates who look slightly more appealing on paper, so why wouldn't the DOA meet with them? It just seems logical. I can't imagine they just put everyone in a pile and divvy them up. But maybe they do! I'm just hypothesizing.
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I have a pretty high-profile job, and we've interviewed w/DOAs at all of the places except Dalton, which is funny, b/c that's the one place I thought would care. :) That said, I figured that my job probably got us the DOA interview in that it stood out on the app, but other than that, the rest of the package still has to be really desirable to get an accept.
[ Reply | Options ]I think it matters everywhere. Not to say it is determinative at all, but it matters.
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[+]Any Riverdale parents (or friends of Riverdale parents) on? We love the school and think we have a decent shot at K. My only concern is what I've read here about the parent body, but I'm taking that w/grain of salt. Anyone willing to give an unbiased assessment of the parents there? We're a very laid-back UWS family - Jewish but not jappy at all.
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Thx. We know 2 fams who are not at all the description that people describe here but I wasn't sure if they were the anomaly.
[ Reply | Options ]Riverdale parent here- totally laided back family too and new to the area last year. We heard the same scary things, but we were so impressed with academics and campus so we made it our very first choice, despite the rumors. Well it turns out that it couldn't be more opposite. We couldn't be happier- with school, faculty and parent/student body! We LOVE the school and feel so fortunate to have our DC there. Good luck and hope to see you there in the fall!
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Riverdale parent here - we've really enjoyed the company of many of the parents we've met and have been surprised by the diversity of careers and personalities and the number of new friends we've made. Please feel free to ignore all the negative rhetoric you see here; it's all from people who probably have nothing to do with Riverdale and like spreading rumors.
[ Reply | Options ]riverdale parents, what % of the school do you think is jewish? doesn't matter to me but just interested.
[ Reply | Options ]Honestly, on the one hand it has that rep. On the other year, I keep meeting parents of young kids there who are completely great - intelligent, funny, decent and very self-aware. Makes me reconsider, and my kids are all set anyway.
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[+]Any Brooklyn Friends moms on? How do you like it? Saw it last week and it seemed really nice, but looking for btdts about experience there and how it compares to other schools in Brooklyn or downtown (like, LREI, or Friends, etc). TY!
3 replies [ Reply | Watch | Options ]tell us more about your child, age, gender, interests, and I will try to provide helpful info about BFS (btw you don't need to give exact age, I am interested in whether you are looking at lower school, middle, or high, for example). I would not recommend the high school (or perhaps even the middle) to a very high scoring dc. In my experience BFS is not the best place for such students. I have known high scoring kids who were underachievers there, and had to go elsewhere to have their talents or abilities recognized or nurtured.
[ Reply | Options ]IMO the lower school is better for girls than for boys, for example, there is a lot of time sitting and in recent years very young boys were given no recess (but lunch) until after 1 PM, and guess what, there were behavior issues with large numbers of the boys! Surprise, surprise! Last year in one lower school classroom about half the boys in that class left the school for other schools (public as well as private though, so some might have been financially motivated)
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[+]We have visited several schools and VCS is our fc, followed by Fieldston. Any views on VCS from btdt? thanks a lot
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[+]A preschool called to schedule an interview. I did not take the first date offer which was a week away but instead scheduled one a month away on a day that is more convenient for me. Now I feel bad that the later interview date may hurt DC's chance. Does it really matter?
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i took the latest interview dates i could get at the schools i was most interested in--i figured by then dd would have more practice at the play visits (or if it were just an interview for me, i'd have a better sense of what i wanted to ask, etc.). it worked out great and dd was accepted by 7 schools. so don't sweat it, it can work out for the best.
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[+]erb question: if a school does not require the erb (example PK Fieldston) but says it would welcome any materials, would you send a copy of your report, or have the ERB send it directly? Also, which is the minimum score would you send (if not mandatory)? thanks
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[+]Dh is freaking me out. Wants to meet me for dinner tonight. He has some sort of "announcement" to make. Now I am worried. He said it is a good thing, though.
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promotion, new job, you're moving to Paris, won the lottery...good luck. if he wants to meet you out it cant be bad news; he would do that at home so you could scream/cry in private.
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