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3andme

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  1. It looks like the long-awaited June SAT results have been released and the students are not happy. Apparently, the SAT test was unusually easy and the resulting curve has been brutal. 1 question wrong on the Math results in a 770. Some students have launched an appeal to get the College Board to rescale the scores (#RescoreJuneSat). Good luck with that. This reddit/sat thread provides insight into the reactions to the recent test among highly motivated students. 

    It does seem like the College Board makes a lot more misteps  than the ACT organization.

     

     

  2.              
                 
      Date Film Notes Time    
      1492 1492:The Conquest of Paradise (1992) Ridley Scott Christopher Columbus, looks great, slow in parts 145 m    
      1526 Anne of a Thousand Days (1969) Charles Jarrott Political conniving, England, Henry VIII with wife trouble, girls like this one 145 m    
      1534 A Man For All Seasons (1966) Fred Zinnemann More English backstabbing politics, academy award winner 120 m    
      1550 Queen Margot (1994) Patrice Chereau Complex bloody French politics -- know the history 1st; NC-1 7 romance; subtitles 143 m    
      1558 Elizabeth (1998) Shekhar Kapur Cate Blanchett is great as the 'Virgin' Queen 124 m    
      1588 The Seahawk (1940) Michael Curtiz Swashbuckling classic, accurate view of privateers and Spanish/English tension; fun 127 m    
      1640 The Last Valley (1971) James Clavell Life during the Thirty Years' War; Michael Caine & Omar Shariff good; slow in parts 128 m    
      1660 Restoration (1994) Michael Hoffman Good look at English society in 1600s; Robert Downey excellent 118 m    
      1670 Girl with the Pearl Earring (2003) Peter Weber Good look at Dutch society in the 1600s; and at great art. Firth & Johansson romantic 100 m    
      1690 Rob Roy (1995) Michael Caton-]ones Scottish highlander battles for honor; Tim Roth a great bad guy 139 m    
      1700 Amadeus (1994) Milos Foreman Bio of Mozart, composer; a wild partyer, great music, great movie 158 m    
      1740 The Bounty (1994) Roger Donaldson Accurate tale of the famous mutiny, Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins 130 m    
      1760 Dangerous Liaisions (1988) Stephen Frears Decadant pre-Revolution France; Glenn Close & John Malkovic are evil; Michelle Phifer 119 m    
      1787 A Tale of Two Cities (1935) Jack Conway b&w; Dickens tale of the French Revolution, a true classic (get this version) 128 m    
      1790 Danton (1983) Andrzej Wajda foreign - subtitles, French Revolution intrigue; theatre-style 136 m    
      1789 The Madness of King George (1994) Nicholas Hytner Great period detail about British Monarch during American Revolution 107 m    
      1800 The Duelists (1977) Ridley Scott Period detail of Napoleonic era excellent; film is very arty and slow 101 m    
      1813 Sharpe's Company (1995) Tom Clegg Sean Bean as intense British officer in Spanish campaign; BBC-TV; best of 10 in the series 110 m    
      1815 Vanity Fair (2005) Mira Nair Reese Witherspoon is social climber in rigid British society 141 m    
      1815 Waterloo (1971) Sergei Bondarchuk Major battle scenes, slow start cool finish 123 m    
                 
      1832 Les Miserables (1998) Bille August Hard times in Paris; Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush 134 m    
      1835 Oliver Twist (2005) Roman Polanski Hard life for the poor in London -- not the fun musical version 130 m    
      1858 The Mountains of the Moon (1990) Bob Rafelson English exploration of Africa, cool Victorian England stuff 135 m    
      1879 Zulu (1964) Cy Endfield Amazing battle between colonial Brits and Zulu warriors; accurate, Michael Caine cool 138 m    
      1905 Doctor Zhivago (1965) David Lean Sprawling epic covers three Russian Revolutions, WM, Civil War, and a grand romance 197 m    
      1915 Nicholas& Alexandra (1971) Franklin J. Schaffner Russian imperial family tale, 1905-17, solid but long 183 m    
      1915 Gallipoli (1981) Peter Weir WM; Mel Gibson; good, short, depressing - be sure you know the history 1st 110 m    
      1916 Paths of Glory (1957) Stanley Kubrick b&w; Kirk Douglas is cool; anti-war, short 86 m    
      1918 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Lewis Milestone b&w; from the book; old but pretty cool film - the 1979 remake is good too 133 m    
      1922 Michael Collins (1996) Neil Jordan Irish revolutionaries, questionable history but interesting period detail 132 m    
      1932 Indochine (1992) Regis Wargnier French colonial Vietnam; essentially a romance 155 m    
      1936 Burnt by the Sun (1994) Nikita Mikhalkov Russian life during Stalin's purges, foreign with subtitles 135 m    
      1940 The Battle of Britain (1969) Guy Hamilton WWII, air combat excellent, slow in parts 132 m    
      1940 Hope & Glory (1987) John Boorman Kid's life in London during the Blitz, excellent 113 m    
      1942 Das Boot (1981) Wolfgang Peterson German; U-Boats in WWII; excellent; avoid the directors cut 145 m    
      1942 The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) George Stevens b&w; Holocaust; from the book, well-loved film 170 m    
      1942 Schindler's List (1994) Steven Spielberg Holocaust, very intense, great movie but long 195 m    
      1943 Enemy at the Gates (2001) lean-Jaques Annaud Battle of Stalingrad, cool fighting, lame romance 131 m    
      1943 The Great Escape (1963) John Sturges Prison camp breakout, super film, long, Steve McQueen is the coolest guy ever 168 m    
      1944 The Longest Day (1962) Marten, Annakin, Wicki D-Day; John Wayne & cast of thousands, very accurate but long - for history buffs 180 m    
      1944 Saving Private Ryan (1998) Steven Spielberg D-Day and more. Caution: intense and realistic violence. Movie making genius 168 m    
      1944 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) David Lean A classic movie, semi-accurate, slow in parts, Alec Guinness is great 161 m    
      1945 Downfall (2004) Oliver Hirschbiegel The final days inside Hitler's Berlin bunker complex 156 m    
      1951 The Quiet American (2002) Philip Noyce French Indochina War; collapsing colonialism; Michael Caine won an Oscar 101 m    
      1956 Battle of Algiers (1967) Gillo Pontecorvo b&w, subtitled, Documentary-style film of Algerian colonial revolt; quality history & film-making 125 m    
      1960 Dr. Strangelove, or… (1960) Stanley Kubrick Black comedy about cold war & brinkmanship, complex, know the 1950s 1st 93 m    
      1961 K-19 the Widowmaker (2002) Kathryn Bigelow Cold War submarine film; Soviet problems, Ford & Neeson with Russian accents (?) 138 m    
      1972 Bloody Sunday (2002) Paul Greengrass British & Irish clash in "the Troubles"; heavy accents might require subtitles 110 m    
      1995 Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) Michael Winterbottom Journalists trying to cover the Bosnian Crisis 103 m    
                 
                 
    • Like 1
  3. My son took the Expository Writing class at Bravewriter. I had read many positive reviews and thought I would give it a try. We seem to be in the minority however, as ds did not care for the course and he's usually not too picky. While the teacher did provide quite a lot of feedback, he felt the feedback was rather formulaic and overly rigid. He also wasn't fond of the overall structure of the course and thought the written instruction was sometimes contradictory and not all that clear. My understanding was that Bravewriter tries to bring out each student's unique voice but in ds' case it seemed to produce the opposite effect for some reason. After reading his essays from the class, we were both disappointed with them even though he worked hard to incorporate the feedback - definitely not as inspired as some of his previous work. I will say the feedback was extensive and timely and ds enjoyed reading the work of other students but we will not be doing Bravewriter again especially given the high cost.

    For the middle school/early high school level, I can recommend the Write Shop course with Wendy Reed at Big River Academy. The course uses the Write Shop text and covers several different types of essays as well as some grammar. The pacing and workload are very reasonable requiring only a few hours a week. The feedback was encouraging, timely, and targeted. There were about 10 students enrolled and about 6 participated in the live online class meetings. My DS watched the recorded lectures due to the time difference but really enjoyed the online instruction. Wendy Reed does a very nice job creating a convivial and engaging classroom through a mix of icebreakers, break out sessions, and traditional instruction. DS who is a reluctant writer and very picky found this to be a good course and it improved his writing. This is a good gentle introduction to formal writing especially for reluctant writers or those who prefer live interaction with students and instructor. It is also a very affordable option.

    We also tried the Lost Tools of Writing program with Coram Deo Tutorials. I liked the instructor but  both ds could not stand the LTOW program. They had previously taken two essay writing courses and found the assignments and pace excruciatingly simple and slow.  I understand the program ramps up later but we dropped it after the first semester. I think LTOW has some good techniques but I feel they could be condensed into a two or three week seminar for those with previous writing experience.  Coram Deo and Circe LTOW classes both suggest it is for high school students but I think it is a better fit for middle school. 

     

     

     

    • Like 4
  4. 7 hours ago, freesia said:

    Oh, your poor dd!  I am so glad prom worked out okay for her after all.

    My ds thought the Stats was hard (and he wasn't pulling out a hairdo).  He has an A in the class, too.  He said he didn't finish.

     

    DS also took Stats and thought it was more difficult than most of the previous tests especially the FRQs.

  5. I would suggest AP Psychology. It has fairly wide appeal in general and many topics are very relevant to teens. It does not require any specific math or science ability. While broad in scope, the content is more manageable than other AP science or history classes since it's normally a one semester course. The greatest challenge is remembering all the technical terms, psychologists, and methods. The exam is 2/3 multiple choice (100 questions) and 1/3 FRQ (2 multi-part free response questions) which require only fairly straightforward descriptive answers not essays.

    The score distribution is also more forgiving than some courses with over 18% - 5s and 25% - 4s as shown below:

    Psychology 18.8% 25.2% 20.1% 14.7% 21.2%

     

    • Like 1
  6. Links to summer classes for enrichment or review:

    AIM Academy - Writing, SAT Prep, Spanish, Medical Microbiolgy, Wonders of Water, Secrets of Success, Books in French - Le Petit Nicholas

    AOPS - Math Classes, Math Contest Prep, and Computer programming 

    Bravewriter - Writing and Literature

    Center for Lit - Free Summer Classes: Banner in the SKy (Middle School) or King Lear (High School)

    CLRC -  Latin, Literature, Logic, Photography, Mathematics, Christian Studies, Modern Languages, Mythology, History, Programming

    Coram Deo - Summer Writing Workshops

    Harvey Center - Crash course in Latin 2

    Home School Connections - Latin, Math, Study Skills, Literature, Entymology

    High School Math Live = Pre Algebra and Algebra 

    JHU CTY -  Math , Writing, Literature, Languages, 

    Kolbe Academy - Composition, Algebra, Latin, Photography, Study Skills- 

    Live Online Math - Refreshers and Special Interest Math Workshops

    Lukeion - Summer workshops in Classical Greek and Roman History and Literature

    Memoria Press - Latin (many levels), Literature, Logic, Algebra I Review

    Mr. D Math - Math Readiness Programs and Full Year 1 credit Intensive Math Classes, SAT/ACT Prep

    Online G3 - Psychology, Film, Literature, History

    Potters School - Study Skills, Writing, Math Review and/or Prep, SAT/ACT Prep

    Scholars Online - Writing, Looking at Middle Earth, Shakespeare, Chemical History of the Candle, Intro to Prog with Scratch 

    Veritas Press - Writing, Latin, Test Prep, Film, Logic, Omnibus, Algebra Refresher

    Wilson Hill Academy -  Chemistry Readiness, Math Readiness, Logic, Study SKills, LIterature - Jane Auster or Flannery O'Connor or Poetry

     

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 2
  7. DS14 is taking APs for the first time but lucked into the ideal schedule. Psych on the very 1st day and Microeconomics on the very last day of APs - giving him 2 full weeks to study for Micro exclusively.

    DS16 is taking 4 total (Bio, Comp Sci A, Psych, and Stats). The Bio seems to be sucking up all his study time - I hope not to the detriment of the others. In previous years, we did 3 tests and I think that's the sweet spot for him - 4 is stressing him out much more.

    • Like 1
  8. We are doing that right now. I won't know until July when AP scores come out whether we have been successful. It's a lot of content so any prior knowledge would be helpful to reduce the load. The chemistry background will certainly help in the molecular biology sections. Unfortunately, my ds did not have that advantage so that was a struggle. We have been using Campell's Biology with Thinkwell lectures for self study. I'll post back in the summer with more reflections.

    • Like 1
  9. What about a floral like this?  Is it very warm or do you need a light jacket or sweater where you live? - if so, maybe something like this or this with a flowy jacket? The pretty sleeves and lace detail on this dress would help to hide any tummy issues? They also have something similar in a black. With the right accessories, I think black is fine for spring although lighter colors and more pattern are probably more seasonal. 

    Some other choices that would be flattering: Floral or Solid, floral, floral (very flattering)

    Less expensive: Wrap dress in multiple colors, shift dress with pattern, sleeveless dress

    A little bit higher range, pattern dress

     

  10. Quote

    I haven't looked at the UC Davis CS course sequence but AP CS is usually not a good match to what is covered in many colleges CS1 courses. So it makes sense in that case,

    I was not particularly impressed with what they covered when I peeked at it a few years back.

     

    Interesting. We have been using Univ. of Washington's CS 142 (Computer Prog I) course and materials to prepare for the AP CS exam. It seems to parallel the AP course very closely with the exception of recursion and searching and sorting which are covered in the subsequent CS143 class. However, UW's on the quarter system so maybe that makes a difference in how much they cover.

    • Like 1
  11. You could also try Rent the Runway where you rent the dress for a few days.  They have a few green options that go from size 4 to 20 under $100.  Check out the customer photos on the dress to see what it looks like on different shapes and sizes. (Use code FIRSTRTR to get 20% off first order).

    https://www.renttherunway.com/shop/designers/badgley_mischka/flora_chiffon_gown

    https://www.renttherunway.com/shop/designers/badgley_mischka/sequin_ruffle_gown

    Other green dresses at Rent the Runway up to size 20.

    Here's an affordable gown on Amazon with good reviews that would probably be flattering on everyone and goes up to 18.

    I don't know if teal would work instead of green but here's an attractive gown available in size 20 and in size 6

    Dark green dress from Davids Bridal for $69.95. (David's has a sale that would save $50 if you spend over $200- BIGSAVINGS)

     

  12. Honestly, for larger schools, I think a random selection of any student who meets certain minimum academic criteria would produce just as well rounded and diverse a school as the current process. Take Oxford University for example; they clearly state they do not care about ECs only academic ability in a specific discipline and yet they have plenty of students that participate in music, drama, clubs and sports.

     

    The current admissions process reminds a bit of the typical unstructured interview process which psychologists have found doesn't really do a great job of selecting the best applicants. Interviewers tend to overestimate their ability to evaluate the interviewer objectively and respond to all kinds of subjective cues which may have nothing to do with actual job performance. A more structured interview, on the other hand, that focuses on the real job demands (in this analogy - academics) tends to result in better candidate selection. 

     

    For a small school with a particular bent or culture such as the arts etc., I think the idea of trying to craft a class may make some sense.

    • Like 3
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