My kids have had lockers at both middle and high school. On the first day they learned to place (ok jam) a pencil into the lock mechanism so that the locker closes but it doesn't lock. Everyone seems to do this. It makes accessing their locker between classes much easier, and no one has ever had a problem with theft that I know of.

I started going gray when I was about 18. I began coloring it then and haven't stopped since. At this point I'm probably about 75% gray and sometime I do think about letting it go natural. The problem is that demarcation line you have as your hair grows out. I can't imagine living with that for years.

This is bizarre because usually you only go to see the trainer if you are injured. They are telling girls that if they are injured they have to first change their clothes before they can get assistance??!! Sounds like a lawsuit in the making. Is this a public school?

I agree with this. In public schools grades aren't about what level materials the students are working on. It is more about age and class progression. There are base level requirements that a student should meet by that grade, but that doesn't reflect what goes on in a classroom. Each classroom has students working at multiple levels in a variety of subjects even though they all are in the same grade.

You could make little paper banners or flags with their initials or names. Or, you could just dip the ends in colored paint and/or glitter. Donut skewers are a cute idea, I had never heard of them before.

This. I encounter people all of the time who have no clue what goes on in their own children's school and even classroom. I've met people who think that their kids aren't learning cursive, or don't have recess or gym because someone told them that's what schools are like these days. Even after meet the teacher, and open houses, and class newsletters, and webpage updates, and letters home, and even seeing their children's homework, they still have no idea what is going on. If people have no idea what their own children and school are doing it doesn't surprise me that they have no concept of alternate methods of education.

How cute! I love learning about regional traditions here.

Do they wear glasses or readers? Pinterest has some cute free patterns for crocheted eyeglass cases.

I'm in CT. All are typical but more so with middle aged or older employees. The teens at the grocery store rarely chat as much as the older ones do. They usually only seem to make an effort if they are friends or acquaintances of my kids.

My son got a removable retainer like expander at age 8, a removable bionator (to move bottom jaw forward) at age 10 and actual braces at age 12. He's almost 14 and should have the braces off soon. The bionator and expander made an enormous difference. I sure wish they had those options when I was a kid. I just had regular braces when I was about twelve. My mouth is so small and narrow that as an adult some of my teeth have become crowded and twisted again. When he started his mouth was just like mine, but the expander widened his entire palate and he has plenty of room, even for the additional molars to come.

This. It's someone listening to your words but not the actual message you are trying to convey.

That's actually not the way it is here. Kids can take advanced high school classes in middle school but they do not count towards high school credit. A student taking high school Algebra 1 or Spanish 1 in middle school just advances along the higher track. Those classes are the same classes taught in the high school with the same exams but they do not count toward high school credits or show up on high school transcripts. That's the way it was when I was a a kid in the 80's and that is still how it is now in public schools across the state.

The only midterms and finals referred to in that manor here are for high school level classes taught in middle school. Usually they are the honors level classes and have to follow the same curriculum as high school classes they mirror. They do however write quite a few essays throughout the year and have have both stand alone essays as assignments and tests in essay format. They started writing what I would consider a standard essay in about 4th or 5th grade with precursor type writing before that. There is also enormous emphasis in middle school on different writing styles such as narrative, thematic, argumentative, scientific, etc.

Do you mean tests and quizzes throughout the school year or by "exams" are you specifically referring to midterm and final exams.?

When I was in high school my summer job was working in a theatre. I worked in the office and answered phones. There was a production running and there was a problem with the actors' paychecks. The wife of one of the actors angrily called multiple times asking to speak with the producer who was actually out of town at the time. She didn't believe me that he wasn't there and at one point called me "the C word." I was 15 and was a little shocked to say the least. The funny part is that she was a fairly famous actress and the voice of a famous cartoon character. Every time i see that character I think of her saying that word!

First off, I want to say that I've been involved with school organizations, sports organizations, boy scouts, girl scouts, religious organizations and civic organizations and I've never encountered a fundraiser that had mandatory participation. The only place I've every even heard of that is on these boards. Usually people pick and choose what they want to participate in. Sometimes people never participate and that is ok they usually just have to pay their way for events or activities. I have encountered this solicitation type of fundraiser before and people who do participate usually pick one of three options. The first is that they give out the e-mails of their family and/or friends. Some people just don't see it as a problem. The second is that the parents usually agree to just use each others e-mail addresses, so if there are 10 kids on the team each child will use the addresses of the other ten parents. That way instead of say donating $10 to your child you would donate $1 to each of the other kids. This satisfies the requirement to win any kind of prize or incentive for submitting the names. The third option is that sometimes people use the e-mail addresses of corporations or philanthropic organizations that might donate money for example communityoutreach @localsupermarket.com.

Our experience as well.

We have that here. There are numerous vocational high school opportunities, offering everything from culinary, cosmetology, electrical, HVAC, pluming and automotive to agriculture and even maritime sciences. Some students graduating these schools continue on to college but most take advantage of the apprenticeships and job placement assistance to continue on their career path. In particular many students looking to continue on to college and then veterinary school attend one of the the vo-ag high schools. The downside is that students need to make this decision by the end of 8th grade. You can transfer in later on in high school, but it can put you behind or cause you to miss out on some opportunities. When I was a kid in the 80's I think many students weren't really given a choice and were steered towards attending a vocational high school. It led people to believe these schools were only for underachieving students. Now it is quite a big decision and the power has been given to the students. There are so many high school choices and students are just looking for the best fit.

I find it funny that the only time people trust the competency of the government is when it has to do with conspiracy theories. They can pull off an elaborate ruse tricking people all over the world into falsely believing that the earth is round, yet they can't accurately deliver my mail.

In our district and I believe most of the schools in our state, high school level classes taken in middle school are never counted towards or included on a high school transcript. Even if they are the same exact class offered in the high school with the same exams. Also classes are only weighted for the purpose of class rank. There are no weighted GPAs.

I am similar. I grew up learning to avoid situations that send up red flags. When I was about 9 I was in Manhattan with my mom in a coffee shop and a man came in and started ranting about the end of the world. My mother threw money on the counter and dragged me out of the shop so quickly I barely knew what happened. I was always astounded when I would see people gathering around the site of any kind of trouble, like the scene of a crime.

I counted 15 and saw the gorilla too. I actually double checked the gorilla because I thought they were going to try to "trick" you by having the gorilla wear white shoes and count as someone in white passing the ball.

I'm going to quote and say "This" too! It reminds me of schools that call their top track of classes "Gifted" classes.

In most states all school bus drivers (public and private) are required to have background checks. You may want to check your state laws.

Binghamton University in NY.