New-School Gossip

One of my favorite pasttimes the last couple of weeks has been discovering new parents, new issues and getting to learn new things from them.


Eavesdropping makes the time go by and oh so much fun. I got an earful this weekend about children who are supposedly afraid to ride the bus because of one little 6-year-old monster who is alleged to be threatening to kill people; the bus driver refused to take him home and instead drove him back to the school and the kid had to be accompanied by the school psychologist. Don't know the facts; but what a story. In the process of listening, it became clear that some parents thought they wouldn't be heard if they complained about this situation.

I hope it's not true, either the part about the other kids being scared or that there's a child with that many problems already.

First Soccer of High School

Well, Teenager had a great time with her jayvee soccer match, against Half Hollow Hills West. Whitman won, 1-0. Then she dashed off to band practice and I did laundry all afternoon. Whoo-hoo, we're having a blast! I get tired just watching those girls, though.

From the principal's announcement:
Girls JV Soccer: The team won its first game of the season by a score of 1-0 over Hills West. Sarah Tully recorded her first shut-out of the seaon in goal. The defense of Alexandra Roldos, Caitlin Clemente, Jacky Wurtz, Paige De Rosa, Anna Robinson and Erin Scanlon helped secure the win. The team looks to improve its record this week against West Islip.

Very nice to recognize the girls by name.

Huntington's School Districts

In Huntington, we have 195,289 people and eight schools districts.

The Melissa Database locates them:

Cold Spring Harbor Central School District

Commack School District

Elwood Union Free School District

Half Hollow Hills Central School District

Harborfields Central School District

Huntington Union Free School District (map not available)

Northport-East Northport Union Free School District

South Huntington Union Free School District

The Sound of Choppers

Of course, I would never do this but for the rest of you... :)
From the Wall Street Journal's blog, The Juggle raises a good question for competitive Long Islanders, among others:

Many parents I know don’t want to become a “helicopter parent,” who hovers over and advocates for his or her child on the playground, at school events, or even when the child starts business school, as we posted about here.

But if a parent wants to adapt a more hands-off approach to parenting, is he or she putting the child at a disadvantage in an increasingly competitive environment? Readers have pointed out how some homework assignments are so tough they practically require parental involvement, as does the challenging college application process....

The First Day of School

Apparently things went well the first day for Teenager. Had a little trouble getting to each classroom in time but she'll learn. Likes most of her teachers so far, though one class seems intimidating. Didn't care for the cafeteria--like that's a surprise--but enjoys the freedom of being able to go outside at lunchtime and to walk to a nearby store when school is over, a big change from her last school.

She is overbooked for the fall; we'll have to be very organized for the first couple of months.

Oh, boy, just spent 49 minutes standing in line--just in line, not counting shopping time-- at Staples trying to buy supplies for the second day of school. It would be really terrific if schools with active web sites would list supply requirements in advance. We were shopping in Staples over the weekend and could have bought things then.

TeacherTube

There's a new YouTube-like site called TeacherTube where educators and their students can post educational material. Here's one from a Canadian French class, singing an original song. Cute!

Here's another on censorship, just in time for Banned Books Month.

Long Island Mozart Festival

Went to the Long Island Mozart Festival at Old Westbury Gardens to see Teenager perform with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra under the direction of John McNeur. This is the group that went to New Zealand and Australia earlier this summer.

What a marvelous concert in a beautiful setting. She was surprised to discover she'd be playing the piccolo part solo on Stars and Stripes Forever. She did just fine. And it was another chance to hear Josh Feldman, a terrific young pianist who just went off to Yale. You're going to be hearing more about this fellow.

The festival, sponsored by Chamber Players International, continues Monday with the Gemini Orchestra of Suffolk County performing during the youth concert. Other activities include a carriage ride, glass harmonica performance and more.

Da BAND!

This is Walt Whitman High School's marching band, performing Saturday for parents at the school.

Avoiding Lolita

From Slate, a good article about the difficulty of shopping for clothes, especially girls, keeping them stylish but not trampy. Good luck!

Lolita's Closet
Unbearably trampy back-to-school clothes.
By Emily Yoffe


Emily Yoffe was online on Aug. 30 to chat with readers about this article. Read the transcript.
Illustration by Nina Frenkel. Click image to expand.

My 11-year-old daughter and I just did her back-to-school shopping. Shopping for a 'tween is a little like being a presidential candidate—you try to find some middle ground in a world of clamorous extremes. I want her clothes to reflect the fact that she's still a girl, but I'm willing to let her hint at the young woman she is about to become. What I don't want her to bring home from the mall are clothes—and there are plenty of them—that inspire this sort of paroxysm: "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins."

Fortunately, my daughter shares my goals: She wants to look stylish while still sweet, trendy but not trampy. The designers at Limited Too, a shrine to 'tween fashion, and I differ on how to achieve this. The chain, which has about 570 stores in the United States, sells clothes to girls ages 7 to 12. According to a Limited Too spokesman, Robert Atkinson, the company was instrumental in creating the 'tween fashion category 20 years ago. This year, 'tweens of both sexes are expected to account for $13 billion of apparel sales.

In our house, we keep rules to a minimum but verboten for sure are belly shirts and anything with writing on the butt. C'mon, there's only one reason to put lettering on your butt and that's to draw attention. Nope, unacceptable here. And while we're at it, is there a reason to wear clothes bragging about how you're high maintenance or spoiled? Grownups?

Orientation +

Teenager is at freshman orientation at Walt Whitman High School, having gone to sports stuff at 6:30 this morning.

School hasn't even started yet but her weeks are packed with activities. Tomorrow should be a real blast: Soccer in the morning, then off to Herricks High School for Metropolitan Youth Orchestra practices for Sunday's concert at Old Westbury Gardens.