My latest post for Elizabeth Street is all about letters of recommendation for private school. It’s not too late to send them if you weren’t aware of this much-used, but under-the-radar- strategy to help your kid get into private schools.–Christina
Click on Elizabeth Street to read.
The Goyard Saint Louis Tote Bag is a big, coated canvas handbag that has become THE “It” Bag for L.A. for private school moms. Step onto almost any campus and you won’t have to walk far before you spot one of this season’s most popular statement bags. I don’t have this bag…it’s just not me. What about you?
The Goyard Tote was featured in our previous post about “It” Bags, school by school on L.A.’s social diary, The Daily Truffle.
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Former Miami Dolphins football player, Jonathan Martin, who is African American, blames his John Thomas Dye and Harvard-Westlake education for the problems he encountered in the NFL. “I suppose it’s white private school conditioning, turning the other cheek,” he wrote to his father. John Thomas Dye declined to respond to the article. Harvard-Westlake did respond. This is a fascinating article, yet I don’t think private schools are to blame, but rather the toxic culture within the NFL. (NYT Motherlode)
News flash! “Moms who brag about being lazy and sloppy can be just as judge as too-perfect ones.” Slacker moms, who don’t worry about nap schedules, sugar or too much screen time, are creating a culture of reverse bullying, says writer Elissa Strauss. It’s unfortunate that adherents of any single parenting style feel compelled to judge other moms. In this case, the slacker moms may not even realize what they’re doing. (Salon.com)
Happy Weekend!
Let’s be social! Like Beyond The Brochure on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Are you more the email type? Get our posts in your in box by subscribing (enter your email in the “subscribe” box on the right sidebar of the blog. Or, buy the Second Edition of our book at Amazon.com or your local bookstores!
I’ve written about my daughter’s kindergarten visiting day at Oakwood School previously. Here’s my recollection about that morning again. Did I make the right school choice? I’ll never know, but I’m looking forward now that our family is THRILLED to be at Viewpoint School. We truly fit in there in a way we never did at The Willows. But, if we hadn’t gone to The Willows, would we be at Viewpoint now?
It was early and I was nervous. With my daughter in the car, we drove to the 8 a.m. “visiting day,” one of the requirements of the private school kindergarten admissions process. The school was more than 30 minutes from our house, traffic was bad and I mistakenly went to the high school rather than the elementary school. Frazzled and arriving with a minute to spare, I arrived at the correct location, a progressive school on a rustic campus.
After a brief time in the school library with our kids, parents were asked to go into a conference room for a meet and greet with the head of school. At the same time, our kids were taken into classrooms with teachers for various for visiting day.
This was the aspect of the admissions process that filled me with anxiety, since a lot depends on how your 4-5 year-old is feeling the day of the visit and how he/she acts when you arrive at the school. As soon as we got there, my usually shy daughter turned on her biggest, most charming personality (one I had only seen at home). Feeling very comfortable in the library, she pulled some books off the shelf and began reading in a loud voice. The admissions director turned to look at her, clearly impressed. Now that she had an audience (the best possible audience, I might add), my daughter continued reading other parents and kids turned to watch.
Relieved, I went with other parents into the conference room for what turned out to be a chance to ask questions of the head of school. This, you should note, is a time to ask smart, well-formulated questions that demonstrate your knowledge of the school. It’s also a good time to find something nice to say about the place you want to accept your kid. The room was filled with parents who already had older kids at the school, so they were confident about the process and even joked about their chances of getting in. The competition for spots at this popular school was no joke.
After about an hour, my daughter emerged from the classroom bursting with enthusiasm. We thanked the staff and left.
I didn’t have to ask my kid if it has gone well. I knew. She’d nailed it. The look on her face told me everything. In March, we received our acceptance letter from the school.
Let’s be social! Like Beyond The Brochure on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter. Are you more the email type? Get our posts in your in box by subscribing (enter your email in the “subscribe” box on the right sidebar of the blog. Or, buy the Second Edition of our book at Amazon.com or your local bookstores!
I attended a fabulous event, Swap Your Style, at Give + Take in Santa Monica. I brought items I haven’t worn (or no longer wear) and swapped them for some really cool clothes and accessories. Here are the pics from the event.
I stopped by Viewpoint School’s Invention Convention to check out my son’s science project. Very cool!
We profiled Pasadena Waldorf School on the blog previously. Waldorf schools are unique and compelling. If you’re interested in a Waldorf education for your child, check out this event:
Experience Waldorf Day:
Adults attend Class at a Waldorf School – See why Waldorf Education Works
March 8th from 10am-2pm
The City School Waldorf Initiative (Preschool to G8) presents Experience Waldorf Day, where adults attend a day of “Waldorf” classes spanning Preschool to Grade 8! Waldorf Education is the largest independent, non-sectarian educational philosophy in the world. With 900 schools in 60 countries, Waldorf education reaches the heart, mind and soul of its students. Sign up online or call 818-776-0011. 17424 Sherman Way in Lake Balboa, 91406.
Weekend Links:
In a new series, Preschool Admissions Diary, The New York Times parenting blog will be covering preschool admissions through April. Do parents really hire consultants to help kids hide the fact that they took a class? Read on…here’s the first post, The 13-Page Preschool Application. (NYT Motherlode)
A very useful piece about how to approach a parent-teacher conference when your kid’s elementary school teacher is ineffective. (NYT Motherlode)
Low-income schools use mindfulness (meditation) in the classroom with big results. (KPCC’s Take Two).
We shared this on Beyond The Brochure’s FaceBook page, but it’s worth sharing here in case you missed it. Read about how one teacher uses a simple but powerful method to find out a lot about what’s on her students’ minds. The is a WOW piece! (Momastery).