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Post by gatormom on Oct 8, 2008 21:23:37 GMT -5
I don't personally think that 153 additional students at the NV main campus is that big of a deal (and my child will be directly affected by this). When I first posted about this a few pages back, I thought that that the overcrowding at NV would be more severe than that. I guess the only major issue I have with not moving the Class of 2012 is opening MV with only Freshman. Weighing that against moving both sets of Freshman classes to new high schools, I'm almost inclined to say leave the Freshman at their current school. The question is "which is the bigger negative?" I don't buy into what some are saying that because the Freshman are physically separated, they're not really "connected" to the school. Even though my daughter has yet to hit high school, she has friends who are Freshman Wildcats and they have alot of pride in their school (none are moving to WV). Some are on various athletic squads and they are just as much Wildcats as the upperclassmen. On the other side of the coin, I really dislike the idea of opening MV with only Freshman. That does not seem like an economically sound idea, and it probably does a disservice to the MV Freshman. Again I go back to my original thought that the answer is not a simple one. Do you think that the freshman who are coming to WV from what used to be NV attendence area might feel more comfortable at WV with people they have attended MS together? Do you think having more families from those areas represented in the school might help with a comfort level? It is going to be hard for everyone. I agree justvote, the answer is not a simple one.
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Post by justvote on Oct 8, 2008 21:35:29 GMT -5
I don't know the answer to that. I think the biggest issue is that they are Wildcats now and for them to suddenly become Warriors next year creates somewhat of an identity crisis, so to speak (this also goes for the Warriors who will be moving to MV as well). I do think it's a difficult transition for them and all things weighed equally, I have to admit that I so see some merit to having Freshman stay at their respective high schools.
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Post by gatormom on Oct 8, 2008 21:43:00 GMT -5
I don't know the answer to that. I think the biggest issue is that they are Wildcats now and for them to suddenly become Warriors next year creates somewhat of an identity crisis, so to speak (this also goes for the Warriors who will be moving to MV as well). I do think it's a difficult transition for them and all things weighed equally, I have to admit that I so see some merit to having Freshman stay at their respective high schools. I understand that. I wish we had someone who went through this when Neuqua opened for their perspective. I think the big problem is that in the past with most school openings, the sophmores went to a new school. With this school opening, they have to go to an established school and become their rival no less.
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Post by justvote on Oct 8, 2008 21:49:37 GMT -5
I don't know the answer to that. I think the biggest issue is that they are Wildcats now and for them to suddenly become Warriors next year creates somewhat of an identity crisis, so to speak (this also goes for the Warriors who will be moving to MV as well). I do think it's a difficult transition for them and all things weighed equally, I have to admit that I so see some merit to having Freshman stay at their respective high schools. I understand that. I wish we had someone who went through this when Neuqua opened for their perspective. I think the big problem is that in the past with most school openings, the sophmores went to a new school. With this school opening, they have to go to an established school and become their rival no less. You are so right - there's a major difference between transferring to a brand new school and establising your own brand new traditions than it is to transfer to an established school (and a rival school, no less).
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Post by JWH on Oct 9, 2008 7:45:50 GMT -5
Lots of people knew that this was the plan, voted Yes, and didn't argue about the transition plan. some quick searching: Woodstock North: opened with sophmores & freshman Plainfield North: ditto Oswego East: ditto NV: ditto add to the list a couple more that opened with sophmores and freshman: St Charles North Plainfied South Can anybody point to an example of a HS around here that opened with just freshman? No, not around us. I'm sure if you Google search hard enough, you'll find one somewhere with Freshman only, but it is not the recommended route most school districts follow, and flies in the face of those who were lamenting about MV not being the complete HS experience.
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Post by momto4 on Oct 9, 2008 8:47:11 GMT -5
I understand that. I wish we had someone who went through this when Neuqua opened for their perspective. I think the big problem is that in the past with most school openings, the sophmores went to a new school. With this school opening, they have to go to an established school and become their rival no less. You are so right - there's a major difference between transferring to a brand new school and establising your own brand new traditions than it is to transfer to an established school (and a rival school, no less). I wonder how many of the new schools that open with fresh/soph don't have any kids moving from one established HS to another with their new boundaries. It may be the usual thing that kids get shuffled around at that point. It seems that there is no solution that will make everyone happy. Leaving all of this year's freshman to finish out where they are causes a multitude of problems, moving them eases overcrowding at both NV and WV, and has both pros and cons for the kids moving from NV to WV and the kids moving from WV to MV. The good thing is that right now, all the kids know what school they will be in for next year and can be mentally prepared for whatever changes are encompassed by that.
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Post by gatordog on Oct 9, 2008 12:50:15 GMT -5
Long ago, ever since ref vote, I figured my daughter Class of 2012 was moving to a new school as a sophomore (when MV was going to BB site). Back in the day, I recall some message board discussions on the pros and cons (some being revisited this week) of moving or not moving sophs. In our family, we talked about these. What was good about it, what was not as good.
The bottom line, though, was I told my daughter her moving to start a new school was a leadership opportunity. Leadership chances are good things to experience. You learn a lot from them. And they set you up to better succeed in life. And truth be told, sometimes they are not so easy to find in a young person's life. (That is one reason of course why extracurricular activities are so important for our children.)
I agree there is some unusual emotional issues when sophs move from one HS into an established HS. (of course there are tangible benefits as well). It is a unique experience to put a student into. Is it a perfect situation? No. But will there be leadership opportunities because of it? Yes! For the Class of 2012, it wont just be the students moving to start up MV with the "once-in-a-lifetime" leadership opportunities. In fact, we are broadening some leadership chances to include those coming together at WV. Whether you are an "old time" Warrior, or a "new one", there will be opportunities galore for these students to be leaders. In big ways, and in small ways.
And ones staying at NV....seeing friends move, they can act in supportive ways as well. Its a leadership chance for them as well (although maybe not so much in a day-to-day way).
I also want to say some in the Class of 2012 have moved into private schools. They too are included in this category of being given a leadership opportunity.
We are talking about "what is fairest" for the Class of 2012. Maybe whats best is...trust them to be the leaders we know they can be. Whether you find this Class of 2012 student at MV, WV, a private school, or at NV...I hope they embrace their leadership opportunity. No, it wont always be easy. I am quite confident, at least among the students I know , that they will emerge as leaders and do us proud.
Here's to the Class of 2012 at MV, WV, NV, Benet, St. Francis, IMSA.....! May there be many future leaders to emerge from their ranks.
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