[DomLuka] Help

[Cris L]

Guys

 

I have long had a story that I wanted to write, but have never been clear in my own mind exactly how it would work.

 

2 authors have ( Dom being one) have given me a further insight (not too mention inspiration) and so I am starting out on my LONG journey of getting something on paper!!!!

 

But i need some help :

I'm not American, but have lived in the US - LA, NY, Boston, Minneapolis & Memphis, and have visited plenty, and my story will be set in some of those places..

 

However I have never understood the US schooling system, and would really appreciate someone helping me with that ?

 

For instance what age does one start to go to school ?

What affects this ?

What are the different levels called?

Are there any particular events that would happen in a particular school year?

What does Sophomore/Junior mean ?

When does prom happen ?

 

thanks for your help ?

[TheZot]

For instance what age does one start to go to school ?

 

Kindegarden at 5 (usually), first grade at 6. Most states allow you to wait until your child is 7 to enroll in first grade

 

What affects this ?

 

Parents decisions and the kid's birthday, usually/

 

What are the different levels called?

 

The levels are:

 

Elementary school (K-5, sometimes 6)

Middle school or junior high (usually 7-8 sometimes 6th or 9th grade is in there)

High school (usually 9-12, sometimes 10-12)

 

Are there any particular events that would happen in a particular school year?

 

Junior and senior proms are for grades 11 and 12, but that's about it.

 

What does Sophomore/Junior mean ?

 

Freshman is first year of high school, junior is grade 11, senior is grade 12. In a 10-12 highschool there's no sophomore class, in a 9-12 highschool then grade 9 is freshman and 10 is sophomore.

 

When does prom happen ?

 

Late spring, usually sometime in may.

[Cris L]

For instance what age does one start to go to school ?

 

Kindegarden at 5 (usually), first grade at 6. Most states allow you to wait until your child is 7 to enroll in first grade

 

How come so late ?

7 is pretty big - I started first grade the year I turned 6 - so in effect I was in first at 5

 

What affects this ?

Parents decisions and the kid's birthday, usually/

 

Any specific rules regarding the birthday !

 

 

BTW - thanks for the quick response.

[Trebs]

The rule when I was growing up was Dec 1 - if you turned 5 by then, you could start kindergarden, if not, you needed to wait until the next year. This could be appealled - my brother's birthday was Dec 2 and my parents pushed for him to start. The other effect of this is he graduated when he was 17 and didn't turn 18 until three months into college.

[Cris L]

Trebs

 

thanks

[JamesSavik]

Are there any particular events that would happen in a particular school year?

 

 

Homecoming Dance- this is a special event that takes place during football season designed to attract alumni. This is a much bigger deal for colleges and universities than high schools. The general rule is that Homecoming is more important for larger high schools in rural areas which are more important to the country or the town.

 

 

Christmas Break- Goes from a little before Christmas to a little before New Years.

 

Spring Break- Varies considerably and are intentionally staggered so they don't all happen at the same time. Usually lasts a week from mid-March to mid-April. Is sometimes bundled with Easter.

 

 

 

Some school districts have their calenders and student handbooks online.

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Any specific rules regarding the birthday !

 

 

In my school you had to be six by Sept. 1st to start 1st grade.

[Cris L]

jamessavik

 

thanks

 

Homecoming Dance- this is a special event that takes place during football season

So when's football season ?

 

Some school districts have their calenders and student handbooks online.

Any possible examples ? Thanks

[glomph]

So when's football season ?

 

High school football season starts near the beginning of the school year (August or just after Labor Day, the first Monday in September) and lasts until some time in November. Then there are playoffs and state championships that end around late November.

 

One major feature of Homecoming is the crowning of the Homecoming Queen and her court. There is often a Homecoming Parade which includes either floats with these girls on them or convertibles with the girls sitting up from the back seat.

 

Some schools also elect a Homecoming King, which seems a bit gay. If the Homecoming Queen is a guy, that's definitely gay.

[Guest djd]

This discussion got me to wondering what "homecoming" meant. At my school, homecoming was always the last "home" football game of the season (about half of the games are played at other schools and half are played at "home"). However, that really doesn't explain the "coming" part of homecoming. (No, it's nothing to do with that... )

 

I found this explanation at a drill team association website:

 

"The first homecoming celebration dates back to the year 1911! University of Missouri Athletic Director, Chester Brewer, afraid that fans and alumnus (sic) would not attend the "big game" due to a change in location, devised a plan to add some excitement to the game. He challenged the alumnus (sic) to return home for a great celebration with parades, parties, a rally and of course the big game."

 

Here's a small town (aka redneck) school: Cottage Grove High School, my alama mater.

 

Dennis

[TalonRider]

It seem every school district is different.

 

Back in the day when I started school, if you were age 5 before September 1st then you could start Kindergarten. If you turned 5 after 9/1, then you waited until the following school year to start.

 

And I don't mind telling you this was back in the mid 50's.

[Lugh]

For instance what age does one start to go to school ?

What affects this ?

What are the different levels called?

Are there any particular events that would happen in a particular school year?

What does Sophomore/Junior mean ?

When does prom happen ?

 

The first thing to remember is that every school district is different. Mandatory school age in the US is from 7 to 16. Most children start somewhere between 5 and 6 year old in Kindergarten. There are age cut off dates and they vary from place to place drastically. (Before school starts, 9/30, 10/31, 12/31, and where I started school.... July 1) It is a local municipal decision.

 

The levels again depend on where you grow up. These are some common levels:

 

Primary School -- Kindergarten - grade 2

Elementary School -- Kindergarten - grade 3, 4, 5 (depending on the district)

Intermediate School -- Grade 3, 4 or 5 to 5 or 6 (depending on the district)

Middle School -- grade 6 to 8

Junior High School -- grade 7 to 8 or 9

High School -- grade 9 or 10 to 12

 

Typically there are two combonations Primary / Intermediate / Middle / High OR Elementry / Junior High (or Middle) / High

 

Again the events depends on the school/ school system/ and tradition. Most High Schools have Homecoming (can be related to Football or basketball depending on which is the bigger sport in the district). There can be a fall dance/festival, a winter formal, a spring formal/prom (depending on who is invited, which happens as early as mid-april and as late as the first week of June (usually between spring break and memorial day though)) and graduation which may or may not include its own traditions including a senior skip day. There are the usual holidays, off the friday after thanksgiving (4th thursday of nov.), off from a couple days before Christmas to as near as Jan 2 as possible (this can be up to 2 full weeks). Spring break is usually the week before or after Easter, again depending on the district.

 

In High School, the first grade available (9th or 10th) is a freshman. Where there is a 9th grade, 10th graders are called sophomores, 11th grade is a junior and 12th graders are seniors.

 

Anything I missed?

 

Lugh

[TomE]

HI

 

I hope this doesn't add even more confusion, but I attended a private (Catholic) school in Kansas growing up. Grade school (elementary) went from Kindergarten through 8th grade (no middle school) Then Private (Catholic) High School 9-12 (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior). In the private school system there is usually a "school uniform" that need to be worn. This is not the case in the Public school system.

 

When I started school, the age was 5 for Kindergarten and the cutoff was Jan 1st.

 

Our Homecoming usually took place about mid season (October). We had the parade Friday afternoon, and football game Friday night. During 1/2 time, they announced the Homecoming Queen and her court (All seniors). Saturday night was the homecoming dance. Anyone from High school could attend the dance.

 

Prom was held in May. Usually about a week or 2 before graduation. Our only allowed Junior and Senior classmen to attend. An exception was made for a Sophomore to attend if they were dating a Junior or Senior.

 

We had other dances also. Some schools in the area had a "Sadie Hawkins" dance (girl ask boy and the girl foots the bill for everything) Our school had a formal Christmas Dance that was girl ask boy. This was during Christmas or "Winter" Break. Only Sophomores and above were able to attend. During basketball season we had a "sweetheart dance" Yes it was in February on the Friday prior to Valentines. The queen and her court were announced during 1/2 time of the basketball game. The queen was a senior, and then there was a "princess" from each of the other classes. Anyone from high school could attend that dance.

 

Hope you find this a little helpful and I am looking forward to your story.

 

Take Care,

Tom

[Joe B]

I don't have a whole lot to add, but at the high school where I teach, 10th graders are called sophomores, even though the school has only grades 10-12. They still call 9th graders freshmen, even though they're at the middle schools. FYI, in our district, we have K-6 in elementary schools, 7-9 in middle schools and 10-12 in the high school.

 

-Joe

[rknapp]

Well, seeing as how I graduated from a standard US secondary school system last June, and there are a lot of 40+ individuals responding here, I'll correct their mistakes when I return from Calculus, for which I have ten minutes to get my ass to before the rooms runs out of seats with desks again (do NOT want to go through that again).

[TheZot]

How come so late ?

7 is pretty big - I started first grade the year I turned 6 - so in effect I was in first at 5

Dunno. The rules in my state are pretty old for mandatory schooling -- a hundred years or more in some cases -- so that's likely some of the reason. Some kids just aren't ready at 5 or 6 to hit school (and some, honestly, aren't really ready at 7) so the extra slack makes sense. Assuming you don't completely screw over the child, which you're more likely to do putting them in school before they're ready than after they're ready, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference in final outcome a year or two either way.

[OTRFK]

Well since everyone elce has put a responce so will I. All of these responces are in Gilbert Arizona since that is were I grew up.

 

 

Kindergarden starts at age 5 but only if you turn 5 before Sep 1st , I had to wait till I was 6 since my birthday is on the 17th of September. That sucked.

 

The schools here are (K- 6th grade) for elementry school.

Junior High is (7-8)

High school was (9-12) 9- Freshman 10-Sophmore 11- Junior 12- Senior.

 

High school prom is 12th year in May.

 

Homecoming is usually in October I beleive.

 

And sometimes you have formal dances like Christmas formal and so on.

 

All sorts of events like Football. Baseball and Basketball games. We had Dance concerts for the Dance class. Wrestling matches. and of cource assemblys.

 

There are 7 classes in a day same everyday for a whole semester there are 2 semesters in a year.

 

Summer break went for around June to August Christmas break was a week before christmas to New years. Spring break was in the middle of March or April.

 

At the End of each yaer in High school we had a whole day of sighning year books and a party with they showed videos of the year of like people walking through the halls having fun, events and so on.

 

Wellthats about all the main stuff hope i helped

Edited February 6, 2006 by OTRFK

[AFriendlyFace]

HI

 

I hope this doesn't add even more confusion, but I attended a private (Catholic) school in Kansas growing up. Grade school (elementary) went from Kindergarten through 8th grade (no middle school) Then Private (Catholic) High School 9-12 (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior). In the private school system there is usually a "school uniform" that need to be worn. This is not the case in the Public school system.

 

When I started school, the age was 5 for Kindergarten and the cutoff was Jan 1st.

 

Our Homecoming usually took place about mid season (October). We had the parade Friday afternoon, and football game Friday night. During 1/2 time, they announced the Homecoming Queen and her court (All seniors). Saturday night was the homecoming dance. Anyone from High school could attend the dance.

 

Prom was held in May. Usually about a week or 2 before graduation. Our only allowed Junior and Senior classmen to attend. An exception was made for a Sophomore to attend if they were dating a Junior or Senior.

 

We had other dances also. Some schools in the area had a "Sadie Hawkins" dance (girl ask boy and the girl foots the bill for everything) Our school had a formal Christmas Dance that was girl ask boy. This was during Christmas or "Winter" Break. Only Sophomores and above were able to attend. During basketball season we had a "sweetheart dance" Yes it was in February on the Friday prior to Valentines. The queen and her court were announced during 1/2 time of the basketball game. The queen was a senior, and then there was a "princess" from each of the other classes. Anyone from high school could attend that dance.

 

Hope you find this a little helpful and I am looking forward to your story.

 

Take Care,

Tom

That's pretty much exactly my experience too (also in a private Catholic School). Only I was one of the oldest in my year. Which was quite nifty, I was always one of the first ones to be allowed to do something age related.

 

Also Homecoming was a very big deal in my High School, but honestly I don't think I've ever even noticed in College. Of course I'm sure it is still a big deal, it's just not forced on everyone the way High School homecoming is.

 

Also I'd like to add that for the most part, while the overall experience is the same, the divisions, "big events", and ages are all going to vary considerably from state to state. If it's a matter of age, I'd use this is a rule of thumb: "your character can be 17 or 18 when he/she graduates from his/her senior year of high school (grade 12)", you can just pick accordingly and count backwards. Some people may be 16 or 19 depending on extremely odd circumstances, but no one in my year was. I, personally, was more than a year older than a few of the younger people in my year who had birthdays in the fall/early winter.

Edited February 7, 2006 by AFriendlyFace

[rknapp]

Ok, standard New Jersey Secondary Education System is as follows:

 

Age 4-6 (usually 5), the child is to enter Kindergarten. Prior to that is Pre-School, of which I had two years, but that was in South Florida. The grade system breaks down as follows:

 

Kindergaten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th grades - Elementary School

6th, 7th, 8th grades - Middle School

9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grades - High School

 

My middle school's scheduling was odd, as during the 6th and 7th grades of my attendance there we had eight classes in a day, then my 8th year they switched to 'block' scheduling, where there were four classes in a day, and class was held every other day (A/B days). Then there was the 8th grade dance which I avoided at all costs, and most of whom I spoke with who attended the dance, wish they had done the same.

 

High school - 9th graders are Freshman, 10th graders are Sophomores, 11th graders are Juniors, 12th graders are Seniors.

 

Technically, NJ law allows 17 year olds (Juniors) to drive cars, but my school only permitted 18 year olds (Seniors) to actually drive to school and park their cars on school property for a fee of $60 to obtain a spot reserved for that specific car and driver, all year round. My high school had four classes per day, some courses ending in one quarter, and some in one semester. There are four quarters and two semesters per year.

 

There are two proms, the Junior prom, and the Senior prom. Both proms are held seperately, but in April/May (April for Juniors, May for Seniors). The monday after Senior prom is known as "Senior Cut Day", during which all of the Seniors cut classes and spend the day and the preceding weekend after prom down at the shore (Jersey Shore to you out of staters). Prom (and all dances for that matter) is ALWAYS held on a friday. Homecoming is a HUGE deal in high school, and nothing more than a short sqwuak in college. In High school, the halls are decorated in school colors, and the windows are written on with messages saying how the other school is going down. We have a homcoming king and queen, as well as the Prom court (king, queen, and their respective courts).

 

There are also two other big dances, the Snow Flake semi-formal for Freshman and Sophomores, and the Snow Ball Winter Formal for Juniors and Seniors. Both, obviously, in the late fall.

 

Winter break is from Christmas Eve through New Years Day, Spring Break is normally in late march or early April, around Easter (sometimes called Easter Break). Summer Break is obviously the twelve weeks in between the first and last days of school, and there are 180 school days required to have an official school year. School starts the day after Labor Day and ends mid June (but that varies from state to state, Florida starts in early-mid August and ends in May).

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

[Cris L]

Oh wow - thanks for all this info. It's all a bit confusing for me at the moment, as it's so different from where I grew up!

 

FYI : The reason i needed this background info is because some of the characters that I am writing about already exist (minor characters in another story) and so to tell their and my story i have to live with what's already known about them !

[rknapp]

Oh wow - thanks for all this info. It's all a bit confusing for me at the moment, as it's so different from where I grew up!

 

FYI : The reason i needed this background info is because some of the characters that I am writing about already exist (minor characters in another story) and so to tell their and my story i have to live with what's already known about them !

 

 

It's going to be confusing as it veries from district to district. I said that my high school had block scheduling (4 classes per day). While I consider that very normal, some of the guys I live with consider it very odd, as they had 7 classes per day. I laugh each time I read a story where the characters' school has 7 classes in a day and think "Poor kids..." Block scheduling is relatively new if I understand correctly, as my high school converted to it about fifteen years ago.

 

Beyond that everthing else is about the same, I just think that elementary schools containing 6th grades is very odd, and old school, so I wanted to put my information in as well. If you want a REALLY odd school system, go to Britain, those weirdos call classes "Lessons" and graduate in the 10th grade! Can't expect much from people who insist on driving on the wrong side of the road and call circles "round-a-bouts", I suppose.

[dkstories]

Most states have the general guideline that if your child turns age 5 by September (or late august for schools that start earlier), that child MAY start school if the parents want. Children MUST be enrolled in school or home schooling registered by ages 6-7 in almost all states.

 

"Grammar" school is usually considered Kindergarden through 8th Grade in smaller populated areas. Larger population areas will have often have Grammar as K-6 with 'Junior' High as 7-8th. Yet, even in areas like here in Sacramento, some public schools are K-8th.

 

9th through 12th is usually "High School" with the student turning 18 sometime during their senior year. Some students will turn 16 during their sophomore year but aren't allowed to park in school lots until they are a junior.

 

It all depends on the setting of the school and those local rules In the US the education system has traditionally been largely decided on the local level with several different districts being possible in the same cities/towns. Each district is like its own little fiefdom when it comes to school start dates although length of the school years are usually determined by the State level government. States also usually have a large impact on school funding, although like most things this does vary from state to state. Certain standards like reading, writing, math skills etc. are now being set at a national level, but it remains up to each individual district to determine how they will meet those standards.

 

Private/religious schools are a whole other matter...

[glomph]

Block scheduling is relatively new if I understand correctly, as my high school converted to it about fifteen years ago.

 

We had block scheduling in junior high in the early 1960s.

 

It is more unusual in high schools.