“Break-a-Leg”

Lindsay and I rose before the sun at 6:30 a.m. this morning.  After a hearty “egg-in-a-pocket” for breakfast with juice and milk we drove downtown.  Parking; not a problem that early on a Saturday and walked over to the School for Creative and Performing Arts for her 7th grade audition.  As a Jr. High student she had four areas to choose to audition in when she registered several weeks ago.  Lindsay decided to prepare a monologue for the Drama Dept., a German vocal solo for the Vocal Music Dept., a violin solo of Minuet I for Instrumental music and she auditioned for dance; a last choice on her list (because she wants to “eat more than apples for lunch”, she says).  She also interviewed with the technical theater department.  This child is very glad to have this day under her belt as she begins her transition from elementary school and hunts for a new school to further her education.

In Cincinnati, all schools are schools of choice so the hunt for a school to match the child and his or her interests and abilities is real and there is some pressure.  We will find out in 6 or more weeks if Lindsay is accepted based on enrollment of course but also on her audition today as well as her academic grades and her standardized test scores which we turned in along with birth certificate, medical records, interview sheets, photographs, sealed letters of recommendation, work portfolio and proof of address.  In just a few weeks, Lindsay will also begin testing for Walnut Hills; a rigorous college preparatory Jr. Sr. High School and if she does well enough on those, it will open the doors to the possibility of attending school there.  She is trying to obtain options so she can make a choice.  Both schools have friends of Lindsay’s who attend but there are other positive and negative points for Lindsay to consider.  One school has a track team and swim team that Lindsay is very interested in (and she is very good at both) but does not teach German in their foreign language dept.  and their music program is not as big or as strong.  Having learned and spoken German since second grade and played violin since Kindergarten but having serious interests and abilities in track and swim she has some choices to make.  The other school has a fantastic array of musical opportunities and also offers German classes but… sports opportunities are extremely limited.  And then there are Montessori Schools to consider as well as others if these two choices don’t pan out.

Lindsay’s auditions went very well… she feels confidant in three out of her four choices and her grades and test scores combined with the talents that she has gives us every reason to believe that the choice of schools to attend next year will be Lindsay’s to make and we will do our best to support her choice.  Alas, we must wait for the results like everyone else.  Wish Lindsay luck as she continues through this process over the next weeks and months. 

BREAK A LEG, LINDSAY!