
Today is the big day. Ben was registered to take the SAT this morning in Buenos Aires. We had attempted to take the test at home but couldn't get the dates worked out and the test is only offered internationally twice while we are traveling. Sometime in May was the other option and at this point we don't know where exactly we will be then.
Ben is interested in attending the Illinois Math & Science Academy for high school and the SAT is a requirement. This was his opportunity to take the test and see how he would perform, do a little work on areas that need it, then retake the test prior to applying to high school. One of Ben's strengths is test taking so he was not nervous at all. He woke with 10 minutes to spare this morning and got in the car.
The SAT is only administered at one location in BA. The Asociación Escuelas Lincoln, the Lincoln International School. As luck would have it one of the two people that we know in Buenos Aires happens to be a teacher at the school. A friend and neighbor since childhood, Dan Nolan, has lived and worked here for 10+ years and teaches middle school social studies. He was even able to pull some strings and arrange for a graphing calculator for Ben to use for the test. We forgot to pack ours. Thanks, Dan!
Ben and Mike did a test drive to the school yesterday. It's about 30 minutes north of our apartment and in a beautiful neighborhood called La Lucila, a northern suburb of Buenos Aires. The school is as close to the Rio de la Plata as things get here and has amazing views of the water. We were so impressed with the school itself that we forgot to get a picture of the view. It felt like a mix of the classic Hinsdale public school and a open-style California school. Maddy has plans to move here soon.
Obviously, parents are not allowed to accompany their children into the test but I tried. I wanted to make sure that he found the calculator and make sure that someone inside spoke English (the security guards at the gate did not speak English and had a hard time locating his name on the list). After he went in I spent the next few hours worrying that the test was being given in Spanish and it would be a long 4 hours for him. Don't laugh. I even made Mike circle back to the school to make sure that he was still inside and wasn't sitting on the curb with no cell phone. He was fine.
The College Board website indicates that the test takes 3 hrs. and 45 min. to complete so we returned at 11:45am with the girls to wait for Ben. Well, things take a bit longer here and at 1:20pm Ben came out looking tired but pleased. Said the reading part was the most difficult.
-Suzanne
Aside from what my mom just wrote, I kind enjoyed the day too. I thought it was really nice of Dan to show us around the school and give us fact on the history of the school. The school had a huge soccer field and a pool! The school offered different classes like Drama and Choir. Overall, I thought it was nice and fun to learn about a school I would go too if I lived here. Later we got ice cream.
- Izzy
Ben is interested in attending the Illinois Math & Science Academy for high school and the SAT is a requirement. This was his opportunity to take the test and see how he would perform, do a little work on areas that need it, then retake the test prior to applying to high school. One of Ben's strengths is test taking so he was not nervous at all. He woke with 10 minutes to spare this morning and got in the car.
The SAT is only administered at one location in BA. The Asociación Escuelas Lincoln, the Lincoln International School. As luck would have it one of the two people that we know in Buenos Aires happens to be a teacher at the school. A friend and neighbor since childhood, Dan Nolan, has lived and worked here for 10+ years and teaches middle school social studies. He was even able to pull some strings and arrange for a graphing calculator for Ben to use for the test. We forgot to pack ours. Thanks, Dan!
Ben and Mike did a test drive to the school yesterday. It's about 30 minutes north of our apartment and in a beautiful neighborhood called La Lucila, a northern suburb of Buenos Aires. The school is as close to the Rio de la Plata as things get here and has amazing views of the water. We were so impressed with the school itself that we forgot to get a picture of the view. It felt like a mix of the classic Hinsdale public school and a open-style California school. Maddy has plans to move here soon.
Obviously, parents are not allowed to accompany their children into the test but I tried. I wanted to make sure that he found the calculator and make sure that someone inside spoke English (the security guards at the gate did not speak English and had a hard time locating his name on the list). After he went in I spent the next few hours worrying that the test was being given in Spanish and it would be a long 4 hours for him. Don't laugh. I even made Mike circle back to the school to make sure that he was still inside and wasn't sitting on the curb with no cell phone. He was fine.
The College Board website indicates that the test takes 3 hrs. and 45 min. to complete so we returned at 11:45am with the girls to wait for Ben. Well, things take a bit longer here and at 1:20pm Ben came out looking tired but pleased. Said the reading part was the most difficult.
-Suzanne
Aside from what my mom just wrote, I kind enjoyed the day too. I thought it was really nice of Dan to show us around the school and give us fact on the history of the school. The school had a huge soccer field and a pool! The school offered different classes like Drama and Choir. Overall, I thought it was nice and fun to learn about a school I would go too if I lived here. Later we got ice cream.
- Izzy