Bette: Getting into the right middle school is going to be a little more competitive than getting in to Whittington Elementary.

Daniel:  Why is that?

Bette: Whittington is a 3-year school and you were in the school’s third year. Most students enter the school in the 4^th grade and proceed through. The number of 6^th graders applying are a lot less than the number of 4^th graders. We got in because someone moved away and dropped out of the school in the 6^th grade late in the summer. When it comes to this middle school, you will be one of many who will want to be in the 7^th grade applying. That’s the first year where a great majority enter the school. You will have the advantage of being a Whittington Elementary student. But there are only so many spots and there will be a whole lot more people applying for those spots. If we are late, we stand no chance of getting in. So, we want to do whatever we can to make sure you go to the school we all believe is best for you. We might want to consult with Mrs. Miller on this.

Tina:  And you did such an excellent job finding Whittington, we want to repeat that process and see if we can find an equally good selection for your middle school as well.

Daniel: Okay, I get it. Well, if you recall, I started with a list of possible high schools and then a list of feeder middle schools to those high schools. And then a list of feeder elementary schools to those middle schools. I still have those list on my computer. I’ll email them to you.

Bette:  That would be good. Now, we may not actually start this process for a week or two. But before the end of the month, we want to be assembling your application. And I would like to submit it in October. I would like to get an acceptance by Thanksgiving or Christmas if possible.

Daniel: Wow, I haven’t attended my first day at Whittington yet.

Tina: That’s the way life works Daniel. Timing is everything.

Bette: Okay… Tina and I are going to look at our schedule for now through the end of the year. We are planning to go to Philadelphia for a long weekend. We have one weekend which will be our moving weekend this month. And we would like to take you on a trip for a long weekend sometime either in late October or early November.