High school.... already?? What, how did this happen already?

We went to Emily's "HIGH SCHOOL" Orientation on Tuesday night.  Let me repeat that... H I G H  S C H O O L! Is that really possible.... time... it just keeps on rolling.    It surely felt surreal to be there.   My baby can't possibly be old enough to be going to high school but it's happening next year whether I can believe it or not.   When we first got to the school, we sat in the auditorium to listen to the vice principals & the principal.   I think there are several vice principals.   They gave the parents/students a lot of information.  They are starting a new schedule next year.  Which is good & bad.... It's helpful that our incoming children don't know any other schedule BUT then again I'm sure there will be "kinks" that need to get worked out for the school because it's new.   It's suppose to be more like a "college" schedule thus preparing the students for life after high school... the thing that I found just crazy is that all the kids eat lunch at the same time during their "free" period & and it starts at like 10 am.... WHO THE HELL EATS LUNCH AT 10AM? That's ridiculous! But it is what it is.   Honestly I'm just hoping & praying that Emily likes & can manage high school as well as she did middle school.  It seems like such a big change but then again so did middle school.  It's a pretty big school & it seemed overwhelming to me but like Brian said after a few days Emily will get used to the place & it won't seem so big & scary. I'm sure she'll do great.  There were some parts of the "tour" that were cool & some parts that have me a little concerned for example the random high school girl who shouted down the hall, " Don't have your kids come here!!"  "This place sucks!"  I'm hoping the girl was just having a bad day... but whatever it was, it wasn't very encouraging for the "newbies".   They did have us visit some of the "elective" classes.. for example...art, music, tech, and world languages.    Emily liked the Italian teacher, and we all really REALLY liked the "music" dept- the kids that were there to speak about the music dept were all uniquely cool & super FRIENDLY & we thought Emily would really fit right in with that group.  Not to mention the teacher seemed very encouraging of her students & the program.  Since Emily loves music so much that's right up her alley.  We left a little worried but also more informed & a little hopeful as well.  They told us we should be getting the "suggested" main core schedule for the entering students in the mail in a few days.  (the counselors & teachers, suggest a course study for the kids based on their class grades, & state test scores from middle school)  It can be anything from a basic course for kids who were struggling in the grade dept, to a college prep course, to the advanced or even HONORS courses for kids with high grade averages throughout middle school. (including state testing).   I honestly can't believe that Emily will be starting the next chapter of her life in a little over a 1/2 a year.  We are so proud of her & know she'll again surprise us & make us proud in high school just as she has done with every other challenge she's ever faced in life.