Life and all of that

A quick note: my apologies for not posting recently....I wrote this post about a week ago, but the website I use for blogging was not letting me post anything on the template, so I wasn't able to put it up.  Here is my belated blog post....enjoy!

Once again, hello!

It has been quite a whirlwind at AC lately….probably more so for the second-years than for us, but we are experiencing our fair share of hectic days, as well.  This week the second-years all have Mocks, basically trial examinations meant to prepare them for the IB exams in May.  Personally, I think they seem to unnecessarily stress the already pushed-to-the-limit second-years, but they are handling the whole week quite well so far.  This does mark the beginning of the end for the second-years, which is very upsetting for all of us.  Teachers keep saying things like ‘when the second-years leave’ or ‘when you get first-years’ and other such comments that make us think ‘no, they still have time!’  But when our history teacher told us there were only 6 weeks of teaching time left before our end-of-year exams….that did wake us up as we realized that late April is rushing towards us at breakneck speed.

Last week was mainly a ‘normal’ week, full of activities, codes, service, and everything else that goes on.  I’ve started a math study group on Monday evenings for the people in my standard class and the other standard class taught by the same teacher, since we move at the same pace.  It seems to be going well so far, and I think some people have found it helpful, so I think we will keep it going.  On Mondays I also help coach a football (soccer) team for 5-6 year olds….they are absolutely adorable, and it makes me remember when I was playing on Coach Thompy’s team and had no idea how to dribble a soccer ball.  Apparently I also used to chase my own shadow during games.  So when I see one of the kids wander off and pick up a stick and scratch in the dirt with it, I laugh and try to make a soccer ball seem more interesting.  They all laugh at me when I call it ‘soccer,’ though, and all of the kids have now picked up on the fact that I am very used to the American way of naming the sport.

The highlight of the weekend was probably the North American National Evening that took place on Sunday evening.  We had been practicing together for a few weeks and we put together a great evening with the Canadian national group that had people cracking up the entire time.  We had everything from a pancake eating contest (Canada), a road trip across Canada’s provinces, some Western swing dancing from the Texans, and a skit exaggerating all of the American high-school stereotypes.  The grand finale, though, was our performance of ‘We’re All in this Together,’ that cheesy song from High School Musical.  Yes, we learned the dance.  Yes, it was hard.  Yes, everyone thought it was hilarious, and we had a great time doing it.  Even though it probably stole 12 hours of my weekend and maybe 25 hours of my life, the product was well worth it. 

Another great event this weekend was our first Quidditch match!  It was raining, so not many spectators showed up, but we had lots of fun.  I was an assistant referee, and it was my job, among other things, to keep an eye on the Snitch.  In Muggle Quidditch, the snitch is a tennis ball stuck into a sock which is placed in the back of the shorts of the snitchrunner, a person dressed in all yellow.  Ricardo from Brazil was our snitchrunner, and he did a fabulous job.  He hid in a recycling bin, behind a tower, and he may have even used a bicycle to get around!  Definitely a fun event.

We have solo service this week, which basically means service without the second-years.  That cuts our service down by half, leaving only 6 people on Wednesday and 4 with the school kids on Thursday since two of the first-years have a separate band session that they do with some of the kids.  They will be missed this week, that is for sure.

There is a lot more I could say, and I’m realizing that I really need to get better at keeping a diary or journal or some similar thing.  Unfortunately, I can’t sit here and take it all down because I have to go get my laundry, finish an English essay, do my history presentation, and make some cookies with Kate for our stressed second-years.  Hope you are all well, and I will be back at a later time!

Madison

ACMUN, TOK, ACC, TOO MANY ABBREVIATIONS!

Hello!

What did I do yesterday? Well, I was part of a group that drafted a resolution regarding peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine, I participated in drafting a resolution to give United Nations Peacekeeping Forces more authority to protect civilians, I saw a delegate from Iran being kidnapped by a terrorist organization called 6:34, and to wrap it all up, China and Russia have now declared nuclear war on the United States, Israel, and Bangladesh!

Just kidding!

Yesterday was AC's Model United Nations Conference.  I respresented China on the Security Council, and it was an intense nine hours of negotiation.  We discussed the Israel-Palestine conflict and the authority of United Nations Peacekeeping forces.  We actually did draft resolutions for both topics, though much of the first resolution was vetoed by the delegate from the USA.  It turned out to be the process that was the most important learning tool, not the final result, since everyone started to get a little tired at the end of the day (hence nuclear war).  We did actually have some terrorists busting up the council meetings, and a couple of my co-years from Morgannwg (cough cough, Atsuki and Einar) ran through the door brandishing water guns and abducted the delegate from Iran.  The conference was, for the most part, run professionally with the proper use of diplomatic language and the correct sequence for debating, motioning, and voting.  We had some guests at the school from UWC Maastricht (Netherlands), UWC Adriatic (Italy), Liverpool, and Llantwit Comprehensive.  It was great to meet some of our co-years from different UWCs, and I enjoyed being in the Security Council with some of the visiting students.  The conference was really eye-opening in terms of understanding how lengthy the process is in the UN before a substantive resolution is passed.  If a group of 15 students took nine hours to get two resolutions drafted, how long would a body of over 60 countries, each very attached to their own government's views, take to accomplish something?  I loved the conference, though, and it was a great way to spend my weekend.

Some pretty odd things happened during the conference, however...the highlights were certainly the chairs of the committee throwing chocolate across the room, people slipping and using improper diplomatic language such as 'cool' or 'dude,' and of course the contents of the diplomatic notes passed throughout the conference.  Some of the best notes include:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Write a resolution
And Russia bombs you

I received that from my lovely co-year representing Russia. Another:

China (to Ivory Coast): You ok?
(This note was sent in response to some very frustated-looking expressions coming from the delegate of the Ivory Coast.  By the luck of timing, the note arrived just as he was finishing an angry-sounding speech)

Response: Ivory Coast rips up the note from China.

Chairs: "Delegate of the Ivory Coast, please refrain from the dramatic ripping of notes in this council!"

Yes, we were all so professional.  My apologies if I am boring you, but the atmosphere in the room was so hilarious I had to try to recapture it somehow.  And I promise we did get some good debate going and at the end we all felt we had learned a lot.

As for the rest of the week, it was business as usual.  First-years were given an introductory presentation to our Theory of Knowledge classes, a requirement for the IB which we start this week.  Theory of Knowledge has been described as basic philosophy.  It is meant to be a synthesis of all of the subjects we take, pulling from knowledge in math, science, history, and languages for the purpose of inquiring 'how we know what we know.'  It's a little vague right now, but our second-years tell us it is very much a discussion-based, theoretical class.  I think it will be quite interesting, but as to how much practical value it holds I will have to wait and see.

Second-years are preparing for their trial exams in February, so they are all feeling a crunch right now as they try to get coursework and studying in all at once.  First-years are starting to step in to more organizational roles and take over more for the second-years in some ways, though all of the second-years are still staying completely involved with the school.  Elections for Chair and Vice-chair of the Student Council are going on right now, and new reps for different areas are about to be chosen.  It's not that the second-years are anticipating their departure already, but it makes us all aware that we only get two years at this place, and with time moving so fast,  the beginning of the end comes soon.

Fortunately, we still have a lot of great time left this term.  Project week comes in a few weeks, followed by a few weeks of school, the Arts Diploma Period, Easter Break, First-year Exams, and then it's May and the second-years take their exams!  Lots of time, though considerably less school time than one might think.  This term is a great one because the first-years are closer as a year group and the second-years seem less busy with constant work.  Although I have to say, I won't be sorry when it turns to spring---it's been freezing here, but it's too wet for proper snow! Not good weather for the Florida girl, and my roommate from Nigeria is bemoaning the cold constantly.  Hopefully my friend Kate and I will see some snow in Cardiff today when we go---we are going to see a Straight No Chaser concert, which we are both SO excited about.  I know it will be great!

Hope everyone is doing well.  Have a great week and take care!

Madison