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
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