Team Orange: Not For CAS

An update for Halloween for Hunger: IB style. So, yesterday we got an info sheet about times, places and teams; all pretty average stuff. Along with finding out i'm on Team Orange (my favourite colour!) and i have some pretty awesome people on it with me (Adrian and Sawini). The passing out of this sheet really got us all stoked for it. That is until we were smacked in the face by the news that this wouldn't count for CAS. Apparently it doesn't hit all the criteria. I still think it'll be a great time and a cool experience and i'm going to still blog about it. But, it does kind of suck that this was only told to us when we'd already made a commitment. I most likely would have done it regardless, but some people are giving up things to do it in hopes of getting CAS only to find out that they won't. It's just a bit disappointing. Well, i'll keep you posted; à bientôt.

Suffering For Your Art?

On Wednesday Emily and I had our first yearbook outing. It was the girls field hockey championships (the good medal game) and we had to take some pictures. Our plan was simple: we'd hang out with a couple friends after school at the University Library and study, grab a snack, head over to the field about 20 minutes before to take a team picture and then take some action shots. We wouldn't have to stay the whole game and we'd still get all our pictures! However, we didn't account on the fact that we would each have about 80 pounds of stuff to bring with us, or that it would be soooooo cold and that it would start to rain. In the end we got all our pictures (there was this amazing sunset right behind the field), few permanent back problems from lugging around our stuff and no frostbite! I guess it all worked out in the end.

Extreme Makeover: Yearbook Edition

In my 3rd year of Junior High I decided to join the yearbook committee. It was one of the best experiences of my life. There was an epic theme, cool pages most of my friends were on the committee and at the end of the year students and teachers alike could sign each others yearbooks and have unique memories that will last a life time. When I arrived in high school I was eager to join the yearbook committee. However, upon going to the information meeting I was met with a bleak realization; creativity was a crime in the eyes of the yearbook supervisor. The only speck of theme was our school colors (red and white), the pages were all the same format and the only difference were the sizes of the red boxes on the white page. We were told that to be on the committee all you needed to do was take the pictures your were told to take and put where you were told to out them. To top it off; you didn't receive your lovely yearbook until the next year. Now, I don't know about you, but signing the yearbook is at least half the fun and who knows where you're going to be next year. What if you move? What about the graduating class? What if you have all different friends? The yearbooks are sent to you if you move or graduate, but you still won't be able to have anyone sign it! The reasoning behind this is so that grad and prom and such would be able to be in the yearbook. Although  in my own opinion everyone is going to take their own pictures with only people they actually care about. All the awards and scholarships are usually in the yearbook also, but if you win one you'll be given either a plaque or a certificate in memorial and if you don't win one, you probably don't want to remember all the people that did instead of you.The principal at my school has been principalling for at least 10 years, the yearbook has been this way for about 40 years and she thinks it's not really a yearbook when it doesn't include the entire year. Another IB student (Emily)and I decided to challenge this way of thinking by taking on the yearbook our self. The supervisor for last year retired and now we have been given the go-ahead to take over completely. We're going to have to make a committee of course, but we now have a supervisor! It's Mr. Toms our math teacher. We'll still be the ones mainly in charge. So back to the issue of end dates and yearbook arrivals, Em and I have decided to do a survey. Which ever option wins (stay the same or June arrival) our principal has given us permission to go along with it. So, basically I am officially one of the Yearbook Committee Chief Editors and tomorrow Em and I are going to kick off with taking pictures of the last game of the season of our field hockey team! Ta ta for now

It Will Be Spooktacular!

So, on October 31st (yep you got it, All Hallow's Eve) i'll be joining most of my astoundingly dazzling grade eleven IB class and most of the also cool grade twelve IB class on an adventure to fight hunger! Well, technically we're splitting into groups and going trick or treating around the Stratford area. Now here's the kick; instead of collecting candy and gorging ourselves with a mixture of glucose-fructose, artificial flavours and who know's what else, we are going to go door to door and collect non-perishable food for the food bank!  It should be really great, not only are we helping people, but it should be a  good chance to bond a little bit more with the grade twelve class. Oh, and did I mention we're all going to dress up as nerds( the classic ones not the IB ones)... I think i'm going to do a little twist on my costume... i'm thinking sparkles? More to come!

 

Basically my class

The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen.

I just registered for GISHWHES! It's another creativity component and it stands for the "Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen". It's hosted by Misha Collins and starts in 2 weeks, 2 days and 12 hours! My whole class has formed a team and it should be a really unique bonding experience! Basically, teams are formed all over the world, items are posted on the website and then you take pictures of them and send them in. Now, here's the creative part: you have to make most of the items and points are rewarded for either accuracy or extreme creativity! The winner of this scavenger hunt is flown to Scotland to have a sleepover and ghost hunt in a haunted castle with Misha Collins! Although, we aren't doing this to win we're doing this to broaden our horizons and participate in this creative, unique and world-renowned scavenger hunt to rival all scavenger hunts!
Here are some item examples from last year!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these photos and all photo credits go to the GISHWHES organization.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Last Friday (October 5th) I started and finished my first CAS project! Yay! It was a review on the newly released book by J.K. Rowling The Casual Vacancy for the school newspaper "The Rural Reader". To be honest, I was not a fan of the book and I did leave the article to the last moment, but I got it done! This review actually took quite a bit more time than I thought it would, which is why I left it to the last moment. In the future, i'll make sure to start before the day its due and hopefully learn some time management. Over time I expect my book reviewing skills will also improve!