Comments

http://customag.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/point-blank-is-only-a-10-minute-walk-away/#comment-14

http://rantitnraveit.wordpress.com/grr-fairview/#comment-20

http://valueyourvoice.blogspot.com/2009/06/fast-food-for-thought.html?showComment=1245417330095#c3362862325236353397

http://vazelodian.blogspot.com/

http://rantitnraveit.wordpress.com/rants/#comment-21

http://modolce.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/public-announcement/#comment-21

Jam Packed: Grad & Prom

Most schools have their proms before graduation, but since Mary Ward is so self-directed we decide to have ours after graduation. I was at football practice today and I was listening to stories about my team-mates’ proms when I was asked when my prom was. “On the 25^th…after graduation…the same day,” I replied. In response, I got weird looks. It truly is pretty unusual to have grad and prom on the same day and it has its negative aspects, as well as positive.

Many people would hate the idea of having such two big events on the same day, mainly because of the lack of time to prepare. The ladies would more likely hate having the two on the same time more than the gentlemen. Why? Obviously because we women take decades to get all dolled up. Graduation ends at 12 pm, leave some time for photo-ops, that brings it to 12:30. Prom starts at 6:30, if you want to be fashionable late, then 7. Subtract the amount of time driving around getting from hair salon, to make up place, back to your house (or a friend’s house), to the pick up location of your ride (if you have one), plus the famous pre-prom pictures, and don’t forget all the tiny little mishaps that will most definitely happen – that leaves around 4.5 hours to get ready. Not nearly enough time to do everything in between! If the two most important events of one’s high school life were placed on the same day, unnecessary stress will surely build up. Despite the lack of time on the day of prom and grad, I still see the perks of having them within the span of 24 hours.

Most of my friends from different schools have already had their prom. They took the full day off school to get ready for the evening – yes even the boys ditched classes. They went to prom, danced the night away, and partied until the wake of dawn during the after parties. They took the weekend to recover and then BAM! Monday is here. There are still classes. The party is over. What a reality check. I personally went to an after party for a bunch of my friends’ prom and even though I didn’t go to their prom itself, I didn’t want to come to school that Monday. The advantage of having prom after graduation is that there is no more work to worry about, exams are finished and you know that you have conquered high school. Now is the time to really party. Knowing that you have earned your high school diploma and walked across the stage gives you all the more reason to have fun and let loose!

Overall, I think having grad and prom on the same day is a great idea. There’s no looking back after prom. Only maybe if you’re manager of the yearbook.

When Deadlines Turn Deadly

Deadlines. They are rare in Mary Ward but when they do come, they hit students – and we can’t forget the teachers – hard. It’s true that at Ward, the students get to decide how they spend their time, but it does not mean that there aren’t dates when things must be finished. When these dates come, sleep is no longer a regular bodily function for students and brains are at work sometimes more than 24 hours a day.

June Rush is its infamous name and this time of the year is always the craziest. The name is pretty much self-explanatory. It is the rush to finish all units with tests by the end of the last week of May and to submit units without by the end of the first week of June. The countdown to June Rush begins after March break. Many wonder – isn’t that too early? Oh no, no, no. Time flies at Ward. Seriously. There’s even a page on the agenda whose sole purpose is to remind everyone that there are 40 school days left to hand in units. Of course, in keeping with true Mary Ward spirit, no one begins to bust their butts and actually starts to do work until the week before units with tests have to be handed in, and chaos ensues. One of my classmates even suggested changing the name to June Miracle, because sometimes it feels like a miracle once all things have been finished. But let’s back track for a moment and look at other minor deadlines.

I have already mentioned two deadlines at the end of the year for all units to be submitted. There are, however, other deadlines throughout the year. Conditional zero deadlines occur every four unit target dates and report card deadlines happen in November and March. Many rush to meet these deadlines in fear of their parents, while some – including myself – see no significance in these and feel no pressure whatsoever. I can’t forget two very important deadlines which greatly affect the potential graduates of the school.

University deadlines can be just as bad as June Rush, though it only applies to graduating grade 12s. They must be met in order to be offered admission to a post-secondary school. If you planned on going to university and did not meet these deadlines… Let’s just say bye bye future! Okay, maybe it’s not that absolute, but who really wants to write an essay to whichever post-sec institution you want to get into explaining why your application was late? (Yeah, my friend had to do that, she says it was not fun.)

So, what are the repercussions of handing everything last minute? It’s already clear than sleep is completely thrown out the window, but there are much more effects than just having bags engraved under your eyes. One would be that teachers are SWAMPED with work to mark. I remember last year, on the last day to hand in all work, a teacher was complaining about how she received more work in one period alone, than during the whole day the day before. We students must realize the toll it takes on teachers and how we must be frying their brains with all the half-assed (sorry for the language) work we handed in. This brings me to my second point – we no longer learn anything. Students are rushing through these units and no information sinks in. So much for education right? But hey, I guess you do what you have to do to pass the course. Whether or not you actually need the information in the future is another consequence you must face.

Although avoiding all the stress must feel amazing – and I commend all those who never have been through any type of deadline crunch – I feel as that If you’ve never experience any pressure or lack of sleep during your time at Mary Ward, you never truly experienced it. As for me, I’ve experienced it enough, going on my fourth year to be exact. I am currently in the middle of my philosophy break, truly feeling the deadliness of the final deadlines to submit units. I have been running on very little hours of sleep and many of my school mates look like walking zombies. And the question, as always, is: how do we prevent ourselves from this torture?

Oh right, with the same answer, as always: “DON’T PROCRASTINATE!”

Leadership or Partisanship?

Camp Olympia: the place where selected high school seniors from all around the city go to partake in a leadership crash course and bring what they learn back to their schools. Being chosen to go to this leadership camp is very looked highly upon by universities and sometimes, employers. At Mary Ward, the handful of students who are chosen to go to Camp O become the core OASIS leaders of the following school year. In fact, they are handpicked.

So, what characteristics must a Mary Ward student possess in order to go to Camp O? Leadership, for one. They have to do well in school. The ability to work in a team is another. Oh, and I can’t forget that they have to be known in the school. No matter how great of a leader, student, or team-worker you are, if the ‘panel’ of decision makers do not know who you are, you’re simply not going to even make the decision table.

Unlike other schools, senior Ward students need not apply for a spot on the bus to Camp Olympia. A group of teachers make this decision. But is this really fair? Are all students eligible to go to Camp O and be part of the next core OASIS group considered? What if a student does so much for the schools community and possesses the qualities I listed above, but is not particularly recognized by the group of teachers choosing? Are all the teachers in this group a wholesome representation of the entire senior student body? I, for one, personally don’t think so.

As an observant student, I have seen many of my school peers who deserve to be sent to Camp Olympia – and at least become an OASIS leader – not be chosen. There are many students who work hard and maintain a good reputation in the school, and sometimes they are overlooked. Being chosen to become a leader, whether in the core group or in the main one, is something that students take pride in. Sometimes, more often than it should occur, students are left out because of the process of choosing.

I think Ward should start making students apply for a position to be in Camp O. In this way, all students who truly want to take part in the experience are considered. Students that are actually qualified are considered. Even if they are not chosen, at least students who longed to go were given a chance. Unlike now. How is it possible for a group of teachers to judge 400 students by reading their name off a list? It’s not.

Teachers Don’t Teach at Ward

There is a huge misconception that teachers at Mary Ward do not teach because it is a self-directed school. Two of my best friends and myself took summer school in grade ten to earn a new credit for physics. Our teacher, Mr. Verre, was a nice guy. He had a great sense of humour and he was a good teacher. One day though, he made a comment about Ward and how the teachers at our school do nothing but wait for students to hand work in. Another teacher, Mr. Daoust, my advanced functions teacher in summer school last year, also made a comment about how very little work Mary Ward teachers must have to do. I have pride in my school and I see the work that my teachers put in, and biased or not, I stand by my opinion that teachers at Ward probably work harder than regular high school teachers do.

Maybe we Mary Ward students sometimes describe our school in a way that belittles the amount of work our teachers put in. “I go to Mary Ward. It’s self-directed which means we work on our own pace and we basically teach ourselves.” Many students have probably

explained Ward this way and it will definitely have people wondering whether or not teachers teach. What we fail to say is the difficulty teachers have by having to help guide students through the course individually. Since not everyone is ever on the same pace, teachers can’t just hold one big lesson and have everyone understand that part of the course. They have to hold numerous seminars which a regular high school teacher can do in one day. Ward teachers also have the task of writing out the curriculum in units which students can easily understand because most of the time, we are working on our own. Regular teachers can just simply go on a website, print off a lesson plan (one that is not even theirs), read it, and teach in front of a class the next day.

Although teachers at Ward are there to teach us academically, they – more than any other

school – teach us about life. Since there are no actual classes, and teachers aren’t constantly dishing out lessons, students have the opportunity to create relationships with their teachers. Personally, I have learned so much from some of my teachers about things outside the academic realm. They’ve given me advice about life outside of high school and I have come to the point to consider them not just teachers, but as friends. Normal high school students don’t have such an opportunity because they have to sit and hear their teacher go on and on about why E=MC² and they never have the chance to build an extra-curricular relationship. At Ward, while you ask a teacher to help you figure out the impact of globalization on trade unions, you can also have a short discussion about things outside of school, what party you went to during the weekend.

The next time another a teacher from another school says Mary Ward teachers do no work, I’ll just tell him or her that it’s not the Ward teachers’ fault they can work and play at the same time.