the P.Pole v.2.1

I went to register for my fourth and final year in Victoria Park C. I. yesterday. Seeing some school-time acquaintances (even though Facebook insists that they are friends) and the halls of my academic home for the past three years after such a long absence as only summer holidays can afford gave me an almost nostalgic feeling. The peeling paint in the cafetorium was being painted over as I walked in yesterday and it felt strange that they should begin fixing up the school now. I quite liked the worn look of the place.

As for my timetable, I’m thrilled, absolutely thrilled (no really, that’s not sarcasm hiding in those italics) at my coming year’s setup. This might be the very first time I’ve gotten the best of all worlds in terms of who I have to teach me. To recap, in grade nine I had Quejada (ver. Prego 1.0) for English, which switched to Usprech (the IB coordinator) when she left for maternity leave. This wasn’t fun to begin with, but ended up quite nice. In grade ten I had Quejada (with a vengeance) again, but for History this time. I also got Messere (bless his heart) for Economics, which was, what I thought at first, terrible, since I had been hassled (read: “yelled at”) by him when he sub’d one of my math classes during the first semester of grade ten. Grade eleven landed me with a full year of quite possibly the worst teacher I’ve ever encountered, Olsheski. She has aspirations to head over to Geneva (Switzerland, I think) to be an IBO employee/teacher/etc. (good luck). I’ve ranted about her before so I won’t go into things again.

Anyway, I’ve got a stellar line up in terms of teachers this year and I’m now looking forward to rubbing it in the face of Shivon (who can’t possibly have the same lineup since he is a physics student and I’m a Bionicle). Here’s what I’ve got lined up for the year to come (all courses are IB courses, no arts/optionals for me):

• SCH4U7-1A (Higher Level Chemistry):
  I’ve always done pretty well in Chemistry. I took HL Chemistry because I didn’t take HL Economics. If I did, I’d have no spare this year and have a SL Chemistry credit (which might not work out that nicely). Anyway, I’ve got Ms. Reichling for this class. I have never had her as a teacher before but from what I’ve seen (sometimes grade 11 and 12 classes have to share the same rooms with computers) she seems to be a kind and very poised kind of person. I also haven’t heard anything about her being a jerk. On the other hand, the other Chemistry teacher (Schweistser or something) happens to be 100% Chemistry fanatic and also 100% anal so I’m glad I dodged that bullet.
• ENG4U7-1B (Higher Level Chemistry)
  2 of 3 of my previous English teachers were quite good (Usprech and Abrakasa). For my final year of IB, the one that counts (arguably) the most, I’ve got Mr. Vidrih to school me thoroughly in English. Shivon’s had Vidrih before and he insists that he is absolutely, without a doubt, the best English teacher there is and that he can thoroughly prepare almost any student for the (supposedly) insane HL IB English exam. I, luckily, got him instead of some of the other English teachers (who happen to come off as either very hippie or very Snape). I couldn’t have asked for a better English teacher. The testimonies of nearly all his previous students are enough to convince me.
• SBI4U7-CC (Standard Level Biology)
  I’ve never had Ms. Comstock as a teacher before, but I’ve heard about her. Apparently she likes to not showup to classes a lot on account of other things (like cross-country meets and whatnot) and that happens to be fine with me. Biology is one of those classes that requires less teacher and more textbook. If she’s away, that means I can spend many in-class periods reading and taking notes. I don’t mind that and frankly, substitute teachers are usually more lenient about students speaking with each other. This is a young teacher and presumably nicer too (older teachers have tended to be more easily peeved from my experience) . Not bad if you ask me, although not too stellar (my previous Biology teacher that I quite liked, Ms. Thorne, is pregnant and is now off for a year).
• MHF4U7-1D (Higher Level Maths, Finite and Calculus)
  This might be the best news I’ve had in quite awhile. I’ve got Ms. Yeganegi again for Math! Now, just for context’s sake, I’ve had Ms. Yeganegi for the past 3 years of Math (essentially, she’s taught me all the Math I know except for what Ms. Buica taught me in the second term of grade 11). My grades 9, 10, and 11 (one of my two Math courses in grade 11) were all taught by her and I really got attached to the way she taught. That’s probably why Ms. Buica hated me so much, because I treated her class as if I was still in Yeganegi’s class. Anyway, Ms. Y. told me she wouldn’t be teaching any grade 12 Math courses at the end of my grade 11 Math course. I said that I was sad to hear it but also that I was almost sure she’d teach me again some time, and I was right!

If Messere reminds me of my dad (in a non-weird/twisted way), then Yeganegi reminds me of my mother. I’ve always wanted to have them meet with each other (i.e. my parents and these two teachers) to see if they notice the similarities between themselves. Messere is very pragmatic, slightly jaded, highly cynical, and played video games (sound like anyone I’m related to?). Yeganegi despises mediocrity (or even “average”ness), is competent in her field, knows when to joke and when to work, and has high expectations for her pupils. That’s my mom right there!

Anyway, weird gushing about teachers aside, I don’t want to get back to school just yet (I’ve got a Math test right when I get back!) but I suppose there’s no use dreading it. How’s everyone else getting on with their post-summer depression?