Monday, 6 May 2024
Life, the universe, pies, hot-pink bunnies, world domination, and everything
It waits there like a big toad. Sooner or later it’s going to leap. Is that how you see the start of the school year? Here’s a place to talk about the dread, indifference or, yes, excitement that comes with returning to school. Some toads are very cool.
Date: August 14, 2009
Categories: Life, Random craziness
…First post?
Anyway, I’m kinda excited about school. I’m going into 7th, but the way my school works, it’s like I’m just starting middle school. So… Exciting!
0- Toads are For Teh Win!
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Second post?
I’m excited about school, mainly because I can’t wait for Science Olympiad and Latin teams, both of which I am wanted in, and want to join.
I’m going into 6th grade, but the way my school is, I’m doing 7th and 8th grade stuff.
I once had a pet toad/frog, we were never sure what en was. En’s name was Swamp Thing.
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Eh… no me gusta ir la escuela. But I am excited for Midsummer. So they sort of cancel each other out.
At the same time, I’ve got this dread because I’ve had a project hanging over me all summer and I haven’t done ANYTHING and I’m scared. I need to read a book by an American author, but at this point it can’t be a very long book (not like Bleak House).
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Alice, I don’t know if this reply is too late but if you need a short book by an American author then try Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening.” I really didn’t like it, but it is short and it’s a classic and controversial and all.
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I”m so excited for school to start. I’m going into 8th grade this year. I can’t wait!!!
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Wait, you are going into 7th!? I though you were older than me! I’m in 7th now. Not GOING INTO, of course, as this past week was my fourth week of school. Seriously! I’m homeschooled, and this year am using this online distance learning program. So basically we could start whenever my (mom) decided to. ARGH! Anyway. If I was still going to my old school in SC, I would just be going into middle school, but here in TN, 6th is the first year of middle school. I love school, it’s so fun to learn new things. A couple years ago, one of my friends sent me a postcard saying “I AM NOT READY FOR SCHOOL TO START AGAIN!! PS. I WISH THE SCHOOL WOULD EXPLODE!!!” and now he has changed his tune to “SCHOOL IS AWESOME!!!” haha
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What do you think of home schooling? I used to really want to do it, but now I’m starting to think that I’d much rather prefer regular school.
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I’m also going into 8th grade! *virtual high five*
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*sob* The horror! I don’t WANT to go back! And I have to finish my summer reading for US History! 
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Ah, toads. I am excited to start high school because:
1. High-speed internet.
2. Socalization.
3. Interesting classes.
4. It’s a good school.
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1: I’m going into 7th too! *highpie* Except this is my second year of middle school.
I got into theater arts and concert band, the highest levels of band and theater. If they turn out to be the same period, I think I’ll switch to advanced band. I’m not the best, so I don’t want to get in the way of my friend’s wins. But if they aren’t in the same period, I’ll be taking zero period PE since I have to take two period of Alg since I got a C in PreAlg. *siiiigh*
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*ducks the highpie* yaya! 7th grade is awesome!
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I’m going into 7th too!!! It’s also my second year of middle school. Go 7th graders!!!!!!
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I know what you mean- I’m kind of excited too. I have some very interesting courses this year, and I’m going to be an upperclassman!
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I feel rather old right now. I’m going into grade 11.I’m looking forward to it for several reasons: 1. I am tired of summer 2. Grade 10 was a horrible, soul destroying, terrorfying experiece I never, ever want to repeat or talk about ever again.
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Don’t feel old, Kagcomix. I’m going to be a junior as well!
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I’m going to be a junior as well, so don’t feel bad. I’m excited because I’m going to be taking more courses that I actually enjoy than last year (absolute nightmare, by the way), as well as getting one of the best teachers in the school. So in general, I am excited to be going back.
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Me three!
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Me… four? Piggy’s going to be a junior as well.
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Me four! 
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Oh, kiwi I didn’t see you there! That makes me five and Piggy six.
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I’m going into 7th grade, which I’m pretty excited about, but more for the socialization than learning. I’m also glad that I’ll be moving up a notch on the totem pole. 6th grade was fun but kind of a drag because the 7th and 8th graders all look down on you, which can be sort of intimidating when you’re just trying to survive in middle school. Now that I know exactly what to expect, I’m much more excited than nervous. I miss my friends – A LOT – so I can’t wait to see them all again. And I’m especially excited to find out my teachers. I’m dreading math, language, and English, which pretty much sums up the three major subjects that I hate. But oh well. I know that 7th grade’s super important too, because it’s the year that high schools look at. That scares me a little, but I’m just going to try to not focus on it.
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Are you planning to apply for selective high schools? I haven’t heard of the idea of “the year that high schools look at.”
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I go to a private school, and will almost certainly go to a private high school as well. When I apply to my high schools in eighth grade, they’ll look at all my seventh grade report cards, test scores, etc. That’s why everyone who goes to my school stresses the importance of doing well in seventh grade.
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Wow. That’s intense. I go to (and applied for in 8th grade) magnet high school, but nobody ever stressed what was necessary to get into high schools.
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Well, the high schools do look at some things from your eighth grade year during the application process, but I’ve heard that most of what they look at it is your seventh grade scores because not all of your report cards have come out when you’re applying to schools in the middle of eighth grade. I agree, it is pretty intense, and it’s even more so when you add the tight competition of getting into the best high school.
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I go to a magnet elementary school that only goes up to 6th grade. If you want to get into a similar middle school, you have to be absolutely perfect in fifth grade. So much stress! I’m not talking about last year. At all. I think the whole grade had temporary OCD, we were so tense. (now I don’t know of that’s possible…) Now all we have to do is take a big, hairy entrance exam. Cheers!
In response to comment 11.1.1.1.1: soccer starr, you’re absolutely right!
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Going to be a senior x_x
So! I have reached whole new levels in Procrastination and Rushing To Get Homework Done. This past tuesday night (like, 10pm-12am) and wednesday, I reread a mythology book and wrote 28 journal entries for it. Then thursday I started doing the same for the book Gulliver’s Travels, and got about a 3rd of the way through it (not hard to do since I skipped writing about the introduction, advertisement, author’s note, publisher’s note, fake-authors note, ect). Then I went to tennis around 2:30 and band, and got home around 9:30 pm x_x So thursday night I stayed up really late again (11:30-some time after midnight), but didn’t finish. ANd yesterday I did a ton and finally got Gulliver done. Now I have today to read A Passage to India and do the same for it x_x I hope I can finish it today (not probable but…), because all of tomorrow I am going to be at an athletic leadership conference (uhg), and monday is school O.o
Also, I have to find time to type it all up. >.<
In other terrible news, I am going to have a locker next to my sister. We do not get along. Like, really badly. Seeing her just makes me irritable. This is not going to be good.
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Ugh. Last semester, because I was new, I had a locker right at the end of a row next to people I didn’t know, on the bottom. At the beginning of this semester, everyone with a bottom locker changed to a top one, including me. Enter Mrs Joe II, who made everyone move to lockers within their house groups. So four days into Term 3 I had a locker on the bottom, next to an imbecile’s, and below an even bigger imbecile’s (she takes forever on purpose, tells me to hurry up when I get there first, and b*****s at me). And the locker looks like someone had a food fight, pushed someone in there, poured a coke over their head, and tried to bang the door shut. *considers changing houses*
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I’m leaving for college in like two days.
eep?
11 – high schools look at 7th grade? Really? I would imagine that 8th grade would be what they’d look at for placement, and really nothing before high school matters in terms of college applications..
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They look at seventh grade because you apply in the middle of eighth grade at my school, so therefore most of your report cards haven’t come out yet.
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And I as well am in the eleventh grade now. The two most popular grades here seem to be seventh and eleventh. It’s been tough for me this school year so far, though. I can’t tell the sophomores from the freshmen. Harassing Welcoming the new kids is difficult because of that.
Ah, I feel so old here on MuseBlog. I’ve never felt old anywhere, as skipping a grade has caused.
A message to ye middle schoolers: high school is worse. Be ready for it. But it’s better in a lot of ways as well. Just make sure you lose your eighth-grader mentality when you become a freshman. There’s nothing more aggravating than an arrogant freshman, so being rather meek, for lack of a better term, will let you avoid conflict.
I can’t wait ’til I’m a senior, though. Open campus privileges galore.
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You can’t tell the difference? But freshmen are so much more short and obnoxious! 
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Last year’s freshmen (this year’s sophomores) were twice as short and obnoxious as most other years’ freshmen, so they blend in with the freshmen of this year. If that made any sense at all.
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Whoah… really? But you haven’t seen them over a whole summer! You’d be surprised how that alters them!
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I’m not looking forward to school since it’s going to be another hellish year with 1/2 physical high school, 1/3 online high school, and 1/6 online class from a non-high school source.
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Yipes. I hate online courses.
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My “toad” is warty, and I don’t want it to touch me.
I’ve gotten a new backpack.
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I’m a sophomore now, and therefore have to deal with some seriously hellish courses. In other words… AP World History. Plus Honors Geometry, Chemistry, and English. AND they screwed with the schedule, so now I don’t have free periods! And I left band this year (for personal reasons) and band gets them! Come on!
On the bright side, my three non-honors classes should be a cakewalk.
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14- Oh, I don’t know about that. I was a cheeky little bugger freshman year, and I made friends with several juniors/seniors because of it.
Soooo. I should get back to work. *siiiigh* Of course this has been the only nice week of summer out here, too. It’s taunting me.
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I’m excited to be a senior! Or rather, I’m excited to get it over with.
12– oh man D: I had more summer homework last year. Did you guys read edith hamilton in freshman year too? I think the only reason we don’t have to do major work with it is that we did it then…I lol all the way through it though. I don’t know how greek mythology can be simultaneously hilarious and fascinating (fascinatingly hilarious?) , but it is.
I don’t know why we don’t have more homework, actually. We were supposed to have something for ap econ…hmm wonder what happened to that.
I have this thing for ap lit though, UGHHH it reminds me of the research paper from sophomore year which was awful. blargh. Good luck with finished everything! I should probably do that same.
You guys use lockers? Does everyone here do that?
13– College! I am envious.
I have all AP classes this year except for physics. The tests don’t really matter though so I’m not too stressed about that. (Okay, they do matter, but not for college)
When does everyone get their schedules? We don’t get ours until the first day of school, which is always wonderful. :/
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I’m going into Eighth too! Okay, I’m good.
I still haven’t finished last year’s math. I’m homeschooled and don’t get grades, so that’s not a problem, but I still need to finish it. Well, I might as well not think about that yet.
Anyway, we’re concentrating on writing this year, which is a plus, since writing is probably one of my favorite subjects. And, it apparently means that I might get to drop a few other not-so-favorite subjects. Yay!
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“Freshmen” (oooh! Fancy american word!) always seem to be annoying twits at my school. Doesn’t stop me from making friends with some of them… just many are ridiculously arrogant all the time and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. 
Highschool is a much better experience than middle school (at least for me). People seem to care less in highschool. Being different isn’t a big deal anymore. Maybe my experiences are different than other peoples because I go to a rather laid back arts school, but I don’t know? To anyone entering highschool: just be yourself and you’ll find friends you can be comfortable with.
Note: we call them “niners” up here. No other grade gets fancy nicknames.
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Uhm… is that word less offensive in Canada?
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Yeah, I was a bit surprised the GAPAs let that one through. Enlighten us, ye of America’s hat.
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I have never once in my life heard that term used in a derogatory manner, but I looked it up and can safely say that…I have NEVER heard anyone use it like that. The only thing close I’ve heard is people talking about the 49ers (football team)
Maybe it’s regional?
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Not the word “niner”. Look at post 21, “Always seem to be annoying ____s”. That’s the one we’re talking about. But yeah, niners is the football team, no worries there.
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ooo… sorry. *eeps* I am positively beet red. Sorry.
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I made a slight emendation that should be sufficiently in concert with the intent. (It’s probably how the moderating GAPA read the sentence in the first place.)
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Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you. As usual: GAPA to the rescue!
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Oooo, someone else can properly use the word “twit!” No one else I know ever heard of it before!
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19- You don’t use lockers? Mine is pretty much my second home… I wallpaper it with xkcd/asofterworld comics, pictures, magnets, a mirror, a case thing I can put stuff in (pencils, pens, hall passes), a mini dry erase board, a marker, magnetic picture frames to put more pictures in, drawings, ect.
Then in the top shelf I have a half-sized box of kleenex, a pencil case with extra pens and tape and such, a bottle of honey in the shape of a bear in case of emergencies, a plastic skill that opens at the top in which I store spare change (named Yorick), a small rubber spider I found in the hallway who sits on top of Yorick (currently unnamed), this year I’m going to add another case-thing to store stuff in, and stuck to the ceiling of the locker is a magnetic mini stapler, a magnetic clothespin, and a magnetic clip in case I have a form or something I need to remember to hand in.
I also have a locker shelf so my stuff doesn’t get piled up, and on this I usually keep my lunchbox, flute, and sheet music along with a textbook. I use two hooks to suspend up a cloth bag in which I store gym shores, an extra shirt in case I spill something or some similar catastrophe, my gym shoes for marching band/tech, a pair of paint-covered jeans an similar shirt to wear to tech crew, and other such items. Another hook holds my tennis racket, and a third my tennis bad with those clothes/shoes.
I try to always be prepared, as you all can see… thinking about adding in a snack section/reserve in case I forget my lunch and don’t want to bother buying things, or am just hungry before a tennis meet.
Any other suggestions?
Oh! Also, I told my friend Casey I’m going to invite her to a tea party at my locker sometime this year in the passing period before band, so I need to find a few teacups to store inside, and someday I’ll bring in a thermos of tea and slip an invitation into her locker.
Part of the reason I really don’t want to have my locker near my sister is because it’s really become something I enjoy, even though I can only visit it 4-5 times a day (before school, before lunch, after lunch if I can slip out early, sometimes before band if I need to get my flute, and then after school). And I really don’t get along with her… uhhg. It’s probably too late to find someone to trade, alas…
AP Classes: I’m taking AP Lit, AP Bio, AP Calc BC. Along with AP US History last year, those are the only AP courses our school really offers. *sigh* The rest of my classes are honors spanish IV, band, and next semester I’m skipping out of gym for creative writing.
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I’m assuming you have your own locker…? Because that much stuff would never fit into a shared one! I’ve heard rumors that seniors at my school get their own lockers, but I doubt it.
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At my school there are actually LIMITS to how far you can decorate your locker. Yeah, the people here are pre-tty crazy…. *sigh* But that might just be for middle school, I’ve got no idea about high school.
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wow. you have the best locker ever. I never used mine. Locker tea party is excellent!
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At our school, only the band and orchestra students have lockers, to keep their instruments in. Last year, mine contained my beloved violin Sylvia and nothing else. Maybe this year I’ll decorate it a little, although Sylvia and her case take up most of it.
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My gosh! I just cram in my jacket, backpack, lunch, art supplies (for some unknown reason, we’re supposed to keep them in there) and extra shoes in my locker. We have those infuriating half lockers that are too small for anything. If you have a top one, you practically step on the person under you at such times when locker traffic is heavy, and if you have a bottom one, you get hit in the head, things fall on you, and you are stepped on. Someone’s full backpack fell on my head once, and I’ve had many near somewhat fatal accidents involving a very fast locker door slammed above my head. People also slip their junk into the vents of the bottom lockers, I’ve found weird magnets, beads, etc.
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Well, I’m homeschooled, and… you’ll probably think I’m weird but… I’m kind of looking forward to it. 
I start sixth grade.
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You’re not weird! I have a friend who was homeschooled, but she goes to the public school now. I’m going into sixth too.
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Cool, thanks.
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Sixth grade for me was really fun, and the only factors that made it bad were things that wouldn’t affect a homeschooler. So I don’t think you’re weird at all for looking forward to it!
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Oh jeez that sounds like fun…I want to have a tea party D: We only ever used lockers in PE, and we could only keep clothes in them.
That would be so convenient though! This makes me wonder what other differences there are in schools state to state. Yorick! augh I want a locker D:
I’m sorry you have to have yours near your sister though…is she just starting high school? oh man I can’t imagine something like that happening to me with my brother, he would be like :/ :/ >:/ DON’T TALK TO ME
or something to that effect. i hope it works out!
omg girl you are taking calc bc sob sob I was going to take AB but now I’m just taking ap stats. AP Bio is fun but there is so much info! Maybe if you actually read it unlike me it will be easier. I still got a 3 though so that proves even total dummies can pass!
Does everyone have to do gym all through high school? D: wow we must have it easy, we don’t have to after 10th grade…that’s crazy
kagy, niners sounds hilarious for some reason. I like high school more too, I agree with all you said
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Yep, Year 11=no PE.
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we only had to do one quarter of gym our freshman year.
I like /college/ more.
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I’ve mounted my toad. He seems pretty cool.
I moved into my dorm (yay boarding school) Thursday. I’m a sophomores which is just like being a freshman again. (It’s a 3-year school.) The upperclassmen moved in today, so it’s a lot more hectic. Classes don’t start until Monday.
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19) We have lockers, but no one really uses them because we’re not given any time to go to them. *shrug*
21) niners? Cool! 
My schedule:
I’m not exactly sure of my schedule for several reasons…
1) our wonderful governor decided to not only cut school funds and force them to fire practically 1/3 of their personelle (of course they fired all teachers, no administrators, because the teachers would be “lost without them” *scowl*). Plus, she waited until extremely late to put out the budget, so the school couldn’t do anything until they knew how much mney they could spend. Consequently, they are just now starting to figure out the schedule. A little late.
2) Due to lack of classes available (see rant below) I have had to sign up for various online classes. Unfortunately, our guidance workers have to sign you up. You would think that if you signed all the official documents and checked back 10 times to make sure everything was OK, then I would be signed up for the classes. No. Apparently not. We call a week ago to find out that despite our efforts, the stupid guidance counselor had refrained from signing me up for the classes. And guess what? She’s at vacation now, so I’m STILL not in the classes! And they’re almost filled up! So, I MIGHT have classes. *fume*
OK. My rant. Get ready. 
My school is so STUPID. literally. No kidding. I want to major in the sciences when I go to college, so I want to take plenty of AP science classes in high school. Right? This used to be true at my school! It used to be perfect! Honors students had plenty of sciences! Bio Honors (freshmen year), Chemistry Honors (sofmore year), Env. Science AP and Chemistry AP (Junior year), and AP Biology (senior year). Plenty of sciences, yes? Well, that was before we got our new principal. The former elementary school PE coach teacher, despite his plumpness. Mr. —- is more interested in sports then academics. So, instead of helping the academics, he cut their supplies and paper use (yes, teachers here have to scrimp for paper, THERE IS NONE!) to install new bleachers, a giant inflatable football helmet, etc. Slowly, he has let the advanced sciences die, with retiring teachers, etc. He didn’t even bother to make new science teachers teach the classes! With AP Biology, he decided that a class of about 15 was too small and should be made less priority over a regular Biology class. Now we only have 1 AP science class! And I’ve already taken it! I still have 2 years left of high school! What am I supposed to take?! In order to get sciences in, I have to take them online, which, frankly, is a pain. Who would rather learn a subject, especially one that deals with labs and things like that without a teacher? You just read the textbook and figure it out yourself. I DESPISE it! *scream* But it’s better then taking some stupid useless class like weight lifting or leadership.
Thankyou for reading/skipping over my rant. I appreciate it much!
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Eep. I’m very sorry. My school was doing badly for a while (before I attended) because they kept changing principals. When I entered the school got a great principal who listens to the parents! It’s great.
My cousin went to a crummy high school and she was just as frustrated as you are. She made it through all right.
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I feel lonely here of the blog right now. FRESHMEN UNITED!
School starts Thursday, but I got my textbooks yesterday. So right now I’m looking over all the stuff I’ll be doing.
I’m taking Tenth Grade Bio, however, so I can take all 3 AP Science courses (AP Bio, AP Physics and AP Chem.) in 11 and 12.
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I’m going into 8th grade. I have to repeat algebra, because I failed it last year. Except this year, since algebra is the normal curriculum for 8th grade, I’ll be in a class with about thirty other “non-advanced” students. And the same teacher, who is nice and friendly to everyone but me. I’m pretty sure she’s Mr. Joe in disguise.
Also, my friend moved away. So now I will have no one to talk to during lunch.
And my favorite teacher is probably getting fired.
*headdesk* *headdesk*
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26 — That’s ridiculous. I would almost transfer schools rather than go through that (easy for me to say, though)
My state is also taking major cuts to education. Sigh. I really really don’t think schools should ever opt for online classes for major subjects. I’m sorry that’s what you have to do! Colleges will see that you did all you could with your situation though. You’re probably trying harder than most.
I hope it turns out okay!
27– That sounds brutal! I hope you’re a master of all things science because oh man that sounds BRUTAL
28– aw…I hope things work out! *sympathy*
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29- Hey, Well, No AP science until 11th grade. And the Normal Ninth grade science is AWFUL.
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oh see, I misread what you said, I thought you meant you’d be taking them all at once. That still means you’ll be doubling up though! AP sciences are difficult, I am impressed, is all
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I’m doubling up on both science and history in 11th and 12th. And I’m taking an AP History course in 10th.
But I should get done with 9th grade first, shouldn’t I?
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14.1.1.1- Yes. Really. Exactly half as tall. But I’ve seen how they’ve been altered over the summer. They seem to have gotten more obnoxious.
18- Yes, “meek” isn’t quite the right word. It’s the freshmen who think they’re still at the top of the school and hence have the right to cut in front of people at lunch, etc.
22- XKCD comics? Nice. I might put xkcd, pictures for sad children, etc., comics in mine if I had any time to go to my frickin’ locker. Every class it’s go to this wing. Then to the other wing. Then the first. Then the other. Back and forth all day long with over two thousand other nitwits blocking up the halls. Not to mention the lack of sense in building staircases in the school. And when the snow gets too deep to pass outside, that’ll be even better. GAR.
24- Our district requires three semesters over the four year period. Not too bad, but when you compare it to the measly one semester of fine/performing arts classes required, you can see where the directors’ mindsets lie. Or, of course, you could see the “beautiful” new mural of the school mascot in the gym and compare the money used for that to the in-the-red budget of the forensics team, as we had to send a lot of kids to nationals last year, which, of course, was not cheap.
So apparently I was feeling ranty today. So be it.
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Well, my school’s worse with the classes being on the opposite ends of the school because you can’t even cut through the outside! All of the doors are locked all of the time except for the front ones!
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Uhh, thanks for the freshman advice, I guess?
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28- Geez, that stinks! *choklit*
Sixth grade. Still have not gotten school stuff. And I can’t find one of those cloth-zipper binders at Staples. Oh well.
But on the happy side, I don’t have to be bored in math class anymore! 7th grade algebra! Maybe I’ll like math more now.
Most of the classes are on the same hall, except for some of the Related Arts and PE. Middle school starts in 5th in my town so I know that my school’s pretty great. I’m looking forward to seeing my friends.
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Go to Walgreens for the binders. They always have the zippery kind there. This post feels really short and rather pointless but I cant think co anything else to say so I shall cotinue reading.
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Our lockers are teeny. I can fit my textbbooks in. The door of my locker is where my magnets go, and I tied some ribbon on the ventalation shafts. It looked purty. I put a print out on the back wall. This year I’ll put more. But JS does live in Northern CA, and I in southern, so state doesn’t regulate locker size. *detective!*
I learned that this year in Theater Arts our musical is Willy Wonks. And that TA and CB have never overlapped. 
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The lockers at my school are MINUSCULE. I can’t fit all my books into it, which is about the stupidest thing ever seeing as that’s the point of a LOCKER people!!
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*Wonka, sorry.
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21.1- (POSOC) It’s not offensive. It’s just what we call them. Is freshman offensive? *is curous*
22- (Jadey) Maybe you could share a locker with the friend you want to have a tea party with and surprise her part way through the year with said tea party. Just an idea, sharing lockers doesn’t work for everyone.
23- I think homeschooling is cool!
25- I had an obsession with wanting to go to bording school when I was younger. I have no idea what one would actually be like, though. Could you maybe enlighten me?
26- Oh man, that is awful. I am so, so sorry.
28- In Canada you only have to repeat classes in Highschool. It’s near impossible to fail any grade bellow 9. *choklit*
What are AP classes? We don’t have those up here. I have no idea what it means.
I know the classes I’m taking, but I don’t know my schedual. we don’t go back to school until the monday after labour day… or is it the first monday of september? Anyways, I start school september 8 this year. I assume, from the fact that Piggy has already started school, that this varies all over the USofA.
I’m taking: Canadian Literature, improv, drawing and painting, life drawing, physics, university math, english, civics and careers. The manditory classes are: a science, a math, english and civics and careers (although most schools do the last one in gr.10)
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AP stands for Advanced Placement. They’re basically the equivalent of college courses, and you can often get college credits for them. For instance, if you take AP Biology, you might get science credits once you get to college.
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Freshman isn’t generally offensive, though it can be used offensively. Usually, people who want to make fun of freshmen will use freshies or some other term.
Boarding school is pretty cool. I don’t know what classes are like yet, though. We don’t have “houses” or anything. (Yes, I know that many people think of Harry Potter when they think of boarding school.) However, we do have wings. There are several res halls (buildings with dorms), and each one has 4 wings. Generally, halls are either boys’ halls or girls’ halls, but there is one co-ed hall (2 boys’ wings, 2 girls’ wings). (I’m not in it, though.) There are about 20 peopel in your wing, and apparently everyone becomes really close with their wing-mates. Our rooms are pretty small, although mine is slightly bigger (and differently shaped) than most rooms. We still have space, because we can put all our junk on our desks/beds. Oh, and we have way too many mixers. (Loud music and lots of people is not fun. At least the first one was outside, so we could play extreme duck, duck, goose.)
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oops. I misunderstood which word was offensive. We call freshmen “niners” not ____.
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Do you have IB? AP is sort of like IB but without extended essays or internal assesments or CAS or TOK.
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We have IB here, but I’m not old enough to attend, so I couldn’t tell you about it.
What are CAS and TOK?
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10- Noooooo! *is going into grade 10*
I knew that this was a bad idea.
Good: I will never, ever, ever have to sit in a class with my old french teacher ever again. And I have a clean slate.
Bad: I didn’t catch up on latin and german and I have an exam on the first day back. Happy happy me. And the sophmore year is usually a wanderklasse year, where you don’t have a homeroom and migrate from class to class all the time. But the classes are named after the grades that have homerooms there, so 1a is where the fith grade with the french track usually is. But those labels change every years, which means I’m lost again.
Awful: The exam I mentioned is what you guys would probably call computer science. Except that it’s all on PCs and I’m a mac girl. And I didn’t attend the first semester of class (Don’t ask). And my teacher is the principal. He’s going to shove a motherboard into my face and ask me what all the bumps are (semester 2), then let me try and make a Powerpoint presentation revolve, bounce, e.t.c (semester 1).
Worse then awful: I’m going to be the youngest by far; and some of the girls think I’m cute. I’m not cute. I bite, especially when someone tells me I’m adorable. And people don’t usually skip grades here, which means I’m some sort of brainiac.
Le pire: If I flunk a single class, I’m screwed. If I seem to have social difficulties, I’m screwed. Because then the school will revoke my skipping (yes, they can do that here, since I didn’t take exams for it) and I’ll have to a) leave in shame or b) be laughed at for 4 long years. And if I choose a) , I’ll have to switch to a worse school, and if I don’t go to a good school I won’t be able to go to a good university/college and and and… *hyperventilates*
The problem with our lovely “you get the education you merit” system is that it’s quite stressy.
24-Three to four hours a week, K-12.
26-At least you can pick classes and have AP! My classes are all mandatory, except some where you can pick between two. Everyone is in one class, and those who can’t keep up either repeat a whole year or are forced to leave. Which means that usually classes are difficult, but since the teacher can’t flunk a too high percentage you might get stuck in a bad class where it’s easy. *sigh*
36- *wants to move to canada* People can flunk first grade here, I kid you not. Kindergarten is fun and games (you don’t even learn the alphabet), then BAM! suddenly you have to sit still for almost 5 hours a day, and the 3 R’s. One kid in my grade school had gone to first grade before; he was “not yet ready” to move up so he just repeated first grade (you don’t call it flunking). And fith grade is a nightmare; gymnasien always get more pupils then they want and then try to flunk people out- they don’t repeat, they just have to go to a less challenging school and move up there.
*headdesk repeatedly*
At least I don’t have to go back ’til september 7th.
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I knew someone who flunked Kindergarten!!!!
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*feels lucky* At my school, maths , english 
, PE 
, science, and RE are compulsory in Year 9 and 10, along two semesters of SOSE subjects(so I might be able to avoid doing history) and your electives *is in middle of Year 8 and will probably choose electives this term*. In Year 11 and 12, only english and RE are compulsory.
I don’t know if we have anything like AP classes here.
And you are not cute!
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Poor bookgirl! *chocklit*
At least they let you skip. I wasn’t allowed to, because of some confusing peace site school philosophy, it would make the other kids feel bad and was therefore not permitted. So, I was the eternal weirdo, the depressed, brainy kid with exactly 3 friends. ( I kid you not, my school’s principal had some pretty controversial ideas of equality and fairness, among them not handing out actual grades, in case they were bad, so that kids wouldn’t be afraid to get stuff wrong. On the other hand, you had no idea exactly how good your work was, or if you needed to work harder, or if you were smart enough to move up, for example)
I transferred, and in going to my new school, I essentially skipped 2 or 3 grades, probably more, considering the infuriatingly low standards. I also discovered the joy of straight As. All in all, it was great. Just hang in there, bookgirl, if you’re smart enough to move up, you’ll be able to do just fine, I was all worried, but I was fine. Good luck, and don’t worry! 
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Sorry for the double post, but my brother got actual grades in kindergarten! We were all astounded! And tests!
Now I must go, there is a fascinating documentary on…
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We don’t even have AP classes. We’ve got plenty of Honors classes, but we don’t get college credit for them. They’re pretty easy, too. I think our school has low standards.
I don’t really know most of what I’m taking. I do know that I’m taking Honors English 11, Honors US History (hardest class in school! I’m so excited!), Geometry, Orchestra, and probably Psychology, Shakespeare 2, Advanced Drama, Theater Design. I don’t remember what I put down for science but I want to take Fish Bio in the fall and Marine Bio in the spring.
Lockers: I had a locker Freshman year, but I didn’t use it much and after the house fire I just stored books in it till the end of the year. Then I got one last year but I didn’t use it for ANYTHING and forgot my combination. So this year I think I’ll pass on a locker. They’re pretty small and I always manage to get one on the bottom. Then I never feel like there’s enough time to get to it before classes, so I don’t.
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Double post:
I’M A JUNIOR!!!!! I DON’T HAVE TO GO TO TUTORIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do have to provide my own transportation on Tuesdays and Thursdays though…
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I’m excited to not have to do anything, too!
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I’m going into eighth grade. We don’t have people-lockers, everyone has a PE locker where only PE stuff is stored. People in band have the band lockers (I think they’re band lockers…or maybe they aren’t, I’m not sure), and there are orange woodshop lockers in the woodshop room. I wonder if I’m going to be at the same table AGAIN, I’ve been there for both years cuz the woodshop teacher seats people by last name.
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w00t for going-into-eigth-grade-ers! I’m the oldest in the school now. (YESSS!!!) I’m actually pretty excited to go back to school, although it will be so HOT. Our school literally bakes in the summer, and it’s been really how for the past few days….
And I’ll be one of the 40-ish kids out of the 160-ish in my grade doing algebra 1! Yay!
Two of my teachers are going to be great, for sure. My Spanish teacher I’m not so sure about, and my Social Studies teacher is a little sketchy. And I still don’t know who my science teacher is going to be……
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School. Meh. Not exactly my favorite thing in the world. BUT…I’m a senior this year. Which at least gives me the perk of eating lunch outside (when the ground isn’t covered in snow).
My schedule( if my guidance counselor actually managed to work it out):
A: AP Chemistry
B: 2 days a week, AP Chem double-lab
C: AP Statistics. maybe. If they actually found a teacher.
DE (the lunch periods are half-periods): AP Literature/Composition
F: Lunch. the busiest lunch, of course.
GH: AP Calculus
I: AP Government
J: Honors French/French 5
I don’t any of this for sure, because my school does not give out schedules until the first day of school. Which makes it hard to change scheduling problems…
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So, no scheduling problems! I’m happy. And I’m happy that I was able to see my schedule before school started. And that I have Honors Study, which is in the cafeteria, means you can got to the school store, and means that you can got to the library without a pass during that study period. Yay.
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Do you have to have a pass to go to the library? Gosh. Ours is just like “walk right in, who cares if you’re skipping class?” which is why I’ll spend most of my class skipping time in the library.
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Most normal people have to have a pass. And they have to get that pass (for whatever study period they need it for) from the librarian before school. Of course, if you’re special like me, and have honors study, you don’t have to worry about that. It also helps that I know the librarian personally because she’s he coach of the Academic Decathlon team
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I’m kind of afraid to say I’m going to be a freshmen next year, ’cause of all the freshmen-bashing going on here. Now you’ll probably think of me as snooty and arrogant.
Which I totally am, but that doesn’t stop me from being largely superior in intelligence compared to the rest of my peers. Just kidding.
So I hope next year doesn’t suck. Last year kind of sort of was good, and the year before that was awful.
I do not understand. There’s a bunch of classes I’d love to do or skip but I can’t. Like, if you want to do Art (I don’t) you have to take Art I all over again, even if you already took it in middle school. Which pretty much sucks for everyone. I’m taking Drama I and Spanish III (Last year of Spanish yesss).
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Yes! Freshmen!!!
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Warning- Minor Rant ahead.
So, this year I’m going to be taking French 4 honors (a year ahead of what I’m actually supposed to be taking), and we get a brand new, fresh out of college teacher! New teachers are NEVER good, at least not for a year or two. In addition to that, I might get stuck with my crazy english teacher from last year, and a chemistry teacher who…yeah, let’s not go there. In addition, block scheduling starts this year, and I found out that my class will not have senior privileges next year. Finally, I will be taking non-honors math and history, and it’s Algebra again this year. I barely scraped by when I had it freshman year, and I’m not looking forward to it again. Also, it will the the fourth year I will have had Algebra. I mean, really? Four years of Algebra?
* Rant finished *
Ah well. Thanks for reading. I just needed to get all of my complaining done now, so I can focus on my last week of band camp.
I’ve probably asked this before, but how many bandos do we have on MB?
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My senior class might have to take finals this year. That has NEVER happened at my school, at least not in recent memory. But our graduation is scheduled for June 19 next year, which is after the school year ends. I’ll find out once school starts, I guess.
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Woah, that’s weird. Seniors always take finals at my school, even though they graduate before school ends.
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22.1- Everyone at my school has their own locker. SOme of them are crap and don’t open the first week, but we all have our own… I never knew others didn’t.
22.2- Ah, that sucks.
24- She’ll be a sophomore, she was in a totally different wing of the building from me last year *fumes* We have gym lockers as well (tiny things except for the ones you get if you’re in a sport so you can stick all your crap in them).
We teeeechnically have gym all 4 years, minus one semester of health soph year, but I exempt out all my first semesters because of band (we march both periods), and second semester of junior and now senior year I’ll be taking a class instead because my guidance councilor loves me SO I only had one semester, at the end of frosh year. Woo!
AP Bio at our school is easy enough, I hear… and the teacher brings in baked goods on some fridays! It’s also a period and a half long though.
26- Fight them. I am serious. If they have a class in the curriculum they’re not teaching for some reason, a lot of schools technically have to pay for you to take it (for us, they have to bus us to a nearby college for it). Put up a fight. It’ll pay off–my friend and I did the end of sophomore year to make sure we could take all the classes we needed, and ended up rewriting the whole school’s schedule of classes. And make friends with your guidance councilor, it can help.
34- If JS in your post stands for Jadestone, I live in Northern IL, but I’m not sure it does stand for me…?
45- Eek, that would suck epically. High fives for no finals! I have been looking forward to this since freshman year x_x Plus, since our finals are before winter break, it’s like an extended vacation since we have 3 extra days we don’t need to go in for
And oh yeah! I have a tiny band locker that fits my flute and music when I don’t take it home, and my gym shoes for marching if I squeeze them in, but it’s too out of the way to store anything else in.
But geeze, I pretty much move into my locker, I can’t believe some of you don’t have them or don’t use them O.o Of course last year I was lugging 5 AP history text books around along with everything else, so I *had* to store stuff. Freshman year I actually got a *great* locker near all my classes, and could get to it between every period and didn’t need a backpack.
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43- No. We know you’re cool, Beavs.
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I’m starting my sophomore year of college. Contrary to the rest of my life, I feel really old in MB. Last year I hung out with the science fiction fantasy club a lot. It is a club that has been going on for years (since the ’70s or ’80s) and the seniors and juniors have been apart of it since they were freshmen (and the sophomores too of course) but I was brand new. I also know a large group of people who are in their mid twenties or so. (some of these people went to my college and came back to visit the other people who go to my college and consequently get to know me). Here some of you are eight years younger than me.
I’m really excited to go back to school though. I’m looking forward to seeing my friends again as well as to meeting the new freshmen. My classes will be really great! I’m taking an intro to technical theatre class, ancient egyptian civilization class, an archaeology class, and one on anthropology and science fiction. I can’t wait to go back.
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*laughs* I’m sitting here reading all your comments about school, and I’m like /shock/ WHAT! I’m starting my fifth week of school!
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48- I was helping out at a theatre camp and I realized that I had been playing the flute since before most of them had been born. Have a good year at school!
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Starting 7th grade!!!! w000000t!
Hopefully I’ll get a top locker this year…way tired of squatting under someone and getting ambushed with falling books from above. And the occasional skateboard.
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Ouch. I know that feeling first hand, unfortunately.
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Oh, yes, I have firsthand experience with that. Full backpack right on the head, and the occasional book. Or a door in the forehead.
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Fortunately at my school the lockers are tall and skinny. Loads of the lockers are bolted shut, though. It’s kind of annoying. It happens because one year someone will not use that locker, so the janitors bolt it so no shenanagins happen…. and they never unbolt it. I got assigned a bolted locker last year. I suppose I could have asked someone to unbolt it for me, but I find it very difficult to ask questions like that. I wound up sharing a locker, but it worked out fine.
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27) I want to take those classes! *pout* Not fair!
well, now I have another issue with my evil school and my even eviler governor. To meet our governor’s budget, our principle removed our choral/drama teacher that has been at the school for over 20 years! She’s been replaced by the middle school choral teacher, who will be working part-time at both schools. *scream* This has killed our choral program! The middle school teacher is famous for ridiculous show tunes and even more obserd dancing. *sob* DANCING?! Plus, the choral program has been reduced to just 2 classes, a lower and higher chorus. Unfortuantely, the higher chorus has no audition like our former Madrigals group, so pretty much anyone can get in. I’m so disgusted! 
I love chorus and our school has done all they can to ruin the whole program! I almost don’t want to take the class! I mean, it’ll be a cramped class of over 40 people more then likely with half the class unable to carry a tune and a teacher who will make us frolic around the stage like a bunch of idiots.
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44: My loverly sister Gwyn is a bando.
*yawn* I wake up at 5:30 every morning to
a) Go on the computer
b) Condition myself for zero period PE.
Pros and Cons of zero period PE:
Pros: I will be with Justine.
I will have no PE on Wednesdays, as they are late start.
I can take Theater Arts and Concert Band.
I will runs miles in the gym, not outside.
Cons: That means I will have two periods of Algebra 1.
No fun talking and socializing before school.
I will have to RUN to Concert Band.
I will be with the seventh graders that need to take two periods of pre alg. *headdesk*
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Are there any other musers going into Eighth grade? I think I saw a couple…
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I am, yes. But I’m homeschooled, so I’m not sure if I count.
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Of course you count! I just may not be able to relate…
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Yeah…homeschooling and schooling are totally different experiences. I understand not being able to relate exactly.
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*yells excitedly* I am! Finally, someone else going into 8th grade.
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I’m kind of scared for the year that’s coming up. I am finally on my last summer reading book (I know it might be kind of sad to those who have already finished) and yeahh. I hope I finish it soon. I want to read other books (not on the summer reading list -_- ).
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Don’t worry, I’m on my last one, too. And I’ve still got about two hundred pages to go. *sigh* I hate summer reading. I love to read, but I don’t like being told what to read.
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Exactly! -_-
I love to read also. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you got to pick your own books?? Haha, that would make my summer a lot better.
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Definitely. Although I can see why they don’t let you pick your own …can you imagine what some people would pick?!?!?!?!
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Monday was the first day for us. Got my summer work all done, barely. Stayed up late doing it, so was tired for the day, then in class learned I’d done more than I needed too after all –_– Uhg.
So, my schedule, like I post it every year:
First Period
AP Literature–Teacher is good, I had him freshman year. The reading will be pretty heavy, and so will essays when we start them. Reading has always been my strong point though. Also, the teacher is very good when you want someone to proofread college essays.
Second Period
AP Calc BC–Very high level math course (like Calc II), to be in it you had to have started in the accelerated math program in 3rd grade/5th grade and not dropped out. Consequently, there are 7 of us in that class. I really like the teacher. I had him last year and the year before (pre-calc and calc), did pretty well.
Third Period/First half of Fourth
AP Biology–takes up a period and a half. We have homework/notes every day, and a quiz every morning, but we can use whatever notes we took on it. Get to pick lab groups, so I’m always with my friends
Fifth Period
Hon. Spanish IV–going to be hard, completely in spanish. It’s a class on spanish literature, so there’ll be no grammar, but we have to be able to not only understand what’s happening in the stories but interpret and analyze them as well. We’ll be writing essays in spanish too. Will be hard.
Sixth Period
Lunch/Resource Study Hall. Which is a fancy way of saying we go to lunch for 25 min, then they kick us into a classroom for a 20 minute study hall so there’s enough room fro everyone to eat. However, the junior/senior lunchroom is tiny and can’t fit all of us. We spilled out into the hall, and me and 3 friends tried sitting on a ledge right across from the cafeteria (in front of a booth where tickets for plays are sold), but they kicked us off that. SO we sat on the floor. They told us we couldn’t sit there either because it was a health issue. We pointed out there were no more tables/chairs. Too bad. We got kicked off the floor. That’s like, an all-time low, even for me >.<
My study hall has about 37 people and 30 desks. We have 4 crammed at a tiny table, and the rest just have to hope someone’s absent and take their seat.
However, in a week when we get our ID’s, I’ll be able to move to the honors commons, which is basically a large open “room” (really only 1 actual wall, and then sections of low wait-high wall around it to separate it from the hallway) where juniors/seniors with above a 3.0 GPA can spend SH/Lunch and chill. There’s a few couches and tables, and they let you listen to ipods in there and talk and stuff.
Seventh Period
Marching band–technically this period is gym, but band kids waive out of it and we use it to practice instead. When marching season ends this will turn into a study hall.
Eighth Period
Band–more band. We’ll be in it 8th hour all year.
After School
Tennis practice for 2 hours. Then I get to go home, woo
Not too bad. Out of my friends, I’m taking the most classes again. Next semester I’ll have all these except with creative writing instead of MB/PE.
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I’m not even in high school, but the part about the separate place for honors students caught my eye… That would be great if they had that at the high school that I’m going to. Do they? My big brother wouldn’t even tell me if I asked him…
I would feel special sitting in there; that’s probably not a good thing… I would probably start acting all superior.
*in an English accent*
“I go to the special honors commons for lunch, so you could say that I am quite the genius.”
Yeah, that might get to my head…
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That would be awesome, but I have no idea. If I asked my brother, he probably wouldn’t know…
And yes, that would definitely get to your head. Haha! Just kidding…
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OMG! I want to take AP Biology! I lurve biology, it’s my favorite subject! *wants to steal class*
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*is still amazed and amused about the difference between the start of my schooling and everybody elses* But that means when I get out of school I can gloat over you! Cuz you all will still be in school for a while!
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When do you get out?
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31 weeks, plus several weeks in the schedule that I can take off anytime I want. You can do the math.
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Interesting… Amricans seem to have “summer reading lists” and homework and stuff over their two months of freedom. I am intrigued. Could someone explain this phenomen to me? In Canada when the school year ends, so does the learning.
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Well, I haven’t had any projects or homework assignments, but in my school we are given a list of books. We have to pick 2 or 3 books off this list to read during the Summer. When school starts up again, they usually give us an assignment on one of the books that we read from the list. It’s also to make sure that we read continuously. Nevertheless, a lot of kids don’t read at all during the Summer…
I’ve read 3 or 4 off the list so far…. They were good books, and this gave me the “umph” to actually read them.
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Was that meant sarcastically? That would be extremely embarrassing…. SFTDP
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I have a summer reading list here, but it’s not mandatory. We can read a couple of books over the summer written down on a list, do a report on them (your opinion on the topic, split it up into categories, etc.) and turn it in for extra credit when the year starts.
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Actually, it’s more like three months of freedom for me, but yeah, most of the schools in my area do give out summer homework starting in around 3rd-4th grade. At my school it’s mostly just one or two books that we have to read and then are tested on at the start of the year in lower school, but in torturous middle school we usually get around three books (Sometimes we get to pick two of those from a list of options, which is always nice.) and some math work. Absolute torture for me.
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At my school, it’s only for the upper level students. The teachers use it to “keep student’s brains working over the summer.” Plus, because we are in block scheduling, the teachers have less time to teach their material, so, why not give their students work when time is to be had?
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i like skool and all, but my nerd status is affecting my social life…hehe! i hate summer reading lists book reports things cause i mean like yeah, i read anyway
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Same here with the summer homework. I said this before, but I love to read if I can choose what I’m reading. Otherwise, forget it. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a summer reading book that’s actually been interesting…
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Yeah! Most of the books I have to read are really bad, and everyone I know agrees…Plus,most of the books I would like, other people would consider “weird” hehehe…
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Anything that enters the selection of school reading will have some value (certain exceptions taken into consideration, obviously) to it, at the very least for being part of the Anglo-Saxon literary canon and culture.
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Although I do agree that any school book will have value, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I or any of my peers really enjoy or appreciate that value. *sigh*
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For my school, the minimum requirement for reading was two books. One picked from a list, one chosen on your own. All the books (in my opinion) on the list, except one, which is a non-fiction, and therefore gains a negative connotation, are mind candy, where “The Hero Must Save The Word” I didn’t choose the non-fiction, as It was very dry at the beginning. We had to do a summary of the book (which, in my opinion, ruins the book). The choice I did the summary for was Brave New World. I had to fill up the entire right margin of the paper with a description. Which means a teacher is probably going to cross all of it out, because it’s not within the lines.
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I am a nerd (and if I take the-whatever-the-computer-class-is-called-thingy for my Year 9 technology elective I’ll be a computer nerd *is nerdishly excited about choosing electives, but that’s another story*) and it gives me an excuse for lack of a social life (I do HAVE plenty of friends, some of which are popular and insane, but still… Plus, they’re all female). My nerd status is annoying sometimes, but I usually like being a maths geek.
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(Thanks For All the Fish 42)– Uh, no. It wasn’t sarcastic. I was genuinely curious. Thanks for explaining the mystery of American schooling. (no sarcasm!)
60- Because a “nerd status” is sooooooo horrible. Being percieved as intelligent is such a curse!
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I think she’s actually making a comment about how intelligence is percieved as a curse, not how it actually is one. Am I right?
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No, I think she’s saying that it’s a curse to have people perceive you as intelligent. It does get annoying.
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about the test, you’ll do fine.”
“You said you thought you got a fifty on it!”
“Yeah, but you’re a genius!”
“Hey Abby, what’d you get on the test?”
“A 94.”
“OMG I GOT A HIGHER GRADE THEN THE GENIUS? REALLY?”
-_-;;
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Jadestone — holy senior schedule, batman! that seems like such a long day! Your Spanish class sounds very interesting. Do you know what books you’ll be reading for ap lit yet? Creative writing sounds like so much fun ARGH
I totally sympathize with the lunch situation :/ There are way too many kids at my school.
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60.1- (soccerstar) I’m pretty sure that To Kill a Mockingbird was the only book not ruined by school, for me. I love it dearly, but everything else was horrid. We had to read “Lost in the Barrens” (sometimes printed as “Two Against the North”) in grade six and every single reading response I handed in had to do with how they were never in any real danger because everything turned out well for them, and how much I hated the book. School reading is the worst. I would hate summer reading, although I love books.
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IWANTMYSCHEDULEIWANTMYSCHEDULEIWANTMYSCHEDULEIWANTMYSCHEDULE.
That will be all.
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Yeah, I have to wait until day after tomorrow to get mine. It’s aggravating.
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I have to wait until the first day of school to get my schedule, and the SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t believe I really won’t know who I’ll get and who I’ll be with until I actually go to my classes on the first day. And I can’t believe some people have actually already started school! I still have one camp, AND a few more weeks to go! *laughs in people’s faces* Sorry, I’m in a mean mood right now.
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Well, I got it, and it’s completely screwed up. I don’t have a fourth period at all and didn’t get APES. There are a bunch of scheduling conflicts to work around, but I have an appointment to fix it. I’ll let you guys know how it turns out.
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64- DittoDittoDittoDitto.
…I still have to go supplies-shopping…
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Well, I’ve had most of my classes now.
Concert Band – Seems okay. It better be at 7:30 AM. And our band is huge. (12 trumpets!)
French IV – Well, only 5 sophomores placed that high, so it’s mostly upperclassman. I get to be an awkward sophomore, which is only complicated by the fact that its actually a French IV/V class and the French V students already know the teacher.
Math IV (not real name for anonymity’s sake) – *turn on sarcasm* Yipee! Pre-calc again! As one of the only sophomores again! *end sarcasm* Looks like math will be review. And of course the teacher (who everyone had last year) had to point out how me and the other sophomore are a year ahead of the norm at my math-focused school. The good news is I get to calc (finally) next semester.
Evolution, Biodiversity, and Ecology – Another awkward sophomore class. The teacher thought I was a junior, so I had to make the embarrassing “I am a sophomore and this is my first class ever at this school, so I would like a little more explanation on the lab” comment. The class seems interesting though.
English I (again not real name) – Finally a sophomore class! I know a lot of the people in the class, too. The teacher seems nice, and the class doesn’t seem too hard.
I still haven’t had American History (false name) and “How to do Science” (another fake name, sophomore science class, apparently not as easy as it sounds) yet. At least they’re sophomore classes. And I have the same teacher for both sciences.
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OK. I haven’t gotten my official schedule yet, but this what I think I have…
Pre-Calculus: with “who knows” for a teacher. The math department at my school is as scrambled right now as the brains of a giant squid.
AP US History: With an awesome teacher! Apparently, I will lurve this class. Plus, the teacher is supposedly hot. I guess I’ll see next week.
AP Eng 3: This class will focus mostly on writing, which I don’t know about because that’s not my strong point. Anyway, people say I will like the teacher, but she’s an evil perfectionist when it comes to grading essays. >.<
French 3 Honors: w00t! I’m so glad they didn’t fire our French teacher in the super teacher elimination this summer!
Art 3 Honors: Yeth! Our art teacher is the super woman of the universe! I don’t know what the “honors” part of the class will do, since it’s a new program, which isn’t very big, but it’ll be fine!
Madrigals: Maybe. Most likely not now, because of the firing of our choral director. Pretty much, this class is in non-existance. The class has turned into simply “advanced choral,” will be taught by a middle school teacher, and is no longer an audition class, so anyone can get in. So, pretty much, the class has more then likely turned into just another mixed chorus. (in case you don’t know, for our school, that means that… *shudder*… you don’t want to know how bad that is) So, I might drop that.
Unfortunately, that leaves a lot of holes in my schedule. *is frustrated*
I’ll more then likely take a ton of online classes including…
AP Art History
Physics Honors
Anatomy Honors
(maybe an ischool class with UNCG if I can get in, which is doubtful *sigh*)
Maybe AP Biology, but that means I have to order all of the supplies myself for the labs and perform them at home by myself, which is a bummer. My parents did that with my sister and they don’t want to repeat it, so that’s most likely not going to be a choice.
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I’m currently struggling through Go Down Moses by Faulkner for my summer reading. It’s a collection of novellas and I didn’t really understand what was going on in the second one until my parents said that it is probably set during prohibition times. Then it clicked.
School registration is next week! I get my locker and my ID card, but no schedule. That’s not until the first day of school. The schedule people are always lazy.
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I get mine on the first day of school too. Such a drag.
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Wow, I haven’t been on in a while! My school starts in few weeks and I am dreading it coming. My classes
Advance Spanish: New teacher
Advanced Math: I have had the same math teacher for a surprising three years in a row and am finally getting a new one.
Science: New teacher again
SS: The teacher there subbed in my SS class last year and he is hilarious!!!
English: New teacher
Health: My teacher looks like House, from the show!!!!
Gym: So-so teacher, fun enough
All in all, not looking forward to it, but it shouldn’t be to bad.
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good luck! *pies*
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So, I get my schedule and everything tomorrow, and I’ll keep you guys posted. Now, for the hardest part about school starting: waking up at six in the morning again.
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Ughhhhhh…PLEASE don’t remind me about waking up early!!! Don’t remind me!! Don’t remind me!! Don’t – ok, I’ll stop now…
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Waking up early– I need to think of some strategy to get me up and moving. Maybe if I run around in the morning, that would help. But that would also make me even more exhausted during first period. That’s a dilemma.
Maybe I should just do what Calvin and Hobbes do:
(Calvin) C’mon, let’s go find a poisonous snake!
(Hobbes) 
What will we do if we see one?
(Calvin) Are you kidding? Well scare ourselves silly and run around in circles screaming like a bunch of loons!
(Hobbes) I look forward to when we’re old enough to get our morning jolt from coffee.
(Calvin) Ahh, I’ll bet that wears off quicker.
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Putting your alarm clock in a position where you’ll have to walk to get to it can help. Just a tip I’ve used in the past that usually works! I’m definitely not a morning person…
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57.1- Haha. There’s not really any of that, actually. There’s a lot of honors students at my school.
57.2- It seems fun, but like it’s going to be a lot of work too x_x
We dissect a cat near the end of the year, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to, not because I’m squeamish but because I am very allergic to cats >.<
62- It really amazes me that I am only taking four academic classes this semester, and band. Four. O.o Last semester of last year I was taking 6 plus band. I think we had the AP Lit books on the list
So we took school pictures yesterday. I realized JUST TOO LATE that mine was only for my ID and not normal-pictures (seniors take theirs over the summer), so I could have made a funny face in the picture! Like, raised eyebrow and squinty eye and sideways mouth or something crazy Lee did, and a some other people did crazy hair and stuff. *sigh*
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Classes:
Accelerated Honors Advanced Algebra: I think I’m gonna like it just for the name alone. I do have it first period, which isn’t going to be fun.
Some sort of consumerism class: It’s not the debate or drama I wanted, but it’s on computers, and what else can you ask for, right?
French: I do ok in French, so I should be good.
PE: I hear freshman PE sucks, so no high expectations there.
Written/Oral thingy: Long name, but seems ok.
AP Geography: Hardest class offered to freshman.
AP Biology: I’ve got it with a few of my friends, so it’ll be bearable.
Good thing is, my locker’s near most of my classes. Bad thing is, my locker’s right next to this preppy little airhead with a million friends. And we have the same lockers for four years. Oh, well. I’ll give another update once the first day of school comes around (today was a sort of orientation).
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My classes:
Biology: It’s the advanced freshman science, so I’m pretty proud of that, but I’m worried whether I’ll be able to keep up. My brother has assured me that the normal freshman science (Physical Science) is pretty much a copy of eighth-grade science, and so has every other highschool student I’ve talked to, but my eighth-grade science teacher told me something different. However, I suspect that’s because EVERYONE was trying to sign up for freshman Biology and they can only fit so many people in a class, and he was just trying to discourage us.
World Cultures: I have high hopes for this class, being a history person. My brother had a bad experience, but that was just because of a bad teacher. So… we’ll see.
Acting I: I’ve heard that this class is for weeding out the “deadweight”, or the people who just signed up in order to get an art credit. I did not sign up just to get an art credit; I signed up because I loooove acting. So I’m not worried there. But I think it’ll be a challenging class, and I hope I’ll have fun.
Spanish II: Meh. I’m good at Spanish, though it’s boring for me.
Geometry: From everything I’ve heard, this will be the easiest math class EVER. If you get the right teacher, she gives you an 85% on your homework even if you only do three-quarters of it. And you can get extra credit for origami.
Dance P.E.: Well, it’ll be better than normal P.E., and I’ve got to take some sort of P.E. my freshman year. Plus, I get to be in the dance show. I am fully aware that I could not go a year without sitting backstage with butterflies in my stomach waiting for the performance to start. I’m addicted.
English: I’m really good at English. And it’s the only class that EVERYONE takes. I just hope I’ll get a good teacher.
And my sport, cross-country: I have to do a sport, and this is as good as any. Besides, two of my friends are in it. And I’m really, really bad at everything else. (I’m only mildly bad at running, and I refuse to do track & field again. I hate it.)
Well, woot! High school!
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Well. School. Last year, I just barely survived an evangelical christian private school where the religion was more important than the education. Not an option for this year.
I’m doing the VLACS program, basically online school. It’s free for NH. Everything I do it going to be online. Bio, English, Math, and Lit. I actually have no idea how it works, but I’ll say when I do. :3
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I’m excited for some parts of school–the classes and seeing everyone again, but I’m not excited for the immense workload I signed up for. I’m taking all AP classes except for Film Studies and Gym, so I’ll learn a lot, but I’m really dreading another full year of homework death.
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Well, it looks as if my biology (evolution, biodiversity, and ecology) class is going to be really interesting. For one, my teacher loves tenrecs, which have already shown up in the class reading. We’re also covering invasive species and evolution of dinos to birds and probably lots of other things that Muse has written about (or should write about).
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School starts Wednesday (the 26). I got all the stuff I needed. (Except a calculator and a flash drive.) I still have no clue of my homeroom teacher. I can’t believe summer’s over already.
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Same here. Four more days! Now that it’s lurking imminently over the horizon, I wish it’d just be here already. *anticipation*
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I agree. I go back to school shopping mainly because my brain needs convincing school is actually going to happen. And I need new pants.
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Needing new pants is a good reason, too.
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I agree, especially after discovering that the pants I thought fit me are too short. I now have exactly two pairs of wearable pants.
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I always am really excited right before the start of school. This year, I was especially excited, because I’m at a new school, which is a boarding school I’ve wanted to go to for years. Even once I got here, couldn’t wait for classes to start.
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Ohno ohno ohno ohno ohno ohno ohno! School starts Tuesday! I DON’T WANNA GO! Besides, I still have one essay to write left. >.< GRRR! And it’s about “Adams and Jefferson.” *pout* Why of why did the author have to take an interesting subject and make it so dull. WHY?! *ends complaint* OK. I’m happy now!
*sees all the lucky people taking AP Biology* *pouts*
Well, we dropped my sister today for college. She was really happy, so that’s good! I’m gonna miss her, but I was OK last year, so that’s fine. I’m determined to think of all the good parts of starting school back up! My friends, awesome teachers (like the best science teacher ever of whom I’m going to terrorize again this year because she’s awesome even though I don’t have a class with her), the wonderful food *cough cough*, and learning, which is, of course, fun. I just don’t like the extra stuff. I’m happy because I got into my online classes, despite their dullness, since they’re something extra for my brain to chew on. Actually, I didn’t htink I would ever say this, but I think I’m going to be bored this semester because I have 2 blank spots in my schedule because of my school’s lack of available classes, so I’m taking my 2 online classes then in the library. But I most likely won’t need and entire period to do those classes, so… I’ll actually have free time! *gasp* *dies of shock*
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My school doesn’t start until September 14th. *sticks tongue out at all you poor suckers who don’t go to private school*
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Hey! We poor suckers have feelings too y’ know! 
I’m going into 6th grade (In my district, middle school starts at 5th grade). My school starts (pardon my shouting) BEFORE LABOR DAY!!! IT”S NOT FAIR!!!!!! It NEVER starts before Labor Day!!!! *pouts* Okay, now that I’m done shouting, I would like to say that I still don’t know anything abot my teachers or classes. *is dying of anticipation and boredom*
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Yeah, my school is starting before Labor Day, but that’s because Labor Day is Sept. 7th this year, which is kinda late. So my school is starting Sept. 1. I’m happy as long as we’re not starting in August.
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Oh, that late? Well it makes sense then. I agree about not starting in August, Fio.
I got my school supplies today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My mom says it’s going to be funny when I try all my pants on because they won’t fit me and we’ll have to go on a shopping spree to get new ones, blah, blah, blah. *is rambling about shopping and pants*
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I’m lucky my pants still fit me–I gained 10 pounds over the summer. But then, I did the reverse of the stereotypical freshman, and lost 10 my first year at college, so…..I’m just back where I was a year ago.
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I start on the 9th. Private school also!! Go us!
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I went to a private school and was teased by snotty kids because I was the weird kid because I was ahead of everyone else and I wasn’t allowed to advance a grade.
I know go to a public school, where I have lots of friends and find the material challenging.
I’m not saying private schools are bad, I just had a bad experience at one.
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*had exact opposite of your experience* *dislikes private school anyway*
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Allow me to rephrase my previous post, I think it was a little rude.
When I went to a private school, I was teased by my classmates, who were convinced that they were better than anyone, and disliked others having superiority in any way, and so I was targeted as “weird” because I was ahead of everyone else.
I transferred to a public school, where I have found good friends and I find the material challenging and well suited to my brain function. Not all private schools are bad, and not all public schools are good, but people shouldn’t make generalizations about different types of schools and the people who attend them.
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I see. I personally love private school and can’t imagine going anywhere else, but that’s just because the school that I go to is very good for kids like me and I also have many friends and (mostly) non-evil teachers.
My experience is very similar to yours, only reversed. I went to a public school for one year (4th grade) and hated it. I was teased constantly because the kids thought that I was “too good” for them coming from a private school. The boys (And occasionally girls, too!) would walk up and down the hallways calling girls b**** and other rude names. And I was smarter than a lot of other kids, so I was put in the gifted program. However, being in the gifted program at that school wasn’t considered “cool” so the teasing really only got worse. I begged my parents to let me go back to my private school, but they told me to wait out the year. I did, and then finally was allowed to go back to private for 5th grade and had the best year!
I think that private and public schools are both good, but for different reasons. And I’m sure that my experience isn’t as bad as most who try public schools, because I know many people who go to public schools and love it. Basically, a lot of your experience at a school depends on not just the school but the kid too and sometimes you’re just not well suited to go somewhere.
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You lucky, lucky, lucky people.
If they’d let me go to the school I went to last year, for that school, they started school August 24th…but I need to do my virtual schooling in five minutes, so see you on a break, MuseBlog.
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At least WE don’t have to PAY to go to school!
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Wait ’til college. They’ll get you back for all your years of unpaid public school…..grrrrrr. College is expensive
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I got supplies yesterday. I got all the nice, five-star supplies, so my mom gasped at the end price. And I got this cool pen! *fiddles* That’s all I’m really excited about…
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What’s cool about the pen, TFATF42? Does it light up or something or does it just look cool. I used to have a pen that was also a bubble blower and a stamp. It was pink though, so I kinda outgrew it.
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I love cool pens! My mom got me a bunch for Christmas last year that have miniature games in them! I have Yahtzee, Connect 4, Operation, and another one that I forgot. I like pens that light up, too!
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I bet you like those toothbrushes that playssongs when you turn them on.
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I used to have one of those…
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Ohmigosh I’ve always wanted one of those!!!
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Well, it doesn’t do anything special… I’m actually mourning in my loss of my french fountain pen, and my space pen… Although, I do think that the latter will find its way back to me. I always seem to lose it, but then I find it! I’d really thought I’d lost it after marching in the parade (I bring a pen everywhere), and I thought it fell out of my pocket at my friend’s house, but it wasn’t there! A month later I found it wedged between the seat of my grandma’s car, blending perfectly. This last time I brought it home, and I never saw it again. I suppose it’s somewhere in my room, but I’m just waiting for it to show up. I really hope it does…
[/ramble]
Anyway, this new pen is a Foray, and I spotted it because it was white, and it all the others were dark. I thought that white ink wouldn’t be very useful, but it turns out it writes in black! I felt tricked, so I bought it. It’s very inky, which I’ve always loved… Well, that’s the story of the not-so-amazing-but-pretty-amazing-to-me pen.
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I like Uniball Signo pens. For some reason all the other pens that I find in stores are junk.
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And please, call me Fishy. (SFTDP)
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Like pens much, fishy?
I really don’t know what I got as school supplies, besides the neccesities. my dad does most of the shopping, so it’s always a suprise when I open my school bag. No disapointments yet though, so i don’t really care.
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But…but…school and/or office supplies are life!
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Staples is my second home.
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We’re neighbors. Mine’s Office Max.
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*shuns* I don’t like Staples because there used to be a Krispy Kreme doughnuts store in my town but then it closed and was turned into a Staples. But they mailed us free Post It Notes and pens and some tape, so I like them a bit better now.
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Shoot, I have killed my Alter Ego. *hides*
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Yes…. I quite like pens. *obsesses*
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Ooh, me likey pens as well. I have way too many of them, but I need mooooooore… *grabs for gel pen* Oooh, sparkly!
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Today was interesting .
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How so?
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Before we were even ten minutes into first period, a kid killed my English teacher’s gnome. And that’s just the start.
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Go on!
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Killed? And may I ask why your teacher even has (or is it had?) a gnome? And yes, go on!
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I think our schedules are coming tomorrow! Eek! I hope I know some people in my classes…
83(I-Man)-How so?!
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83.1- JINX!
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The teams for my school are coming out on Fri. I won’t be home, but I’ll look on Sunday. Like TFATF42 said, I hope I know some people.
82.1.1-
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SFTDP:
Sorry, I meant “Fishy”, not TFATF42.
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Re:School Supplies: Haven’t had to actually “buy” them since freshman year when dad won us 2500 dollars to staples. Still have a few hundred left on it, I think. So that’s pretty much the only place we buy stuff at, heh.
You know what rock? Spiril notebooks (like, the good 5-star/ect kind) that have graph paper instead of lines. They’re awesome for taking notes in and doing homework in in math. Makes things so much easier. Science, too! Chem and physics the most.
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I’ve always wanted one of those. I always use graph paper for math, so usually I have a notebook going with my notes and a pad of graph paper going with graphs/diagrams/scratch work.
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My friend had one of those. It was a very ugly maroon color.
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*wants* DO they come in Orange? I have kept all my subjects color-coded seince 7th grade and Math is orange. This post has contained some odd Capitalizations. Ha Ha.
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Oh wow, that’s really amazing! The most I’ve won was… a $100 shopping spree at this place called Hi-School market when I won an easter drawing contest.
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First day of school! It would’ve been great, except for the fact that the mean, mean people at the eye doctor’s took away my glasses. And I was blind. Saving that, it was fine. Found my classes all right, and remembered my locker combination.
I did have one rather surreal experience, though. When I went to get my gym locker from the coaches, their office was filled with the sounds of two (admittedly catchy but obviously explicit) songs: Cherry Pie by Warrant, and Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard. On two separate computers. It was juxtaposed so weirdly that I had to stop and think about what I’d heard afterwards. *broken brain*
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I’ve still got almost 2 weeks until school starts. SENIORS 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I suppose I should start thinking about college soon…maybe
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Registered today. THEY DROPPED SHAKESPEARE!!!!! 
And it was on the classes that was going to make life worthwhile.
My schedule is as follows:
1- Fishery Biology
2- Sociology
3- Theater Design
4- Geometry
5- Honors US History
6- Orchestra
7- Honors English 11
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Cake, cake, cake, cake, cake! I still don’t have all my supplies and school starts in ten days! Eek!
AND I don’t even know if the one event of Science Olympiad I was most looking forward to is going to happen! (sorry, I’m on a science olympiad team and there are different groups of people who do the different events at competition and they don’t always have the same ones every year and if they don’t have microbes this year…)
*headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk*
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Tentative schedule:
Concert band
Pre Algebra
Theater Arts (Willy Wonka this year!)
Science
PE
Core
…I think.
Gah, maths between electives! *headdesk*
Okay, now my head hurts from so many headdesks. *rubs*
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We’re having orientation soon, which is pretty much like our principal blabbing about school spirit and being “part of the team” and being a community and almost every other annoying, meaningless corporate catchphrase. He could be talking about the exact way to perform open heart surgery while tap dancing and nobody would care. That pretty much sums up our school systems. The staff dosen’t care. The students don’t care that the staff dosen’t care. Everyone gets along fine.
There was this thing in the school newsletter about how 95% of the kids complied with the “no electronics” rule and 5% were repeat offenders. Actually, 95% didn’t get caught and 5% suck at hiding things.
Also, I found a bunch of typos in it and I plan to send it back to his office, like I always do when I find typos in a school document. That should put me on his good list.
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Speaking of meaningless speeches, I can’t wait for my principal’s start-of-the-year speech (/sarc). Every year, almost the same thing. A summary:
Freshman speech: “You’re not in middle school anymore.”
Sophomore speech: “You’re not freshmen anymore.”
Junior speech: “You’re not underclassmen anymore.”
I wonder what the main idea will be this year?
Re: School Supplies: The past few years, I’ve found it a lot easier to buy school supplies after the first day of school so I’ll already know what my teachers want. Because every year, there’s at least one teacher who insists that I have a binder for their class. I hate binders and wouldn’t buy them if I didn’t have to.
THis post is getting more negative as it progresses.
I’m kindof nervous about going back, actually. For one thing, this is my last year of high school and I’m hoping it will actually be good (so far my record for high school is 0/3 good years; last year was better than the first two, but still not a very good year). For another, I feel like I’ve changed a lot over the summer, and nobody at school really knows that yet. Going back to school as Fio the film major (and general genius) instead of Fio the genius who has no idea what she’s doing with her life will be…interesting.
And thirdly, I suck at handling stress. Anybody have any advice about that?
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Fio — I agree about binders! I actually kind of refuse to buy more than two binders. I have this system all worked out and have been using it for the past few years and no one is going to mess that up for me
Handling stress: I started making schedules for each day with fun colors and so on…just so I could keep track of EVERYTHING I had to do. Do you have a planner for school? Organization really cuts down on stress for me because I’m really forgetful. Having a calendar also helps.
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YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! I am on the same team as my best friend! She just called me. Wow. Happiness.
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I agree, organization can really help. My locker is very decorated, but I also keep it *super* neat. My journal and folder for each class (I also dislike binders) I try to keep the same color, and sometimes I tape subject-related comics (example: on math journal/folder, the xkcd binary heart and “my normal approach is useless here” comics, easy to spot and grab). The order in my locker goes something like book-folder-journal, book-folder-journal, ect, for each subject.
Planners help too, even if no one likes the school ones. MAKE SURE to write in assignments, it really does help, and it feels like you’ve accomplished something when you can cross/check them off. When bored I also doodle/write song lyrics in the extra space. Our student handbooks/planners also include all sporting events for each day, so I underline mine and write in my non-school related ones beneath.
So, I have 6th period free in the honors commons. It is technically my lunch hour, but I eat the second half of 4th hour (I have it off, as 3rd and first half of 4th is AP Bio), so yesterday I brought a pilow to school and brought it both yesterday and today and took a nap on the couches my friends and I sit on I store it in my locker the rest of the day. Considering bringing a blanket for next week…
Does anyone else who’s a senior do senior shirts/sweats? Someone today said they were going to try to get the shirts to say
“Class of 2010
Senior Citizens”
on the front and
“Respect Your Elders”
on the back.
We don’t know what the senior sweatshirt/sweatpants (only girls can get these, heh) will have as their quote on the back, but they might have SEN10RS on the front (red on charcoal). We get to choose what we want across the back/butt, not sure what I want yet. Maybe even “Jadestone”! Or possible “God” or “Giant Space Squid.” We’ll see XD
One year people had things down the sleeve as well, but I’m not sure if we’re doing that again.
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That’s the shirt design for our senior class of last year. Well, it didn’t have the class year on it.
Actually, there’s a story about those. At the beginning of the year they ordered 300 of the shirts to be made, which, for purposes of anonymity, is somewhere between 25% and 75% of the number of people in the grade. Unfortunately, they only sold about 75 of them for $15 dollars apiece. The other 225 sat in my Spanish teacher’s classroom for the rest of the year. In the last week or so of school, someone asked if they could have one of the shirts, expecting the teacher to say no. However, the teacher thought for a moment before declaring, “One dollar.” They sold like hotcakes. I have one now.
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93- (Beavs) as usual, you’re post made me crack a smile. I never quite undestood somepeople’s attraction to their cell phones. It’s kind of silly when a girl (after the teacher has taken her cell phone when she was texting in class) starts whining “Noooo…. I neeeed it….. cand you at least leave it on my desk… I just need to seeeeee it….” Good luck on your first day of highschool.
94-(Fio) No advice for stress, sorry. I don’t handle it well either. I spent most of last year as stressed as I could handle, and trying to handle it didn’t stop me from bursting into tears in the middle of the halls several times. I wish I could help. I hope this year is better than the past three, for you.
I don’t go back to the eigth. I’m looking forward to it. Nothing could be worse than last year. I was stressed out all the time. This year will be great. Other than the required courses (Math, university for me, english, civics and careers and a science, physics for me) I’m taking:
Improv
Life Drawing
Drawing and Painting
Canadian Literature
My favorite teachers teach CanLit, Improv and Physics.
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97.1- Everyone has to fill out an order form for ours to avoid that, haha.
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I’ve finally finished my summer reading assignments this morning. *jumps for joy* I still have some math to do, unfortunately, as well as some studying. But getting my reading out of the way was a huge relief!!!
The teachers always send us a letter when we get our summer reading assignments in May, which basically say: summarize your books as you read them or you’ll fail all the tests in September. I did highlight/take notes in my books last year, but didn’t feel it was necessary in the end when I aced all the tests easily. Naturally as a lazy seventh grader this year I didn’t do anything but read the books.
At first I was confident, but now I’m a little nervous because I heard that the seventh grade English teachers are absolute devils compared to the sweet sixth grade teachers who apparently went really “easy” on us (THAT was easy, is all I’m thinking – some of our tests in sixth grade were actually pretty hard!!) because the “poor little things” are still getting used to being in big middle school country. Anyway, now I’m starting to have doubts about not taking any notes on the books, but hey, I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how it goes!!
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I’m starting high school this year, and am probably not as nervous as I should be. During orientation, where we could “meet other ninth grades,” I couldn’t help but gaze enviously at the senior lockers. The senior lockers are full lockers, while the rest of us poor souls have to have half lockers. I’m on the top, though, which is good, because if I was on the bottom, I would carry around all of my books for every class just so I could avoid bending down to get into my locker. Marfwarrior has a top locker, too, which is kind of funny, since she can barely see the padlock. Speaking of the padlocks, they are trick ones this year. When we get to the third number, we have to pause at the number and then keep turning it until it almost clicks and then we pull. Too confusing for me.
I’m happy because I got some Sharpies and rolling-ball pens (my favorites–I can’t believe I have a favorite kind of pen) so I can doodle on all of my school supplies.
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They’re my favorite kind of pen too. XD
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That was a VERY corny orientation, I agree. My locker is awsome because it has is in a little noch in the corner of the big rectangley thing that is my school and it is by a jolly big window and the mural of Josh (don’t ask) and i found a mirror and a penny in it. Yay for free stuff! And please shut up about my shortness because I am now taller than my mom, which isn’t really saying much, seeing as you have been taller that her seince, oh,was it 4th grade? And I don’t have a favorite kind of pen except for math always makes more seine when written in blue. (end of rant)
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Sorry about making fun of your height, dear. (Did you change your name permanently, then?)
Got to love back-to-school nerves/excitement.
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No. That was an accidental alter ego problem
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100- Don’t worry. Every year the teachers are like, “but I’M going easy on you, the teachers you’ll have NEXT year will be so much harder!” and it never actually happens (at least in my district). It gets harder by degrees, yeah, but you don’t get buckets of work dumped on you unless you sign up for AP classes which are voluntary though so don’t quite count. But middle school is still fine.
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The end is coming. I have started waking up early. The toad springs forward.
*shudders* There is a huge project that all the 6th graders have to work together on. I wonder who had that idea, thinking we could actually work together and not depend on a few kids to do the bulk of the project? I have this feeling I will be a member of the group that does all the work. They say our school is for talented kids who can keep up with lots of advanced work, but quite honestly, there are a few slackers in the mix. Take my party members’ speeches at last year’s fifth grade presidential election for an example:
“Bubbles is very smart. VP is very athletic. They will do great things for this classroom.”
I lost dismally.
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Heh. Sounds like my school, except at mine, it’s all slackers, with a few people with brains in the midst of a crowd of Mr. Joes.
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Tomorrow. The day of reckoning. I am not looking forward to this.
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Does anyone else feel incredibly socially awkward, especially right after the summer? For me, I haven’t seen a lot of these people for about three months, and, especially with boys, I don’t know where I stand with them. *sighs and takes her various problems to a different post*
Next Tuesday. The Dark Day.
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My school hasn’t started yet. But I’m stuck really boringly with nothing to do, at home. With no friends to visit. (Except you, of course.)
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105) I feel that way too! I don’t really know what to say to anyone except “hey..”
8 more days….8 more days….
Anyways, this year might be fun! *puts on perky face*
Except for the fact that my band teacher hasn’t moved away…I swear, if you look inside his mound of slowly receding hair,you’ll find HORNS. 
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6 days left. I’ve gotten all my school supplies, and my mom has started waking me up early. We won’t get our schedules until the first day, Who thought that was a good idea?
My pen pal has started school already, so she probably won’t email me for a while.
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Gurgh. School started today, which would be great, except that I felt sick the whole day.
But…
School started today, and I got to see some of my friends, even though some of them are a grade below me and I only got to see them at dismissal…
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I am really bad with the whole “managing stress” thing. The first two weeks of school, I do just fine. But then I degrade into procrastination. Not very encouraging for this year. I have a plan, though. I’m going to go to Office Depot (MY school supply store of choice) and buy this pad of paper that has places for all your homework and stuff that I saw while my dad was looking for a printer. I think that it will get me a lot more organized than a planner ever did.
Only two more stories left in Go Down, Moses! I’ve been really good at reading it, considering how I don’t know half the words. My vocabulary has been failing. I filled up six pages full of words that I didn’t know in about 100 pages! I NEED to study if I’m going to get a good score on the PSAT, let alone the SAT.
Which brings me to the horrors of Junior year. I always fail at the math sections, even on the PSAT, because I always run out of time. If I had, say 45 minutes instead of 30 minutes I would get practically every answer right. Instead, the time runs out and I have to hurriedly look over the problems that I have left to do to see if an answer just comes to me (doesn’t work, by the way). My mom bought me a book all about studying the really hard questions (rated a 4 or 5) instead of the easy ones. Plus, when I took it last year, I had forgotten all of my Algebra II knowledge because I had just taken a Statistics class. Now all of the Algebra know-how is back in my head, plus some Geometry! So I’ll do better! But I still need to study. Especially vocabulary. The only questions I got wrong on the grammar section of the PSAT last year were because I didn’t know what the words meant! Grrr.
Well, I lied about not getting my schedule until the first day of school. I got a tentative one on registration day. Here it is:
IB Math HL I (AKA Calculus I)
IB English I
German III
IB European History (not in a real classroom, which will be interesting)
IB Chemistry SL
IB Psychology SL
Chamber Orchestra (double-blocked)
Woah, that’s a lot of IBs! Unfortunately, in order to get the diploma, I ahve to take IB Psychology because it is the only elective besides IB Music (which I’m not taking because my orchestra teacher said it wasn’t very good) that ordinary people can take. There is an IB Theatre and an IB Computer Engineering, but you have to take a bunch of prerequisites. It kind of makes me mad, but all the seniors said Psychology was easy.
I hope you took the time to read all that! I sure take the time to read long posts. Sometimes they have interesting things in them!
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I’m starting German I this year. Is German fun? I tend to think that languages are easier than core classes, but maybe that’s just a freshman’s naïve form of thinking.
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Verily! The grammar is practically the same as English (at least in my opinion; there are some things that are different, and my friends always dwell on those) and so many of the words are the same as English as well. Languages are pretty easy because you don’t have to write anything too deep.
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^^ I read it all!
Don’t stress too much over the PSAT. Are you looking to qualify for national merit scholar? That’s the only instance in which the PSAT makes much of a difference, otherwise it’s just a diagnostic kind of thing to show you how you’ll do on the SAT.
Are you signed up to take the SAT in october? I took it in october and march of my junior year, my march score was much better lol
Practice tests are in general always a good idea. Taking too many at once isn’t a good idea though!
good luck with everything! junior year is stressful but I’m sure you’ll do fine
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Yes, I hope to get the scholorship. I kind of failed at that goal last year (the practice practice year: more about that in a minute) because I got a 194.
I’m going to take the PSAT in October and the SAT in the spring. Then I’ll take the SAT again in senior year!
Anyway: Oregon made it so that all sophomores take the PSAT for free starting last year. Lucky me! It was hilarious: 600 teenagers packed into long tables in the gym. The school got the cheap tests so we all got the same test. Anyone could have cheated if they wanted to.
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My classes (are great!):
French Literary and Cultural Analysis I
Introduction to Globalization
Quaker Perspectives on Sustainability
Enriched Calculus II
A busy and interesting semester, I think.
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I still have to study for my Latin test. Grrrrrr. (It’s at the beginning of the year, and covers all the grammar/vocabulary we learned last year.) Knowing my Latin teacher she will probably give it to us the first day.
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That sounds like my Latin teacher!
[A snip here to remove info about bubbles’ Latin teacher that could tip off readers to which school bubbles attends — Rosanne]
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Starting Spanish this year, it’s the least favorite class of one of one of my friends. Hopefully not to bad…?
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Is there anyone else going into 8th grade? It seems like every one’s in high school or 7th grade or below.
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Bubblebabe is.
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Zallie — I am intrigued by “Quaker Perspectives on Sustainability”. What interesting classes!
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Haha, if you come to college with me, you can take it next year!
The readings so far have been really great. I’ve peeked ahead at our other sources, and they’re really interesting too. I think this was a good choice for me.
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I wish I could go to school once more before it starts. I have not checked the locations of most of my classes or been able to consistently open my locker. I also need to put food in my locker and decorate it. I cannot remember if I put my magnets in or not,and this is really bothering me. I know I put the pencil holders and mirror in but I can’t remember about the magnets. *spazes* *screams* *screams louder* grabs imaginary pigtails/thinies on hat and pulls downward while screaming and rocking back and forth* I really need to calm down.
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Checked the locations of most of your classes? Gosh, my school consists of one hallway, 2 lobbies, a multi-purpose room. you just start at one end and keep going.
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School tomorrow. *dies*
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It’s happening…. It’s really happening… SCHOOL. TODAY. LATER.
SOON.
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School isn’t that bad; I’m finally a sponsor and I can finally take spanish!
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*counts days* Wednesday, Thursday. 2 Days left!
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Yesterday… was… horrible.
My Global History teacher is probably going to kill me by the end of the year. She kept emphasizing just how and when out could drop out, as if you were supposed to. I think it’s going to be a lonely class after 10 days when dropping out is allowed. On the first day of school she gave s a small packet with 16 questions on it, but seemed like they wouldn’t take long. There was also an article put on the back; I didn’t know what we were supposed to do on that, but I was too busy on the questions. I had to use 2 sheets of loose leaf(front and back) instead of the lines that she gave us. A lot of the questions required at least a paragraph… Then came the article. I read it, and went online to see what I had to do. I had to write four paragraphs about the main idea and certain points of the article. The article or the questions themselves would have been much more reasonable, but instead she put them together on the same night, the first day of school. None of the other teachers even gave us think-work, just sign-this and sign-that. I like them.
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Oh, jeez. She sounds like my last year’s science teacher…
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My three best friends got placed in the same cluster (aka team) as me! Yayness!
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Today wasn’t as bad. My global teacher didn’t give us as much homework, and wasn’t as angry. Yes, angry. Although, she does move at a very fast pace… Anyway, today in my first period Spanish class I found out there is a girl named Avalon. O.o I was talking to Daisy*Chain and I was like, “OMG WHAT IF!?”
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Kyaaaa, don’t remind me of first period Spanish… I have to HAVE that this year. *dies* But seriously? Avalon? That’s really cool, although her parents must have been somewhat odd…
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Nah, that’s not me, no matter what you were thinking about. Technically, I’m in 6th grade, and Avalon’s not my real name anyway.
I would like to be named Avalon, though!
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Yeah…
I’m so sick of school, and it’s only the first week!
I get so much homework because nearly all of my classes are high school courses. It takes hours to finish it all, and it’s only the beginning… I’ve been skipping taekwondo, but I still end up going to bed at 12 every night.
To top it all off, I’m sick. Every class is suffering for me, and I can’t skip school because right now we’re getting a lot of crucial information… GAH!!
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Do English and Science give you a lot of homework too?
*isn’t in those (high school) classes*
My Spanish and Math teacher hasn’t given me a lot of homework…
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My English teacher makes us write at least a paragraph a day, which is annoying, if not a lot.
Science doesn’t give much hw either, but I we have labs every 3 days, which means I have to write lab reports often…
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*My Spanish and Mather teacher haven’t given me a lot of homework.
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