This week's Student of the Week is Ryan O!

I do believe that I have taught Ryan all five years of high school though I MIGHT be wrong. Actually, now I'm doubting myself. Did you have Ms. Sidhu in grade 9 Ryan? For some reason I have a terrible time remembering who I did and did not teach in grade 9. What did we do in that year anyway?

Watch almost any teen movie (at least any one from my childhood in the '80s) and there was always the one lovable "Gentle Giant". That's Ryan!! Looks a little imposing when you first see him but - immediately upon meeting him - you realize that he is like the BEST guy ever. Thoughtful, kind, goofy, funny, self-expressed...

And LOUD! Ryan has always been very loud. I think, in fact, I may have yelled at him once at the start of grade 10 for making too much noise (great way to deal with noise... by yelling). Sorry about that, R.O. It happens...

The best thing about Ryan is his sense of humour. This guy loves to laugh. At his friends. At me. At weird things happening in the world. And - most impressively - at himself. Ryan is one JOVIAL dude. Who doesn't like being around someone like that?

It has been awesome teaching you, Ryan. One of the (many) things that is rotten about this Covid pandemic we find ourselves in, is that I will soon be losing time that I could be spending with wonderful people like you... and you aren't coming back next year!  :( 
Who knows... maybe we have shared our last class together already! Hope not! What a lousy ending that would be!

Keep smiling and laughing, Ryan. And putting so much joy out into the world for others to enjoy. I feel blessed to have shared so many laughs with you. Thanks for making my classes more interesting, enjoyable, and fun! Love ya, Ryan!

This week's Student of the Week is Sara M (I imagine there are some epic photos of Sara out there that could be shared... please!).

I remember when I first met Sara. I did not actually teach her in grade 8 but she would come to my class sometimes (maybe even to get math help? I can't totally remember), She was probably just following Ali or Madison (both of whom I DID teach in grade 8) around but she definitely made an impression on me. She was so good-natured and confident and funny. I always looked forward to the rare occasions that she would visit.

Sometime during that grade 8 year, Sara's Mom requested a meeting. The three of us met in my classroom and Sara's Mom requested that Sara move to my class because [to be honest, I'd rather not say the reason why]. I had to inform the two of them that it was not possible to change classes at such a late point in the year. Sara looked so sad and I made some comment like "don't worry. I'm sure we will have many classes together in the years ahead". Foolish comment as it could have turned out that I NEVER taught Sara a single time. But, THANK GOODNESS (not just for Sara but for MEEEEEE!!!) Sara has been my student every year since. Four wonderful years in a row!!

Sara is very open. Maybe a bit of an over-sharer at times. But hey, so am I, so it's worked out great. We have had so many fantastic conversations, many of them related to her romantic interests... but not ALL! Other topics have included volleyball, Sara's Mom (Tanja!), Serbia (greatest country in the world, apparently), and our various sicknesses and injuries (Sara and I - but especially Sara! - seem to always be suffering from some fracture, concussion, sprain, cold, flu, cold sore, lip rash / burn, etc).

Sara has a huge heart. She has spent so many hours assisting others over the past few years at King George. She has refereed volleyball. She has done scorekeeping. She has even done multiple years of coaching! Whenever I have been stuck finding someone to volunteer, I have looked upon Sara as my "Ace in the hole"; an almost-certain "yes" every time I ask her to volunteer. What a generous person!

It's been an amazing four years, Sara. I admire you so much for your joyful outlook on life, your warmth, your sense of humour, and your just-go-for-it attitude in so many areas (volleyball, work, school, volunteering, Police Challenge, etc). You've brought so much joy and many, many laughs into my life and I thank you for it all! Hopefully we can enjoy a few more lunches together in the years ahead (thanks for that one at Joe's!). I know that big things await you in the future but I am already so proud of you! 

This week's Student of the Week is Kai L. Thanks for the incredible photo, Lucas!

You gotta love someone whose first name and last name rhyme! Kudos to Kai's parents for their inspired choice.

I first taught Kai in Math 8 and have done so every year since... except grade 9. As hard as it is to believe now, I remember that Kai was not the easiest of students to teach in grade 8. He was obviously a good math student but he had a tendency to socialize too much, get others wound up, avoid working in class, etc. I am sure it was a classic "bored in Math because he finds it too easy so he acts up instead". I remember having a talk with him one day about how "you're a real leader in this class. Kids look up to you. If you behave, if you work... they work.". It really made a difference... for about a whole week!! hahaha

Anyway, it's not like he was a disaster grade 8 student but he was certainly not super quiet and reserved... which is how Ms Sidhu described him to me in her Math 9 class. WHAT THE HECK!!!! How did this happen?? I remember clearly her saying to me: "some of my grade 9's are so withdrawn. I can hardly get them to talk. Like Kai". Huh!?!?!?!

WHOA!!!!!! Gotta interrupt my own blog post here. I am listening to music on iTunes and look at which song RANDOMLY just came on. I have over 28,000 songs in my iTunes library and THIS song just happens to come on when I am typing Kai's Student of the Week post?!? Scary!

I don't know what Ms Sidhu did to Kai (she was SUPER tough. hahaha) but by the time he returned to my class in PreCalculus 10 he was a fantastic student. Great work ethic. Super focused. Everything done on time and done WELL!! And that's the way he has been ever since. It's a complete reverse reversal: from preventing kids from doing their work in grade 8 to INSISTING those around him work in PreCalculus 12. 

It's actually pretty amusing watching Kai and Lucas C work together in Math class now:

Kai (intense): What did you get? What did you get?
Lucas (laid back): I got root 2 over 2.
Kai: NEGATIVE! NEG-A-TIVE!!!
Lucas: Wait. I don't think so.
Kai: YES!!!!!! IT'S NEGATIVE BUD-DY. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?!?
Lucas: Oh.... yeah. Negative.
Kai: SHEESH!!!

I believe Kai was the first member of the Class of 2020 to call me "Wadge". As in, dropping the "Mister". This seems to happen to me, wherever I teach. It happened all the time TWENTY years ago in Squamish and it persists to this day. Kai was an early adapter of this. I'm not sure if I should be offended (no respect?) or flattered (less formal?). Either way, I notice many of you have joined Kai in this trend now.

It's ALWAYS been great to teach you, Kai. Even in grade 8! You were NEVER rude or disrespectful; just a typical grade 8 boy. Having said that, I am super proud of you for the sort of student and person that you have become. You are so personable, intelligent, and determined... I know that great successes await you in the future. I consider myself very lucky to have taught you (four times!) and I wish you well. Love ya, K.L.!!