This week's Student of the Week is Tiana B (I know Nikan will have a photo to share).
Tiana! Just saying the name makes me smile (if not giggle). She was an amusing, unpredictable, jovial grade 8 student... and she remains the same in grade 12. Such a great personality! And so funny! Of course, Tiana doesn't always MEAN to be funny. Sometimes it just...uh...happens. I remember when we were starting algebra in grade 8. I was trying to make the point that you can use any letter you want to represent an unknown quantity, but some letters are better than others. Me: Like "o" for example. I recommend that you NEVER use "o" to represent an unknown. It's just too confusing. It looks too much like a zero. What other letters would be confusing to use? Tiana immediately starts waving her arm excitedly in the air. Me: Yes, Tiana? Tiana: "T" Me (expecting a comment about "t" looking like a "+" sign): Good! And why would that be, Tiana? Tiana (very proudly): My name starts with the letter T. Me: uh....????...!!! Too good! Of course, this is not my favourite Tiana story. Sadly, I can not relate that one here in complete detail. It's a little too creepy to post. Suffice to say that Tiana "received a text from me" (or so she thought) that contained some very strange comments to be coming from a teacher. Thank goodness she eventually realized it was from her Cheer coach (is that what she is called? A Cheer coach?) and not me. Of course, Tiana related the whole story to me (and, in fact, the whole class) one day when it suddenly crossed her mind. I was practically screaming at everyone (particularly the ELL students): "Is everyone clear that I DID NOT SEND THAT TEXT to Tiana?!?! She just THOUGHT it was from me!!!!". Here's something I am now used to but used to shock me about Tiana: throughout a chapter of Math, Tiana will "sometimes" (in other words: ALWAYS!) fall behind a little. She will ask questions in class which will make me think: "Uh oh. She's not getting this". She's prone to missing a class here or there. She will seem confused by the material. Doesn't seem too promising, right? Well, the incredible (and GREAT!) thing is that Tiana does well on her tests. EVERY test. Every time. I'm not sure when everything suddenly "clicks" for her but it always seems to do just that. I have learned to roll with her initial difficulties and concerning (if not odd) questions. This girl is a good Math student. I now have complete faith in her. One thing I have NEVER doubted about Tiana is what a great heart she has. She has always been so warm to me. I have seen her with her friends and she obviously appreciates and loves them a great deal. When she speaks of her brother (the one and only Damjan) you can tell she is very fond and very proud of him (she used to do this a LOT in grade 8. Not so much this year). She always has a smile on her face and is quick to share a laugh. Tiana, you truly are like a ray of sunshine when you walk into my classroom (and that's saying something since you usually walk in late. Hahaha!). I thank you for always being so generous, so thoughtful, so cheerful, and so positive. May you never lose your wonderful way of looking at and approaching life. Someone asked me this week what my favourite quote of all time is and - for some reason - I think you embody it perfectly: "Life is too important to be taken seriously" - Oscar Wilde Keep enjoying life, Tiana, and refuse to take anything too seriously!! Good luck to you! The question: Alice, Bob and Charlie are well-known expert logicians; they always tell the truth. They are sat in a row, as illustrated above. In each of the scenarios below, their father puts a red or blue hat on each of their heads. Alice can see Bob’s and Charlie’s hats, but not her own; Bob can see only Charlie’s hat; Charlie can see none of the hats. All three of them are aware of this arrangement.
(i) Their father puts a hat on each of their heads and says: “Each of your hats is either red or blue. At least one of you has a red hat.” Alice then says “I know the colour of my hat.” What colour is each person’s hat? (ii) Their father puts a new hat on each of their heads and again says: “Each of your hats is either red or blue. At least one of you has a red hat.” Alice then says “I don’t know the colour of my hat.” Bob then says “I don’t know the colour of my hat.” What colour is Charlie’s hat? (iii) Their father puts a new hat on each of their heads and says: “Each of your hats is either red or blue. At least one of you has a red hat, and at least one of you has a blue hat.” Alice says “I know the colour of my hat.” Bob then says “Mine is red.” What colour is each person’s hat? (iv) Their father puts a new hat on each of their heads and says: “Each of your hats is either red or blue. At least one of you has a red hat, and at least one of you has a blue hat.” Alice then says “I don’t know the colour of my hat.” Bob then says “My hat is red”. What colour is Charlie’s hat? (v) Their father puts a new hat on each of their heads and says: “Each of your hats is either red or blue. Two of you who are seated adjacently both have red hats.” Alice then says “I don’t know the colour of my hat.” What colour is Charlie’s hat? This has been out for months but I never posted it before... and it's a great song!! |
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