This week's Student of the Week is Paulina C! What a surprise... I don't even teach her this year! Find that unfair? Well too bad! I love Paulina and I can make her Student of the Week even if she is not in my class this year.
In fact, it amazes me that I only taught Paulina math a single year (PreCalculus 10). How can I have such incredibly positive and warm feelings about someone I taught only a single time? It's a testament to Paulina I guess! She's pretty darn amazing. A word that I would use to describe Paulina is "unflappable". She is Ms. Calm, Cool, and Collected. While others in her grade would be stressing out, complaining, crying, whining, screaming, etc about classes / exams / life, Paulina always seems so level-headed, responsible and mature. She is one of those people who seems older than their actual age. She keeps things in perspective, a smile on her face, and gets things done! Good thing she is all these things because Paulina was one of my Peer Tutors last year in my Math 8 Core class. It was a challenging class and Paulina was so supportive... of the students AND OF ME!!! On more than one occasion, Paulina told me after class to "not worry about it, Mr Wadge" or "you're doing all you can, Mr Wadge". It was pretty sweet and it was SOOOOOO appreciated! It really meant a lot Paulina. Thanks so much! It's always special when you feel close to a student before you even teach them and that's how it was with Paulina. I can't actually remember how I met her (I guess through one of her many friends) but she was always so friendly to me in the hallways. It was always a pleasure to see her around KG and I was truly excited when I saw her name on my class list in grade 10 (and, of course, she didn't disappoint. She was a fabulous Math student). Paulina, I am truly sorry not to be teaching you again this year (I know, I know, it's my own fault). I have so much respect for the sort of person you are. Thanks for everything you have done for KG during your time at our school and good luck to you in the future! There was LOTS of amazing music released in 2016 (look for my 20 favourite albums over the next two weeks). But there was also some BIG disappointments. These five albums were the biggest busts (to me). 5. Pixies - Head CarrierWay back in 1989, I was in grade 11. Pixies released an album called Doolittle and it changed my life (to a certain extent). I was the only person in my highschool who knew the album (as far as I knew) and anyone I shared it with basically hated it. But I LOVED it (still do). And I realized that I could be my own person; that I didn't need to "do the right thing" or "like what everyone else liked". I became a huge fan of the band, saw them in concert several times (best concert ever was a Primus / Pixies / Jane's Addiction tiple bill), even met them once! Plus, Kim Deal (the bassist) was my ultimate rock-n'-roll crush of all time. Fast forward almost thirty years. Kim Deal has left the band, Black Francis (the lead singer) has basically admitted he is only sticking with Pixies to make more money, and everything feels... tired. I wish they'd disbanded when I was 20 and left me with only happy memories. From this amazing song in 1989: To this dud in 2016: 4. Crystal Castles - Amnesty (I)Granted, Crystal Castles isn't everyone's cup of tea. It's a bit...uh...experimental. But it was always interesting, and often fantastic. Take this, for example: Then Alice Glass left the band and we are left with snoozers like this... 3. M83 - JunkM83's last album - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming - was one of the best of the last decade. Imagine an album where even the "Intro" is this good: Though the two first songs on the new album are pretty great, the rest is awful. It makes you wonder if this is the reason for the title of the album: Junk indeed. 2. The Avalanches - WildflowerThe Avalanches debut album was released in 2000. It is considered a masterpiece. It was comprised of something like 3500 samples. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before. Amazing! It took sixteen years (SIXTEEN YEARS!!!) until they released their second album. Again, it's not awful, but it sure wasn't worth the wait. 1. Maala - ComposureAt the start of this year I stumbled upon a five song EP from a new Kiwi singer - Maala - I'd never heard about before. It kind of blew me away. I loved each of the five songs. If I had heard the album earlier I'm sure it would have made my Top 10 Albums of 2015. So I was excited when I found out Maala would be releasing his first full album in 2016. I counted down the days until it arrived, listened to it in full the day it was released... and never listened to it again. What a dud! What a disappointment! Horrible! |
P. WadgeI am your teacher. Obey me. Archives
June 2021
Categories
All
|