I remember I first heard of Petar when his awesome sister - Jelena!! - returned to my class when she was in grade 12 (this was truly exciting news!). I saw that another Lazic had been added to my grade 10 class. I never knew until then that Jelena even HAD a brother. One thing I could tell right away about Petar is that he is very laid back. I believe it was pretty far into the year when he joined the class. Plus there is a Provincial Exam at the end of PreCalculus 10. So I had to give him the unfortunate news: "sorry, Petar, but you need to learn everything you've missed so far in this course. But you also need to stay up-to-date with the new stuff". Petar looked up and smiled: "Sure". Nothing seems to faze this guy. Forgot to study for the big test? "Whoops". Homework overdue? "hehehe". Late for class? "My bad".
Which brings me to Petar's second big character trait: he's so darn likeable! Sometimes I WANT to get angry with him (the lates, the assignments, etc) but, honestly, how can anyone get angry at Petar? He's just this big loveable goofball! I mean that as a compliment by the way. He doesn't take anything too seriously, he gets along with everybody, he never says a nasty word, he's always in a good mood. What a great guy!
I do remember one time when he tested my patience BIG TIME, however. It was during a Foundations 11 Chapter test. We set up all the dividers. Everyone cleared their desks and got their calculators ready. I handed out the tests. Petar took a quick look through the whole thing, raised his hand and asked: "can I postpone this please?". I believe that incredulous laughter ensued... except from me. "WHAT!! Now that you've looked at the whole test, you are going to postpone it. Why didn't you tell me before I handed it out?!" etc etc. But, once again, I could only stay angry with Petar for about 30 seconds. After that, I was laughing with everyone else.
Now, a confession... I am not actually 100% positive that that last story involved Petar. It may have actually been Ali. Which brings me to the trait about Petar (and Ali) that I will never forget: the amazing friendship that these two have. Simply put, it's awesome. These two are practically inseparable. They take classes together. They Peer Tutor together (for me!). They play on the Senior Boys Basketball team together. Everybody needs a "best friend" and these guys are lucky to have each other. Here's hoping that their fabulous friendship lasts a long, long time.
Thanks for all the laughs Petar. And thanks for always being so friendly, so honest, so warm-hearted. I was so pleased when Jelena returned for her grade 12 year. But what an awesome Bonus to also get to teach you for the past three years! Keep on smiling, Petar!