Shami arrived at KG last year. Despite his many protestations that "I've never been a good math student" Shami did extremely well in my PreCalculus 10 class. Then he did PreCalculus 11 on his own over the summer (and he learned the material very well). Unfortunately (for me), by bypassing PreCalculus 11 this year, I did not get to teach Shami a second time (boo hoo!).
Shami is a very, very nice guy. In fact here are three stories to demonstrate just HOW nice Shami is:
Story #1: Most people at KG actually don't pronounce Shami's name correctly. The emphasis is on the second syllable. It's sha-MEE. Not SHA-mee. So one time I overheard someone ask Shami what his name was. He responded: "It's sha-MEE. NO! I mean SHA-mee". Huh?!?
I asked him after: "why did you change the pronunciation to the WRONG one?"
"Oh", he replied, "it seems to be easier for most people so I am happy to say it that way".
COME ON!! How accommodating can someone be to change their own NAME!!
Story #2: Shami is a major music fan. I know he listens to most (all?) of the music links I post on the blog (and I really appreciate it, Shami). I told him one time to check out Buffalo Springfield (1960's rock band) and Shami LOVED them (he has good taste). So, to thank me, he gifted me an album (i.e. he BOUGHT the album. Some teenagers actually BUY albums!!!) from a Vancouver band that he had recently heard performing live (I'll post a song by them on the blog). What a great guy! There's no gift I enjoy more than the gift of MUSIC!!
Story #3: Shami is an active (the MOST active?) green team member at KG. I've seen some of the stuff he is responsible for collecting from our classrooms. It's pretty grim. Sticky. Smelly. Gross. But Shami always arrives with a smile on his face and with great enthusiasm. The man is a saint!
Thanks Shami, for being one of the most dedicated readers of this humble blog! Thanks also for the way you get involved and make a difference at out school. I really admire you for the way you approach life with such curiosity, eagerness and passion. You are always so positive and appreciative of others. You are a wonderful person to spend time with! So glad that you ended up at our little West End school! I will miss you next year!