non traditional training and I still made it to prom! (pictures link at bottom)

June 30, 2006 at 7:03 PM

I can't say that I've had the most "normal" of school careers. I started out in a private, two room schoolhouse (yes, and I am only 17 - not 85 like my profile suggests) with 1 classmate in my kindergarten class. We had the most charming teacher named Mrs. Turtles who would make us feel special on our birthday - i distinctly recall getting a cupcake and the whole school sang to me - and who made learning fun. We got to have story time, be creative with things like playdough and also there was a bit of seriousness too when she would do little tests with us to determine how sharp our memory or recognition of things was. I progressed from 1 classmate to two when I graduated to grade 1 and came home to join in with my siblings and be homeschooled. I liked being homeschooled. In fact, I loved it. I got to be home alot of the time and I got to see TONS of my Grandma who I adored (and still do (!) - to both of those things :). I have memories of trying to get a day or two or more ahead in school so I could have long weekends or a day off when I visited my Grandma while Mom was at work (she worked shiftwork). Grandma and I always had more important things to do like play dominos or scrabble or dutch blitz and the like. By the time I was 11 or so, I was starting to get burnt out with school and it was around then that I switched my focus to violin. I became obsessive about it.... I started practicing 2 hours a day....then 3...then 4.....it got worse than that too. I adored violin. At first I think it was more because I was so upset about having to quit ballet and dance which I had done since I was three (I had developed a physical problem that was severely aggravated by ballet) and it was a way of dealing with my frustration and sadness at having to say goodbye to that part of my life but it soon blossomed into something really special when I finally found the right teacher. But point made, I basicly dropped out of school. When I was 15 I decided I should probably figure out some way to complete school, my brother had just graduated after deciding to go back to public school, my sister hadn't ever graduated but somehow she managed to get into university, now it was only me. I signed up for two courses - yes that's right, two. German and English AP. Hmmmm... I took those for the 2004/2005 school year and I fell in love with my English teacher Mr. Lines. He's the most amazing teacher ever to exsist. He's got you in stitches the entire class and at the same time is the most motivating person who makes learning what it should be....interesting, rewarding and fun. This year, I got more adventurous and took up a full courseload. History, Socials, English AP, English Lit and Math. History and English AP were both with Mr. Lines = bliss! I had a blast. English Lit involved a rugby teacher who's sense of humour is subtle but highly entertaining and to look at him you'd think he should be a bouncer at the bar as opposed to teacher highschool English. He was also very fun. My Math teacher was very good, but I don't get or understand math after jumping into a math 11 course when the most recent math schooling was in grade 7 or grade 8. Socials, well the teacher was good. He had good information but he didn't really leave me feeling like I enjoyed the course at all and the class I was in wasn't a particularly enjoyable class either. But alas, I got through a crazy year and here I am! Done! Bon Voyage Pen High!

Prom was a great lot of fun and you can see the pictures by clicking on this sentence. :)!

From Sydney Menees
Posted on June 30, 2006 at 7:05 PM

Woah, you Pauline and I all posted within 2 minutes of eachother!

From Sydney Menees
Posted on June 30, 2006 at 7:12 PM

BTW - Great pictures! I hope to go to a dance someday...

From Jasmine Lewis
Posted on June 30, 2006 at 8:07 PM

I'm so proud of my Kelsey...*tear*

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on July 1, 2006 at 5:14 AM

Great photos. I'm glad you had fun.

From Kelsey Z.
Posted on July 3, 2006 at 9:16 PM

Thanks everyone. The amusing part, I didn't dance at all lol.

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