One for the road…

I feel like I’ve neglected this blog. Haha. So to make up for it, I shall post a considerably long post! The only area of discussion in my mind right now is school, exams in particular. Let’s make things organized, though. For each subject, I shall post my score (and its percentage) and my thoughts on the teacher of that subject and its exam. Sounds good.

CHRISTIAN LIFE
Score: 51/70 (73%)
Thoughts on Exam/Teacher: I dreaded the return of the old format of CL exams. I did well when Miss Derige was our substitute teacher. Although I can learn from Mrs. Guevarra, I feel like I didn’t do so well this quarter because I simply didn’t care about it anymore. It’s the Fourth Quarter, after all. In addition, it’s the last subject to have an exam. Nobody wants to do it anymore. They just want to get things over with and who can blame them? Plus, the options were very confusing. Considering the Scantron nature of the exam, it’s either you choose the right one or you don’t get a point. Shame.

MATH
Score: 42/55 (76%) (Scantron)
Thoughts on Exam/Teacher: I could’ve done better but this exam was a lot tamer than expected. Funny though that one problem there was a spawn of the problem that I tried to make Sir Berns solve a few weeks ago! Talk about revenge! I always accept my low scores in Math, anyway. It’s natural. But I’m glad I didn’t opt to stay in the regular class when I had the chance. Sir Berns is a great teacher! A little crazy at times but it’s all good! It makes me proud to have him as a teacher because not only does he simplify the topics for us but he also injects some weird fun into the class. I’ll miss him! :(

FILIPINO
Score: 80/100 (80%)
Thoughts on Exam/Teacher: Considerable improvement! The difference between this quarter and the other three quarters is that I turned to Sir Castro’s Powerpoints for guidance. Maybe it’s also because I prefer El Fili over Noli. But yeah, I actually didn’t read the book to review this time and I still got a score like this. For once, Filipino is not my lowest subject! As for Mrs. Balmes, I don’t think she’s boring but I just feel that Sir Castro’s classes are a lot more stimulating.

ENGLISH
Score: 81/100 (81%)
Thoughts on Exam/Teacher: I was happy with the score I got for my paper. Yes, there was room for improvement so I put that into mind when I revised my paper. However, I can’t say the same for my oral defense score but I have to thank Miss Mireille for being extremely lenient on me. If I wasn’t the first to defend my paper, I would’ve gotten a line of one for my defense. It was absolutely terrible… Let’s just say, I won’t miss her. :) I would’ve preferred Miss Kresta or Miss Casty as my English teacher.

SCIENCE
Score: 88/100 (88%)
Thoughts on Exam/Teacher: No complaints here. As expected, most of my mistakes came from the conceptual questions. You win some, you lose some. I’m happy with my score, considering the time I allotted for studying Chem. I will miss Daddy Dayag and his weird lolziness. I couldn’t ask for any other teacher to teach Chemistry for me! Hope he gets to be Subject Area Coordinator next year! That would be awesome.

SOCIAL STUDIES
Score: 88/100 (88%) (or it could be 89)
Thoughts on Exam/Teacher: This is the best I’ve done in a Social exam! But still, I thought the exam was easy so I was expecting to at least get a line of nine. Damn. I tried to fight for my answers, though. One thing’s for certain about the teacher, though… I WILL MISS SIR LEE SO SO SO MUCH. :(( Yes, I know he’s not leaving next year but I probably would not have motivated myself to do well in World History without him. I’ve always liked World History but if my teacher was Miss Mac or Sir Jeff or even Miss Derige, then who would I try to impress? Sir Lee, on the other hand, has transformed me into a high-mark-achieving student because here I am, hellbent on trying to impress him! I always fall short on that but in the end, he’ll always affect the non-academic side of myself. All the things I’ve went through for him, the gifts, the cards, the active participation, the volunteerism, the teasings… I hope it doesn’t just pass him by in the future. :)

This is shaping up to be a great Christmas!

Today was our last of school for the year. Hello Christmas vacation! How I missed thee so! Two things happened today: Exam Results and Christmas Celebrations.

First off, exams. The results were not as bad as I thought. In fact, I am quite pleased with it! I was the highest in my class for Chem and Social. :D The Chem result actually shocked me. I mean, the exam WAS easy. I just never thought that I would get a 97 out of 100. Looks like I DO know what I study about! I did not have a good time with the prediction of chemical reactions part. And Social was good, too. I got an 85 out of 100 which is a slight improvement from my past scores but what makes this victory sweet is that the highest in the batch is Billie with 90… That’s the closest I’ll ever get to getting the highest score in the exam. Yet I’m never in the same level as Anna and Billie. I never am. And as I mentioned before, I got the highest score in the class, which is awesome because my Long Test results were rather dismal. Stuck with another A-, methinks. And the rest of the scores are so and so. I failed Filipino. First time I failed an exam, actually. A lot of people failed, as a matter of fact. And I heard that they’re pushing the perfect score from 100 to 80 and by that knowledge, I would pass Filipino! Hopefully it’s not a rumor. :)

Now for Christmas celebrations… I was a menorah for the Christmas costume pageant. I felt like such a stranger. Plus, my costume sucked. XD Oh well. What really mattered was the personal Christmas celebration! Surprisingly enough, I got a lot of gifts from my friends. Now I feel bad because I don’t have gifts for them! (Well, I kinda do.. But only for a select few.) I gave gift art to Sir Dayag, Miss Kresta, Sir Lee, Sir Berns and Sir Mao. Oh God, we waited for like… an hour for Sir Mao. Turns out he was in his homeroom class all this time!

And Operation: Bear Day was a success. It was nice to see how Sir Lee reacted to the gifts I gave him. He didn’t seem freaked out at all, thankfully. I think he just received the best Christmas/birthday present ever. Haha. But yeah. He was generally pleased with what I gave him. And I got my wish from him! I told him to get me a gift and I said I’d settle for anything, even an e-mail. He said he’ll send everyone e-mails with greetings and stuff so I requested for a long, personal e-mail from him. What he said today? “I think I’ll give you a long e-mail.” MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. He was probably overwhelmed by the effort I put into the Christmas card so he got pressured to send a long e-mail. Haha. I’m glad he liked it. I’m glad my efforts did not go in vain.

For once in my life, things are starting to go my way. :)

Pretty good day, despite the horror of tests.

I spent the day starting on ”Operation: Bear Day” (we might have a spy in our hands) and having classmates and teachers cooperate in the plan. That’s what made it enjoyable. It was a pretty good day, actually. Despite my lack of showing in the long test results we received today.

First, in Social, I got a 40 out of 50 but some considerations might be made so the number may rise by two or something. And surprisingly enough, I wasn’t devastated at all when Noori was one of the highest. I actually felt… glad… that she’s finally getting into it. (I like a little self-motivation.) But of course, just because I was on top in the past few months doesn’t mean I should be slacking. Sure, I was two points away from being one of the highest but I won’t let that happen again. If I really want to get that A, then there’s no more fooling around in the next tests… ESPECIALLY the exams! That seems to be the ticket. (It’s either that or I just hate the lesson on Reformation. Fourth Quarter, can you come any sooner? Contemporary History plz.)

We also got our results on the Math LT which was not a shock at all. Almost all of us were at the line of two. That LT was not our friend at all. Questions were left unanswered, skipped, fussed over… It was just one of Sir Berns’s typical, hellish long tests which comes to no surprise but still, man. Some epic fail right there.

Antonia and I helped Miss Vinarao in stuffing some polyester fiber into bags. (Originally, we just went up so she could participate on the aforementioned operation.) I didn’t know the winner of Project Runway Philippines was her professor! We also talked about books and movies and other school matters. We expressed our dislike for Twilight (I quoted Robert Pattinson on the ‘Stephenie Meyer sexual fantasy’ matter) and how we agreed that Harry Potter was the book series that really got us into reading books. And I still say Lord of the Rings is going to be considered timeless. I don’t care if you say otherwise, Toni!

Today, I learned that… there are actually other things in life aside from school. Guess I just needed to open my eyes on that one!

EPIC FAIL. (But not in a failing sense.)

This. Sucks. I am not a Second Honor student anymore. I got so angsty when I found out. Let me dissect that for you… (Have to give credit where its due. Got this idea from Toni.)

• Christian Life
  Expected: A-
  Received: A-
  Thoughtsicles: I’ve done a lot better in CL in the Second Quarter. My quizzes were not as high as the ones in the First Quarter but my exam was way better this time around. Seriously. From being my lowerst subject, it became my highest. I guess I just prefer Mrs. Derige as a CL teacher than Mrs. Guevarra.
• English
  Expected: A-
  Received: A-
  Thoughtsicles: Expecting an A- might be considered boastful but there are a lot of factors contributing to this: Miss Mireille is a generous English teacher. She adds points for students. My other scores are not worthy of bragging but I participate a lot in class. This is the first time I got two A-’s in a row for English!
• Chemistry
  Expected: B
  Received: A-
  Thoughtsicles: I got a particularly low score in the Long Test for Chem so that’s why I expected a B but I guess the Second Quarter exam really pulled up my grade, then. (Which goes to show that the exam will always matter more than long tests.) I’m also happy for this because it’s a step up from the B I got in the First Quarter. Thanks, Sir Dayag! :D
• P.O.E.M. (Math)
  Expected: A-
  Received: A-
  Thoughtsicles: Never expect an A in Math. Never expect a B, either. Kinda sucks for whoever gets a B, though. Anyway, I’m glad that despite my low marks, I still get the privilege to stay in this class. I really enjoy the company of everyone and of Sir Berns! I don’t want to leave. D:
• Social Studies
  Expected: A/A-
  Received: A-
  Thoughtsicles: Well, I already knew my grade because Sir Lee told me… I remember that very moment so clearly. *sheds a tear* … He told me I was one point away from getting an A. *clenches fist* Which is also why I put A in the expected grade. Anyway, I believe my main obstacle is the exam and I have to work on that because my work in Second Quarter has been flawless until the exam reared its ugly head in. But no matter what my grade is, I will always love the teacher subject. :D
• T.H.E. (Home Economics)
  Expected: A
  Received: A
  Thoughtsicles: There’s no doubt that I would get an A in the First Semester… I’ve become some sort of stooge to Ms. Vinarao. XD She’d always call me to help her out in stuff. Plus, my tote bag is going to be exhibited so yeah. This subject and I… We’re good.
• Physical Education
  Expected: B
  Received: A-
  Thoughtsicles: Now, I don’t know if it’s because of plus points or because I always have complete uniform.. I shouldn’t be complaining, though. I’m definitely thankful for this grade.
• Health
  Expected: A-
  Received: A-
  Thoughtsicles: Health this year is not as fun as the First Year, let me tell you that. I miss Ms. Alvero. *tear* But I thought I did okay in the First Semester. I didn’t really fail in any quiz. It’s just like that. I don’t really care. XD
• Music
  Expected: B/A-
  Received: B
  Thoughtsicles: Ms. Moreno showed us our grades last week already so this did not shock me much. Hmm… I don’t really know where I went wrong. Probably didn’t get to see that tiny flat sign in the quiz. I mean, I understand the lesson! I just.. I dunno. Meh.
• Filipino
  Expected: B
  Received: B-
  Thoughtsicles: THIS. THIS IS WHY I’M NOT SECOND HONOR. Now, I could have settled for the B. I’ve learned not to expect an A or A- in this subject because it is, simply put, not my forte. I didn’t fail any long tests, I did average on my pre-quizzes, I passed my exam… What else was there to do? I mean, why a B-?! Is it because I don’t participate enough in class? Blerg!

I got really pissed when I saw my card. Really. I complained to my friends. I whined to Sir Lee. I didn’t want to talk to my mom. I didn’t want to talk to anyone else. I just felt so… letdown. I feel kind of better now, though. Chatting with Bianca is therapeutic. *thumbs up* :D Still… The angst is there. It will always be there.

The Exams. Ugh.

K. So we got our results today… Well, we didn’t get our complete results for Math because Sir Berns is absent. We only got our Scantron score today so the problem solving parts will be known on Monday. (I got 40 out of 50 in the Scantron sheet.) Moving on, I am generally pleased with the outcome but at the same time, I feel like I’ve fallen short, results-wise. I PASSED EVERYTHING, THOUGH. So yay!

Christian Life: Big comeback! Last quarter, it was my lowest score. Now, it’s my highest. I don’t know how it happened but it’s either the exam was easier this quarter or maybe I just learn more from Miss Derige. I got a 76 out of 85 which gives me an 89% score.

Science: Excellent score. I was one of the few people announced by Sir Sanchez (who subbed for Sir Dayag today) when he was distributing the Scantron forms to the high-scoring people. Amazingly enough, I got a higher score than Berni! I got an 86 out of 100 which gives me an 86%. (No brainer there.)

Social Studies: Sighable score. Although I got two corrections (one of them I defended successfully), there’s still more to discuss on Monday so I’ll prepare for that. Right now, I’m warming up to my score. It was just rather consoling to hear that a lot of people failed the exam, not because I laugh at people’s failures but it gives you the notion “Well, I tried but it was just so hard!” … I didn’t think it was hard, though. I just didn’t study well enough. I got an 82 out of 100 so that’s 82%.

Filipino: Man, I thought I would fail this exam! So you could imagine how pleased I was when I saw my score. It’s not as bad as I thought it would it be. I readily accept my score because I didn’t fail! I got a 76 out of 100. Do I even need to include the percentage?

English: English is still sad. As usual. The exams are always so problematic, for some unexplainable reason. It’s a struggle Miriam students have been experiencing. I’m even lucky to have passed with 50 out of 70, giving me a 71% score.

Well, now that hell is over! I’m going to try playing Silkroad Online now. I’ve been looking for an MMORPG to keep me amused over the Semestral Break. This should be fun!

HOMAYGAD. (Just to vent.)

I know I said I would get into exam details tomorrow (which I will, by the way.) I just wanted to vent out my frustrations on this blog since this is the main purpose of a blog. To vent in a more creative way compared to writing into a diary where you can also encounter messy handwriting. Here, you just encounter messy sentences. Such as this one. I think. Yeah.

Anyway, I’m not exactly frustrated. I would more of describe it as being pissed with one’s self. Or feeling intensely guilty for something. Or just feeling like a great big idiot.

All of the above.

I was so optimistic about this quarter. It looked easy. In fact, it was easy. My quizzes were flawless, I was one of the few people who participated in class, I was the highest scorer in the Long Test and the projects were decently graded. I didn’t know where I could possibly go wrong.

An 80 out of 100 in the exam. That’s what. Getting stuck with a measly A- this quarter, yet again.

I don’t know what I’m doing wrong! Was the exam just relatively harder than the last one? Maybe I was more paranoid this time around because I kept getting challenged by the questions. Maybe I was just more lax with my studying habits. (Yes, I DO study.) … Maybe the Dark Ages suck. I don’t know. But I just found out that a lot of people failed the exam and that I was one of the few who got a score as high as mine. Which is kind of comforting, if you look at it with a bigger lense but personally, I don’t think it’s much of an achievement. You’ve all seen my wishlist. I wanna get A’s in this subject and a minus sign beside it won’t make me reach my goal.

And no wonder Sir Lee looked kinda down awhile ago. A lot of people failed. I’m pretty sure it hits a teacher hard when students fail because how they perform is usually a reflection on how the teacher teaches (or how their impact on the student. I dunno.) I understand how depressing it must be for him. I’m sure he doesn’t want to see failing marks but he has no choice. That’s how the student performed. I just feel like I let him down because I wanted to be one of the shining rays of hope on his record book.

Sigh. Third time’s the charm next quarter. Hopefully.

I will not let him down!

I keep coming back to vanilla, vanilla…

I’m running out of title ideas. So sue me.

I brought vanilla-scented perfume to school today. My motive for this was Miss MIreille smelling like vanilla yesterday in class. (That’s not weird.) Also, I wanted to smell good in the classroom for once but even the scent itself makes me fall asleep. Not effective. And now the bottle is missing. Great. I would rather have someone take it home accidentally than for the perfume to be stolen or to get lost.

Tomorrow, we’ve got no classes and I expect to dedicate that extra time to studying for the quiz on Social. He told me that I’m on my way to getting an A in the subject, just as I expected! My scores have been particularly high. Although I think the projects would be bringing me down. I think I haven’t given enough effort in them. But Sir Lee said he’s going to be easy to please this quarter so… Hopefully, that means I’ll be getting that A I’ve always longed for. I’m off to a great start. Got perfect scores on the Fall of Rome seatwork, Byzantine quiz and I only got three mistakes in the Rome Long Test, a point lower than the highest in the batch. Sir Lee’s great. I get to remember stuff because of him (recalling to that time during the Academic Cup where they were asking about African rivers). I don’t know how students could possibly hate his way of teaching or even worse, hate him as a person, when he’s doing all he can (from his very evident lack of experience) to help us out. (It’s hard to be impartial here but hey! It’s my blog!)

Pretty normal week so far but I should be preparing for battle soon enough because exams are just two weeks away! I don’t wanna die in the middle of Hell Week!

I am elated. (Part Two)

Okay. This is to explain my happiness in yesterday’s blog post. Here’s the conversation verbatim.

Nicole: This sucks. Technical difficulties prevented me from chatting with you. XD
Sir Lee: if it’s any consolation, hehe, you got the highest score. haha
Nicole: :O YES! HELL YEAH! :D
Sir Lee: 47 :D
Nicole: Out of 50?! :D YAY!
Sir Lee: but don’t announce it yet. and appear as if you’re shocked tomorrow. hehe

This is a huge deal for me. Why? He told me afterwards that I got the highest score in the batch (which turned out to be untrue because of Billie and her corrections). Now, if you remember my High School post, my expectations for my score were either perfect (which I counted out later on), less than five mistakes or highest in class.

That 47 out of 50, even though I am not the highest in the batch anymore (if you think about it though, I’m the highest in Sir Lee’s classes so that’s still good), has boost my self-confidence as a World History enthusiast and a student promising an A for the subject. Anyway, this is why I didn’t get into details yesterday. He told me not to blog about it and said I could only tell it to my non-school friends and my closest school friends. Well… Here I am. Proud of where I stand!

Now, I’m also happy about other things… For example, The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards which aired this morning here but I couldn’t watch it because of school. All I have to say is… 30 ROCK, I LOVE YOU GUYS. SERIOUSLY. Tina Fey, let’s get married, mmkay? They won Best Comedy Series (twice in a row), Tina Fey won Best Actress (twice), Alec Baldwin won Best Actor (and rightfully so!) and for the Cooter episode, Tina Fey won Outstanding Writing in a Comedy. This goes to show that 30 Rock owns the competition! I LOVE THIS SHOW. If their ratings still tank in the Third Season, then the dozens and dozens of fans will riot.

I am elated.

I am happy.

I am excited.

I am jubilant.

I am elated.

I AM IN EUPHORIA.

:)

** More info to be released tomorrow.

My acceptable grades..

Today, I received my report card for the 1st Quarter for the first ever Parent-Teacher’s Conference of the year. I should be happy that I’m getting Second Honors but somehow, I’m not satisfied. I have my reasons.

I was told by my mom that Sir Dayag said I needed one more point in Science to get an A- so I am stuck with a measly B which sucks because my highest exam score was Science last quarter so I guess some of my quizzes and seatworks brought me down.

Filipino? Naturally, a B. The quizzes Mrs. Balmes gives are hard, man! At least I understand the details of Noli Me Tangere. Is that not enough? Why should I know about the parallelisms and the very intricate details of Jose Rizal’s life?

Christian Life? I’m surprised I even got an A- considering how I did horribly in my exam so my recitation and quizzes balance things out but given the curriculum of this subject, I’m on thin ice with Christian Living. For the past two years, this has always been my highest subject. Now it’s my lowest. Tragic.

I’m quite satisfied with the A- I got in English. I should not be complaining because for the past two years, English has always cost me a spot in the First Honors list because of the B’s I got. With Miss Mireille giving high grades and with me reciting more often, I should be able to retain that A- and hopefully move up to an A soon.

So glad to get an A- in Math! With the way things were going, I thought I was going to get a B which means if I get a B at the end of the school year, I gotta say goodbye to the privileges of the P.O.E.M. class! Gotta start getting my act together. No more slacking!

I’m iffy on the A- I got in Social Studies. Although, it got me thinking. If Social was my second highest exam score in the first quarter and then I got a B in Science, does that make Social my best subject? Yes, it does.

Around here, getting a B in Social is already considered a blessing but since this is my craft (or in other words, my favorite) I got to raise the bar. I asked Sir Lee for my average and he said it was 91 which meant that I was four points away from joining the likes of Billie and Anna in “The A Land”. I have high hopes for this quarter and the future quarters now that the lessons of Social Sciences and Origins of the Earth are chucked out of the window and it’s more book-based, nabbing that coveted A should be easy!

So those are my grades. I can definitely do better but let’s see if I actually can. Right now, I’m collating the lab report for Chem and I’m just waiting for my groupmate’s missing part so I’m blogging to pass the time.