Thursday, May 31st, 2012 - Graduation Practice

It was the last day for all the other students - they had their last final. 

But for us Seniors, we had to show up to practice how we enter, exit, receive our diploma, and how things are gonna go down at 5 p.m. at Hofeinz Pavillion on Saturday. 

All in all, Our Senior Event Coordinator, Ms. Matlock, gave us 3 guidelines:

1. Grab with the left.
2. Shake with the right.
3. Smile and look at the camera.

Oh man, oh man. I’m so excited. 

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 - Senior Panoramic Photo

So, yeah! Senior finals ended last week, so technically, we’re finished with all the academic things. 

Today’s Senior event was the Panoramic Photo. 

Students show up in their gowns, some with cords and stoles, and ascend a rickety platform comprised of nothing but wooden planks and metal bars, lining up in the heat of the morning sun. 

We were packed like sardines. 

What I found to be an amazing sight though, was when the pictures were over. 

Everyone wanted to get out of the heat and leave, so as soon as we were dismissed, everyone tried to get down to the ground as fast as they could. 

This resulted in this sea of royal blue, as you see above. 

Man, graduation is this Saturday. How surreal. 

Sixth Period - AP Psychology with Mr. Conwell

At the beginning of the year, there was uncertainty about who the psychology teacher was. 

Apparently, Mr. Conwell was assigned teaching AP Psychology at super last minute. 

Mr. Conwell’s a nice guy. The class was all right, and I applaud his effort to making the class run, despite the short notice and the little prep time he was allotted. 

Psychology’s a fascinating class, and if you’re intrinsically motivated to learn this information, then it should be no problem in doing well in the class. 

June 1st, 2012 - Submission by Mr. Bandera-Duplantier

(intentionally without comment)

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 - Senior Picnic

Organized chaos, that’s what it is. 

Determined not to get thrown in the mud pit, I would say that I was only there to take pictures (which I was). 

Man, it was a fun event. I wasn’t able to get too much into it, but for the little time I was there, I was sprayed with shaving cream, shot with water guns and splashed with mud. 

Seniors running around, yelling, dragging each other into the mud pit (You can’t see it very well, but m. r. and a. m. are being dragged into the pit), throwing water balloons, chasing each other - man. 

It’s the final ruckus, the final hey-let’s-just-go-wild-and-mess-each-other-up-with-mud-and-shaving-cream opportunity before we’re thrust out into the real world, where we’re expected to behave and live like adults 95% of the time.

In closing, let my friend, j.s. describe how he felt about senior picnic:

“So today I got half naked with hordes of of my peers who were also half naked. We then decided to wallow in our own filth and sling it at each other as fireman hosed us down so our grime would not infect the general populace. Oh, and there was pizza. ”

Well said, sir. 

Finally, Seventh Period - AP Biology with Mr. Webb

One of the nicest (and possibly tallest) teachers I’ve had the honor of having. Well liked among the HST students, Mr. Webb teaches AP Biology with varying methods to ensure that we remember the material (which I appreciate. Shaking up the monotony is good). 

For me (and probably for other members of the class), AP Bio is a very very interesting class, and seriously makes you think about all the things that go on in living things at the fastest speeds that make them do what they do. 

The labs were enjoyable, and having the class in general was certainly a pleasant experience. 

Fifth Period - AP Calculus BC with Mr. French

Second Period, First Semester - Teacher Assistant

So, Mr. French (who recently started reading the fourth year) is one of those teachers who runs class like a well oiled machine. We know what we’re doing every day, and what we’re doing the day after. We review, we prepare, and we work. And while some might say that our noses are pressed to the grindstone, all this work really is for something you know, and I appreciate his hard work for that. In fact, you could really say that to most other classes. 

Anyway, this class was enjoyable for me, to say the least. Food fridays, candy bars on your birthday, and parties (actual parties. Usually, a party = test.) where we shave his head or compete against each other in math and trivia was always something to look forward to.