Back At School

I can't believe summer's over! I already have a ton of homework!

At least this year I have my own room.

Later...

Kate

Trouble and Dorm Politics

The freshman class actually got into absolutely no trouble this year, which might not surprise you, but it surprises me. Last year our class got into so much trouble, we will have to largest group of people who won't graduate from my school. Maybe next years freshman's are a little more mischievous. A lot of people are hoping so because the school over-accepted students and there are going to be way too many students in that class. They might even turn some singles rooms into doubles. I might volunteer to be a a double room next year because the dorm I got was not my first choice.

There was some politics involved in the dorm assignments. Instead of everyone getting their choice, the faculty decided where people would go best, basically putting troublemakers in the places they could be watched and good students in the notoriously sketchy dorms, which is actually quite amusing because in the end, Andrew Kim was sent to the most jocking dorm on campus and Miranda and Stephenie, two of the most hippyish people I know, were sent to the most pop-culture clothes obsessed group of girls I know. Also, Katy a gigantic ogre of a girl got sent to that same dorm.

My dorm is just a random group, we will see how that works out. I did get the worst group of juniors and probably a ton of freshmen, but hopefully I can avoid them.

Kate

What They Don't Tell You On The Tour...

I guess this year more people got in trouble than other years. Some things go down in history like when four years ago some one got a DC for repeatedly putting Tabasco sauce in the waffle iron, but other things people just try to forget. Most of these happened this year.

This year was a combination of transgressions of academic honesty, drinking and being obvious and aiding and abetting an idiot on psychedelic mushrooms. Supposedly there is a higher standard for students enrolled in a private institution and cheating is supposedly nonexistent, although it happens anyway.

Similarly, we will never get locks on our doors because in such a community environment, who would dare steal? Well thieves of course. But back to cheating, it is quite a serious deal. Next year's president got caught cheating and well, isn't the president anymore. Some people got suspended and then reverse suspended, which means they get to come back after everyone has gone and make up the work they missed, this is pretty much the worst thing high school students can think of.

This year the number one class to cheat in was senior English in which students took their own work from their sophomore year and turned it in again. Their punishment was relatively mild since the rules on this sort of thing are nebulous (hazy, a word from my vocab energizers). Other classes that made the list were history and AP science classes.

In the same league as "cheating" is "the got caught drunk" category. This is usually a mix of party boys and girls who drank so much they needed to be taken to the hospital or wisely decided to pee outside as a teacher walked by. There's never much privacy and if you do something someone will know about it, guaranteed. the only question is who are they and what are they going to do about it?

Lastly, people on the less common drugs usually, depending on their involvement, just get expelled. A few days before finals several boys got caught on shrooms. Even the boys who let them use their room or gave them some water got in trouble. This also resulted in the first official expulsion of the year....

Kate

They Call this a College Prep School

They call my school a college prep school, but I am not sure in what way they are talking about. I have tried so hard to see if it is more challenging than my last public high school, but I can't tell. My grades have gotten slightly worse; does that mean the work is harder, or am I just graded harder.

If you can't see the difference, then look closer. If the work is harder then I am learning more, that is the goal we are trying to achieve, but to do the same work and get lower grades, what good is that? In any case the change is not significant enough to make any actual conclusion from it, but it makes me wonder: is it worth it? I have given up my family and my nights at home with my dog on my couch watching a movie with my family or god forbid celebrating Easter with them, or waking up early to make my mom breakfast on mother's day. Instead, I hide in my room just to be alone and even then people come barging in to get their shoes or my roommate comes in to play music very loudly when she sees I was watching a movie already.

Why do I always put the headphones on? There are some who are as interested in getting into college as I am, but I wonder: are they suffering under the same delusion as I am? After all, we have been convinced to buy into a product. There are many others who just want to party constantly. Sex, drugs and alcohol-- in some ways it really is preparation for college. For some, I really wonder, am I surrounded by the best and brightest here. Why is so and so here? He isn't smart, charismatic or good at sports. He doesn't participate in activities. He skateboards? I am not sure why we were chosen. Why was I chosen? Did they look at paper and see me? If they had maybe they could understand my disappointment with some of the people.

I came looking for people who shared some of my ambitions, who were widely cultured and had interest in things other than shoes. Maybe I am being to harsh, every once in a while my mind is changed completely. I begin to think: I am good, let's save the money, I don't need this. Then there is some performance or award, someone shows me that they are worth it. I will never know what is my best course, but I will depend on the counsel of my family and friends to help me make the best decision I can.

Kate

College Spam and where do I want to go?

I have been getting a ton of mail from colleges which is kind of funny because I am only a Sophomore...my mom says it's good, and she wants me to go to Amherst...I've never heard of it, but it did show up on these lists that I found! I haven't gotten any letters from Harvard! Oh well.

2007 Best Universities and Colleges
(Provided by U.S.News & World Report)
National Universities
(Universities that offer programs up to the doctoral level.)

1. Princeton University


2. Harvard University


3. Yale University


4. California Institute of Technology


5. Stanford University


6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology


7. University of Pennsylvania


8. Duke University


9. University of Chicago


10. Dartmouth College


11. Columbia University

Complete list of National Universities Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Williams College


2. Amherst College


3. Swarthmore College


4. Wellesley College


5. Middlebury College


6. Carleton College


7. Pomona College


8. Bowdoin College


9. Haverford College


10. Davidson College


11. Wesleyan University

I lost my comment!

Somebody posted a great comment and I tried to publish it using this $^%%## blogger and it just dissappeared! AAAAAAAHHHHH!

Kate

The Winter Dance

Hi Dear Bloggie! I forgot my password so I haven't posted! SOOOOOOOO sorry! Here are some old things i wanted to post but couldn't!

The formal dance went off without a hitch. It was absolutely amazing. Every single person looked regal and was beaming with enthusiasm (and sometimes with intoxication), but all in all everyone was on their best behavior. At least at first…After the last traces of food had been cleared away from the tables, the dancing began. The band played oldies and new songs, pop and R&B, nobody really cared as long as it didn’t stop. During the brief intermissions, Mr. N. raffled off prizes. Several people won ipods and other electronic devices. Luckily, the only skateboard was won by a boy that actually skateboards and a girl came in to the possession of “The Titanic”.

While at the dance, I didn’t notice much going on. Janine, a rather muscular tan girl who was one of those none stop singing types made out with Conan for most of the night in the middle of the dance floor, much to the disgust of those around. Gwen, a rather pretty and popular senior girl could be seen grinding with several boys at a time, maybe going a bit too wild, even for a second semester senior. And Christy, also a senior, hooked up with Austen, a notorious womanizer(10th grade). Although, all in all this was a positive thing, it had been a long time since the seniors had gotten much attention. The novelty of the freshman girls was finally starting to wear off. It wasn’t until later in the night that I heard about Kevin Lee getting hammered and puking by the rented chariot or Cassie (10th) leaving her panties in the Science wing after nearly being caught with Steven (the junior).

It didn’t come at all as much of a surprise when in our next sophomore class we discussed STDs and whether or not the school should pass out condoms. Mr. M. asked our opinion on the school sex policy. Someone mentioned that at our rival school, the policy is that get caught and you call your partner’s parents to tell them what you were doing. Many people cringed at this thought. Another student noted that at her friend’s school they keep a bowl of condoms next to the health office sign in book. There, it was customary for a girl to take one back at every visit. Mr. M. said that if on one end of the spectrum is a school that harshly enforces that the no sex policy and on the other is a school that sets aside a “special room” for it to happen, where should our school lie? I personally thought our current standing is the best and least awkward place to be. Austen is in that class with me, but he never talks much. Some people wonder if he’s on something…

Kate

Seaweed

Did you ever order that seaweed, its fine if you didn't, I was just curious. So i had a great time today, daddy came and took me and three friends out to vietnemese noodles, it was wonderful! and then we went to see "the play about the baby" performed by 4 seniors, it was very good. Also, before I forget, the other day when I volunteered at foster homes, i went to talk with old people and i met this guy from switzerlland who was an international chef and he had all these photo albums of himself doing all these amazing cooking contests in germany prewar and then in the united states at fancy places. it was quite cool, but his son was in vietnam and died later due to agent orange and his twin brother just died, so i felt sorry for him wow that was long...

Kate

More Kids Leaving

A few days later as we were having our last review day for our history final, one of the Courtneys announced she was leaving to go back to her old school, which happened to be the same one as Kate had gone to. I was a bit puzzled as were others. She was a Sophomore and a day student, she had a lot of friends and had earned the respect of many teachers.

Then, on the next Thursday, my directed studies teacher approached me and canceled that night’s session. She was to attend a meeting about one of the students and she hinted that expulsion might be on the table. I was worried. Who could it be? John, a friend of mine on the boys soccer team, entered the cafeteria meeting at that moment.
“What was the score?” I asked him.
“2:0”, we won” he answered, happily.
“That’s great! Did you score?”
“Actually, I didn’t. Sadly, the first time all year.”

The conversation soon turned and I asked him if he knew anything about who might be facing the boot. He told be he thought it was James Macy. (James was also the name of a small freshman boy who forgot his lines in the Romeo and Juliet play the 9th grade English class put on) I told John that Mrs. Rivers had said the person was a senior, James Macy was a junior. He said she must have gotten confused. It had been found out James stole the $700 from the sophomore guys dorm rooms. He was also a day student and had been suspended last year for drugs. John said he had been checked into a rehab clinic the night before. That sounded pretty convincing. .....

Kate

Jan 23, 2007 - Winter Blues

I am barely getting used to writing 2007 and already it is obvious how different the new year is going to be. I returned from Winter break and shortly afterwards, found how quickly things can change.

Out of a school of nearly three hundred, there is not usually a gigantic repetition of names. Of course you see several people named some of the more common things, but overall most people’s names rarely overlap. However, my name was one of those names.

In our junior class, there was a Kate O’Brien. She was tall with curly brown hair, tan skin and a large white smile. Overall she was very attractive and popular and resided in one of the more exclusive dorms on campus. The day after Martin Luther King day, I talked to one of the teachers, who happened to be her advisor. He mentioned that she had left to attend one of our rival day schools. I asked him ‘why?’ and he said that he guesses she just wasn’t happy here. I hadn’t really known her so this news didn’t really concern me too much.