Grade 12

Ah..Grade 12, what a hard year it’s been thus far from being constantly worked without pay. Our fingers worked to the bone, some of us suf- fer from sleep deprivation due to our nightmares of essays and tests. We start the day off with English/Social Studies, trying to master the pen and expand our social perspective on Canadian issues. Then there is third class, which is chemistry: just when you think Mrs. Prakash’s voice will give out from the constant prodding and encouraging directed at unwilling teenagers, she finds someone else to do it for her: Mr. Howie teaches us about equilibriums while watching over us with a stern gaze, a trick believed to be taught to him by his mentor, by Mrs. Prakash. After a short lunch break, we are then herded in to Mr. Herman’s room to be lectured on the finer points of pre-calculus 30 by Mr. Bartsch. As we are tested mentally, physically and emotionally during this hour, it is a wonder no one manages to lose their composure, although outbursts of crying aren’t uncommon, due to release of stress caused by the constant barrage of radians and identities. Finally to end the day, we are thrust into Mr. Tyndall’s domain. Through the haze of sawdust and screams, we are pressed to complete a master piece, of which none of us can even begin to comprehend. Although we are sometimes lost for days in the vastness of the shop, with nothing to survive on but small chunks of 2×4, amazingly we all still survive…for now.