THURSDAY,+DECEMBER+1,+2011

So what’s the hype at North Toronto right now?

Weeeelllll…

1) EXAMS. Pretty much every subject (with a few exceptions) have December exams around the corner. The times of these nerve wracking, hair pulling, nail biting, worth-30%-of-your-final-mark tests are scattered throughout the next two weeks. As a niner, I don’t exactly know how hard these exams are bound to be, but each last for approximately an hour and a half, and teachers (well, most of them) prepare you well ahead of time. It’s on every single piece of information learned over the past 4 months, and I just realized today how hard it is to understand – or even memorize everything…We got this green sheet of paper describing all the different Do’s and Don’ts but most of them were pretty much common sense – look over the exam before writing it, get plenty of sleep the night before, organization is key, and all that stuff. Since exams are worth so much, it’s completely normal to be nervous, but the key is studying and being prepared. I’ve heard from some people that it’s really hard, and from others it’s really easy..? I’ll let you know in January exactly what to expect though!

2) FALL FAIR. I’m not exactly involved in the whole music department events, but the Fall Fair is (tonight!) where every music classes from vocals, strings, and band put on a nice little concert in order to fundraise for the music council. It’s been a pretty big thing, as all the music students have had a lot of half-school day rehearsals and practices from the beginning of the year two times a week – once in the morning, and once afterschool. Maybe some of your brothers and sisters are involved and you could ask them about it?

3) FASHION SHOW. From modelling, to designing, to dancing, to special talents, to set design, to accessories, to aesthetics, to photography, there’s a whole lotta ways to get involved in this show! Everyone involved also has the responsiblity of selling Elle magazines (yuupp, even the guys), since Elle, as I just found a few days ago, sponsors the show. The number each person needs to sell depends on what portion of the show they’re part of. For example, execs need to sell 10 copies, while designers need to sell 5. Though the final show dates in early February seem far far away, you can feel the pressure starting to build up. Being in one of the scenes, and designing for another, choreographers are making rehearsals longer and longer, and designer heads are pushing harder and harder for dresses to be finished. In the end, the show isn’t what you see on TV, but rather a collaboration and teamwork of tons of people who work extremely hard and put a lot of time and energy in.

All this is now, and I’m sure there’ll be much more to come including what the exams are actually like, charity week, and winter sports such as curling, skiing, and hockey!