Speckled Green

Stupid Windows Vista can’t upgrade properly, so I have to spend heaps of time fixing up all the settings… and wondering why I can’t seem to download anything, only to find out it was my anti-virus stuffed up!! Also, very tired after camp, and not feeling well doesn’t help.
Was tiring, now that I think about it. Four days of Hiking, camping and a few other activities placed in between. My group was group 5, and it was the smallest Duke of Ed group (and one of the two all boys groups). First day we did canoeing and our group was really slow… we only completed 3km in an hour and a half. And there was still 6km to go. So, since the instructor wanted us to get to the camp site before it was dark, she decided to call in a ride for us to take us as close as they could by road to our camp site. So we had to drag our boats up an awful slope, making my shoes even more soaked and muddy then they already were from dragging the canoes around, and causing us to be rather tired. Then we had to load the canoes onto the trailers and then take them off opposite our camp site so that we could drag them down the bank again, get in them, canoe slightly further up the river to tie up our canoes and disembark to our camp site…:( very tiring.
Anyways, next day, we canoed across the river again, dragged them back up the bank again, and then played touch till we we picked up and taken to ‘Rikki’s Gate’ where we were to start our hike. After lunch, we set off with our rucksacks and were heading to Orange Grove. But, alas, we were to get ourselves lost along the way and had to start ‘bush bashing’. We eventually got to a part where we had to slide down the rock face, and Kevin Liang decided to name it after something in a game he had played: ‘The Super Happy Fun Slide’ (Note the sarcasm with which it was named, because it wasn’t a very pleasant ‘slide’). Read more »

So, on Sunday I joined the several thousand people in Australia who volunteered to help collect for the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal. This year, alot more people from Baulko signed up than last year, and even more wonderful, alot of them could actually come this year, compared to last year. At the collection point (where Anthony had set up his accounting system he programmed himself (he’s getting rather skilful…) the screens he had set up so people could see how much money they had collected was running on something he wrote up in 20 minutes at 9pm the night before! lol) I saw alot of people I know from our school. Read more »

Another fun filled day of sitting at home trying to catch up on neglected science work… I swear I’m sick of reading ‘Copy and Modify’ from the blasted text book… National strike day today or something. That was interesting. I wonder how many more of these there will be before the government does something. I guess this just shows you how stupid the Union is (Teacher’s Union, Worker’s Union, they’re both just as stupid). Nothing this annoying (or useful) would’ve happened in the other countries around the world… then again, maybe they would’ve. Read more »

We had our athletics carnival today (and it’ll continue onto tomorrow). That means that 1/4 of the school doesn’t seem to turn up, alot of people bring their DS or PSP, and we all get the day off. Despite the fact that I could give shot put, discuss, Javelin, hurdles, long jump and high jump a good go, I decided to spend the day playing on my DS and talking to people, and not really doing anything. Lazy, I know… but I wasn’t bothered to actually try for those sports. I did get involved in our activities though, not only because we had to. Something I’ve been bragging/complaining about is how I only got to line 860 on tetris DS today while sitting around at the carnival (took nearly an hour to do it…). Read more »

So this week is just about over, my brother is failing at playing Mario Kart DS, I’ve got an assignment for IST to do where we have to make a family tree of some sort using a database, and I’ve finished my NAPLAM tests. This week we also got back some of our results for various exams: Geo half-yearly, just about everyone did badly, and I got 33/50; Science, eye test (test on things about the eye) I got 29/32, half-yearly, I got 44/49; Maths, I did terribly this time, I didn’t revise enough, I got 45/59. We are yet to find out our marks for our English essays, and are yet to do our History essay. Read more »

the National Testing (NAPLAN a.k.a. NAPLAM) is upon us, and we’re sitting there for 60 minutes or so bored out of our lives at this boring test, especially after finishing it 30 minutes early (and after checking). Half of us remembered to bring books to read, or something to draw on. Alot of us didn’t. I was part of the alot.
Anyways, so far the writing, reading and english tests were easy, so I wonder what the maths ones will be like. Then again, since the test is designed to make the dumbest schools look good, I think the maths will also be easy!!
Got a PULSE rehearsal this Saturday. Wonder what It’ll be like. I wonder if we have the right numbers as well…. what if we have to many flutes turn up?? Oh well, I guess we’ll sort it out. If I get rejected, I won’t care TOO much, cause then it means less practice… but then it also means not going to the Opera house that night. Read more »

These are just part of the school life we all know. This week we finished our Aussie Geo, Commerce (Non-accel.) and science exams. We all know what they were like, so no need to talk about them. On that note, why do we always, immediately after a test (or exam), talk about it??? So next week, there’s the PDM half yearly, and our National Testing… And then History the week after. Then Camp… which I still have to pay for.
Also, I’ve got a whole heap of unfinished IST homework to do (meaning the term’s worth that I and most of my friends haven’t bothered doing). So we’re going to have a busy weekend. Also, after much deliberation (or just plain thinking) I’ve decided to join a group of people in our school who were asked to be a part of a performance at PULSE, which is basically a concert for the ‘Western Sydney’ area for music and the arts. It’s going to be at the Opera House at the end of June, and my mum says that I should go and do it, even though it means more work to get the practice in, and rehearsals on weekend mornings (only 2 of them, thankgoodness). Anyways, it’s Mother’s day this weekend, isn’t it…? And soon it’ll be the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal, which I’m once again helping out with. That’s going to be 3 hours of walking around asking for donations again. Still, it helps a great cause.

Today was odd. I spent half my day inside the library because of various teachers being away at in-service things. Our relieving dep. principal Mrs Mathews (I don’t care how her name is spelt) didn’t seem to be able to find any subs for us, so she got all the classes who had those teachers to come to the library and she would watch over us while we studied. I was one of the lucky ones, I had Mrs Berhlener for PDM in the morning (double period) and Mrs Sweeny for english (2 separate periods), who were both away, so I spent half the day, sitting there at a desk in the library, reading a book, playing cards, playing on my DS, and reading over my maths notes for the test tomorrow….
Oh, and if you didn’t know this already, I can’t spell too well, and I have a terrible head for names (aka I can’t remember them). Just thought I’d mention it. While I’m on that, I’ve now learned that in the band, I’m the only person who can properly play Mario Kart DS… sad, I know but I found this out when I was on band camp. Some people (yr 8s mainly) were playing MK against each other, and I asked for a go, and I beat them all, I nearly lapped them, actually…. probably just shows that I play it too much.
Tomorrow we’re off to some play called Solider Boy, it’s about Australia’s youngest ANZAC in WWI, not the song. That’s half the day gone (only half?!?) and then we’re back at school, and guess what we have first period back? MATHS… and guess what we’re doing then?? All you Baulko people know….
I don’t like tests, they examine people in a unrealistic way. It’s like putting you in an extreme thinking situation. I mean, how often do people have to study things about Shakespeare or WWII and then have to sit down and write an essay about it in 40-120 minutes?? It only happens in school, so why test us on it? It’s like learning to drive a space shuttle, and then taking up a job in the Navy. Makes no sense, and is a waste of time. “You should be able to write a 10 page essay in 2 hours” great for us, does it help us in life?? NO!! Well, only in yr 12. BUT that’s it! So why make us do it?? Stupid board of studies…. stupid people who think they know better when they’re no more smarter than us…
Anyways, we’ve now got 3 weeks of exam spotted school (National testing soon…), so I guess I’d better be doing something better than blogging

And so here I am, back from my band camp with the school. We went to Crusaders Recreation Centre in Galston. It was quite good this year.
After school, a few of us started sorting out and moving the gear from the TLC Band Room to the bus bay Read more »