Grade 8 Alumni Reflection

Muhammad Saad Sultan (8G)

      Graduation night is something that I have anxiously been anticipating. The one thing that I am most looking forward to on graduation night is the genuine awareness of having conclusively prevailed in Grade 8, and shifting on from elementary school. It gives me this perception of feeling secure, but at the same time, feeling displeased to no longer be staying at Hazel McCallion , that I’m no longer going to be educated with the McCallion spirit. It is a time to rethink all the activities that I participated in, which are going to be left behind. I’m also prompted that I’m not going to be seeing a lot of my buddies anymore. It’s a very bizarre sensation...leaving things behind, but at the same time, preparing for brand new experiences in high school. 

     This school has been full of good and faulty times, some of them linger in my memory more vividly than others. My finest memory of this school was in Grade 7, on job shadow day. I didn’t  job shadow, because no one I knew was employed in the computer field; the occupation I appreciated most.  I had to remain at school and follow the school timetable. At first I presumed that it would be a dull day, but it turned out to be my finest day. The initial portion wasn’t so much fun...we just conversed about what we wanted to be when we grew up. Afterwards, we went to Mrs. Proctor’s room where we had to do a scenario of what we were like when we grew up. We were paired up with different pupils, who we were considered to be wed to. We were given our incomes, and had to build judgements of how to handle our lives. It was a strategy game, and I love strategy above any other type of game. We had so much fun deciding how we would run our lives, and my partner happened to be the funniest character I met at Hazel, and that record stands. He made me choke on my food at lunch, and I had to throw it away, remaining hungry for the remainder of the day. It wasn’t so unpleasant, because with his mischief, I didn’t recall my craving.  I remember begging him to quit because of a dreadful ache in my stomach from constant laughing. I remember trying to block my ears so that I could work, but he penetrated me, and that was when I learned that I didn’t have to just sit there and concentrate all day. I had fun that day, and following that moment, I began to enjoy school, instead of considering it a burden. Strangely enough, this new attitude actually increased my marks, and I decided that I would remain like this. I wouldn’t cram for every piece of work, but try to enjoy it, so that I could complete it smiling.

 

 My worst experience at Hazel was also in Grade 7. It was picture day, and when I woke up, I had a slight sting in my neck. It wasn’t until silent reading that morning that I felt a throbbing pain, when I bent down to start reading. I tried to read straight on, but eventually my neck tired out. I couldn’t put it down, so I had to turn sideways and look at the same page for the remaining 20 minutes. Everyone slowly observed what I was doing, and I heard giggling. I didn’t mind at first, until the whole class was mocking me. I tried to pretend that it wasn’t such a big deal, but it was too late. Over the periods, the pain increased dramatically. Our class was buzzed from the office, told that we would get our pictures taken in a few minutes. I decided that during the picture, I would lift my neck, no matter how painful it was; a little pain wasn’t worth a lifetime of getting laughed at every time someone would look at the picture. I decided to try it out in class. To see how it would feel at the moment of the picture. What a foolish mistake. I lifted up my neck in a split second, and I heard the sudden cracking of some bones in there. I screamed so loud that my voice could’ve been heard halfway down the hallway. Everyone was staring at me like I was some kind of bomb. My teacher asked if I could hold on until the picture, but I decided that it would be better not to be in the picture at all, than be in there looking sideways, with tears trickling down my eyes. I was allowed to go home. 

     Once I reached home, I tried to sleep, but I had to keep my neck up, so really I didn’t sleep at all. When my mom returned home that evening, I told her about it, and she didn’t at all seem upset. She promised me that by the next day, it would be alright. I lay down against my neck all night, and in the morning, I didn’t feel better. My mom told me that I would come with her to work. It was a long bus ride to the subway station, and an even longer ride on the subway train. Once we got there, I just watched my mom inject chemicals in people all day. At the end of the day, before we left, my mom took me to her boss. He was also working, and had a patient in about 5 minutes. My mom requested for me to get an acupuncture treatment, and he agreed. What a weird experience! He stuck needles in my ankles, and told me to exercise my neck. Once we were on the bus again, I asked my mom how that could help my neck, and she explained that some nerves in my ankles would stimulate my neck muscles. We came home at 7:00, and it was Halloween night. I only went trick-or-treating for like 10 minutes, and saw some of my classmates outside. They teased me even more, but I was too candy-involved to care. That night, I slept a little better, and the next day, I was almost perfectly fine. The following morning, I was completely healed, and I owed it all to that doctor. The pain itself was only part of the bad experience, but the actual constant taunting - the mocking, laughing, and swearing had played a bigger role. Now I look back and laugh, but I remember that time, that I was nowhere near laughing. Such a small, insignificant bad event at Hazel, but you can’t expect much worse than that in such a nice environment. 

     I’ve transformed so much since I first came to Hazel. My attitude has taken a complete turn, and my potential has been realized. In the beginning of Grade 7, I simply expected a year that I could easily cruise through. However, the expectations here were different from those at my old school. As if I was in a discipline camp, I was trained within two weeks.

 

     My biggest challenge was Phys. Ed. I was embarrassed at how badly I performed, I felt completely helpless. I tried to come whenever I could after school to practice more, but it seemed that I was too far behind already to catch up. As much as I hoped for a good reputation, it was ruined by my lack of physical skill. I worked hard that summer to boost up my skill, and I succeeded. In Grade 8, I could hardly believe how much I had changed. Still however, I was not as good as the other students, but comparing how I was the previous year, I felt like a professional indeed.

 

     I remember that at the end of Grade 7, on job shadow day, I had made up my mind to take school not as a burden, but consider it a fun activity. In Grade 8, with the help of my friends, I was forced to take that back. I was interested in the School Life Award, and joined countless activities. I came home by 5 or 6:00 on a usual basis, tired, exhausted, and expected to complete homework the following day. However, no matter how much of a burden it seemed like, I held on, and every time I thought of myself wearing that medal, as though through some magic, my self esteem was replenished. Near March break, most of the activities ended, and since I had already learned to prioritize my time, it was a breeze. This skill has been buried deep in my mind, and I intend to use it later on in life. I thank HMC for learning that skill so early in life.  

     My experiences at McCallion have been very interesting, and I will remember them forever. If I could come back and start over again at Hazel, I would do things much differently. In Grade 7, I participated in limited activities, because of my lack of prioritizing skill, and my extensive interest in computers. At the end of the year, I was embarrassed to see that I got only a few winits, whereas some of my pupils had succeeded far enough to inherit the School Life Award.  

     Other than School Life, if I could repeat these years, I would be in tune with the McCallion expectations from day one. It would’ve saved me from a lot of humiliation in the first few weeks of McCallion, and could’ve set a different course for my reputation to follow. The last thing I would change would be my physical skill. If only I had known the expectations in gym, I would’ve practiced all summer long. The amount of embarrassment, taunting, and scolding that I had to go through, I don’t think I could ever endure such times again! But I’ve learned, and its a lot better to be humiliated in Junior High, than it is in High School. Once again, despite the difficult times, I am thankful! 

     On graduation night, many good byes and thank you’s will be said. I have some myself that I want to say. My first thanks would definitely go to Mr. Taylor. He was my home room teacher in Grade 7, and he showed me the toughest that McCallion has to offer. At first I could hardly believe what he expected of me, and I am sure that everyone else would’ve felt the same. However, somehow, using some method, he had helped me realize my potential. It seemed that after every science class, I was closer to reaching my full potential. It was the most difficult subject I had that year, but it wasn’t just a subject. It was more of a training session, to learn how to utilize time well, how to listen to instructions closely, because unlike other teachers, he never explained things twice. His methods were simple, yet strict. A notebook check every other Wednesday, and a test every other Friday. He was the first teacher I had met that never complicated anything, but at the same time, showed precise expectations. By the end of the year, I was astonished at the quality of my work I handed in at the beginning of the year. Mr. Taylor has truly shown me a side of teaching that I’ve never seen before. It’s helped me so much, that I thank him 100%. I wouldn’t mind if he taught all of my subjects in High School, for all four years that I spend there.