There’s just something about Singaporean skies in the morning…

TONS of things to talk about, from Sec 1 Camp to floorball starting up to rolling my ankle when jumping a three foot fence.  But that’s not what this is about right now… (maybe when I’m finished up working).

In form class (homeroom) contact time (a weekly time the class meets with myself and a colleague, its form teachers), I had the kids do a quick activity right at the end.  I told them to reflect on their first four weeks of secondary school, and to think of three positive things, two things to work on, and one wish for the year (at the current time).  And knowing my boys, I still had to say “and I don’t want to see ‘getting straight A1s.’”

As I flipped through, I came across what you see in the picture:  ”I wish that Mr. William Harvey would stay in ACS (BR) longer. >>> PLEASE STAY!!!”

Completely warmed my heart… it’s only four weeks in, but I feel like I’m doing things so much better this year.  Having gone through my rookie season (if you will) I picked up on so many different tricks and habits of how to make the job go smoothly, and I’m really hoping this doesn’t turn into a sophomore slump.  I’m still letting a few minor things slip here and there, but I’m more than keeping my head above water right now.  All right, I just realised how many bad metaphors I put in there, but this little note on half a piece of A4 paper has put a smirk on my face that’s going to last long into the night.

I’m excited about my form class this year — chatty and a little mischievous like last year, but they’ve got incredible collective potential.  Since I came back from December holidays, a good friend of mine has told me she’s going to be sad when I leave at the end of the year; when she’s said this, I’ve shrugged my shoulders and said “let’s just deal with that when the time comes, and enjoy things for what they are right now.”  After reading this note, though, that same, conflicting, happy-but-sad feeling came to me… that wonder of what my footprints will be on Singapore.

I can’t wait for all the outdoorsy (by Singapore standards) things to come; rock climbing, the “milo pond” (seen above) “high elements” (basically, a bunch of elevated structures like wobbly foot ladders that you go across while about 30 feet in the air), kayaking, and other simpl’ish games.  And while it’s going to be fun to interact with my students outside of a classroom setting, I’m also going to enjoy hanging out with co-workers once the boys have gone to bed; hopefully, I’ll be able to stay awake this year (what else is new…).