My Fourteenth Week as a Senior

This week was definitely the shortest yet longest one yet. We had a PA Day and a strike, so it was really only a 3-day week.

On Monday, we did a tremendous amount of learning. In Biology, we had a quiz on chapter 6, DNA Replication. It was a pretty simple quiz’ 8 MCQs and 4 short answers. After that, we discussed the concept of transcription of DNA molecules to make mRNA molecules. It’s super interesting, but because we need to be taught the basics first, we are learning about prokaryotic protein synthesis. I want to get to the eukaryotic protein synthesis. This is one reason I cannot wait until I’m in university. I get all the hardcore Biology. In Sociology, we had a quiz about the technology unit we had just finished. It was a sample of what a university Midterm would look like. What I took away from the quiz was to trust my gut. It was an open-book MCQ quiz, but she wanted us to answer the questions on our own first and then look at our notes if we weren’t sure of the answers. I would’ve gotten a perfect if I hadn’t changed my answers based on my notes. So, note to self: Trust your instincts.

In Math, we continued with logarithms. They seem to be getting easier and easier. In Chemistry, we had a lab activity to determine the order of reactions. I sat through a lecture about what the order of a reaction means, and still thought the lab was meant to find which reaction happened first. *facepalm* To everyone that doesn’t know, it’s basically the coefficient of a reactant, in a balanced reaction, becoming its exponent in a rate law equation. If you’d like me to explain it, comment below.

We didn’t have a late start on Tuesday, because the school board cancelled them. In Sociology, we had the first part of our major tutorial. We had to read, highlight and link 4 articles based on the tech unit. That day, we discussed 3 before we ran out of time. In Biology, we took up our quiz. I got a 19.5 out of 21 because I can’t get rid of my habit of not checking my work properly before handing my work in. If you have a tip on that, let me know. After that, we got a little bit of the Translation powerpoint done. At lunch, we had a final SAC meeting about the Semi-Formal. In Chemistry, we continued with the Equilibrium unit. I really wish Grade 12 Chemistry were a little simpler. In Math, we had a quiz for whatever we had covered in Chapter 8. It was the best quiz of the semester.

Wednesday was a PA Day due to the strike. That didn’t stop the teachers from giving us homework, though. For Biology, we had to watch the videos our teacher had uploaded onto Google Classroom and fill out the student handout of the powerpoint about the Translation of mRNA to make polypeptides. For Sociology, we had to watch an episode of Black Mirror, called Nosedive, and connect it to the unit. For Math, we had to finish the 8.6 homework. And for chemistry, we had to study for the Thermochemistry Unit Test. Besides that, I still hadn’t bought my heels for Semi, so that was a fun trip to the mall.

Thursday couldn’t have been slower to arrive. In Sociology, we had the second part of our major tutorial. We only had one article left. Once we wrapped up that one, we were given our last big assignment: the ISU. The ISU, or the Independent Study Unit, in Sociology, is writing a 1500-word paper on any topic we want to; as long as it relates to something we covered this semester. In Biology, we learnt about how a cell controls gene expression with the help of repressors and inducers. In Chemistry, we had our much-awaited unit test. I’m glad that’s over. I left at the beginning of Math, so I’m not sure what was covered. After school, we had our Semi-Formal. It was the best night I’ve had in a long time. It was like the ABP we had back at my previous school. But it was open to all grades, so there were even more people. It was a blessed night.

Friday was also a PA Day. So, we got to relax after the night of dancing in heels for 4 hours.

It was a wonderful and stressful week. But I made it through and that’s what matters. I hope you had an amazing week as well. Feel free to get in touch with me by emailing me at rueshi25@gmail.com. - Aarushi