What they really do at IB conferences

Mr. Majask has a lot of funny signs around his room, and a comment to go with just about all of them. He let me take pictures a while back, and I wrote down what he said about each one. This first one you may recognize. He agreed with me about the placement of the letter 's'.



He calls this one the cynical IA teacher. Anyone who's seen this blog before is bound to agree with at least the second half:



This one is the people who work at the IA. He says the stuff from 'doing the unbelievable' on fits the best:


About the one on the left he says, "Parents at open house always get a kick out of that," and he associates the right one with his test grading policy.


He also said that a lot of people (especially said parents at open house) have asked where he got them all. He said he found them at an IB conference in Florida.

He later clarified that they were actually at a store nearby. Oh well.

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XXII

Yay! I set another new record for the most quotes collected in a single day today! The record now stands at seven. The first one in this post is number one, and the other six are over there <=== where they should be.

Congratulations to Frau Boyle for her very first Fun and Out-of-Context Quote!

Also, I love how it scares people to find out that Moodle is an acronym. It stands for "Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment." I only know that so I can see people react...try it, its fun:ß

"My life has no meaning anymore."
-Jad on Moodle being an acronym

"I always wanted to be Ryan Seacrest."
-Mr. Lyons on addressing the junior class about elections

"I'm just used to thinking that school's never gonna end."
-Anonymous on the countdown to summer

"Wait wait wait, what's'a what?"
-Marie on LTUAE

"That's just TED stuttering."
-Mr. Giromini on TEDEDEDED...

"Whenever someone starts to refer to himself in the third person, you know something's wrong."
-Mr. Majask

"Josh doesn't think that's necessarily true."
-Me on the above

"It makes rectangles that disappear."
-Miss Hessler on the pointer tool in The Geometer's Sketchpad

"I love the power these tests have over you. It just cracks me up."
-Mr. Giromini

"Ich bin ins Wasser gefallen."
-Frau Boyle on water skiing

Pictures 'n' Stuff, Part IV

Srta. Fernandez showed this in class today...



I have a shirt with this on it. Actually, I'm wearing it now.



This has been a popular image on Digg recently; it shows all the countries in the world that don't use the metric system. Someone showed me it in school a while ago...






This makes me think of Mr. Giromini...(click to enlarge)

Yo liebe you

I like that someone had to write "love" and "I love you" in five languages (six if you count "kocham," which appearantly is Polish for I love you in the plural...so I wonder why it's not on the other side?) to satisfy him or herself in this drawing on the board in Sra. Riggs' room, but I like even more that English is fourth. And is it just me, or are the Chinese characters too similar to mean different things? Someone who speaks Chinese...?

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XXI

We're discussing emotions in ToK right now, and which are more/less useful in acquiring knowledge. Hence, the first quote. Can you guess which end of the spectrum we put it on ;)?

"Moodle is its own emotion now."
-Miss Davey

"I just use it for bad physics jokes."
-Miss Davey on Schrödinger's Cat

"I didn't lose it! I must not be myself today!"
-Miss Davey on ToK presentation notes

"I totally asked an intelligent Chinese question!"
-Sra. Riggs on pronunciation

"And the word for this in English is 'tonal' and it is spelled t-o-n-a-l."
-Sheikh Darwish on the above

"Yo soy la perfección."
-Sra. Riggs en la vida, el universo, y todo

"Whenever I watch a movie I really enjoy it, until the conflict comes in, then I get really stressed out."
-Zoë

"Metaphors of people to..."
-David on the purpose of metaphors of people

"Metaphors are people too!"
-Me on mishearing the above

"Where's the stapler?"
-Moose on why everyday quotes deserve a place here too

"I really do appreciate that but no, because I don't want to be my own boss."
-Mr. Giromini on the possibility of cloning him to fill the fisix teacher position

"løl"
-Marie on my inability to speak Danish

The artist employs sharp, menacing horns, small eyes, and a threatening monologue to create the antagonistic character of Mr. IB

This whiteboard may look familiar to you, but it obviously has a new addition. I found this on the board in the history room on the first day back from spring break (also note that the topic of the previous post still remains):


So Mr. IB's true face is finally revealed. Obviously the message has been translated, as Mr. IB speaks no English, only IBan. I believe the original text was, "The author uses only direct characterization to deny the reader any free will throughout the novel."

If you know who drew this, please speak up. Mr. Majask didn't know.

And this is why she won "Most-Likely-to-Trip-Up-the-Stairs"

Amisha: today
Amisha: i walked into a windshield wiper..
Me: elaborate
Me: how did this make you feel?
Amisha: i parked my car too close to the back bumper of the person in front of me at school
Amisha: tried to cross in front of my car in the space
Amisha: hit my arm on the windshield wiper on the back of the van in front
Amisha: and yelled
Amisha: OWWWWWWWWWW
Amisha: and now its purple
Amisha: like dark purple
Amisha: and there's like spots
Amisha: so it's a really bad bruise
Amisha: and it hurts :P
Amisha: -sigh-
Amisha: < /story >
Me: <>awwww...< /sympathy >
Amisha: :P
Amisha: xD
Amisha: its okay
Amisha: i just thought i'd let you know :P
Amisha: the html tags work best with
Amisha: < /rant >
Me: mit einem :)

Elementary, my dear Watson

Pulling out of the IA parking lot a while ago, I saw something that caught my eye. The car in front of me had a custom license plate that needed to find its way here. The car and I happened to be headed the same way, so I was behind it for a while. I tried to see who it was, but could not. It was raining pretty hard, but I got a picture anyway. (My mom was driving.) Now I just needed the owner's permission to use it. At that moment, I decided that that license plate would somehow make it onto Only At IA. That Friday, the seniors left. Afraid that the car had belonged to a senior and that I would never see it again, I looked for it as I was leaving but did not see it for a couple of days. I asked around, but that license plate was not registered for a parking pass, (I think you only have to register a single car, but can use the pass in others,) nor was it recognized by anyone I asked. These people included Mrs. Saxsma, who did give me one useful bit of information. Although she was unable to help me find the owner of the aforementioned car, she did tell me that Mr. Davies also has an IA-worthy license plate. This one was not so difficult to locate; I noticed it parked right in front of the building Friday morning, snapped a picture, and got his permission to use in the hallway that same day. Anyway, a few days after the seniors left, I noticed the car pulling out of the driveway again. Before I was close enough to see who was driving, it pulled away. At least I knew that the owner was returning to school after the seniors' last day. The next day, I thought there was going to be a picnic for Spanish Honor Society. I was wrong, and I called my mom, who was not far away after having picked up my carpool. She said she could turn around, and would be back in just a few minutes. She asked me to come outside and wait across the street from the school, as the traffic in the parking lot is a nightmare. As I was about to cross the street, I noticed the car first in line to exit the parking lot once again. I ran to catch up with it, and finally was able to see who was inside. It was Carlotta and Ettore! I asked Carlotta permission the next day, and here we are now. First, here's the runner-up for the most IA-worthy license plate, Mr. Davies:


And now, taken through the pouring rain, the winner of the most IA-worthy license plate, Carlotta and Ettore!


Thanks to the both of you for the necessary permission!

Have you seen an IA-worthy license plate that deserves mentioning? Tell me about it in comments!

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XX

I have a lot of them this time. I collected six on Friday (which I think is a new record) and I put some of them up already, but there was already a lot. I'll put the rest up now.

"'I'm not playing this game,' said Mike."
"-Mike on narration," wrote Josh ironically

"They're not afraid to confuse us."
-Gabe on teaching styles at IA

"The Nerf ball doesn't count."
-Mr. Giromini on Gabe's playing football

"Pi."
-Mr. Lyons on the chances of hiring a particular candidate for the fisix teacher position

"I'm gonna set an example...*takes out phone and goes for power button* Ooo! I've got a message!"
-Miss Davey on turning off cell phones in preparation for ToK Orals

"And the word for this in English is 'eureka!' and it is spelled e-u-r-e-k-a"
-Sheikh Darwish on the above

"It's international!"
-Mr. Giromini on a multicolored ruler

"I go in a straight line, except when I turn."
-Abby S. on walking

"You're just saying that because you like to contradict me."
-Me to Gabe

"No!"
-Gabe on the above

"We don't really talk about reality very much."
-Miss Davey on ToK

,,El Verbö siempre tiene qüe äl Fin de lä Fräse venir!"
-The Spanish language on the German language

,,¡Ӓsí de fä́cil!"
-The German language on the Spanish language

Have you ever...

It all started a couple of months ago when I accidentally looked at my watch before writing the block on a worksheet, as I do about every other class period. I brought it up with a friend who said they also do that, making me feel a little better. I decided I'd ask Only At IA's readership, and while I was at it I'd throw in a few other questions. It has been one of my favorite polls so far, and I want to immortalize it. Here we go...


First was the question that started it all. However, I think I'll save that one and come back to it at the end. For now, we can start with the second:


Have you ever...


...purposefully said something in a language that you knew the listener couldn't understand?

I do that all the time. I mean, how much fun is it to yell at someone in Spanish/German/Denglisch/Despañol to get your anger out without worrying about offending them? Not surprisingly, 58% of voters agreed.


...had to ask someone their name more than twice in the same day?

Here I started going through old posts to see if anyone else had shared my pain. Only 41%. Really!? I find that hard to believe.


...been the only one in a group to laugh at a joke?

82%. OK, I'll take it. I thought that would be higher, though.


...used diction?

64%. I guess people were using my definition, as I'm pretty sure everyone chooses words. (On a very loosely related note, if you haven't read the story mentioned in the post about using diction, please do so. You'll like it. If you don't want to wait for both pages to download, here's a direct link.)

...pulled a jedi teacher (or student) mind trick?

17%. Again, surprisingly low. I guess it's more of a Señora thing...


...written with a Stabilo fineliner?

Now this one just shocked me. Only 29%! I mean, practically everyone in the school has them by now! Get with it, people!


...put false information on Wikipedia just to prove you could?

41%. It's all Goody Belzyt's fault.


...made (good-natured) fun of a teacher in order to survive a class?

64%. OK, I'll take it. I thought that would be higher, though. (What!? It's not plagiarism if you copy yourself!)


...tried to solve a Rubik's Cube?

Everyone. 100%. Welcome to IA, people.


...actually solved a Rubik's Cube?

35%. C'mon, keep at it!


...watched a logo bounce around a projector screen waiting for it to hit the corner?

76%. Sounds about right.


...gone all Sheikh Darwish on someone?

Wow! 17%! I'm not alone!


And finally:
...accidentally looked at your watch to check what block it was?

Only. 29. Percent. What! Awww... Well, there are some, right?


Oh, wait! I was going to tell you my answers now (no, I didn't vote). Here they are in order, excluding the watch one, which you already know. I'll let you match them up;)

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. A few times, actually. Never! Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Obviously; you don't even need a link for this one.

Sra. Riggs' Spanish-related things

First, a word from the present-day: I've had this post written for a while now (I almost always write my posts in advance- in fact, I have eleven stored up right now. Well, ten after I post this one) and I decided to post it in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. ¡Olé!

Sra. has a lot of random Spanish around her room. It is a Spanish room, so some of it is to be expected. The translated posters that say "¿Has usado tu cerebro hoy?" with a picture of Garfield, etc. do not really seem out of place. It's the things like this that do:


I asked her about it, and she said that children like to get her random Spanish-related things. They see something with Spanish and they think, "Ooo! Spanish! I should get that for Sra.!" So they do. Exhibit B:


This is actually my second favorite. It says "¡Así de fácil!" when you press it. It's really fun to hit as one exits the room. Above the Caliente sign, there is a pair of piñatas. One is a star...and I'm not so sure about the intent of the other.


Lastly, my favorite of all. The sombrero. It sits on top of a cabinet in the back of the room.


It's my favorite because it can make any occasion so much more interesting. You would be surprised how many more interesting things happen per unit time when one is wearing a sombrero. For example, I was in Product Team the week before last, and I did not have much to do. I have PT in Sra.'s room, so I was sitting in one of her comfy green chairs trying to think of something. I spotted the sombrero in the back of the room, and decided to put it on. It was really fun. It started some interesting conversations, including one with Arturo, dressed as the Ice Cream Man. It was Superhero Day in Senior Spirit Week, and he had on an apron with a picture of an ice cream cone, held a scoop in his hand, and fought crime with his Scoops of Justice. That was one of his superhero moves. I (still in the sombrero, mind you) helped him think of a few more, including Brain Freeze. A bit later, Sra. came in and asked me what I was up to. I told her I didn't have much to do, and she asked if I wanted to wash a glass-looking plastic bowl for the Spanish Honor Society's induction ceremony. She told me I would get to go into the mysterious teachers' lunch room. "Only if I get to wear the sombrero," I told her. She said I could. Surprisingly, only one person walked in while I was in the teachers' lunch room, and they didn't seem to mind me or the sombrero.

Anyway, that same day in Product Team (after the bowl incident) I decided it would be fun to pose all of Sra.'s Spanish-related items (save the not-so-portable posters) in one place. It was.

Däs Bällöömläütmönster

Last Friday (a little over a week ago) was the Seniors' last day, and it's always set apart from the other days by a celebratory atmosphere that permeates the school. The day started off with an announcement that there were no announcements, so the team had come up with some to read just for fun, including that the Spanish Honor Society was having a toiletries drove that ended yesterday, so bring in all your shampoo, soap, etc by yesterday, yet another urge to share your innermost thoughts and secrets with the yearbook people (which hasn't changed in the many months since we've been reading this announcement), etc. All the seniors are really happy, and it lightens the overall mood significantly. Walking into fourth hour German, I found the floor (and the freshpeople's hands) full of balloons the colors of the German flag: black, red and yellow. I asked Frau Boyle (who, by the way, is no relation to Susan Boyle...I asked) why there were balloons, and she said that they had been used at the German Honor Society induction ceremony the previous night. However, there was a product team in her room earlier in the day who had thought it would be fun to pop them, not knowing that she had planned to use them later in a class of seniors for a last day celebration. She had made them get her more, so she still had some when we got there. I managed to get a red one, and asked Amisha for an emergency drawing of Däs Ümläütmönster (becäüse she känn him viel better als ich dräw) on the balloon. I added a talk bubble and a tittle...and voilà:

The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg strike again

In 10th grade American Lit, we read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. One particularly memorable image from this novel is an old billboard with a pair of painted eyes on it, representing God looking down on the characters. The eyes actually belong to an image of a man called Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. They are near the top of the cover of the book as well:


At the start of English class the other day, I walked in to find these hanging on the Pizarra Estúpida:


Mrs. Saxsma said that they had been a gift from her mother. When I later asked her (on the Day of Silence) to remind me where her mother had gotten them she responded with


Anyway, the first day they were up (when she could talk) she told us the story of her mother walking into said antique store and seeing the eyes. She had immediately associated them with the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, and had told the man behind the counter that she had to get them for her daughter. He had asked, "What, is she an optometrist?"

"No," Mrs. Saxsma's mother had replied, "she's an English teacher!" as if this explained everything.

The man, who did not see the resemblance, had just looked at her as if she were crazy. The way Mrs. Saxsma put it, he had wanted her to "take your eyes and get out!"

Ah, the things we do for literature. By the way, I saw the resemblance even before Mrs. Saxsma told us what they were.

And the word for this in English is "recognition" and it is spelled
r-e-c-o-g-n-i-t-i-o-n.

Why I Love the IA: A Top-Ten List

10. Where else would I possibly get post topics as great as these?

9. You don't have to buy elevator passes

8. You can get anywhere in the school in thirty seconds

7. No school uniforms

6. You are fluent in your second language by the time you graduate

5. The advertising space on Mr. Lyon's ID card is free

4. Diversity/Ease of finding people to teach you to say hello in new languages

3. The complexity of this sentence, along with its many clauses, higher-level ideas and errors last minute corrections, shows illustrates that a student candidate in the aforementioned society Academy is able to become proficient in the very extremely challenging language of IBan over the course of they're there their his or her time their there

2. Abundance of Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes

1. The environment: on Wednesday, I wore Sra.'s sombrero from room 105 to the tech center, passing all sorts of people on the way, while there, and back. Three people made fun of me. They were all teachers.

Some Fun and Out-of-Context Quotes, Part XIX

No comment...

"A good teacher is like a candle: they illuminate our path until we burn them out."
-Anthony G.

"That's not my job anymore. You're not enrolled in my entertainment class anymore."
-Mr. Stibitz on my request to 'entertain me'

"You have to solve it to solve it!"
-Caitlin S. on the Golden Cube

"A door is being knocked on!"
-Amisha on the passive voice

"God, it's like playing chess with five people!"
-Mike on his Golden Cube

"I got sunburned at an indoor waterpark!"
-Caitlin M. on spring break

"That's the second time I have worked Godzilla into a lecture today. Yes!"
-Mr. Giromini

"And the word for this in English is 'distractable' and it is spelled d-i-s-t-r-a-c-t-a-b-l-e."
-Sheikh Darwish on the above

"You know, arguing about whether you were arguing just makes it worse."
-Me on Jatin's claim that he wasn't arguing with Mr. Giromini

"No it doesn't!"
-Gabe on the above

"The use of a pronoun without an antecedent is brilliant!"
-Mr. Giromini on the word 'it'