Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

Today none of the three teachers met the three Math 1 classes, not only because we had not finished grading their diagnostic exams - which would determine who would go into the “advanced” sections - but also because there were three sections of English (who also took diagnostic exams) who were also supposed to meet at 8am in just 4 assigned classrooms.

We just told the 100+ new students to assemble out in the lobby and we handed them their class cards just for attendance purposes (so that they wouldn’t feel their going to school early was wasted). Since neither English nor Math 1 classes will meet tomorrow, we have until tomorrow afternoon to iron the whole section and room assignment out.

There was the additional hurdle that there were still students who had not taken their diagnostic exams.

On another note, when I met my TrigApp class and saw 38 students, I had to tell Ma’am Lissa immediately because they have to split the class for GrapOne since the lab only has 30 computers. An additional three hours load for me.

Going back to last Wednesday: after the Dean’s opening remarks, (who my cousin described as “someone you’ll see around the campus”) Sir Randy the computer systems administrator talked about the facilities around the campus, using a slide presentation file he had not seen before that day (which he freely admitted to the students). This led to some awkward moments where he would go on a tangent and realize what he was talking about was actually the topic of the next slide. But overall, the staging fulfilled its purpose.

Next, Sir Joel (in collusion with my cousin) presented an html game of matching the different administration personnel with their titles and job description. He called several students up on stage to give their guesses who the Dean’s secretary, the Housekeeping head and the school driver were.

Miss Karen discussed the enrollment procedures and the conditions for making the Dean’s list. After that was supposed to be Ma’am Lissa with the academic policies, but the connected laptop wouldn’t read her CD, so we had to connect her laptop to the projector instead.

In the meantime, I suggested that the emcees introduce the upperclassmen present. This part of the program, to say the least, was very informal if not downright irreverent.
I have only two comments about the presentation on academic policies: first, it didn’t seem appropriate to tell the freshmen about academic advising when it would be assumed that for the second term they would still be following the flowchart. That should have been reserved for a session towards the end of the term explaining the enrollment adjustment period.

Second, it was specifically mentioned to the students that they had a week after course card distribution to appeal the grades they got from their professors. I know it was just a way of telling them about the deadline for changing of grades, but unless the teacher gives them a clear picture of their class standing before the finals (and maybe not even then, for some who have more pocketfuls of hope than common sense), it seems like an open invitation for everyone who get less than a four-point-oh to petition for a higher rating, whether they think they deserve it or not.

Again, I’ll resume catching up on the week tomorrow.