No journals this week, because we spent Friday out of class. I hope all of you took some time to lounge around, read a book (yes, READ A BOOK -- not stare vacantly at your screens), walk in the park, or go to a play -- I went to a couple of plays -- more on that later.)
It was great to see many of you and your parents on Thursday night, although it was certainly the strangest "Meet the Teacher" night in my twenty plus years of teaching. That European ambulance sound really tested my ability to project. Ms. O'Neill and I had planned to see a "pick of the Fringe" show after "Meet the Teacher" and if we were going to make the curtain, we had to leave the school at 7:56, but of course, in all the kafuffle, our exit was delayed. Please tell your parents that I'm sorry if I rushed out, and if they want to ask any questions or share any concerns, to get a hold of me in one of the ways that is listed on the handout. If they email me, I will usually respond within the day.
We had an excellent presentation about adolescent anxiety on Friday morning. All of us experience anxiety from time to time (it can be helpful -- long ago, when we were trying to survive in the wilderness, strong fear responses' increased adrenaline and heart rate helped us fight attackers, flee predators, or, like squirrels unfortunately do in the middle of the road, freeze in order to remain unseen -- of course, it doesn't work with squirrels in the middle of the road -- the cars aren't looking for them and kill them with impunity.) However, if the anxiety becomes overwhelming, if it prevents a person from doing what he or she wants or needs to do, then it can be a problem. But the good news is that it is a problem that has solutions. One thing you can do, if you think you are having a problem with anxiety, is to talk to someone about it. It can be a friend, or a family member, or your counsellor at school, or an adult you trust. You can try to reduce the number of things you feel like you "have to do" (that's a lesson I had to learn -- to say no sometimes). You can explore meditation and relaxation techniques (I think we'll do a bit of this in Drama). The person who presented the session told us about an interactive website called "mindcheck.ca" and also a downloadable app called "Mindshift" which acts as a portable coach and provides you with tools to help with intense emotion, worry, conflict, panic, test anxiety and fears about presentations. Anxiety is NOT a manifestation of weakness and it is important to know that, like anything that goes wrong physically, you can get help if only you ask.
I saw two more Fringe shows (the Fringe is over and these shows were chosen as the best of the Festival). On Thursday night, we did make the curtain and saw "The After After Party" which was about two girls who don't get invited to parties in high school and how they deal with it. The show was great fun and the actors were outstanding, very energetic and physical and funny. I liked the characters and wanted things to turn out for them. One lesson you can take from shows like this (and there are many of them) is that lots of kids struggle in high school to fit in and sometimes it feels like you are the only one on the outside looking in, but you aren't. High school can be really hard socially, but it gets a lot easier as you get older. I did not enjoy my time as a student in high school and felt like I didn't have any friends and would never figure things out, but once I got to university, I think I started to manage a lot better and now I am quite a happy person. Anyone who tells you that high school is the best time of your life is not telling you a universal truth. It's different for everyone.
Yesterday, I saw "Curious/Contagious" which was such a creative experience with shadow puppets and dance and movement and music and two overhead projectors! The story was about a unicorn who sells his soul to a multinational conglomerate and then is infected by an insidious virus. It sounds crazy and it was crazy but in a terrific way. The actors were just fantastic and it seemed like there were about ten of them, but it was only two. It really was the pick of the Fringe for me. I love it when people go completely outside the box like these two actors did. They wrote all the music and played the viruses extraordinarily and it was beautiful and poignant and funny and great for all ages and such a terrific theatrical experience. The company that produced the show is called Mind of a Snail and they will be participating in the Vancouver Puppet Festival in October, so let's keep our eyes open for their shows next month.
I met "Jamesy" from "2 for Tea" in the lineup for "Curious/Contagious" and he mentioned that he and James have rented the Waterfront Theatre for a couple of weeks in October and might be able to do a performance for a bunch of enthusiastic drama students, so I am going to see if we can arrange a field trip to see their new show "James and Jamesy in the Dark". That would be great fun. They would be willing to do a little workshop as well, he said. What a great experience that would be!
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