Tuesday 29 March 2011

Kids, September 2032

Round 30: September 2032 (Spring)

Principal: Tatiana Lachance is 49.
Teachers: Pamela Gray is 47, Finn Romilly is 31 and Julia Gray is 21 (student teacher).
Students: Declan Romilly, Lauren and Austin Carmody and Justin and Xavier Moretti are all 11, Brendan Lachance and Caitlin Romilly are both 9, Annabel and Georgina Nott are both 8, Matthew and Simon Lane are both 7, Alice Jacobson, Sylvia Draper and Aurora and Bianca Moretti are all 6 and Gabriel Nott, Ruby Lane and Ramona Nihill are all 5.

Narrated by Finn Romilly

This term, we have Pamela's daughter Julia with us as a student teacher. It doesn't seem like so long ago that I was a student teacher but I just realised it was actually 10 years ago!

Tatiana remembers Julia from when she was a student here and warned me she could be a little abrasive. I can definitely see that but personally, I get along quite well with her.

Student teaching is bit different now from when I was studying though. The university now expects student teachers to gain experience with all age groups, so Julia has to spread her time evenly among the classes.

Pamela teaches kindergarten this year and Julia has been down with her mother to do some lessons. She likes the little kids but it takes a special kind of person to do that all day every day and Julia is not that person.

Julia is quite different from her mother. Pamela loves the very youngest children and they love her too.

They get in Pamela's classroom and they never want to leave. Even at lunch time, Pamela is surrounded by them. I remember Caitlin and Declan really liked her when they were that age too.

There were no pre-schoolers this year, so the kids got her for a year longer, which they were all happy about.

She can't stand Tatiana's class. At that age, they're just moving into a formal classroom structure so they're still in and out of their seats all the time.

Tatiana's tried to tell her that even the high schoolers Julia wants to teach will do that sometimes but she didn't seem too convinced.

When Julia's in my class, I generally stand up the back and observe just to make sure everything goes smoothly.

I think she'll make a good teacher, even if primary school isn't quite the right setting for her.

She'll eventually teach all these kids once they start high school, so it's good that she's built up somewhat of a rapport with them already.


She'll definitely need to work on her people skills though. She sat in on a parent/teacher conference I held the other day and she didn't do a great job disguising the contempt on her face.

That particular mother does sometimes fret over nothing, I admit. But a teacher needs to be diplomatic with that sort of thing and I don't mind taking the time to allay any concerns a parent might have. Parents can make your job very difficult for you if they want to.

We had a little discussion about that after school one day, so hopefully Julia will take it on board.

Two new students joined the class this year; twin sisters named Annabel and Georgina. Georgina is a very bright and enthusiastic student.

Annabel is a very sweet girl but I'm not sure what's going through her mind half the time.

It's difficult to get her to concentrate on anything; she always seems to have her head in the clouds. Her mother told me she's the same at home, so it's not just here at school at least.

I do have a really nice bunch of kids this year. I really enjoy this age group.

I think people would be surprised at some of the interesting discussions we've had in this classroom.

I have some very opinionated students, so it's never boring around here.

Declan and Caitlin are both in my class at the moment, so of course I think they're great (even if their attitudes to school are completely different) but it's really a wonderful group overall.

I pay particular attention to the kids from my class on the playground too and I've seen some of them go out of their way to be friendly to the littler kids. It's good to see.

Next year, five of my students will move on to high school; my nephews Justin and Xavier...

...Austin, Lauren and of course, Declan.

And then once Declan is off to Grade 7, Caitlin won't be too far behind. Neither of them have ever attended school without me being in the same building, so I think it will be good for them to get some more independence.

Tatiana has some interesting ones who will be entering my class over the next couple of years. My nieces, Aurora and Bianca are apparently not much trouble, apart from going off task quite a bit.

Matthew and Simon are a different story. They're both very active kids, who can get a little aggressive at times as well.

And then there's Sylvia and Alice, who are supposedly real little schemers. I hope it's just an immaturity thing in their cases. If not, I'm confident I can shape them up before they leave my class.

Extras:Ruby and Ramona are inseparable at school. Every time I looked at them, they were together!
It was pretty adorable.

This is a close up of Annabel from the shot where Finn was staring at her from over the room. I still don't know what she was doing. It was like she was play cops and robbers but everyone else except Justin was in their seat. And he definitely wasn't playing cops and robbers with her! Overactive imagination, maybe?

Finn keeps a very close eye on Caitlin the classroom, a fact she is more than aware of.

But hey, look! He's really happy with all her hard work lately!

While I'm working with one class, I let the other kids run rampant around the school. They usually end up all over the place but Pamela had all three of her kindergartners with her in the playground, while everyone else was inside.

This was at lunchtime and I have no idea what's going on. Xavier and Bianca were just chatting, which Caitlin apparently finds hilarious (and there was no one else in the room, by the way!)

Drama queen!

I never noticed that the kids blow their finger-guns before! That sounds really dirty...but these are kids and I assure you I'm not trying to make a double entendre here!

Austin and Justin are just talking here but I think they look really cute. Perhaps I'm just nostalgic, as this is (almost definitely) the very last time I'll see them as children.

Notes:
  • Thought I'd try something different and have one of the teachers narrate. It saves me having to do commentary, which I find really difficult but it's often hard to write the primary school updates. Kids do not usually bring the drama!
  • Finn really does have a nice class; he hasn't got a single kid who's even close to mean. Surely a first for me, in any age group! It'll all turn around next round, unfortunately for him.
  • After graduation, Julia will work at Sullivan High School, which is in bad need of a third teacher. Right now, I don't have any plans to have her do her Master's, like Finn did. I don't think her LTW is to reach the top of the career, so I probably won't bother doing that with her.

17 comments:

  1. I think it turned out great with Finn narrating it.

    About the thing with Annabel, I've noticed it happen many times before in my game with group interactions like cops and robbers or hang out that a few sims do the interaction together and then all but one stop it but the other sim continues.

    And oh my god, Declan is going to be a teenager! That is kind of overwhelming :P

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  2. Caitlyn's expression are hilarious! I love that Finn is watching her and she looks like she's trying so hard to concentrate, but really just wants her Dad to leave the room. lol.

    I'm looking forward to all the new age ups and high school kids. It'll be fun to see what they get into, and how relationships evolve.

    Julia seems like she'd be good with the high school crew, they bring more drama though, whilst little kids don't generally bring big problems. It's gotta be weird having a student you taught, coming back to be a teacher!

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  3. I really like Finn narrating it. Turned out great! :)
    I love these school updates.. The kids are all sooo cute!! Especially Pamela's class.
    Caitlin is definitely my favorite though!! She makes the best expressions. Can't wait to see what trouble she'll cause in highschool... When her dad ISN'T there.
    And woah... Declan a teen... No way!!! They grow up so fast... *sniffle*

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  4. Flit, it was definitely easier to write with Finn narrating, so I'm glad it turned out well too.

    Ah, maybe that was what was happening with Annabel. She stopped pretty soon after I took the picture, so that would make sense. I see that kind of thing happening with hang out all the time but never before with cops and robbers.

    Yes, Declan will be a teenager, along with Austin, Lauren, Justin and Xavier. It's crazy!

    Thanks for reading. :)

    Maisie, Caitlin is so much fun. She really does make the best expressions. I think she's ready for some independence from her dad, so she probably was longing for Finn to leave the room! Pity it's his classroom!

    I'm very excited about birthdays this year! So many Sims who I'm looking forward to seeing grow up. But then, I always love birthdays.

    None of my former students are old enough to be teachers themselves yet (close though - my very first students I taught as a student teacher are in their early 20s now!) but it's happened to many of my co-workers. It's weird for them but it's also quite cool to get to know these once little people as adults. I think it's actually a bit weirder for the former student though!

    Thanks for reading. :)

    coolkat2, I'm glad you liked it. :D

    School updates are fun, if not a little crazy. It can be a trial having so many Sims under your control, even if you're letting most of them loose.

    I think Caitlin is a favourite for many, including me. Next round will be her last round as a kid, so I guess it won't be terribly long until we see what she gets up to in high school. I can only imagine!

    Thanks for reading. :)

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  5. I agree with everyone else, I heart Caitlin :). I think she's going to be very different from both of her parents and cause quite a bit of trouble lol. I am not at all looking forward to my schools being that packed, although they are well on their way lol. I think Julia will work out best with the high schoolers but I don't think its going to be as easy as she thinks it is! Yes, they may not do all the wondering around the little kids do, but teens are just so full of angst and drama :)

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  6. I love your primary school. It's so cute. And I enjoyed Finn as a narrator. It's funny, because I prefer 3rd person novels, but for Sims stories, I much prefer a narrator. Caitlin is such an interesting looking girl. I can't wait to see her as a teenager.

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  7. Mizzgin03, personality wise, Caitlin is a lot like Finn, except she's playful where he is not. I think she'll continue to be a lot of fun as she gets older.

    Ugh, don't remind me! I'm terrified of what my school is going to be like when this round's babies are old enough - I think at the end of the round, there'll be something like 10 babies born!

    Very true about high schoolers! High school and primary students both have their disadvantages. When I speak to my high school teacher friend, I'm very glad I chose primary though! The major problem she talks about is the older boys hitting on her, lol.

    Thanks for reading. :)

    kalynn06, oh, that is funny! I don't really have a preference for novels but I can only say that it's much easier for me to write in first person.

    I already know what Caitlin will look like when she ages up, because I checked right after she aged to toddler, lol. She's quite a pretty girl but if I'm remembering correctly, most of you will be surprised at what she looks like.

    Thanks for reading. :)

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  8. Oooh, a parent-teacher conference! What a nifty idea, and of course they would have them.

    Ugh, I'm not sure I would want high school students LOL. Better to have an age group in which most of the kids love their teachers.

    I still can't believe that Declan will be in high school!

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  9. Rachel, I've been thinking for a while about how to get the parents involved in some of the school updates. Working in a school, I can tell you not a day goes by that I don't have some kind of interaction with a parent, even if it's just some brief chit-chat. I have some other ideas that you might see in future school updates, if I can make them work!

    Yep, that's why I like teaching the little ones! Once they get past Grade 5 or so, a lot of them start getting too big for their boots. ;)

    I know. :( I'm a bit sad about Declan growing up but looking forward to seeing what he'll get up to as well.

    Thanks for reading. :)

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  10. I liked that we got to hear Finn’s point of view in this update. We got to see most of the kids and got the much needed Caitlin and Declan spam :). Caitlin cracks me up! I just love that face!

    I loved the pics of Julia looking so impatient when Finn was talking to Lia. Yea, Lia’s one of *those* parents and she’ll have to learn to deal with them. I also really liked the pic of Sylvia and Alice “scheming”. Sylvia is so adorable. And so are Ruby and Ramona together.

    I’m excited and a little sad for the age ups, too! You really have me intrigued about Caitlin, although I’m always interested in seeing your sims age up. You’ve been so lucky with the genetics and I’m hoping I have the same luck.

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  11. I can't believe Finn has been a teacher for almost 10 years already! It feels like he graduated yesterday.

    I love that picture of Caitlin and Declan at their desk. I don't think I have any students who would be so enthusiastic about gradework.

    Annabel seems like a real daydreamer. I can relate to that, I'm like that at work all the time :)

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  12. Danielle, I think Caitlin and Declan spam is always needed. I really do love those two kids.

    Lia is absolutely one of *those* parents! Not the type who's pushy and trying to tell the teacher how to do their job but one who's constantly worried about their child's progress? Yeah, that would be her!

    I have been mostly lucky with the genetics, seeing I really didn't think Finn and Victoria would make cute kids at all! Hopefully, your upcoming twins will turn out real cuties. ;)

    Thanks for reading. :)

    Sari, Finn and I have been teaching for around the same amount of time, I just realised! 10 years ago was my final year of student teaching. It's pretty hard for me to believe as well, so I'm sure Finn feels the same way.

    Declan is destined to be a Knowledge Sim, I think! I've known since he was maybe 5 or 6; I don't think I've ever decided on an aspiration so early for a Sim.

    I can relate to Annabel as well. I'm a bit of a daydreamer too and my mother seriously had to come in and talk to concerned teachers about it a couple of times, lol!

    Thanks for reading. :)

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  13. Your school updates are always amazing, Carla! (this and weddings seem to be your specialities! ;)). I love the idea of parents conference as well, and like everyone else, I add my "Caitlin is just too funny!". I can't wait to see what kind of teen she will be! *lol*

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  14. I always love your schoolupdate, whether it's your high school or your primary school, I just love it!
    There's always so much going on, and everything seems to be going so smooth, I'm jealous of you! :)

    It was nice reading this from Finn's point of view.

    I love that picture of Declan and Caitlin! How siblings can be so different, and share the same parents :) As I always say I can't believe Declan is becoming a teenager!! I will miss him as a child.

    I absolutely loved that shot of Annabel, it reminded me of myself, you could never put me next to a window in class!

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  15. Sandy, I must have some kind of desire to punish myself by playing lots with 25+ Sims! I'm glad you guys enjoy them, lol.

    I think Caitlin will be good fun as a teen. She's been one of my favourite kids to play ever. I'm usually anxious to age up my kids to teen but Caitlin is such a great Sim as is.

    Thanks for reading. :)

    Tanja, I'm glad to hear you say that because the school updates are often hard to play and to write. I'm happy they turn out well!

    Finn and Victoria are quite different themselves, so the fact that Caitlin and Declan are quite different as well is not so surprising! Caitlin definitely isn't earmarked to be a Knowledge Sim - that much is clear!

    I was so happy with how that picture of Annabel came out. I think I said that I didn't pose it at all. It was just Annabel acting like Annabel.

    Thanks for reading. :)

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  16. Oh god poor Julia in a room full of little kids and overbearing parents LMAO! I'd be right there making faces, too. You managed these scenes so perfectly!

    I love the shot of Annabel!

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  17. S.B., LOL, well, I'm a teacher in real life, so it's something I have experience with. You do really want to roll your eyes sometimes but you have to be professional!

    Thank you. I want to turn that picture of Annabel into an avatar or something but it needs text to explain it a little. I'm still playing with it a bit. ;)

    Thanks for reading. :)

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