Thursday 31 May 2012

Kids, June 2038

Round 33: June 2038 (Winter)
Principal Tatiana Lachance is 55.
Teachers: Pamela Gray is 53, Finn Romilly is 37 and Leslie Lachance is 27.
Student teacher: Veronica Moretti is 21.

Students: Ruby Lane, Ramona Nihill and Gabriel Nott are 11, Marcus and Charlotte Lane are 9, Grace and Everett Benton and Jacinta Nihill are 8, Felix Lane, Daphne Kirby, Michael Gottlieb, Thomas Moretti, Keira Romilly and Joaquin Miguel are 7, Levi and Will Draper, Ryan Moretti and Jude Clarke are 6, Felicity Ashton is 5, Zac Whitney, Iris Kirby and Francesca and Catherine Moretti are 4.

Narrated by Leslie Lachance

I took over Tatiana’s class at the beginning of this year and I can honestly say that I love my job.

There are eight boys and only two girls, which definitely seemed like a daunting prospect on my first day.

But mostly, they’re very sweet kids. I have a mix of Grade 1s and 2s.

I feel like I’ve developed a really good rapport with my students so far.

One of my kids is Dominic’s cousin Daphne. It’s a little strange to be teaching her, seeing I’ve known her since she was very small.

I have one cheeky one in the class, Felix Lane but we're working on improving his behaviour.

Felix received some pretty poor grades on his report card last semester and a large part of it was because he prefers goofing off to doing his work.

I really want him to do better this coming semester, so I’m spending a large portion of the day right over his shoulder, making sure he’s on task.

Tatiana has only just got back from her bereavement leave but I’ve already sent Felix to her office a couple of times.

He’s a bit of a charmer and will say anything to try to get out of trouble!

I have Felix sitting next to Ryan, in the hopes Ryan will have a good influence on him!

When my normally well-behaved kids start climbing out of their seats, I know it’s time for a break.

Ideally, I take them outside on the play equipment for a while but it’s getting too cold for that now.

We’ve been going to the school gym more often instead.

I have a pretty sporty bunch of kids, so I think they may like that even better than the play equipment anyway.

Well, except for Jude, Joaquin and Michael. I’m lucky if I can even get those boys to change into their PE uniforms.

Sport just isn’t their thing, I guess.

Joaquin and Michael are outdoorsy types, who spend their lunchtimes looking for bugs in the playground.

They’ve become really good buddies this year as a result of their shared interests.

Jude just seems to like eating, which means he loves it when a classmate has a birthday!

We just celebrated Thomas’s 7th birthday, with a delicious chocolate cake in the cafeteria before recess.

I’m sure Thomas would rather his birthday have fallen on a weekend but I think we made it as special as we could for him.

Thomas certainly seemed to enjoy the day anyway.

He finished his slice of cake before some of the other kids had even started!

I’m happy teaching Grade 1 and 2 for now but I think I’d consider a move to teach even younger kids, if I ever got the opportunity.

The pre-schoolers and kindergarteners are just adorable and I know I’d enjoy teaching them too.

Every time I pass the classroom, the children always seem so happy and like they’re having great fun. It's such a great environment for the kids.

Obviously, I already knew Tatiana when I started at Sullivan Primary but I’ve enjoyed getting to know the other teachers too. Pamela teaches the pre-school/kindergarten class and has been really friendly and accommodating to me so far.

Finn teaches Grades 3 through 6 and he’s been very helpful as well.

I don’t think I’d ever want to teach the “big kids” but Finn really loves his class.

They’re not the easiest class in the world though, which his student teacher, Veronica is quickly discovering.

There are some really nice kids in the class too but they’re all very strong personalities.

Funnily enough, Felix’s older brother and sister Marcus and Ruby, are two of the strongest!

Finn has been teaching a lot of these kids for a few years now but Veronica is new. They’re definitely putting her to the test.

It’s often a struggle for her just to keep them in their seats.

They generally just need one look from Finn before they’re scrambling back to their seats to get back to work.

Veronica was already strongly leaning towards teaching high school after she graduates and her experiences with Finn’s class haven’t made primary teaching any more attractive to her.

To each their own! I would much rather be teaching my class than dealing with teenagers every day!

Notes:
  • I love my computer! I haven't had such a smooth play session at one of my schools in a long, long time. This is one of the biggest groups (if not the biggest) I've had and it ran beautifully. No lag, no crashing.
  • But still, this was so many kids! Too many to really focus on everybody individually, so lots of kids only got a quick cameo in the background. :)
  • Veronica and Charlotte really didn't get along! I often find two grouchy Sims actually end up clicking but it was not so in this case. Which is a shame, because Veronica will likely end up teaching her one day, as she'll take up a position at the high school next year. ;)

20 comments:

  1. Haha I love seeing the school updates and this one is adorable! Your school looks fantastic. I'm so glad that your new computer meant no crashes- I hate it when that happens! Hopefully Veronica will do a bit better with teenagers. I see her more with them than young children. I don't think she has the patience for the little ones! I love the way you combine the classes and I can't believe there are 8 boys and only 2 girls! I never realised there was such a difference. I loved the kids in the gym (where did you get their sports wear- it is so so adorable??!!) Celebrating Thomas' birthday was such a cool idea I swear we never had anything like that at school. He is a very lucky boy!

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    1. Believe me, no one is gladder than me! I used to dread school sessions, as well as weddings. I loved the results but they were very stressful to actually play, because I was constantly waiting for a crash.

      Veronica is definitely set for the high school and not just because I'm in desperate need of a teacher there. ;) She's not cut out for the littler ones.

      I felt a bit sorry for Leslie with the boy-girl imbalance at first! It really does make a big difference with the dynamics of a classroom but it depends on the individual kids too. One of the loveliest classes I've taught had 18 boys and 10 girls.

      Check my Pinterest for the kids' sports wear. I just finished pinning all the kids' clothes links I had the other week, so if I know where they came from, the links should be there.

      Oh, really? We used to do birthdays quite often when I was at school and as a teacher, I haven't seen many kids come to school with no treats to share on their birthdays. There's always something for the teacher too, so I can't complain. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  2. Oh wow, that is a lot of kids! I'm so glad your computer is handling everything like a beast. :D It's so much easier to play without lag and fear of crashing.

    LOL at Leslie not wanting to tackle the "older kids." I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to, either!

    The face Felix pulled in the principal's office made me laugh. He's sneaky.

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    1. I know! Even with a smoothly running PC though, it's still a lot of kids to deal with, so I'm looking forward to sending the larger groups off to high school. You know...in five years or so!

      I definitely prefer teaching younger kids too. There comes a point when even the nice kids get kind of bratty and I find it's around Grade 4 or 5. There's more independence too though, which makes some things a lot easier!

      I think Felix has more than a bit of his dad in him. ;)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Interesting that Leslie wants the younger kids, I prefer teaching older ones, I wonder if Pamela would trade grades with her and if that is possible in their school.

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    1. Leslie and I are in agreement on the younger kids - I'm definitely an infants' teacher!

      Going from my real life experience like I often do, it is most definitely possible to switch grades at this school. Whether or not it happens here remains to be seen. Definitely not ruling it out though!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. I've been thinking of getting a new computer an hearing how good your gameplay is with your school lot with that many kids is makeing me want to get one sooner. i get so much lag when i play mines ugh lol your kid all seem like they have so much fun.

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    1. Hey, if you can swing it, I definitely recommend upgrading! It's made the game so much more fun to me. It's nice to come home from work and know I can be playing in less than an hour and that it's not likely to crash on me!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  5. So many kids! I'm sure you're VERY glad to have the new PC. I felt the same way when I upgraded mine, it's like playing a new game lol. I'm actually in the process of building my own elementary and high schools. The ones I downloaded just aren't cutting it anymore due to all these kids being born! The high school is fine right now, but the elementary school is definitely getting overcrowded. I think I'm with you and Leslie, if I were a teacher, I'd want the smaller kids too. Teenagers and their attitudes are just not something I would want to deal with on a regular basis lol. Coincidentally, I can't wait to see a teen Felix, I'm sure his charm and cheekiness will grow with age :)

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    1. Oh, I'm very glad indeed! I can't remember a time when I could play so smoothly with all my gigs of downloads in!

      Yeah, I predicted that would happen with my hood if I used downloaded schools, so I built my own from the beginning. It's a long process but I think you'll be happy with the outcome.

      Teenagers are tough. I didn't even like a lot of them when I was one! Though I did teach a Grade 1 class yesterday that made me reconsider my position on the younger kids, lol. They can definitely cause their own kind of trouble.

      Felix becoming a teen is so far away but yeas, that's going to be quite interesting! I think he's actually the most like Luc, of all the Lane kids. :)

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. Wow, that's a lot of kids! I'm glad to hear your new computer's working so well for you. It's so much easier to play when you don't have to stress and worry about crashing all the time.

    I just love your school. All the class rooms have so much space and all the little details really make it look so real. I'm leaning towards building a new elementary school because the current one is so crowded even after the expansion I did some time ago.

    Poor Veronica, she's really starting to see that teaching real kids isn't exactly the same as reading about it, lol.

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    1. It's definitely a nice change from the way I've played the last couple of years or so. ;)

      Thanks, I'm still quite happy with the primary school, though I may spruce it up a bit soon. Just some new walls, new chairs or something. A real life school would have the paint peeling off by now! I keep thinking of building a new high school though, or majorly renovating my current one, so I'm in the same position as you at the moment.

      Yes, if Veronica didn't know that theory doesn't equal practice, she does now! She'll be much better prepared for her own classroom now.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete
  7. Great update! So glad your computer is holding up to the big tests. So many kids! I'm glad things are working out well for Leslie. I definitely see her with the little kids and Veronica with the older ones. I'm sure Veronica will run as fast as she can out of that primary school when her student teaching is over lol. Felix is too funny. A charmer, that one.

    I didn't pay attention but I hope there are more girls in the other classes to balance out all those boys! I'm glad they weren't too tough to manage.

    I really enjoyed the birthday party for little Thomas. He's so stinking cute and that cake looks delicious!

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    1. Veronica is counting down the days until the end of her student teaching! Not long for her now. ;) All teachers have an age group they feel like they're best suited to and it's nice when you discover it early!

      Yes, the pre-school/kindergarten class is almost all girls, with Zac being the lone boy. So I'm hoping it won't be too imbalanced as these kids all grow up.

      Thomas basically looks exactly as I expected (and wanted!) Nick's kid to look like, lol. He's too cute!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. I always love your school-updates! And I love seeing your schools! I've been thinking about redoing my elementary school for over a year now, but I'm uninspired to do so, but every time I see yours, I feel sad for my own school :(

    That were a lot of kids! I'm so glad your computer was able to handle it! I have a pretty new computer myself (4 years old I think), but I don't think it will be able to handle so many kids as smoothly, I gues we'll see in a few simyears with all those kids in my hood :)

    It's nice the Leslie has settled in so great! So really loves those little kids! Unlike Veronica, who really doesn't seem to like the smallest ones :)

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    1. Ha, I seem to have that feeling every time I see everyone else's schools! I'm happy with this one but my high school always seems a bit sad when I look at it now!

      Yeah, my old computer was actually a little newer than yours (maybe 3.5 years?) and it still didn't handle all these kids very well. LOTS of lag and sometimes crashing.

      Leslie's doing great at the primary school, which I knew she would. Veronica will be much happier next year, when she doesn't have to converse with 9-year-olds, lol.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  9. Charlotte is a little handful! I think Leslie looks like a kindergarten teacher, without a doubt. She has that long, child-like, non-threatening hair. I can't believe Pamela is 53!! I suppose she'll retire at some point, and Leslie can step in then.

    Felix is SUPER cute!! Those expressions, ah! What a charmer indeed! Thomas is adorable too, he looks like he has the personality of Nick, which is super darling. Love seeing the school updates, and seeing what the kids are getting into while away from their parents!

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    1. Yes, I think Charlotte could probably be a bit terrifying, actually! She's definitely not shy.

      LOL, yes, little kids would love Leslie's hair, not to mention her gentle nature. Pamela will retire eventually but I haven't decided if she'll stay on pre-school until the end. Probably. It seems weird for her to change now, after so many years!

      Felix and Luc are very similar, so it's no wonder he's inherited his dad's charm too! Thomas is a total sweetheart like Nick but he's more outgoing, like Sarah is. They've got some lovely kids, Nick and Sarah.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  10. I love your school so much! It is crazy to think of Veronica as a teacher. I am with Leslie-teens are terrifying. I am so glad your computer is still working so well under high demands!

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    1. Aw, thanks! I'm glad. I am actually just about to play the final update of the round, after which I'll do birthdays. So Veronica is this close to officially being a teacher. Fortunately for everyone though, she'll be at the high school. Every teacher has an age group they're best suited to and that's definitely Veronica's niche.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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