Orientation Highlights @ Sullivan This Morning

Good afternoon, everyone. It's Timmy. Anyway, I'm here to talk about this morning's orientation that I went to for the Sophomores (my grade). The orientation was good for the most part. However, rowdy kids were present and prevented it to be a great orientation it would've been. So, here's my observations on this orientation.

• My mom and I were the very first people to arrive. We got there at about 7:15. We were by ourselves for a while, then more kids and [the few that attended] parents came.
• I tried to go in through the front door, but was denied access. They said orientation didn't start until 8:30 (school site said 8:00), but yet, a few of the rowdy kids were allowed into the building. That's not very fair, is it (but life isn't fair)?
• As the rowdy kids arrived and everyone was waiting outside ... well, let's just say it got loud. At 7:30 in the morning. Tons of cussing could be heard. Yelling could be heard as well (the "n" word was most popular in the conversation). I wasn't disturbed at it, as I'm used to this kind of thing. But my mom wasn't. She didn't know Sullivan had kids like that. She knew we had some bad apples, but not to that extent. Another parent, who's kid is new to the school and will be in my Autism program since he has Autism, was disturbed by this as well. Her son has a tendency to talk to himself (which is very common in kids with Autism, and it's not weird). She was afraid that the thugs thought he was talking to them and that they would hurt him. She made him turn around. I told her, "you get used to it,".
• Everyone was let in at about 8:00 or 8:05. The behavior by the rowdies continued into the building. My mom and I just followed the instructions by school personnel and went into the assembly hall. We stayed away from the rowdies as far as we could.

After waiting a while for staff to get things ready for the program (to be honest, they took too long), it started. When the first person spoke, who's a counselor at the school, she told us about the changes at Sullivan this year. Which aren't many at all, except that you cannot have electrical devices whatsoever (and this now includes cell phones). At first, cell phones were allowed, just as long as you didn't have them on in class. I can see why they made this change. I never used my cell phone in class in the first place, so this doesn't bother me. I only use my cell phone when going to and coming from school, usually in only emergencies or when the bus was/is late. We also got our parent/student handbook, among other necessary school stuff.

The second speaker, another counselor at the school, basically did the same things the first speaker did. She also made mention of the Medical Academy, who's teacher came up and told us about the program. A meeting in the cafeteria was also held regarding this class. Then, the fourth and fifth speakers spoke about Access Health, and how important it is to get your shots (flu, etc.).

I'll get back to the rest of the program in a moment, but I'd like to note this. While the fourth speaker, a female, spoke, she was rudely interrupted by the rowdies. One teacher had enough and stood up. Everyone looked at her. She told the rowdies that if they didn't want to be kicked out, they'd have to put up or shut up [these were NOT actual words she used]. She then said, "If there is ONE more interruption, you WILL be asked to leave,", followed by, "there are people here who WANT to listen to get information. If you don't want to listen, then leave,". She then told the speaker to continue. She gave the rowdies quite a nasty look, then sat down again. The rows of rowdies went quiet.

After the speakers were finished, the room was separated in groups, because of all of the people in attendance, and probably because of the rowdies. We were taken to different rooms to take pictures for the yearbook/IDs, pay our fees, then get our schedues.

After doing this stuff for an hour and a half, my mom and I left. When we got out, it was about 9:50, so the orientation basically ended 10 minutes earlier then scheduled. I have to say, that's impressive.

So, now, before I wrap this up, I'd like to tell all of you my schedule for this upcoming school year, and to note some stuff.

Schedule:
1st period - Geometry (regular class)
2nd period - English (regular class, with the same teacher I had last year for English).
3rd period - Journalism (???? Schedule says with one of my Autism teachers, but I'm hoping it's with Mr. Boby, the Journalism teacher at Sullivan).
4th period - Science (Autism class)
5th period - Lunch
6th period - Gym (Autism class)
7th period - History/Social Studies (Autism class?)
8th period - Spanish (Autism class)

So it looks like I've got only two regular classes this year. Not four or five like I excepted. I'm glad and dissapointed at the same time. I'm glad because I don't have to do too much work (I'll have time to finish Geometry and English work in school). I'm dissapointed because I wanted more regular classes so I could learn more, and make some new friends.

More observations/notes:

• I'd like to know why the school started orientation at 8:30, not 8:00. I'd also like to know why I was denied access to sit in the school and wait.
• There was no school CPD present. Where were our school officers? We could've used them today to disperse the rowdies. Heck, there wasn't even any security.
• I only noticed a few parents in attendance. Where were all of the parents? NONE of the rowdies' parents were present.

So, here is another report about Sullivan from me. Hope you all enjoyed reading it. Comments or questions? You can tell me here, or send me an email.

To the staff, my teachers and friends: Enjoy this last week off :)! I'll see you all next Tuesday. Let's get the day started right by making sure everyone's present at 7:30. Altough we start at 7:45 (orginally at 7:30 but this was revised, which is a good thing), the school is asking for everyone to arrive no later than 7:30.

Peace,
Timmy AKA AvondaleLoganSquareCrimeBlotter