Mid-term!!

This will be the briefest blog post ever..... I have had a quadruple free this morning and now have History, my first code of the day! I have just completed a HAT past paper and it took longer than usual as the fire alarm went off half way through. I just hope that doesn't happen in the actual one! I am going home tonight for the beginning of October break and then head off to Paris tomorrow. I am so excited to see the city and hear plenty of French. Hopefully it will improce my French!  Must go now. love to all.

Weekend!

2.50pm- Hello everyone! AC life continues to be very busy. I've had a good weekend so I feel ok. I relaxed on campus on Friday night. A group of us snuggled into my bed and watched the film "Boys don't cry" which was very thought-provoking. The film is based on the true story of a girl who suffered and ultimately died because of her sexuality. The violence and suffering shown was quite harrowing and some of my friends found it quite distressing. I'm glad I watched it however and think that others should watch it, although it isn't exactly enjoyable. We watched it as it had already been shown as part of Gender and Sexuality focus week at AC this week. There have been events and discussions organised throughout the week regarding discrimination, equality and issues related to those. I got up quite early yesterday morning to go to the gym and then watched the rugby. Wales lost by one point and many of us couldn't watch the end!  I thought it was a good match and felt very proud of our team. One thing- it now means I will be in Paris when France play in the Rugby World Cup final. Can't wait for that!!  After the match a couple of us decided to "move in" to the library.... to stay there until we had finished our work. Therefore, I left the library at just gone 10pm last night ( about 10 hours after first arriving)! We did have breaks like going to lunch and supper and little walks in between so I wasn't literally in the same room for 10 hours! I managed to achieve a lot in that time so I feel as though it was worth it. This morning I got up to go to the gym and watch the other Semi-Final of the World Cup. I enjoyed seeing some of the match and working out at the same time!  We went to brunch and now I'm back in the library. I have finished my History essay and will now work on French. It is a lovely sunny day here today so I hope to get my work done and get outside later. This evening I will play my flute for a while and attend the Nordic National Evening. As I said, life is busy. This time next week it will be October break and I cannot wait to be in Paris!! Love to all.

Work, play and no sleep

12pm- Good morning everyone!  I am in the library as I have early lunch before TOK. I had a very busy weekend and feel as though I need an extra day off. I went home to see my family, which was lovely, but I felt that as soon as I got home I had to leave. I felt very strange afterwards- going home made me homesick but then I wanted to come back to AC as well. I was exhausted on Saturday night and so just stayed on campus and baked a cake with a couple of friends. I got up quite early on Sunday morning and went to the gym with a friend. After brunch I worked on a History presentation which I will give tomorrow. I  played my flute for a while in the evening which was really nice. Last night was really nice as I talked to some of the people I keep meaning to see but haven't had time. A group of us 2nd year PK girls sat in the dayroom with tea and talked after house meeting. It was so good as we haven't had the chance to do this for some time. This weekend has been very tiring as regards Peer Listener issues but I think I'm managing to make sure I still look after myself.  I have a flute lesson this afternoon and then I am going to work for the rest of the day. It's raining, miserable and grey outiside so I just feel like staying warm and drinking tea! Hope everyone is well.

E.E. deadline

11.30am- Good morning everyone! I'm sorry I haven't written for a while- this week has been particularly busy. We went on an English trip to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the RSC perform Macbeth on Tuesday. I had such a good day! We arrived in Stratford in the early afternoon and so had some time to wander around, shop and eat good food. The performance in the evening was fantastic! The theatre has recently been refurbished and I was very impressed. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the play we've been studying and feel as though I've learnt a lot from the performance. It was also very interesting to see the interpretation of the RSC after reading the play in class and also watching other film versions. I did not agree with everything they did, and thought that some elements could have been improved but this did not detract from the overall experience. It reminded me how much I enjoy doing cultural things like watching plays and going to concerts. One thing I will look forward to after AC is having time to do such things!
    Yes, tomorrow is the Extended Essay deadline. I can't quite believe that it has come around already. It also means that we are approaching the end of the IB and there are so many things associated with that. I am happy with my final draft of my EE. I have really enjoyed the whole process of doing my own historical research into a topic that I find very interesting. I've now learnt so much more about the CND in Wales in the 1980s, which is great as I am a member of CND today.  Sadly, everyone else isn't feeling as calm about their EE's. Some people are very stressed and worried. Others are certain that they will not make the deadline. It is a school imposed deadline and so it is not the end of the world but it still isn't good. I just wish everyone the best and hope we all do the best we can. Tonight is going to be a very long night for many.....
    Our teachers have not allowed for us working on our EEs either. I have French and History presentations to work on, among other things. After codes today I will go to the gym, then to a Peer Listener meeting. After supper I will print my EE and work on French and Economics. I would like to play my flute but I'm not sure if I will get time. Peer Listening has been taking quite a lot of time lately but I feel as though I have the balance right. I sometimes have to simply say that I am busy/ tired and can't "chat" right now!
    Have TOK now then Econ. Love to all.

Sun Sun Sun

3.15pm- Hello everyone!  In order to write this I have had to leave the beautiful sunshine and move inside to the library. The weather has been incredible for the past couple of days as it has been so warm! I can't believe that it is almost October and we are all walking around in short sleeves and flip-flops. I have been on a couple of lovely walks around campus and really appreciate this incredible place! I'll upload a couple of photos at the end of this post.
   Since returning from Camp the Second Years have all been busy working while the First Years had a Diploma Period Conference. There has been a lovely atmosphere on campus and I have really enjoyed this week. I had an EE tutorial this morning, which was great. I now just have to put the finishing touches to it and I'll be ready to hand it in by the deadline on Friday next week. I am going to try to finish it today...!
   I have also submitted my UCAS application for University and have received a confirmation of my application. It all seems so real and exciting now!!  I can't believe that I have actually applied to University!
   If I am to finish my EE I should work on it now! Before I go, here are a couple of photos showing the campus at it's sunny autumnal best:

The trees are turning golden on Main Drive.

 The roses in the Beast Garden were simply gorgeous in the early morning sunshine.

One of the friendly beasts in the Beast Garden....!

Challenge Camp!

5pm- I survived Challenge Camp in one piece! The Second Year was split into two groups and I was on Camp 1. We went on Friday and came back yesterday. We were taken to the Wye Valley and camped in a beautiful campsite in a wooded valley. We all stayed in tents of about 10. There were bathrooms, but they were heated by solar and so there was only cold water. We were split into groups and had to cook for ourselves with the food provided. Each group had a food box and there was more than enough food. The activities we did were mountain biking, canoeing, survival skills training, rock climbing, orienteering and caving. I never thought I would like caving but I actually enjoyed it. I wouldn't do it again however! Camp was an AC Diploma Period and it continues for the First Years all week. The Second Years have time to work and finish their E.E.s. I have been reading outside in the beautiful sunshine this afternoon with a couple of friends. The campus looks amazing in this weather! Am going to go back to PK before supper. Love to all.

AC in one word- Busy!

11.50am- Hello everyone! Yes, life at AC is still very busy. I went to Exeter University Open Day on Saturday and really liked it. Saturday night we celebrated my dormies Birthday - lots of fun and dancing! I worked quite a lot yesterday. I finished my World Lit.s for English (two formal essays for the IB) and gave them in today. That took quite a lot  of time. I started preparing for a French presentation which I have tomorrow and also for a History test which I just had. It was a factual 20 minute test and so the only problem was time! I now have early lunch and then TOK. I have a flute lesson at 2pm this afternoon. After that I am going to go to the gym with one of my dormie's and then work for the rest of the day. I have a Maths test, E. Systems test and French presentation tomorrow. I then have service tomorrow afternoon. It will be my second Computer Club session and I am very excited. It was great last week.  I am going home tomorrow night as I am going to Bristol University open day on Wednesday. That will be my final Uni visit so I am looking forward to it. Am going to read an article by Harold Evans on Rupert Murdoch in today's Guardian now..... Love to all.