Graduation is Tomorrow

Tomorrow is graduation and the end for another cohort. It is always sad to see your students depart but at the same time you are happy for them as they move into an exciting new future. I have watched this happen with both Jaime and Jordan and it is a tremendous growth opportunity for them as they head off to University. It is always a little scary for weparents but in the end the results are awesome.

Friday is what we call an 'Open day', kind of an open house when new parents and students come to see us and ask, 'Why should I send my precious child to you?' It is a good question and the simple answer is that they will grow more with us than competing programs because the Ontario educational system is unique. We educate the whole child.

Shelley and I will bring our luggage to work on Friday as the limo will pick us up and take us directly to the airport and then on to Hong Kong where we overnight.

TTYL,

Jim

Exams are Done and Marks are in!

It is Sunday and I am in at work making sure all the Science and Mathematics are into the student administration system. We have our promotion meetings tomorrow and then we start the final preparations for graduation which occurs on Thursday. On Friday we have a final recruitment day and we fly back to Canada that same night. I think we arrive on the Saturday because we gain a day back.

Sunday will be a recovery day from the flight and I have a luncheon date at the Prescott with the chimps plus some of the other boys from work. It should be fun as I have not had a meatball sandwich and a quart of beer since the last time I was home in July.

Jordan is supposed to pick Shelley and I up at the airport and bring us a winter jacket. So far, from what I have heard, Ottawa has only a dusting of snow. We overnight in Hong Kong and then fly through Detroit to Ottawa. The flight is much different this time as we are paying for it ourselves and saving our free flights for the new year.

Jaime apparently arrives back in Ottawa the day after we arrive.  No hugs for her :-)

TTYL,

Jim

Last Class

I taught my last class today. I have lots of marking to do over the next 2 weeks. I also am attending a 'Teaching Computer Science' conference in Phukett Thailand. I fly out this Sunday and return on late Tuesday night. Taylors pays the whole shot. Every teacher gets one conference a year, all expenses paid!  Just like the school boards back in Canada :-)

Shelley and I have still not decided if we are staying on past June. I have an interesting job offer coming up, not much different than my past job as Coordinator of Learning Technologies.

TTYL,

Jim

After Today - 5 More Classes

The CPT's have come and gone, except for marking of the code and debriefing the programing teams. All in all, they were pretty good, with some of course exceptional. 

I now have 4 days of power point presentations of current computer science topics.  These presentations are very quick, no longer than 5 minutes and include a research paper of 3-5 pages of their information.

I then have 2 days of review on Monday and Tuesday and then exams start on next Wednesday. My exam is on the last day, a week later on the Friday. I have one day to mark and the results must be in on the Saturday. Shelley also has her exam on the last day, lucky us.

Our flights are booked are we are looking forward to being home for Christams in the Great White North. I sure hope our kids meet us at the airport with winter jackets :-)

TTYL,

Jim

10 Days to Go

There are now only 10  days of classes left. My first 3 groups of students presented their Game CPT's today and they were all good but one was awesome, the best yet, in 4 semesters of projects. This particular group also did not ask for any help in creating their game. They also appear to be the 3 smartest students in my class, judging by their marks to date.  If the other projects turn out this well I will be very happy.

Shelley and I went into KL yesterday and had the Traders buffet which was excellent and very inexpensive at 100 ringgits for the 2 of us. We then walked over to the Petronas Towers' mall and visited our favourite bookstore where we both bought some fiction books. We then had a coffee and tea at Coffee Bean and headed home to read for the night. I went for a quick workout before turning in for the night.

Graduation is just around the corner and then we will, as the song goes, 'Be Home for Christmas'.

TTYL,

Jim

New Coffee House

There is a new coffee house we expats frequent quite often. A recent graduate of Taylors' hospitality and tourism program has opened it. It features an art deco decor right from South Miami Beach. He plays jazz music and Frank Sinatra tunes mostly. He must have visited or studied restaurants or hotels in Miami because it is a great reproduction. He also makes the most amazing cappucinos (hope I spelled that right), much better than we had during our European Odyssey of 37 days.

I spent all afternoon in the lab helping my students and other students complete their games CPT. They are always so thankful of any help you give them. Canadian students could learn a lot from these kids. I did a quick survey to determine if these kids were genxers or genyers. By their age they should be genY but they have the value system of genX instead. They use technology and multi-task like genY but laughed so hard when I told them everyone on the haockey team got a trophy for particpating. They thought only the best player on the winning team should get a trophy. They certainly are not part of the me generation.

TTYL,

Jim

12 Days of Classes Remaining

This semester is just blowing by. My game CPT's are due this Friday and presentations start next week. The final week the students present their research papers on current Computer Science topics. They do this via power point.

The game projects are coming along nicely but I anticipate quite a few bugs in their final effort. Some students are taking advantage of teh extra lab time, but many are not. It are the students that should be taking advantage of the lab time who are not coming, but that is usually the case.

Shelley and I are booked for home, leaving on Dec. 17th and arriving in Ottawa on the 18th. We fly back to Malaysia on the 5th of January which gives us 3 full weeks at home. We look forward to visiting everyone over the Christmas break.

TTYL,

Jim