Aep - restrospective blog but its about the entire school year - Sayum

 It's the end of the school year already! That went by pretty fast. It still feels a bit like the first term just ended a few fays ago. But I mean I'm not complaining. Summer break is just 2 weeks away! This will be the last blog for grade 9 and I'll be going over everything about this school year that stood out to me. So let's get started!

This was my first year in face to face classes in FIS and I definitly prefer this over the online classes that we had last year. It felt more interactive and fun. Scrabble was also a lot more enjoyable face to face rather than online through lexolous. But then again, I don't have the greatest history with scrabble

The warm up games are some of the most fun parts of aep. And also sometimes some of the worst. (Looking at you hurdle.) We played a variety of different games throughout the year. My favourites are probably contexto, griddle, the easy hurdle, and quordle. Wordle feels too bland after playing all these different variants. I wouldn't really change anything about the warm up games if I could. I enjoy them. ( i didnt finsih)

TILL ANOTHER SEMESTER👋(FINAL BLOG)-Naboni

Hello! We are back with another AEP blog! THE FINAL BLOG!  WE ARE ALREADY IN THE 3RD SEMESTER??? How fast the time even pass???? I just realized it's been almost 10 months since I have been in this beautiful community, FIS✨. 10 months filled with wondrous experiences and moments to add up into the album of memory. Being in FIS and meeting with so many amazing people here has changed my life completely. I can’t believe is going to be one whole semester soon, since I have come to know that many people and become close with most of them. With the school year, the AEP class will soon also come to an end. It’s bittersweet to think of an end. Well if I make a list of ‘ALL THE AMAZING THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO ME THIS SCHOOL YEAR’, joining AEP class would definitely be on that list.

Even by not being one of the major subjects, AEP class has taught me the most out of all the subjects. As English is not my first language, I have always been insecure about my English grammar. No matter how much I tried to learn the structure of a tense or all sorts of verb names, I ended up forgetting them after 1-2 weeks. At some point, I just gave up learning grammar. Now when I joined AEP, I have come to learn with Miss Disa’s influence, that grammar is not the most important thing to be proficient in English. We can start with small things; for instance just by reading children’s articles or playing different word games or blogging! Yet we haven’t totally discarded grammar, we still had various grammar lessons on topics that are needed in day-to-day life, like the use of before, by, until, and conditionals, etc. I really love how Miss Disa conducts all of the classes with her entertaining videos which makes the lessons crystal clear.

At the beginning of the second term, we did a 14- days challenge which I think is one of the best things I have done for myself. On the period of 14 days, we had to make a game plan for the day and do certain easy tasks throughout the day. Those tasks are based on self-improvement and that basically teaches you to set agenda and fulfill it. In the beginning, I thought it would be so hard to get through the challenge. But soon I found out, it is not that difficult to do a series of easy tasks by the end of a day. It was also satisfying and tempting as you put a tick mark beside your do-to list when you finish a task. Even though it was relieving after 14 days to complete the challenge, I created some habits of keeping several of them till now. For example, I have come to sort of adjust my sleep schedule, I try to stay hydrated throughout the day and sometimes find myself doing the exercise snacks. My favorite part about the challenge was doing one kind act a day. It felt awesome to be in need of someone or to make a person happy when I kept track of it. I think the 14-day challenge is a great way for anyone to use for building a habit in the long run of life. 

I mostly love AEP because of its less workload. We never have any exams or quizzes like all the other subjects, we just do some simple seatwork after we finish any grammar lessons. I remember once we were given a presentation to make because Leo managed to confuse Miss DIsa with the sentence ‘Help me with my homework.’ The purpose was to research whether ‘help’ in the sentence is causative or not. Well thanks to Leo, cause the collaborative project was much enjoyable to do. Other than that, on oral days we read some amusing and fun articles from DOGONews ( these are the children’s articles I mentioned about before) and we go one by one reading two lines of the articles and stating one fact from the article after we finish reading it. I have come across many interesting articles while doing oral like octopuses throwing debris at each other, a one-eyed cat becoming Cadbury’s Easter bunny, a 10-pound goldfish, etc. Another of the signature thing for AEP class is playing Scrabble on rainy days. It has always been Boys vs Girls. Sorry to the boys we always end up defeating them still I appreciate their hard work. We start every class with a warm-up word game, which turns the calm class tumultuous as a lot of brainstorming is required.

Well, I guess that covers up all the things I have got to experience during the semester. AEP class has helped me a lot in improving my English and learning new vocabulary and has bought me closer to my classmates. Sometimes I wish I had joined AEP class before, but then I would not be able to get the experience of the rowdy ESL class. I think I am the lucky one who got to experience both of the subjects. Still grateful to Miss Sarah who thought me capable of AEP class and suggested me to join it. All the talented people, MIss DIsa’s cheerful jokes, 10 minutes of hallway walks, warm-up games, easy Mondays, scrabble on rainy days, Teddy and Alice are all the things that define our AEP class. 

This is the end of the blog I guess. But not the end of AEP. Definitely, coming back next semester, with a new chapter. So adios? No. See you later!👋

14 Day Challenge Debrief- Naboni

Keeping track of goals has always been really helpful to me. At the beginning of the third semester, Miss Disa provided us with a 14-day challenge, which was a similar pursuit I do regularly. The challenge involved a game plan for the day, a kind act, a task to complete by the end of the health, and a snippet of healthiness. The plan had to be made consistently for 14 days in the morning at 7 pm, and right after 12 hours at 7 in the evening, we had to give feedback on how the day went. Possessing the misdemeanor of procrastination, for a person like me, the activity is an aid to build up good habits and prepare you for the long run in life. 

Even though I prepare a to-do list of tasks almost every day, laziness strikes me and I fail to fulfill all the tasks by the end of the day. But knowing that my grades will depend upon the way I perform in the challenge and I am not doing it alone, as the whole AEP class is doing it, gave me a boost of motivation and an adamant mindset to finish the task at the end. I would say, the most healthy habit that I made in the span of 14 days is, the habit of drinking water which I bet I haven't done enough throughout my lifetime. From the very first day, I decided to drink at least 7 cups of water a day. After some days I figured out, it happened automatically without me keeping track of it. It has had a huge effect on me as for now, I am still regularly drinking enough water as required. Staying hydrated, not only helps me to stay active but also it has a visible effect on my skin. One thing I wish I could do was to replace coffee with water, but I find it difficult yet to function properly without drinking at least one cup of coffee a day. Well, maybe some other time, in some other challenge tee hee. Also, the daily calisthenics along with making a healthy habit, provided me with a solution of how to tackle laziness. Now whenever I feel unfocused I get out of my study area and try to take a walk or some light exercise for 2- 5 minutes. That helps my mind to again get on track. 

Sleeping early. A huge battle in my life is to fight with insomnia( maybe this has a bit of an exaggeration😝). During the two weeks of 14 days challenge, I actually managed to sleep before 11 every single day! Yes, I was even surprised! The first 3-4 days were all about rummaging through the blanket or the pillow in my bed for some hours until I fell asleep, but then it definitely worked in my favor. Well, I guess I passed that challenge, but I haven't passed my real challenge in life. As for, after that two weeks, I got back into my old ways. I am still trying to gain a proper sleeping schedule and hopefully will be able to succeed one day.

As for the game plan, I mostly kept it on my mental health. I feel like sometimes I forget that keeping sound mental health should also be one of my priorities while I focus on my growth. So, I took advantage of this challenge and decided on a game plan that would help to keep a positive mindset throughout the day. It was hard to keep up with those some of the days but overall I would say, the game plans did show a beneficial effect on my mood all around the 14 days. 

Last but not the least, my favorite of all challenges was to do at least one act of kindness a day.  As I have always been a giver, it was the easiest for me. At first, I was not sure what this would entail, but then I found out that keeping track of kindness is a great way to improve my mood and connect with others. Somedays my kind act was as simple as greeting everyone I meet warmly with a smile or texting a friend to let them know I am there for them. On other days, I helped the people around me with doing chores or helping with my studies, etc. 

Overall, I believe this 14-day challenge is really helpful as it has helped me to build a lot of good habits. I would definitely try it again when I feel the need of making a new habit!

The End is Near- Chloe Lloveras- Blog T3- AEP9

 The end is near. Grade nine is coming to a close and the next chapter in my life awaits. Finals are next week and this is the last blog I’ll be making as a ninth grader and junior. To say that the year flew by so fast is an understatement. It feels like just yesterday when I wrote my first blog, scared for the new struggles I’d face and excited for the fun memories to come in face-to-face classes. 

Sure, it was a bit of a rocky start at first with my social awkwardness and some technological issues, but we got through it together. We did word games together, “Scrabble” together, seatwork together, projects together, and even sat in silence together. It was a familar experience that I’d long forgotten. I guess being in lockdown for two years can do that to a person. 

Of course, I still miss some of the things I used to do online like waking up later for example or being done with school as soon as the clock strikes three. But those are just the little things I’ve come to miss and learned to live without. 

Now, I wake up earlier, go to bed earlier, finish my homework later, and have to schedule my time better. Face-to-face school has made my life go at a faster pace. It’s taught me to account for elements in my surroundings to my daily school life such as: transportation time, traffic, family time, how I’m going to finish my homework with so many deadlines and still have time to relax. Face-to-face school has had many contributing factors helping me get my life together. 

And AEP has been one of those factors. It’s been throwing task after task at me: grammar lessons, seatworks, projects, games, new vocabulary, news articles! It’s been telling me to work harder, to not give up, to be better!

AEP has managed to change me in ways that I didn’t think were possible. For instance, it made me give up pink lemonade for water, a habit of mine I’ve been implementing since second grade! To think that I’m still on my streak of drinking water even today blows my mind. 

AEP has also taught me the power of simplicity like when we were assigned to write a letter to someone we were thankful for. Although this project was quicker and less labor intensive than most that we had, my aunt was over the moon when she received it! Making her happy made me happy. And that just goes to show that thanking a person doesn’t have to be extravagant or so elaborate that you plan months in advance, but even just writing it in a simple letter because “Why not?” can hold just as much power. 

Another thing AEP has also taught me is to listen. Listen to others’ opinions and stories. To work as a team and be effective at the same time. That you endure praises and punishments together. Being online made it hard for me to do this with the endless distractions I’d find at home. But being there actually face-to-face has forced me to come out of my shell and listen intently. 

However, there are some things in my life that still have not changed liked my love for “DOGONews” articles, “Scrabble” and fun word games! I always look forward to doing those every morning. The only thing I’d have to critique about them is that we don’t seem to do enough of it, especially “Scrabble!” I love playing it but we only actually get the opportunity to do it on rainy days. I’d love also to play it every so often even when it’s sunny outside because it’s such a fun experience to have that brings the class together. 

Apart from that though, grammar lessons and seatworks have been sitting well with me. I have no complains about those.

Overall, this year’s AEP classes have really changed my outlook on life this year. Slowly, but surely, I’ve grown to look at things more positively and live healthier. AEP has also taught me the value to appreciate the small things in life and that even by making the smallest effort, it can bring you one step closer to success. And with that, chapter ten of my life begins. 

LEO FINAL BLOG

Hello Blogger and good morning to this wonderfully jocular day! Today is the assignment of our final blog! Hooray! Today, after a beautifully swift round of Contexto (this is a lie), we were told to begin doing our final blog, also known as the blog of the year, also known as try not to forget anything you did blog, also known as try not to remember that one embarrassing thing in your head you did two months ago blog!

Moving on from that humorous introduction (I hope it was), and now that I probably caught your attention, let's move onto the most serious of all serious questions: have we learnt something? Now, multiple choice question, is the answer A? We didn't. B? Had we? Or is the answer C? We did ... but proceeded to forget. If you answered C, that is wrong! The answer is D, that we did! Yay! Fireworks! Fireworks! Celebrations!

So, going over everything that's happened so far, we've done plethora of activities this year from beginning to start, but before that, I want to share a little bit about the genesis of my coming! I was a little boy in the middle of nowhere ... in China, and then suddenly I was like, "I don't want to live in this wretched, lonely, barren place anymore!" (I wasn't, I was very much wanting to, I just want to make it more interesting.) and then I was enrolled into Fountain International School and brought to another wretched place, just make it 10 times hotter (I'm thankful, honestly, because there's no cold season, but still!). Then, as far as I can remember, I was nervous, scared, fearing for my life, but then this divine angel of AEP comes forth as I lay all my burdens to rest!

During the first term, if I can actually remember it well, I began still living in the edge of China, begging my parents that I can go face to face. It was an awful beginning for me, having to constantly go online and pitifully bawl my eyes out at the sight of not being able to go and meet my classmates. It was a pretty grouse-y time, a time full of whiplashes of the word "face-to-face" shredding the back of my brain and slowly moving forward and forward until the brain is completely shredded, flying in the wind. Maybe I never had one in the first place, but sans the weird crying and yelling, I'm glad that I got the chance to go online. Having to do AEP online, it was just listening to the lessons seated upon my bed, listening to everything and everyone do things without me, as I sit in solitude wondering if I was forgotten in the classroom, just staring at the screen until someone calls out my name. (Apparently Chloe had just told me I was). One thing I missed while I was still online was the rain during scrabble days, since the terms after that was all barren of humidity and rainfall, which makes me think that whoever the god of weather is hates me. It would be great to hear the pitter patter of the little raindrops and smell the petrichor while playing scrabble ... and also not be seated with a partner who probably didn't like doing the job either (sorry Sayum!). As for the main lessons, the tenses were pretty simple to learn. I can still recall most of what I had learnt because it got embedded in my head after doing a few assignments, such as present continuous (I'm going to do ...) or future perfect (I will have to do ...). So, that's a good thing. I think the project was pretty good as well, as being assigned the director of the project had allowed me to connect with my classmates.

During the second term, I spent half of it in utter boredom, watching empty vestigial atoms of air float around my empty room since most of my personal functions are gone, moved to a new country, while I haven't been yet shipped to the pearly gates of the Philippines. I just sat there, staring at a tiny, yet blaring screen that hurt my eyes every 20 seconds of just staring ... menacingly. Then, ever-so magically, I just teleport! The day after, I'm seated in class, doing assignments along with the rest of the class! For the first half of doing absolutely nothing in my room without anything but the chipping blue-painted walls and laying on a dreary plain-white mattress that sat on a wooden frame, we did passives (The work was being finished, the place was being cleaned, etc.). Passives were lessons I had had in the past so I was well acquainted with it, but however, I did learn a bit more than just plain old passive, which included different tenses in the active with replacements of passives, and those were a tad bit more challenging, but I liked it nonetheless. I just wished I hadn't been behind the screen all the time like a prisoner in a jail cell. The second half of me actually being there were for causatives (I had him run, He helped me finish, etc.). Those were okay, though I think I had learnt about confusing the teacher with grammar (Sorry Ms. Disa!). But, all jokes aside, I had learnt some new grammatical techniques which I had definitely learned to use in real life day-to-day languages. As for the project, a poem! Yay! I did say I was experienced in it, but never said I was an expert...! (I say I am, but we move on.)

During the third term, which is currently ending, it was packed with some of the better lessons and activities that we have done. Most prominently, we did the 14-day challenge! Hooray! Woo! Celebrations! Applause! But what was the 14-day challenge? Well, the 14-day challenge was just a challenge for 14 days. It was an extraordinary turning point, a change in everyone's lives, that one speck of happiness earned to fulfill your lives! As challenging as it sounds, it was challenging. The main goal given was to break out old, bad habits to make anew. It was a whole list of questions we had to answer for a fortnight, which involved some things such as an act of pure kindness, a change in a deathly diet, or, most importantly, had you finished what you tasked yourself to do in the morning? It was a fun time to count and recall what you've done during the day, and I enjoyed it. Maybe having it while the camping trip happened isn't so bad in retrospect, since I got to answer it in my head before I slept. But anyway, as for the lessons, there were many. For example, we had done conditionals (if, when, whenever ...) and a lesson for when your rent is due (before, by, until ...) and then our project, which is about finding that one tiny little mishap in everyone's daily speech and using it to create a detailed description like those children who correct anyone who mistaken "your" and "you're" every-so often on the internet. I did a poem, since I did say I was experienced! But sadly, I did go a little bit overboard with the editing and lost the premise of the project.

Recalling about some of the activities we did, which weren't lesson-specific but it was part of AEP, there was oral activities in which we go on DOGO News and read out a short, yet super shocking, headline that Ms. Disa personally chooses out for us! In the end, it's usually a short trivia like jeopardy where the one who gets the answer right will get a trillion dollars! Yes, you heard that! Right on the spot. So during the final parts of the oral lesson, we just have a short discussion of facts where each of us brings out an non-aforementioned fact, and if they don't that means they didn't listen and that means we get to read another news article, woo! But we usually just read until our heart's content. Another thing we had often was the games. My personal favorite is word bomb because I naturally type fast, so I just snatch wins every game! It's fun to play because of the adrenaline rush you get as the bomb comes towards you then threatens you by merely just ticking and ticking and ticking and ticking and BOOM! you're gone. I use that adrenaline to pour my heart out into supercalifragilisticexpialidocious but it always goes into vain because only now I realize word bomb has a letter limit which doesn't make lots of sense. But anyway, the other thing we did was Scrabble, and honestly, not my favorite. Despite the fact that I'm a conqueror in word bomb, I lose in scrabble every time. I'm starting to think it may not be me and the game just hates giving me letters that work together or it's my teammates' faults because I'm always grouped with them and losing, then when I play solo I'm second overall (sorry Sayum and Janek, but it's true!). Moving on, we did morning word exercises everyday; my personal favorite? Hurdle! The others are fairly easy to do, except Contexto because that game is rigged, and bore me since we usually finish them quickly. Hurdle is the only one I actually feel like challenges me as we have to go and make notes and think and all that stuff while some of us are probably screaming out a word in spite of the game.

To conclude, maybe if I had joined earlier during the pandemic, I think I would've been killed during the middle of it, since I couldn't move around for such a long time. I mean, having to wake up, go to sleep, wake up, sleep again, then brush my teeth for lunch and sleep again, then wake up, then sleep for another 3 or 4 hours, then shower, then sleep, then sleep ... and sleep. Though, the thought of it sounds very, very pleasing, the reality of it only gets spoiled when you account for the duration of it's entirety. For 6 months, there I was, sleeping and waking and sleeping and waking and magically going outside into the world, but apparently, it's a dream, and then I wake and sleep and wake and sleep and ... it just becomes a completely endless and quotidian cycle of the waking and sleeping and ... yeah. It only gets attenuated as you realize time is fleeting, and soon enough you'll be present in modern day society, with all the traffic, people, papers, lots and lots of papers, hand-worked projects, and a lot more which you had reminisced in the dissuasion of the virtual life. My advice for next year, don't go online! Some better advice, meh ... there's not much to say other than the year was pretty great, and I had enjoyed throughout. I am completely content with the flow of the three terms, and I think the extra additions such as pre-class activities and oral make school life surmountable. Though, I definitely will miss being the cynosure of the classroom when I can sit still, look pretty on Ms. Disa's phone.

Janek-AEP9-BLOG #2 - See ya next time aep :DD

This is my final blog post for the school year 2022-2023, and the odd thing is that I'm at a loss for words. Or, has everything been said? Even though this year has been incredibly delightful and amusing, it has led me to make this declaration. This time, I believe that the subject and teachers have given me so much astonishment and excitement that it is exhausting for me to explain all of its deep details. To have to say and dictate it in all its repetitive grandeur truly irritates me, but I wouldn't use that as an excuse to leave this blog; instead, it would concentrate on what I loved and didn't enjoy about AEP.

The years gone by quick and many things has happened, but not soo much has changed. The everyday warmup has been ongoing and never stopped its streak from the first term. Each morning either has us enjoying ourselves as we begin to play around with the game, not totally aiming for the victory; Or going all out just to get the game over with. It's an effective exercise that not only wakes me, but leaves an aching pain on the back of my head for the rest of the day. The many games that we have come across throughout the year will forever be in our hearts and nightmares, most especially hurdle :D! Moving on, the lessons. Oh how I despise lessons.

We all know that lessons throughout each term are a student's biggest enemy. Miss makes an effort to include films, eye-catching graphics, and fantastic background music to fully engage us, which it succeeds in doing. But are there really that many things to say about lessons? Lessons are the most repulsive thing known to man, to have little honesty in my words. Don't even get me started on activities and after-school assignments; they are abhorrent. If I were still here, I just hope that Miss constructed her lessons in this fashion, or else I never would have enrolled in AEP in the first place.  Speaking of other activities, we certainly have games and oral communication.

From term one through term three, the oral exams and games are the ones that cause us the least stress in class—or do they? Our typical oral leads us to DOGO News, a site we adore for its witty and unique news from throughout the world, which makes us thrilled and gives us a terrific recitation grade!!! This isn't all that it's known for, though, as Miss has recently added a segment of the recitation where she asks the class to recall specific important details from the news and then has us tell her about them. It's terrible; every time it gets close to my turn, I start to get butterflies in my stomach. Many times, me and the class had to turn to redundant or pointless information, but we moved on. Oral in all its greatness comes horrible times where our amnesia strikes with agonizing annoyance of how frustrating a feat can be! But what is more frightening than something slipping from your mind is the idea of a losing streak in scrabble.

There is nothing to say about scrabble; it is a global endeavor that us boys absolutely loathe. For us, defeat is equivalent to losing several million dollars on a game show. The girls have demonstrated outstanding talent in their ability to create words and their understanding of game mechanics, among other things. It's amazing to watch the girls play with such poise and skill while the lads freeze and start thinking about what's for lunch instead of looking for a new word. The word brainfart isn't anywhere close to capturing the intensity of how challenging it is to come up with new words without consulting a dictionary, but we still found the game to be delightful in all senses.

So, when I say the year has been fantastic, I mean it. I can't help but reflect on what we accomplished since term 1 and how we appear today. Even now, I find it strange to look back at previous years and see how things have changed. Although there isn't much to say about it, I can only really declare that it was memorable and that I am already looking forward to next year's AEP.