When I think of my first year at Parkwood, hundreds of thoughts and images flash through my mind. The storm on the day of the scholarship exam..... the exam itself ..... the interview .... the joy of getting the letter of acceptance... the first two weeks of trauma.... and many others.
This last year has been the most exciting and the most interesting time of my life. I can still clearly recollect all the incidents and the crazy things we did in school. It all started when my mother told me about her experiences in a boarding school. Then I started dreaming about going to one myself. So, when I heard about the scholarship exam which was to be held in PSI, I decided to give it a try. I still remember the drive there in the midst of a horrible storm with the car swaying from side to side! A couple of weeks later when I heard that I had been accepted, I was over the moon!
I arrived at school on the 18th of June. I knew some of the teachers already, as I had attended two summer camps. The first two weeks were traumatizing, but after that, I settled down well.
In July, my cousins came from Canada. One of them, Bilal, stayed at school for a week. He made many friends and all of us did many crazy things together.
The tennis tournament held in September was very exciting, and it was a very special moment for me when I actually won it - it was the first time I had ever won the final! The cheers, the hugs... everyone in Hope House went a little for a while.
Later in the term, there was an IGCSE teacher training course. Many teachers from all over south India came to attend the course. As a result, all of us were on the best behaviour.
There are many beehives in the school. During Ramazan, the bees went crazy and stung half the people in the school, including students and teachers. I was among the first ones to be stung.
Then November came, bringing the exams along with it. We were all happy when December 4th arrived, as it was the start of the Christmas vacation.
When we returned in January, the teachers found to their pleasant surprise, that there was a mass improvement in our class 8 IG. That was real boost for all of us.
There were a number of tournaments in the second term. The football league was won by Hope House. I was the goalkeeper and I can still remember the way our team celebrated on the field and in the dormitory afterwards.
To be selected as one of the comperes for the Annual Day was a real dream come true. At least, that's what I thought at the beginning. After a few hundred rehearsals, I wasn't so sure!! Anyway it finally turned out to be quite a success.
In March the pressure of the exams started. I was nervous. as I hadn't done well in the half-yearlies. Fortunately, everything went well this time, and we all left happily for the summer vactions on the 16th of April.
This year at Parkwood was a challenging and fun-filled one for me. |
