#Daniel is LUCKILY not in McLaren anymore

[tooxmanyxships]

Ummmm....

McLaren?????

#4????

What in Dando's name is going on?

[damndaehyung]

the big moments

himym au part 1 included: daniel,tara,mark, tyler, m, jane, minah, sungjae mentioned : oliver, ella, milo, astrid, minjae

2033

To the surprise of many Daniel Choi was a punctual guy, if he was given at least 3 hours notice he would arrive with time to spare. Right now all he could think as he walked into McLaren’s pub, a place that housed some of his fondest memories, was he wished he came late or better yet didn’t come at all because the only two people currently sat at the gang’s booth was Tara Lee and her husband Mark. He briefly contemplated turning around and sprinting down the busy New York street but stopped when Mark called out his name waving him over.

Damn it, Yang.

Swallowing his fear and admittedly his pride he walked over to the booth. It was one thing to deal with Tara and Mark, the disgustingly in love couple with their evil adorable daughter. The poster children for long-distance couples who managed to make it work, Tara a New York-based novelist, her popular young adult series was still in the New York’s Best Seller list despite been released 5 years ago and Mark, a kpop superstar turned music juggernaut, somehow despite their various engagements and time spent apart they couple never wavered. Unlike Daniel’s own marriage which fell apart at the first sign of distance - something, he isn’t bitter about at all, thank you very much.

The worst thing about being stuck with Tara and Mark was that he was stuck with his ex-sister-in-law and her husband who put in any awkward situations turned into a blubbering mess who spilled more words than a dictionary. At this point, Daniel would rather be stuck with his ex-husband then deal with Tara’s knowing eyes and Mark’s idle chit chat.

“A rare Choi spotting in New York? Quick Tara go buy a lotto ticket miracles are happening,” Mark joked as he slid into the seat across from them.

“Rare? His faces on buses Mark,” Tara said with a playful eye roll.

“But a live Daniel Choi in the wilderness? How much did Sungjae pay you to show up?” Mark continued the joke as Daniel waved at the bartender signalling for his usual, Lou who apparently was ageless and still worked here nodded.

“Don’t worry about it Mark you’d never be able to afford me,” Daniel laughed. “But on a serious note where is everyone? Is my watch way too fast or something?” He said looking at his watch with a frown. He was pretty sure it was set correctly and the text said McLaren’s at quarter to two, it was currently twenty to two.

“Interesting choice of wrist attire,” Tara commented. Daniel flushed, the watch was a birthday gift from Tyler of course. If anyone asked he’d feign naivety claiming he just put it on but the truth was he almost always wore it. “And I can’t speak on everyone but Ty’s dropping Oli off at our mothers,” Tara said.

Normally the mere mention of his former mother in law would make Daniel grimace but Tara had said the magic word. Oli. Despite being his ex-husband’s love child with some random woman he did not remember the name of Oliver Lee was a perfect baby who somehow managed to carve out his own space in Daniel’s heart.

  “It’s a shame we are meeting here,” Daniel said just as Lou decided to bring his drink over, slamming the glass down with a glare. “BECAUSE CHILDREN AREN'T ALLOWED IN HERE GEEZ!” he yelled out trying to make sure at least his favourite bartender didn’t hate him.

“Do my eyes deceive me or is the same guy who said Milo looked like a shrivelled up prune when he was born now upset about a four-year-old not being here?” Mark said, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you were strictly anti-children,” he teased.

“I am not anti-children, I am not a monster -” Daniel huffed. “I just not particularly child-orientated and don’t bring that up again, Jane, wouldn’t talk to me for a month and when she did talk to me, the things she said,” Daniel paused to shudder. “I couldn’t sleep for months Yang, months!”

“Yeah, most people don’t like it when you insult their children, weird huh?” Tara laughed. “But no Oli won’t be joining us,” Tara said tilting her head. “You know it’s odd how the only time we see you is when it’s related to Oliver, you never came to any of Ella’s birthday parties? Are we all not friends?” Tara asked, taking a sip out of her wine.

Daniel bit his tongue, Daniel wouldn’t know if he would classify them all as friends, not anymore, after the divorce Daniel pretty much removed himself from the group and in Tara’s case after Tyler and himself announced that they were getting divorced Tara, the protective sister, didn’t hold back on what she thought of Daniel. “Ella’s birthday just happens to fall in a busy month,” he said shrugging. “Plus she has so many aunts and uncles my presence is hardly necessary.”

“I’d believe you if you actually showed up for Milo’s or Charlie’s or Astrid’s or Minjae’s -” Mark listed as Tara nodded victoriously beside him. God, he hated loved couples who were always on the same side. “I am beginning to think you might be playing favourites.”

“I have favourites? Never,” Daniel said with an eye roll. “Anyway, what have you two been up to? You know apart from picking on me,” he said.

“But it’s our favourite habit next to picking on Tyler,” Mark said with a laugh. “But Nah I’ve just been working on some new music, this one and her mini-me,” he bumping Tara lightly, “are trying to get me to write a children’s book but i am pretty sure there is only one novelist in this family,” he grinned.

“And I keep telling him that he is being silly,” Tara said with her own eye roll. “I am working on a new novel, i am trying my hand at a crime novel… my google searches have never looked more questionable,” she laughed.

“Don’t worry i am sure it still looks more normal than Tyler’s,” Daniel joked before realizing what he had just said. “I mean -” he trailed, it had just come so natural to him that he forgot he wasn’t supposed to say things like that anymore.

“Maybe in the old days but i am pretty sure his searches are related to how to raise Oli, that suits and Gucci, he has got boring in his old age,” Tara said with an eye roll. “Speaking of the old man,” she said nodding to the entry where Tyler and Jane and M were walking in.

“You were talking about me, I can tell,” Tyler said as they came over to the booth squeezing into the booth next to her. Tara grinned at him, zipping her lips. Tyler glared at her before he turned his attention to Mark. “Yang,” he said nodding before turning to Daniel. “Oh hey Daniel,” he said awkwardly, “I didn’t know you were coming,” he said smoothing out his suit. “How have you been?” he asked.

Daniel opened his mouth to open but was stopped by Jane. “No no we are not just glossing over the fact Daniel showed up,” she said as she slid into the booth beside him, “Squeeze over,” she said poking his side, Daniel sighed moving so he was effectively right up against the wall so M could get into the booth.

“Tara and Mark have gone over that in great detail,” Daniel said. “So maybe we could -”

“Oh hell no,” Jane scoffed. “Mark and Tara might have had their fun but we still have at least five shots to take at you before we can move on,” she said. “What do you think Supreme Fudge?” she asked, nudging M who stroked his chin.

“Hmm well considering he missed our anniversary dinner five seems fair,” he said. Daniel took another long sip of his drink. Showing up to group hangouts were not really for Daniel anymore, all of them were happy and living their best lives, they had their dream jobs, 6 out of the 7 were happily married and all of them had children, single childless Daniel didn’t really fit in anymore

“You might as well wait for Sungjae and Minah to show up so you can all get it over with together,” Daniel spoke. “Speaking of which does anyone know what this is about? Minah’s not pregnant again surely? They just had Minjae -”

“He is two,” M pointed out.

“And no i don’t think so, Minah would have told me by now,” Jane said.

“Maybe they are moving?” Tara suggested.

“Away from New York? After they just enrolled Astrid and Minjae into Constance’s and St Jude’s respectively - i don’t think so,” Tyler said. “Do you know how hard it is, luckily i am a legacy so Oli just gets in like that,” he said with a click.

“You don’t think they are…. You know getting the D word?” M all but whispered.

“Death?” Daniel said, frowning. “I am somehow don’t think they would be planning -”

“He meant divorce,” Mark said. ‘And i doubt it -”

“We could always just ask Minah who is here by herself,” Jane started her voice dropping when she spotted her best friend on her own. The other’s all shared a look as well. Daniel knew Sungjae and Minah were a happily married couple but surely here showing up on her own wasn’t a big deal, maybe she had gone shopping or he was with their children?

“You are all here,” Minah said surprised. “Good, that’s great, really great, great,” she said, nodding sound like she was trying to convince herself.

“Say it one more time and we might believe you,” Tara joked. It was an inside the group shared but Minah just smiled weakly as she dragged a chair over. “Okay,” Tara said uncomfortably. “ is everything -” she started to say as Minah shook her head.

“Please just let me speak,” Minah said, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply before exhaling. “Okay in about 5 minutes Sungjae will be here so when he gets here I would appreciate it if you could all pretend we haven’t already had this conversation -” she said. No one said anything but M did make a noise of protest. “RIght where to start?” she asked herself. “Well recently I’ve been feeling unwell -”

“Oh my god, you are pregnant?” Tyler said. “How did Daniel of all pick it? No offence just -”

“No, i am not pregnant,” Minah cut him off, “I really wish i was or i could be again but no I am just sick,” she said her voice cracking as she spoke. It was like that one statement had just sucked the life out of the room. Everyone stared at Minah waiting for her to continue, beside him Jane was shaking her head muttering no.

“It’s just a flu right Minah,” Jane asked, Daniel had to applaud her dedication to ignoring reality. Minah silence was a loud enough answer for Jane to start sobbing, M pulled her close as Daniel patted her back lightly.

“How bad - “ Mark started to ask but stopped when Minah shook her head.

“And you can’t fight it?” Tyler asked. “Between us all, we can find the best doctors in New York”

“In the world,” Tara added.

“Guys -” She started to speak.

“It’s too late,” Daniel finished for her. Minah looked at him perhaps surprised he guessed it.

“No, it’s not,” Jane snapped. “You and Tyler might be fine with giving up on things when it gets rough but Minah is going to -” she started before looking at Minah who was looking at her sadly. “I can’t be here right now - I need to,” she said standing up pushing past M and running into the women’s bathroom.

“I should -” Tara said, getting up to follow her.

“No let her be,” M said looking at the bathroom door frowning. “I think she just needs to -” he stopped because he didn’t really know what to say. What could you say when someone just found out her best friend was dying.

“Why are we here Minah?” Tara asked as she sat back down. “And why isn’t Sungjae here? Please tell me he knows you can’t keep this from him,” Tara said.

“He knows, “ Minah said. “I know we have our moments when it comes to communication but i would never keep something like this from him,” she said. “I called you here because I want you to promise me to look after them, Astrid, Minjae and especially Sungjae - he is going to need you more than ever,” she said.

“You don’t need us to promise that,” M said. “We would have done it regardless,” he said to Minah reaching out and grabbing her hand. “We will be here for both of you, whatever you need,” he said. A chorus of yeahs,i agrees and of course followed. Daniel nodded but said nothing, he wasn’t sure what help he could offer here, M and Jane were the best friends, Tara and Mark were the reliable ones, hell even Tyler could contribute more but Daniel was an ex-boyfriend of her husband and a person who never really spent time with her.

“So I take it you told them,” Sungjae said as he walked over. Nobody had realized he had even shown up. Minah nodded standing up and getting pulled into a hug. Soon everyone else was up pulling each other into hugs and giving words of assurance to the couple, even Jane had returned face blotchy and eyes red. Daniel stood awkwardly to the side of the group wishing he could go back in time and stop himself from coming. He promised he’d be here for the big things but he wasn’t ready for that.

[holidcy]

i am actually embarrassed to say how long this intro too me to write out ? so im not gonna say it ! it’s not like it took be 3 hours or anything 👀 . and for what ? idk because this intro is a mess . but anyways ... i’m mia , i’m a whole twenty years old which really just feels like a glorified teenager but whatever , we’re not here to talk about that right now . we’re here to talk about my lil baby holly . guys she is literally the sweetest human ever ? but also ? to sensitive for her own good and really the good of those around her ? very happy feet energy coming form this girl . but without further ado , below you can read up on holly & if you wanna plot give this a like . also my discord is 𝖒𝖌𝖐'𝖘 𝖜𝖍𝖔𝖗𝖊#9789 if you wanna plot there or just generally chat !

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐇

full name: holiday elena addams nickname: holly ( she’s basically turned this into her name , not one really calls her holiday ) , holls , elle ( by her parents ) birthday: june 3rd birthplace: chicago , illinois hometown: highland park , illinois ( although the family home was located in highland park her parents would in chicago and holly even attended private school in chicago ) residence: new york city , new york nationality: american ( est. 1999 through birth )  ethnicity: english ( maternal & paternal , 50% ) , polish ( maternal , 25% ) , spanish ( paternal , 25% ) religion: catholicism  orientation: heterflexible ( she claims being straight but in all actually she’s not closed off to anything despite not having much experience outside the opposite gender ) languages spoken: english ( fluent , first language ) , spanish ( fluent , second language ) , polish ( conversation , third language ) , mandarin  ( conversational , fourth language ) . father: leandro oliver addams  ( 49 years old )  was born & raised in chicago , illinois by a politician / businessman & a philanthropist . leandro went on to take a little bit from both of his parents as he is a highly esteemed business tycoon as well as being regarded as one of the most charitable men in the world .  ( relationship:  there has never been a day that has gone by where the two didn’t get along . if there is anyone in this world who gets holly it is her father . truly , daddy’s little girl . the two of them are as thick as thieves . ) mother : susanna renee addams ( nee daniels ) ( 48 years old ) was born & raised in long island , new york . the daughter of a hedge fund investor & a stay at home mother . susanna grew to be an amazing cosmetologist and which the help of her father’s amazing business mind she was able to start up a salon in new york city . she gained the most devoted clientele , loving every second of her work . she took a break for almost a decade before deciding to return to the beauty industry . today she has salons across the globe in chicago , los angeles , toronto , london , and new york city .  ( relationship: susanna often had to play bad cop when it came to parenting and because of this the two butted heads quite often whilst holly was growing up . despite this , her mom is her role model and the two have always had a friendship that underlined their mother - daughter relationship .  ) social class: upper education: attending new york university ( s. 2018 ) she spent her first year of university at usc , she’s majored in creative writing at both universities  career: author ( her book is a coming of age mystery called privilege that she’s recently admitted to writing the full book during a coke binge ) , internet personality , philanthropist , socialite , and student  notoriety: being apart of the prominent addams family , amassing over 32m followers on all social media platforms , publishing a new york times best selling book at the age of seventeen . weight: 120lbs height: 5′5″ hair color: brown ( with blonde highlights ) eye color: brown positive traits: benevolent, high spirited , extroverted , romantic , honest , affectionate , intelligent , friendly , ambitious , passionate , approachable , charming  negative traits: immature , vain , garrulous , critical , sensitive , stubborn , inattentive , naive , sarcastic , obsessive , insecure , impractical , irritable likes: anything strawberry flavored , flowers , driving fast , pink , watching the first snow fall , birthday parties , lips gloss , netflix , sunkissed skin , dogs , peanut butter , agatha christie , redecorating , driving with the windows down , long plane rides , denim jackets , taco bell , orange juice , makeup , sports , female empowerment , online shopping , fresh berries , roller skating , photography , writing , tea dislikes: liars , driving in the snow , coffee , having no siblings , deep water , bad drivers , body shaming , pizza , hateful people , being rushed , cuss words , repetition , disloyalty , being alone ,  horror movies , dentists , silence , cheap perfume , criticism , the unknown , traffic , wine , poptarts ,  small spaces ,  hobbies: reading with a hot cup of tea , video editing in the back of a car , smoking before bed to help fall asleep , going out to eat with her parents , napping , hiding alcohol in her bedroom , painting alternate universe cartoons , attending big soirees , stashing drugs in jewelry boxes , sleepovers with her closest friends , talking the dogs on walks , early morning instagram lives , old disney marathons , scribbling in a notebook while snuggled up in bed  chara inspo: olivia baker ( all american ) , leila faisal ( all american ) , tan france ( queer eye ) , elena gilbert ( the vampire diaries ) , dorothy gale ( wizard of oz ) , lucy pevensie ( chronicles of narnia ) , lara jean ( to all the boys i loved before ) , elle woods ( legally blonde ) , jeffree star , jenny humphrey ( gossip girl ) , cassie howard ( euphoria ) fashion inspo: vsco girls , bella hadid , megan markle , rihanna , selena gomez , perrie edwards , emma watson aesthetics: ghostly sounding music playing as background music to a pen to paper , eyes widened at the chance to do something positive , the annoying beg for approval , infectious energy , a pout so crippling , the swell of regret as you sneak a bottle into your bedroom , tanned skin tousling with silk sheets , big eyes threatening to shed a tear , the zip of a pink mclaren 

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐄𝐑𝐀

holly is the only child to leandro and susanna addams ( the addams family 👀 ) . she was born with not just a silver spoon but the silver spoon . the addams are a prominent american family , that are regarded as one of the leading industrialist during the gilded age . in short her families been billionaire rich for a long time and are known as one of the families to bring wealth to the city of chicago . she was incredibly spoiled growin gup as you would assume but by the grace of her parents teachings she was anything but a brat . she had being filthy rich and being an only child working against her and she still managed to be the most giving and down to earth child . from a young age holly would give her toys to other kids during play dates & ask her parents if she could donate the things she didn’t use anymore to the less fortunate . 

although her father had a busying career as he took over the family company just a year before holly was born , but in spite of that he always made time for his family . luckily her mother had stepped away from her career soon after meeting holly’s father , so she was able to be a stay at home mom and be there for every important moment of holly’s life . by the way , susanna was straight of of a real housewives show only just an overall better person ? they had dinner together as a family every night , threw parties at the house for every big moment in holly’s life . everything from birthdays , graduations , academic honors , to becoming captain of the cheerleading team and everything in between warranted a celebration in the eyes of susanna and leandro . 

she grew up extremely sheltered , mostly because her parents wanted to keep their little girl well their little girl . they didn’t want the world to taint her . she went to church every sunday and even wednesday nights , if she wanted to have a sleepover it was always at the addams household , and her parents met the parent/s of every kid she befriended growing up . 

despite their attempts her parents couldn’t shield her from one thing . getting her heart broken and at sixteen she experience her first bout of heart break . the boy she’d falling head over heels for just stopped talking to her one day , with no rhythm or reason he moved on to another girl with a blink of an eye . she couldn’t understand why ( pst ? it was because she slept with him and that was all he wanted to begin with ) someone could be so cruel an play with someones heart like that . it was her first experience of how the world could really work and in all honesty , holly couldn’t handle it . she got her hands on her parents bar room in the house and would literally drink every night before bed so she could sleep . 

this soon turned into her going to parties , promising her parents "i just want to hang out with my friend , i wont touch any alcohol” and her promise was always kept , she didn’t touch alcohol at these parties instead she smoke weed and on the chance one of her friends had it on them she’d do a line . 

this double life , if you would , didn’t lead to any real issues , at least not while she was in highschool . she still graduated top of her class  and even got accepted into her dream school university of southern california .  it wasn’t until she was a semester deep in usc that she realized she was losing control over her life . maybe it was a mix of her derailing mental state , being separated from her parents , and the los angeles social make up . whatever it was holly wasn’t too far gone to see she needed help . 

instead of going back to school the following semester holly checked herself into rehab . her parents freaked out , unaware their daughter had touched a substance a day in her life . it was a long process and took alot of owning up for her own wrong doings but after a couple months she checked out of rehab and flew out to her parents .

she had decided upon leaving rehab that her best bet directly after getting out would be to surround herself with people who loved her . during her short stint in california her parents had made the temporary move to new york city so that her mom could focus on the salon in the city , so holly transferred to new york university to continue her studies and be around her parents .

she lives under their roof , despite being more than self efficient thanks to her multiple branches of income including her trust fund but she figures there is only so much more time before they leave to go back to chicago that the more time she spends with them the better off she’ll be when they leave the city . speaking of , she doesn’t know her parents will be leaving the city in the next few months . on a positive note they plan on paying the rent in the apartment they live in for her until she finds somewhere she likes better .   

today , holly is a sober ( she smokes weed here and there but it’s not a addictive so it fine 🙄 ) and happy . although due to how sensitive the girl is anything could make her snap , she’s incredibly fragile guys . like capable of having a mental break at any moment but like we ignore it because if we bring it up it’ll happen . wooo . 

not so fun fact ? when she has an off day she’ll literally sit in her room holding either a bottle she had hidden in her walk in closet or stares at the coke she keeps in her jewelry box . she hasn’t used any of it but she tells herself its there as a reminder when really it’s a crutch for if she ever needs it again , she has easy access .

secret time ? she pushed her ex boyfriend of a balcony while she was drunk . this happened before she went to rehab ... perhaps you could say it was what prompted her to realized her crazy ass needed to go to rehab . ummm , it’s not acceptable and she knows this but one thing we all need to know about holly is that holly + substances + being upset = toxic shit that is always the equation and there is never another answer to it . 

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

a girl squad or just a squad in general really , give my baby her lil group of people please

maybe a fellow chicago native ? who she dated in highscool and you know is the one who dropped her like a hot potato after she slept with him

ex hook ups 

frenemies but more like a blair & lil j circa season 1 situation ? 

someone who just doesn’t like her , but like she does everything she can think of to get them to like her 

an unrequited ting were he’s leading her one so he can sleep with her ?

or maybe someone has a crush on holly but she just doens’t have the heart to tell them she’s not interested so now here she is kissing and OMG YUP NOW SHES SLEEPING W THEM ...

someone she races ? she loves cars especially fast ones

a we hang out and watch/obsess over sports but the whole time i can’t help but think about how hot you are kinda vibe ?

someone who is v bad for her and they know it but she doesn’t care because she like them so much & he likes her too but knows he’ll hurt her ?!

someone who sees that she might be teetering on falling off the wagon ( maybe they were over her place and saw the stash of substances all over her room ), maybe they’re trying to get her to stop smoking weed bc they feel like for her that’s a huge gateway  

smoking buddies where they literally just hot box cars together and munch on taco bell talking about why sound vibrates & shit

someone who she used to party with & be wild with ( could be from chi or nyc because she visited alot as a kid ) and now they feel like she’s a lame bc she’s sober

she’s a good influence on them ? they’re a bad influence on her ? ride or dies ? partners in crime ? only friends when there is a substance involved ? sugar baby vibes ? unlikely friends ? flings ? crush ? friends with benefits ? everytime they are around one another its a fight ? someone she lets crash at her parents place sometimes ? someone she’s backstabbed but like she got tricked into doing it ? anything fluffy , anything angsty ... reall just anything you got , i’ll take ! 

[epacer]

Crawford Connection

Tamba Fallah, photographed on June 20, 2017, is a former New Arrival Center student at Crawford High School in San Diego. The Liberian native moved to San Diego as a refugee in 2009

San Diego Unified School District: ‘It’s the entire community looking after these kids.’

On Tamba Fallah’s first day at San Diego’s Crawford High School in 2009, the 15-year-old Liberian native was very confused.

What were his new teachers saying?

Where was he supposed to go for lunch?

How would he ask to use the restroom?

And then, there was the worst possible scenario for the teenager who had just arrived to the U.S. as a refugee: What if he embarrassed himself in front of his new American classmates?

Luckily, Fallah said, he soon discovered he wasn’t alone. His peers — some refugees, others immigrants — were also new to the U.S.

They would learn English together.

“That pumped me up and pushed me forward to learn,” he said, recalling his time in a class just for newcomers.

It would take Fallah a year before he was ready to enroll in classes with his American-born peers. But when he finally did, he had the English skills and the confidence to succeed, Fallah said. In 2014, he donned a blue cap and gown and walked across the stage to receive his high school diploma.

The newcomer class teachers “built me up from scratch,” said Fallah, who now works for the state maintaining parks and nature trails and has taken courses at a community college in auto repair. “I don’t think I would be where I’m at today without them being in my life.”

But Fallah, who has since called those teachers for help with his college coursework, is worried that new immigrant and refugee students at Crawford won’t have the same support. That’s because the San Diego Unified School District shuttered its newcomer program — including the Crawford class — at the end of the 2015-16 school year.

San Diego Unified said it wants to provide newcomer students with greater access to a college-prep curriculum. Beginning last school year, new immigrant and refugee students started spending portions of the day in classes with non-newcomer peers, putting them on a faster track to earn the credits necessary to graduate.

Advocates for the refugee community have criticized the change, faulting district officials for having unrealistic expectations for students with gaps in their education. How can refugee students succeed in high school-level classes, critics have questioned, when they can’t read or write in their native language, let alone English?

“This is not just your basic kid who has some special need,” said Kris Larsen, a former newcomer teacher who protested the policy change before retiring in 2016. “It’s a different kind of special need.”

Going in a new direction

Under the old program, high school-aged newcomer students spent up to a year in a specialized program, remaining with a certified English language teacher for most of the day and joining their peers for electives, such as physical education. Now, newcomers take one period of English language instruction that is taught by a teacher and a language “coach.” That same coach then follows students to core classes, including math, for additional support.

Sandra Cephas, director of the district’s Office of Language Acquisition, said the new model has made the success of newcomer students a schoolwide responsibility.

“It’s not just the English language teacher anymore. It’s the entire community looking after these kids,” Cephas said.

But according to interviews with multiple San Diego Unified teachers, the district’s vision is failing.

Six teachers interviewed for this story expressed concerns over the new program, having witnessed the effects of the change this past school year. Some newcomer teachers said they were not trained or given time to plan with language coaches. At the middle and high school levels, students are scattered across complicated schedules, making it impossible for coaches to support every child, the teachers said. Some teachers said they didn’t have access to translators when they needed to get ahold of a struggling student’s parent, while others said there was pressure to give kids passing grades in core content classes.

As the district finished the first year of the changed newcomer program, school officials were faced with a $124 million budget shortfall, which forced them to issue layoff notices to nearly 1,000 employees at the end of the 2016-17 school year.

Half of those jobs were reinstated over the summer, but the tumult has caused anxiety for many teachers who remain, including those interviewed for this story. Five are still employed by the district and have asked for anonymity out of concern for their jobs.

Larsen, who taught newcomers at San Diego High School, said part of the problem is that district officials made decisions far removed from where it matters most: the classroom.

“For this being San Diego, a city of immigrants and a city of refugees, the district should have gotten it’s act together,” Larsen said. “We should be leading the way. And we’re not.”

Policy experts say that whatever approach school districts choose, educating high school-aged newcomers is especially challenging. And for refugees whose life experiences have resulted in years of missed schooling, the task is even tougher.

“They have the farthest to go and the least amount of time to get there,” said Julie Sugarman, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

Because high school completion is credit-based, refugees start in the ninth grade regardless of their age or educational background. In San Diego Unified, students need 44 credits to earn a diploma. Most classes are worth two credits each.

Statewide, nearly 70 percent of English language learners in the class of 2015 graduated on time, according to the California Department of Education.

However, in San Diego Unified, which has one of the largest proportions of refugee students in the state, graduation rates have not been as strong, Cephas said.

During the 2015-16 school year, San Diego Unified conducted an internal review of its graduation rates. According to the district, half of all newcomer students at some schools were failing to graduate within four years. The district would not provide specific data on this.

San Diego Unified changed its approach to educating immigrant and refugee students last year to try to improve those figures, said Cephas, who oversees the district’s English learner instruction.

“We don’t have to wait for them to learn spoken English before we can introduce content knowledge and language. It can be done simultaneously,” she said, noting that the state adopted new learning standards for English language learners in 2012.

Under those standards, schools must provide English language learners with meaningful access to grade-level content while also developing their language proficiency.

In San Diego Unified, immigrant and refugee high school students are now placed immediately into an integrated math class where they can earn credits toward a high school diploma. After initial pushback from teachers and the community, the district also began offering a remedial math class for newcomers with significant gaps in their education.

According to the district’s data, 54 percent of newcomer high school students who were enrolled in a regular math class long enough to receive a grade during the spring 2017 semester passed with a C or better. All students enrolled in remedial math, however, passed with a C or better.

Adapting to changes challenging

Advocates for the refugee community remain skeptical.

Daniel Nyamangah, who works with students at Crawford High School through the nonprofit Social Advocates for Youth San Diego, worries that refugee students, in particular, are being left behind in the rush to graduation.

Instead of going to classes where they feel overwhelmed and unsupported, some refugee students have begun hiding in bathrooms or staying home from school altogether, Nyamangah said.

For Crawford’s approximately 72 newcomer students last year, there was just one language coach, Cephas said.

“A 15-year-old in 10th grade who does not speak English, does not know how to construct a sentence in English — if they are forced into mainstream classes before they are ready, what do you think they’ll do? They’ll just try to drop out,” Nyamangah said.

Advocates warn that increased truancy rates among newcomer students could have long-term consequences for the wider community. For many refugee parents struggling to find work in San Diego, the path to upward mobility often begins with their children’s success at school, said Larsen, the retired newcomer teacher.

Without that success, families could be forced “further into deep poverty that they can never climb their way out of,” she said.

Cephas, who has worked for San Diego Unified for more than 20 years, said the district recognizes the need to improve its support for refugee students but that “slowing down the curriculum … is not the answer.”

For its oldest newcomers, the district is working with San Diego Continuing Education and the San Diego Community College District to develop alternative pathways to graduation, Cephas said, and the district also plans to work with community-based organizations to improve its translation and counseling services.

“Many of our refugee students have gaps, but they also have strengths,” said Cephas, who hopes future graduates will return to San Diego Unified as part-time translators or mentors.

“They come with grit, with resilience. They come with motivation. And that’s what we want to be able to capitalize on,” she said. *Reposted article redacted abstract from iNewsorce.org by Mandy McLaren & Megan Wood of August 28, 2017 titled “Trauma and transitions: How San Diego schools grapple with educating refugees”

[alwaysf1-blog]

The Canadian Grand Prix, the three most exciting races in the last decade.

The Canadian Grand Prix is always a special race on the Formula 1 calendar. The first ever Grand Prix of Canada dates back to 1961, though the first race in Montreal was held in 1978. Canadian Gilles Villeneuve had the honor to win this race in his Ferarri 312T. This was Gilles Villeneuve’s his first Grand Prix victory. How cool to do that in your home country.

In the past decade, we have had action-packed races on the high-speed street circuit. So let’s see which ones were the three most exciting races.

2007 - Horror crashes and the first win of many to come

Race Start (Source)

The Canadian Grand Prix of 2007 is one of the most exciting Grand Prix I have ever seen and it’s still fresh in my memory. The Canadian GP always has numerous crashes and safety cars, and this race was no exception. In 2007, there were numerous crashes including Robert Kubica’s crash coming out of turn 9. This was one of the most horrific crashes in Formula 1 I remember to date. The video shows that Kubica’s BMW goes airborne before impact. This gives him no chance to brake at all, making this a hard impact. 

The Canadian GP in 2007 was also Lewis Hamilton’s first ever Grand Prix win in his debut season with Mclaren. Nick Heidfeld ended second in his BMW Sauber and Alexander Wurz was third in his Williams, powered by a Toyota engine.

 2011 - The longest race ever

In 2011, we experienced the longest F1 race ever due to heavy rain storms that hit Montreal. The race started behind the safety car with Sebastian Vettel on Pole Position in his Red Bull with Fernando Alonso was pushing hard behind him. 

Mclaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were battling with each other on track. When Hamilton tried to pass Button on the main straight, Button squeezed Hamilton into the wall resulting in a broken rear suspension for Hamilton. After that, Jenson Button received a stop-and-go penalty to make matters even worse for Mclaren. 

Button’s Squeeze on Hamilton

On lap 26, the race was suspended because of an intense rain storm that lasted for two hours. marshals were busy sweeping the track to clear the immense amount of water.

When the rain finally has settled it was time for the F1 pack to continue the race again. Jenson Button had a collision again, this time with Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari. This was the second driver that had to retire due to Jenson Button. Because of the collision, Button got a puncture, meaning he had to pit yet again. After that pit stop, he was dead last.

Since the rain had stopped, the track was drying up. Button switched to slick tires at the right moment, which meant he was slicing through the field. In one lap he passed Mark Webber Michael Schumacher giving him the second place in the race. Only Sebastian Vettel was in front of him. 

The blistering pace of Button put Vettel under big pressure under which he cracked in the last lap of the race. Vettel went wide on the wet part of the track, this gave Button the opportunity to swoop in and grab the win.

2014 - Another Debut win

The year 2014 was the start of a new era in F1. The cars didn’t have normally aspirated engines anymore, from now on, the cars had very complicated hybrid V6 engines. 

Mercedes was the team that did this the best out of all the engine manufacturers and that meant that they were incredibly dominant in the first stages of the 2014 F1 season. 

In 2014 this looked to be the case again with the two Mercedes drivers starting from the front row. Nico Rosberg squeezed Hamilton wide, meaning that Daniel Ricciardo could take second place from Hamilton after the first corner. In the next corner, Jules Bianchi - the last driver that died in F1 - crashed hard into the wall of turn 4. This meant a safety car right away. 

After the safety car, the true pace of the Mercedes W05 was shown again with Hamilton passing Ricciardo easily on the main straight. Though at some point, the brakes of both Mercedes cars started to show faster wear than normally, Hamilton was the first one to retire with a complete brake failure. This meant that Nico Rosberg had to slow down and try to finish the race. 

This gave Ricciardo the first place in the race with the chance to actually win for the first time in his career. Sergio Perez did an incredibly long stint on his soft tires and had the podium up for grasp. But the race was just a few laps too long. First, Sebastian Vettel passed him, giving him still third place. But Felipe Massa was charging towards him on fresher tires. Perez wouldn't have any of it and closed the door on start finish, resulting in another high-speed crash that could cause serious injuries to both drivers. Luckily they didn’t have serious injuries and racing could go on after another Safety Car. Daniel Ricciardo had just a few more laps to go to collect his first win, which he did in style. 

That season, Daniel Ricciardo did this two more times.