Monthly Archives: May 2018

CLONES ARE THE FUTURE of plants and stuff

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I added the wrong link for Week 6 of the Student blogging challenge. Click here for my Week 6 SBC post.

In science 9, we had to learn about reproduction. I warn you now, run for the hills. 

We started off the unit by watching a video of someone giving birth. I, luckily, wasn’t there for that class, so I wasn’t scarred. We then went on to learning about the different forms of reproduction.

There are two different forms of reproduction; asexual and sexual. With asexual reproduction, the offspring is identical to the parent, and any other offsprings. The advantage of reproducing this way is that if you have created something absolutely amazing, you can create more exactly the same. The disadvantages of reproducing this way are that any bad qualities will be duplicated, and there is no room for adaptation. Sexual reproduction also has its ups and downs. The advantages of reproducing sexually are that certain traits from each parent can be combined to create something even better, and there’s a higher chance of adaptation. The disadvantages of reproducing this way are that the offsprings will not be identical to either parent, or other offsprings. Also, two parents are needed, which can sometimes prove difficult.

To learn about this, as we do in PLP, we had to reproduce things asexually. We started off with dandelions. 

First, we went out and dig up dandelions. The large roots we then cut up and planted them. But the thing was, when we first put them in the planter thing, it was way to hot. Our dandelions did not make it (tear). 

But that was not our only time to try this. We also had to choose another plant to clone. GARLIC!!!

To do this, we had to get the original garlic plant we wanted to clone. Once we had that, we split apart the cloves and chose 4 to plant; a big clove, a medium clove, a small clove, and a tiny clove. These were planted in four different containers and put outside. Now, we waited. Nothing happened for a while, then bam. They stared to shot up. But then, disaster struck. 

Some awful people came on the weekend and completely dumped out our and another groups plants. Our plants were resilient, though. We were able to save all 4 plants, and move on to our next step. 

The final project for this unit was to make a research proposal video, where we asked for money to reproduce garlic sexually. I wrote the script for this, but then I had to leave. The rest of my group filmed and edited the video, and I think it turned out really great!

I learned a lot from this project. I am still working on my group work skills, and this was a great project to do that with. I also had to learn to work with setbacks, like our dandelions not growing. I had a lot of fun with this project, and I can’t wait to try our garlic (pertaining to the fact that I am taking them home and planting them in my garden!).

The Great War Actually Really Sucked

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The years leading up to the First World War, tensions were running high in Europe. The arms race was high in the minds of govt officials, and it was just a matter of time until war broke out. The tipping point was when Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria, was assassinated by the Serbians. This created a domino effect, and the First World War began.

Image by Tamara S.L.

To start this unit off, we had spring break. Ha, no. We had homework over spring break. TBH, it wasn’t that hard. We just had to read a book. There were three options, and I chose ‘Generals Die in Bed’ by Charles Yale Harrison. It was a really good read. I definitely would recommend. Anyways, we didn’t read these books for fun. We created book reports. But these weren’t regular book reports. These were creative book reports. We had a bunch of different options on how to do this, including movie trailers, drawings, and songs. I chose to do poetry. But like, I went a bit crazy with this. I made an entire book with images to fit with each poem. I had a lot of fun with to. Here’s the book. L

Once we’d finished the book, we started getting closer towards our big project. But then there was this big disruption called OTTAWA! We went with Encounters with Canada on a week long trip where we learned all about Canada’s involvement in WW1. The main event we focused was The Battle of Vimy Ridge. This battle was the first time all of the Canadian regiments fought together. The Canadian’s took the Ridge in a span of a few days. My great grandfather actually fought during this battle! Anyways, the trip was super cool and I made a lot of friends!

When we got back, we continued to learn about Canada’s involvement in the war. One of the ways we did this was by reading a graphic novel called Shattered Ground. Shattered Ground is an online interactive story about a boy who finds his great grandfathers First World War journal. As he reads the journey, we find our about the journey he took through the war. It’s super cool. While we were reading, we also had to complete chapter summaries. It was a good way to reflect on each chapter. 

So at this point, we were just waiting for our main project to begin. We knew our driving question, which was ‘How Did World War 1 effect Canada’s identity?’. We started with a brainstorming session. We made a list of questions about WW1. There were questions like ‘What were the requirements of the medical professionals that helped during the war?’, and ‘How did conscription change the fate of the war, at least for Canada?’. Then, we got into groups and answer some of the questions. 

Next, from these questions, the teacher came up with 22 different topics. We each chose one, and got to researching. This was when we finally got to know what the project was. We were to create a comic book about Canada’s part in WW1. The topic I chose was Conscription. 

I chose conscription as my topic for a few reasons. First of all, I though conscription was awful. This was the govt forcing people to fight. But as I looked into it, I realized that it seemed to almost be a ploy to get Borden’s govt re-elected. And anyways, only 24,000 conscripts actually made it to France. 

So I made the first draft. It was interesting. I worked really hard on it. 

I got a lot of critique. So I went back, and continued to edit and revise. The second draft was a lot better. 

Then we had a huge group critique session. I got a lot of awesome critique from this, and was able to make my last, best draft. Then we had to present. 

In PLP, we like to present for an audience. So, our teacher contacted a local school, and we got to go present for a bunch of grade 6 and 7 students. It was a really cool experience, and I got to talk to a bunch of kids who are going into PLP next year. 

All in all, this was a really cool project. I learned so much about my great grandfather, and about Canada as a whole. I also learned a bunch about taking critique, which is something I still have to work on. Canada is so awesome, and I feel so lucky to live in this amazing country!

3x^2 + 7xy – 4d^5s^8 + 9 + 8cx^6

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For math in grade nine, we learn about polynomials. Then, because were in PLP, we had to make a project about it. This blog post will be explaining what we did for this. 

Polynomials are expressions (meaning no equals sign), with real numbers and variables. They use addition and subtraction. An example of a polynomial is: 2s + 4d^3 – 6gd

In this project, we also learned about like terms. Like terms are terms that contain the same variables raised to the same power. These can be combined to simplify equations. For example: 4c^4 + 2d + 6d would become 4c^4 + 8d

To demonstrate our learning of this, we had to create projects. There were no real constraints for the project, so people’s were very different. I worked with Luca OG. We decided to show how polynomials are used in architecture. We made our presentation on keynote. Here it is:

Presentation 12-1nsppkj

Because most of the presentation was speaking, I’ll give a brief overview. In architecture, polynomials and like terms are used a lot. We chose to focus on floor plans. In floor plans, polynomials are used to show the dimensions of a room, and the entire building. 

I learned a lot from this project. First of all, I learned about working with people I don’t usually work with. We played to each other’s strengths, which was good. I also learned how sometimes, in a project, constraints are good. If you don’t have a lot of criteria, it is sometimes hard for the teacher to convey what they are hoping for in a project, then are dissatisfied with the results. It was a fun project though.

Ottawa- Part 2 of our Journey East

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In grade nine, because of the curriculum change, we learn about WW1, and Canada’s impact on the war. As you may know, Canada’s biggest influence, in World War 1, was during the battle of Vimy Ridge. This is why, for our field study, we went to Ottawa to learn about Vimy Ridge.

Encounters with Canada is a program that sends kids from all around Canada to Ottawa, where they participate in a week-long camp. Each wee has a different theme, to cater to more people’s interests. The battle of Vimy Ridge took place on April 9th, 1917, so the week we went was during the battle.

As I fore mentioned in my Destination Imagination Blog Post, the day we left for this trip was also the day of the Destination Imagination Provincials. This presented logistical challenges, with transporting all of our stuff, and whatnot. We had to leave early from the tournament, to catch our flight. It was 2:00am EDT by the time we actually got to Ottawa.

Our day started early the next morning. Well, actually, we didn’t do much the first day. Some people were still arriving, so they couldn’t start the activities yet. This gave us lots of time to work on our books, which was the project based on this trip.

As you may recall, when our class went to Oregon in grade 8, we had to create a ‘Oregon Book’. Each day, there was a page to fill out. So when we went to Ottawa, the teachers made a book for us. Except, everything was a lot more vague, because they had no clue what we were doing in Ottawa, other than learning about WW1 and Canada.

So in this post, day by day, I’ll be explaining what we did, and what we learned. At the bottom will be the full book, where you can watch all the videos and sounds and stuff!

Sunday

We pretty much just got hoodies and hung around the centre. We also played with a parachute.

Monday

Monday was the 101st anniversary of Vimy Ridge. We got to witness the commemoration ceremony at the National War Memorial. It was really cool to see how even now, the people who died are remembered.

We also did ‘Vimy modules.’ In groups, we did different activities pertaining to Vimy. There was a huge map of the ridge that we got to walk on, a monument making thing, and a propaganda poster thing. It was super cool.

Then, we did these different activity things. I did yoga!

Tuesday 

Tuesday was a really cool day. We got to go to the Canadian War Museum. We had a tour, did activities where we could hold artifacts, and had a bunch of free time to look around. 

Wednesday

Wednesday was, I think, the coolest, most Canadian day I’ve ever had. This was the day when we went to parliament. 

It was so awesome. We got to see the library, 

go inside the peace tower, 

and do so much more. It was amazing!

We also went on a walking tour of the different war monuments in Ottawa. It was all so cool.

Thursday

During the Cold War, Prime Minister Diefenbaker commissioned a underground bunker in case of a nuclear attack from Russia. It is now a museum, and we got to visit it!

It was really cool to see how prepared they were in the event of a nuclear explosion. Also, it was in the middle of nowhere, which makes sense, but it took a while to get there. 

When we were down there, we did this really cool activity where we were the different ministers and we had to figure out what to do because ‘the US had just been bombed’. I was the minister of communication, and had to come up with a press release. It was awesome.

When we got back, we also got to do the coolest thing ever. We got to talk to veterans. My group talked to a World War 2 veteran, and a Navy Logistics officer. It was amazing to here their stories. 

Then, we had our own commemoration ceremony at a war gravesite. We put candles on the soldiers headstones, and had a minute of silence. 

Friday

Friday was the end of the week, so we did a lot of wrap-up stuff. We had three-hours of free-time downtown, so me and a person I met went shopping. 

Then we did a bunch of wrap up activities, and had a really nice dinner. 

Finally, we had a dance. It was interesting.

Saturday

This was the day of all the tears. I met so many amazing people on the trip, and today we all said goodbye. It was really sad. But I’m so glad I went on this trip because I made connections from so many people from across Canada.

We had a lot of free time before we left on our flight. So, our teachers decided to take us to Quebec. Not just Quebec, but the Canadian Museum Of History. It was super awesome, and I now I can say that I’ve had poutine in Quebec!

This is my book.

 

My Never-Ending Group Project II

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After our last adventure in Destination Imagination, I was kind of worried for the Destination Imagination Provincials. We knew we had a lot of things to fix, and other things to work on. So we got on it.

We ended up completely redoing our set, our spectacle, and tweaking pretty much everything else. But we worked hard, and really got things done.

This performance, more than any of the other ones, had a lot more to do with logistics. April 7th, the day of the performance, was also the day we left for Encounters With Canada in Ottawa. That made everything more complicated. I had to carry my suitcase around with me everywhere.

We had to make sure all of our stuff was easily transported, because after our challenges were over, we had to leave for the airport. We made the set collapsible, and fit all of our props into one box, except one big thing. Anyways….

This time around, the Provincial tournament took place at Johnston Heights Secondary School, in Surrey. So, as fore mentioned, transportation was a big deal. Also, we didn’t have any idea of where exactly we were presenting. So in planning, we just had to go with the dimensions that the official challenge book gave us (8ft x 10ft).

On the day of the tournament, the school was packed. 95 teams, from BC, Alberta and the Yukon. We had to set up our stuff in a hallway. And then, we waited.

Our presentations were all early in the day, because we had an early-ish flight. For our team, our instant challenge was early, at 9:30. We’re not supposed to talk about what we did during the instant challenge, but I can say how it was, if that makes any sense. We did good, and worked together well as a team. I think that’s one of the best ICs we’ve done as a team.

Our central challenge was at 12:50, so we had some time to kill. We watched several other Fine Arts performances, including ‘Basically G.O.A.T.’, our grade 8 Fine Arts team. Lots of them were very good, and it was nice to see some of the competition.

When it finally came down to our performance, we were all super anxious. It was a pain to get our set down to our presentation area, but we got it done. And our presentation actually worked! We had no utter failures, no missed lines, it was awesome!

As a group, I think we learned a lot. I learned how much you can get done, in a short period of time, if you really put your mind to it. I also came to the realization that group work can be fun, if everyone tries their hardest. I can very much wait till next year though.

 

 

 

I told you it never ends.