Jun
2018
2018 School year in 7 minutes
It’s come to that time of the year again when I get the opportunity to reflect on what has gone right this school year, what I could have done better and what I want to improve upon for next year. This year the driving question is:
Why do you feel you are ready to advance to the next grade level?
To start off this presentation I would first like to thank you for coming or reading if anyone reads these blog posts. The first subject I would like to talk about is math. I have always struggled with math and this year I even got a tutor even though that didn’t work out he still did help me. The project I will be showing as an example of my guy growth as a learner is the math board game we had to create based around the idea of algebraic solutions.
I was partnered with Hannah for this project and I feel that we worked well together however creating an idea that would fit the project description we found was a challenge. We came up with a few ideas and then when we pitched them to Mr.Gross he showed us what was wrong with them. At this point I was discouraged because we couldn’t come up with an idea however we kept trying. This shows that no matter what challenge I face I am determined to succeed. This work ethic is also similar to blue sky, as this year and the past few years I have struggled to think of a problem to solve. However I feel that my determination and strong work ethics show that I wont give up. At the end of the math project I was proud of the finished product we came up with and was happy with the teamwork skills me and Hannah were able to cultivate over the coarse of the project.
The next topic I would like to talk about is the science project I did on Generating Power in science a few weeks ago. This project was about us figuring out how a generator works and then actually creating one. I was in a group with Will, Kyle and Izzy and I feel that we worked well together. As a group we were able to asses what we needed to get done however we did not instantly succeed. We came up with many drafts and changed our project many different times. I think this shows that no matter what even if i hit a road bump I am able to overcome it and find a different path to go. However I would have liked to improve our groups final product as I found that it was fairly messy and could have been cleaned up. As a group we could have tried to get our ideas together sooner and then planned out the project timeline better. That is one thing I would like to improve for next year, is simply time management. I know that next year as it gets harder and busier I will need to know how to plan my time so I can create effective, good projects and products.
Another project i would like to discuss is the Percpectives of WWII project I did in humanities. Overall I found this to be a really interesting unit where we learned about what happened during World War II and the differing aspects each country had on the war. There were nine countries in total and we each had our own section of the website to look after. Most of the countries were in groups of three or four people however I was independent and did the project on my own. I was in charge of Australia and at first was very nervous as to how I would get everything done by myself. However I feel that I stepped up to the challenge and took responsibility.
Throughout the project I was checking in with Mrs. Maxwell and was on top of what I had to get done. I feel that the push of being by myself made me stride to do good as I knew that if I did not succeed it was all on me. I learned lots about myself, the war and even my family as I’m Australian and was in charge of Australia meaning I got to learn more about where my family came from. I would be proud to show this project to anyone if they asked what work I was most proud of.
The next and final aspect as my growth as a learner I would like to talk about is in my Maker class. The project I will be talking about is Destination Imagination. As you know I have been doing DI since grade eight and its had its ups and downs. Since grade I have always struggled with figuring out a way to organize the team I am in. In grade eight being the only girl and not entirely knowing the group I was not confident in myself and therefor did not have a loud voice in the group. In grade nine our group struggled to agree on an idea and wether our topic was socially acceptable. This year I had neither of those problems however another problem arouse. This time it was coordinating when we got things done, relying on people to get them done as well as not planning effectively. I was in a group with Kate, Izzy, Spencer, Sam and Calum. My team was the technical challenge and we were supposed to create a vechil that moved through a maze. At the regional tournament our team did not have a working “rover” and therefore came in second out of two against the grade nine. It was helpful having the completion at seycove though. And then at the regional tournament though our rover did not completely work, we did do a lot better and came in first out of two! Overall in this project I was happy with how I have improved over the years however would have liked to made myself to take more responsibility to get things done in time.
Through this current school year I feel that I have grown as a learner in a postive way. I have showed my responsibility, work ethic and team worker. However a goal that I breifley mentioned before and would like to improve upon for next year is planning my time effectively. I know this will be a key component next year as I get busier and will need to keep my grade and work ethic up. Overall I am proud of what I did next year and therefor feel that I am ready to advance to Garde 11!
