Yup. It’s that time of year again. The dreaded Midterm Presentation of Learning or in short, it’s MPOL Time! So what is an MPOL you may ask? Well, like I mentioned earlier, it stands for Midterm Presentation of Learning. This is where I have to take the time to write a super long detailed post to explain my learning so far in the year and what I’d like to improve on moving into the second half of grade 9. At the end of the school year, I have to go through this all over again and write something called a TPOL which is my Transitional Presentation of Learning. Anyways, here goes nothing as I publicly share my midterm journey through grade 9. Here’s my MPOL 2.0.

Ok, to kick things off, let’s take a quick and rather embarrassing look at some of last year’s work. This is just a small glimpse to show how much I’ve grown as both a person and learner. Below, you might remember me referring to this chart as the River Cycle or “My Happy River Life”. Basically, I thought of my life as a River. Everyone’s River might look different. For example, I pictured mine to be filled with unlimited sunshine, rainbows and happiness because I like to be joyful. Although everyone’s River may look slightly different, every River has the same skeleton form. There are rocks, and waves and waterfalls, but each river also has beauty and light and love.

Below are a few other projects from various parts of last year.

Religion Infographic

Oregon Ad

Bluesky

So now you’ve seen a few of my projects from last year and know my theme I lived by. So this year, I challenged myself to find a new theme. One that still shared my values but also motivated me and represented who I am. So this year’s inspirational quote I made for myself is “choose joy and smile often. Trust in Jesus and he’ll guide you.” I believe this is really the only saying I need in life. And for those of my friends out there who are constantly asking me, “Kiera, how can you be so smiley all the time?” Or things like, “Kiera, life isn’t all happiness and rainbows!” And yes, I know it isn’t. In fact, there are many imperfections in my life. I can give you an example right now. When my brother was born, I wanted more than anything to get rid of him. You see, I really wanted a sister and the fact that Cameron came out as a boy really disappointed me. This may not seem like a big deal now, but believe me, to three year old Kiera, it was.

Im sure we’ve all had something in our lives that well, wasn’t the most positive of experiences. Last year, my MPOL revolved around my happy river life and the question of “how can I take my failures and work hard to learn from them so that I can recognize them as just another opportunity to improve and try again?” This was something I still work on even this year and since, I never really answered this question from last year, I plan to show you how I’ve worked at this sentence this year as well as what I’d like to focus on moving forward into the sencond half of grade nine.

Let’s begin with my personal favourite subject, English or in this case Humanities. We started the year off learning about land, culture and the identity of different areas and people. All this information helped us learn the answer to our driving question: How Does Land Impact Identity? This unit also included our amazing field study to Alberta where we got to experience the different landscapes and types of people. Besides the fact that I was “exposed” to much more than I was used to (couch couch, Burning Man), I really was amazed by the creativity and thought that was shown at Beakerhead. People really shared their passion and interests through these amazing inventions, sculptures or works of art that were on display. Honestly, when I was younger, I would never have appreciated any of Beakerhead and would have thought some of these people were crazy for even thinking of attempting something so strange such as painting with bacteria. I mean, I always learned that bacteria was nasty and gross, but seeing people turn something like bacteria into works of art, was very inspiring and reminded me of how I could express myself in class and at home without worrying what others might think. It also reminded me of why I dance, to express myself! Going back to earlier this year, I was scared of what a certain friend thought of me. And although we were such close friends, I never wanted to share a specific side of me in fear of what she might think. It was the same for class last year. I hated asking questions in the middle of class because I had the fear of people judging me for what I had to say. But seeing so many people at Beakerhead who were so enthusiastic about the science and logic they learned from their creations really inspired me and I think that’s the main thing I took away from that trip. So, with this newfound skill and knowledge, I can’t wait to take on D.I. Hopefully, my creative side will come through!

On the more educational side of the Alberta trip comes our Maker Video skills. This unit was probably one of my favourite units so far in PLP. Last year, we focused much on still images. We showed our knowledge of these still images in the form of ads, posters and infographics and it was about time we learned to make them move. Now, anyone can make a video. I mean really. You just video tape a bunch of scenes and shove them all together into one longer video. But, to make a good interesting film is quite difficult and capturing the eye of the audience is key. Over the past few months, I’m sure I’ve created at least 10 videos including the multiple drafts and shorter minor films we created. The process of creating a good video is fairly long. There are many things to take into account such as a storyboard, theme, setting, characters and more which usually are written out ahead of time before even thinking about filming a scene. This past Maker Video unit has taught me so much about videos and the importance of some aspects such as sound, music, camera angles and more. I’ve also learned some pretty cool tips and tricks on apps including iMovie along the way! Below, I’ve attached both my Alberta Identity Video, my Ghost town movie and even my PLP application video from before I even joined PLP! You can really tell how much I’ve learnt about the process of video creation based on the work that I’ve provided below. Keep in mind when watching that I had no idea how to use iMovie before entering PLP and had no clue how to trip or add anything extra to the video.

https://youtu.be/MPxmLIhNsAI

The valuable lesson I learned from this video unit, and although it may sound a tad cliche at the moment, this saying does apply to many of my life situations and is one of my center values. This cheesy saying is “look at things through a different perspective.” Just like in photography or in videography, when you look at a certain situation through a different perspective, your idea of the scenario will likely change. There’s good to everything and even though every day may not be a good day. There is good in every day. Just some days, you might have to look a little harder.

The next PLP subject I’ll be covering is Scimatix. Now, in my past MPOL/TPOLs I haven’t talked much about this subject. So, let’s begin by diving straight to the recent event of the Winter Exhibition 2018. This not only was a blast of a night but also had great learning opportunities as well! I got the chance to work with some people that I haven’t worked much with in the past, and, along the way, learned some rather interesting things about them.

So for this year’s exhibition, we were grouped into small groups to create a story featuring chemicals, hence the name, Chemical Stories. Obviously, this unit was centred around chemistry and all the elements that go with it. Now, for those of you who don’t know, Scimatix was always my weakest point and I had to work extra hard to keep up with everyone else. And if anyone ever asked me what my greatest fear was, it was failing. Whether it was not making a sports team or not landing a role at an audition or simply failing a math test, I HATED the thought of failing. So, like I talked about last year, Chemistry was definitely a bumpy waterfall ride for me. I, for the first time ever, failed a test. Yes I said it. I failed. Not only did this damage my ego and confidence, but I thought that everyone in the class would then see me as a failure. But what can you do? Honestly, at the time, it felt like I couldn’t do anything. However, I remembered what I wrote in my Selfie Project last year and realized that failing a test wasn’t the end of the world. In fact, it wasn’t even what was most important. It was what I learned from it that mattered. And then what? I would persevere and try again! Knowing that my friends and parents would still be proud of me no matter what really helped me get through it. I tried again. I studied the formulas and elements I needed to know for the exhibition and got through it. At the end, I was left with an amazing result. The exhibition was a success and it was definitely an experience to remember.

The final subject to cover is PGP. Now this was a new river ride for me because I’d never taken this course before. I wasn’t sure what to expect or what this course even was. We were each given a small notebook we call our “Goal Tracker”. This is a safe little place for us to write down private ideas and steps to reach our goal and record the process as we journey to achieve it. We also had to do something called a weekly review. This was where we could write anything to summarize the week. For me, I wrote one positive thing that happened such as an accomplishment or simply seeing the sun peek through my window when I woke up (because, honestly, how often does that actually happen in Vancouver?) or as big as becoming an ambassador for a brand. Every week, we achieve our own little goals. So why not write it down and celebrate? I also wrote down one negative thing that happened. Perhaps it was my friend being sick, or having Scimatix first block or having a dentist appointment that week. Whatever it was, I wrote it down. So the final thing I’ll be sharing with you today is my dream board. This is a collage of things that are important to me and in the corner, you may notice a small silhouette of a happy couple. Now, although I may be known as the “little sister” or the “five year old”, I still have big dreams too. And one day, I hope to find love, just like my parents did and their parents before them. I see happy couples all the time, and I hope for that to be me one day…

So, to wrap things up, I want to end this with a questions. “How can I make the most of every experience? How can I learn from them to make things better next time?” So that next time I take a test or do a project such as DI, how can I improve from last time based on my past experiences? And lastly, when my friends ask me, “Kiera, why are you always smiling?” My answer is “Choose Joy and Smile Often, Trust in Jesus, and he will guide you.”

Thank You!

The year is 1819. The place is an abandoned cabin north of Mountain Valley Village. There’s been news that Ona Ozone (me) has gone missing and know one knows why and where she’s been taken. It’s now up to the detectives (Alex and you) to help find the missing Ozone and return Pho Phosphorus’ (Emerson) lost love. Can you solve the mystery intime and find Ona before psycho Ali Aluminum (Taylor) finds you?

Ona Ozone and Pho Phosphorus

This years exhibition was rather different from the one we did last year. Last winter, we as grade eights were paired with the grade nines to create a Star Wars themed experience that allowed guests to take a scientific and artistic look at the all time popular film series. This year as grade nines, we were split into groups of four. Mine included myself, Emerson, Taylor and Alex. Although the exhibition was a project on its own, the pre-exhibition process began with Taylor and I being a pair and Emerson and Alex being a separate group. We than created a short animated video (which you can read about and view in the link above) about two chemicals forming a bond and therefore a chemical reaction. This, we called, ChemicalStories.

Ali Aluminum

From there our groups of two were made into a group of four or more. That’s when Emerson and Alex joined Taylor and me. Our task was to combine our two stories and create one epic tale which would then be transformed into an immersive experience. This meant hours of decorating a classroom to make it seem like part of our story. This process wasn’t at all fast or easy and our team actually fell apart early in the decorating process. This was due to us not listening to each other and trying to talk over one another. Lucky for us, after a brief team meeting, we pulled it off and our room turned out to be a fun interactive experience that was both exciting and mildly scary!

Now, before diving nose deep into the actual exhibition, let’s rewind a bit and go to the planning stages when the story was created. The two boys had written a love story using the chemicals aluminum and phosphorus and Taylor and I used humans to represent our chemicals, ozone and einsteinium. My team brainstormed many stories and ideas before deciding on a murder mystery and love story. We combined characters and decided to base this story off of Ali and Pho which were originally characters from Emerson and Alex’s story and Ona from our story. The writing process came together well and while I was writing the book, Taylor and Emerson started to draw up our room plan for the night of the exhibition.

Once the story had been written and approved, my team and I gathered together to see what each person would bring. We also decided on food and who would play what character as well as costumes.

A few days prior to the exhibition, Emerson and Taylor came over to my place to bake some food for the big night. This would be placed on a decorative table in the Center of our room and guests would be able to enjoy the snacks. The three of us decided to make a batch of brownies and many many batches of shortbread cookies. Below are a few images of our fun day baking!

It was finally the day of the exhibition and I walked into the classroom to a big surprise. A giant dog cage was waiting for me in the Center of the room and, turns out, I would have to sit inside it and pretend to be trapped in it for about 3 hours! Of course I’d get breaks, but still! The humiliation and discomfort it’ll bring.

Taylor setting up the outside door and entryway

Emerson adding some cobwebs to lamps and things

Alex hanging with his new friend

Me putting some snow on the window sill

The room set up went fairly well thanks to everyone for bringing the things they were told to bring. Once the lights were shut off and the candles turned on, you were really transformed into the world of Mountain Valley. With the creepy music constantly playing throughout the night, the room really held a special magical effect on its audience.

I always think the worst part of things is the cleanup. Once the last guest departed, the room instantly fell apart. Paper was torn, the lights switched on, music stopped and the fake snow was thrown back into its packaging. I was very proud to be the first room cleaned up. With the final piece of tape undone and the last paper thrown away, the scary haunted cabine slowly turned back into a not so scary classroom.

Cleaning up

Overall, the night was really fun and I got the chance to see different immersive rooms from my classmates as well as the grade 8 booths about religion and the grade 11s walk through of the 1800s. Although at first, we had a few difficulties regarding us listening to one another, the story line, room, decor and experience went really well! My group really came together as a team to make this such a great project for everyone. Everyone did their part and tried their best no matter the circumstance. Alex brought in the lamps and snow, Emerson found the music, Taylor stuck to costumes and I brought in all the props as promised I would. The night was truly a good reflection of the hard work and dedication we all put into this project. There was nothing about the night I would change…well…except perhaps, next time, I’d rather not sit in a cage😂

So for those of you keeping up with my blog life, first off, I definitely need to say good on you for actually reading through and looking through my posts! You guys are truly amazing. Second, you may know by now that many of my posts contain videos. This is because in our Maker Class this year, we’ve been buried nose deep into video skills and creating quality videos and films. This post is like me bridging the gap between all my videos from other posts and creating one last unit wrapping post on video skills. So let’s begin! 3.2.1…Action!!!

Now that I really think about it and look back at all my videos from the beginning of the school year, my first video this year would be my Passion Video. This was a short clip we individually created about our passions. This kind of relates to my original entry video when I applied for PLP. Both these short films are centered around my passion of dance and we’re filmed early on in the year. Because the two films are fairly similar, I hope you get the chance to watch both of them and compare how much I’ve grown since the beginning of last year when my application video was made. The Passion Videos really taught me how to express myself with the use of voiceovers and how to properly incorporate them into a video. This tool comes in handy for most of the videos we create in PLP especially educational ones and it’s very important to have a clear voiceover to catch proper information. While this video is t one I’m exactly proud of considering the multitude of films I’ve made now, it was a great stepping stone in the video tool kit process. I hope you enjoy!

Ok, now you’ve seen probably the most embarrassing and cringey part of my video making career. Fast forwarding a bit, many of my videos from this year were filmed during the PLP Class trip to Alberta. Along our trip we stopped at a ghost town in Three Valley Gap where we filmed a short silent movie. This meant that there was no sound or talking allowed. To add to the fun, many of us even added a cool old timer filter giving the video a pioneer days feel. If you’d like to read more about our trip to Alberta and the process of creating this video, please click on the link above!

This video really taught me how each clip has a special significance and meaning  o the overall story. With us not being able to use sound for this film, it showed us how effective actions, expressions, music and titles can be and how much, music especially, can add to the mood and feeling of the film. Our ghost town movie below contains very emotional music. As you watch, I challenge you to try to imagine this film as well as perhaps one of your favourite movies without music. How would that effect the overall experience?

https://youtu.be/MPxmLIhNsAI

On our way home from the Alberta trip, my class stopped by something called the Enchanted Forest. As “enchanted” as it may sound, this place was basically an ordinary forest filled with very creepy and quite frightening concrete fairy tale figures. Our task was to create a movie that incorporated these stone figures. These could be props, characters or whatever our group decided them to be! I actually played the high pitched voice of a stone pig! This video really was so much fun to make and taught me the use of special effects. This was a whole new element for me as I’ve never really bothered to use computerized effects in my past films, but I have to say, they added a whole new level to this film. The effects allowed me to do things I’d never be able to do otherwise such as shootings and explosions which are shown in the film below. Enjoy!

During the Alberta trip, we visited a museum in Drumheller. If your familiar with Drumheller, you probably know that it’s famous for Dinosaurs so of course that was the main topic of the museum. For this video, we simply had to pick any artifact in the museum and create a short video about that artifact. I chose the Ammonite which was a squid-like creature living around the same time as the dinosaurs. This animal caught my eye due to its beautiful lustre and shine. To learn more about this beautiful creature, click on the video below!

The final film we created in Alberta was our unit end Identity video. This was filmed in Alberta but created at home. Basically it was about how the lands Identity affected and impacted us and those who lived there. The main video skill I learned from this video was the use of transitions. The video required us to cover three examples of how the land can impact our Identity. We also had to include photos and interviews so smooth transitions were essential for this project. I used both fades and iMovie transitions but also learned that transitions can be done while filming by simply shaking the camera or darting in and out of poles and walls. I’m very proud of this video because I truly think that it showcases everything I’ve learned from both my Identity unit and video creating unit.

Transferring to the less educational side of the scope, another video I created this year was my live event video. This required me to document a live event that I was either attending or being a part of. The only cool event that was happening that week was dance class. So, I documented that! Get on your tutus and pointe shoes because your about to enter the world of Ballet at Seymour Dance.

This video really challenged me to incorporate interviews into a video. This was a challenge especially for this project as this video had a time limit of no longer than three minutes and interviews are about three minutes on their own! The challenge was to cut down footage and get straight to the point. To do this, I made the intro rather short and went straight to the important part of the film which was the ballet footage and interview.

Another fairly short video, similar to my live event film is my take your kid to work day video! This was filmed on BC’s annual take your kid to work day where all grade 9 students from across the province would shadow their parents at work for a day to gain the experience of a normal work day. To read more about my personal experience, click the link here.

This was another great chance to incorporate interview skills as this video required us to add in an interview. I got to learn so many new things about the stress of adult work life and what an average day in the life would look like. By the end of the day, one thing was for certain, I NEVER want to be an eye doctor when I grow up😂

The final video I’ll talk about in this post is my Scimatix Chemistry Story Video. I made this with my partner Taylor. This was very different from the other films I’ve done. Like my Ghost Town Story, this vidéo had to be a short film and tell a story. Our main characters had to be chemicals and the plot had to result in some kind of ionic or covalent bond. I’d never really done much animating before this project so this was a great opportunity to learn some cool skills for animation. Using magic move, I was able to move objects and characters around the screen. I even learned how to make a person’s mouth move using this cool app called FlipaClip. I’m so proud of how this video turned out and had so much fun making it.

Thanks again for reading my blog! I hope you enjoyed watching my videos. If you have any comments or feedback, please leave a comment below!