First of all… wow I can’t believe grade 8 is over I can tell you that some of the memories made in this year are some that I will remember for the rest of my life. I feel that this year has given me a solid foundation to build off of in future years and I really have to credit a lot of that to my teachers. The change from elementary to high school is pretty significant but I didn’t feel left out at all. Since the driving question is “Why do you feel you are ready to advance to the next grade level?” lets look back on the growth of me as a learner this year.

My goal from the Mid Year Presentation of Learning was to not get stressed out with work. Though this was something that I have always found that I have struggled with I have made efforts to improve this particular trouble. One of the big things that has helped me with this is listening to music while doing work, this really helps me forget about everything that is coming up and helps me just focus on the thing that I’m doing. Another thing is also going for a bike ride for the same reason, it helps me forget about all the stressful things and keeps me calm therefore getting my work done without stress. Although I feel that I have done this pretty well I think that I could bring this up another level.

Now lets check out my growth in humanities. Throughout this whole year we had 5 Humanities projects, The Medium is the message, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, The Renaissance, Argh Matey and our latest Every object tells a story. This was a subject that at the start of the year I didn’t particularly like but also didn’t hate it. Through this year it has grown on me a bit. I have gained more interest about this subject and have also gotten a lot better at communication. For my MPOL I stated that I am not very good at speaking but, since the MPOL and especially lately I have gotten better at communicating verbally. I feel a lot more confident and it feels less awkward. One of the things that have showed this is the peer critiques in zoom. My favourite Humanities project was probably The Medium is the message because it was included in the Oregon trip and I also liked it because I enjoyed designing the advertisements and refining them to get an awesome looking advertisement. Something that I could improve more is work ethic in this subject, as I said this has grown on me but I’m still not sold on it.

Next is Maker, in Maker we did Big Life Journal, The Power of a Pencil, Student Blogging Challenge, Star Wars Mini Blue Sky, Destination Imagination and A Sustainable Blue Sky. Maker is probably one of my favourite classes if not the most. What I have learned from Maker is super important, from mindset to teamwork and everything in between. Throughout Maker I have learned that mindset is a huge aspect of daily life, I’ve also learned how to work together in a group. I really enjoyed the Big Life Journal project because it really opened my eyes to different ways of thinking and also better ways to keep your life together. I will strive to improve my teamwork skills more which I think also goes with communication.

For PGP I think that my goal from the MPOL fits here. Not getting stressed is a big thing in getting things done. The ways that I have found to cope with this really help but they both have one thing in common and that is a way to forget about what is coming up next. I feel that really stresses me out. Another way is to get work done before it is due which I still have to get on board with. Obviously the most awesome thing this year was Oregon, In terms of teamwork since this trip I think have improved quite a bit. I can give my opinion in conversations, ask questions and also give answers. In PGP I want to be able to speak strait off my head without hesitation or freezing.

 

Last subject is Scimatics, For Scimatics projects we have done Fractions of Your Time, Tectonics Book, Mazer Tag, Chemistry Coding, Ultimate Design Challenge, Argh Matey and Ultimate Road trip. I have learned so much different skills and calculations in Scimatics and have definitely expanded my range of knowledge. My favourite project was probably the Ultimate Design Challenge because it was fun to design objects and also present it in front of the class. Something to improve on is to get the concepts in my head really good so I don’t forget them.

In conclusion I absolutely think that I am ready to move on to grade 9. After all of this gaining knowledge and learning different concepts about different things. I have also made changes to my work habits to be a better learner, but even though I have done a lot this year I will strive to do my best and be better than before in the coming years.