SLC’s are basically a PLP student’s way to discuss their learning and progress with their parents and teachers – think parent teacher conference, but instead of a light discussion between adults, us students get to present to everyone. Fun.
For my SLC, I’ll be talking about my growth mindset, work I’m proud of, an example of my learning, as well as three goals I’ve set for our third term of this school year.
First, let’s talk about an example of my learning: Destination Imagination. Last year was quite an interesting event, yes, my group won first in instant challenge, however we didn’t place in the top three for our main challenge. This year was different because of my groups veteran knowledge of what the tournament was like, but also because we had learned how to work with each other in a way that would help us in the regional tournament.
If you were to watch last years’ performance : Fine Arts – Get A Clue, you would’ve seen students who had a project and a skit, but not students who were in costume and working in synch together. Overall, the performance probably would’ve bored you. This year was a lot different based on the fact that we really researched our ideas, read the challenges, set goals and timelines, and made a theatrical presentation. We had costumes, props, humour integrated within the script, and even though many things went wrong, it was definitely not a boring performance!
My work and my teams work improved so drastically because we knew what it took to win a regional tournament. Last year, we didn’t read every rule, had no costumes, props, we practiced very little and we had lots of holes in our performance overall. This year we cleaned that up to win first (yes, by default, but our points were strong either way) and score one hundred points with no deductions in Instant Challenge!
I learned this year in Destination Imagination that in order to really succeed, I must push myself and my team so we are always doing our best, and also not to slack on little things that can make a huge difference when it comes to the bigger picture.
Secondly, I think the piece of work I’m proud of based off of my effort, growth mindset, presentation and overall achievement is my Blue Sky mini exhibition project. The first half of the school year was a scheme of ups and downs for me, but I feel like once our Mini Blue Sky project rolled around, my work got back on track.
For the project, I asked the question: How would the plot of the Harry Potter books be different if it was modernized? To present my research for the project, I took a segment of J.K Rowling’s first Harry Potter book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and rewrote it, however it was set in our modern day world. I’m most proud of this because I put in a lot of effort and worked super hard at writing it for hours a day. It showcased my writing skills and also encouraged me to not quit, even when I couldn’t think of any more ideas.
I learned that if I put the same amount of effort, determination and time into all of my projects like how I did with this one, I think I’ll be super happy with my marks!
Third of all, the piece of work that shows my growth mindset the best is the Metaphor Machine project. When we began this project, I was skeptical about my group succeeding and creating a machine that actually worked. I didn’t think I could plan and construct a real machine, but I pushed myself and my group members and tried my best to end up with a working product.
Overall this year my growth mindset has been improving more and more with every challenge thrown at me. I now focus on how I can achieve great things if I put my mind to it, and don’t focus on what I don’t think I can do, and I think that’s what’s making all the difference in my learning and work.
Now, finally, for my three goals. I think to succeed for next term, I need to:
- Stay organized with my work. Put due dates into my calendar, set times after school to do homework and/or study, and overall keep myself on track so all my work is complete on time.
- Read more. I’m setting a goal to read at least one book a month so I keep my reading skills up.
- Improve my math skills. To do this, I’ll ask more questions in class and not give up when a math problem is difficult.
These three goals will overall make me a better student and more independent with my learning.
In conclusion, I think I’ve learned a lot this school year so far, and I’m excited for next term with the Frankenstuffies unit, Biology and the big Blue Sky project! (But let’s be honest… I’m more excited for Spring Break…)
Until next time,
Tatum