Hello, and welcome back to my blog! It’s been a very long time, hasn’t it? 

Before you ask about my summer YOU DONT CARE ABOUT THAT. DONT WORRY ABOUT THAT. We’re going to make this quick, so put your big girl pants on and listen as I tell you about PLP’s latest project: Why Does The World Need More Canada?

This project is centered around the country we reside in; Canada! We were assigned it to investigate the current events relating to Canada, and how we could choose a topic and turn it into a podcast. We were told to a create a 4 minute essay that we would use as our script for our podcast. We started doing “thinking Thursdays”, basing our thinking Thursday topic on a short story on CNN (a Canadian news network).

There were a lot of things I liked about this project, and didn’t like. Some things I would change, and others I would keep exactly the same. So, let’s get into the nitty gritty!!

One of the things that I actually find I did do well during this project was the writing. While I am writing this post, I am pausing for a minute every 10 seconds because I have no idea what to write. But for my project, I found that I was very on task and knew what I was going to write before I wrote it. It was very efficient for me, and made me feel more confident in my work for the project.

Another thing I am proud of for this project was the effort I put into it. While I handed it in late… I do believe that I put a lot of time and energy into finishing, and making the best product I could make… somewhat. Though I am much more proud of my writing work rather than my podcast, I still feel like that’s something to be happy about.

Now, onto the things I would work on for the next project; and what I wasn’t so pleased with was my time management. No, this is not specific to anything I did during the project; but I really could’ve managed my time better to hand in work that has my all put into it, instead of something half-assed (sorry but it’s true). For my podcast, I feel as if when I was recording I could’ve added more, but I didn’t make any time to because it was already 2 weeks overdue.

One more thing I’d work on for my next project is my audio quality. It’s kind of self explanatory, but I think I should use a microphone next time. Though, there is not much I’d like to change about my podcast; aside from the fact that I should put more effort into my project next time.

Thank you for reading, and I’m sorry it’s short!

Hello and welcome to my blog! Today, I will be discussing with you my tPOL, and what I plan to talk about for it. I have a lot to cover, so buckle up!

Now, tPOLs are middle and end of year presentations to show how you’ve advanced in your learning and how you plan to improve on things. You then present this to your parents and a teacher, and are asked questions at the end.. and that’s about it. It sounds simple, but it’s a bit more difficult than that, since it has to be 7 minutes long!

Now that you know what to expect, I can tell you what I plan to present.

Now, I have improved a lot over the two years I’ve been in PLP. That seems like a while, doesn’t it? And I think there are a few projects that I’ve done that represents the better and the worse spots of my projects. Starting off with my first love, my presentations of the crusades and the feudal system. Now, I made this project 2 years ago and it’s STILL one of my favourites, that says a lot! Now, a few things I would like to change about this project is the amount of info I put in. I like it, I’d just add another paragraph or two to each block of text.

Now I find that I represented a good skill in seeking help for this project, as I distinctly remember asking for more time to finish it. I also remember sitting there and finishing it.

Another project that I find I did well on is my WWI comic project. I know, we just did that, but I cannot think about anything else to talk about right now. For my WWI comic project, we had to make a comic about a soldiers experience in WWI. This could be a fictional character, or a real person who was there themselves.

One thing I would want to improve on with this project is my “completing evidence”. My time management wasn’t amazing, and in the future, I would like to give myself more time to work on the project.

But, I did seek out help to the best of my ability, and got support by teachers. I am proud of myself for being able to seek out help so easily and without feeling embarrassed.

OK THATS ALL thank you for reading!

Hello, and welcome back to my blog. Today, I will be telling you about my most recent adventures in PLP; my WWI comic project AND exhibition. A lot of stuff happened, so I should quickly go through that with you!

Now, my WWI comic project. A project that my teacher couldn’t keep his mouth shut for 20 seconds about before it happened, and now… he is happy it’s over! My exhibition was very chaotic, but before I talk about that, I should talk about what got me there in the first place; writing a comic.

We were ordered to write our comic I think 2 weeks before the exhibition. Storyboarding took a week, and colouring and lining took another week. In fact, despite the fact that it looks like a good amount of time, I was on quite the time crunch. Drawing and writing a comic takes HOURS, like, a really long time. I had underestimated how long it would take, and had to stay up until 2AM to finish my comic… but it was worth it. Because when I was at exhibition, my comic was the goofiest and silliest looking one on the table. Wait… was that what I was supposed to say?

Yes, my comic wasn’t as… realistic, as everyone else’s… but it still looked great, so what’s wrong with that? Anyhow, onto the exhibition…

On exhibition night, I was sweaty, tired and hungry. I also only had one shoe on for half of it, but that’s a story for another day. I couldn’t eat what they had because I didn’t order anything, so I had some breadsticks and Soda that my mum had very thoughtfully brought for me. It was delicious, by the way.
I had my own little table that I shared with 4 other people, and I was at the very edge of it. While everyone else sat behind their tables, I sat right in front of mine because there wasn’t any more room for me. Very sad!

In total, I spent around 2 hours at exhibition. Which is actually a WAY shorter than usual, but, and don’t tell anyone this, the exhibition seemed very rushed. At least our part was rushed, everyone else’s was great,

Now, What would I do differently? There are a few things I would change, but the most prominent would definitely be getting less distracted so I have more time to flesh out my comic!! I get distracted by a lot of things when I’m in school, and I have a hard time focusing on one thing for more than 30 minutes (unless it’s a drawing I WILLINGLY want to do). I would also want to do this for my own sanity, and for my sleep schedule, because now it is ruined.

Though, I do like the cartoony style I did my comic in. Despite how I was picking on it earlier, I really do like it. Though a lot of people dislike or want to change their art, I am always confident and happy with my own.

OKAY, and that wraps up my WWI blog post. Thank you for reading, and come back later because I’m posting something else soon.

“Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.”

As the year goes on, I learn more and more every day. What’s a better way to reflect on that learning but to write a blog post about it, AND to write another blog post with the prior reflection involved? Anyway, I am going to show and tell you what I learned and what I liked, and didn’t like.

Now, first thing I am going to talk about is my most recent finished project. Our frankenstuffies! That’s right, and I am not going to critique this project in particular! I’ll do that with a different project, so let me just be happy for one second.

Now, my frankenstuffy project took a lot of time. I spent a few hours putting together and editing a masterpiece of a video. I am very proud of my dedication and determination to get it done, which I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to do within the due date. But I did! And I’m proud of myself for doing it.
I learned more about editing, and drawing simple images very very quick. It may come in handy for a future job id like to pursue (storyboard artist)

Hello, and welcome back to my blog! This time, we did something very very special. This time, we ripped animals apart limb from limb and stuck them back together, creating a BEAST!
Of course, I’m over-exaggerating, but don’t leave just yet! There are more interesting things to come. After all, these are frankenstuffies!!
To start, my crazy wacky humanities teachers introduced this project to us using AI and a book called “Leviathan” (if you haven’t read it you totally should). And so we began creating our creatures after reading the book. People had to sew together stuffies and create an entire new monster! For me, I did a wolf mixed with an octopus. So many legs!!

Anyway, after this, we were instructed to make a mini movie featuring our disfigured mistakes of god. While most people did live action, I did a mix of live action and drawings! Super fun, right? No, super time consuming! While the end product was probably the best thing I’ve ever produced, it took me a long while to complete. Worth it, though.

You know what, you’re probably wondering what my story was about. Was it a romance? A comedy? An adventure in which a wolf-octopus hybrid searches for the equivalent of god in their universe and murders him? Well, you’d be right if you chose the latter. If you’re SUPER curious, here’s a link to my video!

Now that you’ve seen and watched my beautiful masterpiece, you can question your own existence!

Now, PLP teachers ask me what I’ve learned. And, well, I’ve learned quite a bit. Mostly I’ve learned more about CapCut, the editing software I use, but I’ve also learned how to work more efficiently and effectively. Working on this took a lot of time, but had I done it last year, it would’ve taken twice as long! So, I suppose I’ve worked more on time management over the years? Who knows, but I do know that while this did take a while, it’s amazing.

Hello, and welcome back to my blog. Today, I will be talking about DI (Aka Destination Imagination). It was a fun time, a stressful time. But now it’s over, at least until April 6th, when we will be presenting provincially. Fun!
While me and my group prepare for the provincials, I will be writing this blog and reflecting about how we did, what we did, and how I felt during the experience. Hold on, because this is going to be a long one.

At the beginning of the day, at 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday (and I’m not joking!) I had to get up and be at school. Of course, I showed up at 9:10, but luckily our presentation wouldn’t be for another 4 hours, so I was safe. I walked into the Quire room and said hello to my group members, and sat and rehearsed my lines… which I didn’t even get to say during our presentation!
Now, everything went good overall during our presentation to judges, but there was one issue. People took my lines, and I was just standing there the entire time! I wish I was able to say my lines, but I kept getting talked over. And apparently it was… very, very noticeable. Whatever, no biggie. Luckily, since these are the regionals and not the provincials, this is kind of just a practice round and I can talk everything over with my group before we present.
Anywho. I stood on some planks to help one of my team-members saw it, and brought some materials.
Unfortunately, though, my team members didn’t use any of the things I brought for the presentation. I brought a smoke machine, helmets, amongst other things, and on the last day, they decided that they didn’t need any of it. Hmm, okay, I’m fine with it.
After a few hours of practicing my lines and perfecting them, we went to present. Safe to say I was anxious, mean, I was presenting right in front of my parents. Luckily we were fine, but.. my team members kind of dragged me around, which I really didn’t like. In general, actually, I don’t like people touching me. I couldn’t say anything though, because we were in the middle of a presentation, so I kind of just… went with it. Luckily I don’t think anyone noticed that, but it was still a bit embarrassing for me.

And, actually, we got first place in senior fine arts! Our group did, anyway. It was pretty nerve racking stepping up to get our ribbons in front of so many people. Very nerve racking… but fun! I put it up beside my other achievements, but that’s besides the point. I wonder if we’ll win provincials, let’s hope so!

Hello, and welcome back to my blog! Today we’re getting a bit historical; and looking at some work I did on the subject of Louis Riel.
We’ve been studying who Louis Riel was when he was alive; but mostly on what Canadians perspectives were on him in both the past and the future. By looking at a few sources, I’ve gotten my answer. But that will come at the conclusion of the post. For now, we’re going to reflect on the work that I did.

Now, in total I wrote 3 paragraphs on Louis Riel. Mainly about how he was portrayed by artists in Sculptures. If you’re curious, here are the sculptures I took a look at.

Cool sculptures! Anyway, I used these examples in my post to think up of some ideas of what the artists wanted to portray. And, by looking at these sculptures, It’s pretty easy to know what the artists were going for, But I digress.

Now, what did I learn? Well, I learned a lot of things, mainly about Louis Riel, but also a lot about Métis history. While it was centred around Louis Riel, I was still learning about other Canadians involved, that be they were on Riel’s side or not. I was also learning how to pick out important information amongst side info that I didn’t really need. It comes in handy when note-taking.

A good representation of my learning can actually be seen in this image. Here’s my before and after of what my Riel paragraphs looked like.

Before..

And after!

In conclusion, I think I’ve written some pretty good paragraphs. I worked hard on this project, and working hard is half the battle. The other half is doing research and practice.

Hello, and welcome back to my blog! Today, we will be talking about my SECOND EVER winter exhibition… This time, instead of being on the topic of a movie, we are on the topic of real life events, but in metaphors!!

You see, for this exhibition, we had to prepare a Rube Goldberg machine to present. Don’t know what that is? I’ll tell you! A Rube Goldberg machine is basically a complicated machine that is made to do a simple task, usually with basic household items (pans, straws, spoons). Say, you are wanting to turn on/off a light. You can easily make a Rube Goldberg machine to do that for you!

IMG_2180
Now that you know what a Rube Goldberg machine is, I can explain to you what group we were.

A long time ago, in 1911, the Xinhai revolution started. It didn’t last for long, but it was historical enough for us to make an entire machine about it! And, wow, it was complicated. When we first started this project, I didn’t even know where to start. So, I didn’t! For an entire week! But luckily, I was able to figure it out at some point. Due to an unfortunate lack of easy-to-understand information on the revolution, I had to do a lot of research. But it was worth it in the end.

The exhibition lasted 5:30-around 8. We had to stand for the entire time, which was rather painful. But, luckily, I didn’t die! Which is super cool and awesomesauce. I, by far, ate the most of our own chocolates. But, that’s okay. Chocolates are meant to be enjoyed anyway.

Now, enough with the exhibition talk, let’s talk about the real reason why I made this post in the first place. To reflect on what I learnt. So, Hazel, what did you learn? Well, I learned a lot about revolutions… but I also learned how to better work as a team. Though my group was not perfect, I’m sure they also learned how to work better as a team altogether. Even though they completely forgot about my part in out documentary… oh, did I tell you we made a documentary? Yeah, it was pretty great, but I was only in it once so… all I’m saying is that it would have been better if I was in it more!

At 5:00AM, my dad gets up to go to work in North Vancouver every day, right beside the brewery! What a lucky guy. Once he says goodbye to his beautiful and precious daughter he zooms away in either his sports car, or in his SUV. Once he arrives at work, he says hello to no one, because he gets there first. 

The very first thing he does is open up his computer, and make a double espresso and reviews all the emails he’s gotten overnight, because someone is emailing at 1AM, and 2AM, and 3AM…

After he does that, he goes to check out a building at 7-9AM to do a BG review. He basically just reviews buildings to find problems and solutions to those problems so their buildings don’t explode. Depending on what he’s doing, he’ll check the structure of the building for signs of building distress, or inspecting for any water damage or concrete damage. After checking everything out, my dad writes a report and sends it in to the building problems.

On a more fun note, my dad once looked at a building where the elevator stopped working. And instead of going down, like how they usually fall in movies, it fell up. And smooshed like an accordion. 

Another time, a building in Toronto exploded, and my dad had to help EMS workers go into the building and show them where it was safe so they could collect the bodies. Unfortunately, it was a gas explosion.

Another time, my dad had to investigate why a building’s roof collapsed. Luckily, no one was actually hurt in that one. But there was a woman who was sitting on the roof at the time, and she got buried in dirt. Luckily she was okay!

Now; moral of the story, engineering, though it doesn’t sound super exciting.. actually is a very thrilling and exciting job to have at times! It is tough, but it is rewarding. I have done work at my dads job before, and in my personal experience it wasn’t too amazing because I was just cleaning windows, so it really depends on what you do. 

My dad, Brennan Vollering, founded Sense engineering in 2014 with his work buddy, Ted Denniston. They have been running this engineering company since then, setting up locations in multiple other provinces and cities. But what does the average structural engineer do in his day? This Bring Your Kid to Work Day presentation will show you everything that he does in just a single project.

To show you what he does at his work, I’ve put up a slideshow! Here it is:

In one of our PLP classes, we were given a week to remake a short horror film, called run. The link to the original movie is right here! It’s only about a minute and 30 seconds long.

Anyway, onto why I made this post in the first place… the remake! We were given the task to remake the short movie run, with minimal filming knowledge and experience… and if im being honest, it was very fun. Though I hadn’t done much in the first phase of the filming and editing, I did help in the second. BUT, we are also not talking about the remake of the remake (which we did do!). We are talking about the regular old remake.

Now, for the beginning of our remake, it was a Wednesday. We were ordered just the day before to bring costumes and props, to make the film look as similar as possible to the original. I wasn’t an actor in the first section of filming, in fact, I was supposed to be filming, but that role was quickly taken from me by another person in my group. Shame!

The next day, on Thursday, I wasn’t in class. I had to stay home that day due to medical difficulties. Fortunately, I am better now… not really but I’m getting there- but I wasn’t able to help edit or film the rest of the video. Big bummer. Anywho, I was there for the next week of filming! Which was the remake of the remake.. but that’s not this blog’s subject!

Thank you for reading this short summarization of my remake video!