Creative Thinker
Task 1 — Writing a Modern Fairy Tale
Writing a modern fairy tale was one of the most memorable tasks for me. At first, I had no idea what to write about. As I stared blankly at my computer screen, feeling frustrated and about to give up, I noticed that a lot of my classmates are feeding on social media. This observation gave me an idea to write about a fairy tale that highlights the negative impacts of social media and the significance of creating genuine connections. “The Tale of the Digital Dragon” was therefore created. It’s about the main character’s journey of learning to find true connections both online and offline.
Reflecting on this task, writing this fairy tale not only challenged my creativity but also deepened my understanding of digital well-being. This task was a super rewarding experience. Through this experience, I realized the powerful role storytelling plays in tackling modern issues.
Critical Thinker
Task 10 — That’s Outlandish!
In this activity, I came up with the idea of creating a “floating city” in the sky in order to sustain the current living conditions of human. As we all recognize, population is skyrocketing in nowadays, thus overconsumption creates immense pressure on land resources and pollution. Through the rapid technological advancements and sustainable resources such as solar and wind energy, I think that creating a “floating city” is plausible and benefits all.
Through this task, I realized the importance of thinking outside the box and being creative with solutions, helping me in the future.
Resilience
Task 4 — Thank You Card
Writing the thank you card for my friend Elsie today was an incredible experience. This is my absolute first time writing a thank you card for a person that is special to me. As I sat down to put my mind into phrases, I felt complete of appreciation. It’s clean to take friendships for granted, however taking the time to express my appreciation & gratitude reminded me of how much Elsie means to me. Moreover, writing the card allowed me to slow down and truly reflect on the positive impact she has had on me and the moments we shared.
Seeing that when she reads it, she feels the same joy and love that I felt while writing it makes me so happy. This simple act of gratitude reinforced our relationship and reminded me of the importance of friendships.
Skillful Communicator
Task 15 — AI Celebrity
In this activity, I explored the potential of AI starting with a piece of original writing I did last year. Then, I asked AI to rewrite the writing in the tone of different celebrities. After repeating this process multiple times, I was truly fascinated. This activity showed me how advanced Ai technology is already in nowadays, something that I was ignoring in the past. Moreover, this whole experience gave me a new sense of appreciation for the potential of AI in the future and how it my help and assist humans in different ways, making our life much more easier and convenient.
Effective Collaborator
Task 9 — Creating a Fitness Routine
Creating a fitness routine was a really interesting task that I have never tried before. I tried to do this routine in a reasonable and useful way for myself so that I could actually commit to this process. I did some research and finalized my fitness routine:
I committed to this fitness routine for over a week and found that it was actually a really good way to relief stress and make me focus on something else for a while. Moreover, this habit made me more disciplined and fit.
Extra Circular
Since the beginning of the semester, I had been participating in Model United Nations. This special activity helped me learn and grow in multiple aspects. First of all, it improved my public speaking skills and ability to improvise significantly. Moreover, I enhanced my critical thinking abilities by analyzing global issues, proposing solutions, and representing my country’s stance during the whole process. MUN also developed my research skills and taught me the importance of teamwork and collaborating with one another in an effective way.
Big Project
The Drag-Race Project in physics this semester has been a wonderful experience. In this process, I realized the importance of collaborating with my team member and accommodating one another in different ways such as different sleeping schedules and platforms for communication etc. Moreover, this taught me the significance of listening to other’s ideas and communicating in an effective way. Building a race car together with my partner is really fun and enjoyable and taught me a lot of lessons throughout the process.
In today’s maker-space session, I was introduced to a variety of machines and tools to develop my own interest. I also realized the significance of safety and keeping things in an organized manner. Furthermore, I explored different useful tools relating to design such as tinker cad, inkspace, and . The process is very engaging and I hope to use them more in the future. 👹
Thought this ZOOM activity, I strengthened my ability to communicate and collaborate with other peers. I realized the importance of listening to others when working together and the power of teamwork. I enjoyed this activity a lot.
Through this workshop, I want to commit to the AI related goal of thinking about whether or not it’s the right thing to do and if it might affect others before using it.
This AI-related is important to me as it reminds me of the boundaries and impact of AI usage and helps me get on the right track and become a critical thinker rather than completely relying on AI. Moreover, this goal is also important to the ones receiving my work as this action shows respect to their time and effort to grade my work.
To get started, this week I will write or draw in a journal about how I’m using AI to better help me reflect.
Through this activity, I learned the importance of treating others with respect and kindness online. For example, avoid engaging in cyberbullying and using inappropriate language. 😇
Moreover, I recognized the significance of protecting your own privacy. For example, don’t share your password with others.
Through today’s library activity, I recognized the importance of creating original works and avoiding plagiarism through proper citations. Furthermore, I learned how to navigate my way through high school library system as a newbie. Moreover, I had a lot of fun working together with my friends throughout the activity and I love how engaging this activity was.
Reflecting on my time in middle school, there are several aspects I wish I had known back then that would have made my journey through middle school much smoother, and help me survive in high school. One important area I wish I had understood more deeply is the importance of developing time management skills. Learning how to effectively prioritize tasks, manage my time efficiently, and stay organized would have undoubtedly helped me navigate through middle school more successfully. DON’T PROCRASTINATE. Yeah. That’s the pro tip. Additionally, I wish I had recognized the importance of seeking support and guidance from teachers when facing academic or personal challenges. Building a strong support network and actively seeking for help would definitely help a lot throughout my journey.
I can see that my strengths lie in critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. These skills have been crucial in my success in middle school and will continue to support my successful transition to high school. However, I also acknowledge areas for improvement, such as time management and self-regulation — through strategies such as setting reminders on my calendar, and creating to-do lists. By identifying these different areas, I am committed to work on developing a more well-rounded skill set that will help me survive in high school and beyond.
Looking ahead to the transition to high school, I am filled with a sense of excitement and anticipation for the new experiences and opportunities that are provided and awaiting for me. I am eager to engage in the abundant extracurricular activities and clubs provided by SAS that align with my interests. I am also excited to meet new peers and make friends with people who share my passions and aspirations. High school represents a fresh start and a chance to further explore my academic and personal goals. I am enthusiastic about embracing this next chapter in my educational journey.
Why have a digital portfolio at SAS?
Creating a portfolio, or blog is a great way to collect all the work you’ve done throughout your academic career. You can include academic, athletic, and personal artifacts or experiences that you want to share with a wider audience. This is a great way to organize all your learning in one place and you can take it with you when you leave SAS. When you make your portfolio, you create posts that are categorized according to your subject. Some categories have already been set up for you, but if you need more categories you can add them as needed. It’s important that your posts have the following:
- An engaging title – this should not include the name of the subject since this is referenced in the category. Think of this as the first opportunity to engage and hook your reader!
- Body – this is where you share your learning. This should include a combination of text and media in the form of images, graphics, and embedded videos. You should always consider how your post looks to your audience. Is it engaging and organized? Do they want to keep reading?
- Category – select one that has been set for you or add a new category. Posts can have more than one category e.g. Humanities and Myself as a Learner
- Tags – create tags that can be used as keywords to describe your post. Tags help organize your post a little more! Aim to have 3-5 tags for each post. For example, if you are posting about a novel you wrote, you might want the following tags: #Fiction, #MurderMystery, #Theme, #PlotDiagram
Click on the images below to find a few helpful tips for creating your posts, adding media, and making categories:
