Hello Parents, Mr.Tafel and esteemed guests. My name is Marcus Huang and I would like to share my learning journey with you today. This is an opportunity for me to reflect on my progress and my achievements for this school year. I’ll be walking you through some of my work, discussing what I’ve learned, and sharing how I’ve grown throughout the year. Thank you for being here to support me and let’s get started!
Vision Board
Things I added to my vision board:
– Model United Nations
-Badminton
-Learner
-My Goals Are:
-Trying my best to not have overdue and missing assignments this year
-Decrease my procrastination rates
-Have a better work schedule
Here is the evidence of how I start to make progress towards my goal
This is my new organization system I’ve been using this school year
I haven’t had a single overdue science homework ever since the start of second semester
The TTGs I choose to reflect this year are…
-My passion for debating and Model United Nations
I found out that ever since I started MUN, I learned that I enjoy debating and making speeches. Although I still stutter sometimes, I found that my experience in MUN boosts my confidence in speaking, and now I’m a lot more comfortable speaking in public.
-My Passion for Badminton
I started badminton in June, and I instantly fell in love with it. Although I’m still not as good as most of my friends, I’ve been improving, and I wish to eventually reach my full potential.
Core Subject: Language Arts 📖
-Strengths Communication Creating Ideas Working as a group
-Areas of Growth Organization Following criteria requirements Time management
Artifact 1:
This is my motivational speech. I chose this because, during the mini-unit, we learned how to create motivational speeches and how to speak in public comfortably.
Artifact 2:
In this unit, we read various stories and learned how to analyze them by identifying and explaining their main ideas. I enjoyed exploring themes, characters, and messages, which helped me understand the author’s purpose. Practicing analysis improved my critical thinking and taught me to support my ideas with evidence. This unit made me appreciate storytelling and gave me more confidence in interpreting literature.
Core Subject: Science 🧪
Strengths Gathering evidence Creating Ideas Working effectively with group
Areas of Growth Organization Following the lab directions Time management
Artifact 1:
Why did I choose this artifact?
-My group and I spent several lessons researching the vaquita, a rare species on the brink of extinction. We learned they’re dying mainly because they get caught in fishing nets, and we explored solutions like safer fishing practices and protecting their habitat in the Gulf of California. This project taught me how important conservation is and how we can help save endangered species like the vaquita. It was really eye-opening and made me want to do more to protect animals in danger.
Artifact 2:
Why did I choose this artifact?
I chose this artifact because during this unit, we learned about latitudes and climates on Earth. We were assigned different cities, and I got Shigatze, Tibet.
-The altitude of Shigatze was around 3800 meters above sea level, which is extremely high compared to Shanghai, which only has an altitude of 4 meters.
-I found the process of working on this presentation to be both complicated and interesting since I had to research a lot of things about the city.
Core Subject: Math 🧮 I will now share my progress in Math…
Strengths Creating ideas for equations Making table/line graphs Cooperating with other people
Areas of Growth Showing my work Using units Converting units
Artifacts I chose:
-L3 Scientific Notation Project
Why did I choose this project?
I found the process of working on this project to be fun and complicated at the same time. I spent quite some time working on the equations to show how many plastic straws it takes to circle around the Earth’s circumference. I also needed to find the length of the straws and the amount of plastic straws humans use every year globally.
Artifact 2:
In this artifact, my group and I were predicting how many rubber bands it takes to explode a pumpkin. This was our document where we placed all our research inside and created an equation to predict the amount of rubber bands it would take.
Encore- Health
Artifacts I chose:
-L3 Scientific Notation Project
Why did I choose this project?
I found the process of working on this project to be fun and complicated at the same time. I spent quite some time working on the equations to show how many plastic straws it takes to circle around the Earth’s circumference. I also needed to find the length of the straws and the amount of plastic straws humans use every year globally.
Encore-Health
What I learned so far in Health Class
-In this unit, I learned about psychology and how the brain deals with different situations such as stress.
-I learned that humans’ brains won’t fully develop until their mid-20s.
Artifacts for Health Class:
Artifact 1:
This presentation was made by me, Matthew, and Kieran.
In this presentation, we explained how sleep affects the mind. We also created strategies to help people sleep better, such as turning off devices before you go to sleep, relaxing all your muscles, and limiting caffeinated drinks such as coffee before sleeping.
Artifact 2:
The Thought Model
In this model, I drew examples on how different thought would affect you actions.
The model was a negative reframe based on friendship.
In this model, the thought was, “I don’t think I belong in this friend group”. In the model, it led to feelings such as isolation and loneliness, which eventually led to the thought of “my friends don’t want me to be in this group”.
Social Studies
Strength Analysis Data Analysis Synthesis of Information
Areas of Growth Active Learner Research Skills Debate and Argumentation
Artifact 1: World War One analysis
Artifact 2: Social Studies Debate
-These two artifacts show the growth I had this semester. In my first artifact, an opening argument about why Euthanasia shouldn’t be legalized, my writing wasn’t as strong as it could have been.
– The argument was bland, and it felt a little biased—I don’t think I did a great job showing how each section supported my main point. Looking back, I can see where I could have been more organized and thorough.
– However, my growth became clear in my next piece, the WWI Impact Analysis. This time, I provided a much deeper analysis, making thoughtful connections between historical events and their impact on future tank developments.
– I focused on creating a clear structure and ensuring every part of the essay supported my argument. This showed a stronger understanding of the topic and how to present it effectively. Overall, I’m really proud of how much I improved over the semester. I have learned how to organize and explain my ideas better, making stronger connections between my points. It was quite a journey, and I learned a lot from it.
PE
My goal was to improve my badminton skills by focusing on agility, accuracy, and consistency during matches. I chose this goal because I wanted to become a more competitive player and enjoy the game more. To achieve this, I set a realistic plan by practicing specific drills, such as shuttle control and footwork exercises, and gradually increased the intensity of my sessions. I scheduled regular practice days to build consistency and tracked my progress by recording my match scores and technique improvements. By breaking the goal into smaller steps and staying committed, I was able to enhance my skills and make badminton a more rewarding part of my routine.
Chinese
Chinese Reflection
In Chinese class, my writing often lacked authenticity and detail, with language that felt basic and unsophisticated. My sentences were straightforward and didn’t convey much emotion, making my work feel flat and unengaging. Over time, I worked on improving by reading more Chinese literature to understand how to use more descriptive language and express deeper sentiments. I also practiced adding more details and emotional expressions into my writing, focusing on making it more relatable and touching. By paying attention to tone and using more advanced vocabulary, my writing became more engaging and heartfelt. Now, my compositions feel more authentic and moving, with a stronger ability to connect with readers on an emotional level.
Band
-I play the flute, and our recent winter concert performance was a great experience. We performed two pieces: Irish Washerwoman and Brazilian Bells. Irish Washerwoman was fast-paced and lively, requiring me to focus on rhythm and precision. Brazilian Bells had beautiful melodies and dynamic changes, which made it enjoyable to play. During rehearsals, I worked on improving my breath control and tone to blend well with the ensemble. Performing in front helped me build confidence as a musician; although I was still a bit nervous. But I’m proud of how our band performed, and I look forward to continuing to improve and take on new challenges in the future.
Passion Project:
For the past months, I’ve been working on my Formula One passion project. My project will be creating a presentation and a report predicting which Formula One team in 2025 would have the most points by the end of the year. I will be using race data, strategies, and the cars used by different F1 teams and predict which F1 team would have the highest chance of having the most points by the end of the year.
-This app limits my screen time usage since sometimes I can’t really control my own time on my phone
-The app works by locking my apps, such as Instagram and Brawl Stars, and Netflix once my screen time reaches 3-4 hours (I can adjust the screen time)
-When it locks your app, it will provide you with a friendly reminder and a quote
Example of Opal locking my apps
-The app encourages me to spend less time on my phone and do something healthy or productive instead (such as taking a walk or reading a book)
The Progress I made on the App
The data shown compared my screen time data compared to the other users of this app
Before I used this app, my average screen time was around 5 hours. But from the data shown, my screen time decreased significantly by 1 hour and 30 minutes
My screen time data from the previous week
-The app also allows you to choose the difficulty you want; I chose reminder since sometimes there are certain times I need to check the apps.
Opal App Settings
Pros of the app:
-It decreases your screen time usage
-Allows you to choose difficulty you want
-Compares your screen time data to its other users
Cons of the app:
-Sometimes the screen time data it provides can be different from the screen time on the Apple Settings, meaning that sometimes its data might be inaccurate.
-The App can be quite laggy sometimes
How does this app improve my stress resilience?
-It improves my stress resilience by reducing my screen time, since my phone can be quite a distraction sometimes, meaning that I would likely procrastinate on my phone, meaning that I can’t get my work done efficiently.
I found the process of working on this project to be fun and complicated at the same time. I spent quite some time working on the equations to show how many plastic straws it takes to circle around the Earth’s circumference. I also needed to find the length of the straws and the amount of plastic straws humans use every year globally.
Artifact 2: Volume Celebration of Learning
Why did I choose this artifact?
I found the COL to be relatively easy, although I was stuck on the second question for a little while, but I eventually figured out how to do that question. I found the volume unit to be very interesting, and I think I had a decent understanding of the workings and equations from the volume unit.
Marcus Huang’s Science Student-Led Conference
Artifact 1:
Why did I choose this artifact?
-Because this Canva presentation was the final product of all the research my group and I did. We used all of our research on the extremely rare species known as Vaquita.
-My group and I spent multiple lessons working on the research, and during the process, we learned why vaquitas are going extinct and ways we can keep them from going extinct.
Artifact 2:
Why did I choose this artifact?
I chose this artifact because during this unit, we learned about latitudes and climates on Earth. We were assigned different cities, and I got Shigatze, Tibet.
-The altitude of Shigatze was around 3800 meters above sea level, which is extremely high compared to Shanghai, which only has an altitude of 4 meters.
-I found the process of working on this presentation to be both complicated and interesting since I had to research a lot of things about the city.
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:
