Esther's Portfolio

My Student Led Conference

March 12, 2026 /

Introduction

The purpose of my conference is to inform you about all the work I’ve done up to now.

I’d like to share:

  • What I’ve done and what I still want to achieve
  • Some areas of growth, struggles, and some of my work
  • My goals and how I plan to achieve them

My Vision Board

Some of the things included on my vision board are:

  • The goals I made for the second semester
  • A person speaking Spanish to symbolize one of my goals
  • An art piece which shows that I want to improve
  • Both my instruments I want to improve at

These are important because:

My Goals Are:

1. Improve understanding of advanced Spanish vocabulary

2. Contribute more in P.E. classes

3. Spend less time on my devices on the weekends

Here is evidence of how I was able to start to make progress towards my goals.

Transdisciplinary Transfer Goal (TTG)

The TTG I chose to reflect upon throughout the year is Critical Thinking. I chose this TTG to work on because often times I find myself reading through something, like an article, once and not giving it a second thought on whether the information given is accurate or not.

Artifact 1: Science Discussion Post

Artifact 2: English Independent Time Poster

Core Subject: Math 🧮

I will now share my progress in Math.

Strengths

  • Focused learning
  • Effective communication
  • Willingness to learn new kkills

Areas of Growth

  • Critical thinking
  • Using units
  • Mind wandering

Artifact 1 – My Portfolio Reflection

Artifact 2 – My Math Notebook.

Core Subject: Science 🧪

I will now share my progress in Science.

Strengths

  • Writing effective CERs
  • Submitting assignments on time
  • Creating accurate models

Areas of Growth

  • Reflection
  • Class participation
  • Group work

Artifact 1 – My Portfolio Reflection

Artifact 2 – My Science Notebook

Core Subject: Language Arts 📖

I will now share my progress in Language Arts.

Artifact 1: First Quarter Independent Time Poster

I included this artifact because this was one of the first projects I did for ELA. This project demonstrated my ability to find and analyze multiple sources about a topic. I chose the topic of false advertising in fast food because I had previously seen many articles talking about these lawsuits and it made me wonder why things haven’t changed since then.

Artifact 2: Narrative Writing

I included this artifact as I am proud of how the final draft of the narrative scene rewrite turned out. In this assignment, we were given a choice between a variety of short stories and were asked to rewrite a scene that could be improved by us the most. I chose the climax of the story as I thought that the original story had a lot of potential, but it lacked imagery and the dialogue felt like there wasn’t anything important happening during that scene. That is why I rewrote the scene to have more imagery, and for the dialogue that would capture the reader’s attention.

Core Subject: Social Studies 🌏

Artifact 1 and 2: Link to portfolio reflection and artifacts

I chose my Migration Documentary as an artifact as it is the most recent project I have finished in Social Studies and it is also the one that I am most proud of. In the project, we had to interview a person who has migrated from one place to another, and create a product based on their story. I wanted to create a video that documented my interviewee’s experience while also keeping the video light-hearted, which is what I kept in mind during the creation of the video. I chose the reflection as an artifact as it is the reflection for Unit 3, which is the one where I created the migration documentary.

World Language: Spanish

Artifact 1 and 2: Link to portfolio reflection and posters

I chose the two end-of-unit poster projects as my artifacts because I feel like the end-of-unit projects are the most accurate depiction of how my learning has improved. In the first poster, there are some conjugation errors and the graphics didn’t feel too aesthetically pleasing. In the second poster, there are some noticeable improvements in color and the information provided in the poster is detailed and are all conjugated correctly.

Encore: PE

Artifact 1: Net-and-Wall (Badminton) Unit Reflection

I chose this unit reflection as my artifact as the badminton unit is the unit that I most enjoyed so far. Before this unit, I had already played badminton before and so I had a better idea of how to play and win. During the unit, I learnt new ways that I could serve the shuttle, and different techniques of how to hit the shuttle, such as a drop shot.

Artifact 2: Table Tennis Unit Reflection

I chose this unit reflection as my artifact as the table tennis unit was the first P.E. unit of the year. I also chose this reflection to make a comparison to my most recent unit reflection (see artifact 1) to show how the detail in my reflections has improved throughout the semester.

Encore: Health

Artifact 1: WOOP Goal (Project) Reflection

I chose this reflection as an artifact as the WOOP Goal Project was one that I put a lot of time into. During this project, we had to find an app that addressed something that we would like to improve on. I chose emotional regulation and downloaded the “Smiling Mind” app on my phone. I then used the app for about 2-3 weeks and documented my usage in the portfolio reflection above.

Artifact 2: Wellness Compass Goals for 2026

I chose this as my second artifact as it was the last thing I worked on in Health class. In this worksheet, we had to choose a goal from a wellness compass and set a goal for every standard of the wellness compass to work on in the following year.

Encore: Band

Artifact 1: Link to portfolio reflection

I chose this reflection as an artifact because it was a reflection about the whole of semester 1 and I thought that it encompassed my learning throughout the semester well.

Artifact 2: Responding Task (an extract of the full document)

I chose this assignment as an artifact as in the assignment I had demonstrated my ability to analyze and choose songs for specific scenarios. In this assignment, we were given 5 different scenarios and were told to choose a song that fitted each scenario. We also had to describe why a song fitted a scenario and to use musical terminology when describing the song.

Encore: Design Tech

Artifact 1: Inkscape Horse Design

I chose this as an artifact as it is the first project I have done in DT this year. The project was for us to design a wall/ceiling decoration that was connected to Chinese New Year. The application that was used for this project is called Inkscape, and I had used it before, so I had a better understanding on how to navigate the interface.

Artifact 2: Fusion Speaker design

I chose this as an artifact as it is my progress on my most recent project. In class, we had to design a bluetooth speaker that matched our clients (our) needs. Because I had never used fusion before, I decided to first create a rough idea of how I wanted the speaker to look, for example the size and details.

My Strengths 💪🏻:

Some of my strengths are:

  • Organized and ready for class
  • Creative learner
  • Willing to participate

Areas of Growth

Some of the skills I would like to grow in are:

  • Time management
  • Critical thinking
  • Effective collaboration

Highlights of the year:

So far, some of the highlights of my year were:

  • Social Studies WW1 Simulation
  • Science Climate and Weather Research Project
  • Math Exploding Pumpkins Experiment

Closing

Thank you for listening to my progress towards my goals over the last year. Do you have any questions?

“Ask more questions text frame“/ CC0 1.0

Spanish Portfolio Reflection

March 12, 2026 /

Unit 1: Bienvenidos

In this unit, we reviewed the usage of vers such as ser and estar (both words translate to “be”). We also reviewed the conjugation of verbs in past and present tense. We learnt about the special conjugations for irregular verbs and how to use reflexive verbs.

Unit 2: Be Healthy

In this unit, we learnt different vocabulary and phrases that are connected to being healthy, for example salud (healthy), bebe mas agua (drink more water), and duerme mas (sleep more). We made posters that represented the ideas we learnt during this unit, displayed below:

Spainsh Healthy Habits (2)Download

Unit 3: The Environment

In this unit, we learnt about different vocabulary that relate to the environment, for example basura (trash), el medio ambiente (the environment), and el especies en el peligro de extinciton (endangered species). We also learnt how to conjugate words in future form, for example, reciclare (I will recycle) and comere (I will eat). We also learnt how to use interpersonal expressions and affirmative expressions. As our end product, we created a poster informing people of an event that would help the environment using the vocabulary words we had learnt, displayed below:

Band Reflection Semester 1

March 12, 2026 /

My Strengths:

My strengths are that I am able to arrive to class on time, and have the correct equipment and material that would be needed for the class. When playing the clarinet, I am able to play with precision, articulation and rhythm. I also turn in my quality work on time. I am able to convey the feeling the piece wants to express, and I am able to identify musical notation with accuracy and compose a piece of music based on requirements. Evidence of these skills are from the S/D/T project in which my partner and I worked on a piece called A Whole New World from the movie Aladdin. During the process of learning this piece, I displayed these skills as I was able to sight-read the piece mostly well and was making my rendition of the piece better with every practice session.

Evidence of the S/D/T preformance:

My Areas For Growth:

Areas for growth in Band class for me are that I would need to make use of the “resubmit” option when turning in assignments. To do this I would go and check my grades on Schoology and if it is below expectations I will re-record and resubmit the assignment.

Science Class Portfolio Reflection

March 12, 2026 /

Evidence of Organization

Notebook at the start of the year:

Notebook near the end of Semester 1:

My Science notebook is a useful tool for me to note down what is being taught in class and to later review class materials.

Evidence of Active Learner Habits

Active Learner Rubric (Dated October 25th):

Based on my Semester 1 and Semester 2 Schoology grades, 3 learner skills I have improved on are writing effective CERs, submitting my assignments on time, and my ability to create accurate models. A learner skill I still have to improve on are my 3 for 3 scores.

Evidence of Understanding of Key Concepts

Semester 1 3 for 3’s :

Semester 2 3 for 3’s:

Based on the grades above, at the start of the school year, I didn’t have a clear understanding of some of the concepts that were being taught in science class, but my understanding gradually improved over time.

Evidence of Growth in Science Skills

Grade 8 Science Standards:

  • Standard 1: Developing and Using Models
  • Standard 2: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
  • Standard 3: Engaging in Argument from Evidence (CER)
  • Standard 4: Asking Questions and Defining Solutions
  • Standard 5: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
  • Standard 6: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information

My development in Standard 3:

Before (Semester 1):

After (Semester 2):

From the evidence above, we can see that my ability to produce specific evidence based on the sources given has improved through the year.

PE Net-Wall Unit: Badminton Reflection

February 27, 2026 /

What Went Well:

I already knew how to play badminton beforehand, which meant that I was overall more prepared to play more competitively. I improved my skill of serving the ball as well as hitting the shuttlecock from a long distance, which meant my hand-eye coordination also improved.

Even Better If:

I spent more time trying to keep my wrist from moving in the future. It would also be better if I could coordinate with my teammates more efficiently.

 Math Student-Led Conference Portfolio Reflection

January 29, 2026 /

1. Active Learner Habits

Describe three strengths you bring to math class.

-One strength I bring to math class is my focused learning skill and environment.

-Another strength I bring is my effective communication skills which I attempt to use to lead my table group in activities.

-A third strength I bring is my willingness to learn new math skills to further improve my problem-solving abilities.

Area of Growth
Identify one Active Learner habit you want to improve during second semester.

-One habit I want to improve this semester is my tendency for my mind to wander sometimes.

-This is an area of growth for me because in class, I sometimes already know the information beforehand and feel less attentive while in class.

Plan for Growth
Explain how you will work on improving this habit.

– One specific action I will take is to remind myself to dial in and focus on class if I feel myself drifting away. I will also ask the people at my table to remind me if they feel like I am drifting off.

 

2. Math Notation and Communication

Math Notebook at the Start of the Year:

Math Notebook at the End of Semester 1:

    Reflection:

    • Write one sentence answering this question:
      How has my math work improved? My math has improved throughout this semester as at the start of the semester 1, I was still adjusting to the new environment. After a short settling in session I quickly got into the pacing of the math class. Over time, my math notebook shows higher levels of organization as I got into the habit of writing the learning objective below every title page, and also got neater handwriting.

    During the conference:

    • Bring your physical math notebook.
    • Have it open and ready to show your examples as you speak.

    3. Evidence of Understanding of Key Concepts

    Reflection Example 1: Designing a Story Problem

    This example shows that I understand the concepts that are essential in describing a linear function displayed on a graph. On the left side, there is evidence that I have the ability to identify domain, range, and both intercepts.

    Reflection Example 2: Exploding Pumpkins Progress Tracker

    This example shows that I understand how to use different mathematical calculators to determine the linear regression, and describe it using the context given.

    Final Reflection:

    Overall, my work shows that I can be organized and effective with my notes, as well as able to correctly describe and use key mathematical concepts.

    Badminton Unit Portfolio Reflection

    January 19, 2026 /

    Something I learned in the badminton unit is how to preform a forehand drop shot, which I was previously bad at. Something I could improve on next time is my long shots as I have found that I can’t hit that far on a number of occasions. Something I enjoyed this unit was being able to play for the longer half of the classes.

    Unit 2 Reflection & Semester Check-In

    January 13, 2026 /

    This portfolio post has 2 parts:

    1. Reflection on your Unit 2 Celebration of Learning
    2. End-of-Semester Goal Review & New Goal Setting

    Part 1: Unit 2 Topic A and B Test Reflection (Functions & Statistics)

    A. Evidence of Your Best Thinking

    Select two questions from your Unit 2 test that best show your thinking.

    1. I chose Question 3 as evidence of my best thinking because I had correctly described the association of the scatter plot using the context of the graph, and I was also able to use the linear regression model to predict a certain quantity.
    2. I chose Question 7 as evidence of my best thinking because I had explained in detail my reasonings to questions such as “Explain what the slope and y-intercept mean in context” and “Decide whether the data supports the claim that ‘Practicing more piano causes higher scores’.”

    B. Skills Reflection

    Complete each sentence honestly and thoughtfully.

    1. Throughout Unit 2, I improved the most at writing linear regression models in slope-intercept and point-slope form.
    2. One skill from this unit that I still need to work on is finding the relation with correlation and causation.
    3. The biggest challenge for me on this assessment was the critical thinking section and how correlation related to causation.
    4. One strategy that helped me on this test was that I wrote my thinking down and took my time reading through all the questions.

    Part 2: Goal Reflection & End-of-Semester Check-In

    A. Looking Back at Your Last Goal

    Last unit, you set this goal: In the next unit, I want to focus better in math class.

    1. How well did you work toward this goal?
    2. ☐ Very well ☐ Somewhat ☐ I struggled with this
    3. What helped you make progress toward this goal? I felt more motivated after I set myself a goal.
    4. What got in the way of this goal (if anything)? Not really anything.

    B. End-of-Semester Self Reflection

    1. List three strengths you have shown last semester: Persistence, Independence, Adaption
    2. List three areas you still want to improve: Communication, Achievements, Academics

    C. New Academic Goal Moving Forward

    Complete all parts:

    1. In the next unit I want to continue advancing in the quality of work, effort, and time I put into math class.
    2. What might get in the way of this goal? Something that might get in the way of this goal is that during the second semester I might have to dedicate more time to other subjects.
    3. What will I do if I get stuck or need help? If I need help I can schedule a lunch meeting with Ms. Fisher to communicate my concerns or I can type her an email.
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