In this unit, we focused on doing games such as frisbee golf and boche ball and corn hole. It was a really fun unit, but really short as well. I improved on my frisbee throwing skills the most, and really enjoyed frisbee golf.
1. What is the title of your installation artwork?
The title of the installation art is Polluted Oceans.
2. What experience did you want the audience to have? What specific elements or actions in your installation were designed to create that experience?
We wanted the audience to be able see the plastic fishes and wires then feel regret and sadness from polluting the see. We used things such as Starbucks cups to represent trash in sea, and also fish bones to represent animals dying from pollution.
3. After classmates interacted with your installation, do you think your group achieved your original goals?
Yes, our artwork interacted with the sense of sight and tried to interact with their emotions of regret and sadness.
Before this unit, I used to think that mental health was just all in the mind. Like a mindset problem or something people could just solve by just thinking correctly. For example, I thought that depression was just a “big” sadness stage where people could just become more happy. I used to have more of a “its a mindset problem” or “mental weakness” kind of belief.
But after this unit, I learnt that many disorders and certain mental health issues are genetic or born with. For example bipolar is largely genetic. I also learnt that most of these mental health issues are very hard to conquer, and require a lot of therapy as well. There were also a lot of concepts that I learnt along side mental health, such as the polarisation in social media, which is basically reinforcing idealogical beliefs. As well as the stigma and stereotypes that people with mental health issues have.
The activity that taught me the most was probably the presentation where everyone had to research different disorders and share their learning. For this presentation, our group focused on researching bipolar disorder, which is a mental health issue where people have occasional depression, and occasionally be very high. But the funnest activity was the discussion on whether or not we should ban social media for teenagers under 16 year old. I took the side that did not want to ban social media.
Track and Field is the most exhausting and kind of boring unit, especially the running. I did fine in the sports in track and field, but it wasn’t exceptional. I was relatively worse in running related fields compared to the balance, coordination and jumping fields.
1. What message are you conveying through your textile design? Which symbols, colors, and design elements did you incorporate to express this message?
The message I was trying to convey in this piece was fire and intensity. I used red and yellow as it is a colour often used to show explosion and anger. Whereas I used irregular shapes to show the intensity and unpredictability.
For the next piece of art, I tried to convey the message of “Nature is Beautiful”. I tried to convey this message by placing common objects, such as trees, clouds and mountains while trying to make this piece more calm and quiet through using the colour light blue as the sky.
2. During this unit, which specific skills and knowledge have you developed the most?
The skill I developed the most was linoleum cutting and boutique. In linoleum cutting, I was able to quickly and accurately carve pieces of linoleum to the rough shape I want it to be. Even though it is not as precise, I can easily create the shapes in very short amounts of time. For boutique, this was a new experience for me, but it wasn’t that hard as it was just a mix between painting and dyeing fabric. I also learnt how to dye a cloth during this unit. Through multiple try and errors, I am able to kind of control the colour and tone that I get when dyeing fabric.
3. Which skills and knowledge from this unit do you believe could be valuable outside of Art class?
I think linoleum cutting is the most valuable outside of art as it is very similar to laser cutting and other engineering related carving. I think that putting together a composition is a really important skill. In art, I can quickly think of a rough draft and where everything will go. I think this skill can help me in other areas that require thinking about what to create and how to create it, like an architect.
Throughout science this year, we studied four main units: Earth’s Place in the Universe, Biological Evolution, Earth’s Systems, and Earth and Human Activity. My favourite unit was Earth’s Place in the Universe, which focused on astronomy. I enjoyed it because space is mysterious and very different from the other topics we studied.
Evidence of Organisation
At the beginning of the year, my science notebook was sometimes messy and disorganised. Later, I improved by adding clearer headings, labeled diagrams, and more detailed notes.
Evidence of Active Learner Habits
This year I improved in participation, completing assignments on time, and using feedback to improve my work. I still need to work on asking deeper questions during class discussions.
Evidence of Understanding of Key Concepts
In Semester 1, I sometimes received 2/3 scores on my 3-for-3 assessments. By Semester 2, I had improved and mostly earned 3/3 scores, showing better understanding of key science concepts.
Evidence of Growth in Science Skills
The six science standards we focused on were:
- Developing and Using Models
- Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
- Engaging in Argument from Evidence (CER)
- Asking Questions and Defining Problems
- Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
- Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
I improved most in Standard 3: Engaging in Argument from Evidence (CER). Earlier in the year my CERs were unclear, but I learned to better connect claims, evidence, and reasoning.
The pickleball unit was very fun, it was like a mix between tennis and ping pong. During this unit, I learnt how to hit balls at every angle, as well as learning the basic rules of the game. I was pretty good at pickleball as I knew how to play tennis, overall I really enjoyed pickleball, especially the pickleball games.
在这个单元里，我们学了说明文，例如看云是天气，中国是拱桥，各知特色的明知。 第一个问题是，这个单元里取得了什么进步？我在这个单元里面学习到了有什么说明方法，还有怎么可以在作文里面使用这些说明方法。 例如有一个说明方法，我学到的是模状帽，我之前不知道是什么。 现在就知道是把一个东西的外貌描述下来。 我还学到了怎么用不同的说明方法，例如我知道怎么空间顺序，逻辑顺序和时间顺序的不同特点，然后怎么可以在自己写作的时候使用出来逻辑顺序。 我碰到了有不同的困难，一开始的时候我并不会逻辑顺序里面的不同的，我一开始不知道那些说明顺序的不同的特征，后面我就学到了，后面我就是看那个看云是天气的课文，然后就学到了逻辑顺序和空间顺序，然后学那个石拱桥的时候，我也学到了空间顺序和逻辑顺序。 第三个问题是你还是需要提高什么？我觉得我还是需要提高我的用说明文，在说明文里写说明文的时候用的说明顺序的顺序，因为我这次写作的时候，我的作文里面虽然逻辑顺序是对的，但是那些字体的那个段落的顺序可以改一下，把它变得更加通顺。 我希望下次我的目标就是可以在写作的时候也能用上这些清晰的顺序来表达出自己的想法和能写得出来要写的东西。
My WOOP goal was to procrastinate less on my computer, and have a better sleep and work schedule. I learnt that I can actually stop myself from procrastinating if I try to do so. For example using Opal app helped me a lot because it constantly reminded me not to Procrastinate. I was able to be more resilient, and control my gratification/reward system.
1. Active Learner Habits
Strengths
One of the main strengths I bring to math is my participation. I regularly contribute to class discussions, ask questions when I do not understand something, and try to stay actively involved during lessons. I also often help classmates or people around me when they don’t understand or need help.
Area of Growth
An area of growth where I could improve on is my organisation skills, as I sometimes forget to bring my math notebook to class. I could improve this by creating a habit where I would place my notebook back in my bag after I finish doing my homework.
2. Math Notation and Communication
Reflection:
Over the past few months, my math notebook has become more neater and organised.
3. Evidence of Understanding of Key Concepts
Reflection (for each example):
For the first project, using lines and transformations to draw your own image, I created a dad and baby dinosaur that utilised the dilation transformation. It was a really fun project.
For the second unit, we created our own word problem relating to linear equations and graphing. My problem was about the Chernobyl Incident and how the Radiation Levels changed over a period of time.
Final Reflection:
Overall, this semester has been really fun and I learnt a lot of new formulas and methods to solving different equations.