Ray's Portfolio

Three strengths

-One strength I bring to math class is my focus. I think that when I’m doing individual work, I am very focused because I want to get it done as soon as possible. One example of this is during the Design a Story Problem. I was by myself and I focused on the project so I got a decent grade on it.

-Another strength I bring is my attendance. I usually come to class on time and I am rarely late. I come to school and I don’t skip class so I have good attendance and I am good at keeping time.

-The last strength is my preparation. I come in prepared and I write all my learning targets and notes. I also get all the equipments I need such as glue sticks and pencils. This makes me focused and I get to write my notes effectively.

Area of Growth

-One habit I want to improve this semester is my group contribution. Sometimes in group tasks, I don’t know what to do and that makes it hard for me to make a contribution. I want to improve my group contribution so it could make work completion more efficient.

Plan for Growth
– I will work on this habit by gaining chemistry with my group and provide more help to the team

In this unit, we played Badminton and developed many skills such as different types of serves and shot types. We also played many games with other teammates. This unit was really fun and it helped me learn more about badminton and I also got to connect more with other people. Although we were not a strong team, we had a lot of fun.

My story is about a kid who enjoys eating chickens and it models how much chicken he eats per month. His chicken eating process goes on for 6 months and he experiences dates where he eats a small amount compared to eating a large amount.

I am most proud of my reasoning and my calculations, including calculating the slope and solving the problem itself. I’m also proud of how I created a graph with many intervals and how I created a problem I’m actually interested in.

The hardest part of creating a piecewise function is to model it and follow the problem while making everything clear and detailed. Thinking of a good problem is also difficult as I have many options to choose from.

If I could revise something, I would probably make the question more complex as solving the problem was fairly easy. I would also take a better photo of the graph or make an online graph as the quality is low.

This project really helped me understand piecewise function better as it helps me visualize what it is like by creating my own graph and model.

Audience insight:
I want the audience to know that I like socializing with people and I live in a diverse and modern city. This is why I incorporated mini figures and buildings in this piece. It’s also currently at night in this piece, resembling how I nigh time where I get my own freetime and time to chat with friends. I hope the audience can get that I like talking with new people and meeting with people from different diverse cultures.

Risks:
This piece is very difficult to make as I didn’t know how to incorporate buildings. Initially, I decided to cut strips of paper and I stuck it on the canvas but it looked terrible, so I thought about the piece for a long time. However, during my time searching for magazines, I saw a building from a SAS handbook that had a thick texture. So I decided to cut out the building and I stuck it on the canvas, which looked very nice. I found more structures and buildings and I made a skyline. This is risky as the whole canvas could be flooded with random buildings. I worked through this with precise planning and anticipation.

This unit, we praticied dribbling and passing skills in soccer while learning about positioning and tactics. I really liked this unit because we got to play games with other teams and I think I helped my team a lot. I can improve by passing better and shooting the ball.

This unit, we learned how to play water polo and practice basic swimming strokes. We practiced dribbling, passing and playing full water polo games. We also practiced swim strokes such as breast and head up freestyle. This unit was very fun and rewarding because water polo is a great sport and practicing swim strokes is always very important.

I chose this artifact because it shows how my socratic seminar went in detail. It shows that I am a communicator who is capable of speaking but doesn’t speak as much everytime and I don’t dominate a socratic seminar nor I am quiet.

1- LA GUERRE DES JUMEAUX (ORAL) 

a- Explain that you had to read a short novel and you felt about it.

We read a short novel about a pair of twins that always got into fights, however, they faced a problem: they lost their dog. Now, they have to work together to find their beloved dog. The novel is pretty interesting and I enjoyed it.

b- Explain that you had to practice the vocabulary with quizlet and how you usually memorize vocabulary. What technics work for you?

I practiced a lot of words related to family and vocabulary that could be used in your daily lives. I used a lot of vocabulary and it improved my writing

c- Explain that you needed to retell the story using pictures . Explain how you prepared for it? What was challenging? 

I need to remember vocabulary and verbs in order to make full sentences.

2- ANY LISTENING/ READING you would like

a- Find in your folder any assessment you did that you are proud of

I am proud of my writing because I reused a lot of vocabulary and adjectives

1. Cultural Influence on Aesthetic Choices

After meeting Kool Koor and learning about his artistic journey, how do you think his background in the graffiti culture of the Bronx influenced his aesthetic choices in the techniques and styles he demonstrated? 

Because Bronx is a very fast paced place, he needs his techniques and styles to be brisk and concise. That’s why he taught us to doodle and paint. He doesn’t have time to make something really fancy so he needs to use the paint and quickly make some art while incorporating his DNAs. Bronx influenced his aesthetic choices due to culture. Graffiti allows artists to communicate their identities, which also ties to hip-hop as Bronx is famous for there hip-hop cultures, this influenced Kool Koor as the lines and aesthetic choices he used connects to different emotions and identities of Bronx culture.

2. Environmental Impact on Art Creation

Considering Kool Koor’s shift from street art to studio work, how do you think different environments (like the streets versus a classroom) impact an artist’s creative process and choices? In what ways did you feel these environmental influences while trying out his painting style?

At Bronx, life is very fast paced so Kool Koor focused on street art, however, after moving to a different environment, a quieter and more peaceful environment, he can take his time so he changed to studio art, which is more slow paced. This way, he can focus on more complex painting methods or styles which impacted his choices and creative process.

3. Personal Reflection on Aesthetic Development

What aspects of your culture or environment do you think will influence your future artistic choices for your self-portrait mixed media artwork? How can you incorporate elements from your own background into your artwork to express your unique identity?

At China, I normally focus on drawing human faces because living in Huacao isn’t really special but if I moved to somewhere like Paris, I would probaby focus on drawing and capturing the essence of the city and street scenes because France is famous for its environments. The natural landscape, architecture, and urban settings of a new location can influence my subjects. I can incorporate elements from your background by using symbols, techniques, personal stories, unique colors, and themes that reflect my traditions and culture.

This unit in orchestra, we started playing 4 different pieces and one of them is with VMM. Those pieces are Overture to Lucio Silla, Ice Sculptures, Carol of the Bells and winter with you. We worked on many techniques including spiccato, bow holds and rhythm. We had many different assessments to evaluate our playing skills and I think I did well in the following:

-Rhythm
I think I can identify the rhythm pretty well and I can execute that. However, although I know the rhythms well, I need to play them faster and with more accuracy.

-Bow holds
I think I have improved my bow holds a lot because at first, I wasn’t meeting any of the criterias but now, I have a relaxed pinky and bent thumb which gave me a meeting.

I could improve on:

-Tone
Although I can identify the rhythms, I need to work on playing those notes with accuracy. I can do this by playing with the tips of my fingers so I can play faster and better.


This unit in orchestra is very exciting because we have a concert on November. Now, we still have a lot to improve on but we still have a month. I am personally nervous about the concert because we still haven’t played a whole piece fluently yet but I believe we have space to improve.