After a few months into the game Conflict of Nations, I realized that since it was a war game consisting of different factions I have betrayed a “few” of my teammates. This was one of the reasons why I rated myself low in my Wellness Compass Statement of “My friends and those who know me well would say that I am a good and trusted friend.” Therefore for the next few days I try to minimize my betrayal to my teammates by sticking to the alliances and don’t get anyone to lose themselves.
What could get in my way is that it might take a longer time to achieve victory though I probably will still win nonetheless, and resist the urge to take my teammates undefended land. My plan is don’t leave my coalition, don’t sell my teammates information, and maybe minimize the amount of diplomacy.
Examples/Evidence
Conclusion
So far the plan is working well as I didn’t really do diplomacy for a few weeks and to be fair didn’t really play that much CON as well. Overall I think that my teammates trust me more, especially now that they have a copy of my WOOP Goal which they can use as evidence if I ever betrayed them (I wasn’t expecting that when I wrote my WOOP Goal).
Throughout the unit, we explored topics such as how social media hacked our brain, our personal values on tech, and how social media impacted our body image and self esteem. Through continued exploration through discussion, note taking and self reflection, we gained new insights on ourself and our actions.
For example, one thing that I remembered clearly was the article analysis, where after reading our assigned articles, we took notes on our thoughts and what we find interesting. Through that activity, I learned about how impactful influencers can be towards teenagers which is interesting. In addition, we studied the behavioral psychology of Ivan Pavlov: Instant Gratification. This involves pleasurable activity which made one feel rewarded, and then urges that person to continue to choose pleasurable activity next time. This is important since it was one of the causes of procrastination which have a significant impact on many students.
As for the end of unit project, our group (Me, Damon and Ethan) was researching and presenting anxiety. We did our research mostly with the links provided below and used these sources to quickly complete our presentation. We used an canva template and then filled in the information based on each of our research questions. We worked very well, with Ethan doing a significant part of the research and Damon who helped us a lot in our rehearsals and gave some very constructive feedbacks. I wasn’t able to practice as much as them since my Passion Project partner went absent for that week and I have to finish the two person work-load exhibition alone. As a result I didn’t really get an sufficient amount of practice, but Ethan and Damon did a very good job editing the script and made it even better. I think that this is the best collaboration I had in a long time and we had a good time 🙂
To do was a app developed my Microsoft as a extension of outlook. Microsoft To Do was a simple and intelligent to do list that helps users manage their tasks throughout the day. The integration of To do with outlook helps the users connect their Microsoft Calendar to their task management.
Users can use the feature of “My Day” to organize their day to day schedule while To Do helps prioritizing work tasks in order to prevent completing tasks at the last minute. Moreover, with To do you can quickly add tasks to My Day making the app efficient and effective. In addition, you can also sort your activities using either due date, importance, or creation day. All these advanced features help users monitor their tasks based on their need.
Usefulness
WOOP Goal sheet
This app was very useful in helping me accomplish my WOOP Goal since by using this app I was able to divide my projects into smaller, more achievable tasks. Through the implementation of To do, I was able to accomplish things at a more efficient level and schedule my time in a more organized way. This task management tool have also reduced my stress level to some degree as it maps out the due dates for every assignment and the importance of each. As a result, To Do was able to lower my stress level and create a more healthy life-work balance for me.
Design
The design of the Microsoft To Do was mostly using humane design, with barely any features that creates addiction. For example, there wasn’t any unpredicted parts in the app. Every single feature was repeating the same steps with nothing abnormal or surprising to users. This means that the designer did not apply any variable test factors in the app feature. The only thing that was close as being addictive was the audio sound after you check marked a task, however that doesn’t fall in line with the addictive features usually seen in apps and so only served a moderate purpose.
In the project Psychology of Stress, I learned that the stress of teenagers was a result of triggers. These triggers were shaped by the growth of limbic system. Since the prefrontal cortex wasn’t fully grown yet but the cortisol has completed its growth.
The phenomena like amygdala,negative bias, and hippocampus were all caused by this situation, where the cortisol was overused and the prefrontal cortex not fully grown. This usually left teenagers with a FFF response, Fight, Freeze, or Flight and cause overreaction called distress. Moreover, if triggers weren’t handled correctly then it can lead to thinking traps. However, not all stress was bad. Teenagers also experience eustress, which are positive stresses that motivates personal growth and made one a better self. There are also coping strategies that help oneself to reduce the body distress. For example, strategies like mindfulness, meta-movement, and breath anchor all help teenagers build resilience against negative emotions. Tools like mood meter and wellness compass can also help guide one’s psychology.Â
Edpuzzle was a website we used in our WW1 Unit to answer questions while watching a video about World War 1. The videos was in chronological order and we complete one for homeword every class. This was one of the only times Social Study give homework and so was a really important part of Active Learner. The artifact below showed that I submitted everything on time and mostly 100% except for some questions that didn’t mention to be multi select.
Social Study Artifact 2: API Source Analyzes
API Source Analyzes was a method we would use in high school for analyzing information source. This was the first time in school that we used the API source analyzes format in social studies. This showed that I’m actively preparing for high school and seeking improvement. This was also the first Critical Thinker related assignment I completed for Social Studies.
The goal of my presentation was to give you my perspective on the past semester and what I’m proud of / what I accomplished. This includes something that I myself values and what I would like to remember.
I’d like to share:
What I’m proud of and what I still want to achieve
Some areas of growth, struggles, and some of my work
My 8th grade Vision Board including quotes and adjectives;
Some of the things I included on my vision board was:
Nature
Cello
Chess
Shanghai
French
Home and College
These are important because they are either places I care about or hobbies/interest. These factors are part of my identity and who I am.
2024-2025 SLC
My Goals Are:
1.To review my vocabulary and past learned lessons & do writing practices for grammar.
2. Understand all Grade 8 content Math with accuracy and attempt IM2 Math
3. To perfect my tones on Cello through weekly practice on fingering
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 Thinker & Active Learner.
Core Subject: Math 🧮
I will now share my progress in Math.
Strengths
One of my strengths in Math was that I was able to complete the required notes every class and always prepare my materials beforehand. Moreover I was able to make analyzes on data plot or critical thinking questions with detail.
Areas of Growth
My Areas of Growth would be algebra and calculations because I still make calculation mistakes and have trouble maintaining test accuracy with the algebra unit.
Math Artifacts:
Math Notes
Tests or Practices
Core Subject: Science 🧪
I will now share my progress in Science. Throughout semester 1, we covered four units: Unit 1: Introductory, Welcome to 8th grade science, Unit 2: Biological Evolution – Unity & diversity, and Unit 3: Earth’s systems – Weather & Climate. For the entire semester we have engaged in classroom discussions and taking notes through fun engaged learning.
My science notebook was well organized and detailed throughout the past school year.
Artifact 1: Active Learner
This artifact showcased that I have turned in everything on time and always met standard which in turn means that I understand everything in school except for a “another opportunity” in class that mainly targeted students that didn’t do well in the first try as an opportunity for them to actually understand.
Artifact 2: Lab Report
The PDF below was one of the first times that we did lab report in Science. According to our science teacher we’re going to do Lab report frequently while in High School so this will be our first practice on using this structure. Overall I feel like I did ok since I completed all parts even though it was stretched into many different time period over the course of two months.
The article I just showed was my Language Art Analytical Essay. Throughout this unit, we focused on exploring known Moral Dilemmas in our community. Then after finding a general moral dilemma we went to AI and use it to find short stories that shown examples of the Moral Dilemma and then writing a essay to talk about how do we face the Moral Dilemma using annotations from the stories as evidence.
Core Subject: Social Studies 🌏
Social Study Artifact 1: Edpuzzle
Edpuzzle was a website we used in our WW1 Unit to answer questions while watching a video about World War 1. The videos was in chronological order and we complete one for homework after every class. This was one of the only times Social Study give homework and so was a really important part of Active Learner. The artifact below showed that I submitted everything on time and mostly 100% except for some questions that didn’t mention to be multi select.
Social Study Artifact 2: API Source Analyzes
API Source Analyzes was a method we would use in high school for analyzing information source. This was the first time in school that we used the API source analyzes format in social studies. This showed that I’m actively preparing for high school and seeking improvement. This was also the first Critical Thinker related assignment I completed for Social Studies.
I am good at identifying open space when playing basketball
Making sure that I’m always moving and not sitting around during warm ups.
Areas of Growth
Some of the skills I would like to grow in are to actively take in initiative and communicate with teammate in handball or baseball because sometimes I got into a good position but the teammate with the ball didn’t see me.
Health
In Health Class, I learned about the importance of stress resilience and mental health management.
For example, In the project Psychology of Stress, I learned that the stress of teenagers was a result of triggers. These triggers were shaped by the growth of limbic system. Since the prefrontal cortex wasn’t fully grown yet but the cortisol has completed its growth.
French
My Strengths 💪🏻:
Some of my strengths are…
My strength in French was that I can recall my learnings over the past years while incorporating those into my writing today.
Areas of Growth
My area of growth should be learning new grammars because I feel like I needed extra practice as it was confusing for me and I frequently forget steps. In addition I kept using complex sentence structures that was grammatically wrong.
Artifact 2: Reading Comprehension and Oral Summary
This was one of the first assignments we did in the school year and one of my proudest work. In this project, we’re supposed to read French book around our level and understand the story plot. Afterwards we’re preparing for a oral presentation which summarized the story without any notes by reusing vocabulary from the story. I spent two weeks practicing and refining my oral (in french) and reading comprehension in order to present it without looking at notes. The presentation went very well, probably the most successful one I did this year. Through the preparations I developed a stronger reading comprehension skill and was able to present without notes. This helped me grow significantly as we didn’t do a lot of oral without notes and this was the first time.
The audio below was an example of my oral speaking:
Passion Projects 4.0 Showcase
Over the past 20 days, me and Francus have worked restlessly for our grand vision: Making a Historical board game about the Peloponnesian War. We have spent days doing research and through the research developed the card section of this game.
My favorite lessons, moments, activities, days of the year was the World War 1 Simulation since the activity was exciting and it was within my knowledge range while every move requires a lot of collaboration which was one of the times I communicated the most in class.
Closing
Thank you for listening to my progress towards my goals over the last year. Do you have any questions?
When making the homemade ice cream, we had to went through multiple process to change the ingredients to another phase. One such ingredient is Milk. First, we have to add the ingredients of course, but then, we put the milk bag into a bigger bag of ice with salt. The Milk inside the ice will then freeze up to a almost solid phrase. In this lesson, we as a class have learned that how salt have some affect into the freezing process, and actually doing the freezing in real life. Overall, the best part of this ice cream lesson is that we can eat/drink the ice creams we have made! Sadly, our team didn’t manage to take a photo of the process or the result, therefore I find a image online to represent the final product our team have made.We didn’t shake the bag hard enough so the final product is only a ice cream flavored milk.
This is what our ice cream is supposed to look like.
In this project, me and my group (Damon & Ronald) have calculated our predicted time, and predicted rate. We did that by doing a rate test in the hallway, then used the rate of the small distance to get the predicted rate. After we get the track distance, we have used the predicted rate to get the predicted time with the track distance.
If you could re-do this project, what changes would you make during your timed trials to help your prediction for the final race?
For the time trial, we might be more careful because we are kind of roughly timing the trial. Also, I think it is faster for using calculator. Ronald didn’t use the calculator that is given, so we have to calculate by hand outside. We should also be more strict with my speed because I feel like I’m running in a different pace on the track.
What units of measure did you use during your timed trials? How important were units in your process? What happened to groups that didn’t include units on their paper?
We have used centimeters for both the time trial and the track. We also used seconds to calculate time. This however, made our groups calculation more accurate, but takes more time with hand too as there are more digit. Our final time is converted back to minutes and seconds.
We didn’t shake the bag hard enough so the fin
al product is only a ice cream flavored milk.