Thank you for coming to my presentation of learning. I am the expert on my own learning. I am also responsible and accountable for my own learning. You can expect me to give an honest evaluation of my progress. We will discuss my strengths and opportunities for growth. Thank you in advance for listening and for offering feedback that I can use to improve as a learner.

So let’s jump into it, I have a good feeling about this presentation of learning (I mean it’s my very last one ever so I hope I go out with a bang). I want to disclose to anyone reading this that I truly feel like a different person since my last POL. Despite it only being from a few months ago, I feel more motivated to work towards my future, more confident in my own abilities, and more comfortable in my own mind to freely communicate my thoughts, ideas, and feelings. I feel like I’ve been grounded more in society, with my aspirations and dreams beginning to solidify and come into view. I’ve always had big ideas floating around in my head but now I feel like I can hold my hand out and grab them. I have a plan, I see my future, and I feel excited because I have trust in my capabilities to continue pushing me down this fast-paced river toward what I believe is success. Do you like my soliloquy so far?

I came here today to answer the most important high stakes leg shaking PLP student-fearing repetitive and unavoidable question: “Why am I ready to move on to the next grade?” Boy oh boy what a loaded question that is, every PLP student is faced with this question once a year. Usually this question brings panic, avoidance, and a lot of beating around the bush, but at this moment in time I actually feel quite excited to answer it (this might be because it’s celebration day and I just won a bunch of awards at the recognition ceremony so my ego might be a tad bit higher) but I’m just going to say it’s because I’ve grown as a learner. In all honesty even before the ceremony I do feel different (like I so bluntly described at the beginning of this post). I truly believe I have developed in many ways throughout the year and I actually feel ready to face what grade 12 throws at me. I’ve gone through a lot this year, many lessons learnt, many proud moments, and many times of “hey, I think it is worth it.”

That’s a statement I’ve held close to me for many years, “it will all be worth it one day” it’s even displayed in my room. That quote might sound a little sad but I think it’s motivational. Everything we as a student body do is to build a foundation for the future. As I will mention later in this blog I extremely prioritize this foundation, I work hard at creating myself a good future and every day is a new brick laid out to the one moment where I will smile and think yes, this is it, I’ve made it. That is what will make everything worth it, every gruelling test, every stressful presentation, every late-night madly writing away on my iPad. While it isn’t always easy, I’m thankful for school because of the opportunities it has given me, I have been given the space to grow, to push myself freely, to get closer to my dreams, and to understand the true value of hard work. I have been surrounded by good people to help me along the way, I’ve been given tasks I never thought I’d be able to accomplish but always do in the end, and I’ve had extraordinary and unique moments that have shaped the person I am today. So yes, even if I’m not there yet, I can proudly say it has been worth it. But now with my Vision, Mission, and Values, it’s time to properly answer the question:

“Why am I ready to move onto the next grade?”

I am ready to transition into this next period of my life because I’ve developed a deeper sense of purpose, confidence, and self-awareness as a learner, and I now trust my ability to face challenges and actively shape my future.

I’m ready to move forward because my learning is no longer about completing assignments, it’s about building a future I’m excited about.

What future am I building you ask? ⬇️

How will I get there?

My vision at the start of the year continues to reflect what I’d like to be known as: dedicated, hard-working, confident, ambitious, resilient, strong-willed, and not afraid to take on a challenge. So far I think I’ve done a pretty good job. If these words were formed into something physical, something to prove I’ve achieved my goals, they would be represented in the form of recognition awards. This year I surpassed my awards goal, I won not only a 500+ service hours award, but a Seyhawk award, and a top 5% grades award (along with a few more). I am extremely proud of these achievements, they mean a lot to me to see physical proof of the things I’ve accomplished this year. I feel more motivated than ever to continue setting goals and working towards them next year. Besides my award goals, I also set out habits I planned to follow. Some of these habits included creating work I’m proud of (visuals below), being a reliable/trustable team member (visuals below), and working harder not smarter (visuals below), I’ve struggled on this last one.

Since grade nine I started to realize I was capable, capable of accomplishing goals, capable of creating something to be truly proud of, and capable of becoming successful. Since grade nine I hit the ground running riding the wave of academic validation and never looking back. Sometimes I can take this too far, pushing myself more than I should be, doing more than necessary, and sacrificing things that don’t need to be sacrificed. I focus so hard on the future I sometimes struggle to focus on the here and now. Although I will continue to prioritize my goals of the future by creating the best transcript I possibly can, I also plan on working at the outlined habit ‘work smarter, not harder’. I will keep the golden transcript in mind, but I will also have another focus.

How to work smarter, not harder:

– Continue my learning over the summer to make it easier on myself in grade 12 (by beginning scholarships, reading books for my own enjoyment, and journaling to practice reflection)

– Lighten the load (do less volunteer work and get a real job with set hours, and only do extra things if I enjoy them like morning music vs announcements)

– Set time slots for certain activities (make sure to include enjoyable/restful things as well)

– Change of mentality! (I plan on doing this by remembering I don’t need to put my all into everything, certain things matter much more than others)

Highlights of the year: Mind map from the Cold War In Retrograde project with Mr Gibson connecting Donald Trump’s assassination attempts to the Cold War