Tag: blog

Loon Lake🏔️🎅🏻🎄

Posted on by elsaw

What was I really there for? 

“To take risks, both physically and with my learning.”

Overview:

We went to loon lake which is around the maple ridge area, to grow as a team. Our teachers thought that before the trip we were rather cliquey and kept to our groups. We did many team building and problem solving activities to build trust and unity within our class. PLP does field studies to help us learn in a different environment and to grow together. I went into the field study with the hope of taking more risks with my learning. I hoped to be more comfortable in the classroom environment to speak up and contribute more in the discussions. I also wanted to grow closer with my classmates on the trip. 

VMV:

VMV Collaboration Statement: “I will work on asking for help when I need it and using the resources I have available to answer my questions. I am going to communicate to the people around me, whenever I am frustrated or needing a break.”

In loon lake I used my communication skills a lot. I was able to put it into action frequently in all the different aspects of the trip. I used communication in the classroom discussion areas the most. When we did discussions and lessons, I raised my hand, asked questions, answered questions, and shared stories and ideas. I went into the trip with an open mind and it allowed me to really focus on certain aspects of learning that I wanted to improve during the trip. When we did physical challenges it allowed me to practice communication skills in a slightly more chaotic setting. Some of our challenges required one of the group members to be blindfolded, so there was a lot of directing going on. Brooklyn and I were in a group with two grade eights, so we already had the role of “team leader” ish, but I think this made us or at least me, feel like we needed to set a good example and couldn’t go overboard with yelling and screaming or bad sportsmanship. I stayed calm and made sure not to stress anyone out and also stay positive especially when someone made a mistake. 

Meaningful moment(s):

I learned a lot this trip so it will be hard to break down. I had a couple breakthrough moments when I learned something either about myself or about us as a grade 10 team. I think that one of the most memorable moments was when Jono asked us about something that happened in our lives that changed us as people now. Almost everyone gave examples of something meaningful and personal, and it felt very safe and trusting in that moment. I realized that everyone has their own struggles and how that no one judged. This small discussion really made me think differently about our class and how everyone is so supportive. 

Learning Signals: Strengths and Struggles

Strengths

I think I did a really good job at branching out of my comfort zone and collaborating with new people and or making conversation with people I wouldn’t normally. I’d like to think that I  grew closer to everyone on this trip and made some new connections. I felt like I tried to be more of a leader in the group and contributed much more than normal. The physical challenges allowed me to kind of take the lead and share ideas. 

Struggles

I am being 100% honest when I say that I am really proud of myself and don’t think that I struggled too much on the loon lake field study.

The Big Takeaway: 

This trip got all of us closer together with the key ideas of trust, empathy, and unity. Trust is important in creating a safe and supportive community. Empathy builds trust and makes everyone feel welcome and heard when they share personal information. Before loon lake we were a bit cliquey and stuck to our own groups but during, we found out that we work so much better as a group and when we work together!

thanks for reading!

Teach a Teacher🍎📝

Posted on by elsaw

Teach a Teacher!

Teachers spend most of thier time helping others learn, but what happens when the roles get reversed and they become the learners? In this post, you will read all about my latest project in maker; Teach a Teacher.

Driving Question 🏎️: How can I enhance the storytelling present in my learning portfolio?

Main idea: 

In this project, our task was to make a step by step tutorial on a feature on our blog that enhances it. When we were finished with our tutorial, we had a conference with Mr. Harris and teach him our feature. Everyone had to teach something different, so I decided to make a tutorial on the Abowman animal widget feature. I think it is something that enhances my blog by making it interactive with my audience. It is fun and simple to do, but it makes the experience better.

I really enjoy fiddling around with my blog to make small changes and just to overall find cool and interesting things to make my blog more engaging for my audience. I really like the widget feature because you can add many different types of widgets and each type can do something entirely different. 

Although this was a rather short project, it helped me use my video skills to make a simple, easy to follow, and engaging tutorial. I also used my presentation skills to teach and showcase how to use and add a animal widget to your blog. 

Thank you!

WWII Learning Intentions💣

Posted on by elsaw

In class we are learning about the idea that history is written by the victors and how that changes the way WWII is remembered.  

What I already know about WWII:

I’m very interested in that time period so I’ve already taken it upon myself to learn about WWII. I’ve read a couple books like The Book Thief, I Survived: D-day (quite a while ago), Cilkas Journey, and a couple of other ones that I cant remember. Im also really into war movies, so ive watched Pearl Harbour, the Forgotten Battle, All the Light We Cannot See, and a couple WWI movies. I personally think that wars are the most interesting parts of human history so I’m excited for this project. I quite enjoyed our project on WWI, and learned a lot so I’m hoping this project will be just as good!

My Learning intention for this project:

I want to be able to further my learning about WWII and also be very active and engaged in class. I find it a lot easier to enjoy learning when its about something that I’m interested in, or that I already know a bit about. 

In my Vision Mission and Values, I mention agency, GRIT, and self-regulation. I will use my vision mission and values to keep me accountable of my learning and I will try to make the most of this project to grow as a learner and be one more step closer to fulfilling my mission. This project I will focus on using my class time appropriately and make sure that I am engaged and focused in class. I hope to learn more about the time period and fully explore the topics that I don’t understand. I will use my Agency to seek help whenever I don’t understand or need help, making sure my assignments are handed in on time, and accepting feedback and using the feedback to extend my work. I will use GRIT to take risks with my learning, and work past any speed bumps in my learning with renewed effort. I will Self Regulate and take breaks when I need them. I will use communication to give kind, specific, and constructive feedback to my peers.

Thanks for reading!

Comic Quest!

Posted on by elsaw

Comic Quest WWI 

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is one of the last few posts of my grade 9 year. I Hope you enjoy. This is my favourite humanities project we’ve had before and definitely the proudest I’ve been of my work.

I really loved this project because I learnt a lot about WWI. Before this project I had never been interested in WWI, preferring to learn about WWII. But now that I’ve spent some time learning about it, I’ve started to take matters into my own hands, by watching movies/videos, and reading about WWI. 

In this project we were tasked with making a factual, interesting, and original story. Then we had to draw it and make the story into a comic book. I think that because I was much more interested in the subject and topic of the learning I enjoyed it a lot more than our previous project. I really stretched myself with my drawings and am really proud of my comic. I am not a very artistic person, so my drawings are somewhere I really stretched myself. I was super engaged and loved all the videos and media we learnt from during class. I think its safe to say, I loved this project! I also pushed myself and presented an entire presentation by myself because my two group members were away. 

The Story Board:

This was the first stage of the comic. I had already came up with a story idea and I was keen to stick to it. My story follows the life of a 19 year old boy, Tom Callaghan, a Toronto citizen in 1915 who enlists in the army, but gets rejected due to his poor eyesight. But he is given one last option: the decoding group. My story is kind of a mix of love, drama, and factual fiction. 

The Comic:

This was by far the hardest part of the project but it was super rewarding to get done and I am really proud of my final product! I’m not an artist but I made my minimal skill work out. I’m not sure how to get my comic into my blog but if I find out how I will show you.

The silent battle

Don’t worry, BEE happy🐝

Posted on by elsaw

Hello and welcome to my blog! In this post I will take you through the first ever science themed PLP exhibition! This exhibition was very different to the ones I was used to. There was a schedule for visitors and we didn’t get any breaks. I liked it a bit better than the original type of exhibition because it didn’t leave any room for mishaps with the schedule and stuff like that. 

Pollination: The Theme

The theme for this exhibition is pollinators of B.C! My group was in charge of the bats! Bats in bc don’t actually pollinate, so that proved a slight challenge but we pushed through and did our best. We made lots of fun interactive elements and games. Our first task was to make a food web. Our food web surrounded bats, we had bats predators and food sources. It was put together with hand made drawings from all of my group members and really added the final touch. 

 

 This project was super important because it was the first ever science exhibition! It was all about pollinators in B.C. The exhibition was pretty fun and I think I did a really good job. I didn’t shy away from all the people coming to our booth and at the end of the night my voice was raw from talking! During the actual exhibition, I think I put in my best effort. I’m really proud of myself and think myself and my group did really well by educating the public about B.C bats!

I know this was a pretty short post, but thank you for reading!

 

(I WILL ADD SOME PHOTOS WHEN I HAVE ACCESS TO THEM)

In the Name of the Nation🇨🇦

Posted on by elsaw

Hello and welcome back to my blog! For this post, you will learn all about the confederation of Canada. In humanities, we did a short project all about why the different Canadian provinces should/should not join the confederation. This was a pretty short project So this post might be a little shorter than usual.

Nationalism VS. Patriotism:

The launch activity was to take notes on nationalism and patriotism. Then we had to distinguish between the two. We watched some very interesting videos on the matter and also some of the most famous Canadian videos. Like for example, the Molson “I am Canadian” add. It really shows how you can both be proud of your country but also respectful. Thats the difference between nationalism and patriotism; nationalism is when you think that your country is the best and any country that has different values, laws, or beliefs is wrong. But patriotism is when you think your country is the best and you love your country but don’t go around saying that other countries are wrong if they don’t agree with yours. I made some very interesting notes on the consequences of nationalism. Take a look!

Here is the link to my NOTES: 

The Confederation of Canada: Nova Scotia

My group consisted of Carmyn and Ian. We did a draw in class and our group got Nova Scotia! Over the next few days, we took vigorous notes on what Nova Scotia was like BEFORE the confederation. We learnt about their population, government, industries, etc… Once we finished our notes we brainstormed ideas for our final product: The Confederation Video! In our video we had to talk about why Nova Scotia should or should or should not join the confederation. After a lot of debating we decided our video should be like a professional debate. In the video two men, Charles Tupper (Carmyn) and Joseph Howe (Me) would be debating back and forth weather the province of Nova Scotia would join the confederation. The moderator (Ian) would be making points and the final decision. 

Here are our notes on Nova Scotia:

Driving Question: 🏎️

“How has Nationalism’s influence shaped the global structure? Moreover, how has Nationalism impacted the establishment of Canada as a nation?”

Nationalism has shaped the global structure by encouraging people with shared culture, language, or history to form their own nations, instead of complaining that other countries weren’t right. This led to the fall of empires and the rise of many independent countries, changing the world map. While it united some groups, it also caused conflicts when different groups competed for land or power. In Canada’s case, nationalism helped bring the colonies together. People began to feel proud of their shared identity, different from Britain and the U.S., which led to Confederation in 1867. French-Canadian nationalism also played a role by pushing for the protection of language and culture. So, nationalism helped Canada become a united and independent nation in its own unique way.

Filming: 

Since our video was set like a debate, we needed a plain background and a judges stand/podium. Once we roamed the school for a bit, we found the perfect filming location… the library! Unfortunately for us, the library was also being used by multiple other groups. This proved some problems and got quite frustrating at times, because we needed to film but we couldn’t because other groups were either using the space or props we needed. But in the end we got there! Take a look at our final product: 

 

Thanks for reading (and watching)! I hope you enjoyed learning all about this project. 

ChemHISTORY⚛️🧪

Posted on by elsaw

Hello and welcome to my blog! This post is all about chemistry! Chemistry is everywhere. Everything and everyone is made up of atoms. Atoms make up elements which are also everywhere. ♥

The first bit of our project was learning all about compounds and the periodic table. Our first task was to learn about Lewis diagrams and Bohr diagrams.  

Bohr Diagram:

Think of it like a mini solar system. It shows all the electrons in an atom. Electrons are drawn in energy levels (or shells) around the nucleus (which has protons and neutrons). Each shell can only hold a certain number of electrons:

1st shell: 2 electrons

2nd shell: 8 electrons

3rd shell: 18 electrons (but often shown with 8 in basic diagrams)

Lewis Diagram (also called Lewis Dot Structure):

This one is wayyyy easier to understand. Only shows valence electrons (electrons in the outer shell). These electrons are important for bonding with other atoms. The symbol of the element is written, and dots are placed around it to show the valence electrons.

The next part of the journey was learning about ionic compounds and polyatomic ions. This part was pretty tricky for me because you have to do some math and converting of electrons. (I wont wright down how to do the conversions and all that because it’s pretty complicated to explain in words). After we became masters with all the elements, compounds and diagrams, we put all of our learning into a peace of art. First we chose an element: then we answered the driving question based on our element. 

“What impact do elements and compounds have on modern day society?”

My element is bismuth. What is bismuth? On the periodic table bismuth is a post transition metal, meaning it is located on the far right side of the periodic table. But that’s not nearly interesting enough. Let’s talk about the uses and it’s significance. Bismuth has many medical uses like stopping infection, minimizing unwanted bacteria and fungus, and it’s most significant use in Pepto-Bismol. This ingredient is what gives the medicine its pink colour and its powerful stomach-soothing effects. When ingested, bismuth subsalicylate works in a few ways: it coats the stomach lining, it has mild anti-inflammatory properties (thanks to the salicylate part), and can reduce ulcers. Historically mistaken for lead or tin because of it’s appearance, bismuth gained recognition for its unique properties, especially its low toxicity compared to other heavy metals.

Now that you know about the impacts of bismuth in modern society, I’m going to tell you all about how we incorporated all those facts into a piece of art! 

Cyanotype artwork: 

For the final part of our project we made a piece of artwork with cyanotype. The artwork was related to which element we chose, in my case, bismuth. When we were finished with the artwork, we did a exhibition displaying all of our different artworks and a little bit about each element we chose. To create a cyanotype artwork you need: To coat a piece of fabric or paper in cyanotype, put cut out pieces of what you want your art to display and then let it rest in the sun, once it’s done you rinse it out and then let it dry and then boom you hear you have it, cyanotype art! Once we made our artwork, we were off to the art exhibition. It consisted of multiple different classes and multiple different grades.

 

Thanks for reading this post! I really liked this project because I learnt a lot about chemistry! I hadn’t known much about the subject until now. Anyways, stay tuned for more posts!

7 Habits (with a Hunger Games twist)

Posted on by elsaw

May The 7 Habits Be Ever In Your Favour

By now, you’ve probably heard about the importance of getting your personal life in order—being proactive, setting goals, and managing your time. That’s what the first three habits of Sean Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens are all about. But once you’ve got a handle on yourself, it’s time to level up and learn how to work effectively with others.

That’s where Habits 4, 5, and 6 come in.

These habits aren’t about pretending to get along with people or faking teamwork in group projects. They’re about learning how to build real, strong, and productive relationships—whether it’s with friends, family, classmates, or teammates.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

The mindset of mutual success

In a world where everything can feel like a competition—grades, sports, college admissions—it’s easy to fall into a “win-lose” mentality. But Habit 4 challenges that by asking: What if everyone could win? A win-win mindset is about seeking solutions that benefit everyone, not just yourself. It’s not about being overly nice or giving in all the time. It’s about balancing courage with consideration. You stand up for yourself while also respecting others.

Why it matters:

  • It builds trust in your relationships.
  • It encourages collaboration instead of conflict.
  • It helps you avoid unnecessary power struggles.

Whether it’s working out a disagreement with a friend or sharing responsibilities in a group project, thinking win-win leads to stronger and more respectful outcomes.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Listening is more powerful than you think

If we’re honest, most of us aren’t great listeners. We hear people, but we’re often planning our reply while they’re still talking. Habit 5 flips that by encouraging us to truly understand the other person before jumping in with our own thoughts. This means listening with empathy—not just with your ears, but with your heart. It’s about putting yourself in the other person’s shoes and seeing things from their perspective.

What this looks like in real life:

  • When a friend is upset, don’t rush to offer advice. Just listen.
  • If your parents are frustrated, try to understand why before reacting.
  • In a disagreement, repeat back what the other person is saying to show you get it.

When people feel heard, they’re more open to hearing you in return. This habit is the foundation of healthy communication.

Habit 6: Synergize

Better together than alone

Synergy is when a group of people combine their strengths and differences to create something better than anyone could achieve individually. It’s not just about working together—it’s about working together well. In a synergized environment, differences aren’t seen as problems. They’re seen as assets. One person might be good at organizing, another at creative thinking, another at public speaking. Together, they can create results far beyond what one person could do alone.

How to build synergy:

  • Value differences in people’s perspectives and talents.
  • Communicate openly and respectfully.
  • Look for creative solutions that incorporate everyone’s input.

This habit is key not just for school and sports, but for life. Whether you’re in a band, a family, or a business team someday—knowing how to collaborate is a superpower.

The Video:

for my video I was with Ella and Brooklyn. All three of us are avid readers and we really wanted to tie in some of our favourite series to our videos. Our goal was to make the video a bit silly but at the same time, educational. We based our video off the series “The Hunger Games”. In our video, there are three tributes left in the games, they all agree to work together to escape the arena. I think that we were really creative with our ideas and hopefully made the video a little easier to pallet with some side lore. Make sure to check out my teammates blogs!

Conclusion:

Habits 4–6 take the focus off just you and help you become more effective in your interactions with others. They’re about respect, teamwork, and communication—skills that will serve you well in every part of your life. Thank you for reading this post, I hope you enjoyed. Make sure to stick around for my last post.

7 Habits : part 1

Posted on by elsaw

Hello and welcome to my blog! This post will be a bit different, instead of a project reflection, I will be doing 3 small posts about all of the 7 habits. Title: How to Be the Main Character of Your Own Life (According to Sean Covey)

Enter Sean Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, starting with the first three habits that are all about conquering yourself before trying to conquer the world. Let’s break them down.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Being proactive means you don’t just sit around waiting for things to happen—you make things happen. You’re not blaming your bad mood on your little brother, your teacher, or the weather. You’re saying, “Hey, I get to choose how I react. I’m not a robot. I’m a legend.” Covey uses the idea of “responsibility” = response-ability — your ability to choose your response. So yeah, life throws stuff at you. But being proactive is like having an emotional force field. You don’t flip out, you flip the script.

Pro tip: Stop saying “I can’t” and start saying “I will figure it out.” That’s proactive energy right there.

Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind

This habit is like playing chess instead of checkers. You’re not just reacting move by move—you’ve got a strategy. You’re not living on autopilot, bouncing from one TikTok to the next. You’re asking big questions like:

  • Who do I want to be?
  • What do I want people to remember me for?
  • What would the highlight reel of my life look like?

Covey says to make a personal mission statement—a little life GPS. It’s like giving your brain a playlist of goals so it knows what direction to vibe in.

Fun idea: Write your mission statement and slap it on your wall, journal, or phone background. Instant motivation.

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Alright, this is where it gets real. You’ve got goals. You’ve got vision. Now you’ve got to prioritize like a boss. Habit 3 is about managing your time like it’s your most precious snack and you don’t want to waste a single bite. Covey introduces the idea of the Time Quadrants—fancy words for sorting your life into what’s urgent, important, or just straight-up distractions (looking at you, 3-hour YouTube rabbit holes).

Example:
  • Homework due tomorrow? Urgent & Important.
  • Practicing guitar? Not urgent, but important.
  • Scrolling memes for two hours? Not urgent, not important (but weirdly addictive).

The goal: spend more time on what’s important but not urgent—like working on goals, exercising, building relationships. That’s where growth happens.

Pro move: Use a planner, a to-do list, or even a sticky note attack on your wall to plan your week around your priorities, not your procrastinations.

The Awesome Video:

Along with this post, I made a fun YouTube short about the first three habits. Since I was paired with Ella and Brooklyn, we chose our theme to be Harry Potter. The video follows the story of the tri-learning tournament when Harry and Ron decide to sign up but have no idea how to prepare. Hermione helps them become proactive learners by thinking with the end in mind and putting first things first.

The Big Picture:

  • Habit 1: Take control. You’re not a victim—you’re the hero.
  • Habit 2: Dream big and design your life with purpose.
  • Habit 3: Prioritize what actually matters and stop getting sidetracked by stuff that doesn’t.

These first three habits are like building your own inner superhero. Once you master them, you’re not just surviving teen life—you’re owning it.

Want more? Stick around for the next post where we dive into Habits 4–6—aka, the teamwork and relationship power moves. Until then, go start being the main character of your own story.

Destination Imagination: 💭

Posted on by elsaw

Stacking Blocks and Life Lessons: What I Learned Destination Imagination

Hello and welcome to my blog. This post is about my latest experience with Destination Imagination (DI). 

This year, I had the absolute chaos-filled joy of competing in Destination Imagination (again) with my team, The Block Busters (yes, we had the best name). (I also barely managed to escape with my life and quite a few battle scars).

Our challenge was a technical one: build up a structure using technical methods, and then use completely different methods to tear it down. It was like the ultimate engineering-meets-destruction test. And if that doesn’t sound cool to you, then I don’t know what does.

We spent months planning, building, testing, re-building, and occasionally watching everything collapse way before it was supposed to. It was frustrating. It was messy. It was also kind of amazing.

Regional Tournament: The Plot Twist

For our regional tournament, we showed up so prepared. We had rehearsed like mad scientists. Our stack was solid, our teardown method worked (well, most of the time), and our skit tied everything together in a way we thought was super clever. We were pumped. Then we got our results. Let’s just say… we didn’t place where we thought we would. And yeah, it stung a little. Okay, it stung a lot. We had worked so hard! What did we miss? But instead of giving up or sulking too long, we took it as a sign: we could do better. So we leveled up.

Provincial Tournament: DĂŠjĂ  Vu with Duct Tape

For the provincial tournament, we brought our A-game—and then some. We made our structure stronger, made our teardown flashier, improved our skit, and worked even more tightly as a team. We pushed ourselves creatively and technically. We were in it to win it. And then… we got the same placement.

At first? Super frustrating. Like “scream-into-a-pillow” frustrating. It felt like all our effort didn’t show up in the scores. But then something clicked for me.

What I Actually Learned

Sure, I had wanted a trophy. But what I got instead was something better (okay, maybe not shinier, but definitely more valuable):

  • Persistence matters. We kept going when it would’ve been easy to stop. We didn’t just accept our first result—we worked harder to improve.
  • Teamwork is everything. The Block Busters became more than just a team name—we were a unit. We learned how to support each other under pressure, how to solve problems together, and how to laugh through the disasters (looking at you, duct tape mishap #47).
  • You can’t control the outcome—but you can control the effort. The rankings didn’t reflect how much we grew, but we know how far we came. And that’s something no score can measure.
  • Creativity doesn’t always fit inside a scoring rubric. We took risks. We tried big ideas. And even if those didn’t pay off on paper, they meant something to us.

In the end, I’m walking away from this experience with skills I never expected to build—from quick thinking and engineering to collaboration and self-confidence. And honestly? I’m proud of the work we did. We built something awesome. And yeah, we smashed it too (literally and metaphorically).

We were The Block Busters. And next year I’ll be part of a brand new team (hopefully battle scar free)

(And glitter. I’m still voting for glitter.)