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 đď¸: How can I enhance the storytelling present in my learning portfolio?
Main idea:Â
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.Â
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.Â
Hello and welcome to my final mini post about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Iâve already talked about the first 6 habits and why they are important, so now Iâll explain a bit about the final habit: Sharpen the Saw.
This habit is all about self-renewalâtaking time to regularly recharge your energy, so you can stay balanced, effective, and resilient in all areas of life.
What Does It Mean to âSharpen the Sawâ?
Covey uses the image of a person cutting down a tree with a dull saw. Theyâre exhausted, frustrated, and making very little progress. Someone suggests they stop to sharpen the blade, but they respond, âI donât have timeâIâm too busy sawing.â Itâs a powerful metaphor for life. Weâre often so focused on pushing forwardâstudying, working, staying busyâthat we forget to take care of the one thing doing all the work: ourselves. Habit 7 encourages you to regularly pause and invest in four key areas of personal health:
1. Body â Physical Renewal
This includes sleep, exercise, nutrition, and rest. When your body is healthy, your energy improves, your focus sharpens, and your mood stabilizes. Taking care of your body isnât about looking a certain wayâitâs about feeling your best so you can perform your best.
Ways to renew physically:
Prioritize regular sleep
Move your body each dayâeven a short walk counts
Eat foods that fuel you, not just fill you
2. Mind â Mental Growth
Your brain, like a muscle, needs to be challenged and engaged. That means more than just going through the motions at school. Mental renewal comes from learning new things, reading, solving problems, and engaging in meaningful discussions.
Ways to renew mentally:
Read for pleasure or curiosity, not just assignments
Challenge yourself with creative thinking or problem-solving
Learn a new skill or hobby
3. Heart â Emotional Connection
This area focuses on your relationships and emotional well-being. When your heart is strong, youâre better able to handle challenges, support others, and create healthy, positive connections.
Ways to renew emotionally:
Spend quality time with people who support you
Practice gratitude or journaling
Talk openly when youâre struggling
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4. Soul â Spiritual Renewal
This doesnât have to be religious. Soul renewal means connecting with something deeperâyour values, purpose, and peace of mind. Itâs what grounds you when life feels overwhelming.
Ways to renew spiritually:
Take quiet time for reflection or meditation
Spend time in nature
Do something that gives you a sense of meaning
Why Habit 7 Matters
Itâs easy to see self-care as optional or even selfish, especially when life feels busy. But sharpening the saw isnât about doing lessâitâs about making sure you have the strength and clarity to do what matters most, well. When you regularly renew yourself, you avoid burnout, stay focused on your goals, and show up better for others. You become more resilientânot just productive, but fulfilled.
The Video:
This is the fun part! For the last video we were paired up randomly. My group was Sven, Samuel, and Maggie! Our idea was relatively simple, although it was super fun to film and we tried to make it easier to follow by adding some humor. On our filming day we went to Maggieâs house and did about 2 1/2 hours of filming. Our story goes like this: Svenette and Samina are very stressed, so they decide to read a book. (Guess which book that might beâŚ) the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens! As they read through the book they find habit 7. They decide that working on themselves is a really good idea. So they go to the gym for their physical health. Their dads are super supportive of this because they also value physical health. But when itâs time for a social/emotional renewal, their dads thing that they are lazy and should be working out instead. At the end, the dads rĂŠalise that itâs all about balance.
(I couldnât post the video to youtube for some reason, if I figure it out Iâll come back and post it here)
Final Thought
Habit 7 reminds us that success isnât just about achieving moreâitâs about sustaining it over time. Growth without balance eventually leads to burnout. But when you commit to taking care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, you build a strong foundation that supports everything else in your life.
Thanks for reading my post. I hope you enjoyed the little mini post series, and learned as much as I did from Sean Covey.Â
By now, youâve probably heard about the importance of getting your personal life in orderâbeing proactive, setting goals, and managing your time. Thatâs what the first three habits of Sean Coveyâs The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens are all about. But once youâve got a handle on yourself, itâs time to level up and learn how to work effectively with others.
Thatâs where Habits 4, 5, and 6 come in.
These habits arenât about pretending to get along with people or faking teamwork in group projects. Theyâre about learning how to build real, strong, and productive relationshipsâwhether itâs 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 competitionâgrades, sports, college admissionsâitâs easy to fall into a âwin-loseâ 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. Itâs not about being overly nice or giving in all the time. Itâs 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 itâs 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 weâre honest, most of us arenât great listeners. We hear people, but weâre often planning our reply while theyâre 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 empathyânot just with your ears, but with your heart. Itâs about putting yourself in the other personâs shoes and seeing things from their perspective.
What this looks like in real life:
When a friend is upset, donât 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, theyâre 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. Itâs not just about working togetherâitâs about working together well. In a synergized environment, differences arenât seen as problems. Theyâre 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 peopleâs perspectives and talents.
Communicate openly and respectfully.
Look for creative solutions that incorporate everyoneâs input.
This habit is key not just for school and sports, but for life. Whether youâre in a band, a family, or a business team somedayâknowing 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 âThe Hunger Gamesâ. 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 4â6 take the focus off just you and help you become more effective in your interactions with others. Theyâre about respect, teamwork, and communicationâskills 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.
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 Coveyâs 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, starting with the first three habits that are all about conquering yourself before trying to conquer the world. Letâs break them down.
Habit 1: Be Proactive
Being proactive means you donât just sit around waiting for things to happenâyou make things happen. Youâre not blaming your bad mood on your little brother, your teacher, or the weather. Youâre saying, âHey, I get to choose how I react. Iâm not a robot. Iâm a legend.â Covey uses the idea of âresponsibilityâ = response-ability â your ability to choose your response. So yeah, life throws stuff at you. But being proactive is like having an emotional force field. You donât flip out, you flip the script.
Pro tip: Stop saying âI canâtâ and start saying âI will figure it out.â Thatâs proactive energy right there.
Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind
This habit is like playing chess instead of checkers. Youâre not just reacting move by moveâyouâve got a strategy. Youâre not living on autopilot, bouncing from one TikTok to the next. Youâre 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 statementâa little life GPS. Itâs 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. Youâve got goals. Youâve got vision. Now youâve got to prioritize like a boss. Habit 3 is about managing your time like itâs your most precious snack and you donât want to waste a single bite. Covey introduces the idea of the Time Quadrantsâfancy words for sorting your life into whatâs 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 whatâs important but not urgentâlike working on goals, exercising, building relationships. Thatâs 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. Youâre not a victimâyouâre 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 doesnât.
These first three habits are like building your own inner superhero. Once you master them, youâre not just surviving teen lifeâyouâre owning it.
Want more? Stick around for the next post where we dive into Habits 4â6âaka, the teamwork and relationship power moves. Until then, go start being the main character of your own story.
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).Â
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 doesnât sound cool to you, then I donât 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. Letâs just say⌠we didnât 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-gameâand 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 âscream-into-a-pillowâ frustrating. It felt like all our effort didnât 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 wouldâve been easy to stop. We didnât just accept our first resultâwe worked harder to improve.
Teamwork is everything. The Block Busters became more than just a team nameâwe 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 canât control the outcomeâbut you can control the effort. The rankings didnât reflect how much we grew, but we know how far we came. And thatâs something no score can measure.
Creativity doesnât always fit inside a scoring rubric. We took risks. We tried big ideas. And even if those didnât pay off on paper, they meant something to us.
In the end, Iâm walking away from this experience with skills I never expected to buildâfrom quick thinking and engineering to collaboration and self-confidence. And honestly? Iâm 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 Iâll be part of a brand new team (hopefully battle scar free)
Hello and welcome to my blog. In this post I will unbox me. This maker project is all about setting goals, making good habits, and unboxing yourself. Unboxing Me (the project name) started with a book called What Do You Really Want by Beverly K. Batchel. Â
Driving Question: How might I tell a story about who I am and where I’m going?
My story is about growth, goals, and figuring out where Iâm headed. Iâve always been someone who likes structureânot just to stay organized, but because it helps me focus on what really matters. I use my iPad to keep me on track. The Things app helps me break big goals into smaller steps, and my calendar keeps me accountable. Whether itâs planning projects, managing daily tasks, or just making sure I have time for whatâs important, these tools help me turn ideas into action. With the right mindset and tools, I can successfully plan a future and also tell a story.Â
What Do You Really Want?Â
âDuring adolescence, a person is faced for the first time with the need to plan his or her own life, set long-term goals and take responsibility for their fulfillment. That’s a big challenge even for adults, isn’t it? Think back to your teenage self: did anyone teach you to set goals, understand yourself and follow your dreams? I don’t think so. More likely, you were nurtured, given the information you needed and tried to guide you. But the most important thing an adult can give a teenager is to help form not knowledge, but so-called meta-skills: the ability to communicate, to hear yourself, to understand others, to be persistent, to set goals and achieve them. They will help a child find their way and succeed in their chosen endeavor. This book is written for teenagers who are thinking about the future, but do not yet know exactly what they want. It will help to define their aspirations and outline a plan to achieve their goals, teach them how to motivate themselves and inspire them to achieve their goals.â
 There are many activities in the book that help boost your goal setting habits. My first activity was a think it and ink it. The book instructed me to make a goal tracker, so I hopped onto notability and wrote down some of my current goals. Then I added more to it by talking about how I would achieve the goals and what I would do to get there. Our second task was a twenty by twenty sheet. âIf you could do any twenty things by the time you turn twenty, what would they be?â My sheet consists of many different things such as school, sports, travel, work, friends, and housing. I like to think of my self as pretty ambitious so I hope to reach most, if not all, of my goals by the time I am twenty. The next activity and my favourite, is the dream board! I love making dream boards because you can use your creativity to express yourself and your goals. Mine was fun to make because I used Canva and made mine pop with colour and images. Our second last task was writing a letter to ourselves. I struggled a bit with this because Iâm not much of a goal person so actually writing to myself about goals was a bit tough. The letter spoke about what you will do once you reach a goal. And last but not least, we made a celebration plan! Our task was to write about what we would do to celebrate once we had met one (or more) of our goals.Â
Goal Tracker:
Â
Twenty By Twenty:Â
Dream Board:Â
Letter To Myself:Â
âSup me,
I wanted to take a moment to remind myself of the things I love about who I am. Its easy to get caught up in the grind and forget to appreciate what makes me, well, me. I love how kind I am. I always try to be there for the people in my life, whether its offering a helping hand or just
listening when someone needs to talk. That kind of empathy is something Im really proud of. I also love my resilience, Ive been through some tough times, but I always manage to bounce back and keep going. It reminds me that Iâm stronger than I think. Another thing I love about myself is my curiosity. Im always looking for new things to learn, whether its reading or just diving into something that piques my interest. It keeps life exciting. And lets not forget my creativity. I find new ways to solve problems or just express myself, and it feels good to know I can come up with something original when needed. I also really appreciate my sense of humour. I know how to laugh at myself and keep things light, even when life
tries to get too serious. It makes everything a little easier to handle. And Im grateful for my selfawareness. Im not perfect, but I know who I am, and Im always trying to grow and be better. My determination is something I admire too. When I set a goal, I dont back down, I keep pushing until I get there. I
also really value how I stay true to myself. I dont try to be anyone else, and Im learning to be more confident in just being me. I try to keep a sense of gratitude in my life, appreciating all the little moments and things I have. It helps me stay grounded and focused on what really matters. And lastly, Im learning to love myself more. I show love to the people I care about, but Im working on giving myself the same kindness and care. I guess, at the end of the day, Im proud of who I am. Ive got my flaws, but Ive got a lot of good stuff too. Im constantly growing, and Im excited to see where that takes me.
With love,
Me.â
Celebration Plan:
âHockey: I did it! I set out to get better at hockey, and all the hard work has paid off. I wanted this because I love the game and knew I had more in me. Even when it got tough-early mornings, tough losses, and frustrating practicesâ| stuck with it. I stayed consistent, pushed myself, and kept improving little by little. Now I’m faster, stronger, and more confident on the ice. Time to celebrate! Whether that means treating myself, taking a well-earned rest, or just enjoying the game even more, l’m going to soak it in. I earned it.
On to the next challenge!
Fiji:
Goal achieved! I set a goal to be fitter and feel more comfortable for Fiji, and all the effort has paid off. I wanted this because I knew l’d enjoy the trip so much more if I felt strong, confident, and full of energy. Even when it was tough-workouts I didn’t feel like doing, cravings, and days where progress felt slow-| kept going. I stayed consistent, made healthier choices, and kept pushing myself. Now I feel better, move easier, and have way more confidence. Time to celebrate! Whether that means fully enjoying every moment in Fiji, or just appreciating how far l’ve come, l’m going enjoy it. I earned this.â
Managing Me Video:Â
Our first benchmark was our managing me videos. We had to make a short 1 ish minute video about how we stay organized and manage ourselves. I talked about time blocking my calendar and using Things. Time blocking is a very useful way to keep track of your day and also your goals. I time block my school days to know what classes I have and what time I have in each class. I also like to time block my activities outside of school so I can keep track of sports like my hockey and boxing but also other things like walking my dog or hanging out with friends. Since we didnât post these videos to YouTube, I used a background song that would be subject to copyright. So unfortunately I cant show the video on here because of some technical difficulties.Â
Unboxing Me Video:Â
For our last and final part of thee project we made an Unboxing video about ourselves and our goals. Our videos had to feature enough information to tell a story. The video had a time limit of 2-3 minutes. For my first draft I made a script: âDo you have big goals for life? Hi, my name is Elsa, and I have some big goals. Before I get into some of my bigger goals, Iâm going to go over who I am and my values. I love sports and physical activities. I am I huge fan of hockey and Iâve been playing it since I was three years old. I love getting exercise and going on hikes. Another sport I do is boxing. The most important thing I value is nature, especially the ocean. Every summer I go on a boat trip with my family and I have the best time. I love being in and on the water. Thatâs why one of my biggest long term goals in life is to become a boat pilot. I was never interested in this type of job until I went to the B.C boat show. I was wandering the halls when I saw a stand that talked about becoming a boat pilot. I was immediately intrigued when the two people who were working at the stand mentioned the good pay and long vacation times. You get to travel the world and get paid for it?! This sounds like the job for me! I will need to work hard to become a boat pilot and I know that the journey wont always be easy, but I will have to stick with my goals and chip them away one at a time! In order to stick with my goals I will have to stay organized. I will keep track of all my tasks and be able track my goals as well. Iâm going to set small goals that will lead up to bigger things like getting into university or applying for a job. I want to become successful and be happy with my life and how I got there.âÂ
 Personally, i didnt really stick to my script but thats the gist of my story. I did a lot of filming and re-filming but I got there in the end! My video is posted on YouTube for you all to enjoy. Iâll drop a link below.Â
Hello and welcome to my blog! Itâs POL time! Today’s post is all about my first Presentation of Learning (POL)! Specifically, I’ll be doing an MPOLâ a Mid-Year Presentation of Learning. This is a student-led conference where I get to share my learning journey with my teacher, my parent(s), and any other invited guests. It’s a great opportunity for them to understand where I am as a learner and how I’ve grown.
The MPOL is a 12-minute conference, with 7 minutes dedicated to my learning story and 5 minutes for questions from my teacher and parent(s). Let’s get started!
Opening Statement:
â 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.â
My Vision, Mission, and Values:
My vision is just the things that I want to accomplish either by the end of the school year or by graduation. My mission is how Iâm going to accomplish my vision and the work I will have to do to get there.Â
Vision:Â
On my graduation day I will find myself being a happy and healthy person, having reached my goals and being ready to move on into adult life. I want to have no regrets about my grades in school and my actions. I want to be able to leave school prepared to be an active citizen in society. I will be able to further my education in the form of going to a college or university that fits my preference.
Mission:Â
To reach my vision I will have to work hard in my grade nine year to prepare myself for the years after. I want to have a good mindset about my learning and also have the thirst to further it. I will have to be able to successfully balance my school and home life by being responsible with my time and homework, so that i don’t get discouraged or too stressed. I want to stay active both physically and mentally, so that I am more engaged at school.
Humanities:Â
Peak Potential:Â
This project was all about getting over basically everything. Some of us had to get over physical and mental challenges with the hikes, and some of us had to get over anxiety challenges with asking complete strangers to get an interview (literally me). Before we left B.C, we were told we had to get with groups and then stick with them for the whole trip to conduct interviews. After the trip we put together all of the interviews and made one video on how to become the best version of ourselves.
This project helped push me out of my comfort zone when it came to talking with strangers. At the beginning of the trip I kept trying to procrastinate so that I wouldnât have to talk to people but eventually I did and it wasnât so bad. I had to use my communication and collaboration skills a lot in Alberta. This really helped me advance my agency and engagement success behaviours, by taking responsibility and taking action when we needed to conduct more interviews. At the end of the trip I no longer needed 3 friends with me to ask people questions, I could just do it myself. I also used my organizational skills a lot in Alberta when it came to keeping interviews saved in the proper folder, doing my daily checks on my note sheet, and keeping track of the interview questions and answers.Â
PGP:Â
TYKTWD:
This project was for the grade 9 take your kid to work day activity. For my âTake Your Kid to Work Dayâ blog post, I shared my experience volunteering at the Seymour Fish Hatchery since neither of my parents could take me to their workplaces. Along with my sister Emilia and my friend Brooklyn, I got to participate in activities like feeding baby salmon and doing a carcass recovery. The carcass recovery involved wading through the creek to count dead salmon and record important details like gender, size, origin, and whether they had spawned. This helped gather data on the salmon population. To add more depth to my post, I also conducted an interview with Megan Sampson, a volunteer at the hatchery. Talking to her gave me insight into the roles and responsibilities involved in wildlife conservation.
This project helped me advance my skills such as:Â
⢠Reflective Writing: I was able to clearly communicate my experiences and observations, making sure readers could understand what my day at the hatchery was like.
⢠Interviewing: I prepared thoughtful questions for Megan and learned how to gather valuable information from a professional in the field.
Analytical Thinking: Participating in the carcass recovery and recording data required me to observe details carefully and understand their significance.
⢠Environmental Awareness: This experience gave me a deeper appreciation for conservation efforts and how people work to protect wildlife.
Overall, this day was both educational and rewarding. Not only did I get hands-on experience with conservation work, but I also developed important skills that I can apply in the future.
How have I shown growth as a learner this year?
Throughout the year I have been working very hard to keep on track with my homework and school time. This year has been pretty stressful because of outside activities but Iâve been able to keep atop of all my work! I am good with time management but sometimes I need to be more in charge and do my work earlier so that I donât have to stress about it the morning of. Iâm a morning bird so that makes me very productive in the morning. If I need to do some extra work, I will take responsibility and do it in the morning. I am good at putting my thoughts into words, especially if Iâm writing. I am working to having a more open mind when it comes to school work because if I like the subject I will pay more attention and contribute more. I enjoy reading and history so I like it when the subject revolves around that sort of thing.
– Homework
– Self regulation
– Time management
– Having an open mind
Thanks for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed the story upon my learning! Until next time!
Hi and welcome back to my blog! This post will be about the world of filmmaking. Our maker project called âRunning a Remakeâ was meant for us to pay attention to detail and make an EXACT copy of a short film called âRUN!â (Iâll leave a link). Attention to detail was extremely important for this project because in order to make a copy, we had to film the exact angles, timing, sound, shots, and overall, story. We learnt many video making skills by learning how to create a story by using filmmaking. Sound affects were the hardest part because we had to create original audio.
Most people think that copying a 1 minute short film is easy, but there are so many aspects you have to consider. The first thing you have to consider is the angles you are using to portray your film. If you were trying to make a copy like we did, then you have to make every single scene count. We had to pay attention to the angle of the shots, the lighting of the shots, the setting of the shots, and of course the style of filming.Â
The first step of re-creating a film is making a storyboard. Your storyboard doesnât have to be detailed, but it has to be precise. Make a drawing for each one of the different shots and angles and then youâll be able to follow along better. A storyboard is a simple, but effective way of figuring out which shots you will need to make. Once we finished making the storyboard, we were ready to film.
Part of being attentive to detail is your costumes and settings. Since I was the runner (the main character) I had to be dressed accordingly. The runner in the RUN! video is wearing a tracksuit, so I tried my best to get a sweater and sweatpants to make it look like a tracksuit. A second detail is that the runner is wearing a grey toque. Since I couldnât find a grey toque, I had to make do with the black one. And the final detail is that the runner has earbuds in. I also couldnât find earbuds with strings so I had to use wireless ones. Once my costume is ready my group and I headed outside to film. We had to be careful in choosing our filming spot somewhere where we wouldnât be interrupted too frequently by other groups or other people. We chose the perfect spot in a trail that fit the setting of the original video.Â
It was challenging to get all of the correct shots, but once we were done, it was time for the editing stage. Since I was the editor, I was in charge of inserting the sound that we had filmed and also editing the video so it looked more like the original. Sound is one of the most immersive parts of any movie or show so itâs critical that you get it right. Once I was done editing the video, I posted it to my YouTube. (Iâll leave a link.)
Thanks for reading this post! My next post will probably be after winter break (unless the teachers are ruthlessâŚ) I hope you enjoyed the details of recreating a short film.Â
Welcome! This blog is all about the grade 9 take your kid to work day. Take your kid to work day is exactly how it sounds. Basically grade 9 students all over the province have the day off school to spend the day with parents, relatives, or mentors visiting them at their jobs. My day was different because my dad is retired so I obviously couldnât go with him, and my mom had a really important meeting that day so I couldnât go with her. So I spent my day volunteering at the Seymour Fish Hatchery!Â
My Work Day!
Me, my sister Emilia, and Brooklyn all went up the mountain for a day of volunteer work. Our first task was to feed the baby salmon in the outdoor pond. Once that was done we headed off to do a carcass recovery. A carcass recovery is a 2-4 hour trip down the creek, wading through the waters and counting carcasses. For every carcass we took notes on itâs gender, size, origin (weather itâs wild or hatchery), and itâs spawn. Once we finished taking notes on the salmon, we would cut the salmon in half, to prevent accidentally re-counting the salmon. All of our notes on the salmon then went into a file for a population count.Â
My interview
For tyktwd, we had to make an interview with someone who works there. I made an interview with Megan Sampson, the volunteer worker. She was also the person who took us on the carcass recovery. I had a very successful interview with her and she had great answers. The interview was all about getting to know more about the job, from someone who worked there. We were to ask open-ended questions, that could help us understand the job, and get us interested. I personally, am not planing to work with wildlife, but I still love the environment and wanted to know more about the job. After we finished the interviews, we posted them to our personal YouTube accounts. Hope you enjoy!!
The driving question:
The driving question was âhow does experiencing a work day change our view of career choices?â By experiencing a workday myself, I am able to see what it would be like to be actively participating in the work place. If you arenât able to experience a work day, you wont be able to properly gouge what itâs like in the work place, and therefore, your opinion might change based off your experience. Obviously, not every day is the same, but you will still get the gist of the job if you are able to see a day in action. Experiencing a work day might also help you choose what aspects of jobs you like, or donât like. For example, a day in the action might help you differ from desk jobs vs. An outdoor job, or a hands on job vs. A behind the scenes job.Â
Thanks for reading my blog!! Hope you liked this post. I know it was short but this project was pretty small.Â
Hello you silly goober! This is the blog post all about my very first TPOL! I made it through my first MPOL so hopefully I make it through my first TPOL (Iâm crossing my fingers). Just kidding! If you donât know already, POL stands for Presentation Of Learning and the T stands for Transitional meaning the transition to the next grade. In this blog post I will talk about 10 main things, including the driving question, my growth as a learner in all my courses, my work ethic, my work habits, my areas for improvement, my success behaviours, revisions, teamwork, responsibility, and my production of work. These are just some of the things that make me a learner. Like my MPOL (Mid Year Presentation Of Learning) the TPOL also has a time limit of 7 minutes. In those 7 minutes, I will tell my story of learning. I hope you will enjoy my story.Â
POL declaration: đŁď¸
âThank 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.â
Science: đŚ
I have demonstrated my growth as a learner in science by applying critical thinking skills to go beyond the basic requirements and thoroughly answer the driving question. I have also been very active in the classes making it ten times more interesting then if I werenât actively learning in the class. I think that at the beginning of the second semester when science started I wasnât exited for science because I thought it would be boring, but as soon as we started working I realized that we were going to be doing some really interesting stuff and soon came to love science.Â
Humanities: đ
In humanities, I have previously struggled a lot with organizing my time well and I would constantly find myself being swamped with work. Now on the other hand, I have gotten much better at organizing my time and work much better. I have made out a system that works really well for me because that way I can balance my school and social life as needed.Â
Revisions: My Oregon Ad đ
After our trip to Oregon, we were required to make an ad that displayed a certain theme about Oregon. My theme was âexcitement and escapeâ so I had to make my ad correspond correctly to the theme. I had approximately 4-5 revisions, but throughout the revisions I pushed through and came out with a final product that I really liked. You could tell that every time I made a revision, it looked better and better. Iâve always had some struggles with getting told my work isnât good enough or that I need to re do it, but PLP has taught me that its not a bad thing to get a revision, but instead it pushes you to get your best work done.Â
Before: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â After:
Teamwork: The Spring Exhibition đˇ
I think that one of my best moments for teamwork was the spring exhibition. Because of our group being the smallest, we all had to put in much more work than some of the other groups. I was very proud of my teamwork in this event because even though I had to put in more work, I enjoyed it and did it to the best of my abilities. I was also responsible enough to make sure that the work that I had to do was done and was also better than was expected.Â
High Quality Work: Peanuts Character & Oregon Adventure Book đŻ
I have two examples of some work that I am really proud of. Firstly, I have my peanuts character and although I didnât make this during school year, Iâm still really proud of it and I thought I did it to the best of my ability. Knowing that I canât draw that well, I was really proud of this piece of artwork I made. The task was to draw yourself as a peanuts character, and I think it turned out really well. My second piece of work that I wanted to show you is my organ adventure book. Even though I got a couple revisions on this book, I am really proud of it because I worked very hard on it and I love the way it turned out. I think I put my design skills and writing skills to the test on this book, but it worked in my favour to create a really cool book to remember grade eight by.Â
If I set my mind on something, Iâm really good at getting that done and to the best of my ability but every once in a while, I struggle with putting my best work in for something Iâm not very interested in. Sometimes if Iâm doing something that I am really interested in I will only focus on that one thing and then get it done really well. on the other hand if if itâs something Iâm not very interested in or itâs a job or chore. I tend to have not very good attitude about it and work ethic. Sometimes I will be very obvious with my attitude towards a task or job, but other times I will just quietly judge it.Â
Work Habits: đ
As a person who likes to get something done in one sitting, my work habits arenât always healthy. But over the year, I have learnt to overcome this and have done really well at spacing out my work blocks and break times. Iâve gotten really good at knowing when I need to stop and have a break and knowing how long I can continue working for. Iâve always been a morning person so for me itâs much easier to wake up at five in the morning to do homework then stay up until 12 doing homework. Being a morning person, I will often leave my work to the last minute and just wake up the very morning itâs due and do it all then, but I have also learnt that that is not an efficient use of my time so I have gotten much better at getting my work done in a little bit instead of in one sitting.
Agency: Seeking help đââď¸
Iâve always struggled with asking for help whether itâs from a friend, coach, parent, or teacher but over the school year I noticed that I have definitely gotten better. Many times during the school year I found myself stuck on a certain question, or task, but I have been pushing myself to ask for help not just try to figure it out myself and potentially get it wrong. I donât know why I find it challenging to ask for help but I always struggled with it. I know many people who are told that they ask for help too much but Iâm the opposite. This first year of PLP I noticed that I have been in more situations where I needed to ask for help, so that has pushed me to ask for help more often which I think really helped.
Agency: Goals and self assessing â
I have never been the type of person to set goals for myself, but with new opportunities like for example, the app Things has really pushed me to set goals for myself so I can grow as a learner. If you donât know already, the app Things is a great way to keep track of tasks, chores, and of course goals. It is an app you will have to pay for, but it is a great investment. (This blog post is not sponsored). I have realized this year that goal-setting is a great way to push yourself and make sure that you get to where you want to be.
Communication and Collaboration: Peers đ
I think that overall, Iâm very good person to have in a group project because I will do the work that you ask me to do, I will put in ideas, I will provide supplies and most importantly, I will listen and be active in the group. Every single group project that we have been in this year I think I have been an asset to the group and hopefully I will continue to be a helpful and respectful group member. I have been told many times by friends that if they want an opinion on something, they will ask me because they know that I will be brutally honest and give them helpful criticism that they can use to grow.Â
THANKS FOR LISTENING TO MY LEARNING STORY!
Thanks for reading all about my first TPOL! Iâll see you silly goobers next year!
