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.
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!
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.
“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.
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!
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: Déjà 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)
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.
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 I’m headed. I’ve always been someone who likes structure—not 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 it’s planning projects, managing daily tasks, or just making sure I have time for what’s 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.
What Do You Really Want?
“During 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.”
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. “If you could do any twenty things by the time you turn twenty, what would they be?” 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 I’m 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.
Goal Tracker:
Twenty By Twenty:
Dream Board:
Letter To Myself:
“Sup 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 I’m 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.”
Celebration Plan:
“Hockey: 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 practices—| 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.”
Managing Me Video:
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 didn’t 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.
Unboxing Me Video:
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: “Do 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, I’m going to go over who I am and my values. I love sports and physical activities. I am I huge fan of hockey and I’ve 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. That’s 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. I’m 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.”
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. I’ll drop a link below.
Hello and welcome to my blog! It’s POL time! Today’s post is all about my first Presentation of Learning (POL)! Specifically, I’ll be doing an MPOL— 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:
“ 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.”
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 I’m going to accomplish my vision and the work I will have to do to get there.
Vision:
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:
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:
Peak Potential:
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 wouldn’t have to talk to people but eventually I did and it wasn’t 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.
PGP:
TYKTWD:
This project was for the grade 9 take your kid to work day activity. For my “Take Your Kid to Work Day” 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:
• 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 I’ve 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 don’t have to stress about it the morning of. I’m 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 I’m 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! This is my blog where you can read about everything that I learn. This post will feature my latest humanities project called…. Fankenstuffies: The Rise of Change! This project was all about the Industrial Revolution and the changes it brought to society. The Industrial Revolution was a period of major changes in the way products are made. It took place more than 200 years ago and greatly affected the way people lived as well as the way they worked. In earlier days, people made products by hand. They worked mostly in their own homes or in small workshops. During the Industrial Revolution, many factories were built. Labourers began making large numbers of things using machines powered by engines such as steam, or coal powered.
Driving question: 🏎️ How can we, as writers, weave historical details into our creative storytelling to convey a clear and impactful message?
We kicked off the project with the urbanization game, which was a fun and interactive way to get a feel for what life was like during the Industrial Revolution. Urbanization happens when people move from rural areas to cities, usually because of job opportunities in growing industries like factory work. As we explored this shift from farming to factory life, we started to understand how drastically things changed during that time. Cities became overcrowded, living conditions were often poor, and factory work was exhausting and even dangerous. It was interesting to put ourselves in the shoes of people who experienced such a massive transition. We imagined what it must have been like to leave behind a familiar way of life, move to a busy city, and try to keep up with all the changes happening around them. Here’s a picture of the city my group created: 👇
Making the frankenstuffies:
The Hero’s Journey
For this part of the project we had to create our very own frankenstuffies! It was a super fun (but slightly sad) activity that took around 3 classes to finish. We had to bring in around 3-4 stuffies that were no longer loved (my heart💔) and cut them up and use their body parts to create a whole new stuffie. I learnt a lot of things during this part of the project but the thing I learnt most was hand sewing. (Strange thing to be learning in a history class). Anyways, here’s a short video on how my beloved stuffie came to be!
Film Pitch
My Storyboard
For the last bit of preparation we had to do, we made a story board to map out our films. A storyboard is very helpful when you want to be organized before you create a story. Mapping out your ideas will help you create a more precise and easy to follow story. I used drawings to create my story board.
The Final Draft
It’s finally time to introduce my beloved Stefan!! Isn’t he gorgeous?! Anyways, for the final draft I worked really hard to find pictures and sounds that were copyright free to use in my movie. We used iMovie to create a short story that featured our characters in the Industrial Revolution! Here’s mine:
How does electricity shape our society, and how can we generate it more sustainably?
During this project, we learnt many different types of energy and how to generate energy. But our main focus was how to generate clean and sustainable energy.
Electricity is a huge part of everyday life, it powers our homes, keeps hospitals running, and lets us stay connected with each other. But a lot of it still comes from fossil fuels, which pollute the environment. To make it more sustainable, we need to focus on renewable energy like solar, wind, and hydropower. Using energy more efficiently and improving battery storage can also help cut down our reliance on nonrenewable sources. If we keep pushing for cleaner energy, we can build a more sustainable future.
Hydro Electricity Infographic:
This was our first assignment in this project. We had to make in infographic on our choice of sustainable electricity. I chose hydro electricity because I love water and I find it fascinating that water can power electricity. Hydroelectricity is a way of generating power using moving water. Dams or turbines are placed in rivers or reservoirs to harness the energy from flowing water, which spins turbines to produce electricity. It’s a renewable energy source because water cycles naturally through rainfall and rivers. Hydropower is one of the most reliable and widely used renewable energy sources, but it can impact ecosystems by changing water flow and affecting fish populations. Despite this, it remains a clean and efficient way to produce electricity without burning fossil fuels.
Operation Electricity! ⚡️
This was the final benchmark in our project. We had to create a replica of the game ‘Operation’. Using our newfound skills with electricity, we made a fully functional (most of the time) board game!! We made it with a shoe box, tin foil, wires, metal tweezers and a whole lot of electrical tape! It’s crazy what you can do with just those materials.
I really liked doing the practice one because I was really proud of myself when it worked. It was a bit challenging to get my actual game to work 100% of the time because every once in a while I would have to re adjust the foil to get it to work. But I did it in the end! The tin foil we used was the conductor of electricity. We created a closed circuit for the electricity to flow through and to turn on the light.
thanks for reading this short little post on electricity and all the ways to harness, and use it (sustainably of course.)
Hello and welcome back to my blog. In this blog, I will talk about my PLP 9 experience during the winter exhibition! This blog is a 2-parter so you can read about BOTH the exhibition and the project called “Vive Les Machines À Métaphores”. I’ll start with the humanities project that led up to the exhibition.
Vive Les Machines À Métaphores⚙️
This project was all about What Factors Precipitate ‘Revolution’ and How Have They Shaped the Modern World? Revolutions happen when economic struggles, political oppression, and social inequality push people to demand change. Big ideas, new technology, and outside pressures often fuel the fire, like in the French Revolution. They’ve shaped the world by ending monarchies, spreading democracy, advancing rights, and driving progress. Revolutions show that the fight for freedom and fairness never stops.
Animal Farm:
Our project started off with us doing a novel study on the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. Animal Farm is a book about animals who rebel against their farmer to create a society where they are all equal. However, as the pigs take control, they become as oppressive as the humans they replaced. The story highlights how power can corrupt and how revolutions can betray their ideals. After we finished reading, we made an infographic on the four stages of revolutions and how each stage represented an action in Animal Farm.
Crane Britons Theory:
The first stage of a revolution is the incubation stage, people are unhappy because of issues like inequality, bad leadership, or economic struggles. Tensions build up, but nothing major happens yet—it’s all bubbling under the surface. Next is the moderate stage. Protests, strikes, and calls for change begin. Moderates try to fix things with reforms, but they usually don’t go far enough. The situation becomes more unstable, and people start to lose patience. In the most violent stage, radicals take over, the old system collapses, and things get chaotic. You might see violence, extreme measures, and big changes as the revolution reaches its peak. And finally in the moderate stage, things start to settle down. A new government forms, often less extreme than the radicals wanted. Society gets back to normal, though some parts of the old system might come back, just under new leadership.
Revolutions in action:
Our next step was to learn more about revolutions. There were 5 different revolutions we could choose to learn more about. The Russian, American, Meiji, Haitian, and French revolutions. I chose the French Revolution because I already knew a little about it, so I took the chance to learn more. After we became familiar with our different revolutions, we were instructed to make an infographic on them. We used Canva to make our infographics both aesthetically pleasing, and packed with information. Here’s mine:
Exhibition Ending:
Now it was time to put all of our learning into action. The grade 9 section of the winter exhibition was based off all of the revolutions. Each revolution group had about 5-6 people in it. My group consisted of Samuel, Eloise, Evelyn, Carmyn, and Liann. (I will link their blogs down below). Each group was to make a Rube Goldberg machine that was a metaphor for a revolution. A Rube Goldberg machine is a device that preforms multiple actions in order to complete one simple task (for example, turning on a light). Since they needed to be metaphors for a revolution, each action had to directly relate to an important event during the revolution.
Spiral
The economy spiraling.
Dominoes
The government pushing aside the poors needs.
Bouncing off the National Assembly
The third estate getting rejected from the National Assembly.
The tennis court
The poor protesting in the Tennis Court Oath.
The rights of man board
The government finally signing the rights for all men.
The knife and figures
The execution of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The end of the monarchy.
The car and flames
The Reign of Terror and chaos.
The car knocking over a board
The execution of Maximilian Robespierre. Also the end of the Reign of Terror.
The ball hitting the French flag.
Napoleon finally taking down the French government.
The crown
The end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic Era
The ball going back to the top
The symbol of how revolutions never truly end and how once a revolution does end, a new one is ready to begin.
From the Top:
These are just a few video clips that highlight the progress we made while building. (My YouTube wasn’t working otherwise I would have posted this video)
For the actual exhibition, all of the grade 9’s were put in a room with their Metaphor Machines. Once the people started to flow, it was time to present our machines. Each person in the group was explaining one stage of the machine. I was in charge of presenting the 6th action. Although I had to leave an hour early for a hockey game, I enjoyed seeing some of the other grades, and presenting our metaphor machine. On the whole, I think our group was the most successful. We had great organization and every single member contributed. It was hard work to build a Rube Goldberg machine, and even harder to get it to work properly. But in the end our group did really well and I enjoyed myself at the exhibition.
The End
That’s it for this blog post! Hope you enjoyed reading about the winter exhibition. Oh and also… Happy New Year!!
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 (I’m crossing my fingers). Just kidding! If you don’t 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.
POL declaration: 🗣️
“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.”
Science: 🦠
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 weren’t actively learning in the class. I think that at the beginning of the second semester when science started I wasn’t 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.
Humanities: 📖
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.
Revisions: My Oregon Ad 🔁
After our trip to Oregon, we were required to make an ad that displayed a certain theme about Oregon. My theme was ‘excitement and escape’ 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. I’ve always had some struggles with getting told my work isn’t 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.
Before: After:
Teamwork: The Spring Exhibition 🌷
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.
High Quality Work: Peanuts Character & Oregon Adventure Book 💯
I have two examples of some work that I am really proud of. Firstly, I have my peanuts character and although I didn’t make this during school year, I’m still really proud of it and I thought I did it to the best of my ability. Knowing that I can’t 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.
If I set my mind on something, I’m 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 I’m not very interested in. Sometimes if I’m 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 it’s something I’m not very interested in or it’s 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.
Work Habits: 📚
As a person who likes to get something done in one sitting, my work habits aren’t 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. I’ve gotten really good at knowing when I need to stop and have a break and knowing how long I can continue working for. I’ve always been a morning person so for me it’s 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 it’s 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 🙋♀️
I’ve always struggled with asking for help whether it’s 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 don’t 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 I’m 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 ✅
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 don’t 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 👂
I think that overall, I’m 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.
THANKS FOR LISTENING TO MY LEARNING STORY!
Thanks for reading all about my first TPOL! I’ll see you silly goobers next year!
