I started out the year in a good place. I had an idea of how the year was going to go and was excited to start grade 12. I knew the route but lost some excitement when I started to get all the work. It was stressful and getting sick didn’t help. I was home sick for about a month, and when I went back it was full time but not full energy. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping up, considering the situation, and it forced me to use some new resources.
Areas of growth (previous goals)
My areas of growth were to develop note taking and work on my time management. I’ve used apps like craft, notability and notes to help with note taking. Another goal was to start a project when its assigned and work on it a little bit each day.
How have you made progress/Or how have you not made progress:
I continue to develop my note taking strategies. I’ve become a little better but it’s always going to be an issue. I do some scribing by hand but it’s slow in class. I have to do one thing at a time, so it’s either pay attention or take notes. I often get behind but I get by.
In terms of time management I’m better at not doing things the night before. I set aside time and working with a tutor helps with my writing. Having someone scribe for me allows for me to not be constrained by my writing ability, my ideas come out easier.
I now set timers more often. I keep a to-do list in Things which helps me track assignments and not forget. I communicate my ideas better. My writing has improved, like for example how to start a piece and format a piece.
Evaluate core competency profile
- Communication:
I developed my communication skills through the project on creating a political party which I facilitated as a group project. In our groups of like-minded individuals, we came up with a party that we thought could succeed in the political landscape of Canada. As well, the conceptual art piece called “Tension” was a collaboration with my classmate, Rhiann, in response to our study of the Manhattan Project.
I learned that deadlines are easier to follow when other people are involved. I have other people relying on me so I have to get it done. It’s also not all on me; the weight of responsibility is spread out. It was also easier to remember what to do because someone else was also keeping track of the assignment. Working with my partner, we both had similar ideas and were able to make something collaboratively.
- Creative thinking:
This year I’ve explored my identity as a creative thinker more, especially through art projects, like our conceptual art piece, “Tension”, from the Manhattan Project. This one really made me think more about my creative process. The creative process is often linear for me. The purpose can be external or internal. I appreciate a prompt that gives me direction. Usually the idea comes in some fully-formed vision, even if the finished product changes. I rarely force an idea. I prepare and test some version of it, and this time it was in collaboration with a classmate. I tend to work until I get it just right. Sometimes I know it’s done when I run out of time! In this project we kept improving and changing it as we were installing it.
I learned that I share my work to see what people think but if it’s for a specific audience, I can become more stressed about it. When it’s for fun and with my friends, it’s play. I like to have projects that challenge me to find a new way.
- Critical and reflective thinking:
My Hiroshima book analysis allowed me to critically connect to complex social ideas. I wrote about Japanese Stoicism and how the societal mentality of Japan influenced their response to the bomb. Reading
the book and gathering notes from a variety of sources such as articles and videos, I learned about the history of the Manhattan project. Using what I already knew and combining that with what I had just learned, I was able to develop my idea about Japanese stoicism.
- Personal and social: Positive personal and cultural identity:
Doing the Playlist of My Life project song analysis helped me explore my nature and identity. Connecting to the songs helped me figure out more a
bout myself, especially balancing my creative energy with being responsible and realistic. This project stood out because it made me articulate my struggle to balance my time, doing the necessary things to keep myself upright as well as not being able to do everything I enjoy. This project helped me explore how the songs I listen to also help shape and define who I am, and how media influences me.
Social awareness and responsibility:
Creating a political party was interesting to me because I had to consider more about what parties put into creating themselves. Although being sick for a lot of this project was hard, I enjoyed working with my group to debate and discuss our political views. We talked a lot about how our political party would theoretically govern and interact with others and the environment.
My story isn’t over. I need to continue to improve my time management skills and note-taking/writing out my ideas. I want to continue to collaborate with others and develop my creative expression and personal identity through projects, especially through art.
I want to use this next term to strengthen my personal skills. Specifically, I want to be more productive on my own and do more independent work. I want to continue building stamina and balancing school and fun and work, as well as staying healthy so I can get it all done. I’m good at asking for help now.