Julia’s Journey

A guide to my learning

Month: June 2025

Comic Quest – WWI 🪖

By

On June 19, 2025

In Humanities

Have you ever wondered about WWI? What happened? What did it look like?

A Bit of History

WWI was a brutal time in our history. WWI started in 1914 after the assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand, but nationalism, militarism, and different allies also played a part in the war starting. Austria Hungary launched an attack on Serbia, which then escalated to countries declaring war upon others. Germany, Austria Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire fought against the allies; Britain, France, Russia, and later on Canada and the USA. The allies won the war  in 1918. War was awful; about 40 million soldiers died in total, from both sides of the war. 

How can researching the historical significance of World War I inform and enhance the storytelling in a graphic novel I create?

The graphic novel we made each represents something different from the war. It could be air aces, women in war, front lines, and a few other choices. Each story that our classmates wrote told a story of world war 1, with the reality of battles, death, and struggles. Each graphic novel had a reality about it that was very similar to how it would actually be. 

By researching facts and events in World War I, you could make sure the information was accurate and had the correct timing. By knowing the information, you could really enhance the story by making it seem all very realistic. If the person writing the graphic novel understands the materials, and how life would be, then it could make the story better they know what they are talking about. Doing this, the reader could also try and make connections between the readers and the graphic novel, by words, drawings, or even the sounds. 

Final Project

The final project for this WWI unit was to make a 20 panel graphic novel. I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into… it was hard!! I didn’t expect all those late nights, early mornings and hours working on this graphic novel. 

Planning Documents

Before we could get into drawing these graphic novels, we had to plan for them! We did many panning documents, but I am grateful we did each and every one of them, for they were extremely helpful when it came to start drawing. 

WWI Comic Book

For our comic books, we got to choose our very own category. I chose air aces, because I was interested in how the life was. My soldier was names Charles and he came from Canada. He got placed in a British training camp, then joined the RFC (Royal Flying Corps). He flew in the battle of Passchendaele, in Belgium. I found learning about all these battles, ways of life, and facts very interesting, and I am glad I chose the topic I did.

  • Screenshot

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed this project, and I am glad I got the opportunity to make it. Even though this comic was hard, and it was very stressful to make, I had so much fun, and the feeling when it was finished was super rewarding.

 Thanks for reading!!

Transitioning Into Grade 10!

By

On June 19, 2025

In POLS

Ms. Mc, this is my mom and dad, Katie and Ian Mortimer, and Charlie.

“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.”

As I start reflecting upon my journey through grade 9, I want to start by saying how much has changed, and what a different person I am right now. Starting grade 9, I was a timid learner, who always asked questions and afraid to get things wrong. Now, as I am about to transition into grade 10, and I feel as though I have gotten more confident in my work, and being okay with making mistakes. 

VMV

My vision for the end of high school has so many goals and visions that are so far away. I do need to start thinking about graduating, but I feel as though short term goals are more important at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mission is more relevant to right now. I was working really hard all year to achieve extending, and I am proud of my hard work. I am most proud that I earn each mark instead of teachers just giving it out. I have volunteered some of my time helping the teachers, like cleaning the classroom after exhibition! (It was really messy). One of my absolute favourite things I have participated in this year has been volunteering for NVFC. Every Saturday for the last 4 weeks I have been helping a coach with u5 (under 5s). It was so rewarding to see the little smiles on each and every one of the kids faces. The last session I actually got to run myself, which I thought went okay. In the summer I am either going to be working or volunteering more with the NVFC kids.

Growing as a learner means actively developing your abilities, knowledge and understanding. I feel as though I am such a different person than I was at the start of the year.  I am going to give a quick reflection on each PLP subject:

Science

Science has really captured my attention this spring. Our focus has been on pollinators and their impact on our communities and where we live. For the first time ever, science was our subject for the spring exhibition! I was really excited to see what was in store for us. The night before the exhibition, we were not ready. I spent hours making posters, painting and getting supplies together. I am really proud of our group because of all the last minute hassle. The exhibition went really well, and our booth was definitely a hit!

Humanities

Humanities has been something I look forward to each day. It always seems we are learning something new, having fun, and sharing ideas as a class. The very last project we just completed was a WWI graphic novel. It was very challenging and time consuming, but when I finished, it felt so rewarding because I had put so much work into it. 

  • Screenshot

Maker

The most recent project we completed was making a mini doc. I chose my dad, as an ultramarathoner because I was interested to know more about it. I had such a fun time with him in the mornings going to film; he would run and I would bike beside him filming. My dad just completed the Vancouver marathon in under 3 hrs and 15 minutes which means he qualified for the Boston marathon which happens next April! I found it very exciting to learn all about his running journeys and adventures throughout the years. 

So Why Am I ready For Grade 10?

I believe I am ready for grade 10. I have worked hard all year leading up to thistransition, and I think my hard work has payed off. I think I am ready, because I take responsibility for my learning. I feel as though I have taken responsibility for my learning by completing work on time to an ability I haven’t in my previous year. I am very excited to explore new content next year and I am ready to move on to the next level; grade 10!

I know grade 10 will be a whole new challenge, more projects, bigger questions, deeper thoughts and ideas. Whatever comes my way, I think I can push past the struggle and work hard to create something great. 

Thank you for listening to my TPOL, I appreciate you all coming today and I will see you in grade 10!!

Don’t Worry, BEE Happy! 🐝

By

On June 18, 2025

In Science

Don’t worry, BEE happy!!

What did we do this year for our spring exhibition? Read on to find out…

I had an absolute blast this year during spring exhibition prep, and presenting at it as well. We did something that we’ve never done before – Science!! 

Leading into this exhibition, we learned all there is to know about pollinators. Bats, butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and plants – these all help our environment and impact  our planet in various ways. 

How can we support and protect local pollinators to ensure healthy ecosystems in our community?

Pollinators have a huge impact on our world, and its essential to protect them. Without pollinators, we wouldn’t have the same lives we do right now. One out of three bites we take are because of pollinators. There are many ways to support and protect pollinators, but the biggest thing we can do is to keep planting flowers, plants, etc.. because it’s important that pollinators have thing to pollinate. Things like hummingbird feeders, bee hives, and lots of plants contribute to the pollination population growing. 

All There is to Know About Pollinators

Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male part of the flower called the anther, to the female part of the flower called the stigma. Pollination is a very important step in the sexual reproduction of plants. The transfer of pollen is crucial for fertilization, where gametes from the pollen come together with the female gametes in the ovule, which eventually leads to the creation of new plants. 

Pamphlet

For our exhibition, we had to create multiple interactive elements. The pamphlet we made had made taught the public more information about pollinators, and what the importance of it was. 

Food web

In addition to creating a pamphlet, we also created a food-web that showed the interconnectedness of our ecosystems, and how each animal operates with the others in nature. 

Call to action

As well as the pamphlet and food web, we also completed a call to action which taught the public a bit more about why pollination is important and what we can do to help in our communities.

Interactive element

For our interactive element, we did a colour by number! You spun our wheel, and the colour you got was the one you painted in on our canvas. If you were lucky and you spun one of the three brownie spaces, you got to enjoy a yummy treat!

How can we help?

There are many ways we can help pollinators in our area. The best way is to add as many native plants as possible to gardens around the neighbourhood. Planting native pants instead of non native plants is best because they support local ecosystems, and usually require less maintenance than non native species.

Conclusion

Pollinators are crucial to our existence. They play a vital role in keeping our ecosystems intact. Pollinators clean the air, stabilize the dirts, and support other animals in the wild. The goal of animals, and plants is to make seeds, eggs, or to become pregnant to bring the next generation into our world. 

I really enjoyed the spring exhibition this year, we learned so much about pollinators, and their job in our lives.

I will be posing a lot in the next week, so keep your eyes peeled!

Thank you so much for reading! 

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