Another year has come and gone, and I’m no longer going to be the “babies” of high school! The year has been hectic, exciting and stressful all at once. It reminds me of a crazy time machine when I look back at how far I’ve come and grown. Let me take you back to when I first started high school as I retell my amazing adventure: Flow Through School.

For those of you who don’t know, a TPOL stands for Transitional Presentation of Learning. As I transition from grade to grade, I’ll end up having to write one of these so they’ll become quite common on my blog. Anyways, my last presentation of this sort was my MPOL which I presented earlier this year. These presentations are to show parents and teachers what we’ve learned the past year and how we’ve grown. So sit back and relax as I basically tell you all about my grade 8 year.

Starting PLP, I had no friends I were familiar with, no idea how this year would go and was in major shock at the level of expectation our Humanities teacher had set upon us. I was nervous and that affected the quality of my work. I want to take some time to revisit this little cycle graph I had made for myself near the beginning of the school year.

If someone were to ask me how I would describe my grade 8 year, this chart is a great representation of what I’d say. Some of my friends recall me describing my life as a “Happy River” and by happy river, I actually mean this graph. I don’t necessarily live in a river, I just like to think of my life as a river. Most rivers have smooth parts, rough areas and eventually a waterfall. Each stage of a river represents a time in my life most of which have to do with school. That is why my blog is called Flow Through School! Anyways, at the beginning of this chart, near the top, it talks about departing on a new journey. Well that’s exactly what I did when I started high school. It was a new journey with new friends and teachers. Everything that happened in Elementary just didn’t matter anymore. This was a new clean and fresh start and I wasn’t going to let anything stand in my way. I want to take a minute to revisit my early pieces of work that I did at the start of grade 8. In my MPOL, I mentioned my “Selfie Project “ in Maker. As I look back at this piece of work, I see what I thought was hard work but now I see it as growth. It wasn’t my best work and I had no idea what I was capable of doing if it weren’t for my amazing friends and teachers who pushed me to do better.

Another piece of work that I thought at the time was absolutely amazing and top quality was my business ad for Oregon. This is when my group (Gabby, Fraser, Nik and I) interview a local business during our trip to the Oregon coast. After interviewing MarineDescovery Tours, each of us group members had to create an ad for their business which would later be emailed to them. Again, I thought this was all I was capable of and that I had pushed myself to my full potential. However, as the year went on, I slowly improved my skills and learned much more…

My next great and amazing project was the Infographics which we all created in small groups of four. Mine included Taylor, Jordyn, Jackson and I. This project not only taught me many new technology skills on my iPad including being able to curve letters and make shapes, but this project also taught me patience with others which I now contribute to other group projects.

DI was a huge learning experience in which I learned how to really step up as a leader and take charge and do what you know is right. The whole DI journey was a chaotic mess but I stepped up as a leader and stood up for myself when I knew that what a certain group member was doing was wrong. We didn’t necessarily do well in the Regionals tournament, but hey! That was my first ever DI. However, my group and I stepped up our game for the Provincial tournament and did a lot better. What I learned was that you can’t always rely on others. Sometimes you have to step up and do what’s right even when people don’t always agree with you.

As Bluesky draws closer and closer, I want to show you my growth from my first PLP exhibition (Star Wars) to Bluesky. I think, this of all my projects is the greatest example of my growing as both a student and a person. From my past projects including DI, Worldview Infographics, Oregon Ads, Launch Sports, Quilts and more, Bluesky was a chance for me to apply all my learning from the entire year and create an amazing invention and presentation. Going back to the Star Wars exhibition, I have to say that I was and still am proud of the work that I put into it. However, I was much distracted with other activities such as basketball, soccer and dance. This, unfortunately effected my work and ended up actually lowering my grade in second term. So, I promised myself, that for this exhibition, I’d try harder and stay more committed to providing my absolute best work. Like Star Wars though,  preparing for this exhibition wasn’t a smooth river ride either. This is where I will once again draw your attention to my River Chart. I’d never done a Bluesky before, meaning this was a new journey. I had a solid idea of what I wanted to create and do. When I pitched this idea to my parents, they may have not meant it, but I interpreted it as a “it’s impossible! Never been done and never will be!” Kind of situation and later found myself crying and having a melt down much like the one I had during DI Regionals. This is where I hit my rough turns and harsh water. I took what my parents first impression was to heart and that lead me to my downfall or waterfall. But, according to my river chart, something always amazing comes from a waterfall. After coming back from Oregon, everybody was quite familiar with how everybody thought, acted as well as their strengths and weakness. We’d all had built something special that all of us student are part of. Since we see each other everyday and work with each other so much, we had unknowingly established a PLP family. That same family of 20 amazing, loving people whom I get to see everyday helped me get out of my waterfall. Being part of this amazing group is something so special that not every student gets to experience. I learned that there are people in my class who love me no matter what and care about me. They’ll be with me through my happy times and when I’m down, they’ll always be there, believing in me and helping me get back up on my feet again. However, it’s up to you to make that happen. I was warned that, joining PLP meant tears shed, stressed heads and melt downs, but depending on how you wish to act, the situation can get a whole lot better. What I never realized at the beginning of the year when Ms. Willemse and Mr. Hughs showed us the Ice Burg Cycle was that to get to the peak and out of your troubles, to get to where you want to be, you need to show DETERMINATION, EFFORT and more often then not, PERSEVERANCE. Or as some people say, work for it and show effort, and the results will come. That’s what I feel is important in every student, and that’s what PLP has taught me.

As I move into my second year of high school, I want to not only apply all my new skills to future projects, but also to help guide new PLPers. Again, I now start at the beginning of a new journey, unsure of what’s ahead of me. I have learned to trust my instinct to do what’s right. And that’s what I’m going to do. As my grade 8 year comes to a close, and my next step of my life opens in front of me, I want to change the way I handle stress. All through the year I was the one who took charge, made tough decisions and had melt downs over projects. And if there was one thing I’ll take away and remember from this year, it’s to sit back, relax and enjoy the river ride. I promised myself that I would loosen up and let my parents, teachers and most importantly God guide me out of my waterfalls . I’m ready. This is the end of grade 8, but the start of a new adventure.