I Know That I Have Grown as a Learner, But How?

Quarter three has challenged me in many different ways.  I have learned that I have to prioritise different subjects.  By way of example, I know that humanities is not necessarily a struggle, while math definitely is.  This is not to say that I should not apply myself as much, but just balance out my efforts.  For quarter four, I will focus on being prepared by taking in-class notes, studying off of extra resources and making sure that my knowledge of each unit is solidified.  

How have I grown as a student?

Artifact: Musical Successes

I used to think of band as a class that I was not very good in.  In quarter two, I struggled with certain SmartMusic assignments which did not exactly lift my spirits.  Now, I know that practice completely pays off.  In band, I have sincerely tried hard to become a better student in band.  I have seen my improvement reflected through the fact that I received either first or second trombone on the pieces in the second semester concert repertoire.  

What have I struggled with the past that I still need to work on?

Subject: Math

I used to think that my learning was not reflecting on certain assignments, although now I know that I just have to put even more effort into math when studying in order to improve my learning. I will put more time into math then before so that I can succeed in this class.

What am I truly proud of? Successful?

Link to Artifact: Now Would I Live in The Community?

I used to think that a seven was nearly unattainable on certain assignments and that it was a complete challenge. Now I know that I can achieve a seven on all assignments. It just requires time and effort, as well as looking over work with a (very) critical eye.

If anything, this past quarter has helped me grow as a learner.  In quick, I know now to prioritise my "challenge subjects," but, at the same time put an equal amount of effort into the subjects that I am stronger in.    

O Que Eu Quero Ser Quando Creser

Durante as aulas passadas de portuguese, nos estavamos trabalhando no um projeto sobre carreiras.  Nós tinha que tomar um mini teste vocacional.  Em fim, eu tirei estas notas finais.  

Eu sempre queria aprender mais sobre nosso mundo, então depois de um tempinho, eu escolhi o proffesão de diplomacia.
Para completar esta projeto, eu entrevistei o Senhor Dennis Hankins que trabalha no consol, o meu avô que trabalhava no o UNDP, ou United Nations Development Programme, e meu pai, que era um filho de um diplomata. 
As perguntas que eu fiz foram assim:

# 1. Quando você era mais jovem, o que você quer fazer quando crescer?


# 2. Especificamente, o que você faz para viver?


# 3. O que você estudou na faculdade? Qual faculdade?


# 4. Você gosta de ser um diplomata? Por que motivos?


# 5. Que habilidades / qualidades que você precisa ter como um diplomata?


# 6. Você já teve dúvidas sobre sua escolha de carreira?


# 7. Seus pais eram influente em sua decisão profissional?


# 8. Qual é a sua parte favorita sobre ser um diplomata, e por quê? 

A coisa que eu acho que são interessantes sobre este carreira e o ponto de vista que voce pode ter.  Nós sempre vemos o partes mais bonitos e incríveis no um país, quando na verdade, um país sempre tem coisas ruim, como pobreza.  Eu acho que pessoas que tem uma carreira como a de diplomacia podem ver estes coisas e sabem o realidade do nosso mundo.  
Eu gostei muito dessa experiência e eu agradeço as pessoas que mi-ajudou com essa projeta

Musical Successes

Throughout quarter three, I have made it a goal to be a successful Junior Band student.  I have tried my hardest to benefit the rest of the class.  In doing so, I found that my experience as a part of this ensemble more meaningful.  In the same fashion, I have been encouraging my friends and trying my best to help others when, for example they need to know how to play a certain note.  Moreover, I have noticed that I have been getting more advanced parts, such as first and second trombone for the May concert repertoire.
In addition, I have been practicing every other day for a total of at least ninety-five minutes per week.    I realize that my dedication has paid off, because, as I stated before, I have been getting more advanced parts.  Furthermore, I have seen this reflected through the grades on my SmartMusic assignments.  I have realised that succeeding in the outside-of-class assignments has made the work in class easier.
Mr. Stange states that anyone who plays a musical instrument knows perseverance.  This is completely true.  I have noticed that with SmartMusic assignments, it is mandatory to persevere in order to succeed.  Practicing goes without saying and the result is something so enjoyable and rewarding that the cycle continues again and again.

The World in A Drop of Water- Wrap Up

Last week, we finished Lab Nine.  It was one of my favorite labs.  In this lab, we looked at water under a microscope.  We got to see so many amazing things, and one of my friends in the other block saw a "water flea" (a cladocera) laying eggs.  I learned about things I never would have guessed have happened before.  Somethings that suprised me were-

• The Eyespot- This is a feature we saw on the euglena.  It can sense lighter or darker.  When it senses the light, it directs the euglena to the light so that the plant can perform photosynthesis.  
• A feature on the amoeba allows it to form a layer around it called a cyst when conditions are harsh.  If the water is too cool or too warm, the cyst is formed and will stay there for as long as it needs.
• On the paramecium and vorticella, small hairs are around them called the cilia, which means eyelash in latin.  They are small  hair-like extensions that help the cell capture food and also help it move around.
• In the paramecium, there are not one, but two nuclei.  The larger one is called the macronucleus, and the smaller one is called the micronucleus.  Both nuclei are of equal vitality.  A scientest performed surgurey on the cell twice, once extracting the marconucleus, once extracting the micronucleus and concluded that the cell needed both nuclei to function.

I enjoyed this unit so much, because I was able to learn so many new things about fresh water, and I had never really wondered about it.  I am so excited to see what this next unit shows us!    

Science Test

In science, we had a test about cells.  We got to look at our test, and correct it.  I thought it was a good experience to correct it, because we were able to understand what we got wrong, or how we could improve in what we got right. 
 In general, my answers were coherent and clear, correct, but I maybe could have added more details.  One of the hardest things for me was finding the similarities and differences between the cells, but once I understood it, it was much easier.  I think that I could have speant more time studying, although I did study a lot.  Overall, I think I earned a B, based on what I got wrong, and how I improved my answers.  (My responses demonstrate mastery of the learning goal(s). There are no major errors or omissions regarding any of the content and skills that were explicitly taught. Some evidence of analysis, synthesis and/or evaluation; may demonstrate originality and insight.  )

Science 3rd Quarter Reflection

This quarter in science was full of achievments and ideas.  So many fun things happened.  We had our Science Fair and we had started studying cells.
The core value I have found that I am the best in is curious. I think that I am mostly curious because I am always excited to learn about new things. I like to notate what I learn and I love to listen to what is newly planned. I want to become more of a risk taker. I have always had a little bit of a stuggle with this when it comes to science. I have new ideas, but I am scared to mess up a lot if I were to use a new strategy. To become more of a risk taker by looking description of the word before class. Every day, I will focus on one of the values in the description until I improve in that. I will try to move on to another one until I am more of a risk taker.  
During the science fair, I learned so many new things. I learned to always be bold and unique. It will help you because different ideas make you stand out from others. I also learned how important it is to be inclusive. We were working in a group of three and that meant that someone could have been left out. I also learned that you have to be innovative because the more creative you were, the more it payed off. It was a huge part of the science fair. You needed to be innovative when you are choosing your topic and innovative when you design your board. Also, when we were looking at the cells, we had to be critical thinkers. For example you had to use your prior knowledge to think of the names of the parts of the cell. You had to think of what part of the cell is what.  
Third quarter was so much fun, and I cannot wait for Fourth quarter!

Theatre 6 Quarter Reflecion

Throughout this past quarter, I have learned so many different things in Theatre.  During the Greek drama, I learned how to encorperate research into an interesting play.  At first, it was hard to include all of this important information, but I overcame this obstacle through dialouge.  When we did tableaux, I learned how important body language is.  My group at first struggled with conveying facial expressions to show part of a story, but we were able to resolve this by using critique in a positve way.  When we did pantomimes, we could not talk, and we really stuggled with making our characters have certain characteristics, without talking, but we then chose personalities that could be shown through body language.   During "Theif!," I learned how to work with a large group of people and how important other peoples' say is.  That was something we struggled with, because it was hard to organize how to say things when everyone was talking at once.  When we organized, however, the outcome was really good.  Our group stuggled with the pair scenes.  We were in a rush to get it done,  so we went with whatever idea came up.  Once we finally came up with something we could add a story to, we got feedback from Ms. Moraes to make it richer and it turned out nicely.
My goals for the rest of this quarter are to be able to speak up during perfomances and try to be more focused.  For this final assesment, I will try to be more prepared and memorize my lines, not rely on improv.

November Reflection

I remember in the beginning of the year, when people asked me if I liked math I would always put my head down and say no, I am bad at math.  But over these past 2 quarters I have realized there is no such thing as being “good” or “bad” in math.  I have always had trouble with math, but that does not make me bad at it.  It means that I have to put extra effort into it and try to improve my understanding.  I have realized that there are parts in math that are strengths to me, like rounding decimals to certain place values or doing long word problems and I have even improved on multiplying and dividing fractions.  I want to work on being more organized in prime factorization because I made an easy mistake that threw off my whole problem.  For the future, I will try to work on what I have trouble with as a whole and not just do certain things I am proficient in.  I will also try to persevere through situations.