I am very proud of my progress throughout French 9, this semester. In particular, I feel that my ‘French Culture Project’ was a great representation of something which France takes great pride in, as a small part of their culture. During the project, the instructions were to create a PowerPoint showcasing a topic relating to French culture. I felt that a the game of chess would be a suitable presentation topic, as the history of chess has many roots in France. Throughout the project, I learned about the development of chess in France, and was challenged by the interesting openings and tactics which the French have create over hundreds of years. Overall, I enjoyed working on this project, as it also portrayed something which I am passionate about and was the topic for an entire project/presentation of mine.
I would say my work habits were quite good, however, I did get distracted at times and played chess in class (which isn’t really a distraction, as one might argue, since it’s my presentation topic!). Over the course of the project, my critical thinking skills were put to the test, as I had to analyze the various types of openings and defenses created by the French, such as the ‘French Defense’ and it continuations.
Something which went well for me this year was my academics, as I was able to achieve straight-As in every class. I feel that as a result, I can work more effectively, as well as with more confidence on assignments. Another thing that went well for me this year would be joining clubs and taking an initiative to start my own chess club. Our chess club has over 25 members, and we have also collaborated with Charles Best’s chess club to establish the SD43 Chess club.
Areas to Improve
Goals
Action Plans
Join more sports teams
Exercise for at least an hour a day and try more sports
Read more books
Read at least one book every month, and write a 1-page summary about it
Eat healthier
Reduce sugar intake and increase the amount of fruits and vegetables
What a year it’s been! I feel like this year has been a great transitional year into high school for me, in terms of making important realizations regarding my academic interests and plans for the future. This year, I learned a variety of vital life skills, such as time-management and communication, which have helped me significantly to reach my goals. It was a rewarding experience to meet kind and knowledgeable teachers, all of whom I consider to be pleased with my progress throughout the year. Whenever I had difficulty with something, I would reach out to them or my fellow peers, who had a better understanding of the topic than I did. In doing so, I also overcame the challenge of being able to spend a reasonable amount of time on assignments, rather than applying too much perfectionism, something which can be a ‘double-edged sword’. I am very proud of all my accomplishments this year, especially getting a straight-A report card.
My Favorite Website
Khan Academy Khan Academy is a wonderful resource for understanding concepts in a very engaging way. Personally, it helped me a lot with Math and Science, but I also found it helpful for Computer Programming. It has an uncountable number of videos, all of which contain great content.
My Favorite Video
Tim Urban: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator | TED A TED Talk done by Tim Urban, this video was very interesting to watch and taught me some valuable lessons about time management and procrastination. I watched this video in an effort to fight my habit of procrastination, and it worked remarkably well. It also gave me insight into the reasons as to why people procrastinate to begin with.
My Favorite Image
The image above is the advertising poster which a friend of mine, Bradley Perkins, and I, made for our chess club. It is definitely one of my favorite images this year, because it represents an initiative taken by Bradley and I, and encompasses something we deeply enjoy doing our free time.
My Favorite Quote
Albert Einstein Quote
The quote above would be my favorite quote this year, as it inspired me to incorporate more creativity into my schoolwork. Not that knowledge is not important, of course! Knowledge, while vital for success, to a certain extent, is not as paramount as taking a unique approach to things, as I have learned.
Tim Urban: Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator | TED. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023.
Zygomatic. QuotesAndWisdom.Com – Quote: Albert Einstein – Imagination Is More Important than Knowledge. https://QuotesAndWisdom.com/38. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023.
I can ask and respond to questions to be an active, supportive listener. This is true, as I am aware that asking questions is a vital part of the learning process. As a follow up to asking good questions like this, doing additional research to answer them is something which I do very well.
I can work with others to achieve a goal. I feel that I have good communication skills, in that I can exchange ideas well with my group members, and give logically sound explanations regarding my thoughts. Initially, in our group, we faced some difficulties choosing an animal mutation to research and learn about. After some discussion about the benefits of each possibility, we decided on one which we all agreed with.
I show others that I truly value their contributions by actively listening to what they have to say. In doing so, I become aware of ideas which I might have not considered previously, and encourage my group member by expanding on their contribution.
Others find my feedback useful because I am quite detailed in what I say to them. I am usually quite blunt, making it easier for them to interpret what exactly I would like to know about. This allows us all to gain a more solid understanding of the idea and our approach towards it.
Why is it important to remember who benefits from the advertisement when you view an advertisement? It is important to remember who benefits from the advertisement so that you don’t get carried away when considering it for purchase. For example, if you are viewing an advertisement for a sports car, and are thinking of buying it, possibly due to its excellent persuasive methods, it is vital to first think about who actually needs it, and would therefore benefit greatly from the information in the advertisement.
Choose one form of persuasion and explain why it is effective in persuading you/an audience: logical, ethical, emotional on an audience. I believe that the emotional method of persuasion is extremely effective in persuading an audience, largely because of its ability to connect with viewers’ feelings and deep thoughts. This can be done by enforcing feelings of guilt, excitement, or craving of some sort. For example, an advertisement portraying the lack of clean water in developing countries might have the audience feeling guilty, and obligated to do something regarding that matter.
Choose an advertising technique and explain why it is effective in selling a product. The logical technique of advertising is effective in selling a product, as it is excellent in the aspect of listing significant features of a specific product, or the reasons why you should buy it. A particularly adequate use of this method is by using a technique called the ‘Salesman Technique’, in which you act in a supporting way towards another product, and ultimately persuade the audience why your product is even better.
Core Competency Reflection
When there was disagreement within the group, I found it helpful to look at all the ideas at hand, and persuade my partner why one idea was better than others. By doing this, we grow closer as classmates and learn more through the process of exploration. I try to listen to my partner’s ideas to the very most, however, I know that it is equally important that my ideas get heard, and that I have a say in group decisions.
One of the ways I ensured my group was clear on what we were doing was to divide the tasks and clarify who was researching what. This allowed us to focus on our own aspects of the project, whether it be creating a persuasive advertisement, or analyzing the details of a good advertisement.
When my group was not productive, we took small breaks in order to get things moving in the right direction. We found that we did more work when we took breaks in between the block, in order to keep our brains energetic when they were ‘overloaded’.
All-in cost: $800,000 Down-payment: 15% of All-in-cost -> $800,000 x 0.15 = $120,000 Current allocation: $80,000 Consistent yearly allocation: $10,000
Plan A: $80,000 into a 3 year GIC, with 4.2% interest. Year 1: $80,000 x 1.042 = $83,360 Year 2: $83,360 x 1.042 = $86,861.12 Year 3: $86,861.12 x 1.042 = $90,509.3 Invest the incoming $10,000 into a 1 year GIC, with 3.5% interest. Year 1: $10,000 x 1.035 = $10,350 Year 2: ($10,350 + $10,000) x 1.035 = $21,062.25
Final Year: $90,509.3 + $21,062.25 + $10,000 = $121,571.55
Plan B: $72,500 into a 3 year GIC, with 4.2% interest Year 1: $72,500 x 1.042 = $75,545 Year 2: $75,545 x 1.042 = $78,717.9 Year 3: $78,717.9 x 1.042 = $82,024 $7500 into stocks, with no downturn, and 7.5% Year 1: $7,500 x 1.075 = $8,062.5 Year 2: $8,062.5 x 1.075 = $8,667.19 Year 3: $8.667.2 x 1.075 = $9,317.23 Savings over 3 years: 3 x $10,000 = $30,000 Final Total: $82,024 + $9,317.23 + $30,000 = $121,341.23
Plan C:
$72,500 into a 3 year GIC, with 4.2% interest Year 1: $72,500 x 1.042 = $75,545 Year 2: $75,545 x 1.042 = $78,717.9 Year 3: $78,717.9 x 1.042 = $82,024 $7500 into stocks, with downturn; 7.5% and -6.9% Year 1: $7,500 x 0.93 = $6,975 Year 2: $6,975 x 1.075 = $7,498.13 Year 3: $7498.12 x 1.075 = $8060.49 Savings over 3 years: 3 x $10,000 = $30,000 Final Total: $82,024 + $8060.49 + $30,000 = $120,084.49
Justification
All three of the methods plans listed above ensure that you will have the satisfactory amount of money in order to make a 15% down payment. Even in the case of the stock market crashing, you will have more than enough money. This is extremely risky, and our group did not originally plan on considering it. I like to take calculated risks at times when there is nothing of massive financial concern, such as the case of Plan C. The scenarios explained have great returns, however, in the case of a potential emergency, the large amount of money invested in the GICs may not be withdrawn without the face of a large penalty, which could prove a major disadvantage in many cases. Also, the returns on the stock may not be as high as expected.
Collaboration and Communication
While performing various calculations and making collective decisions as a group, I was able to give interesting ideas and suggestions to my peers, while being an active listener, which involves enhancing your own thoughts based on the contributions of others. I listened to their ideas, and participated a fair amount in the process. I would award myself a 3.75/4 for my efforts, as I did not always agree with the slightly ‘conservative’ nature of my group members.
Core Competency Reflection
I can work with others to achieve a goal. In order to find the most effective way to attain a minimum of $40,000 over 3 years, we divided the tasks which needed to be completed among the group. By doing this, we established the jobs which each person need to complete, in order for our group to achieve our goal.
I can analyze evidence to make judgements. This assignment required quite a bit of ‘trial and error’, which meant going through the interesting process of trying various ideas, or in this case, scenarios. An example of this is that I predicted that simply using a 1 year GIC or 3 year GIC on their own would not be enough. This led us to experimenting with stocks, which was something we had originally not thought of doing.
I can tell the difference between facts and opinions. One thing which my group members were taking into account was the sheer risk of investing in stocks. This seemed like both a fact and opinion. In our case, we would be considering a scenario in which there would either be no crashing, or only one year of the stock crashing. In this way, it became evident that stocks would actually fetch us more money than we originally had, not making it risky.
I can take on roles and responsibilities in a group; I do my share. When we were deciding who in our group would do what task, I actively took initiative to complete my job in the most efficient way possible. When other group members where struggling to grasp their task, I was able to provide assistance as well.
When I am stressed, playing chess makes me channel my unpleasant feelings to the board. It allows me to focus on something I find enjoyable, and essentially forces me to think critically and deeply about specific positions. In particular, I enjoy playing online chess, which is one of the ways technology helps me relieve stress. Technology can also be very stressful. You might have issues with your own sources of technology, as they may cause stress regarding whether or not they can be fixed.
Core Competency Reflection
I find it easy to be part of a group, as I can share ideas and communicate well. I know the importance of giving everyone a chance to share their ideas, regardless of their thoughts.
I am kind to others, and support others when they need it. I enjoy talking to people with different opinions, as it allows us to practice our communication skills.
I participate in classroom or group activities that improve the class, school, or community. I give great importance to contributing in class.
“How to Stay Safe Online: Internet Safety Tips and Resources.” Reviews.Org, 22 Feb. 2022, https://www.reviews.org/internet-service/how-to-stay-safe-online/.
“Top 10 Internet Safety Rules & What Not to Do Online.” Usa.Kaspersky.Com, 15 Sept. 2022, https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/preemptive-safety/top-10-internet-safety-rules-and-what-not-to-do-online.
Personal/Social Competency Reflection
My strengths as a digital citizen include citing all of the sources which I use for projects and assignments, regularly updating my computer safety apps, and being kind online. This might mean helping someone with something via Teams or Email, and encouraging friends to have a positive digital footprint. They contribute to my classroom because they inspire other people to do the same. By playing with other online, I make a positive difference to my peers. Some of the ways I work to build and maintain online relationships are playing, and helping people online. This also can improve my digital footprint.
