Reflecting on My First Year

My Grade 9 Year

This school year I achieved my goal of not procrastinating, as much. I organized myself in a better way than the years before, and I was able to complete the majority of my work before it was due. Something I enjoyed was science, more specifically chemistry and physics. In middle school we didn’t go into depth for each unit so I’m glad that we got to learn about the individuals, and I was able to determine more about my future career.

My Favorite Website

https://www.jigsawplanet.com/

I chose Jigsaw Planet as my favorite website because it supports my mental health. By solving the diverse set of puzzles, I feel myself become more relaxed. Also, I find that when I create my own puzzles I can calm down from stressful situations.

My Favorite Video

https://youtu.be/80srGMzydQo
Bill Nye the Science Guy – S05E03 Genes

I chose this video because I love science, and Bill Nye. Mr. Nye has a great way of expressing the information, in a way that makes it fun to watch.

My Favorite Image

Playing cards

I chose this image because when I look at this photo, I remember how much my friend and I struggled while making this. We would constantly shake the surface (that being the drums) whenever we got annoyed, but after several attempts, we were able to complete the card tower. We felt very proud.

My Favorite Quote

“I used to tell students…the difference between poetry and you is you look in the mirror and say, “I am getting old,” but Shakespeare looks in the mirror and says, “Devouring Time, blunt thou thy lion’s paws.” by Jim Harrison

I chose this quote because it shows the difference in the two’s perspective. I feel the need to experience and see through different perspectives, and being able to understand how it came to be. This thought has been with me throughout the school year.

Works cited

Video: Bill nye the science guy—S05e03 genes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80srGMzydQo

Image: Mine

Quote: Hearst, W. (2021, September 27). Publisher’s note: The poet as a storyteller. Alta Online. https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a37398457/poet-as-a-storyteller-publisher-will-hearst-jim-harrison/

ADL- Collaboration and Solutions for Financial Literacy

Data and Solutions

Work, solutions, visuals, and graphs

Start with $80k, goal is $120k 

#1: 

!! 40k in 1 year GIC (3 times), 40k In 3 year GIC !!

40K 1 YEAR GIC (3 TIMES) – 3.5%, multiply by 1.035 (add 10k each year) 

Year 1: 40000 times 1.035= 41400 

41400 + 10000= 51400 

Year 1 2nd time: 51400 times 1.035= 53199 

53199 + 10000= 63199 

Year 1 3rd time: 63199 times 1.035= 65410.97 

65410.97 + 10000 = 75410.97 

40K 3 YEAR GIC – 4.2%, multiply by 1.042 (no adding 10k each year!) 

Year 1: 40000 times 1.042= 41680 

Year 2: 41680 times 1.042= 43430.56 

Year 3: 43430.56 times 1.042 = 45254.64 

Will it reach our goal? (120k) 

75410.97 + 45254.64=120665.61

Yes!  

chart, made from Excel, Microsoft 365

#2: 

Stock Investments- 3 years, 4 years (add 10k each year) 

7.2% increase and –6.9% decrease 

1st path, increase each year

1st year with $80k, multiply with 1.072 (7.2% converted) 

= $85760, add 10k => 95760 

2nd year: 95760 times 1.072 

= $ 102654.72, add 10k => 112654.72 

3rd year: 112654.72 times 1.072 

= $ 120765.86, add 10k => 130765.86 

2nd path, one year isn’t successful/increasing

1st year: 80000 times 1.072 = $85760, add 10k => 95760 

2nd year: 95760-6607.44= 89152.56 (using 6607.44 since it is 6.9% of 95760) add 10k, 99152.56

3rd year: 99152.56 times 1.072= 106291.54, 106291.54 + 10000 = 116291.54

4th year: 116291.54 times 1.072= 124664.53, 124664.53+10000= 134664.53

is it enough to reach our goal? 

Yes. the 2nd path takes 1 more year though since there was a decrease the 2nd year.

1st path, made on Excel
2nd path, Excel

Justification

For my first solution, I used two different GIC’s combined. It’s a safe option because there is a lower investment risk, and the rate will stay the same no matter what happens to the market. However, you can’t receive your money until your agreement is finished, and long term investments will not be able to keep up with inflation.

For my second solution, I used stock investments. This option is easier because you can start online, or with a broker. Also you don’t need much to start. If you understand how economies grow, then your investments will most likely be successful. In order to earn well from you investments, you should take time researching the company your planning on investing in, and be aware that you can lose everything, and could go through a lot of emotional distress.

The second option is more suited for me because using a GIC seems boring. I’m heading for something long term, and the first option can’t keep up with inflation, which sadly will keep growing in our economy. I understand that investing in stocks can go terrible but I believe I have a good understanding in our economy and I usually have a hard time starting anything, so hearing that you can start investing in stocks online gave me the decision to choose this option.

Collaboration and Contributions

How did you find working with your group?

I had a good time working with my group because they were easy to communicate with, and they answered my questions and cleared any extra confusion. I’m glad I was able to collaborate well with my group because I’m not familiar with finance, and they taught me simple details that helped me understand how investments work.

How did you contribute to the group? And how did others in the group contribute to your learning?

I contributed by making calculations, listening, asking questions, and making group decisions. The others contributed by listening, giving ideas, answering questions, and making group decisions. Overall, they were great people to work with.

Did you use any other solutions proposed by your group? Why or why not?

No, we only used these two presented above because they achieved the finance goal.

How would you rate your ability to collaborate with others in your group on a scale of 1-4 (1 not good; 4- excellent)

As explained above, I had a good time working with my group, so I would rate my experience a 4.

Core Competency Reflection

I show others that I truly value their contributions by…

listening to their ideas and opinions, and giving them the advice needed. I don’t throw away their ideas but instead, we working together to form it into something that would be a good possible solution. An example of this is when my two partners started off with the idea of splitting our money in half and putting it into two separate GIC’s. Instead of doubting their decision, I agreed with their idea, and we were able to come up with a successful solution.

In discussions and conversations, I help to build and extend understanding by…

asking questions, listening to ideas offered, and making agreements. Asking questions is a key part in growing one’s understanding, and I’m glad that I was able to comfortably clear up the confusion I had at the beginning of this lesson. I also listened to my groupmates ideas, which showed me their perspective on what to do with our money, which made me more open-minded. Finally, me and my group we’re able to agree on multiple ideas, so finding a solution was less-stressful and simpler.

I remain open minded as I explore viable options or alternative approaches, like when I…

when we first received this assignment, I was quite worried. Honestly, I never enjoyed working with finance related work so I expected my time to be stressful and tiring. Surprisingly, I had a good time working on this project. I remained open-minded when working with my group, since I didn’t know much about this topic. This gave me the opportunity to explore different options, and understand why someone wouldn’t choose a riskier choice.

The Fairytales of Hermann Hesse: Translated and with an Introduction by Jack Zipes: The Movie

My Movie

Plot, Character, Setting and Mood

Finding the characters “identity”: The authors writing style is very descriptive. He only adds what is necessary to the plot, and the way he describes the people and places is helpful for this assignment. Usually at the beginning of the story, it describes how the character looks, and some peculiar traits they have. However, these stories are shorter because they are a fairytale, so not much is known about the characters past. Overall, I could find a satisfying amount of information from each fairytale.

Choosing plot points: to find good plot points, you have to be able to read them to someone and they would understand the story. It’s like a summary in point form, and is easy to use if you need many people to comprehend your information. Making plot points is practical because you don’t have to think about how to connect each sentence, and is easier for the writer. It gets the ideas straight down without any unnecessary words blocking the way.

Determining the setting: setting is important to the plot because they relate to each other. An example in my story was the balcony (The Dwarf-1904) because the characters told stories and held important conversations there. I was able to imagine the balcony thoroughly because the it was mentioned a lot. Also, the characters do many things that are connected to the setting, so if the setting isn’t mentioned, it should be easy to find out where it’s happening.

The word mood: it’s the tone/theme that the story gives off. It can also be used for the characters current feelings, and is important to describe in books since there are no pictures. I picked my song because it felt classical and slightly dark, which matches my stories because they both ended in a sad way and anything other than classical would not fit these tales.

Core Competency Reflection

  1. Examples of where I communicate clearly and purposefully can be seen in the setting slides because I have a quote to go with each picture, and highlighted sections for the parts I will read out loud. I also added the page number in case anyone would like to read that specific part of the book for more details. The points after the quote helped connect each setting slide together, and is a good style of summarizing instead of writing a huge, boring paragraph.
  2. When I need to boost my mood or re-focus, I… whenever I needed to boost my mood during this project, I would re-read important pages, or pause and go to another fairytale. This was helpful because it would bring me interest and I would get my motivation back and start working again. These tales help me be more aware, which helps with me controlling my feelings. This brings my mood to a neutral/calm level, which I work best at.
  3. I use evidence to make judgements or decisions as demonstrated in this… my movie shows many citations and quotes, which is enough evidence to support my judgements. If there wasn’t any evidence, I would not be confident in my decision, therefore I would not add it to the movie. I always make sure I have evidence proving what I say is right because I have a cautious mindset.