Author Archives: Anita

Personal Awareness and Responsibility: How I manage school-related stress

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I can prevent some school-related stress by going on walks and enjoying nature rather than constantly thinking about school work. Spending time in nature helps me relax and remind me of all the positive things in the world, like how beautiful nature is. When I am feeling anxious about a test, I can calm myself by taking some deep breaths and going outside for some fresh air. When I need to boost my mood or re-focus I listen to music to be able to cancel everything else out. When I make mistakes, I don’t beat myself up. Instead I remind myself that I can learn from my mistakes and use them to expand my learning in the future.

AP Biology

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Critical Thinking

AP Biology Inquiry Project

For our final project in AP Biology, we had to design our own lab. My partner and I did our experiment on the rate of CO2 production by yeast. We had to use critical thinking when developing our procedure, materials list, and data tables. We also had to research about yeast and different types of flour for our hypothesis and conclusion. When researching, we were able to identify important information that was helpful compared to information that served no purpose in our experiment. The picture above demonstarted the method that we used to measure the volume of CO2 produced which also showed my improvement in crticial thinking because we had to brainstorm and decide on the most effecient and accurate way of measuring the CO2. If I had not used my thinking skills this lab design project would not have been as succesful as it was. Overall, I am very proud of this project and I believe it shows my critical thinking skills very well.

Core Competency Chemistry 12

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Collaboration

Completed titration with oxalic acid and sodium hydroxide

During our Chemistry 12 titration experiment, I can confidently say that I worked effectively with my partner to achieve our goal of determining the concentration of NaOH. We had to titrate a primary standard 0.050M oxalic acid solution with a unknown concentration of NaOH. I was able to take on specific roles and responsibilities like preparing the 0.050M oxalic acid solution, managing the burette, monitoring the Erlenmeyer flask, and recording data to ensure precision and accuracy. It is difficult to do titrations because the volume of NaOH we add must be perfect or else we’ve over shot it and the solution will be “over-titrated”. But because of our collaborative efforts it highlighted our ability to communicate clearly and support each other, leading to successful and reliable results after 4 trials of titrations. This lab improved my ability to work in a team and take on responsibilities within a partnership to achieve a common objective.

Conics Project (Pre-Calc 12)

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My Self Portrait

For our final project, we had to create a self portrait on Desmos. For my nose I chose to use ellipses and a hyperbola. I used ellipses because I wanted to create an oval shape for my nostrils and tip of my nose, and I used a hyperbola to create an arch shape for the bridge of my nose. For my eyes I used circles and parabolas. I needed circles for the round shape of my pupils and iris, and I used parabolas for my eyelashes and eyelids. Lastly, I needed to use sine equations to create a wave effect for my curly hair. I struggled with getting the graph to be at an angle for the top of my hair. But I managed to problem solve and make it work.

Pre-Calculus 12

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Collaboration

This is a photo of a question my group did from the logarithms chapter. I had been confused and struggling with logs a lot but after working out the problems with my group I was able to better understand. Talking it out helps me see different ways that people in my group solve the problem. We also connected our group with other groups to expand our knowledge on the topic. We were having trouble factoring the polynomial but after talking to other groups, we put it in the quadratic formula and it helped us find the final answer which did not exist. In the future, I would want to develop better teamworking skills. Because after we get stuck at a part of the equation, it is hard for me to problem solve with my group since we think differently. Improving this skill would benefit me because it will make my mind more open to accepting and processing different ways of doing the same thing.

A & P 12

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Cell Membrane Lab

This is the dialysis tube containing starch, 24 hours after IKI and water has diffused through the membrane and into the tube.

Collaborating

I worked with others to achieve our goal. My lab partner and I had to help each other to tie the ends of the tubes. We needed to collaborate and make sure we got the correct amount of starch in the tube. We also worked together to ensure there were no air bubbles and tied it differently a couple times to get it as close as possible. I made sure we were clear on the common purpose of the lab by talking through everything, and explaining anything that wasn’t understood. For example we were a little confused about when to add in the IKI but after talking it out and asking questions we understood what to do.

Critical Thinking

I analyzed evidence to make judgements. After 24 hours of diffusion the starch in the dialysis tube turned very blue. I used this evidence to make a judgement that the IKI entered into the tube and changed the colour of the starch. Further evidence is that the water in the beaker was no longer yellow meaning the IKI must have diffused somewhere else. Also, I remained open-minded as I explored different options because I had no idea if my hypothesis would be supported or not. But I was able to make a judgement after the lab that supported my hypothesis.

Core Competency Self-Assessment

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Critical and Reflective Thinking

I think Canada’s criminal justice system should be more rehabilitative. Although having a balanced approach that combines both punitive and rehabilitative measures is good, it is best to focus more on rehabilitation. It helps give individuals a second chance and allows for personal growth and transformation, helping them re-enter society in a way where they wont make the same mistakes. Rehabilitation also gives the opportunity for offenders to make amends and try to restore harm they caused to victims and communities.

I can analyze evidence to make judgments very well. We have been practicing a lot in class with analyzing evidence and facts of a case, and deciding whether those charged of the crimes are guilty or not. This caused me to use my own judgment and make a decision based on what I believe happened given the evidence. The more we keep going through cases, the more confident I get with my decisions.

Where the Blood Mixes

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There are many examples within the literature that illustrate the character of Mooch. Clearly, Mooch is a complex individual. To begin with, Mooch is a thief. He shows this behavior by constantly “stealing money from June”. June is his girlfriend who works hard to save money to provide for both of them. But Mooch always takes all the money from her jar and spends it on drinking and gambling. June has previously told him that he can’t take her money, but he still chooses to do so. Stealing is a very bad habit that he has that consequently causes big problems in his relationship. However, Mooch is traumatized. He shares that he was “sexually abused by the Priest at his residential school after he attempted to run away.” He has PTSD from this experience as he explains that he has shadows that still haunt him. Therefore, it explains his addictions. Because of all his trauma from residential schools, he gambles with pull-tabs and uses alcohol as coping mechanisms. Lastly, he is very mentally strong. Mooch had witnessed his best friend’s wife, Anna, committing suicide. We learn that June is fearful of Mooch “ending up like Anna.” However, he has yet to jump off the bridge. This demonstrates that although he has been through much trauma, he is strong enough to keep going. He never gives up because he knows there is something worth living for. To conclude, it is evident Mooch is still dealing with many horrific experiences that cause his character to be very complicated.

Social Studies 10 Core Competency Reflection

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Critical Thinking

For the World War 2 unit my project was a poem. I expressed my opinion and thoughts on whether Nazi’s should still be held responsible for their actions through creative writing. I also had to use critical thinking to decide how to shape my poem. I was able to come up with many ideas at school and at home. There was a process of elimination to notice how well certain phrases flow and what fits best. I had many rough drafts before I came up with a version I liked. I looked at old poems inspired by WW2 to understand a sense of all the feelings associated with it to help my poem also express those feelings of grief and trauma. I researched facts about the Holocaust to make sure all my information was accurate and help me come up with more ideas about points I talked about in my poem. Overall I used a lot of critical thinking to develop the structure of my poem and decide what feelings I wanted to portray.

Core Competency Self-Assessment

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Communication

Titration Lab

During this lab my partner and I (Juheon) had to use collaboration to achieve this pink colour. We had many rough trials where we over shot it and the pink became too bright. But after talking it through we were able to realize what our mistakes were and we used each of our strengths to become successful. The best way we shared ideas was talking about it and writing down our thoughts / notes during the demo. Next time though I would try to make a plan before hand so we can get it right quicker.