Juice Cleanse Video

First Semester RLA Reflection

Over a course of the semester in RLA, I've grown a lot in many different areas throughout the year.

During this year, I've accomplished many things that have made me very proud of myself. One thing that made me feel pretty proud about myself was delivering our persuasive speeches. If you've read my persuasive speech reflection, you'd get a hint of how I felt before and after the speech. Before going into the speech, I was nervous due to the fact that I was never really good with talking in front of a large crowd. My biggest fear of public speaking would always get the best of me, but during my speech I felt a lot relaxed, especially having the teleprompter. Learning the different techniques to help enhance and emphasize my speech really helped me pace myself, I knew that I tend to usually talk quite quick when I'm talking. I'm really proud of this speech because I've worked over a course of a few weeks in order to make this speech presentable and persuasive. I'm also really proud of this speech because I was able to keep my fears away, and learnt that there wasn't much to be afraid of.

As the days went by, I have definitely met many challenges that I had to overcome. The most challenging part of this semester was applying some of the techniques and methods in my writing. For example, in the application essay. In some areas of the essay, I had no idea where I should include a specific technique, while in some areas I would have a weird balance of them. I think that another challenged I faced was during the journalism unit when we had to create those podcasts. This was another situation where I had to get out of my comfort zone. When interviewing teachers or people I wasn't really close to, made me feel a little awkward. Another challenge I met during this unit was picking good sound bites. In the middle of the unit, I was sort of confused as to which soundbites I wanted to include, and which would send the message across to the audience. I overcame this one challenge by listening to the interviews again, and picked the clips that best answered and portrayed the my burning question/topic.

Thirdly, for the next semester I want to work a lot more on my reading. I think this year I was a bit slow with going through books. I do read two hours a week for Back To The Drawing Board, but I haven't finished many books this semester. My goal for next semester is to read a lot more throughout the week, as well as finish a lot more books by the end of the next semester.

There were many units and classes where I really enjoyed. One of my favourite parts of class this semester is Back To The Drawing Board due to the fact that I really liked getting to get into a smaller group. I thought that being in a smaller group, I felt a lot more comfortable with sharing with people. I really liked being able to hear about the different writers and readers my partners are, and some of their ideas have inspired me to write about similar things. Being able to work with many others has allowed me to grow as a speaker and listener, it's allowed me to make sure I pay attention to everything they say and allow me to give them good and effective feedback. Back To The Drawing Board has also allowed me to grow as a reader and writer, my partners' feedback has allowed me to keep an open mind as well as had made me more aware of my strengths and weaknesses. Another one of my favorite parts of class this semester was Kwame Alexander, because he taught us a lot about poetry and some of his morals.

All in all, this year, I've grown as a reader, writer, as well as listener and speaker. I'm really looking forward to the next year and I'm hoping I'm able to continue to grow in different areas. So far, I'm really enjoying RLA class, and I'm looking forward to new experiences.

Reflecting

How do you feel you grew as a persuasive speaker during this unit of study?
One way I felt like I grew as a persuasive speaker during this unit of study is my confidence when it comes to public speaking. When I first heard that we had to present in front of the class, I automatically felt butterflies in my stomach. I was always nervous when it came to talking in front of a class. I think that I grew a bit more confidence when it came to speaking clearly in front of a crowd. Another way I felt as if I grew as a persuasive speaker was using different tones and using a lot more pauses to emphasize my points.

How did it feel to watch your own performance?
It felt a bit weird watching my own performance, since I don't usually watch myself talk. I think that I did pretty well, I think that I did really well on my pacing, since I didn't go too fast or too slow. I also felt as if re-watching my performance made me feel a bit uncomfortable especially when I begin to speak. I think that watching my own performance made me feel a little relieved as well, since I was really nervous before the speech, the video made me feel like there wasn't a point to being nervous.

What do you wish you had more time to fine-tune?
I wish that I had more time to fine-tune the way I could say my speech. I wish that I could've had more time to practicing in front of a larger yet smaller group. I think that I would've also worked a little more on my hand gestures as well as my eye contact. After my speech, I got a lot of feedback about using a lot more eye contact, and throughout the actual presentation I was too afraid to make eye contact in fear of messing up. I think that next time I should not let my fear get the best of me, and I should try to use a lot more eye contact. I think that another thing I wish we had more time to fine-tune might have been my counter argument, I think that I could've written my counter argument a little more powerful. I think that since my essay was already really long, I was afraid to write too much into my counter argument. I think that if I could have worked and fine-tuned my counterargument a little more, it would've been a lot stronger.

What was your favorite part of you speech? Why? 
My favorite part of the speech was finally being able to read it out loud after working on the speech for over a few weeks. I think that being able to perform it was sort of my favorite part because I tried trying new ways of conveying and saying the speech, and I was nervous about trying these new methods. I think that by using the different methods, it really did help make this speech enjoyable to say and listen to. I think that it was also my favorite part of the speech because this was the first time I really felt comfortable with talking in front of an audience, so it's quite a huge improvement for me. All in all, this unit opened up many new experiences and has helped me improve quite a lot.

Types of Propaganda

Bandwagon - technique which attempts to make one feel alone if he doesn't go along

Glittering Generalities - sounds good, says nothing

Plain Folks - attempt to connect with the "grass roots," ordinary people

Testimonial - use of someone respected to speak well of idea or product (candidate)

Card Stacking - to build a case with only favourable evidence or part truths.

Transfer - attempt to associate a positive symbol with a candidate.

Name Calling - to label one with something negative.

Semester Reflection

1. I really enjoyed working in groups, and going through the simulations. I really enjoyed doing the simulations because we got a first hand experience of what people in our history had to go through. We felt similar emotions as them, and were able to compare our lifestyle with their lifestyles. I really enjoyed working in groups on presentation and projects because it gave me the opportunity to share ideas with others, and collaborate in order to create a well produced product. It also gave me the chance to become closer with my peers.

2. Memorising everything, such as the amendments, the presidential hats, and checks and balances, etc. was pretty difficult for me. I struggled with dealing with stress and having motivation to push myself outside of school. I also struggled with understanding some of the topics, but after going over it, it helped my understand it a lot more.

3. I want to learn a little more about specific people who have been through these experiences. I think that by learning about people who have been in these situations, it gives us a lot more insight of the situation. Also learning about how certain events have impacted our lives or society would be quite interesting to learn about.

Federalism

	Delegated	Concurrent	Reserved
Controls Immigration	X
2. Provides for the health and welfare of the people		X
3. Declares war	X
4. Establishes (charters banks)		X
5. Maintains armed forces	X
6. Powers given to the federal government	X
7. Powers shared by the federal government and the states		X
8. Powers held by the state governments			X
9. Admit new states	X
10. Can set taxes		X
11. Borrow money		X
12. Establish and maintain schools			X
13. Establish a postal system	X

Essential Question #3

How is the Constitution interpreted in different ways, and how has that played out over the course of U.S. history?

• Think about the Bill of Rights, the 27 amendments to the Constitution, and recent/past Supreme Court decisions.

Examples 

• Immigration
• find court cases, find laws about immigration (ex. anti-act Chinese act) 
• 1965 
• 1882 
• First amendment 
• freedom of speech has been extended to the freedom of the internet
• press internet
• Slavery
• 1789 there was slavery, it's in the constitution. 
• Slaves counted as 3/5s of a person and it was in the constitution. 
• 13th amendment ended slavery forever. 
• Then and now, 1865 was when slavery was over. 
• Voting Rights 
• 15th amendment - voting rights to all races and colour 
• in 1789, only white people were allowed to vote. 
• 19th amendment - voting rights to women (1920) 
• half of the population of America was not allowed to vote until 1920. 
• School Integration 
• Article 4 of the constitution - federalism = states in charge of school 
• segregation of black and white people 
• 1897 - Pleasy v.s. Ferguson - (separate, but equal) this constitution court allowed white people and black people to have different busses, classrooms, water fountains, planes, airports etc. 
• 1954 - Brown v.s. Board - (Integrated Schools) - what they did was unconstitutional.  
• Interpretation of 2nd Amendment 
• when the original amendment was written, a well regulated militia has the right to own a gun. 
• That changed and allowed many individuals to own a gun. 
• Find a court case that would support this. 

Essential Question #2

How can citizens and groups participate effectively in the democratic process?

• Citizens can vote in elections for representatives, laws, rules, etc. 
• Required to serve on juries. 
• Right to petition. 
• Right to protest/assemble. 
• Freedom of speech, you can speak out. 
• Freedom of the press. Run for elections. Hilary Clinton meets the requirements of being a U.S.
• Citizen and is able to run for president.
• Propose/suggest to make a bill. 

Executive Order - November 30, 2015

• Executive Orders (EOs) are legally binding orders given by the President, acting as the head of the Executive Branch. 

• Executive Orders are generally used to direct federal agencies and officials in their execution of congressionally established laws or policies. 

• Executive Orders do not require Congressional approval to take effect but they have the same legal weight as laws passed by Congress. 

Shoe Drawing Reflection

If I could do this assignment again I would improve my composition as well as the value of the drawing. I thought that if I could improve my photograph, it would've made the drawing look a little better. If I could do this assignment one more time I would also improve the value as well as the accuracy. I thought that throughout the drawing the accuracy of the lines as well as how big/small the area of the shoe is was a little off, and the value of it wasn't what I would imagine. I thought that the last thing I would improve on would be drawing the lines on my final copy a little thinner and lighter when I was transferring.

Contrast is really important in pencil drawings because it pops out more, and it intrigues the audience or the people looking at the drawing. The darker shading represents the darkness and the lighter shading tells the audience that is lighter. Using contrast also helps different parts of the pencil drawing stand out more.

Something that I learnt from this drawing unit is that contrast is really important in pencil drawings and that is helps enhance the meaning and emotion to the drawing. I also learnt that the value of an object is really important, and the transition between light and dark needs to be really smooth. I also learnt that using a grid to draw something helps improve the accuracy of your drawing, even if it may seem like a hassle at times. The last thing I learnt during this unit is that when drawing an object or when creating a pencil drawing you really need to have patience and take time and effort into drawing it. All in all, this unit was definitely a very interesting experience.

First Amendment

Amendment means to fix or to amend something.
First Amendment is the most important because it makes Americans who they are today.

Freedom of Assembly

• Occupy Wall Street 
• they can stand because they have the right to stand and do so. 
• protesting because they felt as if they were not being paid fairly. 
• If public safety is an issue 
• the 1% of rich people say that they own the money because they work the hardest. 

Freedom of Religion 

• We stereotype Muslims due to their past actions. 
• The FBI are constantly spying on Muslims. 
• Can the state decide if a certain nationality should be allowed in the U.S.? 
• Racial and religious stereotype can lead you down a bad path. 

Freedom of the Press 

• Do students have the right to post anything? 
• No, they do not have the freedom of speech because they're posting controversial stuff on the school's website.  
• It becomes a federal because it's the first amendment. 

Freedom of Speech 

• A school in Jefferson County, Colorado wanted to promote patriotism, teachers and students protested. (school told teachers and students to not teach about civil disobedience.) 
• Law states that no one can stop people from expressing what they feel. 

Freedom of Petition 

• When people want something they can write a petition and receive peoples' opinions. 
• Ex. of petition - pipeline carrying environment harmful oils under thirteen states, religious groups against, others for. 
• People have the right to petition to the government. 

How a Bill Becomes a Law - November 16, 2015

1. Bill is proposed in the House
2. Bill is referred to the Committee in the House
3. Voted on and passed in the House.
4. Referred to Committee in the Senate
5. Voted on and passed in the Senate
6. President signs the bill....
7. It's a law

Basics of the Branches

Branch: Executive
Main Duty: Enforces Laws
Head of the Branch: President and Vice President

Branch : Legislative
Main Duty: Create the Law
Head of the Branch: Congress (House of Representatives and Senate)

Branch: Judicial
Main Duty: Interprets the Laws
Head of the Branch: Supreme Court (9 members of the Supreme Court)

Which of the three branches of US Government is the most powerful?
The most powerful branch of the the three branches of the US Government is all of them. They are all equally important, and they all work together to help the US grow. But as an individual, the executive branch is the most powerful.

Federal, Concurrent, State

reserved - States

delegated - Government and Federal



Federal - Delegated

• Declare war and make peace 
• Coin and print money 
• Admit new states 
• Pass laws regulating immigration 
• Raise and support armed forces 
• Regulate foreign trade 
• Establish post offices 
• Make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out its powers

Concurrent

• Collect taxes 
• Make and enforce law 
• Establish courts 
• Establish charter banks 
• Conduct elections 
• Borrow money 
• Provide health and welfare of the people 
• Make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out its powers 

State - Reserved

• Regulate trade within a state 
• Pass license requirements for professionals 
• Pass laws regulating businesses within state borders 
• Establish local government 
• Establish and support public schools 
• Pass license requirements for professionals 
• Regulate trade within a state 
• Pass regulating businesses within state borders 
• Make civil and criminal laws 
• Determine qualifications of voters and voting process 

Six Purposes of the US Constitution Preamble

1. In order to form a more perfect union,
a. better than the articles of confederation.
b. more perfect than before.

2. Establish justice,
a. legislature at federal, state, and local levels.
b. courts at federal, state, and local levels.
c. law enforcement at federal, state, and local levels.

3. Insure domestic tranquility,
a. peace between states, counties, and cities.

4. Provide for the common defence,
a. national military (army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard)

5. Promote the general welfare, and
a. social programs to help elderly and needy individuals.

6. secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,
a. maintain civil rights (including voting) for ourselves and our children.

Levels of Government Part II - November 6,2015

Does SAS have different levels of government? If so, how? Discuss.

SAS do have different levels of government for several reasons. The superintendent, represents the presidents, who is part of the legislative branch. He is the one who has the executive decisions. The school board makes a lot of the decisions as well. The school board is also elected by the people in our school community and decisions are made by a number of votes. The principals of the elementary, middle, and high school represent the state governors. These smaller divisions represent the states, while the principals are the people who are in charge and are the people who take order and control in order to keep these divisions stable.

RLA Podcast Reflection

1.What are you most proud of with this podcast?
 I'm really proud of is the fact that I got to experience journalism myself, and I got to see how journalists work. As we talked to Sean Thomas, he talked about how tough journalism is, and how much time you need to spend in order to give a well-spoken report. The process of journalism seemed difficult and long at first, but as I continued working on the documents and research, journalism was much more interesting than it seemed. I was really proud that I grew a lot in my listening and speaking. Before the interviews, I was really nervous. One of my weaknesses was talking to people who I wasn't close with. The interviews pushed me to meet new teachers and become closer with the students I interviewed. I think that I'm really proud of my interviews because it's helped me grow as a speaker, and it's made me more comfortable with talking to others.

2. What was the biggest challenge with the podcast?
The biggest challenge with the podcast was finishing everything on time. I had made the mistake of procrastinating. I think that if I finished my research earlier, finished my interviews earlier, I would've had an easier time completing the podcast instead of having to stress about it the night before. Another challenge I had while creating this podcast was creating my bridges, sign-offs, and introductions. I think that I struggled with creating these sections because though there were many examples, I wasn't sure how to create these different sections to fit my topic and how it would enhance the meaning of my podcast.

3. What do you wish you had more time to fine-tune?
I wish that I had more time to fine-tune my podcast itself. I think that I needed more time to edit the different parts to make it all sound better as one. I felt as if the podcast itself and the way it was created was a really rushed process for me. I wish we also had more time to work on our bridges, sign-offs and introductions. We were taught how to create these different sections, but I felt like I was distracted with having to finish my interviews that I didn't really focus on the sections as much I would have liked to.

4. What unintended learning did you discover?
Some unintended learning I discovered was about the process of journalism. I learnt about how journalists spent hours and hours on researching for one report. I learnt a lot about what happens behind the scenes of the news. I learnt about how bridges were used to connect the dots, and to help people understand your topic better. I learnt a lot more about how soundbites and how they give the story sometime to breathe and it helps the audience be more involved and interested in what you're saying. After this unit, everything I learnt changed my look on how interviews and the news works. For example, a few nights ago, I was watching the news with my family. I watched as the newscaster talked, soon it went into a soundbite as well as an interview. I finally understood how everything works in journalism and it really changed my point of view of how things work.

5. How did the interviews go? How did you build rapport with your interviewees? Share a quote from an interview.
The interviews went pretty well. I learnt a lot more about my topic as well as my interviewees. I learnt about how I built rapport by thanking my interviewees for their time and thanking them for answering my questions before the interview had started. I think that some of my interviews went more smoothly than others. For example, in one of my interviews my interviewee found themselves repeating something more than once as an answer to some of the questions. I asked questions about how film was good for one's education, how it affected school/other subjects, etc. And as I continued asking questions, they were consistently mentioning a concept that seemed very important to what they believed in. They said, "Again, I'm gonna keep, I sound like a broken record, but that visual problem solving..." So I thought I could've made the interviews more interesting.

 6. How successful were you in listening closely during interviews and asking thoughtful follow-up questions?
I thought that I listened to my interviewees very closely, which I thought went pretty successfully. During some interviews, I did a better job at asking follow up questions. While in other interviews I would constantly get too nervous to ask good follow up questions. In one of my interviews, I did a pretty good job at asking follow up questions. For example in my interview with Sarah, I started the interview by asking her why she decided to take film as an elective this year. Her answer was that she wasn't good with technology so she wanted to learn more about it. Hearing that she wanted to learn more about film and technology, I then continued on by asking her what she was learning in class. She answers by saying that their class is taking a break from filming and they're now working on photoshop. I then asked her, "So you're learning a lot more about photoshop, film and how to use all this equipment, do you think that taking film is boosting your creativity?" Overall, I thought that this was one of my best interviews.

7. Is there anything else you'd like to share?
This unit/project was an eye-opening experience. I've definitely learnt a lot more about journalism and how it works. It was really fun getting to learn a lot more about SAS and how journalism operates. Overall, this unit was very helpful and opened my eyes to what everything is like behind journalism.

Mural Reflection

1. What is inspiring about working collaboratively with other artist on a creative assignment? What is challenging about it?

It was inspiring to work collaboratively with other artists because our strengths were in different areas, therefore it was easier for us to work together. If one of us saw that the other was better in an area, we would assign that person to do that, or in order to help each other improve in a type of skill we would give each other tips and help each other work together. It was also really inspiring how we had such different ideas but we managed to put them all together to tie them all up as one. It was also really inspiring to get to talk through all of our ideas and talk about the different colours and designs we would use throughout the mural. I think that something that was challenging was that since I'm a perfectionist, I wanted everything to be done, I wanted everything to be outlined. But since the others thought that the state it was in right now was done, it was tough for us to make a decision on whether we should continue to make it perfect or not.

2. Find a "Pop" art piece online that you like (Does not have to be Keith Haring's work). Post it on your blog (cite the source) and comment what you like about it.

http://iamdjk.deviantart.com/art/Candy-Pop-Art-259308114

I really like the contrast between the background and the candy bar. I also really enjoyed how the artist decided to use something that's really popular in today's society, and something that everyone knows. I really liked the colour scheme as well.









3. Under the photo of your final work, create an explanation for the process you went through to create the mural. Include details about how you and your group covered the time period you were responsible for and how you incorporated Keith Haring's Style.

At the beginning of the unit, we began sketching. We had three different ideas for our sketches. Once we received our date for the mural, we went to the gallery hall and jotted down a few ideas for our sketches. We sketched out three different sketches and had really different ideas. Annaliese's sketches involved a lot more of the events that happened in SAS. While I had the idea of doing a collage of 90's trends. In the end we decided to paint a mixture of ours. We decided to add people in the drawing in the way of Keith Haring's style. To show more of the 90's vibe, we drew the people with 90's clothes. The colours we used are in pastel and bright, sort of a mixture of Keith Haring's drawings as well as the 90's. Overall, I think that we worked really well as a group, and we're really proud of our mural.

Federal vs. State Government - November 6,2015

Why does America have federal and state government?

America has federal and state government due to many reasons. One reason why America has a federal government is because it helps build America into the country it is today. The three different branches of the federal government: executive, legislative, and judicial all have such a large impact on the development of America. The federal government can administer the country by creating common laws and dealing with international issues. America has a state government in order to take control over the many states all over the United States. With a balance of power between federal and state governments, America would be able to govern the people more efficiently and respectfully.

RLA Podcast

 

Disunia - November 4,2015

1.What were some of the problems Disunia had with enforcing agreements?

Some of the problems that occurred in Disunia that we had trouble with was having everyone agree on one law to pass through all of the states, we also had trouble getting people to agree with paying a certain fee for this law to be accepted by the president.  Another problem was that people didn't write bills that matched the expectations, while others that did fit the expectations were not in favour by all states.

2. How did the President help or hinder agreements?

The President helped by putting things into order. I think that even though John Hanson didn't have much say and didn't create most of the laws, he/she ordered the court and called for the people to raise their hands when in favour or not. I think that the states had more say in the laws rather than the president himself.

3. What could be done to help Disunia function better?

I think that if the president did more things to help the states with creating these laws Disunia would function better. I think that if all of the states worked together to work on one law that everyone agreed on, as well as a law that was built to fit all states. I think that if a few changes happened to Disunia, it would help it function better.

Articles of Confederations - November 4,2015

Articles of Confederation 

Strengths 

• Coin and borrow money 
• Negotiate with foreign nations and American Indians 
• Try to resolve difference between states 
• Ask states for money and soldiers 

Weaknesses 

• Pass or collect Taxes 
• Raise an army (no standing army)
• Enforce its own laws (no Judicial system) 
• No Executive or Legislative branches with power
• Most power held by the states 
• One branch of government 

Layers of American Government - October 2

1. Federal - The federal level is the top level of the US Government.

• It has three branches 
• executive branch - led by the president of the United States. Spokes person for America. They have the executive powers. 
•  legislative branch - the house of representatives and a senate is part of the federal house. 
• Judicial branch - judge or legal, the top court in the United States is the Supreme Court. District of Columbia, Washington D.C. 

2. State - Three levels

• executive branch - governors, they are the chief executive of the state. 
• legislative branch - they make the laws for a state. 
• judicial branch - state courts, who will talk to people who have violated rules.  
• If you break a state law, you to go the state law. 

3. County

• administrators aka executives - governors, not always elected. 
• courts - judicial branch 
• they sometimes have legislative branch, where they make decisions. 
• smaller parts of an area - you could have many cities inside of counties 
• If you break a county law you go to the county court. 

4. City

• City mayor
• legislative branch - usually elected 
• City courts - caught for speeding or parking in the wrong area so if you break city laws you go to city court. 

American Revolution - November 2

1. Battle of Trenton

• November of 1776 
• Washington's Continental Army was almost at its end. 
• Only had 6,000 men who were ready to give up. 
• Washington sailed on the Delaware river and attacked the Hessians who resided in New Jersey. 
• They won the battle with 900 prisoners. 
• First victory for the Americans - first moment America stands up and won + gave them confidence. 
• They learnt that General George Washington can make a very good leader in battle. 
• Attack on the night of Christmas and into boxing day. 
• Had a spy who convinced the British there wasn't an attack that day, when the Americans were actually attacking that night. 
• Americans start to use more strategies instead of just standing there. 

2. Battle of Saratoga

• September 19, 1777 to October 7,1777 
• The British were confident that they had the superior force to cut off New England from the rest of the colonies. 
• The miscalculations of the British were later revealed by secret letters. 
• The spying and letter writing games from both sides resulted in the surrender of the British. 
• It was the battle in which the British troops surrendered to the Continental Army. 
• After the Continental Army's victory over the British, France decided to become America's ally. 
• Marked a major turning point in the revolutionary war. 
• Benedict Arnold, after this battle, thought that he wasn't given enough credit. - Has a massive ego. 
• The French are now the suppliers for the Americans back in the colonial era. 

3.Valley Forge

• Where: Valley Forge was located 30 km northwest of Pennsylvania 
• When: In December 1777, General Washington brought his 12,000 men to Valley Forge. 
• What: The only enemy was the brutal winter. Around 2,000 soldier died of disease and malnutrition. 
• Who : 
• Continental Army 
• General Washington  
• Baron Von Steuben - German who trained the Americans - trained them military strategy and taught them formations and discipline on how to conduct a good battle. 
• Valley Forge is still a very important message for Americans today - fight for liberty, never give up, etc. 

4. The Naval War 

• Event took place during February 1776.
• Where? The Atlantic Ocean, near Carolina 
• The West Indies, Nassau, Bahamas 
• Gulf 
• Who? 
• John Paul Jones 
• Esek Hopkins 
• General Sir William Howe 
• The US damaged the British fleets operating ability 
• American troops seized the British's main supply base 
• Major supply base in Bahamas. 
• Patriots had a much smaller navy 
• The Patriots only had 100 ships, while the British lost around 200 
• small but effective. 
• John Paul Jones was the first American figure and was a good commander at sea. 

5. Guerilla Warfare 

• Improper warfare of which a small group of armed civilians use military strategies like ambushes to sabotage large military groups. 
• The Battle of Black Mingo. 
• September 14, 1780 
• The Patriots ambushed the Loyalists and won. 
• The Patriots drove out the Loyalists and Francis Marion became well-known. 
• You had to have very good geography, while in the swamp knowing your way through the swamp will benefit your team. 
• Ended up losing supply lines. 

6. Battle of Yorktown

• After being harassed by the Continental army in the Carolinas, Cornwallis retreated to Yorktown and George Washington stormed and surrounded him with the help of the French troops. 
• On October 19, 1781 Cornwallis sent out a drummer and a white flag of surrender. 
• Important because it was the last major battle between America and the British. 
• Final Battle of the war. 
• Solidifies George Washington's time as a leader, America thought about making George Washington into King George Washington but then thought that President was better. 
• Arnold goes to London and lived the life as a poor man since he was a traitor.  

7. Treaty of Paris

• Benjamin Franklin had very good relations with the French. He really enjoyed partying and was constantly hungover. 
• September 3,1782. 
• End of American Revolutionary war. 

SMART Fitness Goal

I, Joycelin Wong, want to improve my mile time by a minimum of 20 seconds by the time of the next quarter. I will do this by going to the gym (running on the treadmill) and eating healthier. I will do this at home and at the gym. I want to do this because I want to be confident/proud of my mile time. As well as feel healthier and have better stamina. I will reward myself by taking a break from running and being lazy.

Multicultural America Project - 2015

Multicultural America Project - 2015

https://sites.google.com/a/sas.edu.sg/joycelin-2015/

Application Essay

The Search For a Lost Definition

At a very young age, the question of “what defines you?” pushed the weight on my shoulders and resulted to searching for the lost answer that was nowhere to be found. I searched through my unwanted homework, skimming through wordy books, even looking through the deepest of places. As the years went by, no matter how hard I searched, it was never found. How could I ever find it? The answer had always been layed out in front of me. Once in awhile, my family and I had taken long walks through parks. That marked the day, I had finally found the definition of who I was.

The feeling of soft evergreen grass pricking my bare little feet, inhaling the fresh air. The tallest of trees surrounded my family and I. With electronics switched off and laughter switched on. The loud footsteps of my older brothers following me, and the sight of my parents walking with hands intertwined. I felt like I had nothing to worry about, these were the moments that I would always come back to. Reality was no longer the problem that blocked me from searching for my definition.

I stopped in the middle of my track, and began to sit down on the wet grass, having no regrets in life. I sat back and closed my eyes. I felt as if the world was left behind me, and I was finally back in my own little world. This was where some of my best thinking happened. This was where I found my true identity, barricaded away from anyone, only having the company of my loved ones. I didn’t have to look, feel, think the same way as everyone else when I was around them. I looked nothing like what society had wanted everyone to look. I sat back and looked up at the pale blue sky, I knew I didn’t have to compare myself to others. I was who I was, and there was nothing I could do about it. My family wanted what was best for me, they had fought the battle in order to show their love for me, and I was forever grateful for that.

I was always pulled away from my own little world into the big world, I was  pulled into an ocean of stress. Time was escaping. Not only had I lost time to myself, I had felt as if time with my family was running short. I often found myself behind closed walls, with the door locked shut, and music blasting. Sitting on a red chair, hunched behind a huge desk. My neck began to ache, hand beginning to cramp, as I remain clutching the lilac mechanical pencil. Remembering my long walks, the presence of my family had made me happier, bringing a wider smile on my face. Everyone in my family had always been busy, I felt as if the string between us was beginning to fray.

From time to time, my father had constantly asked me the same question, “what are your plans for the future?” There was never a day where this question had never frightened me. I barely had time to find my true identity, let alone had an idea of what my future would look like.  The pressure of the world was pulled back onto my back and had weighed me down whenever this question was asked. As the question continued to linger through my brain, I stood up and began to take a walk. The sun seemed to gleam brighter, the birds began to sing louder. The fresh air relaxed me. I looked back at how everything appeared to be thrown at me, but noticed that if I allowed these things to get in the way of being myself and preventing me from being with my loved ones. I should just take a step back and re-evaluate my life.  Soon I began to find my true passions, I began to be myself, rarely trying to mold myself into what society wanted me to be. I wanted to be different. I wanted to live a life where my actions weren’t influenced by society’s expectations, instead were influenced by how my family thought of it, but most importantly being impacted by how I looked at myself.

As I’m beginning to grow up, the meaning of family is redefining. I’ll never forget the feeling of escaping reality with the company of love and family.  The influences of today’s society and what others think of me, may tweak the definition of who I am. But what defines me is the strong relationship between my family and I, and the way I look at myself and my actions.

Application Essay Pitch

Ellis Island Reflection

How do you think people felt upon their arrival to Ellis Island?
People would feel very anxious or very nervous. They would also feel very scared especially because if they had an infection or had a sickness, their future would be paused and that would prevent them from starting a new life in the Americas. People who had passed the six second medical screening, they would feel very relieved and happy.

What do you think the immigration hall screening was like?
It would be very chaotic, with everyone being nervous and anxious. There would be seas of people, and immigration officers trying to finish their job as soon as possible. People were asked many questions about their personal lives. The immigration officers would act really tough and would look down at others.

How did you feel when you arrived at the classroom and learned about your fate?
I felt really nervous, because I had heard stories about what you had to do in order to be accepted as an American citizen. I felt anxious, and I was very precise with what I had written down on my Passport paper. I made sure that every detail was correct. I felt more and more nervous as soon as I got closer to the immigration. When Mr.Elms had asked me the questions, I panicked a bit and said the first answer that came into my mind. Something that I learned about my fate was that I was a midwife, who was eight months pregnant and had to be quarantined. When I said that my child was due in one month, I had instantly regretted giving that as an answer,  as I had a chance of going into America.

Rethinking Historical Thinking

September 16, 2015
Knowledge and Concepts                                                        

1. What is wrong with an art museum?                                   
2. Primary vs. Secondary sources (What is reliable?)             
3. DO THE MATH!                                                                

 Literacy: 

1. Directly state a thesis 

2. Provide solid evidence, not make believe or wild speculations. 

3. Conclude 

4. No Personal Pronouns (I, We, You, Us, I) 

Portfolio Design

1. Why is Emphasis important to some artworks?
Emphasis is important to some artwork because when you emphasis something or someone in a piece of artwork, the audience or the people who are looking at the image are instantly attracted to it. Their eyes are immediately pulled to what is emphasised. Therefore, artists put emphasis in their artwork to make a symbol or an object pop out to people, and show that this item is important. This is important because it enhances the meaning of the art piece, and causes more people's eyes to be drawn to it.

2. If you could do this assignment again what would you do differently?
If I could do this assignment again, something I would do differently may be to work more on it at home. Since I was doing more of a complex design behind my name, I definitely needed to work on it more, but sometimes I would forget to bring it home and work on it. Though I really enjoyed doing my portfolio, it did take a really long time for me to finish drawing everything, maybe next time I would make the design less detailed or find something that was easier to draw. I think that next time I would also use a lot more fun colours to help it pop out more, instead of using only black and white.

3. Explain how you incorporated both; Emphasis and a Personal Interest into your artwork.
For my personal interest I decided to incorporate a camera as the letter o. I did this because I really enjoy photography, and even though I may not be exactly the best but I still enjoy taking pictures and making videos. Another personal interest would be drawing those designs. Whenever I'm really bored or I'm just in class, I just can't help but start to doodle. So the two personal interests I decided to incorporate is photography and design//doodling. For emphasis the most emphasised word is my first name. I emphasised this by making it not only the biggest word on the portfolio, as well as the fact that all the letters are not coloured in or drawn with a design. The letters are also outlined by a thicker marker rather than a thin marker that I had used to outline all of the designs.

Native American Stereotypes

September 8,2015
1. Native Americans were conquered because they were inferior. (PDF Part 1)
Reality: The Native Americans were conquered because of diseases and the lack of quality weapons, even till this day.
2. Native Americans had no civilisation until Europeans brought it to them. (PDF Part 1)
Reality: The Native Americans had a variety of civilisations before the Europeans had brought it to them. For example; languages, cultures, groups, symbols, beliefs, etc.
3. Native americans were warlike and treacherous. (PDF 1)
Reality: Native Americans were warlike when they experience loss or are threatened by the Europeans.
4. Native Americans had nothing to contribute to Europeans or to the growth of America. (PDF 2)
Reality: They had lots to contribute including hunting styles, potatoes, tomatoes, fishing tips.
5. Native Americans tribes did not value women. (PDF 2)
Reality: Women are usually leaders of the tribes, and are equal to men. They are in charge of making decisions, helping their husbands make decisions in their council. Still inequality is still an issue in today's society.
6. Native Americans have no religion. (PDF 2)
Reality: They had many religious beliefs and spiritual beliefs.
7. Native Americans are a vanishing race. (PDF 2)
Reality: Once the Europeans arrived the native americans were almost gone.
In the 1900's there were 100,000. Now there are 5.3 million Native Americans in the USA today.
8. Native Americans get a free ride from the government. (PDF 2)
Reality: Native Americans work really hard for their money, and maybe even harder than people of the other races, due to the fact that a lot of employers are racist. They had negotiated a treaty with America, therefore people would assume that they are able to earn money easily.

Letter to Bartolome de la Casas

Dear Bartolome de la Casas,

I've recently been taken away by the government and now I am currently struggling to stay alive. When I first arrived I was constantly yelled at and screamed at in a language that I was unfamiliar with, this had confused me as I had no idea what they were talking about. They had also put me in the mines, being inside the mines had me feeling very squished. The walls were very close to each other, having a large amount of people all stuck into one mine, everyone was stuck in a small space for a very good time. Being an average height, it was still pretty difficult to go through the mine, as I kept on bumping my head on the top. When I was younger, someone had told me that everyone was made equally by God. The encomienda are very against this. The new system is treating people of the same race very badly. They're killing people and are working these people till they are ill or injured. We are struggling and are dying, we need your help. Please send help as soon as possible. Please Bartolome de la Casas, please I beg of you.

You friend,
Juanica

Important Historical Ideas

• Reliable - Reliability is a report that is trustworthy. Was this source or was this person reliable in the past? If your source is bias or one sided or has lied, many will have lost trust in you and won't believe your source. 
• Biased - has to do with favouritism or a slant. Biased can be towards or against someone or something. Sources can be biased towards or against. 
• Background Historical Knowledge - is knowledge about an event prior to knowing something. 
• Inference is a reasoned judgement based on a fact. Sometimes inferences can be wrong. They had to jump from what was right or wrong to what had happened. 
• Sources that Conflict  - Source of information were conflicted. We need to know that because when we think that we have one side of a story we need to consider the other side of the story. 

An inference is an educated guess. By making an inference, you can make a conclusion based on information//evidence and reasoning that has been given to you. 

Image source: Mike Keefe / The Denver Post, Politicalcartoons

The image above portrays what people thought of Muslims during 9-11, the title of this illustration is "9-11 mosque cartoon: More propaganda." If a person were to use this illustration as an historical evidence to base their knowledge and understanding on the idea of Muslims and what had happened during 9-11, many conflicts and problems would occur. This propaganda is no a reliable source because this illustration was created on October 15, 2010 when this event had happened around the date of September 11, 2001. This may have been created to show people how people reacted to the bombing. This illustration was biased to the Americans or the people who were against the Muslims and is against the Muslims. A background information of what had happened on September 11, 2001, how the Americans and other religions' point of view of the situation and Muslims are, and who were in charge of the situation and bombings and the aftermath would help the audience understand the illustration better. Based on this drawing, I can infer that the artist, Mike Keefe, wants the reader to be aware of the different point of views and opinions on other religions and that the readers shouldn't be stereotypical and shouldn't label everyone that is part of that religion as "violent." I think that the author wanted the audience to reflect on how they treat other people and how without them even knowing that they may stereotype and label a group of people a hurtful name. Finally, there are many sources that may conflict with this image including people that may be Muslim or who have loved ones who are part of a religion that is labeled as a hurtful title. 

My Wellness Prezi

Considering Perspectives

• I was born in Hong Kong, but I've never lived in Hong Kong before. 
• I've lived in Singapore my whole life. 
• English was my first language. 
• I speak Mandarin, English, and Cantonese. 
• I have two older brothers, I'm the youngest in my whole family. 
• I dislike public speaking, I fear failure. 
• I enjoy listening to music, dancing, and hanging out with friends. 
• I play the piano, and I just got back into dancing. 
• I love eating. I also enjoy traveling. 
• My favourite countries include: Singapore, Los Angeles, Japan, and London. 
• I absolutely dislike creepy crawlies.   
• I enjoy writing and reading. 

Having lived in Singapore my whole life, I haven't really been exposed to moving as much as others may have. Though I've only lived in one country my whole life, I do travel a lot. While traveling, I'm exposed to a lot of different cultures, one country that's culture and lifestyle was quite different from Singapore's was New York. Since I do have family back in New York, I was still exposed to the different lifestyle. Living in Singapore with many different cultures, I guess staying in New York and not seeing all the different races was kind of different. But having to try all the foods in New York was not a new experience as we had easy access to those types of food in Singapore. Having two older brothers who took very different majors, this helps me look at my future in a different way. Which brothers' footsteps will I follow? I enjoy listening to bands, and these bands come from many countries. So when listening to their music they may include slang or phrases that I may not understand, so I may take these lyrics in a different point of view. Living in Singa -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fothoby/5061936252/

pore has helped me look at different ethnicities and races in a different point of view.

Label Test

Astronomy Parents' Blog Post

Something that my dad learned was that there isn't any proof as to seeing life forms in our galaxy. Another thing that my dad learned from my lab lesson is that NASA has been using the Hubble Telescope to take many of the amazing pictures of the galaxy that we've seen everywhere. My dad thought that I could've been a bit more confident towards my topic, but still showed confidence throughout my presentation, he thought I needed to do a bit more practice, without looking at my notes too often. One question that my dad had was how long would it take to make a suitable and most accurate telescope in order to find life on the galaxies?

Project Adventure Reflection

Throughout our class period today, I feel as many of the task roles have showed throughout my group. I think for myself, the task roles that would best represent me would be the helper. I also feel as everyone in my group including myself also share the task role of the brainstormer/initiator. In class today I showed the task role of the helper, especially when I helped by collecting all of the needed equipment. For example, I went to the equipment area to collect dodgeball, hula hoops, jump ropes, and spots. By doing this, I quickened group movement by helping and doing things for my group. At the beginning, I helped collect all of the equipment, and helped place the right materials in the right area. Another situation where I showed the task role as the helper was when I helped collect all of the dodgeballs that were all scattered around the field, as well as the coloured spots. Though the whole group showed this task role all together, I showed the task role of being a brainstormer/initiator, as well as the rest of my group because once we were playing one round of our new game, we all knew that something was wrong and that we had to change something. Once I realised what we had done wrong, I made the suggestion of putting more dodgeballs, and putting them closer to the obstacles in order to make the game easier and more fair. One task role that I want to work on next class is the encourager, though our group mainly agreed on most of the suggestions, I feel as we lacked a bit of encouragement, so I would like to work on this factor a bit more. Overall, I feel as in today's class I showed the task roles of the helper, and a bit of the brainstormer/initiator.  

Science Burning Question Reflection

We have just recently started our astronomy unit, and was asked to come up with a burning question that interested not only you, but as well as your partners as well. Our burning question is Can there be other living forms in our galaxies' goldilocks zone, if so why are we not aware of them? This interested me because over the years I've always known about the galaxies, but weren't truly aware of how the galaxies work. Another thing that interested me is life forms being in the galaxy itself, I saw that there have been many debates over life forms in the galaxies but we never seemed to have the answer as of how or what type of life forms, so that really inspired us to do a bit more research. Something that we are still quite confused about relating to our burning question is whether there are actually living forms in our galaxies. We have done a little bit of research relating to it, but haven't gotten a clear answer. We've seen traces of fossils on one of the planets, we've seen that there might be a few other civilisations in the Milky Way. Other than that there hasn't been much of an answer as to whether there have been a trace of life forms. In order to get these answers we will continue to doing more research, and find a lab/lesson in order to help our understanding of the galaxies and it's life forms and in order to help the audience understand our topic more. We need to do a bit more research, and find more details that we could connect to each other in order to find the answer.

ESO. Wide Field Imager View of a Milky Way Look-alike NGC 6744. Digital image. Http://commons.wikimedia.org/. N.p., 1 June 2011. Web. 14 May 2015.

Always With The Questions

Now that I have finished my research and observation, I have a few questions and a few things that I still want to know about my animal. I think that one question that I have is why are white faced sakis more likely to show aggressive behaviours towards other species/primates instead of other males? As I researched, I found out that male white faced sakis don't have as much interaction with other males in the wild, due to the fact that they are usually found in family groupings. But when I was at the zoo, they were grouped as band, and didn't show aggressive behaviour toward each other, instead showed it to the lemurs. How has living in the wild, in a family grouping affected them when moving to the zoo or into captivity? Another question that I have about white faced sakis is how do they defend themselves, for example since they have canine teeth do they use their teeth? As I continued on in my research, I didn't really find much about how they actually fight. So my top two questions is why are white faced sakis more likely to show aggressive behaviours towards other species/primates? And the other questions is how do white faced sakis defend themselves while fighting? If money and time were not an issue, something that I would do to find out the answers is fly myself to northern & central South America and watch white faced sakis in the wild, instead of watching them in captivity. While in the wild, I would like to watch white faced sakis in their natural habitat and in a family grouping. I think that during my stay, I would also want to watch some male on male behaviours if there were any, or I would also like to see how white faced sakis fight. I think that with unlimited money I would like to see what their canines look like up close, since I wasn't able to see any pictures of them. I think that by going into the wild to watch their behaviours up close would really answer my questions. I think this because when other primates come into their territory, the dominate gender which is the male will most likely defend their territory and family. And if there were two dominate males, I would be able to see why they are not very likely to fight. All in all, I hope to find the answers to my questions very soon.

White Faced Saki Blog Post #1

Throughout my research on the White Faced Saki, I've learnt so many things about not only them, but also other primates. I think that one of the most interesting things that I've learnt about White Faced Sakis is that unlike other primates, they have non-prehensile tails. This shocked me the most because looking at their habitat which is neo-tropical rainforests, moist lowlands, and spend most of their times in the tree tops. I thought that with this type of habitat, White Faced Sakis would have a prehensile tail because they would be able to use it to grasp onto tree branches helping them travel. Instead they have a non-prehensile tail. I learnt that the reason why they have a non-prehensile tail is due to the fact that they use it to balance when on tree branches. If I were to put myself in Jane Goodall's shoes something that I would want to learn about the White Faced Saki they're impact on the rainforest, or their impact on the ecosystem. I think that I want to learn about this because every primate has a different effect on the rainforest, so I want to know how they effect it's environment. I think that if I were to be in her shoes, and were able to see them in the wild, up-close, I would want to see their behaviours  in real life. I think that I would want to see all their social behaviours and interactions and how they differ from other primates up-close.

Digital Life Pledge

I know I spend a lot of time on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Skype, etc. I constantly check it from time to time through out my day. Due to this, I've constantly procrastinated my homework or I will be doing my homework at one time, then stop and scroll through my phone. I tend to not talk face to face with my parents as much now.

I pledge to not go on social media when the time is not right, for example I will only go on social media when I am taking a break from homework or during my free time. I pledge to stop looking at my phone during dinner, and to stop constantly looking at my phone for hours.

Darwin's Theory Game Results

What helped the species that survived 1 million years, had many adaptations that was a mix of all the different species. It had many more adaptations that helped them live through the harshest environments and situations. When the species were going through the winter, you had to make sure you had animals that had a lot of fur in order to stay warm. When the species were living in an environment where fruits or their food sources were at higher distances or heights, you had to make sure your species had a long neck that is long enough in order to reach the food. When the species were going through a situation where predators were invading their homes, you had to make sure that they had long enough legs to run away and stripes in order to hide from them. In order to live one million years, you had to pick the species with a mix of all of those adaptations. With the stripes, long legs, long necks, and fur this species is able to live longer through the harshest environments and are able to live long enough to reproduce.

My Favourite Animal's Adaptations

For today's science homework we were asked to write a blog post about our favourite animal's adaptations and how those adaptations help this animal survive in their environment. Well, my favourite animal is the penguin, and it has many different physical, structural adaptations that help them be successful in their environment. One adaptation that some of the penguin species have are bare patches around their eyes that play as heat windows. Theres areas have no feathers which allows excess heat to escape. These patches become very pink once the penguin is warm. These patches around their eyes help these penguins be successful in their environment because penguins are usually found in colder areas, or when found in warmer areas they use these patches around their eyes to keep them cooled down. Another adaptation is penguins have almond-shaped glands beneath the skin above their eyes which helps them filter out the excess salt from the ocean. The salt drips down their beak, then the penguins make a sneeze-like sound, and then are able to shake the salt off. This adaptation helps them in their environment because penguins usually find their food source in the ocean, eating krill and other sea creatures, penguins tend to spend a lot time in the ocean. With these glands this helps them get rid of the salts. The third interesting adaptation that penguins have that they have a downy under portion of feathers that traps a layer of air against their skin. This layer of air is then warmed by body heat, their feathers overlap and form a barrier, keeping water away from the skin. This layer of skin, helps penguins stay warm from the harshest of winters. This helps them be successful in their environment, because as said before penguins are usually found in colder areas, and by having a layer of blubber and this downy under portion of feathers that traps air helps them stay warm. The fourth adaptation is their webbed feet. A penguins' webbed feet enable penguins to shoot through the water at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. Another thing that the penguin's webbed feet does is they help the penguin steer it's way through the water. The position of their feet on the lower part of the body aids in both steering and hydrodynamics. Penguins also use their webbed feet to release heat. This adaptation helps them be successful in their environment because as said before, penguins spend a lot of time in the water and swimming in the ocean, their webbed feet helps them guide themselves in the right directions. This adaptation also helps them because as said before, penguins tend to be found in colder areas and since their webbed feet provide heat, it helps them stay warm. The last interesting adaptation is that penguins have black backs and white bellies, this pattern of colours is called countershading and helps the penguins camouflage them when it is in the water. And as said before, penguins spend most of their time in the ocean, having these colour is an effective form of protection. Countershading also helps the penguins hunt with more success. This adaptation helps the penguins be more successful in their environment because since this countershading camouflages them when they are in the water, they are able to hide from predators and are able to protect themselves. This also helps them safely and effectively hunt their food underwater. Overall, penguins have many adaptations that help them be successful in their environments.