Reflection:
So as a first year menemacer, I have learned a lot. One thing that is most important to me is writing a paper. Throughout my life, I know I will need to write papers in college and on job resumes. So constructing a paper correctly is very crucial to me. Being in menemac English core, has taught me how to construct a paper in a way so there are important traits that are followed. These traits include ideas, voice, organization, and word choice.
According to my introductory letter, I stated “I want to work on my writing skills. I want to write more vivid and detailed essays. Another thing I want to work on is building up my vocabulary so I can write better stories or essays.” Overall, I think I followed up on all of my goals. I have learned a lot of new vocabulary words and learned how to apply them to my essays. I have also been able to write vivid and detailed stories, thanks to my “word choice” and “voice” trait. I really believe that being in the menemac core has benefitted me for the better.
Proud Achievements: I am most proud of my "voice" and "organization" traits. In the first quarter, I already had the concept of voice and organization but I didn’t fully understand it. I knew that using voice was based on personal perspectives and being myself, which wasn't hard. The same goes for the "organization" trait. Although I understand the process, due to 8th grade, I only got 3's on both traits. At first, I didn't understand what I was doing wrong, but then as we began to write more and more essay I had a better understanding of the two traits. I am proud to say that I fully grasp the two traits. To me, I believe that it was my proudest achievements. I guess you can say practice makes perfect. Besides traits, I am so proud of my KC3 essay. It was the only essay in the entire first and second quarter, that I got all 4’s on each trait (4/4). Not only does it shows me the progress in my understanding in the traits, but it also shows me that it is NOT impossible to get a perfect paper in English.
Challenges: In the beginning of the year, I had a lot of challenges with the "ideas" and "word choice" trait. Whenever I wrote my papers, I either had too much detail which threw off my focus or I put unnecessary words to describe a topic. The more I tried to be “more descriptive”, my papers would lose focus which affected my “ideas” and my “word choice” traits. Throughout the second quarter, I began to understand how to make my paper more focused. I have learned that by using smaller yet effective words, I made my paper focus more on the topic then the vocabulary words. I have also improved my vocabulary and I have learned how to use the new words.
Goals for next year: My goals next year is to keep up the good work. After only 2 quarters, I believe that my understanding of the traits is strong. My goal in the beginning of the quarter was to get at least one perfect paper and I have succeeded. My goal next year is to continue to do the same. When I first received the 4/4 paper, I was thrilled and speechless! I want to have that feeling again. I am aiming for the best and I am going to try my hardest to get another 4/4 paper. Since I grasp the concept of the 4 traits, I don’t think it will be as hard as the first time. It’s all about how to structure a paper.
After looking through my portfolio, please answer the following questions listed:
What did you like best about my portfolio and portfolio conference? What would you like to see me improve on in my portfolio?
From your point of view, which of my attainments of the 4 traits of writing is of most value? Please explain why you feel it is important and what about my documentation of it impresses you.
Which of the traits of writing would you like me to focus on in the coming semester?
heres the link to my portfolio.
English Portfolio
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
~The Cycle of Interdependency~ Rough Draft
~The Cycle of Interdependency~
By: Maddie Nguyen
Interdependence; a word that means to depend on each other. In my social and educational life as a Mene Mac student, I always end up relying on something to get through the day. Besides myself, I can honestly say that everyone and everything on our planet Earth counts on one another. We all cause ripple effects. Everything we do never just affects one’s self; it affects the people around us as well. Some people may cause small ripples and some may cause big ripples. It all comes down to the things we do. In my essay, I will discuss scenarios when I needed to count on someone or something which later impacted me personally and educationally.
This year is my freshman year. The first time I came to high school, I had butterflies in my stomach. My goal was to join at least one committee. To my excitement, I discovered the home coming committee, who desperately needed volunteers to help, and I immediately agreed to join. Little did I know that I was going to play a big role in interdependency. My responsibility on the committee was acting and dancing in the homecoming performance. I snatched the leading act and I tried my best. Each person had a critical role on the committee. There was the president who was in charge, prop makers, two choreographers, backup dancers who also acted, and last but not least the two primary actors and dancers. If we did not have a president, then we probably would not have gotten anything done. The president was the one in charge of putting people to work and in charge of the scripts for actors, so everyone counted on the president. I see the president like she is the ribbon which keeps a present together. The prop makers were important as well because without them, our entire performance would not have made sense. We needed the artistic producers to make the presentation better. I consider them to be the appealing bow on a present. The choreographers were very crucial too, they were the ones who made up all the dance moves which we performed on opening night. All of the dancers relied on the choreography. The thing with choreographers, were that they are hard to find. They needed to be creative, have dancing talent, be committed, and most importantly, be outstanding. They are what I consider the wrapping paper which wraps everything together. Finally, there were the actual performers, which is where I came into play. We were the ones who are committed to every rehearsal and work very hard to not mess up. We are the entire show and who the audience came to see. So everyone depended on us to do a good job. I consider us performers, to be the actual gift to everyone. Altogether, the homecoming committee would have only succeeded if every person did their job. After months of practicing, we finally came together and made magic happen.
As a Mene Mac student, I have experienced many interactions by being in the learning program. The learning program requires 3 core classes. We consult in different ways to complete a project. In biology, we are in the process of an E-cyber mission. Our goal is to create a group project that will help living things. Each group has 3-4 people who work together and try to brainstorm a bullet proof assignment. In each group there is a leader who keeps everything in order, the creative writer, the researcher, and person who is in charge of the testing. The creative writer is the person who writes up a report on the project based on the scientific method. The researcher is the person who gathers all the data, makes inquiries, and delves more into the topic. The person in charge of testing is the one who tests the hypothesis, assists the group, and tries to facilitate the project. In the end we all collaborate in hopes of going to nationals. While in English, we have strong communication through blogging. We post up our rough drafts, comment on our peers’ drafts, and wait for them to comment on ours. If someone does not contribute in the commenting, then it affects them and their group members. So we all rely on one another to get our work done. In this class, we are also in the progress of a Kc3 project. For this assignment, our class got divided into three groups. My group is working on invasive species. So with six group members, we are tasked to do thorough research on different subtopics. After my team did all of the research, we came together and reported to the rest of our group about our own subtopic. As of now, we are using the information that we have attained to set up a presentation. Our Kc3 project is a good example of interdependency. My third Mene Mac core is Hawaiian history. In the first quarter, we were assigned to a specific topic about what happened when foreigners overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy. My group project was on the Reciprocity Treaty, my history teacher required each person to be in charge of a specific task. There was the power point person, the quiz maker, the researcher, and the game maker. We counted on each team member to be responsible for their assignment. In the end we had to present our topic to the class and the class presented their topic to us. It helped prepare us for an upcoming exam. Overall, being a Mene Mac student is a benefit to me in a good way by teaching me the value of team work.
In a way, being interdependent is rewarding. Without interdependence then nothing on our planet would be able to function correctly. We all rely on each other. For instance, plants count on us for carbon dioxide and we count on the plants for oxygen. We lean on other people and other people lean on us. Being interdependent is beneficiary for anybody who wants to be successful in life. Every job out there requires interaction and association with people or things. For example, nurses and doctors need sick patients to make money and sick patients need doctors to be cured. As you can see, interdependency is all around us even if we don’t realize that it is. Throughout my experiences, I've begun to understand the cycle of interdependency.
By: Maddie Nguyen
Interdependence; a word that means to depend on each other. In my social and educational life as a Mene Mac student, I always end up relying on something to get through the day. Besides myself, I can honestly say that everyone and everything on our planet Earth counts on one another. We all cause ripple effects. Everything we do never just affects one’s self; it affects the people around us as well. Some people may cause small ripples and some may cause big ripples. It all comes down to the things we do. In my essay, I will discuss scenarios when I needed to count on someone or something which later impacted me personally and educationally.
This year is my freshman year. The first time I came to high school, I had butterflies in my stomach. My goal was to join at least one committee. To my excitement, I discovered the home coming committee, who desperately needed volunteers to help, and I immediately agreed to join. Little did I know that I was going to play a big role in interdependency. My responsibility on the committee was acting and dancing in the homecoming performance. I snatched the leading act and I tried my best. Each person had a critical role on the committee. There was the president who was in charge, prop makers, two choreographers, backup dancers who also acted, and last but not least the two primary actors and dancers. If we did not have a president, then we probably would not have gotten anything done. The president was the one in charge of putting people to work and in charge of the scripts for actors, so everyone counted on the president. I see the president like she is the ribbon which keeps a present together. The prop makers were important as well because without them, our entire performance would not have made sense. We needed the artistic producers to make the presentation better. I consider them to be the appealing bow on a present. The choreographers were very crucial too, they were the ones who made up all the dance moves which we performed on opening night. All of the dancers relied on the choreography. The thing with choreographers, were that they are hard to find. They needed to be creative, have dancing talent, be committed, and most importantly, be outstanding. They are what I consider the wrapping paper which wraps everything together. Finally, there were the actual performers, which is where I came into play. We were the ones who are committed to every rehearsal and work very hard to not mess up. We are the entire show and who the audience came to see. So everyone depended on us to do a good job. I consider us performers, to be the actual gift to everyone. Altogether, the homecoming committee would have only succeeded if every person did their job. After months of practicing, we finally came together and made magic happen.
As a Mene Mac student, I have experienced many interactions by being in the learning program. The learning program requires 3 core classes. We consult in different ways to complete a project. In biology, we are in the process of an E-cyber mission. Our goal is to create a group project that will help living things. Each group has 3-4 people who work together and try to brainstorm a bullet proof assignment. In each group there is a leader who keeps everything in order, the creative writer, the researcher, and person who is in charge of the testing. The creative writer is the person who writes up a report on the project based on the scientific method. The researcher is the person who gathers all the data, makes inquiries, and delves more into the topic. The person in charge of testing is the one who tests the hypothesis, assists the group, and tries to facilitate the project. In the end we all collaborate in hopes of going to nationals. While in English, we have strong communication through blogging. We post up our rough drafts, comment on our peers’ drafts, and wait for them to comment on ours. If someone does not contribute in the commenting, then it affects them and their group members. So we all rely on one another to get our work done. In this class, we are also in the progress of a Kc3 project. For this assignment, our class got divided into three groups. My group is working on invasive species. So with six group members, we are tasked to do thorough research on different subtopics. After my team did all of the research, we came together and reported to the rest of our group about our own subtopic. As of now, we are using the information that we have attained to set up a presentation. Our Kc3 project is a good example of interdependency. My third Mene Mac core is Hawaiian history. In the first quarter, we were assigned to a specific topic about what happened when foreigners overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy. My group project was on the Reciprocity Treaty, my history teacher required each person to be in charge of a specific task. There was the power point person, the quiz maker, the researcher, and the game maker. We counted on each team member to be responsible for their assignment. In the end we had to present our topic to the class and the class presented their topic to us. It helped prepare us for an upcoming exam. Overall, being a Mene Mac student is a benefit to me in a good way by teaching me the value of team work.
In a way, being interdependent is rewarding. Without interdependence then nothing on our planet would be able to function correctly. We all rely on each other. For instance, plants count on us for carbon dioxide and we count on the plants for oxygen. We lean on other people and other people lean on us. Being interdependent is beneficiary for anybody who wants to be successful in life. Every job out there requires interaction and association with people or things. For example, nurses and doctors need sick patients to make money and sick patients need doctors to be cured. As you can see, interdependency is all around us even if we don’t realize that it is. Throughout my experiences, I've begun to understand the cycle of interdependency.
Interdependence
Introduction:
Interdependence; a word that means to depend on each other. Throughout my social and educational life as a mene Mac student, I always end up relying on something to get through the day. Besides myself, I can honestly say that everyone and everything on our planet Earth count on one another. We all cause ripple effects. Everything we do never just affects one self. It affects the people around us as well. Some people may cause small ripples and some may cause big ripples. It all comes down to the things we do. In my essay, I will discuss scenarios when I needed to count on someone or something which later impacted me personally and educationally.
Body:
Paragraph#1: (interdependence)A personal experience
Paragraph#2: (interdependence)Learning experiences by being a menemacer
Conclusion: In a way, being interdependent is rewarding. Without interdependence then nothing on our planet would be able to function correctly.....
Interdependence; a word that means to depend on each other. Throughout my social and educational life as a mene Mac student, I always end up relying on something to get through the day. Besides myself, I can honestly say that everyone and everything on our planet Earth count on one another. We all cause ripple effects. Everything we do never just affects one self. It affects the people around us as well. Some people may cause small ripples and some may cause big ripples. It all comes down to the things we do. In my essay, I will discuss scenarios when I needed to count on someone or something which later impacted me personally and educationally.
Body:
Paragraph#1: (interdependence)A personal experience
Paragraph#2: (interdependence)Learning experiences by being a menemacer
Conclusion: In a way, being interdependent is rewarding. Without interdependence then nothing on our planet would be able to function correctly.....
Journal #18
Empathy:
definition: understanding how another person feels.
own experience: divorce/seperation
MOVING EVERY YEAR
Stress at school
Furlough Fridays
learning experience: ??
Interdependence:
definition:It means to depend on one another.
Personal experience: recycling
homecoming committee
cleaning after myself
cleaning up my house
taking care of my stuff
Learning Experience: KC3 Project
Peer Commentary
ecybermission
History Presentaion
definition: understanding how another person feels.
own experience: divorce/seperation
MOVING EVERY YEAR
Stress at school
Furlough Fridays
learning experience: ??
Interdependence:
definition:It means to depend on one another.
Personal experience: recycling
homecoming committee
cleaning after myself
cleaning up my house
taking care of my stuff
Learning Experience: KC3 Project
Peer Commentary
ecybermission
History Presentaion
