Grade 11 Terry Fox Run

Athletics

I'm proud of myself for finishing the Terry Fox Run. I'm not a athletic person at all, and running has always been a torture to me. After last year's terrible experience of almost finishing the last, I was hesitated whether I should run or not. Although I knew that I would be the last ones again, I decided to run anyway. This time I did a better job, and literally ran the whole run. It doesn't matter that I'm not the fastest ones, because Terry Fox Run is all about carrying on spirit.

Grade 11 Bicycle Drawing

Art

Our first project in Studio Art is a bicycle drawing. Although I'm able to capture the form of the object in a drawing, it's really hard for me to get into details.In this drawing, we have to do three areas with detail of part of the bicycle. I found it extremely difficult to do the shadow on metal, and the wheels which have complicated patterns. I'm generally satisfied with this drawing, because it's the first time I try to draw something so detailed. But I would like to work on the composition in the future, because the composition of the bicycle in this drawing is a little bit off.

Grade 10 Athletics Reflection

Athletics is my weakest strand, and I really can't do any sport well. I always fail the beep test even though I try hard. I'm also very bad at ball games; I always get hit by the ball no matter what kind of ball I'm playing. Last time my finger was hurt by a volleyball, I wasn't able to play the piano for two weeks. And one time I was playing goaly in a soccer game. a ball came right into my face and broke my glasses. I don't like learning new sports because I'm afraid to hurt myself, which happens often when I play sports even the easy ones. This year, however, I learned skating quickly without hurting myself, which makes me proud of myself.

This winter my friend Helena asked me to go skating in the community centre every day. I love watching figure skating and speed skating games but I know that it's easy to hurt myself on ice. I didn't have much to do during the winter break so I went with her anyway. We didn't find a coach but we both learned skating fast, in two days I was able to skate smoothly. I finally find a type of sport that I can do, and I enjoy being on ice. One day I saw two girls around my age learning skating on their own, they were only able to walk around holding the handrail, and struggled when other people skate pass them. I asked them if they need help, then Helena and I each hold one girl's hand and skate around with them. It's much easier to skating with someone's help, and the two girls learned skating faster.

I always felt bad in PE classed because I can't do any sport well, but now I know that I can at least learn a sport fast and can help others to learn. Skating is a interesting sport, and I'll practice more next winter. I won't take strength and condition next year, but I would do some exercises everyday,to keep myself fit.

Grade 10 Art Reflection

Art has always been my strongest strand. This year I take studio art, although there's a large amount of work and effort required, I enjoy the course very much because I learned many new techniques and improved my drawing skills.

The reduction drawing I did at the beginning of the year is an interesting piece. It's easy to draw with pencil or charcoal, but drawing with an eraser is totally different because it's harder to control, and sometimes cannot erase dark charcoal entirely. I spent a long time choosing the photo, to find one that has simple lines and good contrast of black and white. The one I eventually chose was a picture of leaves, which seems easy to draw. It's not easy though, because all the lines are so narrow that eraser almost doesn't work. In the end, I had to go over the lines with pencil after I erase the lines. Although the process was tiring, I'm generally satisfied with the production. From this drawing I learned that art is all about creativity. New ways of doing art might bring surprising results.

This year I also improved my painting skills. My favourite piece this year is the 'object in object' painting, which I did a reflection in the lake. I have only done one painting in Grade 9 and none before that, so this is my second painting. I think it's amazing to put layers on a canvas and watch each layer change the whole painting. I like this painting because I think it is pretty successful in terms of realistic approach.

In studio art, I have developed many skills as an artist, tried new methods of painting and drawing, and now I have a different view on art. As Ms. Walsh said, art isn't always realistic. We tried to do a cubism drawing, though it's not very successful. I think I will challenge myself to do cubism again some time in he future, because it's a very different type of art and seems very interesting to me.

Art is very important to me. I feel happy doing art, and usually spend a long time on art. I haven't decided if I will do an art-relating job yet, but art is something that I'm passionate with.

These are some of my sketchbook assignments and other projects:

Grade 10 Service Reflection

This year I have done more than a hundred hours of service, and a large amount came from office work. At the beginning of this year, I found an academy near my home looking for volunteers, so I walked in and asked what they required. The academy is called Kerrisdale Academy, it's held by a Chinese and most students are Asian. This is a great opportunity for me because some parents don't speak English well and I'm able to talk with them in Chinese. The academy teach SAT, ESL and some AP courses, they also have provincial exam preparing classes and offer one-to-one tutoring. I go there every Friday to work for an hour and a half while my cousin is taking a ESL class. My work is to take attendance and call the absences. I also help them organize student information and type test questions into the computer. I enjoy working there very much because it's easy to make friends with other volunteers and students. I learned how to communicate better as well.

Sometimes I call students to remind them about their one-to-one schedule. At first I felt weird calling strangers and got a little nervous when parents pick up the phone, but now I get more used to it, and feel comfortable communicating with different people. I learned how to organize files well, and improved my communicating skills. This service opportunity is very significant to me.

Grade 10 Academics Reflection

This year my biggest improvement among all my academic courses might be English. As I said in my highlight, I got an 88 on my Remembrance Day essay. This might not be a very good mark for others, but it's really a big step for me. Our class did peer editing and re-edited it after. I was worried to let others read my essay because I thought it was very bad; however, I found the advises from others very helpful. I learnt that it's fine to make mistakes because we can always learn from our own mistakes, and that it's important to listen to others' ideas.

I moved to Canada last year from China, and I didn't use English often. English was the hard for me, and it was my lowest subject last year. When I came to Collingwood halfway in Grade 9, I got a 57 on the first report card; my final mark improved but was still only a 71. This year, I tried even harder than in Grade 9, and my goal was to get an A. On the first report card I got an 82, which is a great improvement for me, but I still had to push myself harder so I had a talk with my English teacher Mr. Shirkoff. He gave me a lot of useful advises on how to write essays, and suggested that I should get more complex into my ideas when I prove the thesis. He also told me to be more active in class, which is still hard for me. With his help, my essay writing skills improved quickly. I also did well on all the Barron's quizs, which helped me bump up my marks, and I'm staying at an 89 right now. From 57 to 89 in a year and a half, I’m very proud of myself for this progress.

This academic year is important to me because now I have gained more confidence in myself, and have got a clearer understanding of my weaknesses. Now that my essay writing skills are better, I still need to force myself to participate more in class. It has always been hard for me because I have a hard time communicating with others in English, not only because of my language barrier but also because I was afraid to make mistakes. Now I'm more willing to challenge myself, and don't always worry about making mistakes. I believe that my English will be better, and I might even take English AP in Grade 12 if I find English easy next year.

Grade 10 Volunteering in Hope High School

Choice #3

Volunteering in Hope High School

 The Hope Project is a public welfare activity in China, society or individuals gather money or donate to build schools for students come from poor families that can hardly afford their education. Last summer, my friend and I went to a Hope High School in a country area to do some service projects. We played with the students and shared stories. We stayed there for a week and made some friends, that was a unforgettable experience.

  

Grade 10 Painting

Choice #2

Painting

This is an 'object in object' painting I did this year. This is the second painting I've ever done and my first painting in studio art, and I knew it would be really hard. I chose to paint in stead of to draw only to challenge myself. I actually enjoyed painting more than drawing sometimes, because it's easier to get rid of the mistakes by putting layers of colors on the canvas. This painting makes me more confident in my painting skills.

Grade 10 Art Off the Wall

Choice #1

Spring Fair Art Off the Wall

This is my work for the spring fair Art Off the Wall. This year the theme is seasons, I choose spring because it's my favourite season. This painting only took me about two hours but I put a lot of effort into it. I'm satisfied with the flower, but the background might need more refining to make it more 3D-like. I enjoy doing this type of service because it's fun.

Grade 10 Skating

Athletics

Skating

I learned skating outside school this winter. I went to the community centre with my friends everyday during the winter break but didn't take lessons. That was the first time I went skating; however, I figured out how to skate quickly by myself. I actually found it harder to stop myself than to skate. After several days of practice, I was already able to teach my friends, and that make skating more fun.

Grade 10 Volunteering in Kerrisdale Academy

Service

Kerrisdale Academy

This year I do service at a academy near my home for two hours every Friday. I usually take attendance and call the absence, and help the administrator at the reception to organize student information. I'm not very outgoing and found it hard to call strangers at first, but after several times I'm more used to my job. The administrator is very nice to me and helped me a lot when I first started volunteering there.

Grade 10 Reduction Drawing

Art

AP Studio Art Reduction Drawing

This reduction drawing is my first art project in AP Studio Art. We used erasers to draw instead of charcoals and pencils, it was a very interesting experience. I put charcoal all over the paper, and take it out with a eraser. At first I was a little negative about this idea, and it took me a long time to find a suitable picture for this project. Eventually I chose this picture taken in my garden because the lines in the picture are clear and the contrast of black and white is pretty. This project took me more than two weeks but I'm very satisfied with the result. 

Grade 10 Remembrance Day Essay

Academics #2 

Remembrance Day Essay

I technically had no experience of English essay writing before I came to Canada in Grade 9, but my essay writing skills get a lot better this year, which is very significant for me. When we were writing the Remembrance Day essay, my English teacher Mr. Shirkoff gave me a lot of advises, and allowed us to re-edit it after we did peer marking. I was very satisfied about my final production, and I got an 88 on that essay, which is not a great mark but a big step for me. That was the first time I ever got an A on an essay, and after that I had more confidence in myself, and get more good marks.

Grade 10 Social Studies Group Project

Academics #1

Social Studies 10AP Group Project

 

For this group project, Ms. Hobson asked us to demonstrate Canada’s role in the United Nations after WWII. We did a five-minute-long video, which involved some acting. I find it very exciting filming the videos because I had never done something like this, however, the process was very tiring. My father filmed me talking about how some Canadians contributed to the United Nations, we did this more than five times because I’m too easily distracted and kept bursting into laughter or reading something wrong. We got a good mark on this project, which made me very happy, and I learned that I would never be a reporter.