Author Archives: Olivia

Core Competencies 2025

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Core Competencies:

In English First Peoples, I participated in literature circles for our novel Fire Song by Adam Garnet Jones, which was an excellent example of communication. In our groups, we stayed organized and created a clear plan where each person took on a distinct role. This helped our discussions stay focused and allowed everyone to contribute equally. We developed thoughtful discussion questions, shared our opinions and interpretations, and listened respectfully to different perspectives from our group members. Through these conversations, I was able to clearly explain my own reflections and build on the ideas of others. One of the roles I enjoyed the most was the questioner, where I created questions that encouraged deeper thinking about the section of the book we were reading. I also enjoyed identifying the most important moments in the novel and supporting my ideas by selecting meaningful quotes, which helped strengthen our group discussions.

In Woodworking 12, I developed and created projects independently, which was a strong example of creative thinking. I came up with new project ideas by finding inspiration from different social media platforms such as Pinterest and then adapting those ideas to fit my own style and skill level. Instead of copying designs directly, I added my own creative twists by including personal touches or modifications that I preferred. This allowed my projects to feel more original and meaningful. An example of this was when I reused scrap wood from a previous project to create small thumb holders for books. This showed creativity as well as problem-solving, since I found a new and practical use for leftover materials.

In 20th Century World History 12, I demonstrated critical thinking by completing extensive research on the genocide in Palestine. This topic was new to me, so I had to independently gather information from multiple sources and evaluate their reliability. I then organized my research by classifying the information into ten different sections, which required me to analyze, compare, and connect key ideas. This process helped me develop a deeper understanding of the topic while also strengthening my ability to think critically, organize complex information, and form informed conclusions based on evidence.

Core Competencies Reflection-Grade 10

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In my Socials class, we are always sharing ideas and discussing our comprehension of different topics multiple times a day. We all take turns sharing ideas and commenting on other’s thoughts and opinions. Talking with my peers help me understand the different historical events by listening to what other people have to say and sharing my own opinions with others helps me reflect on what I understand and tests my own learning and knowledge.

In my Creative Writing 11 course, we are constantly using our creative thinking, from working from prompts and scales to put our daily ideas onto paper, to doing our choice work where we can choose whatever piece of work we would like to use. I use my creative thinking to come up with different works of ideas and to focus on certain techniques and find creative ways to configure into my work.

I work on my critical thinking skills in my French class; we work on a lot of different grammar rules and the difference between verbs. I have to look at certain sentences and figure out what tense of verb, if it is a feminine or masculine verb, single or plural.

Core Competencies Reflection

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Communication: 

In my Literacy 10 class, I was able to communicate my knowledge in First Nations peoples by creating Power Points, Canva presentations, and sharing my ideas in class. Especially when we Literary circles where I can discuss with my group members about the chapters of the novel that we read. I was able to reflect on the ideas of others, comment on my thoughts and add to what others said. This is a good example of how I am able to communicate well with my classmates and show my understanding of this class. 

Critical Thinking: 

I can represent critical thinking in my Foundations of Pre-Calculus 10 class. In this class, I use critical thinking whenever I need to work on an assignment, such as a worksheet or working in groups on the whiteboard. I work to solve equations either by myself or with group members. Whenever a problem arises, I track back my work to figure out where the mistake was made and correct it. When I have trouble finding my mistake, I ask for help from another pier or a teacher who can help me with the task at hand 

Personal and Social Awareness: 

I can focus on the task at hand without distracting group members. I can delegate my time and remain on task, as well as help others when needed. When I know I have a lot of homework and I am unwilling to do it when I get home, I am productive and work during my off block and whatever free time I get during the day so that I can get my work done and not become increasingly stressed. 

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In the past, I have struggled a bit withstanding in front of a class and giving a presentation, though I am very sociable and outgoing, I used to have a hard time presenting in front of a large group. I worked hard at overcoming this over the past year, not letting myself become stressed by coming more prepared for the presentation. 

In the future I would like to improve my creative thinking. During assignments that force me to be creative, I struggle coming up with different format ideas. Such as ones where I must make a poster or something physical, I would like to be more creative on the layout and do something my own way. 

 

Self Reflection-Core Competency

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Communication 

In my Communications 9 class, I did a project called Pecha Kucha, which was an excellent example of my communication skills by being able to demonstrate my learning on a subject of topic and being able to show the class what I’ve learned. For my project I picked to do the different types of energy in Canada, which focused on nuclear power compared to hydroelectricity. This is a topic that I’m passionate about because I care about where we get our energy from, and the sustainability of it. Through this project, I had to do a lot of research, information gathering, working on a Power Point and practicing my script. 

Creative Thinking 

In my English 9 class in the first semester, we worked a lot on poems, this greatly improved my creative thinking by pushing me out of my comfort zone and being more open with my ideas. At the end of the semester, we worked on creating our own poems of our choosing. At first, I had some difficulties knowing what I wanted to write. I knew I had to have an emotional connection to my poem, to be able to be passionate about what I was writing. I had decided to write about my complicated family life, mainly centered around the large amount of grief I had from my father’s passing. I was having a lot of mixed emotions, and it helped to use this project as an outlook for those emotions. By doing this, I worked on my creative thinking by expanding my social and emotional boundaries, being more original with my work and using a more personal connection to my work. 

 

This is the poem I wrote at the end of the semester: 

I’m from the truth and lies behind my families’ eyes, 

As well as the tears and sighs, 

A family that could never agree, 

Especially between the three, 

I’m from Christmas eve dinners that never end well, 

Because everyone had secrets to tell, 

Year after this this goes on,  

From dusk to dawn, 

Twisted tongues that are meant to sting, 

Because words hurt more than sticks and stones, 

Flowers that are meant to be feared, 

As I slowly disappear, 

I can’t even ask, 

So, I must hide under my mask, 

My future has already been written in stone, 

I needed to be away from them, 

But now all I feel is numb, 

I fell apart those last few days, 

I think about that moment all the time, 

It became a pastime, 

Fears of your skin being cold, 

Frozen like ice, 

Because now it’s something I can’t have 

Time I won’t get, 

Memories not made, 

The clocks always ticking,  

It just went too fast this time, 

And now I feel left behind, 

It’s a gut-wrenching feeling,  

Knowing that you’re not actually there anymore, 

But after winter must come spring, 

The flowers always bloom again, 

I am the only one who can pick up the shattered glass anymore, 

Each piece pierced my skin,  

The raw edges gave a great sting, 

The glass cut my skin like razors, 

But I had no other option, 

So, I piece by piece, I picked them up, 

So, I won’t become what I came from. 

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Critical Thinking 

This year, during my Science 9 class, we did a lot of work on biology, I had found this subject a bit difficult to comprehend, I didn’t have a deep understanding of it last year, and that seemed to translate onto this year. I worked hard in class by asking questions, doing a lot of review and working in groups to be able to make connections and draw conclusions. Later in the unit, I was able to demonstrate by newfound learning in our smaller microscope’s unit. By working hard during a hard time, I was able to develop new skills to solve and learn new strategies. 

Final Assignment-Coast Salish Art

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How has your awareness of Coast Salish Art in our community changed? Be specific and give at least one example: 

I was able to learn about the different shapes in the Coast Salish art, their meaning and significance. I learned about how the shapes and animals can represent different things. Such as how a bear can represent a loving protector, just like how a mother bear protects her cubs, or how you can use the shapes to add details to any animal you decide to do.

 

This is the drawing of a bear I did for my Coast Salish art, I feel like I’m best represented by a bear because they’re very caring and protective.

Here is the same photo but in a digital style.

(The circles did not load on the SVG file. You can use the comparison between the digital style and the hand drawn copy to fill in the blanks.)

Information Fluency Paragraph

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For my subject, I chose to write about women in sports, it’s something I’ve been passionate about since I was much younger. I’ve always enjoyed learning about different women who have encountered diversity in their lives and pushed past it to achieve their dreams. I’ve listened to many speeches growing up from varying intellectually and emotionally strong women.  

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My Paragraph: 

Women have broken many barriers and changed standards in sports. Through their dedication and hard work, women have not always been given the same opportunity as men. Throughout the years, women have worked hard to make sports a more welcoming environment for young women and girls, giving them opportunities. Women such as Hayley Wickenheiser has broken many male and female records for ice hockey. She has worked hard throughout her entire career to achieve her goals. Additionally, Furthermore, women’s sports have garnered increasing attention and support, leading to significant advancements in gender equality within the sporting world. Initiatives promoting inclusivity and diversity have opened doors for women of all backgrounds to participate and thrive in sports. Women continue to challenge stereotypes and advocate what they believe is right in an area of knowledge mostly dominated by men.  

AI paragraph: 

Women in sports have long faced challenges and stereotypes, yet their contributions and achievements continue to redefine the landscape of athletics. Despite historical barriers, women have excelled in various sports, showcasing their athleticism, skill, and determination. From pioneering athletes like Billie Jean King and Wilma Rudolph to contemporary stars such as Serena Williams and Simone Biles, women have shattered records and inspired generations. Increased visibility and support for women’s sports have led to greater opportunities and representation, empowering female athletes to compete at the highest levels. However, disparities in pay, media coverage, and resources persist, highlighting the ongoing need for gender equality in sports. As women continue to break barriers and redefine norms, their impact on sports transcends competition, serving as a catalyst for social change and inclusivity. 

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  • What was your experience in using AI?  

AI seemed to reference my subject in larger terms, while I focused on subjects, I know a bit more myself, such as Ice Hockey and Tennis, it went on to bring up gymnasts and track and field. AI also used different vocabulary words that I don’t tend to use on a regular basis, it provided a different perspective on the fluency of words. 

  • Was the paragraph the AI generated accurate? Fact-check any new information and see if it’s true. 

Yes, I felt like it was reading about it. With further inspection, it seemed more like AI used this subject to reach into a more of a broader term, expanding into different areas I didn’t originally write about. 

  • Was the exercise useful? How can this help you with your learning going forward? 

I learned that I could be more detailed in my descriptions and make better use of the given vocabulary. 

 

  • Were your results expected? Yes or No? Explain 

I feel like the AI results compared to my own were expected. It went into further detail than I did, as well as naming more athletes. The sentence and paragraph structure were on point, obviously because it’s AI, while mine seems like it was made from a template, which it was. 

Take Your Kid To Work Day

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For the grade 9, take your kid to work day, I went to work with my mom. She’s a grade 3 teacher at Leigh Elementary, while I was there, I got the opportunity to help younger kids with their spelling, sentence structure and grammar. Later in the afternoon, the students in my mom’s class had PHE, I participated in a game of bench ball, as you might assume, playing against young, elementary school students wasn’t that complicated. Although, it does make yourself a bigger target compared to them. Literally and figuratively. I went outside for both recess and lunch, I got to play with the younger kids and two other grade 9 boys from Riverside. After lunch, we did some simple math games and then had a lesson on weather changes in different environments. Shortly after that, we went outside with the class Ipad’s and took pictures of erosion on the school grounds. I quite enjoyed my day at my moms work, I wasn’t kept in an office all day, I was able to interact with the students and I also knew many of the teachers from previous years.

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The Picture from the beginning of my post is a picture of me helping out a kid in grade 1, while my mom was in a meeting, I went to another teacher’s classroom, mainly because I’ve known her since I was in elementary school myself. As well as I know  her son who also came for take your kid to work day because we went to summer school together as kids.

  1. What did you hear, see, smell, and feel in the work environment on Nov. 1st? 

I heard the younger kids playing in the background, the pencils taping when they were working, the shuffling of chairs during lessons. I saw the teachers talking to each other about school related subjects, such as projects and routines. I felt the welcoming environment of the students and the staff at the school.  

  1. What about the environment would motivate you to wake up every day to attend work? 

Being in an elementary school is a very welcoming and warm environment. The younger kids look up to the older ones, and their bright personalities make everything a bit more interesting.  

  1. What about the work environment would discourage you from waking up every day to attend work? 

I feel like the students in the class would take up a lot of patience in the long term. They require a lot of emotional energy from others, especially the adults that surround them. 

  1. What is ONE thing you found interesting about your workplace visit?

I thought it was interesting how the younger kids are constantly surrounded by screens, even if it’s a T.V projector. Unless they’re working on an assignment by hand, they have access to iPad for reading and writing. And even when they work outside for nature. Such as today, my mom took her class outside to document weather changes after periods of rain and strong winds. And instead of writing things down, they took pictures and made a slideshow. It was interesting to see how much their curriculum depends on technology.