Hey everyone,

We just started our unit on MUN, and I am representing Estonia. Here is just some similarities and differences between my country and another (Chille).

Chille and Estonia

Similar

• Members of the UN
• both have presidents

Different

• different types of currency
• national currency (chille)
• estonia uses European currency
• speak different languages
• many mountains in chille, only small hills in Estonia

Last week I went on a experience week trip to Chang Rai with most of the people in my grade. On this trip we did a variety of things. For example: cooking, rock climbing, confidence course, hiking, community, archery, kayaking, jungle survival practice, mini olympics, etc. I think that it was a very interesting trip and I was able to meet many new people. I think that on this trip I demonstrated the attributes risk-taking and open-minded the most. I think that I was a risk-taker because I tried all the activities, even the ones I was scared to do. I wanted to have a fun trip, so I decided to be a risk-taker and join in on all the activities. And I think that I did a good job, because I was enjoying myself and I didn’t skip any of the activities. I think that I was open-minded because I was open to new things and new people. I was really open to play with all the kids from thailand and to interact with them.

Hey everyone,

In Science we have just finished our court case with KMT v. People. One side argues that KMT is incorrect, and the other side does not think so. My role in this case was to be part of the jury.

Since I was in the jury, I helped to decide on the verdict. And yes, I agree with the verdict that KMT is guilty.  I agree with this because using logic, you only need one flaw to prove a theory wrong. Even though some of the scientist on the prosecution side said that you need more than one flaw to prove a theory wrong, using common sense this is not reasonable.Another reason why I agree with the verdict is, after all, the flaw. The salt and water lab clearly did not follow the rules of KMT. KMT clearly states that when you add energy, the temperature will rise. When we added salt (a form of energy) to the ice, the temperature increased. KMT can not explain this. The prosecution side also had a better argument. They asked questions in which the defense side could not answer. This seems to prove the scientists on the defense unreliable.

My job was to be part of the jury. Our task was very obvious, we had to decide wether KMT is guilty or not. I think that I fulfilled my responsibilities because whenever their was a witness on the stand, I always took notes of what was said and made “on-the-moment-decisions”. I think that when making the final decisions, everyone in the jury had a similar understanding with what I thought, and we were able make a verdict.

If I could have done a different job, I would be a lawyer. When I was in the jury, I would come up with a question that the lawyer should ask to prove the scientist wrong. But some of the lawyers are too focused on their next question, that they didn’t think about any others. I found this very frustrating because I just wanted to say what they should ask. This is why I want to be a lawyer next time, so I can use what I saw from a jury’s perspective, and apply that.

Throughout this case a learned a few new things about KMT. I learned that sometimes KMT can be very hard to explain. The salt and water lab is an example of this. In real life, their is of course and explanation of this, still supporting KMT. But as a science student, I found this very hard to explain. KMT has many postulates, but for some labs it is hard to explain these.

We have just finished our unit on fractions and decimals. On the stress and learning graph, I would fall on the 3 because I am not too stressed about the test, but I really want to improve my Math Grades. On my report card I got a 5/7 for math, and I would like to improve that and get a 6/7. So for this unit I was a little bit stresses, but not too much. In this unit we did a variety of activities. My favourite one was when we had to calculate measurement for a new classrom. I liked this because we could compare from before and now and the cost of everything. In this unit I found it challenging to draw the fractions in a grid. I also found it challenging to divide decimals by decimals, but after some practice it became easier. There were also a few things that I found very easy. In this unit I found it easy to multiple decimals by decimals and to convert fractions to decimals and back.

I think that my effort in class and at home was very good. The grades I got on my test were good, but I don’t think that they reflected my effort. I believe that I tried very hard in class, that I finished all my homework, etc. I think that in the next test I should get a better grade: one that matches my effort.

The movie about the star ferry and clock tower is finally done! Click here to see it!

We have just finished our English Unit on refugees and reading the book: The Other Side of Truth. Our summative task was to create a movie that answers your own thick question. I really liked the way that the novel was written. The story flowed well and the way that the author described everything was very good. I liked that the author described everything with a lot of detail, because I could see everything in my head. What I didn’t really like about the novel is the way that the author connected everything. In the story, one big thing happened after the other, there was no break in between. That would have made the story a lot more interesting, I guess, to read.

When I was making my project, I applied some skills into it that I learned in the novel. The main one was vocabulary. Many of the words that I had read in the novel I was able to use in my final project. In this project I have learned a variety of skills, and applied them in a different way then I had before. In our other projects, we mostly needed to reflect on our process. This time we could make our own movie, using any media we want, and answering a question we made ourselves. I hadn’t really made a voiced iMovie before, so it was fun to learn that. Overall, I really liked this project. It was more a project that we decided by ourselves: we decided our thick question, how we want to research, what media we want to use to precent, etc. I found that very efficient because it let us be more independent, and most of our final projects are different than everyone in the class.

Here is my final product:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Se we are 8 weeks away from the end of the year. I am excited to have finally reached April, but sad to know that Gr. 7 will end soon.

Anyway, relating to Community and Service, I have volunteered for two activities at school. The first one was in the first term of the school year. I joined a club where you make clothes using recycled items for a fashion show. We raised money through selling tickets for the show. The money we then raised went to Friends of the Earth, a committee that tries to save the Earth. They build trees along the Dongjiang river. Our community environment is already becoming greener. It was a very fun experience for me, because I was raising money for our environment at the same time of doing something I love. I was happy to raise money so that we can help our community have a greener environment. I recommend that people try the fashion show because you meet many new people and once you have finished, you feel great.

The second thing I did was volunteer to tutor French. Every Thursday at lunch I help a girl from my class with her French. Tutoring a girl in French is also a very memorable experience. I feel very happy because I am doing something that will make someone else happy, perhaps more than one person. The tutoring is something that others could try of they want. I really enjoy it but that might just be me personally.

Look at this link to see my process! Stay tuned to see the movie!

Hey guys,

In English we had to write a story about something that happened in our lives. We then had to make a presentation on choices that we made throughout writing the story. I learned all that making choices is very important. I learned on making choices about the conflict, character, setting, etc. In my presentation, I focused on describing setting because  I think that I was the most successful at that. I also learned that you can have different types of characters. If I could do my presentation over again, I would give more detail. I want to give detail on everything I say, so to make sure that my audience will believe me. 

For our Unit 2 in science, we learned all about adaptations of animals and classifications. For our summative assessment, we had to create our own bird. We had to draw/ make this bird, describe the structural adaptations, describe the behavioral adaptations, put the bird in the correct classification and describe the environment. My bird is called ‘Sapientissima Fidelis’, also known as the ‘Green-eyed Tweeter’

The product (my drawn-out bird) has some strengths and of course weaknesses. Here is a list of some of these things. 

Strengths:

• Gives a visual representation of the bird I thought of
• Clearly shows the colours of this bird
• Shows my reader the type of claws, feet, legs and bill (beak) the bird has
• Clearly shows the environment the bird lives in

Weaknesses:

• Doesn’t show the length of the feathers
• Aren’t any arrows explaining what is what
• Isn’t a structure: it’s a drawing – more detailed of it was a structure

To make this bird, I had to go through a process. I believe that the work I did outside of class was very sufficient, because I was able to get a lot done. I finished most of the writing work at home. I did have some parts that I didn’t understand, so I asked those questions in class and then finished the writing. To be honest, I think that the first class we had to work on this I didn’t use my time efficiently. I believe I talked to much to my friends. I then realized that I had to do a lot of work at home, so all the other classes I used my time well. I think that overall I did use my time well because I got a lot of things done without having to stay up late, or not finish everything else. I also got a good mark on this, meaning I was able to be organized and not slack of.

If I were to start over, I would make my bird instead of draw it. This way, I would be able to experiment with paper mache, something I haven’t done before. I would also be able to be more detailed, using paint to create different colours and draw the environment instead of using a picture. 

Using the MYP Science Rubric, I would give myself a 6 because I think that I was able to successfully describe the structural adaptations, describe the behavioral adaptations, use the correct classification and describe the environment of my bird.