During May 6th to May 11th, 112 grade 7’s went to Chiang Mai, Thailand accompanied by 10 adults from our school. We were in the country part of Chiang Mai by the Burmese border. We stayed at a resort known as the Maekok River Village Resort during our stay in northern Thailand. During our 6 day stay, we did many activities, such as: jungle survival, kayaking in the Maekok River, visiting a local school, hiking, rock climbing, doing community and service by helping to build a canteen for the students, a challenge course, archery, mini olympics and a Thai cooking class. We were split up into 8 groups of 14 students and one or two teachers. I think the focus of the trip was to have an opportunity to see a different culture.

During the course of our trip to Chiang Mai provence, I felt like I have been open-minded and a communicator. 

I felt like I was open-minded because before the trip, in English class, we went over what the culture is like and how to greet people in Thai. While on the trip, I was being open-minded with the Thai culture by bowing our heads slowly and saying “sawatdee kaa” which means “hello” in Thai. For the Thai, the head is very sacred, so when we were playing “duck, duck, goose” with the children at the school, we tapped them on the back instead of on the head to respect them. 

Alongside being open-minded, I felt like I was a communicator as well. At the school, it was quite hard to communicate with the kids because they didn’t know much English and we didn’t know much Thai. So when giving instructions, we acted it out. My friend Sam and Henry and I drew with the kids as well when we visited the school. We used paper and pens we brought to donate. At one point, we drew an easy animal to recognize, we said the animal in English, and they repeated, then saying the animal in Thai, and we repeated it in Thai. It was a good way to communicate with them. Then, I would write my name in English and they would write their name in Thai.

The 12 activities we did were each different. On day 1(May 7th), in the morning, we had Jungle Survival. During jungle survival, we learned how to build a shelter, make chopsticks, a bowl, and a pot out of bamboo, and how to make a fire. 

In the afternoon, we had kayaking. I was partnered with my friend Sam to kayak with. We were always in the front of the pack because we both have kayaked many times before. At the end of kayaking we got to swim in the river which was a blast!

On day 2 (May 8th), we went to the local school to play with the students there. Most of the students were little (5-11 years old). We were in groups of 7 (we combined with another group) to play with the students. We started off by saying our names and then we would ask them their names. I really bonded with one of the students who was 6 years old name Thun (pronounced as “dune”). He was really cute and was a really good artist. We communicated through drawings and a bit of Thai and English.

In the afternoon, we hiked through the hill tribe village. The hike was around 3 kilometers long and we stopped at the village to take pictures. There was an amazing view from the hills. After the hike, we ended up at a Temple. We got to go inside and take pictures. 

On day 3 (May 9th), we had rock climbing! I’ve rock climbed many times before this. There were easier sections of the wall and harder sections. At first, we all started on the easy part of the wall. When I climbed it took me only 30-45 seconds to reach the top. I then decided to go blindfolded up the wall. That was a challenge, but I made it to the top. Then I decided to try the harder sections of the wall. It was really hard, but I made it to the top and at the end my lower arms were sore and shaking, but it was worth it!

In the afternoon, we had CAS (community and service) which was making bricks and painting the canteen at the local school. Our group came in 3rd overall for making the most bricks! We made 16 bricks, but one of them broke, so we made 15 that they could actually use!

The morning of Day 4 (May 10th) we had the challenge course/archery. First, we did archery. This was my first time doing archery and I did pretty well for my first time and got a bulls eye on my 4th shot. We played a few games that had to do with archery. Then we went to do the confidence course. It was really hard when we had to walk across the chains, but the rest was pretty easy. Out of the two times we got to do the course, I didn’t fall in either time. It was challenging, but a lot of fun! 

In the afternoon, we had a Thai cooking class! We first went to the market to buy the food we need and then we went back to the resort and to the cooking school and we cooked baked vegetables and green curry. Both were really good and the curry was quite spicy but I liked it. 

Overall, Experience Week was defiantly the best trip I have been on for school so far! I got to know people that I didn’t know well before this trip and I tried a bunch of new things such as food and building my confidence. I will hold on to a bunch of memories that I had during the trip for the rest of my life! I have learned a lot about myself and others on this trip and learned a lot of different things too!

Giving donations to the kids at the local school

At the local school!

Thai cooking class!

Rock climbing!

Evening games

Infront of the Buddha at a temple

Drawing with the kids at school

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The hill tribe village 

The temple

Going blindfolded up the rock climbing wall!

One of the other buddhas at the temple

These past weeks, we have been investigating the Kinetic Molecular Theory (KMT) and weither if the KMT is true or fraud. We have been split up into three groups for a court sessions on weither the KMT is true or not. The three groups are: For KMT, Against KMT, and neutral, which included bailiff, the jurors, etc. We have been preparing for the court case for weeks doing experiments, documenting what we found in process journals. We have done many experiments some proving the KMT true and some that questioned the KMT. 

I was placed into the Defending KMT group. I was quite happy because I knew that the KMT was true because why would our teacher teach us something that isn’t true? It was a matter of having a lot of evidence to prove the KMT true to the jury and the judge (our teacher). 

The jurors concluded that the KMT was true because of the lack of evidence from the prosecution. I agree with the jury’s decision that the KMT is NOT a fraud. We had pictures and videos from each experiment and had presented that to the Jury as well as graphs, tables, etc. 

My job was a Expert Witness defending KMT. I fulfilled my responsibilities by knowing about every experiment we conducted in class and other facts about the KMT. I didn’t use much of my knowledge though because I was not crossed examined, but I did when I presented some evidence to the court as well when I questioned the other team.

I actually was hoping to be a lawyer defending the KMT in the beginning because I knew what a lawyer did and it seemed like fun, but then I became a Expert Witness defending KMT and at first I had no idea what I was supposed to do or say! So, I research what an expert witness was and I found out it was kind of simular to a lawyer, but I still wanted to be a lawyer up until now! 

I have learned a lot about the KMT during the time we prepared for the court case. I learned about the other 3 states of matter: Solid, Fluid, Liquid, Bose-Einstein Condensate, Gas, and Plasma. I learned about how a solid becomes a liquid, liquid becomes a gas, gas becomes a solid, etc. 

I have improved as a scientist because now I know after the trial how important it is to do multiple trials and have evidence to support my findings or else my data will be unreliable. I have to record every trial in my workbook or on my computer and I need to be organized during the experiment and watch the experiment carefully and cautiously. 

It’s finished! Feel free to watch the video and comment!

7F Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple from Emerie S on Vimeo.

This past unit we have been learning about fractions and decimals.

I wasn’t too stressed in this unit because I am pretty confident with decimals. On a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being very easy and I didn’t learn anything and 5 being super hard and It was hard to follow. I would give myself a 3. I learned a lot but I already knew some things. 

I think dividing fractions and then having remainders was the most challenging because during the test I forgot how to do that and ended up getting it wrong. It’s something I need to review.

I didn’t practice much at home except for doing homework but I school I listened and paid full attention in class. I think that reflected my results quite well.

I really liked using the grids. I found that it is an easy and clear way for dividing, adding, subtracting, and multiplying.

A Hong Kong Heritage video coming April 2013.

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Recently in TAP class (Teacher Advisory Program), we have been talking about good and bad habits. 

I found that one of my good habits is being proactive. Meaning that I don’t blame other people for things I did. I know when I have done something wrong and I try to fix it.

One bad habit I happen to fall through is being Win-lose. Meaning that I always like to win and am very competitive. Which is very true. I get so competitive when it comes to a big meet or  big game, but I’m not competitive in PE. Why would you need to be anyways?

I really want to start being less Win-lose. I want to really stop being competitive with myself as I am at times. It’s not good for my health or anything. When I don’t get a good running time I was expecting to get, I get mad at myself and I really need to stop that. 

      Recently, we just ended a patterns unit in math class. We learned a lot about different types of patterns and how to predict the next numbers.

      The thing I liked most about this unit was learning new things about patterns and x and y things. I learned how to make an equation based on the pattern provided.

      What I liked least about the unit was trying to make the equation. Sometimes the equations were really clear but others you had to take a LONG time to thing over. I found that annoying.

      I think I leaned how to graph really well. I can now tell which variable I need to put in the X or Y position. You can tell by the patterns if the line on the graph is going to be straight or curved. I found graphing a very useful tool when finding patterns.

      The study of patterns is so important to learn and understand. When you are older and lets say you want to become a banker, then patterns is so useful when finding out the amount of money. In any job it’s important to know the pattern of the salary you are receiving.

Evidence of my learning 

     Recently, our grade has been working on a project where you can create your own species. We had to either draw our bird or make a 3D replica of our bird. We had to include structural and behavioral adaptations and what they are for. We had to choose an environment that our bird would be found in.

      I thought my bird and environment turned out quite well. I worked efficiently in each class in order to get the project done and handed in on time. I was happy with the final outcome of the project. (the 3D replica and my grade) I probably could have worked harder in class so I wasn’t rushing as much in the end.

      I finished things that I didn’t finish in school at home. I did things such as finishing up my structural and behavioral adaptations sheet and I got that done for next class.

      I think I used my time efficiently in class. I completed my “mini deadlines” I set for myself in class. I got everything finished by the end of class on the due date and got everything handed in on time.

      Overall, I think I used my time I had really well. I had everything completed that needed to be complete.

      If I could redo the project, I would have my bird better planned out. (the structure, how big it is, etc.) I should have made a list of how big everything would be so I could have been more organized.

      In Criterion C (knowledge and understanding), I would have gave myself a 5 or a 6. I have listed and explained at least 3 structural and behavioral adaptations that were relevant and presented in a clear manner. I had all the adaptations made especially for my bird to live in the arctic. 

My Bird

During this past unit, we all learned about the first emperor of China: Shi Huang Di.

I have learned many different skills during this unit. I have learned about working in a group and how you have to cooperate and collaborate with the members in your group. I learned how listening to other’s ideas are very important in a group. Using a variety of sources is also a key skill we continued to learn in this past unit.

I find working alone is better for me than working in a group. You really have to put a lot of trust in a person and count on them to do what they are expected to do. If one person doesn’t do what they were supposed to do, then it can bring your grade down. I find that if you get a bad group, and you did all the work, then those people get a good mark because of you, is really unfair. That’s a reason why I prefer working alone because you earn the mark you get. 

Click here to see the artifact

In math we are looking at algebraic patterns. I am looking at Human Ingenuity as the Area of Interaction because patterns are used everyday by everyone. You don’t just use them in math class, but you use it outside of school too. Like when you go shopping or when you save money. Patterns were originally created and developed by people, thats why the AOI is Human Ingenuity.