Exhibition - Winter 2015
For our 10th Grade Exhibition, my team put on a series of shortened scenes from a Shakespeare play we performed during the previous week, transformed the Chemistry classroom into a nuclear wasteland, invited visitors to play our probability games in math, and created food-related pieces in Art. There may not have been a cohesive theme between the work in each class, but each project was unique in its own way.
I am most proud of the work I accomplished in art for the "Food for Thought" project. While I was really happy with myself after I devoted a lot of time to memorizing my lines for the Shakespeare play, my art piece surprised me more than project I have ever done during my time at High Tech has. When we received the project description, I was a little concerned about my sketching abilities. I struggled during the sketching exercises unit, and I was unhappy with the progress I was making in that area. However, once I discovered a darker pencil to blend with the lighter tones, everything started to click for me. It was as if I had just solved a really complicated puzzle that I had no idea how to put together at first. In the end, I couldn't be more satisfied with my final product, and all of my hard work was displayed on Exhibition night. You will be able to see my art piece in its final state before it was hung up in the classroom to the right. |
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If we had more time, I think I would have made my code for math a little more complex. My partner and I created the program from scratch, but the only challenge that the user was faced with during the game was that of choosing the incorrect arrow needed to advance. We spent quite a few weeks planning out our code and what it was going to look like, so we knew exactly what we wanted to do. Unfortunately, we might have had everything too planned out. If we would have had a looser concept surrounding our program, we could have taken more risks, and therefore our game could have been more detailed. Nevertheless, I am still happy with what we were able to accomplish within the guidelines of the project, and I have very few regrets about our process.
While preparing for Exhibition, I took on a variety of roles in each class, but I have detailed my responsibilities below:
Art: The "Food for Thought" project was an individual assignment, and I worked diligently to create a piece that reflected my understanding of both sketching and observational techniques. I was able to finish all of my work on time, and really developed my skills used in my pencil drawings. I was also very thoughtful with each one of my artistic choices, and I spent a lot of time trying to perfect my work, including the creation of a watercolor background.
Chemistry: For the Flash Fiction project we did, I made sure that my story was both engaging and grammatically correct, and I put a tremendous amount of effort into crafting the plot line. During the Exhibition preparation time, I volunteered to be a team leader as part of Mr. Ruppel's group of eleven students, and I was in charge of both the Promotional and Sales groups. I made sure that everyone in my Promotional group was creating a poster for Exhibition, and checked in with them a few times every day. For the Sales group, I helped to put together a list of materials needed for the night of Exhibition, and formulated signage for the Sales booth. In addition, I took on the task of jotting down payment information for visitors that purchased anything on Exhibition night, and recorded that information on a spreadsheet.
Humanities: During the Humanities portion of Exhibition, I took part in two out of the four scenes as the characters of Titus Andronicus and the Football Announcer. After my second performance, I moderated the talkback, where the actors answered questions from the audience members regarding the play process. Before our big performance at the San Marcos Civic Center the previous Thursday, I dedicated hours upon hours to memorizing my lines, and making sure that I was putting myself in a position to succeed on stage. Since I had two larger roles, I really had to be on top of my responsibilities, and I had to know what I was going to do when the spotlight flashed in my direction.
Math: For the Programming & Probability Project in Math, my partner and I planned out and put together a game on Scratch, a site related to StarLogo Nova, which was the software we used for the assignment. Up until the night of Exhibition, we tested our game over and over again to make sure that we did not come across any errors in the code, or "glitches". Thankfully, our game was very smooth on the big night, and all of our hard work and preparation paid off. This included writing up paragraphs on how our game would run, collaborating with each other on ideas for different levels, and asking peers for critique.
Regarding next year's Exhibition, I would like to think about how I will present my work. I am great at making sure I'm prepared for visitors' questions and how to explain myself, but sometimes I struggle to properly explain the project involved with the display. For example, when a visitor asked me about the Programming & Probability unit for Math, I kind of stumbled when I tried to elaborate on the purpose of the project. If I were to come up with a game plan for how I could address visitors on Exhibition night, I would therefore come across as being more confident in the work that I did.
When preparing for this year's All-School Exhibition, I think I used the Habit of Heart of self-advocacy the most. From memorizing large chunks of lines for a play to properly assigning roles to my Chemistry group to doing my part in creating the Math code, I managed all of my responsibilities in a professional manner. I did not wait for someone to tell me what to do. I sought help and critique when I needed it. I did not complain about the amount of work I needed to finish before Exhibition night. Instead, I used all of my time wisely, and overcame all obstacles that I faced before the big night. A significant example of this trait was during the Food for Thought Project. I had a lot of room to grow after my disappointing sketches for the observational drawing exercises, but I did not fuss about my weaknesses in that area. I talked to Ms. Bowen about what I could do to make sure that my project reached its full potential, and I talked to classmates about what they would have done if they were in my shoes. I did not make excuses about how I did not have any natural artistic talents. I've done that in the past, and I've found that it has gotten me nowhere. By standing up and taking initiative for my learning, I truly believe a change of attitude and desire to work harder helped me to find success.
While preparing for Exhibition, I took on a variety of roles in each class, but I have detailed my responsibilities below:
Art: The "Food for Thought" project was an individual assignment, and I worked diligently to create a piece that reflected my understanding of both sketching and observational techniques. I was able to finish all of my work on time, and really developed my skills used in my pencil drawings. I was also very thoughtful with each one of my artistic choices, and I spent a lot of time trying to perfect my work, including the creation of a watercolor background.
Chemistry: For the Flash Fiction project we did, I made sure that my story was both engaging and grammatically correct, and I put a tremendous amount of effort into crafting the plot line. During the Exhibition preparation time, I volunteered to be a team leader as part of Mr. Ruppel's group of eleven students, and I was in charge of both the Promotional and Sales groups. I made sure that everyone in my Promotional group was creating a poster for Exhibition, and checked in with them a few times every day. For the Sales group, I helped to put together a list of materials needed for the night of Exhibition, and formulated signage for the Sales booth. In addition, I took on the task of jotting down payment information for visitors that purchased anything on Exhibition night, and recorded that information on a spreadsheet.
Humanities: During the Humanities portion of Exhibition, I took part in two out of the four scenes as the characters of Titus Andronicus and the Football Announcer. After my second performance, I moderated the talkback, where the actors answered questions from the audience members regarding the play process. Before our big performance at the San Marcos Civic Center the previous Thursday, I dedicated hours upon hours to memorizing my lines, and making sure that I was putting myself in a position to succeed on stage. Since I had two larger roles, I really had to be on top of my responsibilities, and I had to know what I was going to do when the spotlight flashed in my direction.
Math: For the Programming & Probability Project in Math, my partner and I planned out and put together a game on Scratch, a site related to StarLogo Nova, which was the software we used for the assignment. Up until the night of Exhibition, we tested our game over and over again to make sure that we did not come across any errors in the code, or "glitches". Thankfully, our game was very smooth on the big night, and all of our hard work and preparation paid off. This included writing up paragraphs on how our game would run, collaborating with each other on ideas for different levels, and asking peers for critique.
Regarding next year's Exhibition, I would like to think about how I will present my work. I am great at making sure I'm prepared for visitors' questions and how to explain myself, but sometimes I struggle to properly explain the project involved with the display. For example, when a visitor asked me about the Programming & Probability unit for Math, I kind of stumbled when I tried to elaborate on the purpose of the project. If I were to come up with a game plan for how I could address visitors on Exhibition night, I would therefore come across as being more confident in the work that I did.
When preparing for this year's All-School Exhibition, I think I used the Habit of Heart of self-advocacy the most. From memorizing large chunks of lines for a play to properly assigning roles to my Chemistry group to doing my part in creating the Math code, I managed all of my responsibilities in a professional manner. I did not wait for someone to tell me what to do. I sought help and critique when I needed it. I did not complain about the amount of work I needed to finish before Exhibition night. Instead, I used all of my time wisely, and overcame all obstacles that I faced before the big night. A significant example of this trait was during the Food for Thought Project. I had a lot of room to grow after my disappointing sketches for the observational drawing exercises, but I did not fuss about my weaknesses in that area. I talked to Ms. Bowen about what I could do to make sure that my project reached its full potential, and I talked to classmates about what they would have done if they were in my shoes. I did not make excuses about how I did not have any natural artistic talents. I've done that in the past, and I've found that it has gotten me nowhere. By standing up and taking initiative for my learning, I truly believe a change of attitude and desire to work harder helped me to find success.