Final Portfolio

   

                This English class not been like anything I've had before or certainly like what I was expecting at the beginning of the year. But as the year went on I adapted and started understand why Mr. Neuf ran his class like he did, we learned to share ideas and think as a class but most importantly we learned not to give value to the letter grade we got on our report card but rather to develop ideas and learn as a class for ourselves.  This semester I learned a lot of valuable lessons. Some are traditional skills that you would learn in a normal English class, and some are technology skills, communication skills,  how to share and communicate my  opinions or views on something.  I also learned that sharing my ideas  or how I was going to approach a certain task with other people is okay, it's actually beneficial, there is always going to be someone who knows more than me on any given subject, so talking things out can expand my knowledge!  

For  the first category I do know that some can believe I have some trouble with this category because of social media, which is true I do enjoy a good tweeting spree like the next person but I always get my work posted on time. I have recently had some issues with edmodo but if you check all the time stamps on my blog posts you can see that I posted everything either the day it was due or before. In that aspect I feel am I am very responsible, the edmodo submissions are a bit complicated but you can refer to all the blog posts and the due dates and they all match up. I always took responsibility for my work, I was on vacation for the first week, when classes started and during my trip on my time I continued my work I finished the novel by myself and did the work as soon as I got back. I have a fairly good attendance, there is a few lates but they were all explained.  I always came to class prepared and ready to learn. I liked where I was seated mainly because me and Avery make a good team, we have similar ideas so that makes working together a lot easier. We always help each other and help each other grow not just as students but as people! I always behaved appropriately in class, I was never told to `` lower the volume `` and I always spoke respectfully to my teachers, peers , and online.  Considering my strengths and weaknesses I know I always was positive and tried to make everyone feel welcome and encouraged that was something I was very good at, I also handed everything in on time and to the very best of my ability. One of my main weaknesses was spending too much class time on other websites that were not necessarily blogger or edmodo.  Another big weakness that I have to work on is my grammar and spelling, I did most posts on my I phone and that made things like grammar, capitalization and spelling harder to control because of settings, and programs like auto correct. I have no missing assignments, so that another  strength I have.  Out of 33 I think I  deserve a 29 in this category. 

 In respect to the next category, I have selected 3 Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLOS)  that I will show evidence to support my description. Firstly I have selected the PLO A8 ``speak and listen to make personal responses to texts, by

– making connections with prior knowledge and experiences

– relating reactions and emotions to understanding of the text

– generating thoughtful questions

– making inferences

– explaining opinions using reasons and evidence``  

 I feel I did well in this category because each subsection represents what I did this year, I have completed all of the above. Below I will post some screenshots supporting why I believe I did well in the following categories. I always contributed to the group conversations, by adding small details I had looked up or had previously known. I do try to relate what I read to experiences I've had in past, or am currently dealing with, it helps me related to the article I'm reading and helps me understand where the character are coming from. I am very good at asking deep questions and generating meaningful questions, where that is to predict what's going to happen in the end, or why a character is doing something. I also am very good at  inferring what is going to happen in books and articles.

 The second PLO I chose isB2 read, both collaboratively and independently, to comprehend a variety of information and persuasive

texts with increasing complexity of ideas and form, such as         

– articles and reports

– biographies and autobiographies

– textbooks, magazines, and newspapers

– print and electronic reference material

– advertising and promotional material

– opinion-based material

– student-generated material

I really love to read, One of my favourite books is Breakfast at Tiffany's. I books are good, but I adore a good issue of vogue. One of my favourite things to do is check Perez Hilton`s blog. It's a celebrity gossip blog but I love reading it!

Another interesting thing I like to do is check my classmates blogs to see what they like and how they write and compare and see how I can improve my writing. The third PLO I chose was C6 select, adapt, and apply a range of drafting and composing strategies while writing and representing,

including

– using a variety of sources to collect ideas and information

– generating text

– organizing and synthesizing ideas and information

– analysing writing samples or models

– creating and consulting criteria

I do this a lot privately when I prepare  my writing, I  try to organize my information and decide how I'm going to use it and lay it out. I usually try to look at other examples to see how I want to structure my work. Visiting websites that have used certain writing techniques helps me a lot for example if I want to write a short story or poem  I will usually read one before to get an idea of what I'm striving for. There are many more PLOS but those are the three I picked to describe my learning this year. In section 2 I overall think I deserve a 29 out of 33.

For the third category,  I really do believe I did well in this section because I would always try to help my peer, table mates and people around me improve, it did not have to be on a huge scale but all the little things matter! One example of how I edited my work after some comments my teacher made was when we had to write the post explaining what love was, and we had teamed up with a partner and Mr. Neuf read Avery`s first and commented on what we had to improve on and before he even go to mine I had already made all those changes! I'm very good at sharing my ideas on line especially when we are having a conversation on edmodo. A few times some of my comments got other students to look at our main point differently and therefore understand our task more clearly. I have commented to inform my peers on something they could improve on from my point of few in their comments below their post. I am 100 percent super supportive of other peoples opinion and have never had any issues listening and talking about what I believe is right and if I'm wrong I have no problem admitting it.  This was a great skill to have for example when in class we had to say what we were think the conclusion to the novel was. I will stick by my opinion (unless proven wrong)  but I will not discard anyone else's! When it comes to research I always participated in the group discussions and shared all the information I had looked up and knew from previous experiences.  I think I did my small part to make our English class a successful one! Out of 33 in this category I  give myself a 31. 

Overall this year has been filled with fun experiences and I've had a great time, made new friends and learned a lot more than I would have in a traditional English class. I am grateful for the friends I've made, and things I've learned over the months. Though I am sad its over all good things must come to an end. Adding all the marks up from each pillar it comes to a total of 89. 29  in the first category, 28 in the second, 31 in the third and that one percent for putting up with Neuf that wasn't really a challenge because he is a super cool guy! 

Short Story

       Complicated Love 

          There they met, on the playground in grade four. Oh young Andrew and Victoria. Little did they know that they would have such a complicated future. They were each other's first loves, no one could deny it. They became best friends, the lived near each other, they were in the same class, spent every recess every lunch together. They were basically inseparable. Over the years they faced many obstacles and even though there were so many ups and downs they managed to stay friends. In grade five Andrew went back to Colombia, where he was originally from. That's something they had in common they were both Colombians, that lived in Canada well until Andrew had to leave. It was so hard on both of them. They would write to message each other through Facebook or Skype it was very difficult but they managed to stay in contact. After a few years when they were both in grade eight Andrew moves back to Canada, but not necessary close to where Victoria still lived she lived in Vancouver, he now lived in Ottawa. It was an improvement but not necessarily a solution to their problems.  They are still 2,991 miles away from each other.

  As time went by they made plans to see each other in the near future. But there was always something in their way. Only about a year after he was living in Ottawa for family reasons Andrew and his family had to move back to Colombia. This was hard on both of them, they couldn't be with each other. After many times of failing they stopped believing the idea that one day they would be close enough to spend time with each other a lot more frequently and outside of a computer screen. 

If there was a small remote chance they would ever see each other they thought it have to be after high school for sure. But they still talked and they always knew deep down there would always be feelings for the other person. They knew nothing could blow out that spark they always had within each other. 

Finally when they were in grade ten after five years of not seeing each other, they saw each other again. Andrew and his family decided to move to Vancouver Island and Victoria lived in Surrey so they could finally see each other. One night Andrew messages his best friend Maggie and he tells her that he's moving back to British Columbia! She was so excited for him, she was his best friend, in a different way that Victoria was. They had all been friends since elementary school so seeing each other was going to be amazing! On December 17th he arrived, and with the help of Victoria's mom Carol, Victoria , Maggie and Carol headed to the airport to pick Andrew and his family up. When they saw each other again it's like the room stopped moving everything and everyone froze. They hugged and hugged. They could not stop smiling the whole night.  

After that night he headed to the island to start his new life there with  his family, each month he would come for one weekend and during that time all three of them would spend time together. One weekend that he came Victoria poured her heart out to him, she had recently broken up with her boyfriend Benjamin and she felt it was time to let all those emotions out, all thought he always said he would always love her something was different he didn't feel the same anymore. He told her it was not worth it because they would only see each other once a month and it would be too complicated and it would not last and then once they broke up that would ruin their friendship so he did not want to risk it. That broke her heart she was not expecting that. So three days later she got back together with Benjamin but only for about a week or so because she knew no one could compare to Andrew.  

As time went on she tried to forget, and although she will always love him she was not going to let him have her heart forever. Months went by and she met this guy named Nigel. After a few weeks they had developed feelings for each other. Nigel was not ready for a relationship at the moment but Victoria said she would wait for him. During that time that Nigel and Victoria started liking each other Andrew had rekindled an old friendship that later turned to more serious feelings. He started dating a girl named Lara that Maggie and Victoria did not like but they decided to not say too much about the new relationship because they were sure it was not going to last. 

As the years went by Andrew and Lara were still together and so were Victoria and Nigel. They had all graduated high school and where in their first years of college when Maggie and Andrew get an invitation in the mail to Victoria and Nigel's wedding. The invitation said " WE ARE GETTING MARRIED AND REQUEST YOUR PRESENCE " the wedding was on July 25 th 2021 at 3 o'clock . They were REALLY getting married. Andrew could not believe it, although he was happy with Lara he always thought she would wait for him, she said she would always have feelings for him. She said she would always love him.  Of course Maggie was extremely happy about the wedding, her best friend was getting married! She helped Victoria with all the wedding planning, and was with her every step of the way. 

Finally the big day was here and Victoria was getting married to her high school sweetheart Nigel. It was at the local country club and there where over 300 people at the reception,  Very deep down she knew she still felt a tiny spark for Andrew but remembered how she felt when he broke her heart and decided to go through with the marriage. When it was time to walk down the aisle she was ready and confident and extremely happy she was going to marry Nigel. Andrew arrived with Lara to the wedding and took their seats. They were sitting beside Maggie and her boyfriend of over two years Mathew. Victoria started walking down the aisle and got up to where Nigel was and held hands with as the father talked. When the father said " is there anyone who opposes to this marriage? speak now or forever hold your peace" Maggie gave Andrew a look hoping that he would stand up and say something but he didn't. After the ceremony Maggie asked him why didn't you say anything? he said  "because there's no point in hurting her anymore she's happy with Nigel she deserves to be happy". When Andrew heard her say " I do " a little piece of him died inside, He felt a little emptier. And at that moment he realized he did love her. Victoria was the love of his life but now, now it was too late. 

A few months after the wedding Andrew proposed to Lara and Maggie and Matthew had been engaged for a few weeks now. Everyone was "happy" or so they made it look like anyways. Years passed and they had all graduated college, Started families but one cold December night Victoria and Andrew run into each other at the airport and it happened to be exactly December 17th.The day Andrew came back to Canada from Colombia. They felt that spark again, they felt that connection once again. And from that moment on they decided to run away together they bought two tickets to Bali, Indonesia and they called their spouses and told them their marriages were over and since they're children where all of legal age now they didn't have to worry about that, It only took 57 years but in the end Andrew and Victoria ended up together. They started their love on a cold rusty playground and now they're  starting it again on the beautiful beaches of Bali. 

Short story elements

Major Elements of Short Story:
1) Plot 
-introduction : Is a man on vacation, relaxing by the pool in his hotel in Jamaica.
-conflict : There are both types of conflict in this short story. There is man vs man. Man vs man is when the sailor literally goes against Carlos. But also it is man vs himself because the sailor has to think a lot to himself and see if losing his left pinky is really worth possibly winning a cadillac.   
-rising action : This is when the sailor first hears the south american  mans proposal and is ridiculed by it. 
-climax : The climax is at the point where the american sailor is with his hand on the table and starts lighting the lighter and starts counting to ten. 
-falling action : Is when the lady bursts into the room and pushes Carlos into the bedroom. 
-denouement : Is when the lady comes in to the room and stops carlos from continuing the bet with the sailor  then grabs the keys to the cadillac and at that moment everyone sees she was missing most of her fingers.
2) Characters
- protagonist : The protagonist is the american sailor because he is facing the antagonist,  who is  the man from south america.
- antagonist : Carlos ( The south american man ) is the antagonist because he is going against the sailor and because he was the one who made the bet in the first place. 
-static : The only static character is the young British girl, that the sailor was with at the pool. She gave her opinion on the bet and said it was stupid so she never really changed. 
-round : A complex character that changes a lot during the story would be the American sailor. Because he at first comes off as this cool, calm and not scared at all when the man explains the details of the bet, but as the night goes on he starts drinking martinis too take the edge off the nerves, because he is so scared and nervous and actually going through with the bet. 
- flat : The flat character in this short story is the narrator, the readers never knew his name or any background information but he did not do much other than give his opinion on the bet and he pretty much stayed the same throughout the story.
- stock character : The only stereotype like character would be Carlos because at first you see him in a fine white suit, smoking a cigar so you'd think he is a man full of class and very wealthy. But in the end you realize he is a poor disturbing man. 
- dynamic: Same as  the round character.
3) Setting : The setting of the story is in a hotel in Jamaica. During the evening.
-time : At the beginning of the story it says it was almost 6 o'clock so late afternoon, early evening.
- place : The place is in the hotel, first on the pool deck, then in the South American mans room.
4) Theme : The theme of this short story is suspense because, it is the right balance because it is not scary but it is also not a happy comedy. There is suspense that has been built up by the tension and the creepiness of the whole story.
5) Point of View
-first person : The narrator is the one who tells the story, he is the man we first read about. He is narrating the story through his eyes. 
-third person : There  is no third person point of view in this story.
6) Foreshadowing: The lines in the story that show foreshadowing are when the narrator says : " I must say I didn't much like the way he was behaving. It seemed he was already trying to make something out of this, and to embarrass the boy, and at the same time I had the feeling he was relishing a private little secret all his own."

Walking a Mile

           Walking a mile in someone else's shoes really does change how you feel about someone and helps you understand where the other person is coming from. It's true, we all judge everyone  and everything before we get to know them we are only human. At first when we see someone wearing clothes from last season, or that look like they're from 2002 we think " Uhm doesn't she realize those clothes are ugly and totally out of style? She looks like she came straight out of the 2000's. She's about 10 years behind in fashion LOL much? " Those are some of the thoughts that run through our heads, well at least in mine anyways. And yes, maybe that girls outfit is as old as a fifth grader but maybe she really loves it? Because her mother passed away and that was her mom favourite outfit?  Or maybe her family is going through a hard time economically and can't update their closets every season like you and I can. So if you're family was going through the same thing would you make those comments? No you wouldn't. Before we judge someone we should get to know them and then try to understand why she's wearing boot cut jeans with a bright pink tube top and turquoise eye shadow up to her eyebrows.

This happens every day of our lives, from the people we go to school with to the shows we watch to the books we read, even inside our own homes. For example in the worldly famous play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Mercutio was a wild party hard type of guy who was Romeo's best friend. Who is always looking to get down and dirty into a flight, he is willing to fight anyone basically. Mercutio is always giving Romeo a hard time because he's not like him, Romeo has feelings and writes poetry and sits by the ocean to hear the waves crash on the ocean while Mercutio is off at some grand party being the life of the party who is probably high on Ecstasy. Or he's the guy you'd want as back up if you ever got in a fight. While Romeo like I said was quite the opposite so Mercutio was always giving him a hard time for that and would try to get him to change to be more of a ''man'' and actually fight and be like the rest of their friends. But one day Romeo stopped being the soft romantic guy who writes poetry, one day he changed completely he went from 0 to 100. That day was the day the fight started between him and Tybalt. That day during that fight he had begged Tybalt not to fight and just to walk away. " I  do protest I never injured thee,
But love thee better than thou canst devise,
Till thou shalt know the reason of my love.
And so, good Capulet—which name I tender
As dearly as my own—be satisfied. "  Then Mercutio stepped in and asked Tybalt to fight him instead, Tybalt confused said "What wouldst thou have with me?" So after that Mercutio made him angry and then they were fighting when Romeo then steeped in and tried to break up the fight in a way, after all the swords and moving around Tybalt stabs Mercutio and as he is bleeding out to death he says a few lines that really make  him understand why Prince Escalus wanted the fight to end, and now Mercutio in his final minutes really understood where the prince was coming from and why he wanted the hatred between the two families to stop.

Another example from a book I have read is from the book by Mark Haddon '' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' Is how Mrs. Boone, Christopher's mother felt like she had had walked a mile in Mr. Boones shoes he was always the one who had been taking care of him for years now, he was the one who would be with him, cook for him, talk to him , live with him, go pick him up at a police station in the middle of the night. Mr. Boone was the one who did that, while Mrs. Boone was off in London living out her days, having the time of her life. When she had to do all of that for Christopher because he came to her due to the fact that he felt he could no longer trust his father that really made Mrs, Boone realize how hard it is to raise an autistic child and how much work his father had been doing. That in my eyes made her really appreciate the care and patience he had for Christopher. She knew it was hard, but she never imagined it would be that hard. Back to the main point she walked a very short mile in Mr. Boone's shoes and that changed her whole perspective.

An example that's very personal and I'm sure other people have felt this way or will feel this way before. The feeling when you first meet someone and they come off really rude and just not like a good person but as you got to know them you realize they are not that bad after all? Well that happened to me with the person who is now my best friend. Her name is Kim. I met her at my friend Maria's party last January. Since Maria and Kim have the same birthday they decided to have a party together, I was really close with Maria at the time so I obviously went to the party. That night we were having a good time, dancing around, talking selfies overall just a fun night. As the night went on
I realized that Kim was avoiding me, and she just came off really '' strong'' and just not the warm loving person I was expecting. I started to think to myself " Ugh she is so rude " " Why does anyone even like her?" '' She's a total b***h" By the end of the night we exchanged phone numbers. She had asked me for mine and I did not want to be rude so I gave it to her. A few days later I talk to Maria about the party and start asking her about Kim. I asked her questions like " Is she always like that? " " She seemed pretty rude, I don't know I didn't like her " As I started talking with Maria, she told me that she was like that with strangers well because she had been raised by a single mother, and all her life because of her father walking out on them she has had a hard time letting people in and trusting people. So when you first meet her she does seem cold and just not nice but once you get to know her she is a loving person. So I started to think, if something like that had happened to me I would not let people in because of the fear of them abandoning me. It all made sense, she didn't know me so she clearly didn't know what type of person I am, and if she could trust me or not. I actually understood why her behavior was how it was. Now just over a year later she is one of my best friends and is like an older sister to me.