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Did we make It?

Posted by Jevon Price in English 1 - Giknis - X on

Throughout this project, I feel that I've out my best foot forward to produce an accurate and all around high quality work. When looking back, there are things that if I had the opportunity to do over again, I would change. Starting with my initial research, I'm very pleased with what I had done, and the information I found. Being that it was the first stage I think the facts I got were good, but not as good as they could have been since I eventually did want a more complete illustration of this topic. I wish that at the time I had not only focused on the negative side of Affirmative Action, and try to advocate for the other side. I did do this in blog post two but it took time out of the other things I could have been focusing on. Adding this entire viewpoint would have without a doubt made my first blog post better. Being that the topic is so broad, I did not get to cover everything in this blog post and there are still questions to be answered. I did very little looking into this, so I wanted to know why the advancement of Affirmative Action for the physical and mental disabled has been so slow. The miniscule amount that I do know about it states that much is being done unlike the significant gains for African Americans and most frequently women.

When it comes to my original research, I believe I did an even better job than in the first stage of the research. I think it went very well due to me developing both a new idea of Affirmative Action, as well as really understanding the pros and cons of the issue. I used my original research to get a more personal understanding of the topic, and try to stray away from the facts and statistics that I used in the first blog post. Because I had set two exact opposite stances in one blog and gave sufficient backup to support both sides basically trying to really make a reader decide which one was good proved to be successful in this blog. The only thing that I would do differently is explaining the Bakke vs. California case which was a big event that promoted Affirmative Action into the public light. It would have been great to add one of the founding reasonings for why this became such a big thing, and use aspects of the case to support the negatives of Affirmative Action side. This would have breathed new life into that argument, and could have made it better than the side opting for Affirmative Action.

Out of all three parts, the Agent of Change was probably the hardest. Because we had to fit a lot in such a small amount of time it was hard to find an option that would be good enough a bring awareness. It was difficult not only coming up with an idea, but carrying it through. Making my website was very hard due to me trying to get all of the information I needed, and making it look like a legit website that would look good to the public. I feel that I did what I intended because people are looking at it and that's all I asked for. For me the best contribution was to create something that would always be there and would inform people, educating them, and getting them both talking and thinking. It's the best I can ask for. Overall, I'm very satisfied with my work as a whole.

Emily Jenson Quarter 4 Art

Posted by Emily Jenson in Art - Senior Art - Hull - E on
Emily’s Q4 Art
​Quarter Four was my most creative Quarter. I really started experimenting with cardboard, cutting into it to see to insides. The closet door in the art room looks amazing, I love just staring at it. Every time someone asks the room or Ms. Hull who did that she points to me or I get to proudly say, " Me. " I've found that working with geometric shapes and triangles especially give me such a sense of calm. Aesthetically, it's extremely pleasing. i also worked on a sculpture of a shack which was awesome because I haven't worked in 3D since over the summer when I took a class at Tyler. The pot I made was one of the pieces that meant the most to make. It's for Ms. Echols, the ocean theme of the glaze is for her new adventures with oceanography. I hope she likes it. The last thing I worked on was the huge cardboard piece with Jenny Cruz. We're going to ask Mr. Lehmann if we can hang it up somewhere so people can add to it. I also added a few pieces that i've done over the past quarter, my personal favorites. I am going to miss this class more than anything. I've learned so much, I've broadened my artistic horizons. I'm beyond excited for college, and to come back and annoy Ms. Hull :-)

Quarter 4 Artwork

Posted by Kevin Courtney in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on
​Quarter #4 was a blast! I was able to create and do my own projects. I wanted to go back down memory lane and pick my favorite projects I did in the past. First two of the projects are from grade school and the other two are from high school. I wanted to express myself and show my creativity of why I like these projects. I knew in the past that I always wanted to redo these projects just for fun and this quarter was my opportunity to show it. My favorite piece of art work I did this quarter was the third one. That was the photo scene. I remember doing the photography piece back in the second quarter and that was one of my favorite projects. I wanted recreate that project by having myself in the photo a creating a photo that can tell a story. Literally the photo looks like I'm in a dark place and theres many things you can write about that. So that being said I feel proud of myself for that specific photo, and all the projects throughout the year. It felt great to start doing, making, and creating art once again! 

Tenzin Chemi Q4 Advanced Art

Posted by Tenzin Chemi in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on
In my first piece, I decided to recreate the Mona Lisa piece because I wanted go through my own experience to maybe see Leonardo Da Vinci's struggles in developing this prominent piece of art. The shading, drawing the hands and her face was the most challenging in my case. However, since my piece is not exactly the same as Da Vinci's, we might've had different challenges. My second piece was an abstract piece. Here I used paint to clash different colors and to make something that is totally up the the viewer's interpretation. In my third piece, I decided to do a still life drawing. I've always been interested in drawing these types of drawing so I thought why not create one. My last piece is a climate change collage. I wanted to make a collage on this specific topic because recently I've joined a program that focuses on climate change and the program has truly taught me to be aware and more curious about our environment. So as an artist I wanted to show my interest in it by creating that collage. 

Word Count and Reflection.

Posted by Zoe Khan in English 1 - Giknis - X on

This has been- eventful. Like a really terrible, cliche story of some kid trying to make a change, but failing before they even get the chance. This required thought and planning and ideas that I just didn’t have.

So I think we’ll start there.

I picked something difficult, maybe even too difficult for myself despite the fact I was apart of what I was trying to change. My research was spotty for the first post- I didn’t have a lot I could actually look into considering how small my topic was in the grand scheme of things.

I chose cosplay. Something some people don’t even know exists. But hey! Let’s just try to do an entire, huge project on it! That makes so much sense!

When it came time for the second task, the original research, I was- more in my element, I think. I had high hopes for this part of it because I knew I could get people on board for it. One survey and twenty five people later, I had a wide range of responses to a seven question survey about sexual harassment at conventions. After hours of sorting responses, I had a blog post of five hundred and seventy nine words that got my point across.

Then things fell apart.

Our final task was the agent of change.

Originally, I had planned to work with a group at Comic-Con, and volunteer for them, but after countless emails and the inability to actually find them at the convention, that plan failed and I had to start over. Next option: a video/public service announcement. I thought, “Hey, if I can get people to take this survey, maybe they’ll help with something else.”

I was wrong.

What was supposed to involve a dozen people in cosplay with signs about harassment ended in a failed project with only two broken responses.

Third time’s the charm, I guess.

Last resort: a hashtag on tumblr. Last minute, quick to the point, got the job done. Not that effective. Pointless, if you will, but the project was finished,.

So, for one last time, I wrote a post and stretched the truth on my agent of change. It could’ve been so much better if I had the chance.


I think I dug myself into a hole with this. I picked a topic no one cared about from the start, and failed to do much about that. I wish I would’ve picked something better- something I at least felt more passionate about because at the end of this project I’ve come to realize I don’t care about this topic as much as I thought I did. I probably would’ve tried harder if I did.

Now, while I finish writing the final post, I realize these writing times consisted of “How long and drawn out can I make a sentence so I can fill the word limit faster?” because I just didn’t care about what I was writing anymore.

The sad thing? The word limit for this one is three hundred.

This is word 510.

Q4 Advanced Art Presentation

Posted by Kadija Koita in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on
My Artist Statement:
During the 4th marking period, I decided to take a different approach. Some of my pieces were made from me, that I kind if had to feel in order to convey it in drawing. I also feel that I was trying to show that I could be versatile with a lot my work, because what others may think is art some may not. 
A lot of my methods and materials consisted of using lots of colors and paint. I also did a lot with stripes or lines, being as that I really never took that approach. Going off of this, I feel that it was something that I could say I`ve done before. 
I know that there are a lot of angels to being an artist, and I wanted to make sure I could show all of them. I knew that me just trying to do the same art projects, would show that I wasn`t diverse or trying to be creative, so I made sure to do a lot of different things. 

Well.......This is it.

Posted by Nathan Little in English 1 - Giknis - X on
​

Glows

While doing this project, I was able to do the things I know, can change/prevent and support. Each and every one of can make a change to support the topic I know and love and that’s #BLM. I love how we were able to organize this benchmark, it was amazing that I can do each assignment without hassling through at once, we can take our time and being able to complete it. I also like where we extended the time. One of the others things that were awesome was me working with others that had a similarity with our topics, sharing information we can put on our resources as well was outstanding.


Grows

Things that could’ve been better were the time to do this project, I know that it was time consuming but   I’ve had extra time that I didn’t use towards this and that was a waste of good opportunities. Others were starting the project too late, haven’t recently gotten to it until a week after. It was bad but I was able to counter it, if I would gotten right to it is to go around the neighborhood and get people’s feedback. Instead I’ve used a website for it and it turns out people are more sociable on social media than talking face to face, that is part of the reason I’ve created my own website and so many feedbacks i got were outstanding.


Research

I wish I’ve known that #BLM did a movement downtown Philadelphia on 15th street, Black Lives Matter I would know ahead of time and get into the action, it turns out this happened during our Bm., Hearing #BLM on the news and people talking made me inspired, I would want to know more how movements are like, what goals we show and why? Who are we representing and why there should be a change?


Original Research

I think it went great for me overall, I really have enjoyed this time of a Benchmark one of the best ones i’ve had so far. I would change the time and changing the website to touring around Philly.


Agent of Change

I had the impact i’ve hoped for because all of the feedback I’ve got from sponsors and people, who actually care, it was amazing. I’m really glad we did this Benchmark.



It's finally over

Posted by Nadya Negron in English 1 - Giknis - X on

The overall You and the World project was a great and new experience for me. I never have done a project like this before and as a whole it was semi-fun. At times the project became very stressful it felt like a mini-capstone but instead of a whole year we had one quarter. Considering that we had so little time I think I did an okay job on this project and there are many thing I could have done better, of course. But I am proud of myself and all the hard work,sweat, and tears I put into this project.

The Research part of this project was maybe one of my favorites. I found so many disgusting facts it was appalling. But I wish I could have dug a little deeper into other fast food restaurants. I mean I found out some stuff about Chic-fil-a chicken sandwiches but I wish I could’ve dug a little deeper into that. I also wish I could have really gotten into what is in Chipotle’s food. It looks like an okay place to eat but I really would like to know if it is for real. But that might have to be some individual research I’ll have to do and I’m fine with that.

The Original Research aspect of this project I wasn’t really a fan of. My results for my survey came out horribly. I think I should’ve asked better more centered questions that no one knows about. My blog post was terrible too because I think I could’ve did so much better I forgot the little/BIG things and it really frustrated me because I know I could’ve done better than what I did. But if there was a next time I would do something completely different for my Original research. I don’t know what but something better than what I did.

My agent of Change I am kind of iffy about. With the topic I chose for my project it was kind of hard to pick what I wanted to do for my Agent of Change because what can I actually change? No matter how many disgusting facts you tell people about what they are eating they might get disgusted but they are still going to eat it. I just wish for my Agent of change that I could’ve did something that made a bigger impact on people. Something that would have made them stop and really think about what they are eating. But I think I did an okay job on my Agent of change but like I always say I am my biggest critic so I’ll never think anything is good enough.

All in all I think my project went okay. I’m happy it is finally over. This project was one of the most stressful projects I ever had in my life. But I’m happy i stuck through it. Throughout all the pain and tears I think I had a successful project and I am semi-proud of myself.

Donesha Lee Q4 Art Portfolio

Posted by Donesha Lee in Art Advanced - Hull - a2 on

Artist Statement

This past year in Quarter Four art has been great. I have challenged myself constantly, producing artwork I could have never have said “I did”. During this last quarter, students were given the opportunity to produce pieces of ‘their” own choosing. I was so happy with what I created for my four pieces. One piece I put so much time into, I worked on it for a week, even on my free periods. The piece I named after the model “Noel”, was not only an accomplishment, but a great piece of artwork overall. It was crated using many of textures and sizes of papers and colors. It was the hardest piece of the collection I crafted. The second piece was the “Boo” character from “Monsters Inc.”. I was able to collaborate with another fellow artist for that, and it was truly fun to work with both the paint on a project an a good friend. The last two were pieces I felt connected to overall, thus my reason to try and replicate them. I had the exact same reaction and feeling when I first saw both and wanted to instantly recreate the drawings. All of my pieces of art, except for Boo all are “afrocentric” inspired. I really wanted to incorporate my heritage and culture in my pieces this time around. Since, I was given the chance, I went for it. So, I feel as though I portrayed all of them featuring a piece of myself within them. If that makes any sense? The overall process for my artwork was very persistent and challenging, although I loved every minute of it. I hope I can at least have an art elective in college because of my experience in art this year. 

Glows and Grows: Online Version

Posted by Zoe Chernowski in English 1 - Giknis - X on
The You and the World project this quarter left me with mixed feelings. I want to first start off with going over the research. Overall research was easy, but I wish I could’ve found more convincing material for youth instead of parents. I really would like to know more on the process of after a serious case happens with Online Predators. I think this would've been even more informing and could teach more individuals. 

As in terms of original research, I created a survey for students. I did this to find out how much our students actually know about Online predators. Most people in fact did not know the first signs. So this means children are being taught what the most noticeable signs are, but not necessarily the first red flags. If I could change this, I would probably do a field observation. I could make an account on a social media with a random name and friend people and see how much people friend me back without realizing who I really am. I think this idea was really cool and interesting, but I had no time to switch gears to that. 

I think the Agent of Change part was definitely an adventure for me. From having no idea what to do, to making a great presentation, to scheduling presentation dates, rescheduling. Overall it was challenging, but still felt like I made a difference, no matter how small. What I did was give a presentation that informed the youth of our class to stay safe on the internet. After all one person saved is another gained to spread the word. If I could’ve done this again, I would definitely done something a little more big. Maybe a presentation at a middle school or at TFI. As in terms of the project itself, I think we should be given more time to make an even bigger difference than what we did or wanted.

Bailey Britton Q4 Art Portfolio

Posted by Bailey Britton in Art Advanced - Hull - a2 on
The last quarter of 2 day art we got to pick our own projects to do. I loved that idea because I got to draw and paint almost whatever I wanted. My favorite piece was the drawing of the kitten because it was the easiest thing for me to draw and I think that one looks the best. I think art shows things words cannot. Drawings and paintings show expressions that words cannot describe, and that's why I like it so much.

Reflection on ELL Bullying

Posted by Jorin Gerveni in English 1 - Giknis - A on
​As you may know already from reading my Blog Posts #1, #2, #3, the topic for my You and the World project was ELL Bullying. For the research part of my project I introduced my topic, wrote about my connection with it and what the issue was. Something that really intrigued me was the statistics. There weren't a lot of number showing the bullying that happened in schools. It would've helped me a lot if I had some statistics in my research. 

For my original research I went over to my old school where I interviewed one of my old teachers. The interview was very interesting and we talked a lot about ELL Bullying experiences and the issues that are involved. We also talked about how to prevent/reduce this problem. Something that went great during my interview were the questions that were asked and the great responses that I received. It could've been better if I asked more questions, that way I could have more things to write about.

Finally, for my Agent of Change part, went back to my old school to give a presentation on ELL Bullying. After arranging a meeting, I prepared a 45-minute long presentation, which I am really proud of. The presentation was really great and everything was perfect. I had a couple activities planned and they worked out really well. About 35 people participated and the students were glad that I presented in front of them. One of the teachers said that some of the students look up to me because I was an ELL and I didn't let bullying stop me from achieving my goals. So, I think I definitely had the impact I hoped for. My Agent of Change could've been better if I presented to more people at SLA, not just D.N. Fell. 

Q4 Art Work

Posted by Tytianna Broadwater in Art - Senior Art - Hull - E on
This quarter in art was the most fun. I was able to show more of my creativity and my favorite kinds of art work. We were allowed to pick our own assignments but were required to spend 8 hours. I really enjoyed the paper mache because I haven't done it since I was young. That piece was also a collaboration with another classmate. 

It's Not Over Yet

Posted by Paul-Ann Whyte in English 1 - Giknis - X on

And now, Reflection Time with Paul-Ann Whyte. So we are just about finished with with this year and with this Agent of Change.  I think this is an appropriate time to go back and look at everything we have done and how it could have been different. Or maybe things that we actually did right. Let’s start all the way back from blog post numero uno.


Blog Post #1, the research. The research by far was my favorite part. My Agent of Change was trying to raise awareness for Mental Illnesses. I chose this topic because I have friends who have this mental illness yet it shames me when I have to ask them “What is that”, when they tell me what the name of the illness is. Also I have a mental illness and I am also in the learning phase of what exactly is wrong with me so this was a learning experience for the both of us. The research taught me things I had completely overlooked as well as new information. I wished that I had researched more about the common mental illnesses as well. That would have been interesting that instead of focusing on a select few mental illnesses I could have branched off.

Then we move on to Blog Post #2, the original research. Easily coming in second for the things that I enjoyed with this project. The original research I believe could have went so much better. It could have been better but it was not my least liked part of this entire project. I completely ignore Ms. Gikinis’s suggestion of surveying a larger selection of people so it was much harder for me to interpret and use the results as I would have liked to. I wish that i could go back and ask a different set of questions and then send it out to a larger group of people. Not just a select few. Other than that, this section ran pretty smoothly.


Now it is time for the dreaded Agent of Change. My least favorite part of this entire thing. I believed if things had went differently that I could have easily enjoyed this part of the project but this project as life would have it, the odds were not in my favor. My Agent of Change was a walk/run to raise Awareness for Mental Illnesses which was on Saturday, May 16, 2015. The Wednesday of that week I took sick and on Thursday I went into the hospital. As life would have it, I didn’t come out until Sunday and even then I was encouraged not to do any physical activities. So no big problem right? Just think of something new. Well then that week that I came out of the hospital, I went right back in. My schedule was thrown off track with that and in the end I was not able to do anything for my Agent of Change. I was disappointed in myself because I was looking forward to actually making a change and doing something that would influence my life and the life of others. So definitely not my favorite part at all.


In the end the Agent of Change problems just made me realize that I can’t end here. I have decided to try and use this as a starting point for my senior CapStone. I don’t want my last memory with this issue be a failure. I want to make a change and so I shall. This is not the end. Maybe I could have made a change if I had a longer time period but what’s longer than the entire school year?!

Growths and Glows

Posted by Lyle Seitz in English 1 - Giknis - A on

Over the course of this past month or so I have done a lot of research, and a lot of hard work trying to make the best You and the World project that I could. I have gone through the process of researching my topic on the internet, just trying to scrape the surface, I went through several interviews, in attempt to get a better understanding of my topic, and finally, got involved with the community, just trying to make some sort of difference in this vast issue. Overall I think that I did a pretty good job make some headway my topic, but in the end, I don’t think anything I could have done would have made much of a difference because the issue with immigration is much larger than it may appear, and it takes more than a ninth grader doing an English project to make a significant difference. However, this could send me in a new direction that can put me into opportunities that will allow me to make the change that needs to be made.

The research process was tougher than I had anticipated it to be. I kept being led in different directions, and kept digging deeper and deeper into this somewhat endless topic, and I think that there was still so much more to uncover. First off, I could have researched more into the immigration process itself, and added more about how these illegal immigrants live while knowing they are hiding behind the law. I would like to have learned more about what happens when someone is being threatened with deportation, and how they might handle the situation.

When going through the original research process I would have liked to get more perspectives from other people, and find out more first hand information from people who immigrated to the United States. Even though the interviews that I conducted went well, I would have liked to know more, and know what other people think about the issue because this is so broad and there are so many opinions that go along with it.

Finally in my agent of change portion of the project I felt like I could have done so much more, even though I know I couldn’t. The hardest part was trying to find an organization that would let me get involved, and to also find an organization that let me do something impact worthy. I feel that impact that I made was somewhat insignificant, though it might have had an impact on someone else, I didn’t feel like I did something great. I looked for an opportunity that would allow me to learn more about my issue, and help change the circumstances in some way, and I just feel that I didn’t quite complete it.

Q4 Artist's Portfolio

Posted by Heaven Mendez in Art Advanced - Hull - a2 on
​Sometimes, things aren’t going to go exactly as you planned, which is completely alright. You always have to have something else to fall back on. Even if what you create doesn’t match what you wanted to to from the beginning, that’s okay. Learning to love what you make is key, even if it isn’t what you expected. That’s what makes things unique, by exceeding expectations in a completely new way.

Never self doubt yourself. Sometimes the best things are created by accident.

Q4 Advanced Art

Posted by Gabrielle Smullen in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on
I thoroughly enjoyed Quarter 4 in Advanced Art. It was the most fun and the most free to express creativity. I got to explore my child side by doing crafts that I loved to do when I was younger and also trying knew things that I had a fun time doing. Art would probably be my favorite class if we got to do this every quarter. Buying supplies for this was so exciting because I knew that I was going to have a good time making these crafts. 

This quarter was very free will because we got to choose what we wanted to do and that is very rare in any class. You always get to show your personal creativity but it's always through someone curriculum. This was the total opposite and that's what made this quarter the best and most stress free. 

Quarter 4 Art Portfolio

Posted by Julien Sykes in Art Advanced - Hull - a1 on
I especially loved this quarter because we were able to choose our own pieces and mediums.  I felt that as an artist, you have to identify yourself in a fashion that is unique to you and describes you as an individual.  With this quarter, I was glad to be able to create my own path, my own lane as an artist.  With that, I chose a variety of projects to create this quarter so I could find my identity and progress with that idea.  Even though I did not choose a variety of mediums, I did choose a variety of art styles.  The reason for this is because I thought it was the best way to experiment.  An artist must venture out into the world of art in order to find themselves and their discipline.  In order to find that identity I mentioned before, one must find what works best for them and the only way to learn is to try it.

Glows and Grows

Posted by Laith Abuharthieh in English 1 - Giknis - A on

Glows and Grows


For my research portion of the you and the world project I researched the statistics of how many injuries per year does technology affect people. Some glows that I found were I found more research than I thought I would. Except that most of it was from two or more years ago. I wanted to learn more about if people are trying to find away to decrease the amount of technology being used.

For the original research portion of my you and the world pI did a field observation on a few of my friends. Over the period of an hour I took a few pictures of them and in each picture atleast one person was using technology. I thought it worked out well. I just wished I could've expanded my research and observated a larger group of people. The good thing about doing the field observation was my prediction was correct, during the whole hour everyone was using a form of technology.

Finally for the Agent of Change piece of the you and the world project I made a contest that whoever can go two days during school without using their phone would win. I don't think I made the impact I wanted to. After that I never really changed much. The real change occurred during the contest itself because Most people went out of their way to participate in my project which went well. Some of the glows were I finally had a winner and two of the contestants wouldn't use their phones at all while others lost almost within 5 minutes. That helped me a lot when it came to writing my blog post because I was able to explain the differences in what happened during my project/ contest. I am glad to have done this project in the end, it turned out to be successful!


Q4 Art Emalyn Bartholomew

Posted by Emalyn Bartholomew in Art - Senior Art - Hull - E on
This quarter I completed most of my projects on my own time. My favorite one that I completed was the bulletin board. I created this project from an old poster, painting the bulletin board and then spray painting around the outline of Philadelphia. I'm especially excited about this bulletin board because it's a reminder of both Philadelphia and my high school art class, and I can't wait to take it with me to Pittsburgh next year! I also love the silhouette. It's difficult to tell from the picture, but this is a life size portrait. It was pretty difficult to do, because I've never been very good at sketching and drawing, but I was so pleased with how it came out.  

Alexis Dean 4th Quarter Art

Posted by Alexis Dean in Art Advanced - Hull - a2 on
This quarter we had to pick our own adventure. We had to choose what projects we wanted to do. I chose to do a canvas painting as well as two drawings. These projects were the easiest way to express my creativity in the time frame that made sense with the rest of my schedule. This quarter I was faced with a lot of challenges in my personal life and that made it impossible to create more detailed art projects. I chose the canvas painting because I wanted to have something I could hang on my wall and be proud of. I chose the Disney drawing because I was leaving for my vacation and I chose the graduation piece because I wanted to capture one of the most important moments for us as seniors. I will take everything I learned over the last 4 years and use it to continue to boost my creativity. Art is something I enjoy doing on my free time and probably will continue to do to help relieve stress.