雖然我是在國際學校學習和長大的，但是從小到大我都被收到中國飲食文化的影響。在日常中，我也會跟我的父母一起去西餐廳吃飯，也會去中餐所以我都很熟悉中西的飲食文化。還有，我是從一個非常傳統的中國家庭長大的，所以對我來說，中國的講究也非常重要的。另外，無論我將來是在美國讀書校或者在住，我一定要知道中西方的飲食講究。

首先我會談談中西方烹飪的差別。中國文化跟西方文化在烹飪方面有好大的差別。中國人是用四種烹飪方法去煮菜：煎，煮， 炒和蒸。 比方說，白切雞，他們是用蒸的方法去煮的。這樣白切雞不但十分好吃，而非常香。另外，西方的人烹飪的方法比較簡單點，烹飪時他們會煎食物，燒烤或者食物上配合不同的沙拉。比方說煮牛排，西方人會用煎的方法去煮牛排的，他們會用比較簡單的方法去煮菜。這樣會把食物又好吃，又簡單。

人們會說 “天人合一”就表達中國人烹飪的方法，意思是說中國人煮菜時，他們會用香和味道去吃做食物。另外人們會說西方人 “以人為本” ，這表達這就代表他們煮菜的時候會用一些簡單的方法去煮菜。

先在我會談談，中西方的飲食相同。中西方都很注意他們的客人，所以客人來的時候，他們一定要把最漂亮餐具拿出來，這是因為他們非常尊重他們的客人，要給他們最好的。除了者意外，中西方都很尊重吃飯的禮貌，比方說吃的時候要說，往往會說 慢慢吃，或吃多點，這就是中西方的飲食相同。

總結，無論我將來在哪裏住或者在哪裏讀書，我也一定會記得我從小到大都是在個非纏傳統的中國家庭長大，我的父母也教我中國不同的飲食講究。所以無論我去哪裡，我也會記得中和西方的講究。

Written Reflection:

2) Explain who your design is for. Who makes up the particular community? (You may have to do some research or think back to Ms. Chan’s talk) 

Our design is for refugees and  new migrators who don’t have a home yet and they need a place to stay. When we talk about refugees we mean like people who come from other countries and they come here because they need a place to stay and they don’t have a lot to afford for themselves. In our community, we welcome a wide variety of people who migrate from other countries. For example, Africa, Nepal etc. The purpose of this place is to provide free facilities for the new migrators who don’t have the money to afford a living.Therefore, we made a model of a community center that we plan to make.

3) Explain what your design is inspired by. What ideas and inspirations helped shape your design? Use specific examples from your model to share.

We planned to make an apartment building with lots of unique features.  For example, we made a triangular pyramid glass balcony because we wanted it to be environmentally friendly. With a glass top, the refugees will get natural sunlight and as you can see above, the sunlight is going through the glass and people inside will feel warmth and heat.Lots of things inspired me but, I got the glass top idea by looking at different architectural buildings and balconies and because I wanted to create an “environmentally friendly” atmosphere. Another example is that we have a swimming pool. We did this because we want our community center to have free facilities and a green space to enjoy the mountains and the freedom.

4) Explain where you envision your design to be located (in Hong Kong) AND how that shaped your building design (Think back to Mr. Leung’s talk)

When we first planned the model, we chose Yuen Long to be the location. This is because there aren’t lots of high city buildings and there is more scenery. We think that our community center should be in a place where the refugees and migrates should have the feeling of “relaxation” and “freedom”. Therefore, we provided lots of facilities, including swimming pools, a playground and lots of grass  so it would show this kind of environment.

5) Explain why your building is relevant. What needs are you meeting and how are you doing that?

As mentioned before, our community center is to provide lots of different facilities to migrators who come to HK. We have a swimming pool, a place to rest on the grass, benches, a glass roof to see the view and some basic needs like a medical room, a TV area, and a place for education on the first floor. When some of the refugees come to HK, they might not have the rights to these basic facilities, therefore, we provided these facilities and we hope to keep the theme of “environmentally friendly”.

6) How are you addressing the need of beauty in your design? (How is your design contributing to making life more beautiful?)

I would say our building has addressed the idea of “beauty” because of several reasons. First of all, the location. Yuen Long is a place which is far from the city but there are some really beautiful scenery and a breathtaking view with mountains behind and in some places, you could even find farm animals. I think location is a really important element because this determines the entire mood and the entire atmosphere. Once again, our community center theme is being environmentally friendly, therefore, we made glass on the sides and the top roof so that there is natural energy. Next, we have lots of trees and green grass and this is beauty because nature itself is the beauty. Lastly, we provided a unique community center compared to other buildings because we wanted to make our community center outstanding and unique compared to other buildings in Yuen Long.

7) What design element are your most proud of?

I’m really satisfied with the model overall because we have developed the “environmentally friendly” building and a unique building. However, I’m most proud of the glass roof because it really allows natural sunlight to enter the building and it’s designed in a unique way. Normally, you would rarely see a glass rooftop in any places of HK. However, in our model, we wanted to make it outstanding and more unique compared to other community centers, therefore, we build a glass rooftop and this is one of the design elements that my partner and I are most proud of.

8) What design element needs further refinement and improvement?

I think that if we have more time to work on our model, I think developing the appearance of the building should be something that we should improve on. I think my partner and I did a really good job in creating the model. However, maybe we could add some more levels and maybe we could even paint the building so it would be more attractive. Another improvement is to fix the gate because it looks quite short right now and I think we could make it higher and firmer.

9) In your opinion, how important is architecture? Provide a definition of architecture and explain its relevance in your life and in our society.

I believe that architecture is very important because it’s the leading point to help both the world and economics to improve and to be better and the place we are living in right now. Architecture started from a long long time ago and till now, we continue to progress and we try to create different forms and shapes of buildings which could attract tourist to come visit this unique place. I would say architecture is a roller coaster. This is because it has been through many stages in its process where there are some things that have succeeded, lots and lots of new discoveries and failures that architects learn from. Architecture is almost everywhere and if you live in the city, architecture is everywhere. The places we sleep, eat, hangout with friends, shop, swim, play sport all need architecture and it’s just the matter of fact if that architecture’s apperance is different from others and how well it shows “beauty”. The architecture could show beauty by many different ways, the apperence, the location the facilities etc. Overall, I think that architecture is something extremely important and now to improve, architectures should think of better ways to build their buildings in a more environmentally friendly way and try to use more renewable energy.

What study strategy worked best for you? 

I think that this test helped me a lot in terms of confident and trusting yourself. I think this is mainly because of the study strategies that helped me. Through these 4 summative, there were lots of trial and error to see which study strategy helped me the most. One really helpful strategy is to relax before the day of the test. This is because I already know all the information about the text book, therefore I would normally relax or read over the text book twice and not stress about it. Another study strategy that worked best for me is to type everything I remember about the text book in a pages document to see how much do I understand because once you understand something you know it and you don’t need to memorize it. Lastly, having a study group helped me a lot because my friends and I test each other and sometimes we pressure each other so that we will think harder or explain our answers in more depth.

What advice do you have for Mr. Pierce’s students next year 

I would say try to find a group of friends that can help you a lot because my study group friends helped me a lot since they always asked me challenging questions and they push me to think more carefully. To me, my study group helped me a lot and I feel like I have learnt a lot from them and now when I ask questions, I ask challenging questions.

Since I only had one class to complete this model, I didn’t get much done. Originally, I was going to create a model of the colosseum with toothpick. However, due to the lack of time, I decided to create the twin tower because the basic shape is simple and I build my model from the floor structure.

Who is it for?

The corridor is made for the sixth graders, Tai Tam so that they can print, go to class and put their belongings in the provided lockers.

What is the design?

The design is a small corridor and when you stand outside the glass door, you can see a perspective. To the left, you can see classrooms, and to the right there is a printer and lockers.

Where is it? 

The grade 6 corridor is located on the really end of the first floor and is near the lift.

Why was it made 

The corridor is made so that the sixth graders could have a place for transition from class to class because there are lockers right next to the class and there is a printer to print documents out.

Do you notice anything that could be improved about the space?

I think the corridor could be a bit wider since there are lots of students when they transition to different classes and there might be lots of pushing and shoving. Also, I think the corridor should have more lights because it’s quite dim right now and that brings a tired feeling. Lastly, I think the location of the corridor should be in the middle of the first floor because right now it’s towards the really end of the first floor and it feels like that corridor doesn’t exactly exists.

Unit 3: Book Art – Final

1. Upload final images of your project from different angles for your final post for the unit                                                                                                                This will be uploaded soon
2. Evaluate your overall work by examining your idea 

If I had to rate my book art, I would rate it 8/10 because of the collages and the cut outs I have shown the process of Bill Clinton’s. At the very beginning of the book, I had at least 30 pages of layers sticking out on the side of the book, with shows colleges of Bill Clinton’s childhood. Then there are stairs that represent Clinton’s life and the struggles he has been through in his life. Surrounding the stairs are more photos of Bill Clinton and I feel like from this, I have shown his life and I have met my goal. In terms of technique,  I would say I have improved a lot from the very beginning of the book because now I know the most efficient way to cut lots of pages from the book and to carve out different shapes in the pages efficiently.

After Parent Teacher conferences with Ms. Bevear, I that I’m on the right track in LA and I should continue with what I am doing.Though, we don’t have goals now, in my spare time I will still work on some online tools. For example, I will continue working on Newsela because my reading comprehension, especially informative pieces isn’t that strong. Apart from Newsela, No red ink helped me a lot with my grammar.

Something that I can improve on is the reading habit. Now I read 3- 4 times a week for 20 minutes. However, I feel like I should improve on this reading habit. I personally think the reason why I don’t have enough time for reading is because of the tests next day. For example, if I have a social studies test the next day I would focus on Social Studies all night, but I think this habit should change and I should try to balance out everything.

After talking about my brain frame, Ms. Bevear said that I have improved a lot this year and last year and I should keep doing what I am doing. Last year, Ms. Bevear mentioned that I should work on using harder vocabularies in my essays, she thinks that I am starting to do this.

1. What are you doing to transform the book?

The book I have choose is Bill Clinton’s bibliography therefore, I was planning to show some significant parts of his life and the struggles he has been through before he became president.

1. How are your ideas original?

My ideas are original because I’m creating something that I thought of by myself. For example making layers of collages so that the audience will get a brief idea of who Bill Clinton is before I show the steps of how he became president.

1. What techniques are you using to create your sculpture? (Collage, newspaper form, diorama, etc)

I’m using a variety of techniques to create my book art. For example, collage, paper folding and paper cutting to create an interesting sculpture by manipulating the pages of the book into a completely different perspective and idea.

1. Evaluate your craftsmanship – how much care and attention to detail are you putting into your sculpture?

I try my best to put as much details in my sculpture because I want to try my best to show Clinton’s life and each detail could bring a better understanding to the audience

1. Evaluate your time management – how are you using your time?

I think I would need 4 more lessons to complete my sculpture, but I’m trying my best to complete it by March 8th.

1. What improvements could you make?

I think the stairs could improve because I want to make it a bit more realistic. However, this is my first time so I don’t have an efficient way yet.

Hi! This is where I will put items that are relating to Language Arts 8.

EHIC Video 

Quarter 4 goals 

Goals Presentation 

Goals for Quarter 4

Reading: Work on Newsela and Read theory at least 2 times a week for about 30 minutes. 

S Is it specific? ( Who? What? Where? When? Why?) : I will work on Newsela and Read theory 3 times a week for about 30- 40 minutes because I want to improve on my reading comprehension. 

M is it specific? ( How many? How much?): By the end of Quarter 4, I would have read more than 20 passages on both sides. 

A Is it actionable? ( can this really happen? what steps are

involved?) : I will work on it 2 times a week for 30 minutes each time. 

R (is it realistic? what knowledge , skills, and abilities are

necessary to reach this goal?) : I will put a posit note to remind myself that I need to work on my goal. 

T Is it timely? ( what are the deadlines?) : I will have about 20-25 passages done in total by Quarter 4. 

Reading Goals

Goal: My writing goal is to write sentences with the new vocabulary that I already learnt.

S Is it specific? ( Who? What? Where? When? Why?) :  Every week, I will write  5 sentences to make sure I know the vocabulary well. 

A Is it actionable? ( can this really happen? what steps are

involved?) : Every other day, I will write 2 sentences to keep up. 

R (is it realistic? what knowledge , skills, and abilities are

necessary to reach this goal?) :  I will show my parents the sentences that I have done. 

Book club Traits 

Book Clubs 

Book club #2 – The Crossed 

Book club #1 – The Crossed 

Wonder Words Wall: 

Kathy’s grade 8 wonder words wall

Reading

Speaking Grade 

Reading summative

This time I thought that the passage was a bit more challenging and it took me more time to read it and to think carefully about the message behind this.

Reading formative Nov 26th 

Reading Summative 

After I got my reading summative, there were two things I was glad. First of all, I was glad that I didn’t spend too much time on each question and I didn’t rush through since I set a time limit for each question. Secondly, I am glad that I understood the message and the content of what the story was about.

Reading formative

After I got my reading formative I was pleased that I understood the point of the passage and the message that Malcolm X was showing. However, I could improve on the time I write the answers. Towards the end of the class, I realized that I was behind and I kind of rushed through the last question, but it’s part of a process.

Writing

Brainframe of Macbeth scene 

DEJ writing Summative 

Outsiders essay 

Brainframe on outsiders essay 

3 summaries ( The Giver, The Crossed and the Hinduism caste system) 

Literary technique paragraph 

Writing summative ( essay) 

After looking at my writing summative, I was glad that I had improved and I was satisfied with my results. I thought that colour coding was extremely helpful because it helps me to write an essay correctly with the 5 elements. Next time, I have to be more aware of captialization.

Writing formative ( Why you shouldn’t wear uniforms) Nov 26th 2015

Poetry formative 

Writing Summative

Writing formative #2

After I got my writing piece back, I was glad that this time I only focused on one part and gave that part more detailed ( like the watermelon seed). However, the convention part needs a bit more work on it. To improve, I would go to homework club more often to find a way so that I could remember the grammatical errors that I tend to make.

More than winning

After I got my writing piece back, I was happy that I improved on my word choice and organisation. However, my sentence fluency needs some work so as conventions. To improve on them, I would practice and review some rules on no red ink because I personally think that no red ink is a very good grammar website and it helps me improve.

Grammar 

verbs imperative mood: sentence that gives a command

E.g.  feed the dog

“““““““““““““““““““““““““Goals for Quarter 2““““““““““““““““““““““`

Quarter 2 goals results

Writing Goals

Every week, I will find at least 2 new things about tenses and I will keep track of it in my grammar book, and I would also work on no red ink. By the end of quarter 2, I would show my grammar book to the class, and my next goal is to apply this knowledge into my writing.  

Reading Goals

For every book I read, I will write a summary to make sure I understand what the book was about and by the end of quarter 2 I would have read at least 5 books. For the presentation, I would show my summaries to the class. 

Approaches to Learning  

Quarter 4