Independent Reading

What are you reading? Summarize?
I read Heroes of Olympus: Mark of Athena.

Basically Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Piper Mclean come to retrieve Percy Jackson, Hazel, and Frank. When they are reunited, a spirit posseses Leo and he attacks Camp Jupiter which causes misunderstanding between the Greeks and the Romans. The Romans [their last scene in this book] set off to Camp HalfBlood to destroy the Greeks. Hazel is reminded of her ex-boyfriend when she sees Leo because Leo is the grandson of her ex-boyfriend. Percy is more serious during this book and it seems more grim. Annabeth is a lot more clingy as well. Nico di Angelo is actually trapped by Gaea and they rescue him. But most of the book is the journey and its perils. For example Jason and Percy fight because spirits make them fight and they're so much more awkward to each other than anyone. However it also has the ways they learn to work together.

Do you like/dislike? Evaluate.
I don't really like this book of the series. It focuses too much on description instead of meanings and the plot. The plot is extremely slow moving until the end. However you can only anticipate for so long before it starts boring you. This book is mostly about learning to 'work together'. And the Roman and Greek camps just can't be peaceful. It's like they're trying to fight instead of trying to work together. This also has more thoughts than actions. Books need to have a balence between thoughts and actions, which this book doesn't have.


Why you should read independently?
Reading independently encourages your reading comprehension and your perception of the world and/or your book. People who read to you mostly hold your hand throughout the whole reading; they influence your thoughts as well as your understanding and that leads you to have a whole different view on the book [which can influence your perception of the world]. When I read Harry Potter in 4rth grade it was completely different than when I read it in 6th grade. In 6th grade, I noticed the manipulations of Dumbledore and the 'innocence' of Tom Riddle Jr. After learning about the terrible World War II, I can safely say that Tom Riddle was not happy. World War II affected the entire world and most likely orphanages weren't very nice.

Next book/step?
Well, the next book came out last year. It's called the House of Hades. I've bought it but I haven't read it yet. The Hunger Games and Divergent was a little [a lot] more interesting.

Songkran Plans

My family doesn't really celebrate Songkran and my dad doesn't have the week off so it'll kind of be the usual weekend for me with a few differences. I'll probably sleep till 9:30-12:00 in the morning and eat breakfast. Then I'll either read or watch movies/cartoons/animated movies. Then I'll eat lunch at 2:30 or 3:00. I'll continue reading [or watching movies/cartoons/animated movies]. And I'll sleep at 12:00 in the night. Maybe I'll buy my confirmation dress and shoes and all. Perhaps I'll take out my PS2 and play some games. My family will be staying at a hotel at Silom, Bangkok.

Quarter 3 Reflections

In Quarter 3, school went a little fast for us. It passed by with due dates all splattered across the calender. Math, Science, Language Arts and Social Studies, Spanish, Thai and Drama. Projects and Essays and Reading and Tests. Golden Rule: Do them now before they catch you in their trap later. Are my Goals fulfilled to my satisfaction? Well lets see!!!

Skills Reflection:
I have been speaking fluently [due to all my reading and conversations with my friends as well as teachers] and I'm struggling a bit at not making things a bit complicated. Complicated is something I'm used to. I've always taken complicated notes as my friends love to tell me. But it's always something I was proud of [I always wanted to do it like that in Elementary but now in Middle School, I'm finally getting the chance to atleast attempt at this].

Skills Adjustment: Speaking Clearly with a Topic [Summarizing Notes]
I will speak clearly with a clear topic and will not give unnecessary information in my presentations.
I will know that my goal has been achieved when I can speak without stuttering or pausing in my speeches and I will not need to practice my speech for a presentation
I will volunteer to answer complicated questions with a simple answer and question teachers in class and practice writing essays, short summaries and stories and read books aloud to increase my knowledge of professional summarizing
I will do this by the end of school year

Values Reflection:
I am still struggling a lot with this goal. There were more projects than homework and tests last year for me and so I'm not used to handling even this year's homework. I do dislike homework so that might be the reason. And I have this habit of saying to myself; "Just a few more minutes, 10 minutes more." That might hinder my determination for doing homework.

Values Adjustment: Organization of My Homework
I will be more organized with my homework and not finish it the day before it is due but rather the day I recieve it and if not, I will take more time out of my daily schedule and finish it the day after I receive it and if not, I will take more time out of my daily schedule and finish it the day after I receive it.
I will know that the goal has been achieved when I will have more freetime and when I will look over my homework again and see if I need corrections.
I will write my homework in my planner and sticky notes in my computer desktops that I will see everyday.
I will make alerts in my laptop and phone calendar as well as alarms in my phones. I will also ask my mom to remind me about my homework and all my necessary dates.
I will do this by the end of the school year.

Knowledge: Reading and Comprehending
I read a lot but I'm slightly struggling with comprehending. I can't really analyze and infer most of the gist

Knowledge Adjustment: Comprehension of Reading Material
I will read more than 20 minutes per day and comprehend that reading material
I will know that my goal has been achieved when I have a higher level of comprehension and acadamic skill
I will talk to people older than me everyday more than just once per day.
I will ask and answer questions atleast 3 times in school.
I will find more books and read more than 20 minutes.
I will ask my teacher about doubts I have about the book that I am reading or about something else.
I will time myself to read atleast 25 minutes per day, either on my laptop [E-Books] or a real book.
I will have a conversation with my teachers and parents every day
I will do this by the end of the school year

My Science Goal for 8th Grade 2015

My Science Goal:

To be able to provide details and facts that are related somewhat distantly to the main focus. I usually write a lot about the main focus but I only describe it; I don't really go in-depth and actually connect it to another fact that is related to the main points.

An Extremely Detailed Family Tree

How will I accomplish my Goal:

1.) I will study my textbook and my notes to cross-reference them for formatives as well as tests and projects

A Collection of Post It Notes

2.) I will note down the important details in the textbook that we do not really go in details

3.) I will attempt to converse with my brother about what he is doing in Science when possible and I will cross-reference what I have learned in school with what my brother has learnt so that I may understand more since I usually add a lot of details.

4.) If I do not understand a specfic detail that is important, I will ask my teacher, brother or mother

5.) I will try to research topics in advance so that I may have questions that does relate, distantly, to what we learn in class so that it may help me understand further about the topic

6.) I will also write what we have learned and some side notes on the topic in my journal/my other notebook

Checkpoint!!! How will I stay focused:

Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini [My Phone]

1.) I will set up a study schedule so that I may be organised with my work and divide it so that I may have a period of time to study science only

2.) I will set alarms in my phone so that it goes off for every period of time for when I need to study

3.) I will write a digital post it note for me so that I know the dates in which assignments are due on and when the tests are so that I can study for it.

How will I know that I have accomplished my Goal:

Exceeding Expectations/Meeting Standerds Test Papers

I will know that I have accomplished my Goal when I get E and Ms on my test papers in class as well as the projects and lab reports.

When will I accomplish it:

2015 Calendar

I will accomplish my goal by the end of March.

Plans:

I will reflect every Friday evening on what I have done in science and if I am close to accomplishing my goal. I will write my reflections in my daily journal.

My Christmas Vacation

Well first I cut my hair. Then we went to Koh Chang the next day. Dad drove us to the ferry and from the ferry to the hotel. We visited the white sand beach. My brother loved it and went every evening. It was a quiet and sleepy trip back home. After a few days at home, I got a cold that stayed for about a week. I also got to stay up till 12:00. Just a few days after the cold was gone (January 10), I got a stomachache in the middle of the night. It was horrible and I was forced to stay awake till 6:30 after getting about 2 hours sleep and I slept till 12:00 so I got to watch cartoons and do what I want unlike my brother.

Explore the Kingdom/Stay at School

I was absent for both.

My Back To School Project Reflection

My Back to School Project was about how much money I cost per day. We gathered information from our parents and bills and finally we added up all the information. Our class used 180 days for the total number of days to divide. But the most important thing was to use all the operations; addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.

First I asked my mom, dad and gathered some information about the costs of several things from the planner and the internet (cost of my laptop). I divided the expenses from the hostel by two because my mom and I stay in one room and there are seperate expenses for each room. My brother's uniform cost was subtracted from the bill. After getting all the expenses I divided the data by 180 (number of days in the school year) and then I added the total. Finally, I rounded the total, so the total value is approximate.

I do buy a lot of useless things and I don't really even use it! I was shocked when I learned that I spent 3,655 Baht per day. I've been going to RIS since 2nd grade, but I've never realized how much I spend on school alone. It's not only the school fees but also stationary, uniform and others! I spent money on watches, glasses, hairbands, bracelets, socks, shoes, and jackets. So I’m going to try and reduce the amount of money that I use per day. Next year I will not buy a uniform. This year’s uniform is big enough for me and it’s not like I’ll have a sudden growth-spurt since I am very short and I have barely gained height since 6th grade. I don’t really need that much stationary since we have enough and I don’t really need to buy it every year. For some reason, I buy a watch every year despite the fact that my watches are usually just fine, so next year, I’m going to use my watch from this year. In this project, I learned that I’m not that good at making good posters. And of course that I can easily gain data if I wanted to.

My Mom’s Response:

She thinks that it’s good for me to know about the expenses. Children should know about how much the family adults work to help the kids have a comfortable life. And the kids sometimes get lazy and they don't work hard in High School for a scholarship because they believe that their parents will pay for them. So they don't even try to work hard!

Red: Introduction
Purple: How Data was Collected [what I did]

Blue: What I will Do to Reduce Expense Per Day

Green: My Mom’s Response

Picture of my Back to School Project: