Final Portfolio Assessment "Report Card" Post - Active Learning 2014

Going into my first gym class, I would never have expected gym to have this much of a positive impact on me. Active Learning this year provided me with a year full of determination and improvements. In September, I was always a little bit nervous of coming to gym class, but whenever I come to gym class now I am excited for whatever is planned as long as we are getting a good exercise. I actually look forward for third block to come because I know I will have an enjoyable time no matter what has happened earlier in the day.

Participation:  My attendance has been excellent and I am able to get changed into my gym strip before Mr. Neufeld enters one of the facilities and starts class, which also connects to my punctuality as I have never come late to gym. I have brought my gym strip along with appropriate shoes every single day of gym as this is something I have always been in the habit of doing since elementary school. During games on choice days, or just regular gym blocks with just our class, I've participated on a  higher level than I did in the beginning of the year. Even if we play an activity where I have to step outside of my comfort zone, I am ready to do it, thus I believe I have become successful in this area at this point in the year. Getting out of my comfort zone was a main aspect in the beginning of the year that I was afraid of doing. For instance, playing Capture the Flag for the first time in gym in November did not result in as much fun when playing Capture the Flag now. I was able to take little steps in Capture the Flag to reach the point of how I play it now. As you have been following my blog posts, I've made so many small improvements each time I played Capture the Flag this year and as a result, it made a huge difference at the end. The first time I played it I did not really run to the other side and instead stayed on my territory to tag people, however the last time I played in May, I was able to bring back two footballs, run way more, and take risks which resulted in so much fun! Without a doubt my intensity during fitness and in just regular gym classes has increased, as I motivate myself to not stop because I know my hard work will soon pay off. In the beginning of the year, I was not that skillful at volleyball. On June 5 it was just Karen, Simran and I in the small gym and we played volleyball. We didn't actually play a game, but instead practiced volleying the ball and improving our skills. Both Karen and Simran helped me with my volleyball skills by always telling me to volley the ball when it came to me instead of backing away. I actually think this gym block improved my volleyball skills because I just primarily focused on skill. On choice days I always pick an activity in which I know my participation will be maximized. I have also chosen activities that I wished to get better at, which allows me to try something new. (ex/volleyball) I try to have a variety of activities played during choice because it's not beneficial to play the same activity every time. For the participation category I think I deserve 24/25.

Hill Run From September:

Hill Run from May:            

Here are some more pictures:

Social Responsibility and Contribution to the Class - Whenever we are put into groups for an activity or during fitness, I love to encourage others because it feels good when you know someone is aware that you're trying hard and it also gains confidence in many people; including myself.  Things like hi fiving and saying words of encouragement is what keeps my peers to feel good about themselves inside. When Mr. Neuf or our T.A is organizing teams, I pay attention to how they deal with the situation and when we are given an opportunity to try this, I usually make little contributions which help the game to get started. When setting up to play Capture the Flag on May 14, I set up the cones for the safe. By just doing that little thing, I contributed to the organization of the game.  When dealing with thirty classmates its sometimes difficult to construct each individual student, so instead of using this as an excuse to not do anything, I found ways around it and contributed in different ways as described.  I've noticed that I helped out with equipment much more during semester two without anybody telling me to do it. For example, on May 21, when we played Capture the Flag my legs were aching but I still ran to the end of the field to gather the cones. Not only have I put cones away, but I have also put away pinnies, footballs, and badminton rackets. These little things that I do in gym classes is what makes myself proud at the end of the day. My positive attitude towards every activity we do in gym is part of the reason why I have been able to improve in so many ways since the midterm and the beginning of the year.  I'm always willing to do whatever activity in gym because I know I will learn something new about myself every single time. I am not as shy or quiet as I was in the beginning of the year and by being more outgoing it has positively affected my participation in gym. This semester I volunteered with my community more by being a part of the Adopt-A-Street Program, by cleaning our streets. For my Social Responsibility and Contribution to the Class, I think I deserve 23/25.

Healthy Living- Each of the the four times we did the beep test I was able to improve by a little bit on each one. I started off at a 7.2 and ended off with a 8.7 and I am so pleased with this result due to the fact that I was able to improve! These fitness scores taught me that I was able to become both physically and mentally stronger throughout the year. I'm sure you already know that I started off the year a little reserved, but ended off the year a lot more outgoing and this affected how hard I pushed myself too. As a result. I truly believe my fitness has increased and improved since September. For instance, giving my 100% in September was different than my 100% that I give now. In September I gave it my 100% but because I've improved in my fitness, I feel like my 100% now is much more than it was before. If there are any barriers in gym I try to ignore them and just focus on my exercising. I was able to remain healthy this year which helped me to stay persistent. I eat very many healthy foods because I know this leads to a good health. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables daily, such as apples, grapes, and strawberries. I'm able to eat a variety of foods from the four food groups. Especially in the summer, I get a lot of exercise as I play badminton in my backyard with my family, go for jogs around my neighbourhood, walks in the evenings, ride my bike and play basketball with my brother at the park. I love exercising outside and summer is the perfect month to do that! I regularly exercise as home and as you know, I have shared some of my home exercising with you on my blog. For Healthy Living I think I deserve 24/25.

Digital Portfolio and Reflective Skills: I'm really happy that I was able to have over 90 posts for just this year because at first I didn't know how I was going to develop a good blog, but because I worked at it, I overcame this obstacle. Not only did I post about in class activities, but I also wrote blog posts about exercising that I did at home and provided digital evidence as well. By having photos, it allowed me to look at my structure and see how I can improve upon it. After most gym classes, I took the time and effort to update my blog and reflect on what we did in class. It's apparent how I've put a lot of thought in to every single blog post I've written as I was able to tell you about how the class went, explain my improvements, tell you about my goals and how I felt during the gym block. I also reflected on how I felt prior to starting the activity, during the activity and at the end of the activity. The reason why I did this was because all three phases differ in how I felt. When I exercise at home, I do some research about which muscles I'm working out and include this research in my blog posts. I am always checking the blogs from other students in our class about once a week and I also read my other peer's blog posts regularly too because I like to see what kind of exercising other students are doing and to see how other students felt about a particular in-class activity. I enjoy commenting on my classmates' blogs so I can offer them some tips so I can see them improve. On the first day of school I was a little worried about how I would overcome various challenges presented in this class and how everything was going to play out in gym this year. After completing this year in gym, Active Learning has become way more important than I thought it was. When introduced to the concept of blogging, I was a little nervous because I was unsure as to how I was going to provide digital evidence and share my results on my blog. It was my first time creating my blogger profile, and I felt like this was going to be something I would have difficulties in because I didn't have a phone to take pictures with.  Since blogging came up as a challenge to me, I found ways to overcome this barrier and I ended up creating a good blog which shows my learning growth throughout the year. Rather than thinking of excuses,  I had the determination in myself to do well, and so I overcame this challenge and I am very proud about doing so. For my Digital Portfolio and Reflective Skills I think I deserve 25/25.

It makes me overjoyed how much I have opened up  by the end of the year compared to when I first started. Mr. Neuf was able to get me to move past my comfort zone, allow me to come even more out of my shell and show everyone what I can offer. Mr. Neuf has been a supportive teacher and my motivation behind fitness days. I know this year has ended, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop exercising.  My main goal for this year was to always improve, because to me it doesn't matter how good you are at a sport or activity; as long as you're able to improve, it shows how much you've grown in the course. I was able to improve in so many aspects of gym and being able to get better at things that  I was once were weak in, gained my confidence and it feels amazing.  I didn't just improve overnight but over the course of the year. For these reasons, I think I deserve an A and a G for work habits because of my hard work and dedication throughout the course. To conclude, I have accomplished so much this year in Active Learning and I can't wait to continue my Active Learning journey next year with Mr. Neuf along with the other supportive gym teachers as I will continue encounter new challenges and work hard to overcome them!