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Benchmark 3
Exhibit: Science Departmenatal Award Skills: Academic Awards

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Exhibit:  Chemistry Test & Lab  
Skills:  Science

​​Anyone who’s taken Mr. Marshall’s chemistry class can tell you the difficulty of getting good grades on his lab reports. He expects a certain format and a well-written analysis. He expects all aspects of the analysis in to be written on the lab report. If you are missing anything, he will mark you down. This makes getting A’s difficult in his class. He specifically said, “If you get a 100% on a lab report, frame it.”

 

Our lab objective was to find the percentage of water in popcorn. We conducted the experiment and wrote out lab reports. I wanted a good grade so I typed mine out. I even made a data table. I read it over trying to read it like Mr. Marshall. It was my first 100% on a lab report.

 

Mr. Marshall’s chemistry tests are just as hard. He expects us to use significant figures and our answers to be rounded to the correct decimal point. If we are off by even one decimal point, he marks us down. If we write on element wrong or balance an equation wrong, he marks it down. My chapter 8 test over balancing chemical equations was my first 100% test.

 

Someday I hope to get a job as an engineer. I will have to work with very picky employers where all designs must be perfect. If a design is not perfect, it might not be safe and I could lose my job. Learning to be a perfectionist will help me greatly in the long run. It will take me far in my career

Exhibit:  Engineering Notebook  
Skills: Business & Technology

​​The Principles of Engineering class is a class designed to teach the math and design process that engineers go through in everyday life. We conducted many projects in class to get hands on experience designing. For all of our designs in the class, we had to use our engineer’s notebook.

 

The engineer’s notebook is simply a graphing paper notebook where we sketch ideas, improve on the ideas, and where we pick a final design. Any changes in our final design are tracked accordingly. We also needed signatures on every page as a witness to our own work. This process prepares us for real life.

 

When I enter my career as a Mechanical Engineer, this will obviously be important. I will have my own engineer’s notebook with designs to real projects affecting the real world. Just like in class, I will need signatures on every page of the design also. Applying what I have learned is very important in my career.

Academics

Exhibit:  Romeo & Juliet Paper and Research Paper 
Skills:  English

 

It was freshman year and our English class had just finished our segment on Romeo & Juliet.  Our assignment was to write a paper comparing the play to a movie adaptation.  The task of writing such an important paper seemed absolutely daunting at the time.  I set out to do my best.

 

I had never gotten higher than a 93% on a paper in that English class.  Mrs. Walbaum was a picky grader so I knew it would take some extra work.  For this particular essay, we were allowed extra credit.  I did it assuming I would need it to get that high “A”.  When I got the paper back, I was amazed at the 110% she had given me.  She even wrote a comment on the paper saying “Kim- This is one of the best papers I have ever read from you.”

 

This lesson prepared me for my second important paper my sophomore year.  Our English teacher, Mrs. Job, told us we would not pass the class unless we did this paper as it was weighed so much.  It was a research persuasive essay.  I chose the topic of Nuclear Energy calling it the “Energy of the Future.”  I repeated my essay style and what I had learned the previous year.  I received a 99% on the paper.

 

When I enter a career as an engineer someday, the things I learned will help me go far.  I learned the hard work can benefit you a lot in the long run.  Putting in that extra effort will get me that “A.”  Whether its school or my career, I will always try to go the extra mile.  This will bring me far.

Exhibit:  World History & Economics Test 
Skills:  Social Studies

 

History was always one of my favorite subjects.  It just seemed to come naturally to me and I enjoyed it.  I already knew a lot of it coming into World History class, so I was not learning many new things.  There was one area that I had only a slight idea of the historical events.  That was ancient India and China.

 

This was the first history test in a very long time that I had to study for.  I had to work hard to learn the new facts about Chinese dynasties and Indian dowries.  This knowledge was all very foreign to me and actually a lot of fun.  I went into the test with high hopes of doing well.  My final test score was 63/59.  I received full credit for the multiple choice questions and full credit plus extra credit for the essay questions.  It was perhaps my best test in that class.

 

Economics class was one of those social studies classes that I just did not know very much about coming in.  Our school had barely even touched on it in our earlier years.  I had a general idea on how the economy worked but there still much to learn.  The Chapter Five test on production and supply curves was not my best test in that class but test I worked hardest to study for.  I learned the most interesting things in that chapter.  I received a 53/54.

 

In my personal life, sometimes it is good just to have fun learning new things.  History and economics classes were fun and I enjoyed learning in them.  When I have to learn to file taxes when I’m older or many other things, I will enjoy learning how to so.  Anything can be fun if you make it fun.

Exhibit:  Chapter P & Chapter 1 Calculus Tests
Skills:  Math

 

Summer was over and I was back in school.  I had to take one of the hardest classes in the high school curriculum: Calculus.  The first chapter was supposed to be review, but the calculus book expected us to solve problems in a slightly different way that I was not used to.  Learning the same content in a different way proved challenging.  The first test came and I did not finish before the bell rang.  I had to finish it later.  My friends who had finished it were learning about their grades by looking them up online.  Their grades were consistently lower than their normal par.  I went in to finish my test and Mrs. Hyliard graded it right in front of me.  I got a 100%, the highest grade in the class.

 

The next chapter was our first actual chapter of calculus.  It was completely new and unfamiliar to me.  The test would serve as a midterm.  It was the last thing we were to do before the end of the quarter.  I studied hard for this test as well.  The studying paid off because I felt like I understood the content.  I got a 98% on that test.

 

When I get a job someday as an engineer, I will face many problems that may need to be solved in a different way than the way I was taught.  It is important that I know how to be flexible with my current knowledge.  Engineering is a broad field and I never know what I may encounter.  I also cannot let others scare me.  Just because a task is difficult for them does not necessarily I will encounter the same problems.  I am not allowed to be demoralized.

Exhibit:  Baby Project
Skills:  Health

 

A great way to learn new things is to be able to teach them.  In health class, that was just what we had to do.  My group was assigned the task of researching and then presenting to the class the Baby Development stages starting from conception to birth.

 

I wanted to do something a little creative, so I suggested to our group that we make a video presentation.  We included all of the stages of birth and detailed descriptions. We had to learn the content enough to be able to teach and present it to the class.  In order to exhibit fertilization, we used a video clip from Star Wars at the scene when Luke blows up the Death Star.  We said the X-Wings were X chromosomes and the Y-Wings were Y chromosomes.  Our teacher enjoyed our creativity.  We received a 100% on the project.

 

In my personal life, this project will benefit me in two ways.  First, I learned the scientific process of baby development that may help me if I ever wish to raise a family.  Second, I learned to be creative with whatever I do.  I learned how to be creative with other people.  This will assist me almost any form of art I do on my own time and how I entertain my friends.

Exhibit:  Microbiology Test
Skills:  Electives-Microbiology

 

Microbiology was the hardest class I ever took.  There is no high school textbook so we use a college textbook and Mr. Baumgartner teaches it like a college class.  Almost every concept is completely new.  You are expected to read the textbook and understand everything out of it.  Time is not on your side either.  It is only a one trimester class, so all the information is squeezed in.

 

When the day of the test came, I spent hours during the school day studying on top of the hours during the previous night.  I would’ve studied earlier, but we were still learning the sections inside the chapter.  It was hard to pay attention in other classes with such a hard test coming up.  When I took the test, it was the hardest test I ever took.  Every question felt like a trick question.  I was extremely pleased with myself when I learned that I received a 95% on that particular test.  It was because of that first test that I learned how to study for the other tests.  I am very proud of it.

 

When I get a job as an engineer someday, I will need to learn to perform the concepts that are very difficult.  I may have to review content I learned in college in special circumstances.  I’ll never know what information I’ll need and when I need it I’ll need to learn it fast.

Exhibit:  Science & Science Fiction Final Exam Script
Skills:  Electives-Science & Science Fiction

 

Science and Science Fiction class was a class that involved analyzing the great works of science fiction.  I spent most of my time reading short science fiction stories.  For my final exam, I had to write my own science fiction story.  I also had to make it into a movie.

 

I started with a movie script.  The movie would be call Alienes Eunt Domus which is Latin for Aliens Go Home.  It was ten pages long.  I went around school recruiting actors and a film crew to assist in the production process.  I picked two separate filming days.  The perfect plan was set and nothing could go wrong.  Then I learned about the largest variable that can overcome even the greatest of plans- the human element. A day before the first filming date, I had four actors who cancelled on me.  I had several more say they could only come on one day.  I had to scramble around this massive headache to find replacements.  When the actors got to the filming location, they were hard to work with and counterproductive.  I struggled hard to get them to cooperate.  Finally, after finding my way through the maze of problems presented to me, I finished the movie.  I got 100% on the exam.

 

When I enter my career someday as an engineer, I will have to deal with other people quite often.  I may be in charge of a project and I may rely on certain people to carry out certain tasks.  They may not always cooperate, but I may need to work with them anyway.  I also need to make sure I do not become a problem either.  Working with other people is very important in any job and a very important skill to have.  It’s a learning experience, but once you learn how to do it, it comes easier and more naturally.

Exhibit:  Band & Jazz Band Tests
Skills:  Electives-Band & Jazz Band

 

I play the Valve Trombone in Band.  It sounds just like a regular trombone, but with valves.  One advantage of the valve trombone is its ability to play the same musical parts as a baritone.  Our band does not have a baritone player so I became the unofficial baritone player.

 

The second half of my junior year, we player a song called “The Cowboys.”  It was a John Williams piece that proved very difficult to play.  I was playing the trombone part on it when the band director realized he needed a baritone part.  He gave me the part, pointed to this mess of black dots, and told me that that was my final exam.  Exams were in less than a week.  I had to learn a whole new song in practically a week.  I practiced hard for hours every day.  It earned me a 96% on that test.

 

Sophomore year was my first year of Jazz Band.  It was also the first year I started playing valve trombone.  I had to learn how to play swing and a new instrument at the same time.  It was very hard to get used to.  When my first test came up, I was scared to death.  It was announced with a week’s time to go.  I practiced nonstop, I listened to the professional recording, and I even got help from the band director.  All of the work paid off in the end.  I got an 89% on the test.  Not bad for my first time on a new instrument.

 

When I someday get a job as an engineer, I may have projects that need to be completed that pop right out of the blue.  I may not expect them, but I have prepare for them.  There could be an accident or disaster where things need emergency repairs and I may have to come up with something with little time.  Band and Jazz band has taught me to deal with little time.

Transcripts

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