LHM GCE Portfolio

The Duckotomous Key The ducks we have programmed in: The code that allows you to identify the duck from the slideshow: The slideshow:  The website used for images and information: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/browse/taxonomy

In the summer of 2019 I spent three weeks volunteering at a sleep away camp. I taught archery with a long bow and took care of 7-15 year old during the hours I wasn't teaching. I learned so much from this experience. I took responsibility and created fun activities for the kids to keep them entertained. I really grew up during my time there. Having to take care of so many kids and help them process their emotions was eye opening. The sunset there was beautiful and I made so many wonderful memories. The sunset one night before a storm. The archery range I worked at. A target I made for the kids that I named the Quacken.

In this we unit we learned about how audio is used to spread information and stories. We listened to a podcast and discussed how they used audio in an intriguing way. For this Action Project, I did my podcast about Fred Rogers from Mister Rogers Neighborhood. I loved watching videos from Mister Rogers Neighborhood growing up and my mom grew up watching it. I got to learn more about Fred Rogers and how caring and considerate of a person he was. I liked talking to my mom and hearing a story from her childhood I find really funny. My tone is often really flat so I struggled to have more emotion and variation in my voice. Apple Lou · Mister Rogers Neighborhood podcast Time Person What is said 0:00 Fred Rogers singing It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine, could you be mine? It's a neighborly day in this beauty hood. A neighborly day for a beauty. Would you be my... 0:17 LM Fred Rogers was the host of Mr. Rogers' neighborho...

In this unit I learned to think in an entirely new perspective. I learned to ditch the constrictive views on econ I had learned. Reading Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth was an eye opener to how the world actually works. Each of her 7 chapters came with an entirely new way to think. As small groups we picked a chapter, read it, and taught it to the rest of the class. Learning this way allowed me to use my own creativity and see the creativity of my classmates in the way we presented each chapter. This AP had me thinking outside the box of what society had taught me. Money isn't more important than people. When my health was bad I found myself caring more about my inability to be a "productive member of society" rather than how much pain I was in. This AP gave me the opportunity to think about what caused that mindset.

Chatting with a bot This was the last action project for my coding class. For this action project we made a chat bot. We had to have 5 questions to ask you. I wanted to be a bit funny with my questions. I learned a lot making the bot. I learned to think differently about how to ask questions and how to write in a way that a computer and a person could understand. I really liked the creativity I was able to express in this project.  I struggled with my spelling in this project. When something is written in code there isn't spell check. That made things a lot more complicated. I wasn't quite sure how to organize some of the questions and how to create sub questions. I enjoyed making the bot and being able to add some humor to the project. Often coding seems very sterile and boring but being able to make my own questions made it a lot more interesting.

I have always been unsure of what the meaning of life is. I used to spend my time before bed thinking about it. It was a question that used to really matter to me. At some point I decided that life didn't need a meaning. We are here and we don't know why, so might as well make the most of it. For me, fretting about it felt like it wasn't worth the time. It was causing me more stress than it felt worth. From what I could tell there was no true “answer.” Everyone has different ideas and you can exist without coming to a conclusion. This action project required me to push out of my comfort zone and think about it. For this action project I interviewed my mother after school, in the yard. She and I have always been close but I had no clue what her idea of the meaning of life was before this project. Growing up she taught me empathy and how to form my own beliefs but I didn’t know hers! I was very excited to talk to her about this. My mom’s life has had many changes and she was...

In coding we are learning python. This unit pushed my understanding of how computers work. I really enjoyed being able to utilize what I learned in class and put it towards something I would actually want to do. We talked as a class and used different programs to bring our ideas into reality. I really struggled with the what I wanted to do for the madlibs but once I figured it out I really enjoyed it. I like the logic behind programming and am glad I got to make this. I often would forget what I was supposed to write but I figured it out by referencing other projects I made. Figuring out string vs float was really difficult for me but practice made perfect.  Madlibs: Simple interest calculator:

 In this unit we learned about interest. For me looking into the future always felt unrealistic but this AP crunched it down to the numbers. This made it a lot easier for me to understand and to feel more comfortable with what I want and don't want. We talked to a bank and learned a lot about personal finance. We learned about what is realistic and different life goals. I am very grateful for this AP making me feel confident about my future. 

     This AP is for journalism. In this first term we learned about written reporting. We dissected what it means to be new literate and how we can discern what is real and what is fake. We talked with a journalist from the Chicago Tribune and learned a lot about responsible reporting. I enjoyed being able to think critically about what language is used and the meaning behind words. I found this term very interesting and I feel it has taught me how to be a better informed citizen. ------- Does Riot Fest belong in Douglass Park?      Riot fest took place from September 16th to 19th at North Lawndale's Douglass park. This was four days for music and festivities. Bands such as Morrissey, The Smashing Pumpkins, Slipknot, Rancid, And Machine Gun Kelly were playing. Surrounding Douglass Park are residential blocks. While Riot Fest is being set up the park is closed to residents. Residents are not able to walk their dogs in the park or play sports. Riot fest secti...

Making a Space For this AP we focused on making our space usable for school and a place we would want to learn in. We discussed what defines a classroom. We took a field experience to Millenium Park to investigate what defines a classroom. As a school, we asked what it means to be a successful student and teacher at GCE. We discussed what we expect from ourselves and our teachers. The student body brainstormed the traits of a successful student and came up with a social contract for both the students and the teachers.   Social contract for students: We will work in a timely fashion. We will be curious. We will pay attention to the work, fellow students, and teachers. We will be encouraging. We will participate. We won't distract.   Social contract for teachers: We will accept feedback. We will be accommodating and flexible. We will be patient. We will have one on one time. We will be excited to teach! We will be understanding.   Both the student body and the teachers agre...

Field experience reflection We went to Millennium park as a school to listen to the Sonic Pavilion Festival. These were soundscapes in the Pritzker Pavilion. We ate lunch and then walked over to listen. It was our first field experience of this school year. I was very interested in what we heard. We were thinking about what makes a classroom and how we use the space and senses around us. I was very inspired by this field experience. I listened to two different soundscapes. The first one was Fulcrum by Kitundu. Before reading the program, I thought the soundscape he produced sounded like birds flapping their wings. This was really interesting to me because I have two pet birds. It also sounded like cars going by on a busy street and going over potholes. After I read the program I learned that Kitundu was inspired by birds. It was nice to know that I perceived what he intended. His execution reflected his inspiration. We were instructed to draw what the sounds made us feel. Since the so...

In this term we looked at space and space exploration. We started by looking back at the antient astronomers that paved the way for what we know today. We learned about Aristotle, Pytholmy, Copernicus, Isaac Newton, and Kepler. We discussed how the ideas around our universe changed and how religion shaped science. We also learned about Kepler's laws and the math of ellipses. For our action project we looked forward. We asked ourselves what challenges are facing the future of space exploration. We read articles from NASA and frontiers to get an understanding of the grand challenges and each of us picked one. I picked economical space travel. The economy of space has always been very interesting to me so this was a wonderful opportunity to learn more. I learned about how capitalism impacts space travel and those who are trying to make space travel accessible for those who can afford it.  Citations:  Image from: Wattles, Jackie. “Jeff Bezos Is Going to Space for 11 Minutes. Here'...