Isabella Rios POL Panel A 1 June 2012 Panel A Script Eric Hoffer, an American writer, once said, What

monstrosities would walk the streets were some peoples faces as unfinished as their minds. Good afternoon, my name is Isabella Rios, and I am a ninth (almost tenth) grader here at Da Vinci Science High School. The quote you just heard is one of my favorites, because, although quite morbid, it touches upon a sort of goal of mine to have a mind that I am proud of. Not just one that knows, but one that understands. Although the development of the mind is a life-long endeavor, I am confident that my schooling here at Da Vinci will assist me well in reaching this goal. In fact, Im about to show you a bit of proof what I learned in my first year and why I should move on to the 10th grade. My speaker and cube projects in Engineering and my preterit tests in Spanish clearly demonstrate that I have attained sufficient mastery in order to advance in my education; the significance of this lies in the fact that a meaningful education, coupled with the genuine effort of the student, brings about a sound and solid mind. First and foremost, I will present the Engineers Design Process that we learned about in Project Lead the Way. Now, the first step of the design process is to 1) define a problem. When a company contacts its engineers to create a product, the engineers are first given a problem. The first stage of the design process entails learning everything possible about the issue. Why does this happen? To whom does this happen? What can we, as engineers, create to solve this problem? An example of this step can be seen in my cube project the company that we

worked for, Da Vinci Furniture, needed a product that would make use of surplus wood blocks. We learned all we could about these blocks their sizes, their properties in our application of the first step. The second step of the design process is to 2) brainstorm. Here, everything we have sitting inside our heads, we pour out onto paper. More often than not, this is done in a group, where the engineers can present any ideas that they have without worrying about the quality and practicality of their methods. As Mr. Perez puts it so eloquently, this stage can be called mental diarrhea. Everything goes. The second step is evident also in my cube project, where I created three different possible cube combinations. Each combination fit the constraints, and each had its pros and cons. The third step of the design process is to 3) research and generate ideas. This is the field work an engineer goes out and performs experiments, analyzes similar products, and researches possible model ideas. We look at whats already out there, take notes, listen to possible consumers, figure out what we all want from this product and what we dont want. For my speaker project, long before I created the speaker itself, I spent hours on the Google () researching portable speakers that were already created. I took notes on their dimensions, what qualities they shared, and what I especially liked about their models. This way, I could use features from all of the speakers I liked and combine them to create the ultimate speaker. The fourth step of the design process is to 4) identify criteria and specify constraints. Whereas the other steps focus mainly on what we can do, this step is all about what we cant do. Obviously, if youre designing a car, you cant design a car that costs the entire debt of the United States to manufacture (which is about $15 trillion). There are limits. The company not only has a budget, but the company has a pretty general idea of what they want, too how big their product is going to be, what its going to accomplish,

who its going to be sold to. This step is most evident in my cube project. Our puzzle cubes had to be made from a certain number of cubes, have a certain number of pieces, and be a certain size. While constraints do limit possibilities, in no way do they limit development. The fifth step of the design process is to 5) select an approach. Now that weve got all these ideas on the table, its necessary to choose the best one. The approach must fit the constraints, meet the companys criteria, and must have the least amount of negative attributes. In my cube project, I chose the cube combination that fit together the best. At this point, we are pretty much able to discard all other possibilities. The sixth step of the design process is to 6) develop a design proposal. This is the finalization of our design. Its as close as we get to the final product before building a prototype. This is evident also in my cube project. As you can see, I created multiviews, sketches, and finally, a computerized assembly of my cube design. The seventh and final step of the design process is to 7) make a model or prototype. This is a pretty straightforward step a tangible model of your design is created. This model is fully functional to allow for testing if necessary. To finalize my cube project, I glued together the small wooden cubes to create my shapes. I had the shapes painted, and here I have the finished product my puzzle cube. At this point, I would have completed the design process and my design would be good to go for manufacturing. The design process is a long one, but the final product makes everything well worth it. Ahora, les voy a hablar de mi maestra en espaol. Voy a presentar Habilidad Esencial #2, yo puedo usar mecnicas de lenguaje apropiadas, incluyendo acuerdo entre verbo/sujeto, puntuacin, acentuacin, y comparativos. Durante esta leccin, yo aprend las reglas bsicas de los verbos pretritos, especficamente, los verbos irregulares de chorizo y los verbos

irregulares terminando en car, -gar, y -zar. Verbos irregulares de chorizo son muy iguales a verbos regulares, pero una letra cambia en las conjugaciones de el/ella/usted y ellos/ellas/ustedes. En estas conjugaciones, la e se cambia a una i, y en el caso de las palabras morir y dormir, la o se cambia a una u. Cuando estos verbos se ensean en una tabla de conjugacin, la forma de un chorizo puede ser formado en un crculo alrededor de las conjugaciones que estn cambiadas. Esta es la razn que estos verbos irregulares se llaman verbos de chorizo. Adems de los verbos de chorizo, aprendimos de los verbos irregulares terminando en car, -gar, -y zar. Estos verbos tienen conjugacin regular, con la excepcin de la conjugacin de yo. Cuando estos verbos son usados con yo, la c en un verbo de -car cambia a qu, la g in un verbo de gar se cambia a gu, y el z en el verbo de zar se cambia a c todo esto para preservar el sonido de las palabras. Tom un examen en el Internet para probar mi conocimiento de estos verbos. La primera vez, no estudi, y recib una marca de 80%. Aqu pueden ver que hice dos errores la conjugacin de las palabras dormir y pagar. Para el verbo dormir, escrib dormi. La conjugacin es correcta, pero no prest la atencin a la regla. Cuando usado con l/ella/usted y ellos/ellas/ustedes, la o en dormir se cambia a una u. As, dormi se convierte a durmi. Tambin err la palabra pagar. Escrib pag la conjugacin es correcta, pero no prest la atencin a la regla. Pagar es un verbo de gar, y cuando un verbo de gar es usado con yo, la g cambia a gu. As, la palabra correcta es pagu. Aqu pueden ver que yo fui desde recibir 80% de los verbos irregulares de chorizo y car, -gar, y -zar, a recibir 100% en el mismo examen. Yo creo que estos por cientos que recib combinado con el trabajo que hice en mi foldable son ejemplos perfectos de mi maestra en Habilidad Esencial #2.

I will now speak of my academic reflection and how I have grown this semester as a student and as a person. The Habit of Mind that I believe I have really developed this year has to be evidence. Before Da Vinci, I turned in my work, forgot about it, and then dealt with the grade I got. But now, I have learned to keep evidence in mind when I complete my projects, asking myself the question, Is this going to show my teacher that I really know what Im talking about? If I receive a grade I am unsatisfied with, I revise my work, ensure that it has sufficient evidence to prove my mastery, and resubmit it for the grade I feel I can achieve. My POL especially demonstrates my growth in the area of evidence I have a greater understanding of what needs to be presented and what doesnt. The Habit of Mind that I feel I can improve on is community. Im not very active in Advisory or CD or any sports or clubs here at Da Vinci. While some of this can be blamed on my restrictive school-home schedule, my lack of school participation is a product of my unwillingness to well, do anything. Now, I know the importance and value my high school years have on my life, and I am not willing to take any more years for granted. Next year I will strive to make the necessary sacrifices to get myself into an afterschool club or two, as well as get out of my comfort zone when it comes to school activities. As for 21st Century Skills, I have experienced immense growth in my use of technology, especially in my Engineering class. Looking back at where I was with Autodesk Inventor at the beginning of the semester, I am amazed at how much better Ive gotten. Of course, Im definitely no Mr. Perez, but I believe Im well on my way to being there. The technology I use at school and during my day-to-day has advanced, and Im proud to say that my skills are advancing with it. The 21st Century Skill that I wish to focus on improving next semester is the skill of initiative. Of course, I do whats required of me, but Ive realized that I

never do more than what I have to. I watch All-Star awards being given, and the recipients are always students who go above and beyond in their courses - not to mention that the students who take initiative in their communities and classes are the ones prioritized by not only good universities, but prestigious ones as well. My father, during Student-Led Conferences, pushed me to get fives instead of the fours I was already achieving an idea that, at the time, I dismissed as ridiculous and overrated. I now see that it is always better to do more than what is expected; to always strive for greater, and to take initiative in every area of my life, not just my academic one. What monstrosities would walk the streets were some peoples faces as unfinished as their minds. I love this quote. It embodies something I strive for, something I live for. Everything I do, everything I study, everything boils down to this one thing I want nothing more than to have a mind that I am proud of. To have a mind that others are proud of. To have a mind that my schools, my teachers, my parents, and my peers are proud of. My name is Isabella Rios. I am going to be in the tenth grade this fall. Thank you for listening to my presentation of learning.