• Donovan Kincaid

• Quebec Culture Presentation

• November 16th, 2020 - Second Quarter

• Mr. Burgess

• Recognize Perspectives: Explains the perspectives of other people, groups, or scholars and distinguishes it from one’s own perspective.

In my English 11 class, we had a unit where we learned about different cultures across the world. Each student was assigned a different culture to research, and get a better understanding of it as a whole. The goal of the project was to be able to recognize differences between the culture we live in and the one that we researched. I chose to research Quebec culture and what makes it unique. All of us students were given a research organizer to fill out to help us prepare the presentation that we would make. There were many different topics that I had to research, some of these were government, economics, language, customs/traditions, and religion. I used a wide variety of sources to find the information for the project to get a better understanding of Quebec culture.

After I had researched enough information to feel solid on my graphic organizer, I began to make the presentation. The creation process went smoothly and to conclude the project, I felt as if I learned a lot about the culture of Quebec and that I could tell differences between it and the culture I live in. The most notable difference is that Quebec is a very French-influenced region. Most Quebequois speak French or a dialect of the French language. Similar to American culture, the cities in Quebec are generally more progressive than the rural counterparts. Overall, the project taught me that Quebec is pretty similar to American culture, but there are some interesting differences between the two. I now have a better understanding of the region of Quebec and it has made me interested in visiting the province.

• Donovan Kincaid

• Domestic Extremist Group Poster

• March 12th, 2021

• Mrs. Stone

• Investigate the World: Poses a specific researchable question on a local, regional, and/or global issue, and explains its significance to the global community.

In my Jags Model UN class during my junior year, we spent time looking into extremism in the United States and in the global community. Since there are many different forms of extremism as well as groups, we were told to pick one group and investigate what they are, their beliefs, recruiting, recent actions, and the history of their establishment. Since we were focusing on extremist groups that are based in the United States, I was interested in researching white supremacy because it is a big issue in our country. At first, it took me a bit to decide what group I wanted to do since there are many different groups that share similar beliefs. I ultimately decided to research a group called the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC).

Not only did I have to research the group, but I also had to make a poster about them. I read articles from a few different sources to get a better understanding of the ideals and beliefs of the CCC. I learned that they are not very active anymore and that their popularity has gone down since the founding. Although the CCC is not a violent organization, they still spread misinformation and hate. The CCC may not be the biggest or baddest extremist group, but widespread false news is a serious issue that can slew the thoughts of many people in a harmful manner. I made it clear on my poster what their beliefs are and I hope that people who may read the poster take time to understand the hatefulness and serious issue of white supremacy. Overall, I believe that this project was important as I created a poster that can be shared with other people so that they can learn about the serious issue of extremism and white-supremacy.

• Donovan Kincaid

• Sassi Cassi Business Plan

• December 18th, 2020 - Second Quarter

• Mr. Donaldson

• Take Action: Assesses options and plans actions based on evidence that indicates the potential for impact by evaluating previous approaches, varied perspectives, and/or potential consequences.

For the first semester of my junior school year, I took a class called Intro to Business and Leadership. The class covered many different ideas such as qualities of a leader, business decisions, and a lot of other stuff that involves businesses. At the beginning of the class, we were assigned a project that would be due towards the end of the semester. Our project was to create a business plan. We were required to research a specific topic that we wanted our business to be. I chose to look at making an online company that would sell dog toys and treats called Sassi Cassi. A few of the necessary parts of the project were to evaluate the market and industry of dog toys and treats, figure out ways to market the product, and explore the world of finances. By the end of the project, we were expected to have a fully written paper that could be shown to a business person and be taken seriously as a potential new business.

To begin the project, I spent a lot of time assessing the industry of pet treats and toys. I looked at market trends, facts, and numerous amounts of statistics to decide if this would be a good industry to create a new business in. I also researched what caused the success of some companies and the failures of others to get a better understanding of what to do and what not to do. After interviewing people on what they want from pet products, it helped me to ultimately decide to make the company focus on creating toys that were environmentally friendly and made out of recycled materials, and treats that were homemade, delicious, and healthy for your dog.

I spent a couple of weeks gathering research and statistics to help clear my vision on what exactly I wanted Sassi Cassi to be. Soon after that, I began to write my paper. At first, writing the paper was a daunting task due to the length of it and the depth it required. I looked at other examples of business plan outlines and I had gotten advice from my teacher and parents. The final project took a lot of time and effort to create something that I was satisfied with. I had learned a lot about what it takes to even consider making a new business, as well as a lot of information about the pet product industry. I truly believe that Sassi Cassi is something that could be made into reality someday and I hope to achieve that success.

• Donovan Kincaid

• French Christmas Activities

• December 12th, 2020 - Second Quarter

• Madame Browne

• Recognize Perspectives: Explains the perspectives of other people, groups, or scholars and distinguishes it from one’s own perspective.

At the beginning of this school year, I decided to learn a new language, French. In my French 1 class, we have discussed, watched videos, and read about French culture and traditions. Although France has colonies and has influenced other nations or areas, we have mainly focused on talking about France itself. Around the holiday season is where we spent a lot of time talking about traditions and customs that are unique to France and are different from the culture of living in America. There are a lot of similarities between the new culture I was learning and the one I live in so it helped me understand and learn the French perspective of Christmas and the holiday season better.

My class did some fun activities such as crossword puzzles with French vocab relating to Christmas, and Venn diagrams to better portray the differences and similarities between the two cultures. We also watched videos and look at pictures to gain a better sense of French Christmas visually. A few of the differences that I had learned is that in France, it is common to layout shoes on Christmas eve, compared to American culture hanging up stockings, their usually Christmas feast features salmon and escargot compared to the typical turkey or ham dinner in America. One difference that I found was interesting is that in France, they generally celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December compared to the 25th. Although there are differences, I learned that the two Christmas cultures are quite similar and both have had similar and different traditions for hundreds of years.

• Donovan Kincaid

• Square Root Function Project

• September 28th, 2020 - First Quarter

• Mrs. Tolarchyk

• Investigate the World: Analyzes, integrates, and evaluates sources of evidence to develop a coherent, well-supported response to a global question.

At the beginning of my CCP trigonometry class, we learned about many different trigonometric functions. As there was a lot to learn and to understand, we were assigned to make a presentation over one function, then share it with the class. I was assigned the square root function and so I had to research various parts of it and put it on a slideshow. I analyzed data from my math book, as well as the internet to fully understand the information I needed. The slideshow required a few different key things, such as the function’s formula, a picture of the graph, and some simple answers surrounding the function.

I did not have any struggles finding the necessary information about the square root function as I was researching it. The slideshow provides all of the necessary details that you would need when learning about the function. It contains answers to its domain, range, maximum and minimum points, and even more. After everyone created their presentation, we shared them as a class and took notes about each function. The project was overall quite easy and it helped me be more comfortable with the new material we were learning at the time.

Resolution

For 2021, the main goal that I would like to work towards. My first goal is to reduce my carbon footprint and to be more environmentally friendly. After seeing what life was like in 2020 with staying home due to Covid-19, it took me some time to think of how I can reduce my carbon footprint and how to help the environment. One of the main ways that I could achieve this goal is by reducing waste, especially from packaging. With my family being reliant on most of our goods, foods and other products to be shipped to our house, I want to figure out how to reduce extra waste that comes with packaging.