INTRODUCTION
I admittedly came to ACLC on almost a whim; after I finished elementary school at Nea, I was given the option of continuing to their middle school or attending ACLC instead. I chose the latter because one of my closest friends was doing so as well. Over the seven years (!) I have attended this school, from a tiny sixth grader to the senior I am today, I have not had the high school experience I was sold by Hollywood --- I have had something much, much better. I have been part of a community that has supported me and helped shape me into the person I am today. As I approach adult life, I reflect now on the skills and qualities I have developed over my time at this school.
PERSONAL QUALITIES, WORK HABITS, AND ATTITUDES
I did not start my time at ACLC as an incredibly sociable person. I kept to myself most of the time and was more than a little spacey, with only a small circle of peers. I felt uncomfortable talking to people I didn’t already know, which made trying to make new friends an ouroboros of social awkwardness. When it came to group work, I always had very specific, strong ideas about how I wanted a project to look or work, but had no voice to express those ideas to my group (while still stressing out when it didn’t turn out how I envisioned it). I often ended up silently completing the project on my own without input from the rest of my group. While I still struggle with letting go of my attachment to my own ideas and resisting the urge to simply do things by myself, over my time at ACLC I have become a much more open person. I have a bigger group of friends, spanning over multiple grade levels, and I am involved with after school clubs like the Mighty Pens. I have participated in large scale school events, like the production of The Lion King a few years back. As assistant director on that play, I had to be able to talk to a lot of people and manage varying ideas and tasks, and when things went wrong, I had to be able to help people out backstage. This shows that I have developed the skill of sociability over my years at this school.
NEW BASICS
Aside from personal qualities, I have also grown academically in my time at ACLC. Since I was a child, I have been inclined towards English as a subject, but during my high school career I have really excelled in reading and writing. I have been taking Honors English for the last two years, reading challenging texts like Thoreau’s Walden or Kerouac’s On The Road. Since I write recreationally, I can apply those skills I have developed overtime to academic work. Even though English was a subject I was already confident in myself about, I am glad to have been given the chance to push myself further and learn in more involved way through Honors. While I have been at ACLC, I have improved in regard to my skills at speaking. As mentioned earlier, I did not start at ACLC as the most confident or outgoing person. As a middle schooler, public speaking was something I dreaded. Now, as part of my job as the school’s poet laureate, I go up in front of the entire school every week at CCC to announce the poem of the day. In the past, I would never have even considered that something I would do, or something I could do. I have made achievements in speaking to the point where it is now second nature to me.
THINKING AND REASONING SKILLS
When I first started at ACLC in the 6th grade, one aspect of the curriculum that most caught my attention was the Learning to Learn class. I was confused by it; how are you supposed to learn how to learn? However, looking back, I realize the class was representative of what to me is one of the most valuable things I have gotten out of my education at this school. I have been able to take control of my own learning at this school in many ways, from picking essay topics on my own to being part of schoolwide learner led events. Though I was intimidated by this lack of guidance early in my time at ACLC, and still struggle a little with it today, I have become a much more independent person, and I can think for myself and work through problems I encounter. This is a skill that I am certain will be of use to me throughout the rest of my schooling, and even in adult life.
INTERPERSONAL AND COLLABORATIVE ABILITY
It has taken a long time for me to feel comfortable presenting information to people and leading discussions, and an even longer time for me to learn to love it. In my time at ACLC, I have excelled in my ability to exercise leadership and teach others new skills. I used to have very low self confidence; I never believed I was good at anything I was passionate about, and always thought that everyone else knew more than me. Being at ACLC has given me the ability to see my own self worth and understand the potential I have to not only follow my passions, but to show them to people and guide them in pursuing those passions themselves. Last year, I ran a class on film analysis for Gain Some Knowledge Day. Film is a subject I am very invested in, and something that is very important to me, so I was both nervous and beyond excited to teach a skill I had to my school. I wanted people to understand how much I loved film, but I was afraid of going too fast and leaving people who may not have as much passion for film as I do in the dust. Even though some sessions did not go as smoothly as others, I still have people come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed the class. This shows that I am able to lead a group of people and teach them a new skill in a valuable and engaging way.
TECHNOLOGY
Being a ‘digital native’, my technology skills are fairly adept simply as a result of being around technology my entire life in a way many adults were not. I use online programs to simplify tasks that may be difficult or more time consuming for me to do physically. For example, I have terrible handwriting, so using a program like Google Docs gives me the ability to create legible work that is then accessible to me whatever computer I am on. I have also used technology for fun, such as using various video and audio editing programs. Aside from just being able to use technology, I also know how to use it to my advantage in an effective way. As a middle schooler, left alone for a free period in the center with largely unmonitored computer access, it was very tempting to ignore my work and mess around for an hour. I learned the hard way after a few missed assignments to use the computers in the center as a tool, not a distraction.
I admittedly came to ACLC on almost a whim; after I finished elementary school at Nea, I was given the option of continuing to their middle school or attending ACLC instead. I chose the latter because one of my closest friends was doing so as well. Over the seven years (!) I have attended this school, from a tiny sixth grader to the senior I am today, I have not had the high school experience I was sold by Hollywood --- I have had something much, much better. I have been part of a community that has supported me and helped shape me into the person I am today. As I approach adult life, I reflect now on the skills and qualities I have developed over my time at this school.
PERSONAL QUALITIES, WORK HABITS, AND ATTITUDES
I did not start my time at ACLC as an incredibly sociable person. I kept to myself most of the time and was more than a little spacey, with only a small circle of peers. I felt uncomfortable talking to people I didn’t already know, which made trying to make new friends an ouroboros of social awkwardness. When it came to group work, I always had very specific, strong ideas about how I wanted a project to look or work, but had no voice to express those ideas to my group (while still stressing out when it didn’t turn out how I envisioned it). I often ended up silently completing the project on my own without input from the rest of my group. While I still struggle with letting go of my attachment to my own ideas and resisting the urge to simply do things by myself, over my time at ACLC I have become a much more open person. I have a bigger group of friends, spanning over multiple grade levels, and I am involved with after school clubs like the Mighty Pens. I have participated in large scale school events, like the production of The Lion King a few years back. As assistant director on that play, I had to be able to talk to a lot of people and manage varying ideas and tasks, and when things went wrong, I had to be able to help people out backstage. This shows that I have developed the skill of sociability over my years at this school.
NEW BASICS
Aside from personal qualities, I have also grown academically in my time at ACLC. Since I was a child, I have been inclined towards English as a subject, but during my high school career I have really excelled in reading and writing. I have been taking Honors English for the last two years, reading challenging texts like Thoreau’s Walden or Kerouac’s On The Road. Since I write recreationally, I can apply those skills I have developed overtime to academic work. Even though English was a subject I was already confident in myself about, I am glad to have been given the chance to push myself further and learn in more involved way through Honors. While I have been at ACLC, I have improved in regard to my skills at speaking. As mentioned earlier, I did not start at ACLC as the most confident or outgoing person. As a middle schooler, public speaking was something I dreaded. Now, as part of my job as the school’s poet laureate, I go up in front of the entire school every week at CCC to announce the poem of the day. In the past, I would never have even considered that something I would do, or something I could do. I have made achievements in speaking to the point where it is now second nature to me.
THINKING AND REASONING SKILLS
When I first started at ACLC in the 6th grade, one aspect of the curriculum that most caught my attention was the Learning to Learn class. I was confused by it; how are you supposed to learn how to learn? However, looking back, I realize the class was representative of what to me is one of the most valuable things I have gotten out of my education at this school. I have been able to take control of my own learning at this school in many ways, from picking essay topics on my own to being part of schoolwide learner led events. Though I was intimidated by this lack of guidance early in my time at ACLC, and still struggle a little with it today, I have become a much more independent person, and I can think for myself and work through problems I encounter. This is a skill that I am certain will be of use to me throughout the rest of my schooling, and even in adult life.
INTERPERSONAL AND COLLABORATIVE ABILITY
It has taken a long time for me to feel comfortable presenting information to people and leading discussions, and an even longer time for me to learn to love it. In my time at ACLC, I have excelled in my ability to exercise leadership and teach others new skills. I used to have very low self confidence; I never believed I was good at anything I was passionate about, and always thought that everyone else knew more than me. Being at ACLC has given me the ability to see my own self worth and understand the potential I have to not only follow my passions, but to show them to people and guide them in pursuing those passions themselves. Last year, I ran a class on film analysis for Gain Some Knowledge Day. Film is a subject I am very invested in, and something that is very important to me, so I was both nervous and beyond excited to teach a skill I had to my school. I wanted people to understand how much I loved film, but I was afraid of going too fast and leaving people who may not have as much passion for film as I do in the dust. Even though some sessions did not go as smoothly as others, I still have people come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed the class. This shows that I am able to lead a group of people and teach them a new skill in a valuable and engaging way.
TECHNOLOGY
Being a ‘digital native’, my technology skills are fairly adept simply as a result of being around technology my entire life in a way many adults were not. I use online programs to simplify tasks that may be difficult or more time consuming for me to do physically. For example, I have terrible handwriting, so using a program like Google Docs gives me the ability to create legible work that is then accessible to me whatever computer I am on. I have also used technology for fun, such as using various video and audio editing programs. Aside from just being able to use technology, I also know how to use it to my advantage in an effective way. As a middle schooler, left alone for a free period in the center with largely unmonitored computer access, it was very tempting to ignore my work and mess around for an hour. I learned the hard way after a few missed assignments to use the computers in the center as a tool, not a distraction.