PHYSICS: Can you believe it?!? This is your LAST web post comment!! This is where you put it and here are the three things I want you to talk about:
1) How did physics grow you? What did you learn about yourself?
2) What advice do you have for future physics students?
3) What could we have done different this year that would have helped you learn physics better?
Can’t wait to hear from you!! 🙂
1. Physics taught me how to study and push past the academic boundaries I had set for myself. I learned that I could do way more than I thought possible at once. Taking physics and pre-cal all in one year has taught me that taking multiple classes that challenge me at once is not always the best choice but I am glad I chose to take both.
2. Do not procrastinate on lab reports and studying for tests it will catch up with you and it will make everything harder in the long run.
3. I could have taken notes better and started taking them earlier. More visual examples would have be helpful for me
1. Physics taught me how to study and push past the academic boundaries I had set for myself. I learned that I could do way more than I thought possible at once. Taking physics and pre-cal all in one year has taught me that taking multiple classes that challenge me at once is not always the best choice but I am glad I chose to take both.
2. Do not procrastinate on lab reports and studying for tests it will catch up with you and it will make everything harder in the long run.
3. I could have taken notes better and started taking them earlier. More visual examples would have been helpful for me. I always remembered the visual examples toward the beginning of the chapter more than the other notes I took.
1. Physics has helped me grow in more ways than I thought. I learned that I could achieve things that I did not think possible. I learned that I like studying in a study group. I learn how to accept failure better and not everything works as planned and how to live with it.
2. Watch out for simple mistakes such as not being able to read, not being able to count, and not rearranging simple formulas. If you do make a mistake learn from it. Do not stress too much for a test, it is what it is and you know what you know. Try the things that Ms Skinner suggests to use to study. Some of those things are where she gets her questions from.
3. At first physics was challenging in how to study and the lab reports, but after a while I got the hang of it and learned from my mistakes. I would have liked the answers to the homework for both math problems and conceptual problems while I was studying. Because of that I could only review certain homework problems while I was studying and the conceptual problems I could not review because I could not always remember if I got them right or not.
1. Physics taught me to think differently and how to manage my time better. Aside from the mass of formulas and concepts that I learned, I learned how much I love the intricacies of nature and how God has planned for everything works.
2. Watch out for the higher math, addition and subtraction gets tricky. Do not stress as much as you feel like you should be, Ms Skinner is awesome and she’ll make sure you are not too overloaded. MANAGE YOUR TIME WISELY, that alone helps remove the stress.
3. I would have managed my time better. The TikToks were not worth putting of homework and lab write-ups. Go to all the help sessions and look over your notes just one more time please. Talk to Ms Skinner more! She was awesome in Chemistry and she’s even more awesome in Physics, and she loves you and wants what is best, even if it does not seem like it. You rat trap car, keep it simple stupid, and your Rube-Cube, under 5 feet.
1. Mrs. Skinner I don’t know if you remember this, but I actually originally got denied for this class. I was told that my math teachers did not feel as though I was well enough equipped to take the class. Well, I took it anyway. Whether out of determination or spite I couldn’t tell you, but I am so insanely glad I did. Not only did I exceed my own, my teachers, and my mom’s expectations, but I also learned a valuable lesson. Being afraid of taking a leap that could possibly end in failure will never get you anywhere. I can confidently say that I failed over and over in this class. Both literally (my lowest test was a 56) and metaphorically (I gave up on my rat trap car the night before). But I can confidently say that all of those failures resulted in one of my biggest successes. I have not one single time regretted my decision to take physics. I am proud of how hard I worked. I cannot believe the kid who was planning on maybe finishing with a C, is finishing with an A, got a star, and just may be exempt from the final.
2. My advice for future physics kids is to stop being so afraid of failing. I know that most of the future physics kids are burnt out gifted children. Kids who probably think that their worth and their grades have a directly proportionate relationship. I know this about you because I was you. I can say with complete certainty that being terrified to make a mistake is never going to help you reach your full potential. Being petrified to get anything less than a 90 is not going to teach you much but perfectionism, self-hatred, and insecurity. There is no room for growth unless you are willing to take down the boundary lines. The road to success is paved in mistakes my friends, don’t be afraid to make them.
3. I genuinely wish that I had discovered Hewitt Drew -It earlier. It was insanely helpful and definitely got my test grades up.
For the last time, I love you Mrs. Skinner. The world needs more teachers like you.
Bella Napoli signing off.
1. Physics grew me by showing me the dangers of procrastination. While in other classes I had learned it was not a good thing, it was not until this year that I realized how dangerous it was, especially with the lab reports. I learned that I can make myself do work in a timely manner without procrastination, I just have to have the right motivation and mindset.
2. My biggest piece of advice to future physics students would be to find a balance between stressing and not stressing. There are definitely some things to stress about, like the Rube Goldberg project. But if you stress too much, you won’t have fun with this class and instead always be worrying about something that you probably shouldn’t.
3. If there were one thing to help me learn physics better, it would be more demonstrations and real life applications than there already were. I know there are limits to how much interactive things we can do, but I really enjoyed and learned more from the interactive parts than the notes.
1. Physics helped me grow by showing me how and when to study correctly because, at the beginning of the year, I was initially studying a day or two before the test, maybe glancing at some problems. However, by the end of the year, studying became a big priority for me as I did problems, watched videos, and looked over my notes more than twice. Furthermore, it helped me to push past my comfort zone and enjoy the activities that,. although they may be challenging, end up being the most fun. Finally, I learned to not doubt myself as much as I do because that only hurts me in the long run; rather, I should trust God’s plan for myself (even when it includes failure).
2. My advice to future physics students is to not procrastinate on anything (homework, test, or project). Furthermore, you shouldn’t be afraid to fail because you will, but it teaches you valuable lessons that you’ll never forget (trust me, I know).
3. Honestly, the teaching style was great and I have no real complaints about it. However, some more demonstrations would be cool, but that’s more of a personal opinion rather than a gripe.
1. Physics taught me several things this year, but nothing learned in the classroom was as valuable as the life lessons I learned along the way. Learning to fail wasn’t fun, and it brought a lot of stress with it, but it grew me as a person. It also taught me that sometimes I tend to caught up in things that really don’t matter. I can get so bogged down with striving for absolute perfection that I forget that sometimes our greatest successes are our failures because they lead us to ideas we would not have had otherwise. The countless design challenges as well as the projects this year also taught me how to be flexible, and I learned to adapt under pressure.
2. For future physics students, don’t worry about being perfect. It’s not going to happen. You’re going to fail, you’re going to have struggles, but those failures will change how you think and open your eyes to new possibilities. So embrace the failure, you never know what God may show you in the midst of it.
3. Honestly, I really enjoyed physics this year. The only thing that I think that could have helped me learn better was reviewing the conceptual questions from the homework. Sometimes I wasn’t totally sure if my answer was right, so I think spending a little more time reviewing our homework might have helped reinforce any ideas I was unsure about.
1. Physics grew me by making me learn to work quickly and without being overly cautious. Specifically, the tests are long enough that I have to work very quickly without taking too much care about small details. Physics has taught me to be quick and accept good enough. A “fail faster” mentality
2. Do your homework, and do it well. The homework is usually difficult enough and comprehensive enough that if you do it while trying to get everything right, it will probably suffice for most of your studying. It may be tempting to breeze through the homework because it gets graded for completion and not accuracy, but the homework is the time to worry about small details. Also, don’t be too worried about writing down stuff during lectures. Pay attention and engage during the lecture, and write stuff down later.
3. More physics classrooms. Those are very useful.
You are a great teacher, Ms. Skinner! We all love you. See you later
1. Physics taught me to continually look for better alternatives and solutions especially when things failed. Not only that, physics also taught me that failure is never truly negative. Everyone has always heard that saying, but I experienced that truly this time. I learned to learn from mistakes and to be able to adapt and change up things when they happened so that I wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.
2. My advice for future students is to dig in. Mistakes are inevitable, and they will likely come often at the beginning. The important thing is to not give up when these mistakes arise or when things seem to not get better because things will eventually click.
3. More Paul Hewitt conceptual review on test review days. Being able to talk through those concepts helped a lot.
I missed the deadline for my last web post. Look at me.
1. Physics grew me this year by teaching me how to pick myself up again after I fail. I had many moments this year where I felt frustrated after I didn’t do as well as I had hoped, or didn’t prepare as I should have. Throughout the year, I became better at handling these moments and focusing more on how I could improve and learn from the grade rather than beat myself up over it.
2. Get there early the first day so you can get a seat at the front of the class. It’s so easy to let your mind wander if you sit in the back, and if you get lost during a lesson, it can be really difficult to get back on track.
3. I brought one of the Hewitt books home, it probably would have been very helpful if I had actually utilized it. Also, I was terrible at actually getting myself to sit down and focus while studying for physics, so it probably would’ve helped to have had someone check in on me regularly and make sure I was staying on task.
Thank you for everything, Ms. Skinner! Your classes have taught me so much both about science and about life, and I’m so grateful to have had you as a teacher. We love you, and we’ll miss you!!
Last webpost comment, here we go….
1. Time after time, Physics grew me by proving that success rarely comes the first time. Of course I knew that beforehand, but this class really demonstrated that it takes multiple failures and strong determination to get something right. My first test grade in this class was not my best, but after changing my study routine, success flowed in. Our Rube Goldberg was definitely not successful the first time (or the first 50 times for that matter), but after evaluating everything, we succeeded in the competition. One lab took 4 days instead of 1 day because of wacky data, but after redoing it a third time, we got it right. Determination was essential to these successes, and it is okay to fail time after time. It was my attitude towards my failures that really mattered. It was easy for me to think that I was going to fail in my career if I was not good at science, and I did not like disappointing those around me. I always feared that messing up would cause people to think that I’m not smart too. However, it was important for me to realize that none of that was true and staying devastated about failing did me no good.
2. My advice for future physics students would be to take all of the opportunities that you receive. While school is super important, your senior year experience is too. Get some sleep and take breaks (but not too often). It’s important to find the perfect balance between school and your leisure life early on. Cherish your experiences with your friends and family because soon you might be 8 hours away from all of them. As an honors student, I always felt like I was confined to my schoolwork, but looking back, I really wish that I loosened up and recharged myself more often. We all try to be perfect academically, but that is simply not feasible.
3. I wouldn’t change anything major about the style/curriculum of this class, but one small thing that I would change is reviewing conceptual concepts more. Whether it be through the conceptual problems from homework or Hewitt Drew-it images, reviewing them often cleared up any confusion I had, even the confusion with simple concepts.
Thank you Ms. Skinner for teaching me so many valuable life lessons in addition to physics!! You’re the best!
A Hari P5 and HC6 signing off….
First thing to say IM SO SORRY THIS IS LATE!
1. How did Physics grow me and what did I learn about myself. Physics grew me firstly in my work ethic. This was the class I had to study the hardest for and put the most effort into. It taught me perseverance. There were many times near the end of the school year that I just wanted to put less effort into my labs, projects, homework, and tests, but this class and my teacher gave me motivation to finish well. This class taught me that I am EXTREMELY bad at remembering to post a regular webpost and that I need to get a better schedule at watching out for due assignments. This class also taught me that I CAN do it. I can struggle through a class to the end and still manage an A. I learned that if I put my mind to it and put the time into it as well I can succeed.
2. My advice for future physics students is manage your time and don’t stress. I look back and remember nights and even class periods before tests that I was up late or stressing trying to cram in last minute studying. I would tell them to make time for studying earlier and get sleep. Sleep is so important to physics! I was not able to concentrate in class if I did not get enough sleep! So I would definitely tell them to prioritize that. Also — DO YOUR HOMEWORK THE DAY IT IS ASSIGNED! But most of all I would tell them no matter how busy they get or full their schedule is, make time to talk with God and to study His word. I remember times I made excuses that I was just too busy but the truth is I wasn’t and I never will be!
3. What I could have done different to learn physics better is to manage my time — my advice to the future physics students is similar to the changes I would have made to myself this year. I should have gotten more sleep, studied better earlier before tests, and done more of my homework when I got home from class rather then the day it was due. I also would delete all social media platforms because that is what often distracted me when I got stuck on a hard problem!
Thank you Mrs. Skinner for being one of the most influential people in my life during my senior year! I will never forget how God blessed me with such a special and wise teacher this year! P.S. Sorry for all the late webposts and of course I will always remember to put units on tests — and thanks for telling me how to scan an image onto a lab report! I’m sure that will be very useful in college!!
-L Kingma P5
1. Taking honors physics this year has really helped me. I had heard from many people that it was really hard, so I started out the year wondering if I could do it. This class taught me the importance working ahead and studying.
2. The best advice I can give another student is to stay on top of your work. Make sure to work on labs ahead of time and study ahead for tests. There is a lot more freedom on when assignments are due, but a lot more responsibility to make sure you are not getting behind.
3. I wish we could’ve reviewed some more of the conceptual questions when going over homework. Because we had a lot to do and limited class time, we usually only reviewed problems. Although this was best for most people, the problems were my strong suit. I wish I would’ve asked to review the other questions too because that would’ve helped me on tests.
Last webpost…there’s no way this is real.
1. Honors Physics is a class that terrified me, and I had fully planned on taking Bio 2 for my senior year. That all changed when Mrs. Williams and I were talking and she convinced me that I would be way better off in college with the major I had if I took Physics with Ms. Skinner. Today I’m so glad I did. I’ve never been so proud of myself and some of the work I have completed in there. Honors Physics taught me that any assignment is possible as long as you are willing to put your mind to it and don’t give up too quickly. Through the tears, frustration, and confusion I became closer with classmates and learned that doing things together made the work not so hard. Sometimes you have to be willing to let someone else explain it then you look through it yourself to finally understand. I can unfortunately say that I never got my name on a star but for me that wasn’t important…i improved every time and that is what I am proud of. I learned to not over complicate things…except for the Rube-Cube, but it still worked flawlessly when needed …and to study over time and not all the night before because your brain can’t handle that along with the stress. I am forever thankful for the fun we had in this class and how it grew me into a better student that will be more than prepared for college classes because of it.
2. For the up and coming students considering Honors Physics…if you want to take it, you should. It’s worth it jn the end as long as you are willing to put the work in. Enjoy the Wednesday nights with no physics homework but sometimes take those nights ti get ahead on other homework or assignments in physics because you will appreciate it in the end. Senior year is the BUSIEST you will ever be but it’s the most fun. Be willing to challenge yourself, because you will learn the most, but in that challenge put in the work and don’t stress too much because I certainly did too often.
3. Honors Physics was a learning process in and of itself for me. The notes I took were good, but I wish I had used the vodcasts to my advantage more when studying. Stay ahead on lab reports even if it just means entering the data in a table on your computer instead of on the sheet to get started. Over all Honors Physics helped me in leaving Northpoint being the best student I could be and for that I am forever thankful.
Ms. Skinner, there are no words to describe how thankful I am for you. Thank you for playing the biggest role in making me the student I am today…from changing the color of fire in Honors Chem, to dropping eggs off the balcony (even if they weren’t real), and completely re-establishing the hovercraft…thank you. I will forever miss your classes, and will always remember what I learned through them. Oh and thank you for getting Austin and Bryce on rollercoasters…they are forever better people because of it. Thank you for everything. I love you, Ms. Skinner!!
R Davis P5 and HC6 signing off