Deep Breath in, Deep Breath Out

This week gave me time to relax after a stressful week and I am grateful for the respite. This week I submitted my Newspaper article, had one-on-one check-ins with my staffers, and focused on my ISM progress. This week in ISM I submitted my second Evidence of Learning, edited some aspects of my display board, and kept planning for our District Showcase and upcoming important events. 

My second Evidence of Learning was an assessment over what I learned about the creation of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. I used the US Department of Justice website and learned about how a FOIA request can be completed for any agency record and the format of the data can be specified in order to suit a person's needs. With this information, I plan to discuss the overall process in my Final Product presentation slides, and I plan to include the steps of submitting a FOIA request, explain what data I asked for, share what I discovered, and focus on the importance of FOIA and FOIA requests. I am still undecided on what question I would like to request data for, but I will discuss the topic with my mentor, Ms. Berry, and ask for her advice in making a final decision. I believe this assessment helped me solidify a plan to create my own FOIA request, further visualize the outcome of my Final Product, and decide how I want to explain it in an appealing and meaningful way. This semester has allowed me to take everything I have done last semester, build upon it, and I can see all my hard work come to fruition. I am beyond excited for all of the wonderful opportunities this semester provides!

Also, I also looked over my Display Board and took the time to apply some feedback that was given to me. I edited a few pages, integrating bullet points instead of paragraphs of text to better catch and hold my reader’s attention. I look forward to working on it more this week to prepare for our second Display Board review this coming Wednesday.

I received Ms. Berry’s feedback on my Final Product Proposal and her comments were invaluable! She provided advice in order to improve efficiency in the creation of my Final Product and suggested starting with the mechanics of data collection and the creation of a FOIA request. She also outlined the need for media literacy now more than ever and discussed what I will learn as I create my Product. I appreciate Ms. Berry’s time and effort in making those comments for me. I also edited my ISM Calendar, adding more dates to hold myself accountable to upcoming deadlines, and started working on my Final Presentation Night speech. 

This upcoming week will allow me to refine my existing ideas and work even more on my Final Product. I hope to keep preparing for our upcoming showcase and enhancing my presentation skills.