105 Cedarbrook Rd. Brampton, Ontario, L6R 0W4 June 14th, 2013 Mrs.

Kaloshi Biology Teacher, Grade 11 Louise Arbour Secondary School 365 Father Tobin Road Brampton, Ontario

Closing Letter
Dear Mrs. Kaloshi, Biology is the study of living organisms divided into many specialized fields; it covers a broad area of vital processes. For example, biology can be divided into zoology (the study of animals), botany (the study of plants), morphology (the study of structures), physiology (functions of organisms), etc. Based on my experience in Biology this semester I can say it was a very practical subject that combined the concepts of two learning methods. It included many hands on activities like labs, and station work; and also a lot of note taking and textbook reading. There are some students like me who like the hands on learning method and then there are some students who like the note taking process; so this course was like the best of both worlds. Studying biology is very important for a health care professional. A health care professional is an individual that provided health care to another person in need. They need a basic understanding of the human body and medicines which include antibiotics and viruses. In this course we learned about Internal Systems, this unit taught us about our bodies; the different organ systems we have what their functions were and how they are treated. In the evolution unit we learned about antibiotic resistant bacteria and how it is a major problem in the medical field. Doctors are unable to create new antibiotics fast enough to fight the bacteria that are growing immune to them. In the biodiversity unit we learned about the pros and cons of viruses and how they can be used to create vaccines, but are also very dangerous. All these topics are very relevant to that of a health care professional because they related to the human body and new medicines. I came into Biology with a blur. I had science in grade ten but during first semester. Now that I had it again in grade 11 second semester I couldnt really remember what we learned in grade 10 biology except for mitosis. Thus, I came into Biology with no previously held beliefs or theories. During the Evolution unit which I found most exciting I got to learn about how organisms and species came to be. In the Internal systems unit I got to learn about our internal organ systems about the special functions, the different parts, and the treatment they have. In the Genetics unit I got to learn about how important DNA and traits are passed down from generations. It really explained to me how traits that my grandpa has occurred in me. In the biodiversity unit I learned about the variety of species that exits in this world and how there many species that are left unknown/unclassified. Thus, with biology this semester I certainly gained more knowledge in this field.

At the beginning of the year I created a plan to that involves me doing tasks that I usually dont do to achieve my desired high mark. Some of these strategies and tasks I came up with was being proactive, and not to procrastinate/ manage my time wisely. I think I really did not follow my strategies the best I could of. For example, I think I did very well at being proactive. Every time I had questions or did not understand important topics I went to the teacher afterschool, in the morning or at lunch to get help. I doing this showed that I was not just going to let it past; I actually tried to pursue topics I didnt understand. However things I struggled with was managing my time which led to me procrastinating. My goal was to create schedules to manage my workload; however I did not do that. I had a problem with leaving my assignments till the day before its due. This semester in Biology I actually tried to spread out my work and not leave it till last minute. I dont think this strategy worked out this year because I didnt make my work schedules. Schedules are designed to set reminders, and to manage your time wisely. Without the work schedules I couldnt remember things I had to do and nor did I manage my work with my time. This course was a perfect opportunity for me to practice my time management skills; however I did not do that and that really increased the pressure on me. Thus, the strategy that worked the most for me is being proactive. Being proactive for a change actually helped me understand topics better. As I stated earlier I found biology a mix of hands on activities and a lot note taking. The one thing that I liked about the notes is that we did not have to write everything. We were provided sheets where we just had to fill in the blank. This allowed us to actually listen to the teacher rather than focusing on how much we need to write. If there were some improvements I would say to lower the work load. The unit ending portfolios are a huge responsibility, they make up a good portion of our final mark, and they require a lot of time and effort. I dont know if it was just me but I found it really hard to manage the work load between all my other courses along with this; but then again that is preparation for university. To lower the workload there can be some elimination with the portfolio checklist; for example for the articles responses only a 100 word summary is needed with just a paragraph on your view, instead of writing the views of a student, citizen, and a professional. Other than the workload I dont think the course needs more improvements. In conclusion, I thought biology this semester was a great experience. I took biology experimentally to see if I like it or not. I thought that I was going to find biology boring but I can honestly say that I found it interesting. I would like to specifically thank you, Ms. Kaloshi for making this experience all the more better; it was interesting to know that biology can be related to things all around us.

Sincerely, Nikkatan Balakrishnan