9th – 12th PORTFOLIO ITEMS
These directions are to help you create your digital portfolio. A description of each item is designed to assist you in selecting your portfolio items. The sample portfolios will also give you ideas on what to select and how to format them. You want a "professional look" to your finished digital portfolio.
Personal
- Photograph: See directions for use of the digital camera or scan in a picture of yourself. Use your senior portrait if available.
- Personal Reflection Essay: Most of you will be asked by your English teacher to write a reflection essay each year. The essay topics are chosen to allow you to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of each grade level. Essay prompts have asked 9th graders to reflect on the past and the future, 10th graders to determine what makes them special, 11th graders to set goals and 12th graders to connects the world of high school to careers and their future. You may select these essays or any reflective paper you have written.
- Resume: You will be asked to prepare a resume in 11th grade for the Career for a Day Project, Interviews and Job Shadowing. Resumes are created in English classes or through the assistance of the ROP counselor. Students are asked to include a current copy of their resume. The Job Finder’s Guide from Los Angeles County ROP is a valuable resource in resume development. You are encouraged to go beyond the resume templates found on most word processing programs. If you want to do a resume before the 11th grade you can gain assistance from the Career Resource Center.
- Application: You are to include a completed job or college application. You may use the Career for a Day application or obtain an application from a local business. This is something that you will do during the 11th grade. If you want to do this ahead of time, you can ask for help in the Career Resource Center.
Achievements:
- Activities List: List the various school, community, church and service activities they participate in each year. A short description of the role you play in each item listed is suggested so that the reader has an understanding of the student’s contribution to each program. For 12th graders, this list becomes your college "brag" sheet and is a critical tool for completing applications and requesting recommendations. You can use links to other items in your portfolio. See samples for formats and various ways to do this.
- Category 1 and 2: These categories would be grouping of awards or certificate, metals and trophies, that you have received in one area such as sports, music, academics, community service, or church. Create as many grouping as you need. See the examples. There are many create ways to include your awards and certificates.
References:
- Network: Collect the names of adults who could write a letter of reference for you. The name, address, phone number and e-mail address is listed for each adult. Students are encouraged to go beyond relatives and friends. These are adults you have worked with, like teachers, counselors, coaches, tutors, or ministers. By the time you are a senior, this list should be a valuable support for college recommendations.
- Business Letter: You need to demonstrate that you can write a business letter in correct proper form. Word processing programs usually have a template to help you format this letter. A business letter is an ESLR as well as a SCANS skill competency. If you wish help with this, the Career Resource Center can be of assistance
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- Letter of Reference: You are encouraged to ask employers, teachers, adult mentors, ministers, youth leaders, Scout leaders or counselors for a letter of reference. These letters reflect a student’s character and personal work habits
- Thank You Letter: You are to include copies of thank you notes sent and received. The art of writing a professional thank you note is an important career skill. Students are invited to write thank you notes to teachers, adult mentors, ministers and people who have interviewed them. Thank you letters received from organizations, teachers and community leaders are to be included as well. Students should not include thank you notes sent and received for gifts from friends or family.
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Performance:
- Skills and Abilities: (ideas include career work, words from job finders guide, things that student has done as an inventory, CAPS and COPS)
- Showcase 1, 2 or 3: Each showcase is an area of accomplishment that demonstrates your uniqueness. For each identified area, writes a brief explanation and include items or artifacts that exemplify the area. Your examples will often be links to other parts of your portfolio. You may include as many items as you can, since this is the heart of your portfolio. You are encouraged to categorize areas such as sports, music, community service, academics or art. This section of the portfolio is most useful during interviews and becomes the most important part of your digital personal Presentation Portfolio.
Academics:
- Transcript: By the time you are a junior, you need to request a non-official copy from the Records Office.
- Report Cards: 9th and 10th grade students need to include copies of your report cards. You are asked to write a brief reflection commenting on your academic progress and goals. It is important that students comment on their academic journey and growth over time
- SCANS Skills: You are asked to collect samples of you schoolwork and experiences that demonstrate your highest level of competence in each of the SCANS categories. The collection process begins after you have had some lessons explaining what the SCANS skills are and why they demonstrate your skills to go from school to a career. When the new SCANS report is released this skills will be revised. At this time, you need to select your highest level of skill in the following areas. They may come from several classes or from an area of individual expertise.
- Thinking and Analyzing
- Technology
- Use of Resources
- Information Literacy
- Systems
- ESLR’s; You need to collect samples of schoolwork and experiences that demonstrate your competency in each of the La Canada High School’s ESLR's.(Expected School-Wide Learning Results). Your portfolio is part of our school wide assessment process demonstrating what you know and are able to do. The following list is our ESLR’s. You will note that some of them overlap with the SCANS list of competencies. You can link items to both categories.
- Technology
- Character and Citizenship
- Critical Thinking
- Communication
- Life Long Learner