The End

A long, long school year has finally come to an end! I think we all definitely deserve a long, relaxing summer break.

To Ms. Halfen:
Thank you for making psychology a fun yet informative class to take! I truly enjoyed all the sarcastic comments and relatable examples that made remembering certain vocabulary terms easier. I also really enjoyed the many days of watching movies and shows (WWYD, Inside Out, and my absolute favorite: Meth Mountain... Jk). Having simple quizzes and only a few tests, however, was by far my favorite part of the class. Psychology has truly been a wonderful class to look forward to every morning!

My project - click to see details

My favorite project in this class was one that I just finished -- the Inside Out Mind Map. It was great to be able to explore my own "core memories" and make an artsy project out of it. Plus, I absolutely love Inside Out. I may or may not have stayed up until 1 AM working on it, but I think it was definitely worth my time! (P.S. the Train of Thought at the bottom is the Hogwarts Express!)

However, one thing I didn't quite enjoy about this class was... The brain! The structures and functions were horribly difficult to try and memorize; the diagrams were a bit confusing. However, when I took the time to do the vocabulary in the notebook, I began to understand it a bit better (googling several brain diagrams at home helped too). I don't think anything should be taken out of the class curriculum, but maybe a bit more time should be spent on the brain!
One suggestion: spend one class period going over some FRQ samples and responses before the AP. Even though we were prepped for the FRQs by doing Real World Examples in the vocabulary, it is still helpful and will make us feel more prepared if we go over the FRQs format and tips on how to approach it.
Once again, thank you for being a wonderful teacher! See you in AP Econ :)

To the current psych kids:
Thank you for being a wonderful bunch of students with whom I can share laughs and tears (cough cough, Inside Out). It has been a great semester with you guys through all the stress and stuff! Seniors, good luck in college! I'll definitely miss you guys, but I'm sure you all will be super successful and happy. Juniors, we have one more year left! Congrats on getting through the most stressful year of your high school career. I hope senior year is a breeze for us.
Good luck on any finals you're taking, and don't forget to enjoy yourselves and relax over the summer (and maybe get some college apps done? Juniors? Please don't procrastinate?)

To the future psych kids:
Psychology is a fun course and the knowledge acquired from this class is truly helpful to understanding and empathizing with yourself, your peers, and strangers. Learning about the different ways of thinking, disorders, and how society can affect us will give insight to how people work. Ms. Halfen prepares you well for the AP, as long as you put in effort! Do the vocabulary and complete the projects (this is a helpful site for vocabulary).
Good luck in this class :) psychology is truly an interesting class that is also applicable to real life, so I hope you can retain a few things you learn!

Links in this post
Vocabulary help - http://www.alleydog.com