2012 Tying things together

I Have not been keeping the blog up to date since my last post in 2011.

After the international night dance, I was involved in a few other projects such as the ASM MUN conference, and helping out the NHS at the annual college fair.

After next month's ASM talent show, I will be done will my CAS activities.

Like many IB students, CAS initially had seemed like an obligation. However as time progressed, I found that taking part in activities that I enjoyed allowed me to appreciate the contribution I was making to society and to my own personal development.

Read the post for details on my CAS project, in which I designed a questionnaire for the after school academic program

International night- Dance

The annual ASM International night is an opportunity for students to share aspects of their culture with others and also experience other cultures. I was a part of the Indian Dance troop, and we practiced around 3 times a week for around 5-6 weeks to put up this show.

This was a very interesting experience for me as it not only allowed me to go out of my comfort zone and have fun while I presented my culture to others, but it also enhanced my creativity as I was involved in organizing the show with others. The practice and the activity itself also contributed to action as part of my CAS requirements.

MUN Dublin

I went to Dublin as part of the ASM Model United Nations Delegation. The experience was both fun and educational.

It was fun as it gave me the opportunity to go sightseeing in a new city, Dublin, while at the same time allowing me to meet new people from different parts of the world.

It was educational as it enhanced my knowledge of how a global organization as the UN functions, complete with all its intricate procedures.

It contributed to my CAS experience as it was creative( drafting resolutions, coming up with ideas), active(debating) and a service ( pseudo resolutions to global issues).

ASAP Session 1 Review

I have completed the first session of the ASAP program.

• Helped 6th grade students achieve their academic potential
• personal growth- helped me review subject fundamentals
• I am now going to help improve the functioning of the program through my CAS project.

The CAS project involves redesigning the the end of session review documents to make them easier to review and do- saving on precious tutoring time.

ASAP and MUN

I will now be actively involved in the After School Academic Program (ASAP) which is a program pioneered by 11th grade IB students. Not only is this my CAS project, but also allows me to help middle-schoolers reach their full academic potential.

Last week in MUN, I was introduced to a MUN debate seesion, allowing me to better understand the functioning of the committee. I shall now be preparing for the upcoming conference in dublin.

College night and MUN

On the 11th of November, the American school of Milan held its annual college night. Many universities from the US and Europe attended this event. As a member of the National Honor Society, i was tasked with escorting a college representative to their desk, seeing to their needs and giving them a tour of the educational facilities. Furthermore, i was responsible along with other NHS members for the setting up and putting back in place the area used for the event.

It was a successful night, in which i personally improved on my confidence during formal conversations, and contributed to the benefit of the school.

On another note, weekly MUN sessions have helped me understand how the UN works, and finds solutions to matters of global importance. I hope to continue to learn new ideas and diplomacy methods in MUN.

Halloween night!!!

On Friday the 29th of October, i was a NHS volunteer helping out with the Halloween night proceedings. Work started at around 6 pm, when we were instructed by the organizers regarding our tasks. I was working at two different game stalls periodically.

At first I thought that it would be a easy and fun experience, with my friends and I being able to ourselves enjoy the activities on offer. Yet things turned out differently!- i was constantly kept busy by a continuous surge of kids wanting to enjoy the experience. I must say it was fun to entertain small kids, and even occasionally scare a few of them with haloween props! We had a very busy night and were only able to take a breather towards the last half an hour of the event.

We finished that night around 10 pm, totally exhausted!

I hope to volunteer for more activities in the future, having gained the confidence to do so after pursuing one!

Whats happening with my CAS?

• I will be joining MUN form this Wednesday. I hope to not only improve my public speaking skills but also to develop a better understanding of world affairs
• On Friday the 29th of october, I will be helping out with the school's Halloween night- hopefully it will not be very tiring and i will enjoy with all the small kids!
• I have chosen to join the school literary magazine, on the more creative side of things.
• I am now seeking more Service activities that i can get involved in.
• My friends and I are planning to create a wall mural in school as our CAS project.
• I also finished my Tennis season. I went frequently for practice and attended one tournament in which a played a doubles game,
• I will be talking about these points in more detail in the future.

Tennis

I participated in a Tennis tournament on saturday the 25th of september.

It was pretty fun as it was my first tournament and my partner and I managed to draw a doubles game 7-7 against a team from Vicenza Italy.

I spent around 4 hours at this tounament.

I have also been Selected for the NHS- national honor society, in which i hope to contribute significantly!

Tennis

I have started participating in after school tennis, around 3 hours per week.

I hope to participate in a tournament and make a contribution to the school!

Start of New School and CAS year!

My session at the American school of Milan has started, and I hope that I can achieve as much success as I did when I was in Colombo, and continue to build upon my initial ideologies concerning each aspect of CAS.

I first aim to contact my CAS co-ordinator in Colombo(Overseas School Of Colombo) who can verify my listed achievements to my CAS co-ordinator in Milan.

Then, I shall continue to explore opportunities which interest me, and update them onto the blog.

Milan-American School

Having moved to milan from colombo I have been out of touch with this blog!

as a subject change was involved in my move, I will now join the new diploma year(grade11) on the 1st of september.

I will continue to use this blog to record my CAS activities!

End of Semester Review

I believe that I have been able to acheive most of my objectives under my CAS program so far.

• Under Creativity, having attented many drum lessons I now have a basic knowledge of this musical instrument. I also gained confidence by participating in a dance performance.
• Playing squash almost everyday helped me to remain fit and was a vital distraction away from my studies.
• Over the semester I was involved in many service activities which helped to gain a greater awareness of the what need to be improved in society. It also helped me to understans the value of my education at OSC.

All the activities that I was engaged in during the last semester, would not have been achieved unless I had the encouragement of undertaking them under the CAS program.

I now hope to pursue new fields of creativity action and service in this semester.

Squash

Almost everyday I play squash with my friends for around two hours. I really enjoy this daily workout as it helps me to concentrate better when studying and also contributes to my mental and physical fitness. It is one most calorie burning sport!

I also want to get involved in a sporting elective next summer, to pursue more than one field of sport.

Habitat for Humanity recently hosted a primary student's movie night.

This was done to raise funds to purchase material to help build homes for the less fortunate.

My friends and I contributed by planning things such as ticket prices, screening dates, food and drinks for the children and we also went over to a local supermarket to check the prices of this food and drink. On the day itself, we were tasked to look after the needs of the children, and helped to clean up after them!

On a different note, I am planning to take up swimming lessons- Having always been fearful of swimming, I want to motivate myself to take up this new challenge!

Drums

Having previously learned the recorder, I am now going to learn the drums!

Every week on Saturdays, I will go to the Yamaha music center to learn under the guidance of a professional teacher. I enjoy listening to rock music and believe that learning a vital instrument for this genre will help me to further enhance my enjoyment of music.

I am determined to regularly practice and eventually be a knowledgeable drumist!

Creativity

On the 9th of October I will be dancing with my friends for an Indian festival known as 'Diwali'. Being a person who has always been apprehensive of dancing in front of people, I found this to be a good opportunity to gain confidence on the stage and have some fun as well, away from my academics. Having drifted away from my comfort zone, I hope that 2 hours of practice for a whole 2 weeks will help me gain a an enjoyable yet self enhancing experience. I believe that my enjoyment of this activity will encourage me to undertake a similar project in the future.

SERVICE-Making a difference.

My visit to the Mama Papa home in Kalutara helped my friends and myself to make challenged children happy for a evening.I am determined to be able to undertake more visits such as this in the future.Eco Plus an environmental initiative undertaken by the OSC which I am a part of tries to make a difference in environmental sustainability in the school.Our first initiative is to collect disused phones and batteries in order to recycle them.

Habitat for Humanity,a programme to help house the homeless is another initiative where along with my friends I will we helping out with a fundraising movie night.

Finally being a co-captain of the school green house has helped me undertake a role of leadership and team building which is both challenging and exciting!

My aim for the future is to be able to sustain present activities while at the same time undertaking more different yet achievable new ones!

Action=loose calories+fun!

A great way to escape from the world of academics, I enjoy playing squash at least once a week with my friends.My goals for this year are to be able to sustain choice sporting activities to achieve the above formula!

Football on Fridays and the regular game of table tennis also help me to keep trim!

In the future my aims are to try out for saisa football or adventure into new sporting arenas!

CREATIVITY-A way to express myself!

Having submitted my idea for the design of the new PE uniform,and visiting the Colombo art show,I believe I have laid the foundation for quite a creative year ahead.Next I am thinking of learning how to play a musical instrument as i would like to be able to create music similar to what I like to hear.

Being a student of IB visual art further helps me to wander into new creative territory