CAS Hours for term 2 of Year 13 (Total Hours)

General Reflection

Overall I am pleased to say that I managed to complete and even surpass the minimum number of hours required for Creativity, Action and Service.

Creativity- Referring back to my year 12 review, one of my aims was to get more involved in creative activities around the school as I felt this was something which I lacked. I feel I definitely managed to achieve this goal as I obtained a total of 80 Creativity hours. The reason for this large figure was because of all the hard work and dedication which I put into the planning of the RSIC 2010.

Action- Most of my 68 hours worth of Action were achieved through joining the volleyball and basketball teams at school. Being a part of these teams has been a huge growing experience as I have grown and improved sports-wise trough identifying my strengths and weaknesses.

Service- I earned most of my 67 Service hours in year 12 through participating in projects such as the Koh Phi Phi Tsunami Relief project. It is projects like these which motivated me to run for Service Pillar Leader in year 13.

Fobissea Senior Games 2011

What was the activity?

Overall this was a two day event in which students from all over South East Asia flew to Thailand to compete in both basketball and football at our school. I was playing for the Regents Senior Girls Basketball team and thus only participated on the Saturday.

Stephany on defense!

What were my aims?

1. To become more of a risk-taker through playing various positions on the court and not just the one I was most comfortable with.

2. To try to score at least one goal as I did not manage to do this during the previous Fobissea tournament.

3. Lastly, I was aiming to be a good team player through putting in action the “cyclical offence” which we’d been practicing during training.

One of our matches

What did I do?

The games started at 10.00 am in the morning on Saturday and finished in the afternoon so we were all really exhausted by the end. We played a total of 5 matches and finished in fourth place. Throughout the tournament we were sometimes missing various players for different reasons and thus I was forced to play some positions which I had never tried before.

We had a barbeque after the games were finished!

What problems did I encounter along the way?

Unfortunately, despite our 100% win record from playing other schools within the nearby area, we did not play particularly well during this tournament. After losing our first match we were all feeling a little down however we decided to keep trying our best and keep the team spirit high. We ended up coming in fourth which was quite pleasing overall considering the number of schools involved.

My team mate Joo Yeong during a match!

What did I achieve?

My biggest achievement throughout the tournament I felt, was that I played for various positions on court and in addition to doing so, I was able to score a couple of shots. I was definitely a risk-taker and feel that this was a huge improvement from last year! I also feel that I was a good team player since I was an active participant in our ‘cyclical offence’ method. I did this by actively running and passing the ball in and out of the key. There were a few times where I accidentally passed the ball to an opposing team member or where I threw it out of bounds. Through accepting and taking responsibility for my actions, I feel I have become more principled.

Basketball Training and Matches 2011

What was the activity?

This activity involved training every Tuesday after school with the Regent’s Senior Girl’s basketball team. Occasionally we had matches against other International schools in the nearby area.

Resting between matches

What were my aims?

1. To become more of a risk taker through attempting more shots and layups during our matches.

2. To develop my communication skills on court as I believe this to be the key to a successful team.

Regent's 65 - ISE 19

What did I do?

Every Tuesday we would meet in the gym after school and start off the training session with a game warm up exercise called ‘suicide’. This includes starting off on the baseline of the court, jogging to the free throw line, running back to the baseline, then to the centre of the court, running back to the baseline again, jogging to the second free throw line and returning to the baseline again. This is repeated several times for a given amount of time. After this we would run through various offence and defense tactics which we could use as a team. Our most successful methods proved to be the cyclical offence and the zone defense.

Setting out the game plan

Were there any problems along the way?

During several of our matches we were short on players for various reasons. As a team player, I would step up to the challenge sometimes had to play various positions on court which I had never experienced before, ‘centre’ for instance.

GIS 16 - Regent's 71

What have I gained from this experience?

Through attempting to play a large variety of positions on court, I feel that I have become more of a risk taker. Additionally, one of my aims was to score more goals during matches which I definitely feel that I did. During matches and practices I aimed to become a better communicator and did this through calling out my team member’s names when I wanted to pass the ball to them or when I was open.

CAS Hours for term 1 for Year 13

Koh Pai Nursery service project

What was the activity?

As a part of the Round Square International Conference 2010, the Student Steering Committee arranged for each delegate to take part in 2 days of service where they would have a chance to meet and interact with our various local community partners. On both service days I was given the opportunity to visit the nearby Koh Pai Nursery for children living in the nearby slum areas. The children were all below the age of 5.

On the playground equipment with the children

What were my aims?

1. For the most part I wanted to aim at being an effective communicator and thus overcome the Thai-English language barriers.

2. Secondly, I wanted to be an inquirer through better understand the backgrounds or the children at the nursery and the lifestyles of the people within my local community. This would allow me to be more open-minded.

3. Lastly, I of course wanted to make a decent contribution to the cleaning and repainting of the nursery’s playground equipment.

One of the kids from the nursery

What did I do?

On both days, I would spend half of the time inside the nursery to play and spend time with the kids. After lunch the two halves of the group would swap duties and thus I would go outside and help to repaint and clean the playground equipment.

My new friend Gob and I

During the mornings we sang songs with the kids and made several crafts with them. Prior to arriving we had each been given the challenge of getting to know at least one kid. This included finding out their name, age and what their favourite colour was. If we were able to do this then we could go outside with our new friend to where the paints were and both place a handprint on the mural surrounding the school. As I attended the activity twice, I am proud to say that my handprint is on the wall next to both little Gob’s and Poom’s! Gob is 3 years old and she likes the colour yellow. Poom is 4 and he prefers the colour blue.

All of the delegates with the Koh Pai Nursery kids

After lunch I would go outside and help out with the repainting and cleaning of the playground equipment. On the first day we finished scraping all the old paint off of the equipment, then on the second managed to repaint both the swing set and the slide. Covering all the little nooks and crannies proved harder than expected, especially in the heat of the afternoon sun. Luckily we managed to finish though and even had time to cover each piece with a coating of lacquer to prevent the paint from chipping.

Me covering the playground equipment with lacquer

What problems did I encounter along the way?

On the first day I was faced with the problem of language barriers. I quickly realized that language barriers were not as big an issue as I’d expected, even though the kids spoke no English and my Thai is very limited. We were able to communicate with each other using the simple Thai words which my friends and I knew in addition to the use of hand gestures.

Painting with the children

What did I achieve?

I feel that through this activity I became a better communicator as I was able to play games, sing and dance with the kids despite the Thai-English language barrier. Unfortunately this meant that I was unable to learn much about the lives of the children at the nursery as they did not understand most of what I was asking. However, I did become more of an inquirer and a risk taker as I spoke to the Thai staff at the nursery about the backgrounds of the kids, using the little Thai I know. Lastly, as we managed to repaint two large pieces of playground equipment, I feel we definitely managed to achieve what we had been aiming for, as a team.

Final Round Square Conference 2010 Steering Committee Meetings (and RSIC '10)

Never before has the steering committee been so busy! All 72 schools arrived on the 9^th of October and stayed until the 15^th to experience a week full of service activities, sustainable lunches, barazza discussions, inspirational key note speakers, beautiful Thai dances, talent show evenings, International lunches and so much more.

Just one day left before arrivals day!

What did I do?

During the final weeks leading up to the conference the student steering committee were fitting in some last minute dance rehearsals for our opening ceremony performance. Each and every one of us managed to learn it off by heart which made for an amazing opening performance! The response from the audience was so great that we ended up being asked to perform is a second time during the closing ceremony as well. Standing up on that stage after our performance, no one could take away that feeling of pride and accomplishment which each and every one of us felt from listening to the endless gasps and applause coming from the hundreds of delegates.

The Steering Committee's opening performance

The last week before the conference was actually a school holiday but the steering committee came in everyday to continue preparing for the sea of delegates that were about to arrive. This included some last minute practice barazza sessions, setting up the community stalls, going over the flag ceremony, practicing our emcee speeches and various key note speaker introductions. Personally I had to practice emceeing the formal opening ceremony which was quite nerve-wracking and all the VIP guests would be present such as His Majesty King Constantine, Her Majesty Anne-Marie and Princess Theodora of Greece. Another challenge was that I had to say some Thai phrases but luckily I got help from my fellow emcee; Eye.

Handing out hill tribe bags on arrivals day

What problems did I encounter along the way?

There were several problems we encountered along the way which was to be expected at such a large and long ongoing event, but luckily there was nothing too major. During the opening ceremony for instance there were a couple very last minute changes to the program which Eye and I had been unaware of. As a result we had to remain calm and improvise a couple times during our speech as opposed to being able to work off our scripts.

Eye and I emceeing during the formal opening ceremony

What did I achieve?

Overall I could not be happier with how the conference turned out and I know for a fact that everyone involved in the planning process is extremely proud. Reflecting back on the conference preparation, I believe I have become a more responsible, open-minded and principled individual through making decisions and taking action whilst also accepting any consequences which may have arisen from them. These are definitely qualities which will be useful throughout my life. Through juggling my duties with my school work I have become a far more organized and balanced. I have grown and become far more knowledgeable from this experience and I have Mr. Crouch to thank for giving me this unique and special opportunity. There were definitely sweat and tears involved along the way but we all stuck together through it all, especially with the steering committee. We have become such a tight knit group of friends and what I’m going to miss the most is working with them on such a regular basis. Each and every one of us has taken away different teachings and memories from this experience but there is one thing we can all agree upon; We Walk Together.

Articles from the Pattaya Mail about the conference:http://www.pattayamail.com/ourchildren/round-square-delegates-introduced-to-thai-culture-105

http://www.pattayamail.com/features/round-square-delegates-admirably-perform-service-day-projects-116

Jester's Fair

What was the activity?

Jester’s fair is an annual charity event designed to raise funds for various charities in Thailand. Different stalls are set up around the area and each has a different game or activity for people to try out. Being the Service Pillar Leader of the Regents School, I was partly in charge of organizing our school’s stall: the Penalty Shoot Out.

Jesters Care for Kids

What were my aims?

1. Through undertaking this activity I was hoping to become a better communicator by advertising the Regent’s School Penalty Shoot Out stall.

2. Additionally, I wanted to help to create and design the posters which we needed for the stall. Lastly I wanted to become more open-minded and caring through interacting with some of the Jester’s kids.

Can you guess the name of the panda?

What did I do?

I arrived at the Diana Driving Range at 9.00 am and immediately began to set up the stall. A couple of the teachers and boarders had already arrived with all of the equipment we needed. Once everything was set up, we began to decorate the area by making attractive posters to advertise our stall. Throughout most of the day I worked at the Penalty Shoot Out stall and helped out by selling and collecting tickets, taking note of high scores and even going in goal a few times. During my breaks I did my part in the fundraising by participating in some of the other games around the fair.

Two of our students advertising the Penalty Shoot Out

What problems did I encounter along the way?

Upon arriving in the morning we quickly realized that the space which we had been given was about half the size of that which we had last year. Unfortunately this was an issue I had forgotten to double check prior to the event. This meant that we were really pressed for space but we managed to overcome this by removing some unnecessary tables form the area and changing the positioning of the goal post. In addition, about half way through the day we were running short on participants for the penalty shoot. We solved this problem by getting students from our school to walk around the fair with signs to advertise our stall.

My friends and I selling tickets for the Penalty Shoot Out

What did I achieve?

I believe I was an effective communicator since we managed to advertise the stall well. This was reflected in the substantial amount of funds which we managed to raise. Furthermore, I feel I was caring and open-minded as instead of playing games all day at different stalls, I spent much of my free time with the Jester’s kids whom were sitting in the shade of our tent. Lastly, I feel I was principled as I took responsibility for receiving a much smaller space than we had expected (I had forgotten to double check this ahead of time). As a team, we managed to rearrange the equipment in the area and the layout ended up being ideal.

An article from the Pattaya Mail about the event: http://www.pattayamail.com/894/features.shtml