"Action" - Badminton

This last weekend of Badminton for the first semester was really enthralling and rejuvenating. The one hour Saturday session was organized in the Royal College Sports Complex because the D.S. Senanayake Sports Complex was closed for the Poya Day. Hence, as only one court was booked, I only got the chance to play two doubles matches with senior players as well as my peer Onkar. However, the two hour session today was a period in which I got to play many matches, both doubles and singles, due to the availability of two courts. I was able to challenge myself this weekend by playing continuous matches with minimum breaks, and also winning! This was a result of my dedication and commitment to this activity as I always attended these sessions. In this weekend, I spent time playing matches against and with all players. This helped me to learn new tactics such as the order of placements required to challenge the opponents in a doubles match. Also, it helped me to stay on track to accomplish my first IB year goal of improving my physical stamina.

Below are a few photographs taken on Saturday in the Royal College Sports Complex:

Me (wearing the blue shirt and black shorts), hitting a smash!

Serving smartly :)

Hitting a backhand shot.

Successfully reaching for a overhead shot played by my opponent!

Surprise drop shot.

Another strong smash!

Below are a few photographs taken on Sunday in the D.S. Senanayake Sports Complex:

Me (wearing a black shirt and whitish shorts), serving to the opponents!

A backhand cross-court drop shot!

Hitting a smash in a rotational doubles format!

A simple drop shot!

SMASH!

Me hitting a backhand overhead clear, a shot which I still need to perfect (An area of improvement).

Reaching for a drop shot played by my opponent!

Reflection:

My 'Action' activities this semester, both Badminton as well as Swimming, have been successful. I have been able to develop new skills, work collaboratively with others, and achieve my goals of improving my physical stamina and becoming a more tactical badminton player while enjoying the sport. 

I am now looking forward to continuing this activity in the next weekend in order to further improve my physical fitness in the next semester.

"Creativity" - Second 'double' Guitar class!

It was a fun class today! In the beginning of the class, I revised all the classical guitar melodies that I had practiced. I was able to play all of the tunes except for "Lambada" quite fluently. This was because "Lambada" had been given to me in last week's class and due to 4 exams this week, I was only able to practice once. Hence, I spent time playing this tune correctly. Also, as this tune requires knowledge about counting beats, the teacher taught me the way to count beats by identifying notes. Later, I learnt to identify musical notes without using numbers. Learning to understand the notes will require memorization and constant practice. Hence, I practiced and memorized a few of these notations and their proper counting. After that, I learnt the difference between the Upando and Tirando techniques for the classical guitar. It was interesting to learn that stressing on the strings in different manners creates different sounds.

After practicing guitar for one hour, I spent half an hour doing finger exercises with my peers. The I then practiced playing a song called "Unchained melody" using the chords given by the teacher. After practicing the song for 10 minutes, I spent the rest of the session practicing the songs that will be played in the next performance. We practice these songs in every class in preparation for a program that will be organized by our teacher; however, the date of this show has not been decided yet.

Reflection:

As this was the last class for this semester, I believe that there has been a large progress in my guitar skills. I started learning guitar from the base level about two months ago, and now I have completed the basics of guitar and am moving towards the moderate level. I have been able to tackle this challenge successfully. I adhered to my CAS goals of the year as well as the goals for the first semester, and I have been successful in achieving my goals. It has been an exciting semester for me and I really enjoyed developing new guitar skills. 

I am now looking forward to continuing guitar classes in January after a practice-filled vacation!

"Service" - Library Service

Today's library service session was really unique and joyous for me. In the beginning, I returned all the newly returned books to their designated shelves. This took about 20 minutes as many books had been borrowed out last week for the "book week". Next, I started to reorganize some of the most untidy and disorganized shelves with my partners Humza and Onkar. After 5 minutes, Skyllor, the activity leader, and Mrs. Raina Lockwood, the activity supervisor, had a meeting with us. They offered me and Humza the position of Library Service leaders for next year. As Onkar will be leaving in the beginning of next year, he will be our co-leader temporarily. We all humbly accepted the new role. I believe that this will be a challenge that will help me to develop new leadership skills. I will be able to organize and initiate activities, plan fundraisers in collaboration with others to engage in issues of global importance, and increase my awareness about my own strengths and areas of growth. I am really happy that I have been nominated for the role of a leader next year with my partner Humza. I will surely observe our leaders and absorb their leadership skills for the rest of the year.

Also, as next week's session will be the final one before the Christmas vacation, a pizza party will be organized collaboratively and the success of this semester's library service will be celebrated.

Reflection:

I believe that this semester has been really enjoyable and successful. I have been able to adhere to my CAS goals for the year, as well as the goals for this semester. I have developed new skills and learnt about the functioning of the library, taken part in fundraising events for charity, and also worked dedicatedly and collaboratively.

I am looking forward to attending the last session of the semester next week, and also continuing this activity in the next semester.

"Action" - Badminton

I enjoyed playing badminton this weekend as it relieved me from the academic pressure! On both the days, I played against senior players as well as my peers who are on my level. Also, this weekend, I focused on improving my placement. The placement of shots in badminton is a very crucial element. It helps one to tire the opponent by making him run behind and follow the shuttle around the court. Also, this helps in forcing the opponent to hit wrong, simple, or weak shots. The placement can be implemented in all aspects of the sport, ranging from serving, to smashes, and to drops! To become good in placing the shuttle like a professional player, I will need to be alert at all times about the opponent's position on his court as well as his strong hand and area of reach.

This weekend, I was able to successfully develop and improve this skill. I feel that I am on track to accomplishing my goals for the first semester, i.e. becoming a strong badminton player who uses both strength as well as logic/tactics.

Below are a few photographs taken during a match played by me against my peer Vishnu.

My serving has improved.

Hitting a drop shot!

Hitting a diagonal drop shot and winning a point!

Smash!

It is important to know your opponents position before hitting a shot.

Playing against my opponents drop shot.

Making my opponent run by hitting an overhead clear, and easily winning a point!

Playing a low backhand shot.

Celebrating after defeating my opponent with a tricky drop shot!

I hope the upcoming badminton sessions are as active (or even more) than this weekends' sessions!

"Creativity" - The 'double' Guitar class!

Today was a special guitar class. As there will not be any guitar classes in the last two weeks of December due to Christmas, there will be two hour session classes in the first two weekends. Hence, today was a two hour guitar class. In the beginning of the class, I practiced and performed the song 'Morining has broken' using the classical guitar notes. Then, after 15 minutes, I wrote down and practiced playing the famous tune 'Lambada' using the classical guitar.

After around 10 minutes, the teacher Mr. Netaji taught me and my peers the basics about counting notes and the different beats indicated by the symbols/notes. These were: Semi-breve, Minims, Crotchets, Quavers, and Semi-quavers. I was able to gain new knowledge about the instrument and also learnt more about the background of the classical guitar!

After the first hour, the rest of the session was dedicated to practicing acoustic guitar. We started by doing finger exercises such as the 'finger roll' which we had learnt last time, and other exercises which involved quick finger movement for changing chords. After this, we practiced playing a few songs using chord progressions. I learnt a few new chords today too, such as A minor and F# minor. After this, the class ended with an entertaining session of learning how to play the 'strong' chord progressions. These are chord progressions used by in rock songs by guitarists, who mostly use electrical guitars. However, the only difference between acoustic guitar and electric guitar in this case is that the electrical guitar can be connected to an amplifier to distort the sound!

Overall, it was a fun session in which I learnt about the background of classical guitar and also practiced well (committed) in order to be focused towards my semester goals for this activity. I am now looking forward to next weekend's double class in which I will continue to learn more about the classical and acoustic guitar, while also gaining experience by playing them with the proper technique.

"Service" - Library Service

It was a regular session at the Secondary library today. It began with returning the newly returned books to their designated shelves. After that, I spent time on rearranging some of the shelves which seemed to be untidy and disorganized. While rearranging the books, I realised that I had become more efficient and faster in properly ordering the books, and maybe my alphabets had become very strong too :)

The session was not really unique today. I hope that the next session will be more active in which more goals regarding maintaining the book shelves in order are accomplished!

"Action" - Swimming

As I had not attended the badminton session today, I decided to attend my second swimming session of the month as a replacement 'Action' activity. This initiative has helped me to be continue following my CAS goals for physical fitness. Hence, in the afternoon I went to the Thurstan College Swimming Pool to attend a one hour swimming session. I followed my usual plans today and practiced swimming continuously in order to improve my stamina. The swimming strokes/styles that I practiced were freestyle, breastroke, backstroke, and backstroke with 'breastroke kick'. I also did underwater swimming practice in order to increase my breathing period underwater. 

Below are some photographs of me swimming today:

Me practicing freestyle swimming.

Breastroke is fun!

It is important for one to be able to breathe properly while swimming for every style/stroke.

The backstroke with the 'breastroke kick' is a style that helps me to relax while swimming!

It was an active session today. I believe that I have been able to become a comfortable swimmer now as I practice on a quite regular basis. I will continue my 'Action' next weekend by attending my badminton sessions!

"Action" - Badminton

This weekend, I was only able to attend the Badminton session on Saturday. I was unable to attend the early morning session on Sunday due to exhaustion from the 'Battle of the Bands' programme in which I had worked with my Library Service team to raise funds to help Jaffna Public Library and after which I reached my home at around 1:00 p.m.

However, the Saturday session of Badminton was very nice. I enjoyed playing singles matches against my peer Onkar and my brother. I won all the matches today as I was able to use all my new knowledge and recent practice with more experienced players to trick as well as physically challenge my opponents. I feel that there is improvement in my Badminton technique and that I have been able to learn many new as well as important placement methods.

Some photographs taken during yesterday's badminton session:

Playing a backhand shot.

A stable position is necessary for receiving fast shots.

A down-court smash!

A body-attack smash!

Strategical serves played an important role in the matches I played.

Movement should be from the center of the court.

I enjoyed playing badminton this Saturday. I am looking forward to continuing my physical training next weekend too :)

"Service" - Fundraiser at the 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS'

An advertisement poster for the show!

The 'Battle of the Bands' and the purpose of the Library Service team to collect sufficient funds to help the Jaffna Public Library were both successful. I enjoyed the event as I was able to serve drinks to visitors during the show and at the same time interact with them. This enabled me to gain experience in serving drinks and hence developing a new skill. Also, I was able to collaborate with my team members during the programme, and hence, our group was well organized and systematic. In the end, our group was able to collect approximately Rs.12,000.

Overall, the fundraiser turned out to be quite successful. I feel that more fundraisers of such form should be organized in the future as they are helpful to the visitors who attend the show and as the funds are used for community service activities.

"Creativity" -Guitar

It was an entertaining session today! The class began with strumming and chords practice. I learnt new strumming techniques which involved the 'finger roll' as well as pauses. I also learnt new chords today which I practiced by playing different songs with the class. After this, the teacher went into depth about the different types of cultural links of the instrument. While doing this, we enjoyed listening to our teacher play difficult Spanish Flamingo rhythms and Blues tunes. I also later learnt a few of these strumming techniques which require practice in order to become fluent.

Later, I spent 15 minutes of the session practicing classical guitar. I did not learn the chord progression playing technique for the classical guitar today. Instead of that, I practiced playing the tune of 'Morning has broken'. The teacher also taught us the proper technique of and posture for playing the classical guitar.

Towards the end of the class, we all spent time doing finger excercises. These excercises are important for getting the fingers fluent and strong. This would help for varying the volume of the tunes as well as the frequency/speed.

I am now looking forward to practicing during the week and then learning new strumming techniques for different cultural songs in the next class.

"Service" - Library Service

It was a very active session of service today. After properly returning the newly returned books to their designated places, a meeting was held regarding the library service fundraiser that will be held this Saturday. During the 'Battle of the Bands', we will be sponsoring soft drinks, juice and other such drinks. In today's session, the remaining time was spent planning the roles of each person in the event, the duty timings, as well as the whole budget of the 'project'. In the end, it was decided that I will contribute by providing ice for keeping the drinks cool and preserving them during the show. Also, I will be serving drinks with my peer Onkar from 9:00 p.m. onwards to till the end of the show. 

I am looking forward to this programme as it will be both entertaining as well as an activity for a good cause.

"Action" - Badminton

This weekend, both the badminton sessions were really entertaining as well as action filled as I got the opportunity to play in doubles matches against more experienced players. I was able to use all the skills I developed by playing against my peers in the past and all the experience I had till now regarding placement and shot choice while playing these matches. Other than this, I was given some advice by my partner during matches which added to my skills. Also, I am now able to see a difference in my playing tactics as I am able to move around the court faster as well as play more a variety of tough shots confidently. However, I feel that I can still improve my reflexes and flexibility. These would help me to play against strong and quick smashes, while also enabling me to move my foot movement at a sophisticated level to reach for a shot.

Other than this, I also played against my peers this weekend. I enjoyed playing singles matches after a while as these matches help me to improve my placement tactics and shot choice. I also learnt from my peer Onkar that fake shots can be really useful too. Deception is a trick that one can use during the game, however, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the sport. The fakes and feints can be used while serving, smashing, receiving smashes, and all other aspects of the sport. These add both to the level of sophistication of the matches and enhance its quality, and also make the matches more physically active. Overall, this was a nice weekend regarding Action!

A few moments captured during the doubles matches I played this weekend:

Starting the match!

A center court smash!

Playing a quick backhand shot.

Reaching out for a smash!

Playing a clear shot.

SMASH!

Playing a drop shot!

Using rotational tactics in the doubles match.

Hitting a overhead clear shot from the corner of the court.

Successfully deceiving by hitting a drop shot instead of overhead clear.

Hitting a smash!

The service against more experienced players should be complex and different every time!

After winning a doubles match :)

I am now looking forward to a more action filled weekend next time!

"Creativity" - Guitar

It was a fun guitar session today! In the beginning of the class, I played the tune of the song 'Streets of Laredo' which was given to me the previous weekend. I was able to play the tune quite fluently. Hence, my teacher gave me a new tune called 'Morning has broken'. I practiced playing this tune for approximately 20 minutes. My teacher has told me that I will be learning to play the classical guitar with chords from next class onwards as I have now been able to play classical guitar tunes by plucking quite fluently.

After this, I practiced playing different songs using chords and strumming techniques. This activity was intended to help me to both revise my chords as well as learn some new ones. I spent the rest of the guitar session doing strumming exercises that would help me strengthen my fingers. These exercises will help me to enhance and improve the sound quality while playing tunes and songs.

I am looking forward to gain new knowledge and learn more in the next class.

"Service" - Library Service

It was an interesting session of library service today. As there was no library service last weekend, there were many books to be placed back to their designated shelves. Hence, it took me and my group around 15 minutes to organize the books. Next, a meeting was held regarding the fundraising for the Jaffna Public Library. The previous idea about planning a movie night was cancelled after a analysis of the success of previously carried out movie nights. Hence, the new fundraising plan is to set up a drinks stall at the "Battle of the Bands" programme. This program is planned by the Cleft Palette service group in order to raise funds for operations of infants suffering with cleft palette. It is to be held on 26th of November 2011 in the auditorium of The Overseas School of Colombo. Also, It is estimated that more than 500 people will be attending this program in which many local as well as school bands will be performing. Hence, by providing drinks to the people at the show, we (the Library Service team), will be able to help another service group to be successful in accomplishing their good deed, while raising funds for the Jaffna Library as well.

I feel that this fundraiser is very important as it engages with an issue of global importance and carries positive ethical implications with it. The Jaffna Library was inaugurated in 1934. It became one of the most flourished libraries in the world, gaining recognition as one of the best libraries in South-East Asia. However, the Jaffna Library was burnt during the ethnic war in Sri Lanka in 1981, and restored slowly. Now, even though it is now completely renovated, the library requires some enhancement in its infrastructure. A library is an important institution in a society. Some quotes about the role of this institution presented in simple words but with deep morals are:

"A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life."
Henry Ward Beecher

"A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life."
Norman Cousins

Hence, the fundraising for this library is a very crucial for the growth of ideas in Jaffna.

I am now looking forward to this event on the 26th of December. Also, as the Book week (28th November -  2nd December) is approaching, it will be fun to be part of the team that organizes programs that promote reading and encourage the use of the library in the school community.

"Action" - Swimming :D

I attended my first swimming session of this month today! It was quite a refreshing experience as well as a challenging one. As planned after my previous session, I decided to complete at least 15 sets of 30 metre lengths today in which I would start with freestyle and then return with an alternate stroke which would be either breastroke or backstroke. It was a really challenging task for me as I got tired after about 30-40 minutes only. Then, I took a short 5 minute break in which I attempted to float on the surface of the water by paddling with my legs and while also keeping both my hands above the water. After this, I continued swimming with a few short breaks and finally succeeded to accomplish my goal for the day. I felt that this session has helped me to learn that with practice I will be able to increase my number of laps without taking a break and also that I need to prolong my breathing durations by practicing underwater swimming. Overall, this was a fun session. 

Below are some photographs from today's swimming session :)

Me (in the center) doing freestyle swimming!

I spent some time practicing underwater swimming today! (I am in the third lane.)

Me (in the third lane) practicing breastroke.

I feel that breastroke is a soothing and relaxing swimming style.

Me doing freestyle swimming!

In the future swimming sessions, I will continue the same practice routine and slowly increase the number of laps with my improvement in order to accomplish my final goal, i.e. to steadily improve my stamina. I hope to attend my next swimming session soon!!!