Grade 11 - CAS Reflection

My first year in the IB Diploma programme has been a great blend of academics and co-curricular activities. I have taken part in a variety of activities adhering to the CAS programme and have gained experience to further develop in these spheres in my final IB year, i.e. Grade 12. The activities I participated in this year share three common achievements of mine. These are punctuality, commitment and perseverance towards the objective, and becoming aware of my own strengths and areas of growth.

In the Creativity aspect of the programme, I have now spent approximately 8 months learning to play an acoustic guitar. With a few overlaps and blends, my knowledge is divided into two parts. These are: using chords accompanied with different techniques of strumming to play any type of music, and using chord progressions and music tabs to play classical notations. I have excelled to an extent such that I have become an independent player. However, I have yet to become a good classical notation reader and a fluent player of classical notations using plucking techniques. At many instances I have learnt from my younger brother who has a 4-5 year experience in playing guitar. Thus, with the help of collaboration at instances, I have developed many skills in this new hobby (also passion) of mine. The most challenging experience for me was to take part in multiple team performances during a class programme in the Russian Cultural Center. I will practice more during the summer vacation and will aim to take part in more programs to gain both, experience of playing in front of a crowd as well as confidence in my skills.

Action has been the main highlight for me this year. I have attended a one hour session every Saturday morning followed by a two hour session on Sunday mornings. These have not only helped me to become a better player, but also a better sportsman with more understanding of the sport. I, in collaboration with other players, helped in organizing these sessions gaining experience of planning and initiating activities useful for my future. In this time, I have learnt mental strategies as well as useful techniques for offence from other more-experienced players. I wish to be able to exhibit my skills soon by either joining the school SAISA team or by taking part in other competitions. In addition to this, I have been attending swimming sessions (at least 2 per month) as a moderate swimmer at the Thurstan College swimming complex. It has also been an overall success as I have increased my stamina in both stroke swimming and underwater swimming, and achieved my main goal.

The final part of the CAS programme, i.e. Service, went very well too. I took part in the school's Library Service activity for the complete year. I became a co-leader for the activity in Semester 2 and was quite successful in guiding my team of 'Guardians of the library' to success with the ethical implications of our actions in mind.

I feel that all the broad objectives I set in the beginning of the year have been achieved even though a few minor tasks were unsuccessful due to time constraints and other issues (such as taking part in the Badminton after school activity was not possible due to transport problem). It has been a successful year in terms of CAS and I hope to extend my co-curricular base next year by broadening my boundaries, and showcasing my experience in events and competitions.

Action (May - 1st June) - Last, but not the end!

Badminton has become a regular part of my life. It has a reserved period in my weekend mornings and I take it very seriously. I enjoy the sport very much and am prepared mentally and physically to play at any given time :) The month of May has been packed with numerous highs and lows for me in my badminton sessions. Playing against far more experienced players than myself, I have been able to learn through the journey even though the results varied between wins, losses and many down to the wire matches.

This month, I played more doubles matches than usual in comparison to singles. I was puntual and committed in all sessions and collaborated and communicated well with other players, both inside and outside the court. My communication with my partners was key in many doubles matches where the opposition was recovering with surprises. However, minor new challenges were always part of the journey. These included difficulties during the matches such as judging the partners call when it may be wrong and reading each and every player's body language. 

The sports sessions this month especially motivated me this month as at the ends of matches, I was always able to share and celebrate the spirit of sportsmanship with other players. This may not really be considered a new skill, however, sportsmanship is crucial for one's growth, both as a player and a human. Also, it is the best way in which players share each others experience and learn from each other. Hence, the moral of sports will always be preserved within me as considering ethical implications associated with learning from the game and fellow players, primarily summarised by the term sportsmanship.

On the other hand, I was unable to attend swimming sessions this month due to the short preparation time remaining before the examinations in the last week of May.

This month marks the end to all the Action in this school year. However, I will continue to participate regularly in badminton. Also, I will resume my swimming schedule and enjoy the sessions during the summer break.

Creativity (May - 2nd June) - Guitar - No breaks needed when having fun!

This month, due to various holidays such as Poya day and Victory day, my weekly Saturday guitar class schedule was altered slightly. I had a single class in the first weekend, a double class in the second weekend, no class in the third weekend, and a single class in the third weekend. I punctually attended all the classes and was able to spend at least 1-2 hours per week for practice even though the dark clouds of exams were shadowing my time schedule. The main reason for this was that I enjoy playing the guitar and thus, spent my breaks practicing. Hence, I am wholeheartedly committed to becoming a nice and independent guitarist with the help of regular practice.

In my classes in May, I mainly learnt two new techniques. These were: using familiar chords while playing classical notation to play fluently, and using bass guitar chords and chord progressions for 'beginners' improvisation. I have been able to keep up with these and am satisfied with my progress.

As this month marks the end of Semester 2, this school year's Creativity programme (a part of CAS) also comes to a close. However, I am not going to miss any of my enjoyable guitar sessions during the two month summer, and am additionally planning to practice more in order to become a confident guitarist, strong enough to take part in school programmes next year. Also, I will be performing in a second programme with my guitar class peers during the summer and will be working towards that as well.