RCCI Christmas Celebration

This week in RCCI the club came together to create a Christmas party for the children. We worked collaboratively to organize food and activity responsibilities. The club decorated the room with balloons to create a Christmas feel for the children. One member of the club dressed up as Santa Clause. The kids were very excited about this!

As a club we increased our awareness of our areas of strength. We learned that we are great at ensuring that each student feels included and welcome. I believe that this skill is extremely important in the success of the club.

This picture was taken during the dance party. I am with two local students enjoying the Christmas spirit!

Helping Hands Christmas Party

This week in Helping Hands we threw a Christmas Party. The local children and OSC children really enjoyed this event. This party took a lot of planning.Firstly, we had to get help in sponsoring this event. We did this through writing and publishing a post about it in our school's newsletter. We had to ensure that there would be enough healthy food for each student. This is the final letter that was sent out in the school's newsletter:

Christmas is approaching and Helping Hands would like to lead a fundraiser for the local students attending the Borella Shelter. 

Helping Hands is the only primary community service group.  Meeting every Monday, this activity provides an opportunity for our students to engage with the children from the shelter through games and activities, teaching the children some English that will be useful to them in their everyday life and giving them the opportunity to use our facilities.  

Please support Helping Hands by donating any of the following items.  It is our hope to raise enough school supplies so that the children can have a better start to their new academic year beginning in January, 2014.

-pencils

-notebooks

-math notebooks (square ruled)

-single rule

-erasers

 
We have already purchased school bags for the children from money remaining from last year’s fundraising. Donated items can be brought to Mrs. Powell's Preschool classroom.

 It would also be greatly appreciated if you could support our Helping Hands Christmas party on Monday, December 6th.  You can support through providing the group of children (about 30 students) with healthy snacks such as apples, yogurt, biscuits, or a drink.  If you are interested, please contact Mrs. Powell via email at jpowell@osc.lk

 

Thank you for supporting Helping Hands!


The students loved their gifts. The smiles on their faces was a great reward for our hard work!

For the event we planned games and activities we would carry out. We chose musical chairs, carols, and a snowflake craft activity. I worked collaboratively with the other leader of the group to ensure that all these activities went smoothly. Overall I would consider this party to have been extremely successful!

SAISA Basketball

We just returned from our six day basketball tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The tournament was hosted by the American International School of Dhaka. On the first day of the tournament we played Dhaka and won 24-14. After that game we were able to increase awareness of  our strengths and areas for growth. As a team we agreed that we needed to foul less and shoot more three pointers. We decided that our strong areas were in fast breaks and rebounding.

 The second game of the day we played Karachi and won 41-5. In this game we considered ethical implications. We took out our strongest players in order to make the game more even. Through doing this we also showed good sportsmanship.

On the second day we played Lincoln. This was a very stressful and close game.In this game I showed perseverance and commitment. I was extremely tired and soar ,however I  continued playing the entire game. The team's hard work payed off, we beat Lincoln 31-17.

Our next game was against Lahore.In this game we worked collaboratively as a team. Each member of the team focused on passing and working together. Often it is easy to be selfish in basketball and make the play that makes you look best as oppose to what is best for the team. We won this game 40-17.

Our final day was by far the most exciting. In the semi finals we re-played Lincoln. We all went in extremely confident because we had already beaten them. In this game I developed my ball stealing and dribbling skills. I stole the ball away from the other team multiple times. In the end we beat them 38-25.

Our championship game was against Dhaka. This game was extremely exciting. Their entire school came to cheer them on. In this game we undertook a new challenge while trying a press defense. This game went into overtime. The whole team was nervous but we put our nerves behind in order to win. We won the game by one point. I was ecstatic and in disbelief in the moment of our win! We celebrated as a team by dancing on the court to our teams song. This was an absolutely amazing tournament and I can't wait for soccer to begin!

Update on Service and Creativity

This week in RCCI we went to the school for children with special needs. The group members planned and initiated activities for the students. The students enjoyed the activity where we all danced together the most. This activity was a great way to get the students active and to create a bond between our two schools.

In this picture Sasha (other RCCI group member) and

 I are teaching the students different fun dance moves.

This week in Student Government I collaborated with other class representatives while brain storming fundraising ideas. We need to raise money for the biggest school event called the Oscars. The group had various ideas such as Waffle Wednesday and Flapjack Friday. Selling food has been the most successful way to raise money at this school so we focused on food based fundraisers.

In  Helping Hands every week we engage with issues of global importance ; poverty and education. The children who come each week to our school have very little. This week we focused on teaching them different numbers and math (education). We played a hopscotch game where the students had to add up the different numbers they landed on. They each had to give full mathematical sentences to display their understanding of the topic.

The Start of the Basketball Season

This week we had our first basketball practice. Basketball is my favorite sport, therefore I was extremely excited for the start of the season. We scrimmaged in order for the coaches to see our level of play. During these scrimmages I collaborated with the rest of my team as we worked together to reach the common goal of winning the scrimmage.  We planned different plays and effectively applied them during our scrimmage. I increased my awareness of my strengths in basketball. I realized that I am best at lay-ups and dribbling. However, I also increased my awareness of the areas where I needed growth. For example, I am not consistent with my free throws or three point shots. I hope that with practice I will improve these skills and successfully be able to use them in a game.

CAS Week 1

In Helping Hands this week we focused on learning colors and articles of clothing. I planned and initiated a game in which the students were able to learn and have fun. The students were split into three teams. Each member of the teams took turns running to the end of the field, putting on articles of clothing( hat, shirt, pants, bag), describing their new outfit, taking off the clothing from the activity,and running back to their team to tap the next participant. The use of a relay race allowed the students to be active and use their energy. The students were extremely enthusiastic and cheered throughout the race. The students learned new colors and the names of the different articles of clothing as they described their new outfits. As the weeks pass I can really see my skills in leadership beginning to develop. The following picture is of the colors and clothing game activity.

 

This week I went to my first yoga lesson. It was extremely challenging but a wonderful experience. My favorite part was the 8 minute meditation period. During this time I was able to reflect on my new living conditions. I was able to increase awareness of my areas of growth, I thought about my new life here in Sri Lanka and the new things I have learned in these past weeks. Yoga is a way to learn more about the Asian culture.

I have begun practicing basketball to prepare for the basketball season. I have been playing basketball since a young age and am very passionate about this sport. I hope to make team captain this year, I believe that this will improve my leadership skills and teach my to work collaboratively with others.

In RCCI this week we worked on getting the students to be active and develop their skills in coordination. I worked collaboratively with the other club members as we tried to come up with fun games. At times it was challenging and took a lot of patience, however it was a very rewarding experience. As the meeting progressed I was able to see a difference in the trust and attitude with which the students addressed the OSC students. The students became more comfortable and I was able to see personal relationships beginning to form.

IB ORIENTATION TRIP

September 4-6 my classmates and I went on an amazing adventure to Kitulgala. Borderlands organized our trip and created a wonderful experience for all of us. We participated in multiple fun activities such as hiking and swimming in the river. On this trip I faced many challenges and learned a variety of things not only about my classmates but also about myself.

The most exciting new challenge that I undertook was abseiling. During this activity we had to lower ourselves down an eighty foot water fall. I was extremely scared to try abseiling, my teachers and classmates were encouraging and supportive through every step of this experience. From this activity I learned that it is important to face your fears and try new things. Though I was initially intimidated by the great height of the waterfall, I am happy that I participated in this activity and challenged myself.

My favorite part of the trip was rafting. The first day we arrived in Kitulgala, we were split up into groups of teachers and students, and went rafting in the main river. This was great for learning to work collaboratively with others and allowed me to get to know my classmates better. We cheered and screamed out of fear as we went down the river. I felt that after this experience with my classmates I was able to share a closer bond with them.

 

 

 

Pictures from: http://ianlockwood.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/abseiling-collage.jpg

GOALS

This year I hope to challenge myself weekly both physically and academically. I plan on being extremely engaged in my studies and maintaining a high grade point average. I hope to learn new ways of learning and studying.

I am an active member of RCCI. This is a school club in which students help mentally challenged local students to improve their communication skills and learn to interact with others. I have no prior experience in this type of project, therefore it will be a new experience for me. I hope to eventually have a leadership position in this club. 

I hope to be very active in my schools sports teams this year. I plan on trying out for both the soccer and basketball teams. I will develop new skills and improve my playing in both sports. My goal is to be the captain of the team in one of these two sports, this would show my commitment to athletics.

For the creativity section of CAS I will be leading the club Helping Hands and taking yoga lessons. In this club  I work with OSC elementary school children to teach skills such as English and reading to local Sri Lankan children. This club will allow me to further develop my leadership skills. I will plan and initiate activities every week for the students. Through this club it will learn to work collaboratively with others, I will be planning the weekly activities with the other leader of the club. Yoga lessons will allow me to have time to reflect on life I have never taken yoga lessons before so it will allow me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.