creativity

STEM CLUB: Final Reflection

CAS

LO5-Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively.

In sessions, we were all working hard to publish our individual projects onto our website (https://stemclubuwcsea.wordpress.com/). Although the objective was for us to create projects independently, I realised the importance of relying on the people around you to edit, refine, and improve your own work. I found this out primarily through the process of peer editing we implemented.

It’s easy to get defensive over your work. But I found that there was real value in listening to suggestions from my peers about my work: what other ideas I could implement, advice to remove long-winding sentences from my writing, and simple grammatical changes. I also found that listening to alternative perspectives helped me broaden my own views on the issue I chose to write about.

For instance, in my article I chose to discuss the implications of asteroid mining. I was originally writing solely about the economic and social repercussions of this phenomenon. But after discussing with some of the members in the club, I found that there were so many more issues I could incorporate into my article such as the political tensions and legal consequences over ownership of land in space. I found it fascinating that my perspective broadened so much after hearing out others’ opinions.

Ultimately, this process really helped me achieve the level of breadth I was aiming to cover in my article. Here is the link: https://stemclubuwcsea.wordpress.com/2018/08/19/what-lies-beyond-us-the-implications-of-asteroid-mining/

Memoirs of a Pioneer Generation (Writing our Article and Building Friendships)

CAS

LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

This season, I faced a significant challenge in the form of a language barrier. The woman I was interacting with, Yapiang Aunty, could only speak mandarin. Initially, I thought I could overcome the barrier by engaging in drawing activities or card activities with her. However, instructions were also hard to explain and I could find out anything meaningful about her life. Ultimately, I convinced one of my friends, Karen, to help me translate. This was a more effective long-term solution and we ended up shaping a powerful story of aunty’s fierce independence throughout her life. Despite finding a translator in the end, I learnt that there are ways of overcoming a language barrier without one. Miming and acting were my best friends in this process. I realised that persistence, resilience, and patience were also key during the season.

By the end of the season, we were able to write an article about Aunty, which I consider to be a measure of my success in overcoming my challenges.

I was able to work on a range of skills, especially my communication abilities and collaboration. I learnt to become more patient, open, and clear when trying to express my thoughts, because I didn’t want anything to get lost in translation. I am also quite introverted, so this service was a great opportunity for me to push myself out of my comfort zone and work on my collaboration.

STEM Club: Individual Projects

CAS

LO7: Considering the ethical implications of actions

Over the past two seasons, our club transitioned from a discussion based format onto a project-based one. The other leaders and I introduced an individual project which would allow each member of the club to explore a chosen field of stem in the context of society, economy, or policy. We would then publish their projects (coming in a variety of forms like videos, reports, infographics) on our own website. Like last season, the other leaders and I had planned a timeline for our initiated activities and made sure to give a clear overview to the other members of what we were looking for. We were going to check on progress by giving feedback on first drafts of the projects. However, this was a major hurdle we faced. A majority of the group did not stick to the given timeline and we had to end up extending many deadlines. Under normal circumstances, we would have reprimanded the club a bit more, but we made a conscious choice to let everyone have more time because we realised that everyone was under a lot of pressure. We decided not to make people more stressed, but we did set a final deadline which was still realistic.

There was a significant ethical challenge that I faced as well. As the leader of the club, there are certain responsibilities that I need to take care of. However a lot of the time, this comes with the challenge of balancing what my friends want. A few of the members of the club are some of my closest friends. At times, they ask if I can bend the rules (e.g. extend deadlines or help them edit early) for them because I’m their friend. As a friend, I would have loved to do that. But as one of the organisers, I know this would give them an unfair disadvantage. Although I knew it would be an awkward choice to outright tell them I couldn’t help them, I decided to anyway because I knew the principles I needed to uphold.

 

SEAMC: Action + Demonstration

CAS

LO5: Working together to achieve an outcome

Planning and running SEAMC was one of the hardest yet most rewarding things I have ever done. This year, our organisational committee was faced with the challenge of preparing students for the competition while also partaking in the logistical aspect of hosting. I can confidently say that the outcome of our efficient and targeted planning was a success, especially in regards to how our school’s team performed. We were able to take home many medals and placed 2nd overall, which was an unprecedented feat in UWC’s history.

A major challenge that my fellow planners and I faced was during the week of the competition however. We were given the task of opening the competition with an hour long presentation as well as providing help with running the different rounds. We were only given a week’s notice for this and without our effective communication and organisation, we wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. This was also a personal challenge for me, because I absolutely dread public speaking. I grew into a more confident and self-assured person after presenting to over 300 people and helping them throughout the weekend. It was a great experience of personal growth.

It was thanks to the fellow organisers, teachers, and staff that we were also able to execute this event successfully. We obviously faced challenges with logistics, timings, delivering questions, and the results, but it was ultimately through the support of everyone that we were able to overcome them. For instance, Joanna (another organiser) and I faced the problem of having a lot of volunteers drop out on the last day, so we had to divide the work between ourselves to get everything done instead. It was challenging, but worth it.

Something interesting that we also had to address was an important ethical dilemma. As the organisers of the competition, we had access to everyone’s tests, results, and the questions in the rounds. But we had to be incredibly responsible about maintaining their secrecy. It was an interesting for me to experience such an unfamiliar responsibility, because normally this sort of stuff is taken care of by teachers or other adults. I think it was an important lesson for us to learn for the future; we now knew the etiquette and the trust that comes with leadership.

SEAMC Highlight Reel

Kahaani: Final Rehearsals + Performance (Demonstration)

CAS

LO5: Working together to achieve an outcome

Kahaani Full Dress Rehearsal

This phase of Kahaani, I feel, is the most important. I saw this as the time as our group showed the most development and growth. It was remarkable how we went from being sloppy and uncoordinated to one of the most in-sync and energetic performances in the show. I think there were so many important factors that shaped this process. The first was definitely our collaboration as a group. We initially faced a lot of challenges (which were expected of a dance show), but it was our ability to put aside our differences and continuously make time for extra practice which was what helped us overcome them. Everyone’s enthusiasm and commitment throughout the process only further motivated me to stay committed to the process. Their supportive attitudes were also key in making me more resilient when I failed. I would say that this collaboration was crucial in shaping our performance to what it was on the day of the show. I think this experience was spectacular and completely worth it, despite all of the time I had to dedicate to it. This time commitment only helped me manage my time and balance my school work with activities better. I would not have traded this experience for the world.

Kahaani: Initial Rehearsals (Action)

CAS, Uncategorized

LO2- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

This year, we performed dances which symbolised the progression of a blind man’s life in order to raise awareness for Voice of the World (Kolkata GC). I was placed in the dance which represented the part of his life where he fell in love.

The initial rehearsals were probably the most challenging for me. There were probably two major hurdles that I worked to overcome.

Learning the dance: I hadn’t danced in probably a year, and getting back into intense Bollywood choreography was quite a challenge for me. It took a lot of practicing outside of our group sessions as well as attending extra practice for me to become comfortable with the dance.

Coordinating with the other members: The fact that I had my friends in my dance really helped motivate me and build resilience. They were an important support system for me. However, coordinating with them in the dance was a completely different story. Since this was a new environment in which we were collaborating, we had to develop different strategies to effectively communicate.

Naturally, our initial rehearsals were not perfect. Our group’s most significant weakness was that we kept forgetting choreography. We definitely had to make the most out of our allotted rehearsal times during this phase of the preparation of the show.

 

 

 

Kahaani: Investigation and Preparation

CAS

LO1-Identify their own strengths and develop areas for growth

Kahaani is something that I look forward to every year. I see it as a celebration of my incredibly diverse culture and it is something that is very close to my heart. I signed up for it last year and I knew I would sign up again this year. The cause it supports (to empower the blind and raise funds of Voice of World) is also something very important and impactful.

This event is a dance showcase, which meant that I would be doing something a bit unfamiliar to me. I was a little apprehensive at first especially because I would have to perform in front of so many people but I wanted to challenge myself through this experience. I wanted to gain more confidence and also develop a new skill. This was why I was quite happy that I was assigned to a dance with all of my friends; they helped me overcome a lot of my nervousness about performing on stage.

The initial stages of rehearsing were quite tedious. I was put into the back line of the dance and I found it hard to keep up with steps as I was quite short and not noticeable. I was also finding it hard to keep up with all the new moves being added every session.

Here is one of our very first practice sessions as a group:

ITP (Season 1)

CAS

LO1: Identify strengths and develop areas for growth

This is my third year doing ITP singing. However this year I decided to do my grade 8 exam for singing which is definitely going to be something unfamiliar and challenging.

I love singing and I work quite hard at it. My strengths are my creativity and my ability to immerse myself in any song that I sing. Despite this, I genuinely need to work on managing my time and making sure I get enough practice before each lesson since this exam will demand a lot of work.

This half term, I got a very good idea as to how much work I need to be putting in and I realised that I needed to make time for singing practice, just like I had to for piano. This was my major struggle but I hope to change that next term by using my free blocks to practice in the music rooms as well as practicing at least three times every week at home when I don’t have activities after school.

 

Piano Lessons (Season 1)

CAS

LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

Piano has always been a significant part of my life. I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old. Over the years, I’ve always been pushing myself in terms of my ability with the instrument.

My target for the next two years is to complete my ATCL (Associate of Trinity College London) recital and learn repertoire that I wouldn’t traditionally choose. When it comes to music, it’s easy to play what you like. I think that a true test for me would be to play something that I don’t enjoy that much but still play with passion.

Something that scares me is the recital I’m going to have to do at the end. I’ve always struggled with stage fright and nervousness and I end up letting those feelings cloud my performances. Although I worked on it throughout iGCSE music, performing on stage is one of the biggest risks I’m taking.

So far, I’ve just begun learning the pieces and I’m faced with a piece that I wouldn’t normally like to play (a Mozart Sonata) as it is very technical. In order to make it less daunting of a task, I’m making sure to practice small parts of the larger piece whenever I get time with a metronome in order to keep track of my progress. However time management is definitely difficult. I barely get enough time to do anything outside of my schoolwork since I have taken quite a heavy IB package.

In the future, I need to work on making time of piano. Starting next week, I’m going to try and fit my piano practice into the time I take breaks from work.