Peer mentoring was an experience where I would spend my Wednesday and Friday lunches teaching either economics or mathematics to IGCSE students. I found this to be a nice experience and realised that teaching is actually a lot harder than it seems. Seeing how the IB and IGCSE sylabusses are both very different from one another, it allowed me to go back to some concepts that I had forgotten about. It was rewarding to know that I was helping these students academically, and there was even one student who was looking forward to my teaching the following week and asked me if I could bring back some old notes from my own IGCSE class. Knowing that people were benefitting from my efforts motivated me to do better and further support them. I believe that this allowed me to recognise my strengths and weaknesses as I found areas in which I had a very hard time explaining certain concepts. It also requires commitment as I was spending my free time helping others and ensured that I’d be there weekly.
Tag Archives: #CAS
Kahaani- Final Reflection
Overall, looking back at my Kahaani experience, I realised how much I enjoyed it. It was really nice getting to dance again after having quit ballet a few years ago, and I do definitely still have somewhat of a passion for it. It was a great experience, however, there were challenges that we had to face as a group due to lack of organisation. We fell behind for a bit as we were not able to practice over the December break, and due to the fact that Grade 10s had their mock exams just before. However, we managed to get a lot of practice done in the last week, which has definitely contributed to our improvement and successful performance. Finally being able to perform our dance on the stage felt amazing, as we had all worked so hard and put so much effort into it. Without a doubt, I will be signing up for Kahaani next year and I’m very much looking forward to it.
Simei Centre- April 2021
Our service has been faced with challenges from the start due to our inability to meet the members of the centre face-to-face. We continue to film pre-recorded videos, and have been branching out to new ideas, such as interviews and fable reciting, with aim of keeping our partners entertained and interested in what we are doing. It’s definitely been a challenge to stay motivated, especially due to the lack of feedback that we were receiving from the centre for a while. However, I definitely think that our team work and collaboration skills have improved, and that our persistence has helped us throughout the experience. As a group, we’ve been able to keep each other motivating and always work our hardest to create videos that would be enjoyable to watch and that are suitable for the audience intended. We continue taking on different roles, as we have to plan, film, and edit the videos as a team.
Cancer Awareness GC- March 2021
After Movember was over, we haven’t been as busy considering that it was our biggest and main event of the year. Our GC is now focusing on smaller projects, such as raising awareness on the different issues related to cancer. I’m currently working on a project with my group that aims at educating the rest of the school on the socio economic factors that may get in the way of cancer treatment. I love working collaboratively with the rest of the GC, as we all learn a lot from each other and are able to come up with many creative ideas as a group. Although there isn’t as much going on at the moment, I’ve stayed persistent and committed to the GC, trying to still come up with interesting ways to keep the GC going til the end of the year.
Running- February 2021
As the football season is over, I wanted to sign up for another sport in order to keep myself active. I used to be a member of a running club in Hong Kong, however, due to obvious reasons, we weren’t able to train since January 2020. I just managed to find a club in Singapore called “JS Athletics”, in which we are able to train every day of the week from 6 to 8. I’ve started attending the lessons and it reminded me of how much I missed training, so I’m really glad that I managed to get back into it. I definitely was out of shape and have become rather unfit over the year as I lost strength and endurance, however, I hope to regain all of it and improve in the next few months by attending training regularly and pushing myself. I think that another challenge in having training is the ability to have good time management as it is very time consuming, especially considering the fact that it takes place during the times where I usually get my work done. I therefore need to find the right balance between my studies and my training in order to maintain my good grades and achieve the best I can for both.
Football- Dec 2020
I’ve already completed 2 football seasons, meaning that football season is actually over. I must say that it didn’t really turn out the way I expected, as I wasn’t aware of how much skill it would require in order to be a good player. Playing with this group was obviously a challenge, as everyone has been playing for multiple years while I had never played before. There were certain moments in which I no longer felt motivated as it was just too challenging, and although I did try my best during most training sessions, trying my best wasn’t really enough as I just lacked the skills. However, there were also sessions in which I felt proud of myself and where I was extremely satisfied with how I had played. I would say that the team was definitely what motivated me most to try my best, as every time I did something right, they would hype me up, which was what constantly pushed me to do better during the two seasons. Everyone was extremely supportive and welcoming, especially considering the fact that I was also a new student at this school, and I even managed to make some new friends which I’m really glad about. Although it was a rather challenging experience, I’m happy I gave it a shot and decided to get out of my comfort zone as I rarely do so.
Cancer Awareness- Dec 2020
We’ve already completed Movember and I’m so happy with how it turned out. We obviously did have to overcome a few obstacles due to the covid situation, as there were certain things that we were no longer able to do (such as bake, which was initially one of the main sources of donations). Nonetheless, we managed to raise a very large amount of money for the CPAA, which was enough to fully cure approximately 15 cancer patients in India. I’m so proud of what we’ve managed to accomplish as a group, and it definitely does feel extremely rewarding to see the impact that we’ve managed to have on these less fortunate kids. It was overall a great experience, and I’m really glad that I got to take part in this project. Learning about these children was a great eye opener on this world, and I’m considering joining a Focus Group next season in order to educate myself more on these different topics.
Pottery- December 2020
This second season I found myself making some more complex pieces and each piece that I made had a purpose. I started exploring the different techniques and added elements such as glaze to my artworks to make it more special. I made a Christmas tree that I decided to give to a friend and I also made this rose that I will be giving to my mom. I take a lot of time deciding what my next object would be, and I’ve so far been fairly satisfied with the outcome. None of my pieces have been perfect yet, but from each piece I do take away and note the different things that I should improve on in order to avoid making the same mistakes that I have previously made.
Fitness with Simei Centre- September 2020
LO3. An experience that you will initiate and plan
LO7. An experience that will involve consideration of ethical implications
LO7. During our second session of service, we completed a total of 4 topics aimed for volunteers who will be working with people who have disabilities. Here, we learnt about the different types of disabilities, the barriers faced by those with disabilities, and the “Do’s and Don’ts” for when interacting with them. I found this e-learning very useful, as I had never been educated on this specific topic, therefore never knew much of it. I will definitely keep everything that I have learnt into consideration when we get to start interacting with them online, which I am very excited about!
LO3. Each video call and prerecorded video will be planned a week in advance by the students in the service. This is done in groups of 2 that will be rotating each week. When planning the sessions with my partner, I will need to keep into consideration what will be suitable or not for the people we are working with. I would also need to make sure that we get everything planned on time, which would be a week prior, in order to avoid any confusion. I will try my best to plan enjoyable sessions for both us and the people we will be meeting, as it would be great of everyone could have a great time.
How would I plan my year in order to maintain balance?
- set my priorities straight
- stay organised
- keep a steady pace throughout the two years
- focus on my mental and emotional health