Kahaani has been an activity/ event that I have participated in since the 9the grade. This year Priyanka and I had made the decision to audition to be dance leaders. We planned, and collaborated and were given the chance to lead a dance. Leading in Kahaani came with many challenges, people not showing up, unexpectedly quitting, getting COVID, and time management. However, it was incredibly rewarding. Our dancers picked up the dance really well during our short practices and performed beautifully.

 

Leading with a partner helped improve my collaboration and communication skills as we had to decide music, choreo, formations, costumes, everything really in a way that both of us were happy with the choice.

Priyanka and I signed up to become Kahaani leaders. We had to be proactive and organised making time to choose the music, choreo the dance etc. Even though we had a two-week break to do the majority of the planning and preparation there was a lot of other things which also had to be done. EE’s, essays, college apps, etc, as such both Priyanka and I had to compromise and find a time that would work for both of us in order to do the work we had to. During this process another challenge that we faced was a compromise, deciding on a theme, songs, and dance steps was a challenge at times because we sometimes had different ideas of what we wanted to have done. However, I feel that we did a good job of compromising and collaborating.

When we get back to school our practice starts on Wednesday and we have to try and split our group of 18 dancers (20 including us) into groups for the different songs. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, some of our ideas for formations and grouping would not be very feasible so we have to do some brainstorming. Kahaani this year also has a very short deadline and it is going to be a challenge to balance dance leader responsibilities with the ton of other work we have to do. However, I am confident we will be able to do it. Due to the short timeline of this years kahaani performance, we also have to ensure that dancers are able to learn the entire dance properly.

Our dance is the first dance and our theme is to be an introduction to kahaani and voice of world. Our songs and on the slower side and the steps are more cute/ sweet. We are very happy with our allocations because we feel that having mostly grade 12 dancers serve as an advantage because they would be able to pick up the dance steps quickly and would likely be more confident. Overall we are very excited to get started on the process of teaching our dance and preparing for these years kahaani performance.

Participating in Culturama India this year was a very beneficial experience for me. The people in the dance group I was in were really friendly and supportive. The dance leaders were also amazing. As I am going to be a Kahaani dance leader I feel that I was able to learn a lot about how to lead a dance. Some of the things I learnt was to be patient and to split the dancers into groups. I also think that organisation was a very important skill that the leaders showcased, they came to each session with a plan of what we were going to do that. As enjoyable as culturama was this year I also think it was an interesting experience. Due to the pandemic, there was large importance placed on safety and distancing. I also think that with other important projects going on at the same time it was a challenge to prioritise dance. I feel like culturama was a CAS highlight for me because I was able to dance with my friends and I really enjoyed the music and steps.

#LO2 #LO5

Yesterday was my first Culturama practice for culturama India. I really enjoyed the process of signing up and the audition process. I was slightly nervous during the auditions but I am excited to work with the rest of the team in preparing for the final performance. Dance and culturama, from my past experience, has taught and helped me to work on my Collaboration skills as all the dancers need to be in sync and work together to make sure the dance looks nice. Dance is also a challenge for me because of the nerves that come with performing on stage however every time I perform I become slightly less nervous. I also feel that the style and skill level of the dance in this years culturama is much more challenging. For example, the Bhangra uses a lot of energy and is a very upbeat dance however, I am not a particularly energetic person and I find it challenging to perform with a lot of energy. It is very important to me that I try to emulate that energy in the dance as it is key to the style of dancing and will make the performance look more lively and enjoyable. As I am in grade 12 and am really busy, sue to other commitments (Other activities, service, EE, IA’s, assessments, UNI things) I also want to manage my time effectively and show my commitment and resilience. Because I want to do this dance and work with a team I have to make sure that I can do my best and give the dance the attention t that it deserves.

 

#LO5, #LO4, #LO2

Singapore evolving Covid-19 situation has caused schools to go back to home-based learning. As school’s have been shut down so have activities. Though I can no longer Physically attend Yoga sessions I am using this time at home to do more Yoga. I feel that the yoga I have been doing at home has to help me feel better and give me a break from staring at the screen the whole day. This is a very stressful period, IA’s, EE, and just general studies. I think yoga has been a form of mindfulness that makes me focus on my mental and physical wellbeing. I am following yoga YouTube videos and just doing general stretches and exercises.

#LO1, #LO2, #LO4

This year my MUN experience was very different from my previous ones. I was a delegate in 2 conferences and a chair in 2, all of which were held online. I learnt many new technical skills related to zoom and the importance of being a good chair. This year I was in the advanced training group, and when attending conferences I definitely think that I showed that. I enjoyed participating in more advances conferences like IASAS and chairing our UWCMUN conference.

The other two conferences I attended this year were a bit of a letdown but taught me many things. The importance of respectful and organised chairs. In MYMUNOFS as a Head Chair, I understood the struggles of having chairs who didn’t pay attention and were very rude, and inappropriate with delegates. In SEASAC the chairs were unprepared and inexperienced and in both situations in hampers the conference for not only the co-chairs (or Head chairs) but also for the delegates. unattentive delegates can make debate dull or boring, but inattentive chairs completely ruin conferences. It also made me reflect on how I can learn from these experiences. There are many types of chairs, ones that sit back, do the bare minimum and just facilitate, and then there are attentive and helpful chairs that teach and help first-timer delegates, and try to make the debate interesting when it slows down.

I remember my first MYMUNOFS conference, Ian (one of our schools’ trainers) was the chair, he was attentive, and involved., When the committee made mistakes he respectfully pointed them out and made us better delegates. However, in these other 2 conferences, there was a reluctance and acceptance that first-timers will learn and that they will not be good. However I believe that as Ian did many years ago making mistakes a learning opportunity is the only way to better delegates and actually allow first-timers to improve, otherwise, those delegates may have the experience, but they may never understand their mistakes.

That is part of the reason why I really appreciate our school’s trainers and having to “learn” MUN, because we are taught to become better delegates, and often that is why our school is very good (and we usually win the awards).

Next year as I apply for more chair opportunities I want to use the knowledge and experience I have gained to help delegates become their best selves, as well as learn and continue to reflect and improve on my own skills as a delegate and Chair.

#LO1 #LO4 #LO2

• • • SEASAC was a pretty boring conference. With the mindset that I was applying and attending an advanced conference, it was a let down to have a very basic beginner debate. Most delegates in my committee were first-timers who didn’t really participate. Essentially 3 or four mainly UWC students were at the heart of our committee.
    • Though the debate didn’t get very interesting or deep It was an amazing learning opportunity. I was able to learn how to explain my ideas to inexperienced delegates who didn’t necessarily understand the nuances of the debate. At the time I was definitely challenged as it became frustrating to explain concepts regarding economics, following your stance, and diplomacy to delegates (some of whom were in MIDDLE SCHOOL OR GRADE 9???).
    • At times the Head chair was also unaware of the THIMUN procedure as he was a FIRST TIME CHAIRS (I myself have chaired 3 times and it was interesting but sad to see the chair unable to follow procedure, especially him being head chair, the sad part was that the dep chair didn’t really help him). Our dep chair had “wifi issues” ( though she later admitted to just waking up late), and even left debate at times partially because of actual wifi issues but also random breaks and her desire to play basketball. I did however understand the dep chairs frustration of being a rep chair considering she was ACTUALLY an experienced THIMUN chair. Overall this conference also taught me a lot about what I would not want to do as a chair.
    • It was weird to have half the committee not turn on their cameras as the feeling of debating a person isn’t the same if you can’t see their face. However, considering that some of those delegates were from Myanmar and the current political tensions, unfortunately, made it difficult for them. It was however interesting to see the global value of MUN for these delegates who were struggling and how MUN became a community to do something practical and interesting to talk about serious issues like the one in Myanmar.
    • Some delegates in my resolution group were fairly good and it was nice to participate in the creating of a fairly good resolution.  In the end, I did end up winning the “Highest Commendation Award”, Though I’m not fully sure what it means. To be completely honest I wasn’t too surprised that I got it seeing as not many delegates participated and most of the ones that didn’t make any sense, low-key shouted, did not understand basic MUN. I do think I could have won best delegate however I did try to correct the struggling chairs (sometimes perhaps slightly passive-aggressively), and at times was not very diplomatic out of sheer frustration. After this experience, I have learnt that after assessing the level of the committee if delegates are not experienced it is not worth it to try to tell them they are wrong as they are not going to understand. It’s better (if you are a delegate) to leave it to the chairs, even if they choose to do nothing about it.
    • There was also the challenge of virtual conferences and planning them for delegates which were hard for this school. Online conferences are also difficult considering hours of staring at your screen for debate is difficult and it gave me a headache.
    • #LO1, #LO2, #LO4, #LO6

After my first Yoga session, I have many things to reflect on. Yoga is something I have always been interested in. Stretching, Flexibility and Strength are combined with spirituality, mindfulness, and peace. Over the course of the meditation activity with Mr Suarez I improved my meditation skills, however, I found sitting still very difficult as my mind starts to wander. I really enjoyed the first session and look forward to the rest. Some of my goals include: – Improving my strength and flexibility – being able to not get distracted – and to implement more yoga in my daily life. Over the last year, I have formed the habit of stretching (downward dog, child pose) before bed, and I want to start doing a few mins of stretching when I wake up as well.

#LO1 #LO2

During the last weekend, before school ended, I chaired at UWC’s annual MUN conference. I was a deputy chair in DISEC. This was my second time chairing a MUN conference, however, this conference was under different circumstances. Covid changed the way MUN was conducted. Conferences were moved online and this was the first time that I handled a zoom conference. It required a lot of multi-tasking and training beforehand. We learned how to work the different features, make breakout rooms, change settings and it was all very technical As this was the conference was around the end of the year it was a very busy time. I had test’s, assignments, and essays which were piling up. Seeing as this conference was the entire weekend I was forced to test my organisation and time management skills. Using all the time I had very efficiently. It was an incredibly stressful 2 weeks but I managed to have a positive attitude through the conference trying to enjoy and concentrate on being in the now. As each committee had 2 chairs rather than three there was also a lot of collaboration between me and the head chair. We called before the conference and planned how we were going to handle it. We tried to split the work evenly and made it manageable. Near the end of the conference, the chairs had to pick out delegates for awards. This is often a hard thing to do as there are many skilled and talented delegates however we used our best judgement and chose delegates who we felt deserved it. Another challenge which I did not expect was concentrating during the conference, being online can be challenging as it becomes very easy to tune out just by looking away from your screens, As the conference lasted more than 8 hours a day we had to be on our screens for extended time periods. Just as I had some trouble concentrating so did most of our delegates. At times debate would slow down and the zoom meeting would be silent. The head chair and I had to find ways to help the delegates get back into debating. We understood the challenge as both of us had previously been on online MUN conferences. At times we would ask prompting questions or even participate in debate with something controversial to make the delegates more interesting.

#LO2 (challenge) #LO3 (Initiative) #LO5 (collaboration)

Our kahaani performance is next week. We have been practising our dances for a couple of weeks. As we near the performance me are rushing to finish off the dance, learn transitions, and polish off the moves. This year the Kahaani dance I was in had leaders who were in the grade below me. However, they were extremely professional and it was clear that they had previously lead because they were very good at teaching the dances. However, there were many challenges which we faced. For two weeks of practice, our dance leaders had grade 10 mock exams and they were unable to come to practice. This was a challenge however they asked Priyanka and me to step up and help lead the group for that short time. The dancers we have are really respectful and listened to everyone. I’m excited to perform in Kahaani this year. I know it will be an interesting experience as we won’t be able to watch other dances and have that kahaani community feeling. We only have 2 more practices before the final performance and I hope everything works out. This year Kahaani made me show leadership skills and I am very grateful for the opportunity. #LO2( challenge) #LO4 (commitment, showing perseverance, resilience.)