Final Reflection for DJ club

(LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in your CAS experiences)

After performing for the PACE Willy Wonka Parent-Child Dances, we successfully raised $100,000 for the following projects:

  • A Nutrition Program which feeds 100 scholars a hot lunch (and often their only meal) in Cebu, Philippines and
  • Construction of a middle school for 120 students in rural Mandalay, Myanmar + rebuilding a crumbling teachers’ boarding house on site.

Besides the positive impact that we brought to these communities as well as the enjoyment our audiences achieved, I learned a lot personally as well. Being the first time that I DJed an event for kids, I realized the power of music in affecting their behaviors, especially in lifting their mood and reducing their stresses, which is quite beneficial for them. After seeing them cheering in happy faces, I feel deeply satisfied.

It was an amazing experience that motivates me to participate more in similar events, as I see the huge impact I can make to the world around us.

Photos&videos during performance:

Video_1

Reflection for Tabitha GC

(LO 6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance)

Being new to the GC group, I quickly understood how the group works and started contributing. Participating in the holiday fair for my GC during lunchtime and after school, I successfully sold many silk products and decorations from the Cambodian retrieved women workforce and raised thousands of dollars. I also helped with sorting, accounting, and cleaning the goods as well.

In one of the sessions where the head of Tabitha NGO visited our group, I raised tow valuable suggestions. One being about adopting a better design for the basic housings for the homeless that is more sustainable in saving costs for building more; another being about increasing the variety of services for the project week group visiting the NGO, for example cleaning the hospital. Both ideas are being discussed and considered. 

In all, the GC enriched my experience in cooperating closely with new people that I never knew before, it also reveals to me how significant impacts our actions could be in helping the people in lower power. I learned a lot from it and wish to explore more!

One of the planning charts for the holiday fair:

Final Reflection

I really enjoyed the whole process of my EE especially when an accurate graph was generated, which matched the predicted model very well. I have considered other research questions to explore. Instead of only looking at the effects of angles of attack on the lift-to-drag ratio, I could have looked for the perfect geometrical shape of the airfoil that is most efficient through altering chamber thickness, chord length, or even twisting angle. This was actually my original idea and it would provide results that were more complex and might have more applications. However, the current research question is still more appropriate due to the fact that there is not a single shape of airfoil that is “perfect”: when one aspect of airfoil is optimized, other properties might be influenced. The current research question ensures the simplicity of independent and dependent variables, which maximizes the probability of yielding results that are persistent and replicable. During the data collection, the significance of the stall effect actually surprised me: once past the stall angle, the originally joined airflow suddenly splits so completely that I can easily feel the difference. Overall, I am satisfied with the whole EE process and have learned a lot.

Reflection for Philosophy Club

(LO 7 Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions)

I became interested in philosophy last year, especially philosophy of science. I was originally interested in theoretical physics but soon I realized that the boundary between theoretical physics and philosophy of physics is quite vague. Therefore, I went on to explore more on the philosophical side of science especially physics. I read some books in this area and attended several conferences about philosophy of science. Knowing that there is a philosophy club in our school, I decided to join it out of interest and curiosity.

The intense academic atmosphere inside the club was amazing. Everyone has adequate arguments and contributes to the debates a lot. We’ve discussed a lot of philosophical concepts and problems. Although the topics are mainly about ethics but not about philosophy of science which I am interested in, it is still quite enjoyful to listen to the insightful opinions and arguments from the members.

I not only gained a lot of knowledge in philosophy, but also practiced my speaking and debating skills which boost my confidence. I will continue to contribute to the club in the following year and look forward to the new content.

One of the discussion topic we had:

 

Reflection for Astronomy club

(LO 1 Identifying own strengths and develop areas for personal growth)

This is my first time joining this club in our school.

I wasn’t interested or familiar with astronomy until last summer when I attended a one-month Astrophysics research program. During the program, I learned all the basic astrophysics knowledge and some advanced skills in conducting self-organized astronomical research with the help of python.

In order to further develop this interest and learn more knowledge in astronomy, I decided to join the club. Till now, I have learned a bit more astronomical knowledge from the presentations by the club members. I also enjoyed this academic atmosphere in the club where people are sharing knowledge and discussing problems together.

I have scheduled a presentation on dark matter and data processing in astronomy researches. I really look forward to the presentation next month.

 

One page of the presentation I gave on Dark Matter and Astrophysics researches:

Initial Reflection for DJ Club

(LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in your CAS experiences)

Continued from last year, I joined DJ club this year as well because I found it really fun to play music I like and remixing it. It is a really good way to express my creativity at some time during the busy school routine.

I also continued to be the leader of the session. I believe I can do a good job in marking attendance, coordinating teammates, and negotiating with the music department.

I will appreciate the art of DJing more throughout the year and develop more skills to participate in more events.

 

Initial reflection for Boot Camp

(LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process)

I successfully lost 5 kg and look more muscular after going to boot camp for one season.

Every Wednesday I got to work out in the school gym for 90 minutes. I usually do 3 rounds of HIIT training and then 3 rounds of weight training. Coach Sul is very nice to me and he offers a lot of suggestions and plans for my training.

I felt much more energetic now and my happiness has increased due to my physical well-being.

One of the training sets:

Interim Reflection

So far, my research in aerodynamics has been successful since the results fit my model quite well, although with minor flaws like the relatively big uncertainties for some values. Generally, my essay has been fully conducted in-depth yet easy to understand. I have learned a lot of aerodynamics knowledge from this research, especially in terminologies. Besides the knowledge, I also gained skills such as 3D modeling and 3D printing when I was creating the equipment (airfoils). Originally I was only trying to measure the angle of attack from -5 to 20 degrees, but soon I realized that the range is not enough to observe the stall effect. Therefore I extend the range to -5 to 40 degrees. Initially, I was aiming at developing a general model for wings, but due to the complexity involved in the variables, I had a better understanding that the research would be more doable if it only focuses on a specific model of wings.

Project week final refletion

An amazing music video made for our project week experience: Link

 

After a week in Taiwan, we had a handful of accomplishments.

Five of us, getting ready on the top of the mountain, fully equipped, safety checked, and let gravity do all the work!

Video Link: (Essence: 2min-6min30s)

http://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z0g491Mu9nzCIl8mM4S7_yUSE5N53559

Halfway there.

Down the mountain, found myself right next to the Pacific Ocean.

The next day, whole day of service, tired but satisfying.

 

Going to Taipei

Visiting historical sites

A walking tour down Taipei’s CBD

Taipei 101

(Largest mass damper in the world)

The next day, taking a tram to Maokong(a mountain village right outside Taipei city)

National Palace Museum (full of treasures)

Overall it was a wonderful experience. This is my first time planning a whole trip by myself, and also the first trip traveling with my best friends, to a country that I have never been to. I have learned a lot from this project week, I greatly improved my communication, leadership, collaboration, persistence, planning, and independence skills. I’m sure this is an experience that I will never forget in the future.

 

Project Week Intermediate Reflection

(LO 3 Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience)

A community that I consider important is one I built myself. I lead a group to help the New Dawn Educare Center, a care center for mentally disabled people in Taiwan. I decided to start planning five months ahead of the trip to minimize cost. As a result, most of the problems appeared during the planning process rather than during the trip.

The first inharmonious issue came not long after we met a few times. Because two of the teammates were my close friends while the other two just joined us and we barely knew each other, the two new members felt left out. Gradually, they became less and less involved. I noticed this problem and decided to organize several local group trips in Singapore so our members could form better connections with each other. It worked! The atmosphere in our group meetings became much livelier and members started to discuss their real opinions.

I was also anxious about the structure of our team. When teammates participate more in decision making, they feel more engaged. However, it would be extremely inefficient if our team members argued on every possible decision. Furthermore, it seemed fairer if everyone worked the same amount, but we would then waste a lot of effort if we tried to divide everything evenly. I realized the best way to achieve balance was by illustrating to my members that the more work and roles they took, the more weight their opinions would carry in influencing our decisions. This successfully created incentives for members and established a healthier relationship between the leader and the members.

Looking back, I am so proud of the community I created and amazed by how my teammates from Belgium, Bhutan, Ghana, and the Philippines were able to bond tightly together.