For my service I go to the down syndrome association and primarily sing however as an activity we usually play games such as duck duck goose. The members choose the song they want to sing the next week and from my experience I have noticed that they are always ecstatic when we sing a Disney song. The celebrations for Down syndrome day were on 17th March and as usual we had a vote for what song to sing. The songs on the table were Happy, Love is an open door, and just the way you are. We ended up choosing just the way you are and ever since we have been practicing that song in our sessions. To jazz it up we also added percussion such as shakers, guitar, and some beats using a drum. I think just the way you are was a powerful song because it conveyed no matter what you look like or how you behave, everyone is amazing. The celebrations were at Dhoby Ghaut and there were several performances to raise awareness about Down syndrome. There were also many prizes at the event and one DSA member won an iPad. When we performed it wasn’t about having the perfect tone or the right pitch but more so about sending the message and enjoying ourselves on stage. I thought that the performance went well and the time we put into it was worthwhile.
Leher GC Football Tournament finished
The Leher GC Football Tournament finished yesterday and it was pretty successful. This was the first tournament Leher hosted and we were able to have 6 teams sign up. My role in the GC was refereeing the games and helping set up. The weather was horrible as it rained the whole day but luckily there wasn’t a lightning alarm and so the tournament could go on. There were several games and each team played another one and then we entered the playoff stages with semifinals and finals. Some of the games were really tight especially the finals as they went all the way to penalties. The ‘Pink Team’ won the tournament and were awarded a drink and a slice of pizza. Overall I believe the tournament was a success for the GC as it was the first major event we had hosted. For next year we hope to publicise it more as people now know what Leher is and hopefully the tournament next year will be even bigger.
Leher GC Football Tournament
Next week Leher GC will be hosting a football tournament to raise money for the Leher Foundation in Mumbai. The money we raise will be used to buy equipment, shoes and pay salaries to the staff working in the Leher Foundation. I will be a referee for the tournament and will also help set up the fields. I feel this is a unique opportunity or me because I have never been a referee before and therefore I am looking forward to this new enticing experience.
Over the last few weeks we have had a lot of discussions deciding how the tournament will be run and we eventually decided it would be a 5 a side match which would start of as a league and the winners of the groups would go on to the knockout stages. The main problem during these decisions was fixing a price of entry. We ended up at $25 which means $5 per person.
How have I made a difference so far?
I believe I have been able to make a difference through my service in the down syndrome association. Not only have I met new people and interacted with people I don’t usually get to interact with in school but I feel through the singing that we do and the games we play with them, I have been able to boost their confidence and their comfortability around me. Furthermore by getting to know them more I have been able to build a bond with them that they won’t ordinarily be able to build in places outside their home or workplace. Not only have I made a difference but they have also impacted my life because this is the first time I have ever worked with people with a genetic condition and before these experiences I wasn’t so comfortable around them but after learning more about them I feel they are the happiest people in the world and really need to be seen from a different perspective.
I also believe Leher GC is another area where I have been able to make a difference. During the holiday fair I helped sell some products from India and raised money so that the GC could send them back to Leher in Mumbai and help the kids who are less privileged than us.
Russell’s and Arvish’s presentation
Russell’s and Arvish’s presentation was about the sexualisation of both men and women in our society however it focused more on the sexualisation of women. Their presentation forced me to consider the extent to which media sexualises both genders and how sometimes the audience doesn’t realise it because it has become so acceptable to society. Furthermore how the sexualisation has resulted in negative impacts on several victims who have commit suicide because they were ashamed of how they were being portrayed in society.
SEAMC
SEAMC is a maths related activity and later on in the year a selected number of students go to participate in the competition representing the school. I joined this activity because I am interested in maths and it is one of my strengths so I wanted to practice it more. As of now I have mixed feelings about continuing the activity because all we do is individual tests and I am not fond of practicing maths that way. Furthermore I want to do badminton this season to practice for the team next season but the training is on the same day as SEAMC so I will have very little time to do my school work. We aren’t learning from our mistakes either because we just get the test back and see what we did wrong but not understand how to do the question.
Leher GC
I chose Leher GC because it is related to my home country which is India. I would love to have a positive change in this world and in my opinion it will be even better if I am able to perform that change for my own country. So far in the GC we have decided on the chairs, vice chairs and different roles that will be part of the global concern. The football tournament is the main event for Leher GC to raise money and also awareness for their concern so we were put into groups and in my group we planned out the tournament for example how the pitches would be arranged and how many players will be in a team and also what the prize will and as well as the incentive to participate. We also thought about the food and the drinks we will need. We want to raise as much money as possible so we decided to come up with an entry fee however the team that raises the most money gets a prize such as free pizza or a gift. Hopefully when the time for the tournament comes, everything will turn out right. I am also looking forward to project week so I can go to India and connect with the organisation there as well as meet different people.
Student Voice
This year I have opted to be a part of Student Voice, a role which I have never applied for before. The main reason I chose to enroll in Student Voice was because I wanted to be in a position of leadership and be able to present problems and ideas that I come up with as well as those that my classmates tell me to address allowing me to help make a change. So far we have discussed a few problems such as homework given by teachers that is not posted on the OLP and also clarified some doubts related to Project Week. Our first couple of sessions were based around how we would run the activity and whether we would have a chair or who would want to be that chair. In our most recent session we discussed issues related to the lines in the canteen which cause several students to be late to activities they have during lunch. We considered several factors that can impact how many students buy their lunch from the canteen such as: activities and services, price of the food, the length of the line and the time they feel they will waste, personal preference for home lunch and so we sent out a survey asking how many students faced problems with lunch lines at the canteen. I would like to be a greater part as I have not put forth too many ideas as of know primarily due to being new to the school so I am trying to grasp the system. For example I was unaware of what project week was and when the issue was brought up I had to ask a member to fill me up.
HS Beyond Snapshots
In the last two weeks of the activity we have learnt about how the light allowed into the camera can be manages by using the ISO and also shutter speed when the aperture is kept the same. We also focused on making the picture more interesting by adding some foreground so that the picture isn’t so simple. Last week we learnt how the wide lens camera differs from the telephoto lens and how much of a difference it can make to the picture as a telephoto lens makes everything look much more natural and compact. This was a technique that I was new to and one that I feel can significantly enhance my photos.
HS Beyond Snapshots
I joined photography because of my interest in taking photos and also understanding how a DSLR camera works in order to take better photos and optimise the use of the features on my camera. I am new to photography as I bought my camera this summer and so this had been a great opportunity to improve my photographs. Using a DSLR camera is very different from the camera many people use nowadays which is on the smartphone. Smartphones are almost always automatic however in a DSLR the photographer can access much more such as the light, the depth of field, the blur. All these options can drastically change the image which smartphones can’t do. Furthermore DSLRs have better sensors so the pictures have much greater detail and pixels enhancing the colour and the sharpness of the image. So far we have learnt about the aperture and shutter speed as well as how different angles and positions can change the image. These features aren’t entirely new to me because when I bought the camera I did some of this research so I was aware of how aperture and the shutter speed functions. The main thing I learnt was the idea of how perspective can change the atmosphere of an image for example birds eye view or worms eye view.