CAS Reflection #2: Yearbook Committee (LO2, LO3)

A problem we faced in the yearbook committee was that because of mock exams in other grades and mentor classes cancelling and postponing, we fell behind the schedule and had to consistently make sure we had every mentor photo in the folder.

There were also days where we would have to cover for another photographer as they would be late to school or fell sick and therefore, we needed to be fully committed to yearbook and be a team player in case something happened. (LO2, challenges)

Something that helped massively with these challenges was keeping an organised spreadsheet that kept note of everything like where the photos are, which helped our management skills and kept us on track with our schedule. It was easier to plan what we needed to do next and see what areas we were lacking in. (LO3, planning)

CAS Reflection #1: Yearbook Committee (LO1, LO4, LO5)

Being part of the yearbook committee is a new experience for me and I discovered that compared to other members that regularly took photos and had more experience, I wasn’t really sure how to edit and take photos with a professional camera. This is the main reason why I struggled with taking some camera shots as I obviously needed to improve my camera skills and learn how to edit photos on my computer. (LO1, strengths and weaknesses)

As another friend of mine also joined the yearbook committee and she was well versed with how to use a professional camera, I often found myself collaborating with her so that I remained more committed to the activity without having to worry about how to edit and take good shots. As I had another person to ask for help, I think it made me more committed to yearbook because by teaching me how to use the software on my laptop to edit photos, I improved more compared to before and became more confident. (LO4, commitment) (LO5, collaboration)

Culturama Reflection #3: Reflection and Demonstration (LO1)

Reflection – Reflect on the overall process

Demonstration – Consolidate the understanding and growth

 

Reflecting on the whole process of Culturama, I definitely feel like I could have done some things better and handled situations clearer.  One of the biggest skills I refined was time management and just my overall management skills.  I think the reason why I struggled sometimes was because I need to work on those skills more as well, because even though I was able to develop them during this experience, I am still lacking in those areas compared to my other skills like collaboration and communication. An improvement I would do if I were to rejoin the Culturama Committee is write down a list of things that I should do before the dancers go to rehearsal, such as checking everyone’s costume is the same and looking for any costume malfunctions before. (LO1, strengths and weaknesses)

Culturama Reflection #2: Action (LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5)

Action – Ongoing experiences

 

During the actual filming of Culturama, I think I struggled to grasp onto the leadership role in the first day as I was not entirely sure how I could efficiently help. It was hard for me to adapt to the environment at first because I had no prior experience similar to being part of the Culturama Committee as well as being able to lead groups and manage their time properly. (LO2, challenges)

However, I think one of my strengths is being comfortable with communicating and collaborating with other people and I was able to talk to the dance teachers, other committee members and the dancers themselves to see what kind of help they needed from me. Particularly, I collaborated a lot with another committee member and they made it much easier for us to help the dancers with their costumes, makeup and hair. (LO1, strengths and weaknesses) (LO2, challenges) (LO4, commitment)

In one case, one of the groups struggled with meeting the rehearsal time and was rushing their makeup as they did not have enough time to change, do their makeup and hair. Another committee member was collaborated with me and communicated to me which dancer required help and how to help them. I found that this was really efficient as I didn’t have to waste time finding which person needed help and could just go to them straight away. (LO5, collaboration)

 

Culturama Reflection #1: Investigation and Preparation (LO1, LO2, LO3, LO6, LO7)

Investigation – Initial sign up and investigation of the activity

Preparation – Planning the experiences

 

Culturama is arguably one of my school’s most famous productions and I have wanted to participate in Culturama for a long time, however as I am not much of a dancer, I decided that in Grade 12 I would sign up to be part of the Culturama Committee as the set and costume coordinator.

One of the main reasons why I decided to sign up to be part of the Culturama Committee was so that I could further develop my leadership skills as it is one of my weaknesses. Previously, I’ve rarely had an opportunity outside of my classes to enhance my leadership skills and I knew that joining the committee would be the perfect chance for me to grow and strengthen the areas where I am lacking in. I feel like after being part of this experience, I have grown more confident and comfortable in handling frantic situations and being able to adapt more quickly. (LO1, strengths and weaknesses)

In the first planning stage of Culturama, one of the biggest challenges we were faced with were Covid restrictions and the dancers as well as the backstage members. As there were strict enforcements about the number of people and masks at that time, we had to make the best ethical decisions for the safety of everyone and to ensure that if one person with Covid was caught, that it was not spread and could be quickly shut down. The dance leaders, teachers and committee decided on having strict rules like keeping your masks on at all times and having designated sitting areas for each dance to make sure that everyone was safe. (LO2, challenges) (LO3, planning) (LO6, global issue) (LO7, ethical decision)

CAS Reflection #3: Pre-Season Badminton, Season 3 Badminton, Season 4 Badminton (LO6, LO7)

Around the end of season 4, because of Covid regulations in Singapore, school turned to home based learning and therefore, badminton practice sessions were cancelled until further notice.  There was one badminton session conducted online but I found it hard to focus on doing the warmups and properly exercising my body as I had to continuously make sure my form was correct and check with the coach’s posture.

I felt that staying at home everyday was having negative impacts on my mental health and physical body, and as badminton practices were cancelled, my mum and I decided to run together every few days and play badminton every Saturday morning so that we could get some fresh air outside of the house. Although, it was kind of unethical to be running outside without a mask during the middle of Covid, I think it’s extremely important to consistently exercise both your body and mind as it can lessen the impact Covid had on us mentally and help with any struggles. (LO6, global issue) (LO7, ethical decision)

CAS Reflection #4: Service (LO6)

For a while the service was able to progress with meeting the kids, however we weren’t able to continue as the number of Covid Cases increased and thus, never really had a chance to say properly say goodbye to them. Due to Covid regulations in Singapore, the school had to turn to home based learning towards the end of Grade 11 and the service meetings progressed online. As many of the members will be leaving in Grade 12 and we weren’t able to meet with the kids, during the service meetings we discussed how the service would handle sessions in cases where home based learning would happen again or the number of Covid cases increased. (LO6, global issue)

 

CAS Reflection #3: Art Society (LO2, LO4, LO7)

In one of our sessions of art society we came up with a challenge to create an item out of normal materials we could find in a classroom. The material I chose to go with were tissues, but I quickly realised that making something out of tissues would be extremely challenging. At first I tried to outline the shape and connect it with tape but as it was too fragile, it kept tearing into small pieces. (LO2, challenges)

As my previous method did not work, I decided that I would first properly plan out my idea by sketching it on a piece of paper. I ended up requiring help from another student and used multiple pieces of tissue to make it more firm and steady.  After multiple failed trials, I thought of changing my material to another like paper or wood but in the end decided to stick with tissues as it was more challenging. (LO4, commitment)

One of the problems I faced with when creating this artwork was that unlike my previous pieces, I could not keep it and thus, had to throw it away. I felt like this was a waste of resources and failed in being environmentally conscious as I used a lot of tissues to make my project but was not able to bring it home. (LO7, ethical decision)

(picture of one of my friend’s work)

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