Guiding Questions: Antigone And Home Fire

In what ways does the author offer in sights and challenges into religious and cultural practices?

To what extent does the impact of the test shape our implicit perception of a troubling world?

How does understanding of contest (social/political/historical/cultural) influence of shape our understanding of the test and its implications?

How do elements of the contemporary novel shape out understanding of teh concepts within the text?

Practice Essay Feedback

1a) Include your question: Should have a clear line of inquiry though-out essay

1b) Consider incorporating one/a few of the course concepts into your line of inquiry

2a) Structure – Take The Time To Introduce Your Text: Introduce the test and the writer, contextualise it to show the reasoning your your line on inquiry

2b) Should be able to see a cohesive thread sewn through your essay (clear line of inquiry)

2c) Structure – Having Topic Sentiences That Answer The Question:

  • Don’t Mention Techniques
    • Eg: Schlink draws further on the idea of national guilt through the portrayal of the protagonists identities

2d) Structure – Be Selective: Only include moments which will help you answer the question

2e) See writers name throughout response. Assume reader knows the story. Don’t retell it

3b) Formatting Questions: Be consistant when talking about formatting questions. Quotations must be less than one line or indented

4a) Secondary Reading: Take it from reputable and relevant resources

  • Let the experts speak for you
    • Eg: Levi’s testimony has been described a covering  ‘humanity in extremis’ (Jacobson 2019)
  • Expand and challenge it
    • Eg: One Writer suggested that duffy’s collection was ‘remanism in the extreame.’ (Bagri 2020:17) This inflammatory assertion neglects the complexities of the collection.

 

Goal: Write more words, don’t add to many rhetorical questions, focus more on the text, plan for each paragraph, add in context, use secondary resources.

 

Riding For The Disabled (RDA)

 

LO1: Identifying personal strengths and developing areas for growth.

Reflection 1:

 

LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Reflection 2:

 

LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively

Reflection 3:

When I first joined RDA, I didn’t realise how collaborative this service actually was. I knew we had to interact with the kids while they were on horses to help improve their abilities and to build their social skills. However, it never really occurred to me how serious some of their issues were. Talking about disabilities and actually witnessing them are two very different things. Some of the children required two handlers instead of one to help ensure their safety. For example, my first client at the RDA centre was a sweet little girl who didn’t have great balance and refused to sit-up on the horse. She kept lying down and closing her eyes. I had to be paired with another student volunteer to aid the little girl and hold onto her ankles for her safety so she wouldn’t fall off. Occasionally, the girl would also lean over and grab my shirt. The other volunteer and I had to work together with good, clear communication, in order to ensure the safety of the child, the horse and ourselves, the volunteers.

 

LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

Reflection 4:

My involvement with the RDA has opened my eyes to how they, as an organization, are supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly number 3, “Good health and well-being” by providing physical activity through engagements with horses. I have witnessed how beneficial it is to the children, observing a gradual improvement and changes in the children, week to week. By participating in programs such as RDA, which promotes such an inclusive environment, the children are able to lead a better lifestyle. They are getting fresh air,  improving their social skills while exercising and working on their gross motor skills and cognition. Moving beyond UWC, I hope to continue volunteering with those less fortunate by providing opportunities to connect and interact with animals and nature in fun, engaging ways.

 

LO7: Recognise and consider the ethical implications of choices and actions

Reflection 5:

I have realised just how important volunteering is in building an inclusive society and I plan to continue finding ways to contribute my time and energy into helping others feel valued and included. It’s also important to provide various ways for all levels of ability to lead a healthy and active life. I have noticed how challenging it can be for families to support their family members with disabilities. By supporting activities, like RDA, who provide therapeutic horse riding and equine-assisted activities completely free of charge, it relieves financial pressure and stress from families. As a horse rider, I know how expensive any activity associated with horses can be. The services RDA provides are invaluable to the community. Not only are they free but they are also providing much needed therapeutic activities which contributes to improving the quality of life of the children.

Project Week Reflection 2

The group I joined planned to travel to Jaipur to help teach at I-Indias school institution. It was a really disadvantaged community. I-India is a GC that works towards giving street kids a proper education. I joined a group of 4 who had already started planning for the trip to Jaipur. We were quite a well-organised group that worked well and communicated effectively with each other. The workload was divided equally amongst members and we were able to meet deadlines and submit all necessary documents on time. However, as I joined this pre-existing group late, I did initially face some challenges and found it awkward to find my place as a useful member. I felt lost as I didn’t know what stage they were at or what still needed to be completed. I lacked confidence in my ability to add value to the team. 

Owing to my reluctance to use social media, communication was also a bit of an issue for me in the beginning. The group used Instagram as the main platform to share information and until I brought myself up to speed on how to use it properly, I was missing out on a lot of important information. Understandably, this was a source of frustration for the group as they assumed I was getting messages. Equally, it was frustrating to me because I wasn’t aware that this was how communication was being distributed. I was more comfortable with WhatsApp and thought this was how the group would communicate. As they were able to find my Instagram account (that I never use!) and add me, they assumed I was checking it regularly and read the posts. From this experience, I have learnt that I need to be a better communicator and become more familiar with social media applications. 

Project Week Reflection 1

Preparations for the Grade 11s annual project week trip started on Tuesday the 26th of November, 2019. Initially, I wanted to travel to Gili islands with some friends to work with the NGO Gili Eco-trust. I was really interested in working with this NGO as they aim to protect the coral reefs and their inhabitants. It was also a scuba diving trip which sounded like a lot of fun. I have never scuba dived before and I wanted to push my boundaries by trying something new. I wanted to challenge my fear of the open water and the unknown. However, after discussions with doctors about my sinusitis condition, I was unfortunately not able to join this Project Week Group. I was really excited about the prospect of this trip and was hugely disappointed when I unable to participate. I then had to find another group which proved to be another enormous challenge as there was a limit on numbers within groups and everyone had already formed and were happy with their groups. It took me weeks to find a suitable group to join. I only knew one person in the new group. This brought up feelings of exclusion and isolation but this gave me the opportunity to meet new people and challenged me to work with strangers.

Squats Getting Stronger – Using 2 Kettle Bells

LO6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

LO7: Recognise and consider the ethical implications of choices and actions

During the summer break, between Grade 10 and Grade 11 before starting IB, I realised that I needed to improve both my fitness and my strength levels and decided to commit to making this happen. I had been attending a mixed martial arts program, Kali Majapahit (Kali), since Grade 6 and had worked my way up to achieving a Purple belt, level 2, by mid-2019. However, I felt that my flexibility, strength and balance was lacking, and I needed more personalised training. I went to Bfit Physio and Fitness, located in The Flow on East Coast road, right next to I12 Katong (about a half hour walk away from my home) for an assessment which led to me signing up for a program with a trainer named Kai. 

My goals: 

  • To stay fit
  • To improve balance and coordination
  • To improve strength and muscle tone
  • To improve overall fitness

These goals fit within the UN Sustainable Development Goal No 3, “Good health and wellbeing” on a personal level. This issue is of great importance to me and one that I wish to engage with long term. By looking after my own health and well being, I feel I will be in a better position to help others, such as my volunteer work with organisations like RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association).

By increasing my activity levels through engagement in the activities listed below, not only will my overall health improve but, I will have the added benefit of better quality of sleep (which is of huge importance when talking about health). 

  • BFit Personal training
  • Horse-riding
  • Swimming
  • Kali

Having a stronger, healthier body will also allow me to achieve more in my chosen activities.

My First RDA Experience

Today was my first time participating in my service RDA (Riding For the Disabled). Everyone started a week prior, however, I couldn’t participate as I was unwell. I am so glad I get to parttake in this activity as I get to work with horses and help the disabled children. It was really

  • learnt you had to be very aware of surroundings

Dec 6, 2019 at 07:17

Identify their own strengths and develop areas for growth.