My main focus in Kathak as of now is to prepare for my final exams. In doing so, I have been committed to practising my exam pieces. I recognise that it is important to stay consistent with my practice, and so I have been focused on being scheduled and organised. To ensure that I am able to display my skills at a high level, I have also been working on my stamina.

My strategies to improving my skills are to continue watching videos of myself practicing – whether old videos or new ones – as it helps me to imbibe the pattern of movements and spot any potential flaws in my dance.

Moving forward, I will also be focusing on revising my theoretical knowledge. While the focus is on my practical pieces, I want to make sure that I am equally prepared when it is time for me to give my exam.

Currently, in Green Umbrella, we are hosting our annual gratitude valentines event. During our planning process, we have to consider the ethical implications of the materials we use, etc. Particularly, we have had to focus on sourcing our packaging materials from sustainable sources. For instance, we are currently discussing how to source our bags for the baked goods we are selling.

What’s been helpful in this process is that we can refer to the SSD shortlist of sustainable providers and conduct discussions between ourselves on that basis. Moreover, we also have to consider the ethical implications of the materials we use for card-giving. For the past few years, we have used card paper, however this year, we may think about using other types of paper, such as those that are recycled.

CAS Reflection: What has been the most challenging part of CAS so far?

The most challenging part of CAS so far has been planning and executing project week, as there were many ups and downs in the entire process. For instance, our group size kept changing, and thus our bookings had to be readjusted as well. We also had to improvise for the morning on our second day due to there being no available spots in one of our activities. However, we ultimately managed to complete all our activities and find suitable replacements for any segments we could not complete originally.

Right now, we are planning our assembly for the end of December. While doing so, we split into smaller groups to combat various tasks and effectively carry out our plans for each aspect of the assembly. I believe that it is important in this way to collaborate with others and to make the most use of hearing everyone’s perspectives while decision-making. To listen to each other in an even more engaging manner, we also had a discussion as a group about our earlier assembly in the year. This helped jog our memory about the pros and cons we had listed at the time and reminded us about how important it is to identify our goal for each assembly.

To collaborate with each other in an effective manner, we have also begun talking online more often. I believe that it is not only real-life engagement that is important but virtual engagement too. In doing so, I find that we have become closer as a council and have become more efficient with completing the tasks at hand.

In GU, we are currently running our Gratitude Valentines event. This year, we have undertaken the challenge of changing our main products––due to an anticipation of greater revenue with the new ones we are selling. Last year, we also reflected on our performance based on the goods we sold and realised that our customised candies tended to melt even when being refrigerated overnight. Thus, this year we sent out google forms to gain student input on what products they would like to see at our event. Based on that, we decided to instead sell brownies and cookies, and also amend our stall processes, such as introducing a strict google form sign-up policy.