LO4: Project week first aid course

LO 4 COMMITMENT 

Showing perseverance, resilience

On the second day of project week.  We went to do a first aid course which lasted about 7 hours.   The first aid course was very interesting, as it included theory components and also time for us to practice out the theory by making scenarios.

I showed my perseverance and resilience in these scenarios by putting my absolute effort in engaging these scenarios as if they were real.  For example, in one scenario, we had to practice CPR on a dummy, and use the AED to deliver an electrical shock to the dummy.  This was difficult for some people, as CPR was tiring and it was hard to focus on the situation which on the surface was very silly.  However, I showed my perseverance in focusing on the task, treating it as if it were real.

One way I maintained my motivation when giving CPR to the dummy was by thinking of how in real life, there is no time to sit back and laugh or relax.  Another way I was motivated was by thinking of how I could act as a role model to my friends who were with me.  I succeeded in this, as they were also very committed to the activity, and we took it very seriously, even going so far as to shout at each other because of our engagement.

My commitment to the activity ultimately made the learning experience better.  My engagement effectively allowed me to absorb more knowledge, while making it fun by adding a real element to it.

 

LO3 : Group 4 project

LO3 INITIATIVE 

Planning & initiating activities

For the Group 4 Project, we worked together in large groups to create a puzzle, that focused on the theme of SDG 6, clean water and sanitation.  The puzzle was created with the idea that there would be a storyline to follow, which would end up revealing a secret item locked in a box.  This game would be played by other groups in an effort for them to learn more about the SDG.

To begin with, we decided to write a story based on the real life South African drought in 2016.  This started off as a simple idea, but there were immediate difficulties.  The group had more than 20 people, and with different ideas and approaches, it was hard to find a foundation to work from.   Another issue was that due to the large group, there were some people unmotivated or very passive in offering ideas and help, so we needed to allocate the workload evenly.

A way we overcame the challenge is by beginning simple.  Using an article from the internet about the South African drought immediately opened up ideas from the people.  Following this, we allocated the people into small groups, each having them focus on making a puzzle based on either a paragraph or a certain idea.  This worked very well, as people started to willingly cooperate, but it also made some difficulties in liasing between these small groups.

Ultimately, the experience in planning and leading the Group 4 Project made me appreciate and value the importance of cooperation and working towards a common goal.  If I were ever to plan another activity on this scale, my first target would be to set a foundation and plan based according to that.  Allowing  the group of people make decisions on a micro scale, while enforcing a larger picture that would accurately capture the bigger picture.

 

 

Summer reflection: Working in a clinic; LO6

During the second month of the summer, I worked at a health screening clinic in Orchard called Asiamedic.  This was my first experience working in healthcare, and really opened up my eyes on the importance of health screening.

Before working at Asiamedic, I did not understand or even realise that there was a competitive market in Singapore for health screening.  I had always assumed that clinics, and medical centres were solely for consultations or operations.  My time in Asiamedic taught me a different side of healthcare, the aspect of preventative medicine, which aimed to screen more or less healthy individuals for potentially harmful diseases or illnesses.  This made me realise the significance of health screening, as many people who may outwardly appear healthy are unaware of their actual health, and health screening can ensure that people are conscious about their health.

My role in the clinic was particularly important in giving me this insight.  I worked as an attendant to the patients, whether this was helping in the front desk, or reaching out the patients on the phone for updates on their medical results.   During these calls to patients about any abnormal results,  I realised how important some of these results meant to people as I met all types of concerned people.   This struck me, because I never thought that health screening was such an urgent matter.

Ultimately, this made me think how healthcare is very predicated on patient interaction.  The doctors, nurses job go beyond just treating patients, but also involves putting  patients at ease.  As such, I am now much more open-minded about healthcare, and its many different branches.  I no longer look at healthcare as just surgeries, and general practitioners, in fact it is so much more complex and appeals to all types of people.

Investor Relations: IR Home - AsiaMedic Limited

LO7 : Project week reflection Day 2

LO 7 ETHICS

Considering the ethical implications of actions

 

On day 2 of project week, our group went to Pulau Ubin, an island off Singapore to cycle and explore the island.  During the cycling, one of the group members accidentally fell off his bike, scraping his arm, knee and elbow.  This was a moment where I had to face an ethical decision because while the person injured stated he was fine to cycle back to a clinic, the extent of the wound suggested that he could not cycle back.

My decision was affected by the fact that I was the one with the most medical knowledge on the group, having done first aid training and treated small wounds before.   In addition, my moral principle at the moment was to ensure that no more harm was to be done to the injury, and to minimise any infections or further damage.  Ultimately, my decision was to get off the bike, and walk back to the visitor centre, where there would be first aid assistance.

This decision I made was met with conflict from the person who was injured.  He was adamant that he could cycle back to the clinic, especially as it was about 3km away, and cycling would be far faster.  His moral principle in this situation was just to get things done faster, without considering his health.  We were able to resolve this conflict because I pointed out that the injury to his leg was on his knee, which would impact his cycling.  Furthermore, I explained that the road back to the clinic was very rocky as well, and if he fell again it would make his condition worse, possibly even stopping him from being able to walk back.

Ultimately, I was able to resolve the conflict and convince him to walk back to the clinic.  As a result of this activity, I have learned how be more logical when resolving conflicts, evident in how I addressed the rocky terrain and the actual extent of the injury.

 

LO2: First physical Meeting with the Apex harmony lodge residents

LO 2 CHALLENGE 

Undertaken new challenges & developing new skills

This Monday, we had our first physical meeting with the Apex harmony lodge residents, previously we had done this meeting digitally.  The physical meeting was a challenge for me, especially because it has been 1 year since I have done service face to face.  In our activity, we talked and conversed with the residents of the lodge, and because it was our first time there, the supervisor didn’t get us to do any certain games with the residents and the focus was to get to know each other.

This was challenging because most of the residents were quite old and unfocused. The resident that I worked with was Mark, who was quite passive and unengaged in the beginning.  I approached this issue by trying to put in all my energy to make Mark engaged, using hand gestures, and speaking slowly while articulating clearly so he could follow.  Over time, I realized that it was not that he was unfocused, rather his illness made him that way, which he thoroughly explained to me.   A challenge that I could not overcome was getting Mark to be more specific about his memories with me, this was expected as he suffered from dementia.  This sometimes affected the quality of the conversations because I could not delve deeper into his certain hobbies because he would repeat what he said.

From this experience, a crucial skill I developed was being adaptive.  Because the conversation was very free-flow, there was a lot of room for me to improvise in the conversation.  Many times, the conversation about an experience, for example, a hobby like “Fishing” would lead to a dead-end, but I would improvise and either push Mark to talk even more or engage him by talking about my own experience with Fishing.

Ultimately, because of my ability to improve and adapt to the conversation, my discussion with the resident was very fruitful, and towards the end, I felt that there was genuine engagement.  The skill that I developed here will be important both at school and in the future, I can use it when I do presentations, or talk to a large audience.

Evidence:

LO3: Project week planning reflection

LO3 INITIATIVE 

Planning & initiating activities

Our group for project week consists of 3 people, Danny, Andy, and I.  The group dynamic was good, to begin with, as we were all good friends who had known each other for a while.  From the first day we brainstormed ideas, I figured out the likes and dislikes of each person, for Danny and Andy both liked activities that were active.  They disliked activities involving nature, and creative components, this directly contrasted with what I liked, which were these mindful activities.

In the end, we found a compromise and chose Badminton, Pulau Ubin, and a geotagging activity.  Badminton was a sport we all played at school, and Pulau Ubin trekking would be a new experience for any of us.  And compromising with my group members, we did the geotagging activity, an activity we could do in Macritchie reservoir.

Unfortunately, these activities changed throughout the process because we identified weaknesses with them.  For example, we needed a creative aspect to fulfill the project week requirement, in addition, the Badminton activity had a high cost to go along with it.  So ultimately, we changed our Badminton activity to a first aid course.

We responded to the change in plans very well, as we quickly changed our proposal to match the first aid activity course we chose.  In fact, the only challenge of changing the badminton activity to the first aid course was that there are more logistics involved with the first aid course, such as the payment, and the location.

In the future, to reduce the need to change plans, I would prioritize teacher feedback more. One reason why we changed the plans was that we were unclear about what the project week entailed, and when the teacher pointed that out we changed it.

 

 

 

English mock reflection

Looking at my feedback for the mock paper 1, I recognize areas in which I have improved as while as areas that I still need to grow in.  Some strengths from my paper 1 were my evaluation which was a 4, and from what I wrote, I also felt that I was more mature in using and applying literary techniques in my analysis.

However, an area I need to improve on is structure, in particular how I can make the entire essay sound more fluid.  This was evident because I did not have a strong thesis that was complex, and so my thesis was very one-dimensional as I did not consider the author’s style.

While my result was not desirable, I can see why this happened, as my preparation for the exam did not involve much writing.  Instead, I was focusing on the techniques and analyzing different text types and their conventions.  This was useful because I was able to have a good analysis, however, because I did not do much writing practice, my structure was not very good and the level of comfort was not there.

In the future, I will focus on doing more writing practice and being conscious about how I form a thesis and how my writing can link to that.

LO6: Marimbas Culturama performance

LO 6 GLOBAL VALUE 

Engaging with issues of global importance

We recently performed in “Culturama”,  a school performance aimed to celebrate different cultures, and traditions through the arts.  Our Marimbas activity was chosen to perform because for most people, the Marimba is an obscure instrument, and many do not realize it’s rich African history.

During the performance, and the result of watching the entire “Culturama” show, I learned a lot more about the global issue that Culturama focuses on; that we should be more aware of different cultures.  This is a significant issue, especially because when there is increased awareness of other cultures, there will also be increased respect which can decrease the chance of conflicts.  In addition, gaining awareness of other cultures is also important for education, even more so because I study in an international school.

My role in the Marimbas ensemble helps to bring awareness to African music, and so can educate people more on the rich music and culture of Africa.  And although I am just one of more than 15 other people, I still played a positive impact in this issue.  Through this experience, I feel that I have become more principled in understanding the need for awareness of different cultures.  Previously, I have always engaged with the importance of this issue, but through watching the Culturama performance, mine and other peoples, I can truly see the results of doing this.

Evidence: video recording of my role in Culturama

Marimbas playing

LO7: Badminton friendly match

LO 7 ETHICS

Considering the ethical implications of actions

In a recent badminton match with Tanglin Trust school, I decided to let another play in my spot for the friendly match, while I did not play.  I have never made this decision before so I had to quickly think on the spot to make the choice.

I based my decision on what was best for the other person because despite the other person not being as good as me, I realized the importance that because I was older I should give some opportunity to him.  Usually, I am a very passive person who does not like to take responsibility, so my moral principles helped me to make the decision.  As it did not affect me in any way that I wouldn’t be able to play in the friendly match.

When looking back on the action I took, I am proud of myself for making the right choice. Because in reality, I did not need to play that match and having someone else, especially someone who I knew was passionate to play was incredibly beneficial to him.  I think it was good also because other people recognized my action and respected the moral principle I had.  So there was no conflict between the coaches or other students who were angry they did not have such an opportunity.

From this, I realize that through my frequent participation in Badminton as an older player, I have gained a lot of humility and knowledge in how to guide younger players.  Especially as I was once in their situation, so I can apply my experience and knowledge to support them.

Evidence: Photo of the friendly match

LO1: Marimbas-Reflection on new strengths and areas of growth

LO 1 AWARENESS 

Increased awareness of strengths and areas for growth

As this is my 3rd season of playing Marimbas, I want to go back and reflect on what I have learned, improved on, and also what I can still work on.  In comparison to the 1st season, a strength I have is following the melody and learning on the spot. This is especially beneficial because there are so many people in the marimbas activity, so it is hard for the supervisor to teach everyone the melody directly.

My increased involvement with the activity, especially because I participated in both the “wavelengths’ and “Culturama” performances has also made me aware that I am able to memorize the melody better.  Before, it would take me a long time to remember what to play, but now, it seems that every week between sessions I can still remember what to play.

I know that I have improved in these areas because I feel much more confident when playing the Marimbas, and during performances or rehearsals I am more comfortable, sometimes tapping my feet to the beat.  My increased involvement has also made me aware that an area of growth for me is participating with others.

Despite all of us playing our own instruments, it is important that we are on the same page and play correctly.  And this is something that I can improve on, working towards collaborating with other people so that we can play together better.