Hi! Just a quick update on how my CAS activites are going!
My Christmas for Cambodia project has been initiated and seems to be going well. I have tried to get in touch with primary school to see if they can take part but I have yet to hear word on whether or not this will be possible. I have put up posters and let people know of my project, the bright blue donation box has been stationed in the first-floor of the A Building and a few donations have already been placed. I am continuing to remind all the grades in Secondary to help with donations and hope that it will turn out to be a success! The organization has already written to thank me for having the motivation to embark on this little project. I hope not to disappoint! Haha!
I have a piano recital on December 11th, which I have been spending a lot of time practicing and preparing for. I am nervous but the excitement is also there! I will be playing both movements of Beethoven's Sonatina in G.
Football, Yearbook and Classroom-assisting are also going very well.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
CAS at ISP (Two)
This week, my second article documenting CAS at ISP was published. Here it is:
I am currently working on my third CAS article about rowing - a sport for Action - which Adrian and David practice with a club outside of the school facilities.
Stay tuned for more!
Travelling is a hobby in which most of us international globe-trotters like to invest our time doing. However, students are probably finding this increasingly difficult to do because of the amount of work and requirements which need to be invested and accomplished in order to obtain the IB Diploma. Rustic Pathways gives you an opportunity to see the world and clock-in your CAS hours simultaneously!
Rustic Pathways is an American organization which focuses on organizing summer travel programs for adolescents (aged 12 and above) who are motivated to help out and merge with communities outside their own. This company has been successful for over 20 years and offers experiences to students from all over. Their customizable travel programs promise Adventure (with activities such as skydiving and mountain climbing), the teaching of Life Skills (such as filmmaking/photography and obtaining a scuba diving license), the chance to practice or learn another language (such as Chinese or Spanish), as well as grow from Community and Service experiences (such as teaching children or building homes). The company offers summer programs in over 16 destinations ranging from Peru, to China and Costa Rica.
June Cadenhead, Grade 11, has already taken part in two summers with Rustic Pathways and is very enthusiastic when she speaks of the time she spent in the program. She travelled to Thailand and Laos and in each, participated in two weeks of Community and Service, one week of photography classes and one week of travelling. These options took place roughly six hours a day and included activities such as rice planting, assisting vets, teach children, the construction of roads and buildings as well as making food for and feeding the elderly. She worked with others in her age group (15-18 years) and remains in touch with the people she shared such fulfilling experiences with. When asked about how she felt after taking part in the Rustic Pathways summer program, she explained that she had never felt a more gratifying and overwhelming sense of accomplishment after taking part in a project.
ISP would like to recognize June as an eager IB student who allows her curiosity to guideline her CAS program and remind others that many interesting opportunities for CAS are available everywhere! – INB
For more information about Rustic Pathways, visit their website: http://www.rusticpathways.com/ OR contact June Cadenhead (student) at pamelacadenhead@yahoo.com
I am currently working on my third CAS article about rowing - a sport for Action - which Adrian and David practice with a club outside of the school facilities.
Stay tuned for more!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
CAS at ISP
I thought it would be nice to give you readers a sneak-peek of what I do to help advertise what CAS projects are going on in and around ISP. They are usually student initiated or are mentioned for finding great activities to do outside school. These articles are featured in ISP's email newsletter, the Contact. Here is the first of many to follow - including Ultimate Frisbee, Rustic Pathways, Rowing and other After-school Activities. :)
Louisa Borressen (Grade 12) runs the knitting club every Thursday during lunchtime and after school. This self-initiated after-school activity is a notable one in her CAS Program. Currently 14 members enjoy her patient and fun method of teaching.Having first learned to knit when she was six years old, her students consider her to be an amazing teacher who is very talented. Along with learning a new skill, the sessions provide fellow IB-ers with time to relax, talk and listen to music together. Most of the students are beginners and find that knitting is surprisingly therapeutic. Over time, personal and creative knitwear is completed and are sometimes given as presents to family and friends.It is clear that knitting for Louisa and the members of the Knitting Club is an enjoyable experience – they even take their pieces home to work on when they have free time or need a break from homework and studying! Louisa is happy to teach and share her love for knitting with others and plans on continuing to run the club for the rest of the year. She is very proud (and should be!) of what she has achieved. ISP congratulates her on her hard work and dedication to her CAS program! –INB
What's going on? (TWO)
Helloooooooooo. :)
So, here's another update of what's been going on with a few of my recent activities.
As previously mentioned in the last blog post, I had received news that I would be able to be a Classroom Assistant to English teachers, if organized properly. I was able to do so! Ms. Chandler (English A) and Ms. Smith (ESL) both agreed to allow me to assist them in the classroom, and I met them both yesterday to organize what I would need to do for the classes. I will be tutoring the classes as follows:
Grade 8 with Ms. Chandler, Week One (Mondays 3.30PM - 4.30PM)
Grade 9 with Ms. Smith, Week Two (Fridays 1.15PM - 2.15PM)
Grade 10 with Ms. Chandler, Week Two (Wednesdays 3.30 - 4.30PM)
With 8th Grade, next week, I will be presenting my experience as a Community and Service MYP Student last year, and how literature and movies can make a reader or viewer feel empathy for a student. We will be discussing how in the past and how we ourselves can do the same and find motivation and inspiration for Community and Service projects in this same way. With 9th Grade, I will be reading the same book, Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo, and talking with students individually to evaluate their understanding of the book and its characters. Just yesterday, I had my first experience with Grade 10. They are working on what I (really, truly enjoyed when I was in 10th Grade last year and) learned previously with the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I helped groups of students with the organization and preparation for their main project in literature. I hope I can learn from the challenges this activity will bring but most of all, I hope that I can share with Grade 10 the same motivation I had when I was in that class. It is clear that patience is importantto have in this activity in my CAS program in particular.
Also, on Monday, we had a 'friendly match' with roughly 30 young students from IS Hong Kong and Monaco. There were a few personalities, and the mixed teams (ISP and IS Hong Kong and Monaco) made it easy to interact in a subdued competitive environment. The weather was icy but I believe practice will continue as normal next week. Attached below is a photograph of me warming up before one of the games. :)
Piano has also been continuing on a regular basis. Its been moving along wonderfully and I feel my appreciation for classical music and love for playing piano grow with time. We had an extra-long lesson during the Touissant Break on a Friday morning for practice ofcourse, but also to buckle down on my understanding of my Piano Theory. We talked about the possibility of taking a theory exam in the future. Bonnie Brown, my piano teacher, has been playing since she was three-years old in Australia and is an award-winning solo and collaborative concert pianist. She made learning the piano a very fulfilling and fun experience for me and I'm glad to be so lucky as to have her as a teacher. We will be learning Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major BMV 846 (which I think is beautiful!) after I have completed learning Beethoven's Sonatina in G. Here is a link to a video of the piece being played that I found on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ9sRP5rXsc & here is the link to my piano teacher's website if you'd like to know more about her: http://www.bonniebrown.net/
That's all for now! Don't forget to keep checking back for updates on what's been going on! :)
So, here's another update of what's been going on with a few of my recent activities.
As previously mentioned in the last blog post, I had received news that I would be able to be a Classroom Assistant to English teachers, if organized properly. I was able to do so! Ms. Chandler (English A) and Ms. Smith (ESL) both agreed to allow me to assist them in the classroom, and I met them both yesterday to organize what I would need to do for the classes. I will be tutoring the classes as follows:
Grade 8 with Ms. Chandler, Week One (Mondays 3.30PM - 4.30PM)
Grade 9 with Ms. Smith, Week Two (Fridays 1.15PM - 2.15PM)
Grade 10 with Ms. Chandler, Week Two (Wednesdays 3.30 - 4.30PM)
With 8th Grade, next week, I will be presenting my experience as a Community and Service MYP Student last year, and how literature and movies can make a reader or viewer feel empathy for a student. We will be discussing how in the past and how we ourselves can do the same and find motivation and inspiration for Community and Service projects in this same way. With 9th Grade, I will be reading the same book, Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo, and talking with students individually to evaluate their understanding of the book and its characters. Just yesterday, I had my first experience with Grade 10. They are working on what I (really, truly enjoyed when I was in 10th Grade last year and) learned previously with the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I helped groups of students with the organization and preparation for their main project in literature. I hope I can learn from the challenges this activity will bring but most of all, I hope that I can share with Grade 10 the same motivation I had when I was in that class. It is clear that patience is importantto have in this activity in my CAS program in particular.
Also, on Monday, we had a 'friendly match' with roughly 30 young students from IS Hong Kong and Monaco. There were a few personalities, and the mixed teams (ISP and IS Hong Kong and Monaco) made it easy to interact in a subdued competitive environment. The weather was icy but I believe practice will continue as normal next week. Attached below is a photograph of me warming up before one of the games. :)
Piano has also been continuing on a regular basis. Its been moving along wonderfully and I feel my appreciation for classical music and love for playing piano grow with time. We had an extra-long lesson during the Touissant Break on a Friday morning for practice ofcourse, but also to buckle down on my understanding of my Piano Theory. We talked about the possibility of taking a theory exam in the future. Bonnie Brown, my piano teacher, has been playing since she was three-years old in Australia and is an award-winning solo and collaborative concert pianist. She made learning the piano a very fulfilling and fun experience for me and I'm glad to be so lucky as to have her as a teacher. We will be learning Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major BMV 846 (which I think is beautiful!) after I have completed learning Beethoven's Sonatina in G. Here is a link to a video of the piece being played that I found on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ9sRP5rXsc & here is the link to my piano teacher's website if you'd like to know more about her: http://www.bonniebrown.net/
That's all for now! Don't forget to keep checking back for updates on what's been going on! :)
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
What's going on? (ONE)
Here's a little update for those of you who are curious:
About half of the CAS projects I had intended to do (especially the in-school ones!) have already started. Planning is progressing for the long-term projects.
Piano lessons are going great with Bonnie. I've just finished learning the first part of Beethoven's Sonatina in G and I've begun the next part (Romanze). Along with these piano pieces, we have also started using pieces written by Czerny to work on improving my fingering as well as reading skills. We continue to go through the Theory book on a regular basis. Football has been successful so far (despite the dropping tempratures!), two senior girls matches have taken place and we've won both so far! For two weeks, I worked on the first of the small articles which will be featured in the Contact (weekly information online, emailed to teachers, parents and students) on active CAS students and their projects. Yearbook is moving forward, slowly but surely! Over the holiday, I have produced 2 layouts as well as help organize the order of the book, what jobs members will have etc. I also spent one evening counting the money collected for the Blind with Ms. Foucher.
For the longer-term projects, self-initiated, organization is sometimes difficult but some specifics have been decided on people have been contacted, but I expect that these will really begin to function properly in the next term (January 2011). The SOS Help Hotline has been contacted several times but they seem not to be very interested in my participation so (unfortunately) it may be a project that will have to be dropped and replaced by another. I was told that there was a possibility to volunteer as a 'classroom assisstant' at ISP, and this is something I am hoping I will be able to do for ESL (English as a Second Language) speakers. I will email Ms. Foucher and Ms. Chandler tonight to see if this is possible.
The Arts and Crafts as an after-school activity at Ranelagh will begin in January, every Wednesday. It will be open to students aged 6 - 8 years but I will only be able to make the class open to 10 students (max.) I will be looking for two other Grade 11 students to help me with this. I will try to visit Ranelagh soon to speak to the Head of Primary to discuss specifics and make sure there is a classroom I could use there. I have to consider students paying a small amount to help pay for materials.
I will start to post some pictures, videos and articles relating to my CAS Program soon (including the first article as a documenting photographer for CAS)
Stay tuned for another update!
:)
About half of the CAS projects I had intended to do (especially the in-school ones!) have already started. Planning is progressing for the long-term projects.
Piano lessons are going great with Bonnie. I've just finished learning the first part of Beethoven's Sonatina in G and I've begun the next part (Romanze). Along with these piano pieces, we have also started using pieces written by Czerny to work on improving my fingering as well as reading skills. We continue to go through the Theory book on a regular basis. Football has been successful so far (despite the dropping tempratures!), two senior girls matches have taken place and we've won both so far! For two weeks, I worked on the first of the small articles which will be featured in the Contact (weekly information online, emailed to teachers, parents and students) on active CAS students and their projects. Yearbook is moving forward, slowly but surely! Over the holiday, I have produced 2 layouts as well as help organize the order of the book, what jobs members will have etc. I also spent one evening counting the money collected for the Blind with Ms. Foucher.
For the longer-term projects, self-initiated, organization is sometimes difficult but some specifics have been decided on people have been contacted, but I expect that these will really begin to function properly in the next term (January 2011). The SOS Help Hotline has been contacted several times but they seem not to be very interested in my participation so (unfortunately) it may be a project that will have to be dropped and replaced by another. I was told that there was a possibility to volunteer as a 'classroom assisstant' at ISP, and this is something I am hoping I will be able to do for ESL (English as a Second Language) speakers. I will email Ms. Foucher and Ms. Chandler tonight to see if this is possible.
The Arts and Crafts as an after-school activity at Ranelagh will begin in January, every Wednesday. It will be open to students aged 6 - 8 years but I will only be able to make the class open to 10 students (max.) I will be looking for two other Grade 11 students to help me with this. I will try to visit Ranelagh soon to speak to the Head of Primary to discuss specifics and make sure there is a classroom I could use there. I have to consider students paying a small amount to help pay for materials.
I will start to post some pictures, videos and articles relating to my CAS Program soon (including the first article as a documenting photographer for CAS)
Stay tuned for another update!
:)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
What's the plan, Stan?
Hello, hello.
I thought I'd start my 'little' CAS Journey with a plan of what will be following over the next 18 months (more or less). By the end of my IB years, I should have successfully completed 150 hours of Creativity, Action and Service (CAS). Right now, a portion of these activities will have started already, another portion in the process of organizing and planning and some already completed. In case you were wondering how I decided and picked each of these activities, I have done so over the last few months (especially over summer!) Most of the school related things, I've been sure I wanted to be a part of for some time now but other more self-motivated plans I jotted down in a notebook over the summer. Mechanics and specific planning still needs to be put in place but once everything gets going, I feel confident that everything will run fairly smoothly because I made sure that these are all activities that I WANT to do. Without that, CAS would be completely meaningless, a simple tally of hours completed without any learning experiences gained. ANYWAY! I have been babbling much like I usually do so now I'll just plunge straight into what I am hoping to achieve in the future:
First, the long-term projects.
1. After-school Arts & Crafts for the Students at Ranelagh
Creativity, Action or Service? Creativity.
Status: Early stages of planning and development.
This is something I'm eager to get going because it combines two of my favourite things: Children and Art. I am a HL Art student and when I was younger, I would love to spend some time creating things to show off or give as presents so I want to give the kids at Ranelagh extra time to do so. I want the class to be available for 8 to 10 children and I am hoping to find 2 or 3 other people from Grade 11 to help me. They must be good with kids and willing to spend a substantial amount of time planning and developing the program because I would like to organise a final Children's Vernissage by the end of the year.
2. SOS Help Hotline
Creativity, Action or Service? Service.
Status: Idle
I have contacted the service which runs a help hotline for English-speakers. You need to go through various stages of training with professionals and do shifts monthly which last 4 hours. I thought this would be a great experience considering how much I like to help people. I am not yet 100% sure this project will be able to follow through, as I haven't heard from the administrators for a while. It is still something I am interested in doing but here, I will keep updated the status of what is happening. I believe there's a breifing in January, but has not yet been confirmed.
3. Help with English Speaking
Creativity, Action or Service? Service.
Status: Researching Possibilies
Although, it is a possibility to help those in school, I wanted to go outside this realm and see how I could help others trying to learn english in Paris. It is a subject which I am very comfortable in and feel like my skills could be helpful to others. Also, my aunt has a PhD in English and has promised to help me if I need it. She has also written an English exercise book which I can use as a guide. This could help me gain important skills which could be applied in other subjects and be a long-term commitment I'd be happy to make.
Secondly, the ongoing projects:
1. Piano Lessons (weekly)
Creativity, Action or Service? Creativity.
Status: Started.
I have weekly Piano lessons with Bonnie Brown, a concert pianist from Australia. Piano is something that is widely appreciated in my family. I learnt it as a young child, but recently decided to try learning it again. This was like starting as a beginner because I had never properly learnt theory or how to read notes. I plan on taking part in the concerts and the Annual Music Soiree at ISP.
2. Football
Creativity, Action or Service? Action.
Status: Started.
Every Monday, I train with the ISP Senior Girls football team. This is an important part of my CAS program because I don't have the option to take P.E. anymore. I will go to every practice without fail even when it gets cold! (Which is a great sacrifice from me! HAHAHA!) It is a means of keeping fit since I don't have the two P.E. lessons per week I've had in previous years.
3. Photographer for School
Creativity, Action or Service? Creativity/Service.
Status: Started.
Basically, this will be an ongoing project which will document what other schoolmates are doing for CAS as well as advertise what ASAs are going on around school. These will go up on the CAS Noticeboard and will include photographs and a short article about the activity or person. I have just completed one about the Knitting Club run by Louisa Borressen, which I will eventually display here.
4. Yearbook
Creativity, Action or Service? Creativity.
Status: Started.
I am Yearbook editor (one of the four) this year! And it will take a lot of organisation and patience but I think ultimately it will teach me how to work with others - a valuable asset for use in the future.
5. Blind Collection
Creativity, Action or Service? Service.
Status: Started.
Unfortunately, I was not able to make the actual days of collection on the weekend of October 2nd to 3rd, 2010 so I have decided to help with the work that follows - counting the money collected.
& finally, future projects which are in development (and are still unsure):
1. Doing labour work, such as building houses for the underpriveleged in the Philippines during the summer. This would classify under Action.
2. Helping students prepare for the CAS Trip which I have previously been a part of. I would help with the research and development of their presentation. It is still unsure, whether or not this trip will be taking place this year. This would classify under Service.
3. I've been thinking a long time about creating a box where old and used items can be collected to be repackaged as Christmas presents for a given charity. I believe Vicky Metzger (11th Grade) is willling to help me with this. This would classify under Service.
Also, this summer I spent four hours helping a company redesign their website intended for use by people my age. I will write an entire blogpost about this soon.
I hope this makes clearer my intentions and what I hope to achieve through completing the CAS Program at the end of my IB Years. These will be developed and expanded on over time, always being documented on this website! I hope this proves useful and feel free to comment on anything that could be changed, improved or if you have any ideas or would like to be a part of some of the projects on my CAS Program.
Isabella Borgers
I thought I'd start my 'little' CAS Journey with a plan of what will be following over the next 18 months (more or less). By the end of my IB years, I should have successfully completed 150 hours of Creativity, Action and Service (CAS). Right now, a portion of these activities will have started already, another portion in the process of organizing and planning and some already completed. In case you were wondering how I decided and picked each of these activities, I have done so over the last few months (especially over summer!) Most of the school related things, I've been sure I wanted to be a part of for some time now but other more self-motivated plans I jotted down in a notebook over the summer. Mechanics and specific planning still needs to be put in place but once everything gets going, I feel confident that everything will run fairly smoothly because I made sure that these are all activities that I WANT to do. Without that, CAS would be completely meaningless, a simple tally of hours completed without any learning experiences gained. ANYWAY! I have been babbling much like I usually do so now I'll just plunge straight into what I am hoping to achieve in the future:
First, the long-term projects.
1. After-school Arts & Crafts for the Students at Ranelagh
Creativity, Action or Service? Creativity.
Status: Early stages of planning and development.
This is something I'm eager to get going because it combines two of my favourite things: Children and Art. I am a HL Art student and when I was younger, I would love to spend some time creating things to show off or give as presents so I want to give the kids at Ranelagh extra time to do so. I want the class to be available for 8 to 10 children and I am hoping to find 2 or 3 other people from Grade 11 to help me. They must be good with kids and willing to spend a substantial amount of time planning and developing the program because I would like to organise a final Children's Vernissage by the end of the year.
2. SOS Help Hotline
Creativity, Action or Service? Service.
Status: Idle
I have contacted the service which runs a help hotline for English-speakers. You need to go through various stages of training with professionals and do shifts monthly which last 4 hours. I thought this would be a great experience considering how much I like to help people. I am not yet 100% sure this project will be able to follow through, as I haven't heard from the administrators for a while. It is still something I am interested in doing but here, I will keep updated the status of what is happening. I believe there's a breifing in January, but has not yet been confirmed.
3. Help with English Speaking
Creativity, Action or Service? Service.
Status: Researching Possibilies
Although, it is a possibility to help those in school, I wanted to go outside this realm and see how I could help others trying to learn english in Paris. It is a subject which I am very comfortable in and feel like my skills could be helpful to others. Also, my aunt has a PhD in English and has promised to help me if I need it. She has also written an English exercise book which I can use as a guide. This could help me gain important skills which could be applied in other subjects and be a long-term commitment I'd be happy to make.
Secondly, the ongoing projects:
1. Piano Lessons (weekly)
Creativity, Action or Service? Creativity.
Status: Started.
I have weekly Piano lessons with Bonnie Brown, a concert pianist from Australia. Piano is something that is widely appreciated in my family. I learnt it as a young child, but recently decided to try learning it again. This was like starting as a beginner because I had never properly learnt theory or how to read notes. I plan on taking part in the concerts and the Annual Music Soiree at ISP.
2. Football
Creativity, Action or Service? Action.
Status: Started.
Every Monday, I train with the ISP Senior Girls football team. This is an important part of my CAS program because I don't have the option to take P.E. anymore. I will go to every practice without fail even when it gets cold! (Which is a great sacrifice from me! HAHAHA!) It is a means of keeping fit since I don't have the two P.E. lessons per week I've had in previous years.
3. Photographer for School
Creativity, Action or Service? Creativity/Service.
Status: Started.
Basically, this will be an ongoing project which will document what other schoolmates are doing for CAS as well as advertise what ASAs are going on around school. These will go up on the CAS Noticeboard and will include photographs and a short article about the activity or person. I have just completed one about the Knitting Club run by Louisa Borressen, which I will eventually display here.
4. Yearbook
Creativity, Action or Service? Creativity.
Status: Started.
I am Yearbook editor (one of the four) this year! And it will take a lot of organisation and patience but I think ultimately it will teach me how to work with others - a valuable asset for use in the future.
5. Blind Collection
Creativity, Action or Service? Service.
Status: Started.
Unfortunately, I was not able to make the actual days of collection on the weekend of October 2nd to 3rd, 2010 so I have decided to help with the work that follows - counting the money collected.
& finally, future projects which are in development (and are still unsure):
1. Doing labour work, such as building houses for the underpriveleged in the Philippines during the summer. This would classify under Action.
2. Helping students prepare for the CAS Trip which I have previously been a part of. I would help with the research and development of their presentation. It is still unsure, whether or not this trip will be taking place this year. This would classify under Service.
3. I've been thinking a long time about creating a box where old and used items can be collected to be repackaged as Christmas presents for a given charity. I believe Vicky Metzger (11th Grade) is willling to help me with this. This would classify under Service.
Also, this summer I spent four hours helping a company redesign their website intended for use by people my age. I will write an entire blogpost about this soon.
I hope this makes clearer my intentions and what I hope to achieve through completing the CAS Program at the end of my IB Years. These will be developed and expanded on over time, always being documented on this website! I hope this proves useful and feel free to comment on anything that could be changed, improved or if you have any ideas or would like to be a part of some of the projects on my CAS Program.
Isabella Borgers
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