Beach Clean Up

Date started: 2010
Place: Deep Water Bay
CAS Type: Project

In order to decide on a CAS project, me and my friend brainstormed possible things to do. Ideas ranged from student led afterschool activities to others. As me and my partner was in charge of the environmental monitor in our form, we decided to create a project that could reflect upon our responsibility.


The project was "The Beach Clean Up". This beach clean up was going to be organized by us, and we were planning run this project with our class members being involved.
Firstly, as we needed to contact the government about the beach, we searched the government website to find the contact number. Then, we contacted the number and after several calls, we were able to reach someone who could help with the beach clean up. At first, we were planning to go to Repulse bay, but the person who was helping us, suggested us to go to Deep water bay, as repulse bay was already very clean. In Deep water bay, there was an issue with pebbles on the sand, and we decided to help with moving the pebbles out of the way. As there were many difficulties with arranging a date on when to go, this made us take time in going to the actual clean up. 
As the our helper (Mr.Pang) wanted us to send a fax on how many people were coming and at what time, we wrote a letter and faxed it to him. 

Finally, after several months... we chose the date MAY 20TH. 


PEBBLE clean up
On the day, we arrived on the beach at 3:12. Earlier than when we were suppose to meet.  Yes, we were early and that reflects our punctuality :D We were a little lost in finding the office, but in the end, we met someone who showed us where the pebbles were. 
As the weather was very hot, we had to put on shoes. In addition, we had to wear sun cream to prevent ourselves from burning. 

Putting pebbles in bucket

Getting ready

Picking up pebbles

  
 In the area, we had to pick up the pebbles and put it in a big red bucket. Every time the bucket was quite full, we moved the pebbles in an area where they were supposed to be put in. The continuous picking up of pebbles was very intense, leading us to sit down to pick the pebbles up. After two hours, we were very hungry... So we decided to ride a minibus to Repulse bay and had pizza together. Although it was a very short pebble clean up, it turned out as a satisfactory day. Next time, we shall call more people, and also do other activities such as volley ball or swimming (:

As it was time consuming to arrange the beach clean up frequently, me and my partner decided to extend the project to a online website. Thus, we opened a website. The purpose of the website was to show the public our work, and to raise awareness about the environmental issues in Hong Kong.

BEACH CLEAN UP REFLECTION 

Although this has only been one beach clean up, we will be continuing this on during year 13 to help make a better environment in Deep water bay for people to enjoy the beach. 

L2: I have undertaken a new challenge, as I have organised this with a friend through websites, calls and fax. In addition, it was my first time to be involved in a beach clean up. The idea that me and my friend was able to be the organiser allowed us to build up responsibility and managerial skills.
L3: We had to plan the dates, and discuss this with the people from the government on the phone. Although it took a long time, we were able to do the clean up in the end. Moreover, we initiated the activity.
L4: During the clean up, we had to work together to move the red bucket when it was heavy, as well as collect the pebbles with efficiency. This allowed the group to work as a team. 
L5: It was a very hot day, and we were all exhausted during the end. However, we carried on doing the pebble clean up until 2 hours was up. Thus, we endured the hard time and this reflected upon the perseverance and commitment.
L6: As the environment needed help, we decided to help remove the pebbles from the beach which caused distractions to the people who were using it. In addition, there were small glass parts as well which could have caused cuts, leading to an unsafe beach.
L8: I developed a new skill of cleaning up pebbles. In addition, while organising this event, I was able to develop skills of communicating with people from outside of school. 


Overall, it was a good start to the project, and we intend to clean up the pebbles for more people to use that area of the beach.  

OVERALL REFLECTION 

I feel that we had a great start in the beginning of the project, but felt that we started to lack the commitment during the latter part of the project. 

L2: I have undertaken a new challenge by starting a new project with a partner. Furthermore, it was my first time to carry out a beach clean up and initiate a website.
L3: For the beach clean up, me and my partner planned for the day thoroughly. Moreover, we initiated the clean up. We also planned to make the website.
L4: For the project I needed to work collaboratively with my partner, and during the clean up, we needed to work together as a group.
L5: During the beach clean up, we were committed in cleaning up the pebbles. However, during the project, our commitment to the project started to fall.
L6: Raising awareness on the environmental issues and cleaning the beach reflected upon us being involved in global issues. As pollution is a big issue in Hong Kong, and around the world, this project clearly reflected this learning objective.
L8: There were many skills developed during the project. Firstly, collaborating skills was one skill which I was able to develop. Furthermore, I was able to develop skills of cleaning up during the beach clean up.

Overall, I feel that the beach/pebble clean up was a very successful event, but more frequent visits to beaches would make this project better. However, the website created helped in extending the project into a different medium, and also helped raise awareness of global issues (environmental)
 

DECA

Date started: 2010.09.07
Place: South Island School, 2/F, Room C22
Time: Tuesday 3:20~4:30
CAS Type: Creativity, Service


Deca is an activity which involves many skills such as marketing, designing, ——. Our first “project” was to design a room for the Kely Support, where young teenage girls would gather together and talk about their problems with each other, while enhancing their self-esteem.

August
This month, we just started getting to know each other and learned about kely support and deca. I decided to join the marketing team, where we would need to talk about market strategies for advertising and helping “sell” the room. We also played games where we would have to sit in front of the room and act as if doing an interview. When doing the interview, the person would not be allowed to use words such as “um” or “like”, and this helped build confidence.

October
To make sure that we were on task, Virginia Morris (from Kely support) and some other people came to school once every two weeks or so, to discuss with us what we were going to be doing. We told her the types of plans we had to “sell” the product. These included:
- Facebook page
- Posters
- Hosting a show to promote Kely Support
- Making a video to promote
We also talked about how we were some of these would work and the types of things we would need to do to get ready for them. We also made a logo for the room, and the logo for it was called “talk to me”. The logo included a the name “talk to me” in red, in a shape of a mouth and a ear at the side. This was to show that if you talked to the people in the room, we would listen.

Discussing issues with Virginia Morris

 November
This month, we were getting ready for two things; the booth for a fair and a Christmas concert. There was going to be a fair, where we had the chance to have our own booth to promote Kely support. Therefore, we planned out what we were going to have in the fair. In the end, we decided to have donation box, leaflet, wrist bands. The leaflet helped sell our products and the wrist bands were products which we were going to sell to ge money for donation.
The Christmas concert which we were going to hold was going to be on December 10th, and held in our school. There were auditions to make sure there were performers, and we had helped stick up posters around the school. We also had the task to sell the ticket.

December
At last, the day for the Christmas concert came, and it turned out as a success. Refreshments were laid out and we were in the front of the hall to sell tickets for any late-comers. We sold about 10 more tickets on the day (; Although the concert was not very big, it was a small and entertaining one. We stayed up in the balcony to enjoy the show. Then, after the show finished, we thanked the Kely support group for coming.

January
After the Chinese New Year holiday, we were back together and discussed about the upcoming meeting that we were going to have with other schools aswell. This was going to be an event where schools would gather together and be given different scenarios. Then, we would have to come up with innovative ideas to solve the problems. In the DECA session we were also introduced to the new online register which we would need to do every time we come into DECA.

February
Feb 8th – Today, Virginia Morris came in and talked to us about the skills of leadership and management. At first she introduced herself, and then gave a brief talk on leadership. Afterwards, we were given small tasks to do such as writing down the skills of our own role models, thus, writing down the skills needed to be a leader. Then, Virginia Morris gave us a sheet with two columns, and we had to identify the difference between a leader and a manager. For example, one column was “Align people with a direction” and “Organize and staff”. Leaders would align people with a direction unlike a manager who would organize the whole group. After the activity, we had the chance to ask questions, and someone asked “Do you think leaders are born as leaders??”. Virginia Morris said that in her opinion, leaders can be made through learning various skills. Therefore, this was good news for all of us Moreover, through this, I was able to be aware of some elements of leadership that I had.


DECA Conference  (February 26th)
Today, was a special day, as we were having the deca conference with CDNIS. This involved getting a case study and preparing a plan for 20 minutes. Then, we had to present our “plan” in front of the judges, for 10 minutes (showing off your innovative ideas combined with economic concepts). The day was going split up into 3 planning and presentation, which meant 3 different case studies and presentations.
I came into the conference during the 1st presentation, and therefore, participated from the 2nd one. The conference involved all of us wearing formal clothing and having separate desks with the case study and some blank sheets of paper. While listening to people presenting their ideas in small groups (to make sure the conference does not take up too much time), I did feel quite nervous, as presenting for 10 minutes while preparing for 20 minutes was not something which I have come across before.
After all the people presented their ideas, there was a 10 minute break and the 2nd section started. This case study asked us to propose a plan for a company which wanted to increase their sales costs. We were given 20 minutes to prepare as for the first one, and I was the first one up. I presented my ideas but was quite nervous, making me stutter ): . In addition, my presentation was quite short, and I lost confidence, making me say things which did not make sense. The judge asked me a few question and helped me with leading in the right direction which I found quite supportive. Afterwards, I felt a urge to make a better presentation for the 3rd section (although I was actually not planning to stay until the third one).
Then, after the 2nd section finished, we ate lunch (pizza(:), and went back to the 3rd session. For this one, we only had 15 minutes to prepare and 7 minutes to present as Virginia Morris was going to be coming in for a small speech. In addition, we had the choice between choosing 2 case studies. One case study was going to be similar to what we did (1st, 2nd section), and the other one was a different one. In the end, I chose the different one, as I wanted to try a new case study and improve in a different area.
Finally, the 3rd section started, and for this one, I was more focused as I understood the process. This case study was about the brand name and brand mark. When preparing for the proposal, I stood up and presented my ideas and answered the questions. I felt satisfied in the presentation which I presented and felt that I had learned a lot during the process. In the end, we had a small speech from Virginia Morris on leadership and her company, Bamboo difference. Then, we presented the winners of the conference, and thanked Virginia Morris for all the hard work she put into our group. 

REFLECTION
At first, I did not have a lot of motivation in attending this conference and felt more of a fear and unwillingness to attend to the conference, as I could not imagine saying a 10 minute speech with 20 minutes preparation. However, after achieving a satisfactory presentation, I felt more confident in presenting, and enjoyed this process through the experience. Although I may not be the best presenter, I feel that I have stepped up a level in facing my weaknesses, rather than hiding away from them. (:


L1: I was aware of my communicative skills, but I was able to build up upon it during the DECA conference, as well as improve in cooperating with each other in the marketing team.
L2: It was my first time to work as a team in a marketing group which was a new challenge for me, as marketing was something new. It also helped me understand how real life marketing teams may be like when working as a group. In addition, presenting in the DECA conference was a new challenge, as I never presented in front of judges with such limited preparation time. This experience would help me build up the skills for doing my english IOC :D
L3: We planned the DECA Christmas concert which helped fund for the KELY support room. This was quite successful. In addition, we also had to plan the ESF booth for KELY. 
L4: Again, as we were working in a marketing team, this meant we had to work collaboratively with each other. Moreover, we also had to work collaboratively with other groups such as the design team. 
L5: I attended to most of the DECA sessions including the conference. In addition, I tried to gain help during these sessions and also tried listening for advice from Virginia morris.
L6: KELY support is a non-profit charity which works to support low-self esteemed teenagers. Therefore, by helping the KELY support team, we have helped raised awareness of the issue of teenagers which is a global issue of importance.
L7: This team has made an ethical implication of action by helping the charity team for raised awareness, as well as building a room for people to come along. 
L8: As said before, I have developed new skills in planning during a limited time, and presenting, in the DECA conference. 

Overall, I feel that I have been able to gain a lot of skills through this experience in DECA. These involved a lot of leadership skills and cooperation skills that was very useful. Furthermore, through the DECA conference, I managed to go through a unique experience that boosted my presentation skill. This experience has helped me develop myself as a learner and has allowed me to gain many skills.

Library

Date started: 2010.09.08
Place: South Island School, 1/F, Library

Time: Wednesday 10:00~10:30, Tuesday (2:10~3:10)

CAS Type: Creative, Service

2010. 09
During the first few sessions, we learned how to loan, return books, as well as how to use the octopus system to collect money for overdue books. We also learned how to use the online library sessions, as well as how the books were arranged in the library. The first few sessions were about getting to the “backstage” of the library and understanding where things were, and getting some knowledge in the workplace in which we were working in. We also understood that the library was not a place where we only returned and borrowed books in the counter, but also helping out with small events such as Christmas, Readathon, and more. In addition to this, the librarian (Ms. Ow) helped us expand our knowledge in how to get in hand with various types of resources, as she wanted us to use this experience as a librarian as a very helpful one.


2010. 11
As well as helping out the counter, we also helped in organizing the Readathon; an event which the school held every year, to encourage students to read a lot of books (year 7). In contributing to this, we helped cut out the coupons for the event, and also designed a poster outside the library, to allow the students to be motivated and aware of the event. I was proud of the final poster which we created, as I thought it was attractive and informative at the same time (: . It was also quite interesting to have the boards displayed by us, as from year 7, I remember seeing various posters and commenting on them, and now, I (and a few other students (: ) was the one displaying this board.

Final Readathon Poster!!

  
2010. 12
Christmas was finally here, and it was time for us to decorate the library with a Christmas atmosphere. Me and some other friends (librarians) decorated a Christmas tree with the STAR (:. It was my first time to ever decorate a Christmas tree and it was a exciting experience. We had many decorating items, and therefore, we had to choose wisely on what styles would fit with the Christmas tree. After decorating it, we took a photo to celebrate the final Christmas tree (:.

2011.01
This month (and December), we focused on online databases, which were online resources which we could use to help aid our study throughout the IB course. The librarian told us how we could navigate to various types of databases, and we got a chance to go home and explore the websites. Soon, our Extended Essays were coming up, and this was one of the main reasons on why we got to know the databases. As we (mini-librarians) understood how to navigate the web pages, and as we were assigned our EE topics, we were to make a short presentation based on how to use different databases for different subjects. This allowed us to help others, as well as being able to familiarize the resources.

2011.02
For the few sessions, we planned to create an evaluation session based on the online databases, in order to choose which database to carry on using (as the school needed to pay), and which to stop, or even introduce. Therefore, a student created a template questionnaire, which we all edited to make sure the questionnaire was more specific and helpful.

2011.03
During this time, we had a meeting to discuss upon the data bases. This was to reflect upon the results from the questionnaire. We sat around a large table at lunch time and discussed the negative and positive points of various databases. We also voted for our favourite ones in order to get an idea of which databases to put forward, and which to remove. This meeting helped develop our school resources for researching various materials for students.

2011.04
As it was an exam period for our year group, there was not a lot of things done during this month. However, we started on a project which was going to be handled by a group of students including me. This small project was a poster which was going to raise awareness to students on the several databases which we chose beforehand.

2011.05
We continued on the small project on the database. In our meetings during our free time, we discussed what things were going to be put on it, and the specialised task for each person. Me and two other friends were in charge of the design, and the other people had the responsibility to write a brief description about the database. Then, we would use these information on the poster.
After gathering all the information, we cut out various different coloured papers and arranged them around the poster. We had 3 different databases which were gale, questia and discovery channel. When we agreed with the arrangements, we used a stapler to keep the parts up. We ended this month with a reflection on our posters from different librarians. We also made changes to the poster from the comments from other people.

2011.06
 This was the last month of being a librarian. The main aim for this month was to do a reflection and an evaluation with the school librarian, on our performance throughout the year. When doing the evaluation session, I also needed to make a small poster based on one database - The Economist.

Individual poster on 'The Economist'

When carrying out the evaluation session, we discussed various things from my attendance to how the small project turned out in the end. My attendance for this year started off well, but as the term went, my attendance fell. This was because I kept on forgetting the session. I could have improved this by writing down the date in a diary or the computer. I also could have asked my friend to remind me as I was forgetful. When discussing the small project, we talked about how well we collaborated with other people and how well we were organized. There were some things which we could have improved such as starting the design earlier while the other teams were working on their research on the database.

Organizing books

Working at the counter

Reflection

L2: I took various new challenges such as loaning and returning books, being aware of where different books were and laminating book covers. 

L3: Our small project involved planning and initiating activities as we had to plan different deadlines for researching and designing. In addition, we initiated the activities for putting the poster together as we were a part of the design team.

L4: While being a part of a school librarian, I worked collaboratively with other people. When doing my duty of loaning and returning books, I had to work with a partner. In addition, when doing the small group project, I had to work with a group of librarians who were doing the same job as me. Moreover, when doing my duty, I had to communicate with the school librarian to update on the various tasks which were carried out.
L8: I developed various skills from being a librarian. One of the most important skills which I developed was on using various different resources. As I had to take part in making posters on many databases, this allowed me to get insight on how to use these resources. I was also able to apply this skill when doing my extended essay as I needed reliable resources.

Overall, I think working as a librarian allowed me to learn new skills and also help develop various new skills which I could apply for my work. In addition, I was able learn how to use the library more effectively as well as the school library website.

Yoga

Date started: 2011.01.19
Place: South Island School, G/F, Drama studio 2

Time: Wednesday 3:30~4:30
CAS Type: Action

2011.01.19
I’ve always used to have great interest in yoga, but never had the chance to try it out. Luckily, this term, I was able to join the yoga activity (:
When we first went into the Drama studio, Mrs. Sharma (our teacher who was running the activity) told us to arrange the yoga mats out. While we were doing this, she opened the curtains for natural light, and lit some candles. This brought up a very subtle atmosphere, and the music was also turned on, allowing us to relax. Mrs. Sharma explained how we were going to be starting with the basics, and in the end of the term, build up the level of hardness throughout the term.
Then, we started doing a few poses, and Mrs. Sharma emphasized on the importance of breathing in yoga. We inhaled though our nose, and exhaled though the mouth, and this had to be done slowly to calm ourselves. The most frequent pose which we did was the dog-stand position, where we had to make ourselves into a triangular position. Moreover, we tried out collaborative positions where we needed to balance a position with another person. This helped us develop our balance, as well as our strength of our muscles. By doing yoga, we were going to be developing these skills, as well as a stronger back bone, which was a great advantage to me, as these were my weaknesses.
During carrying out the different types of position, Mrs. Sharma also pointed out the names of the poses, so that we were aware of it. At the end of the class, the curtains were closed, and we lied down on the mat and closed our eyes. Mrs. Sharma told us to relax our bodies and enjoy our last journey. This was a very relaxing session, allowing us to relieve our stress and meditate our bodies. Then, when the journey ended, we thanked our bodies for working, and this was how ended our first class in yoga.
I hope by carrying on yoga, my body will be able to strengthen mentally, and physically. I feel that yoga will also help me relieve my stress and relax and meditate for a more refreshed mind.

2011.02.23
In today’s session, we started with the breathing exercise again, as this was the most important part in yoga. The breathing helps with our nervous system, and lets the oxygen to be distributed, allowing us to think more clearly. With this exercise, I was able to apply it whenever I felt nervous (for example, during the DECA conference). After the breathing exercise, we did a few poses and made them flow from one another. We also practiced a new position called the bird stand and the shoulder stand. When doing the exercises, I felt a lot more flexible and aware of what I was doing with my body, building upon my confidence. In addition, as a class, we were more fluent in going into positions as we practiced them many times. Again, after carrying out many steps, we ended the class with the journey where we relaxed our body, closed our eyes, and listened to a soothing song. Every yogo class, I always looked forward for this journey, as it was a way of refreshing my mind and clearing out the “stress” which I received. (:

2011.03.23
For our last lesson, we were going to do a yoga sleep. This involved lying down for 45 minutes and listening to our yoga teacher. Firstly, we arranged the yoga mats in a circle, making our heads face to the center. Then, we each had a blanket to keep us warm as the yoga sleep would involve our body temperature to drop. We had candles around us in a dark room, which created a peaceful atmosphere. After lying down and positioning ourselves comfortably, our yoga teacher gave us instructions. She first told us to think about our left side of the body and then the specifics: our arm, risk, finger, leg, ankle, feet. This was repeated with our right side. Then, she told us to listen to the sounds around us.
She also told us to think about a wish. One wish which we really wanted.
Then, she told us to imagine things such as two mountains a sun, and a garden with flowers and more. This continued on until some people were even snoring! This did make my concentration fall but I still carried on listening to her instructions. When all of this finished she became silent and we started to sit down facing her. Some people fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake up :P. It was a very pleasurable experience. She also explained to us the purpose of some of the things she was talking through. When she told us to think about our right side and left side, this was making us relax a certain part of our brain. In addition, she told us that we remember things more better subconsciously. This was why she told us to think about the wish, as we would subconsciously be aware of it, making it come true.
If this activity continues on to next term, I really wish to do it again!

REFLECTION

L2: As I have never tried yoga before, taking this activity was undertaking a new challenge.

L3: This activity was planned to be carried out every Wednesday at 3:30~4:30.

L4: When doing certain poses, we needed help from other people, and some even required two people to undertake the pose together. Thus, we needed to work collaboratively with each other to make sure no one would get injured, and also to create the pose together.

L5: I attended to all the sessions except 1 (which was due to International Evening) and whenever there was a new challenge in the posture, I gave it a go even though it seemed very difficult.

L8: Yoga has definitely helped me develop new skills such as the specific postures, as well as controlling my breathe which affected the nervous system. In addition, I was able to learn how to control my mind and relieve my stress at times.

International Evening

Date started: 2011 .03.05
Place: South Island School, 2/F, Hall
Time: Saturday 6:00PM~9:00PM

CAS Type: Creativity, Action 

The International Evening has always been a very important event for me, as I have attended it from year 8. This one was going to be my 5th time attending the event. In the past years, I have always been doing a Korean modern dance and Korean drumming (samulnori). However, this year, I decided to do a singing act aswell, as I have always had the passion for singing.

Practice 

Dance
To prepare for the dance audition, we first had to decide on a song and a dance. At first, we decided to do a Korean dance, which was danced by a Korean pop idol group, “Miss A”. We were planning to dance to Miss A’s “Good girl Bad girl” and started learning the dance steps. During the past years, we always did the dance with mostly the same people and the preparation for the dance allowed us to collaborate with each other, and develop our skills of dancing. By looking back at the videos of when we danced, it reminded me of a lot of memories. Even so, every year, we challenged ourselves with harder and harder dance steps.
When learning the steps, we would use a computer, watch dance, and trying to follow it. In addition, we would always borrow a dance studio or an activity room (which has a mirror) but this year, we planned to come in early in Tuesday morning and stay after school on Friday. By doing this, it not only save time but money as well

After a few weeks of preparation, we did the audition, but the judges considered us to choose another song and dance. Therefore, we decided to change the song and dance to something different. In the end, we decided to collaborate 3 different songs together and try a different approach from the other years. The final songs involved “Lip Gloss” by Lil Mama, “Pokerface” by Lady Gaga and another song. Then, after a few days of intense preparation, we were finally prepared, and were in for the US act.
For the singing act, I was planning to do an individual song, but in the end, I did it with another friend. Again, for this act, I would practice the song at home whenever I had time, by recording my voice with the computer and listening back to it for improvement.
For the Korean drumming act, we decided to do a similar kind of drumming sequence. As we had Korean Drumming every week, we were able to practice after each session with our peers.
After practicing for all the act every week, the day of the International evening was coming up. Before the day of the performance, we had a rehearsal after school. The rehearsal was very tiring, as we needed to put all the acts together with the MC’s. However, even though the day was passing by, we were unable to finish the whole performance. As we had another rehearsal on Saturday, we had to come in school by 10:00.

The day of the performance came! but we were still not fully prepared. We needed to rehearse for the whole performance including the finale. The first thing we prepared for was the finale, as we needed to keep it out of the way. After a long day’s rehearsal, we finally finished the run through of the performance. However, we still felt a little unprepared as the practice of the whole performance seemed to be last minute.
Before the actual performance started, we ate dinner and prepared our costumes. As I had 3 acts, I needed to get changed very quickly during the performance. Finally, it was 6 o’clock and people started to come in with their tickets. As my first act was the Korean drumming, me and our members were dressed in the traditional clothes. As we were the opening act, we were standing by, and slowly became creeping in from the back of the hall. No one noticed us when we were at the back of the hall, as the audience were all engaged by the MC’s talking. Then, we started the performance with loud banging of our drums. It scared some of the audiences’. After finishing the Korean drumming performance, I got changed to the singing costume as quickly as possible and waited at the backstage until the act before us finished. As I had changed very quickly and was nervous, I was quite out of breath, which was not very good as I needed to sing… However, as the person I was singing with started the song first, I had time to catch my breath. And then, the singing began, and we were performing (: I was a little nervous, but it ended well. The last act which I was involved in was the dance. I was most excited with this act. Again, I changed as quickly as possible, and for this dance, we had tables as props. After Preparing the props with the curtains closed, we sat down on the chair and stayed in our starting pose. The curtains opened, and the lights were off. The dance was going to start when someone hit my table. Bang. Spot light. The dance started. It was the most exciting act I was doing, and I enjoyed it as much as possible. After dancing to the three songs, we finished our final act and went back to the standby room. Now, we just had to wait for the finale.
The finale started, and while walking up the stage, it seemed like our whole International team achieved a lot. Although it seemed like we were unprepared before the show, it went on smoothly and we were able to enjoy the whole process of finishing the International evening. However, although we finished the whole show, I did kind of feel sad that there was no more rehearsals and the hard times of getting everyone together. I guess it will be a memory which I will enjoy looking back.
Now, we had one more year, and then it would end our International evening performance in South Island School D: Even now, we sometimes discuss what we should perform next year, as we want to end our last performance in International evening as the best one (:

REFLECTION
L1 : I planned to improve upon how well synchronized our dance was, and challenge myself with the choreography performed. For the Korean drumming, I wanted to improve upon ‘enjoying’ the show, and playing the instrument with a flow of rhythm. In addition, for singing, I wanted to boost my confidence, as I have stage fright when singing. Overall, I was able to challenge myself, and build confidence.
The performances all had elements that helped me increase my strengths and improve on areas that I needed growth. All of the planned elements were achieved. 
L2: A new challenge was taken, I practiced a new dance which had different dance movements. Moreover, we used tables as props and approached the dance in a different way. In addition, it was the first time to do a singing act.
The singing act was the most significant challenge for me during the night. The new dance choreography helped me face another challenge and these helped me develop new skills. 
L3: We planned on the time and date of when to do the dance practices, and this was carried out in order to do the audition. 
The planned times were all met during the practices. 
L4: While dancing, we needed to collaborate with other people, and make sure that everyone cooperated. The singing act also included aspects of working with other people, as we had to divide the parts. Moreover, we also had to cooperate with the IE team when doing the rehearsals and auditions. 
We collaborated with our team members for the dance, singing and korean drumming act, and we also cooperated with the IE team members. 
L5: I attended to all the rehearsals which reflected upon my perseverance. In addition, we also kept practicing whenever we had time. 
 
Overall, there was new challenges undertaken, and there was a lot of collaborative work with my team members as well as the international evening team. Although there were some problems in finishing the rehearsals with many teams, in the end the event was successful.  

Throughout the experience, I was able to face new challenges and also develop on current skills. The performance during the night was very successful as there was a lot of time that was spent to prepare for it.
 

Korean Drumming (Samulnori)

Date started: 2010.09.04
Place: Korean International School 4/F (small hall)
Time: Saturday 1:00PM ~ 2:00 PM
CAS Type: Creativity


I have started playing Korean Drumming when I was in primary school and have performed in many stages such as our school, universities, fairs, services and even in foreign places like Macau. While doing the Korean Drumming, we have had about 4~5 different teachers and also had teachers from Korea visiting us in the summer. All this experience has led us to becoming a more experienced player in the team.

2010.09.04

During our lessons in samulnori, we always asked our teacher when we would start learning the “상모” which is a hat with a paper-like string, used to make circular movements. Finally, today we started learning how to use it. We were very excited
We first assembled some parts together and learned how to attach the strings and metal parts. Then, we had to put this black cloth around our head and make sure our hair was neat and tucked in. The hat was tied securely around our head and another white cloth was used to further fix the hat tightly. Then, we started doing simple exercises to make sure we understood the “feeling” of how to turn our heads. It wasn’t very easy at first, but as we started to practice repeatedly, we started to get the hang of it. The lesson seemed to be very short, as putting on the hat took some time. However, this was a great start, and we were excited for our next lessons.

2010.10.30

Today, we had a Korean drumming performance in a fair held by KIS (korean international school). After attending to Saturday school, we had a quick rehersal at 12:00 and got changed to our korean drumming uniforms. We wore a new uniform today, which we ordered from Korea. This one was a lot comfortable, as the trousers had elastic bands, unlike our older one which had a string for tying aroudn our waist. The uniform was also purple with pastel red, blue and yellow coloured bands. I liked this uniform more, as it was more vibrant and attractive. Our older uniforms used to be black  with red, blue and yellow bands.
The performance started after the rehersals and we were the opening players. We played “설장구” which was using the drums and doing various movements while playing it. It was a different approach, as we always used to play “비상농악” in this fair every year. After finishing the performance, we had to stay until 5:00PM as we had 2 more performances to do. The first performance was going to be with a group of performers from korea, and they were taught by our very first teacher. We were glad to see our old teacher as it was about 6 years ago when we last met him.
When starting the performance, we were quite nervous, as we were unable to practice with the other performers beforehand. Therefore, this was a performance where we had to go with the “flow”. Soon, we started the performance, and this performance was very special indeed. ;D
Unlike our other performances, we were really energized and throughout the performance. It felt very “new” even though we did a lot of performances before. When the performance ended, me and my friends had bright smiles and we talked about how enjoyable the performance was.
Our last performance of the day was “비산농악” which was where we all stood in a circle with our instruments, doing certain movements. When our performance ended, we all came down off the stage and played the instruments all together which was a great way to end our day

2010~2011
We have been continuing on with some of the 상모, and we have also been doing another piece called 웃다리. This piece has upbeats, making it a very interesting piece to listen to. It was exciting to do this piece again, as we learned it before during summer. Until now, we have just carried out doing the same things and improved on it. We plan to do the 상모 in the international evening, as we have never performed it before.
During March, we had an international evening performance. We have always taken part in this event every year, and have been doing similar performances.

During the year, we also learned how to play the 난타 which was another way of playing the 북. This was played by placing the instrument on a wooden stand and using two sticks instead of one. It was important to feel the rhythm to the instrument while playing. Moreover, we also had the chance of performing in a Korean event held by the KIS. We attended this event every year, and this time we decided to perform several different things. This included the formation of going around in a circle and 설장구 which was using one instrument and playing many beats.

2012
This year, we continued with our Korean drumming of various types. Moreover, we were planning to attend the International evening again, and perform in the event.
Later in the month, one of our teacher came back from Korea, and we were able to learn the basics again. As we were going to graduate soon, the main focus during the Korean drumming sessions were now towards the younger students.
A year has already passed since performing in International evening. This year, we decided to add another element that we never had before. It was the 난타. We practiced every saturday after our practice with other students. Moreover, me and another two friends who were year 13s practiced for the 난타. As it was our first time performing it, we were all very nervous.

Other photos during Korean drumming through the 2 years

Reflection:
L1: I am confident in playing the drums as we have been playing them for a long time. However, I feel I need to improve on my coordinating skills, as I struggle with it when practicing.
I have been able to improve upon my coordinating skills, but it is still an area that can be further developed. Moreover, through the final performance, I have been able to reflect upon my skills in Korean drumming. 
L2: We will be learning the "상모" which is a type of hat with a paper-like string attached to it. There are not a lot of people who know how to use this item and this is used for the more "experienced" players. By doing this, we will be taking on a challenge, as it is not easy to use it.
I have been able to learn the 상모 but there is still more work that can be done to improve on it. I have also learned the 난타 and played this during the international evening, which was a challenge.
L3: Every Saturday from 1:00PM ~ 2:00PM, we will have Samulnori and when we have performances, we will plan out what to play and practice it. If not, we will just practice more skills and further develop them.
When practicing for a certain performance such as the international evening, we had to plan on when and where to meet, and had to initiate the practices. 
L4: As we are a korean drumming team, we have to work collaboratively with others when practicing for performances.
During Korean drumming, it was essential to work collaboratively with other people, as the activity involved playing the instruments in rhythm together. The activity cannot be carried out a an individual, as it would stop the flow of the rhythm. 
L5: I have attended to at least 3 sessions every month, and tried my best even though the new things we learned were hard.
I have attended to the session every 3 sessions per month until October 2011. However, my attendance fell afterwards. During 2012, my attendance rose again. Overall, I was committed to the activity. 
L7: We have brought "happiness" to people such as the third age, and also performed on stages for charity
I was involved in ethical issues for performing for many age groups. This involved performing for charities and for many other groups of people. 
L8: Using the "상모" will enable me to develop new skills. We will also be learning performances where we stand up and carry out the drumming. This will develop co-coordinating skills as we need to move our body and play the drums at the same time.
 상모 was definitely a new skill that I learnt during Korean drumming. Many other skills such as 난타 was gained during Korean drumming, and this allowed me to develop my understanding of different types of playing the instrument. 


Overall, I have been able to learn new skills and apply them to different performances. I would like to carry on developing my skill in 상모 and would want to perform it someday as well. I am happy to have performed the 난타 in the international evening, as it allowed me to undertake a new challenge. As Korean drumming has been a long term activity, I hope to continue it after I graduate school.

Xiamen

Date started: 2010.11.08 ~ 2010.11.13

Place: Xiamen, China

CAS Type: Creativity, Action, Service

For the CAS week, I decided to go to Xiamen, as it looked like a very calm and relaxing journey as the main transportation system was going to be bicycles.

2010.11.08

At last, the day for going to Xiamen came (:

Me and my friends were so excited to have 1 week off IB, and have some time to have great fun. We met at the airport at 10:50AM and checked in together. Sadly, we didn’t have time to go around for food (burger king, popeyes… D: ), as the check in took some time. As a group, we walked to the gate number for our flight to XIAMEN. Soon the gate opened, and we were able to go on board. However, across on the left, there was starbucks. It was very tempting indeed. My friends went to buy some food, but I didn’t. After buying the food, we went to the gate to go on board, but in the end, I RAN back to starbucks and got myself a sausage roll ;D

The flight was very short. It was about an hour long, and during the flight I enjoyed eating the sausage roll (it was de-li-cious). We were also served a small meal with biscuits and orange juice. When we arrived in xiamen, we collected our luggage and our supervisor for the journey (Leo), told us that we had some time to buy some water. I went to buy 2 bottles of water, each 3.50 yuan. Quite cheap (: After gathering together, we went onto a bus. A long bus rideee. During the bus ride, I listened to some music and took photos along the way. As it was a long bus ride, we had a break in between to go to the toilet. Back on the bus, Leo handed out this small booklet which had backgroud information on Xiamen. During the bus ride, we saw Tulou’s, which were houses built out of mud. Apparently, many Han people lived in the houses and still are today.

Soon, it was already dark, and we visited this place where we were able to see a night view of the Tulou. We got the ticket for admission and saw the Tulou’s. There were 5 Tulou’s together and they were in different colour lightings. Leo told us that these Tulou’s represented a soup and small dishes.

After seeing the night view, we walked a while to eat dinner. For dinner, we had rice, fish, chiken, toufu, vegetable. The food was good (: There was even a fire in the middle for warmth. We realized later on that this place was going to be our dormitory for the week. Looking around the round tulou (there are many types of tulou: round, square, long), we were happy to have clean toilets. We also took photos of the place, and then we took our baggage to go to our rooms. The baggage was already outside. Me and Soo-Yeun were going to be in room 203. We were happy to have the second floor, as it would be easy to move up and down the stairs. When we opened the door for the dormitory, the room was better than what I was expecting. It was very cozy (:

As some people were assigned the square Tulou’s, we went to visit them aswell. It was only a few meters away from ours. During the walk, there was a stream/river on the right hand side of us, and the atmosphere was really nice and calm. Above us, stars were pierced into the sky and it was amazing. It felt like we were in a small countryside. Compared to the afternoon, the evening was quite cold. The square tulou’s were small and cozy aswell. After visiting the tulou, we went back and tucked ourselves into bed. Tomorrow, we were going to be teaching small children, and biking aswell.

2010.11.09

Waking up at 8:30, we ate breakfast and energized ourselves. In the morning, we walked to the ancestral temple and took some photos. Then, we came back to the round tulou to have lunch (we had this deep fried sweet potato which was REALLY just REALLY good (: ). Then, we went to get our bikes which we were going to use for the week. When I first got the bike, I was half excited, half scared, because I was a beginner. I tried riding it as a tester, but as expected, I was really bad (hahahah). After getting our bikes, we rode our bikes to the children’s school. The students were cleaning the school, as the officials were going to visit tomorrow.

When the students finished cleaning, each of our groups were assigned a class, and we started teaching. We started with the ABC song, and made short talks with them. It was very hard to teach them, as they were not as confident with english. Therefore, we used some chinese in between to make sure they understood what they were learning. Then, we sang the rainbow song and tought them “colours” in english. We even did small games to make the best out of the students learning. After fininshing teaching, we rode our bike’s back to the tulou and ate dinner. After dinner, it was about 8:00 ~ 8:30. Then, it was free time

During the time, we planned some teaching for tomorrow and got ready for another tomorrow.

2010.11.10

Today, breakfast was served at 8:15. In the morning we went to pick tea leaves and we had a competition on which group was going to pick the most.

When picking tea leaves, we were told which types of leaves to pick (top three leaves where there is 1 bud, and 2 leaves, all light green). After picking the tea leaves, we went to the tea factory and in front of the factory we laid out our leaves to dry. To find the winner, we weighed the leaves. We didn’t win ):

Anyways, we went in to the tea factory and took photos and watched the full process involved in tea making. We also had the experience to drink tea and buy some, if we wanted to. Then we had lunch and went to teach the students. As we planned the teaching, we were able to carry out the lesson more fluently.

We first started to review what we learnt yesterday, and then started learning numbers, days of the week, and a song. We also read a book together (the very hungry caterpillar). The book was my favourite part of the lesson, as we were able to interact together more closely. After teaching, we rode our bikes and ate dinner. Then, we were given a small surprise. Fireworks. We were given the time to buy some mini fireworks and try it out. After the noisy fireworks, we were able to have some sweet bean soup and went to bed.

2010.11.11

It’s Thursday already, and time’s flying.

Today, we ate breakfast at 8:15, and had an early 9:30~11:30 session to teach the children. Then, we went to have lunch nearby, and then went to pick fruits. We picked persimen’s and it was a interesting experience. After the fruit picking, we went to teach the children again. It was sad, as today was the last teaching session. We taught the children a song, as we were going to come together in the hall to perform. We decided to sing boom-di-ya-da, and added the words which we learnt. We also gave the students a small booklet which we prepared beforehand, with all what we learnt in the three days. Then, we went to the hall and everyone performed what they learnt. After the performance, we had time to play basketball or football with the children and have some fun.

Ahhh, and the time came to say goodbye D: Some of the children were even crying ): It was sad that we were unable to contact the children through the internet. After the farewell, we went back to our tulou (bicycle ride again)and had dinner. In the evening, we were going to have a puppet show and have a chance to try the puppet by ourselves aswell. Trying out the puppet was exciting, and watching others do the puppet was hilarious. After the puppet show, we had sweet soup and went back to our rooms for a good rest.

2010.11.12

After all the teaching and culture experience the past few days, our focus week was coming towards an end already. Today, we were having a full day cycling day and having a relaxed and enjoyable time. In the morning, we had breakfast as usual, and took our bikes to have a long cycle. While we were cycling, we stopped between various Tulou’s to have a look around. After visiting about 3 Tulou’s, we had a long cycle to the restaurant where we were going to have lunch. The cycling was a very calming and pleasurable experience, as the scenery was breath-taking. Going up and down with green trees the sky was a delightful experince. However, during this experience, there was a bicycle accident with one of our student. Therefore, we waited a while for her to recover and continued finishing the journey.

HOWEVER, I accidently fell aswell but was wearing black tights, so I just carried on cycling. After arriving in the restaurant, we all had lunch together and I checked my knee. It was a little deep but I guess it was going to be a sign for me to remember this experience (:

After lunch, we had a decision to either cycle all the way back, or to walk a while and then ride a bus back to our Tulou. I decided to walk and ride the bus and so did some of my friends. While we walked, there was again, another beautiful sight of the scenery. Then, we rode the bus back to the Tulou. After the long day, were assigned a house of a student that we taught, and we had the experience of eating dinner in their house. In the students house, we had dinner and we talked with their family while having tea. When it started to become to late, we said farewell and went back to our Tulou. In the last night of the week, we sat in the fire and had deep fried potato. After warming ourselves, we went back to our room to pack and had a good nights sleep (:

2010.11.13

Finally, the long journey came to an end. This week seemed very fast, but very slow at the same time… At 7:15, we woke up and had breakfast. Then, we walked to the bus for a long bus ride. We took some photos along the way aswell. The bus was about 4 hour long, and during the bus ride, Leo talked to us, saying that he hoped that this journey was going to be an experience we would “never forget” in our lives.

Then, after the long bus ride, we arrived in the airport, checked in, and went on the aeroplane. Soon, we were back again in Hong Kong. The moment I stepped onto the Hong Kong airport, it felt good but I missed Xiamen already. I guess this is how the story went during our week in xiamen. (: It was surely the best focus week I ever had been to during the 6 years at South Island School ;D

Reflection:
L2: Cycling - During the start of the trip, I was not a very confident at cycling, but as we were doing it several times of the week, I developed new skills.
Fruit harvesting / Tea leaves - Now, I am able to carry out picking tea leaves and fruits.
Tea leaves - pick the leaves from the top and choose three leaves (2 grown and 1 bud)
Fruit harvesting - Use a tree stick and pull down the branch which has the fruits
L3: We planned the lessons beforehand to carry out the teaching. While doing the lessons, we learned what things went on well and what things didn't. Therefore, we were able to build up our planning for lessons after wards.
L4: Teaching groups - We picked tea leaves as a group and this allowed us to work together for better performance. When harvesting fruits, we helped each other pull down branches.
L6: Working in poor villages (poverty) by improving living standards
L8: Able to harvest fruit as well as pick leaves, also learned how to teach children
Overall, the Xiamen trip was one of the most memorable focus week which I went to. I was able to learn about various traditional methods of harvesting, as well as help the children learn English. Moreover, I was able to learn how traveling could make one learn a lot about various different things. The thing which I was most proud of during the trip was being able to ride the bicycle, as I only had one experience of riding it. In addition, I think the trip was one which I not only learned a lot, but also felt many different emotions which was why it was memorable.