CAS TRIP WITH IB1S

OUT AT BACH ADVENTURES

I took my seat on the bus next to Angel. It was very cramped with all our bags but we made it work. It didn't take long until we reached our first destination, chatting and singing along to the radio helped. We met with our instructor Gordon who was very kind and helpful. Our first challenge was gorge walking which I have never done before. We changed into bright red waterproof pants and jacket, blue or yellow helmets, floats and wellies. We took a quick group photo and then we were off. It was lucky that we weren't separated into two small groups because we were already a small group to begin with. 

We walked for a bit in the forest and learnt about the plants that grow there. I also found out that wellies make it difficult to balance when walking on tree vines and rocks. When we got to the river I was quite anxious to go in. The first time the water went into my wellies it felt like my feet were immediately frozen then trying to empty them sent the freezing water to my knees! But after a while giving up on emptying my wellies my feet did start to feel again. It was quite scary that a wrong step could mean getting hurt but thankfully that didn't happen. Some of us even got to help out with Gordon; making a barrier where the flow of the current was stronger to help the others. We got plenty of pictures as well.

The challenging part was when we reached the mini waterfall. I decided that I might as well go under it since I might never  get the chance to do this again and also I also believe in 'CARPE DIEM'. When going the in water I didn't realise how deep it was and how cold too. It wasn't really good that I was wearing a fleece because it help a lot of water and because heavy. I wasn't sure at that point if I was going to carry on because it became hard to breathe and I couldn't swim but Angel was urging me to go and I wanted to experience it too to I jumped towards the group under the waterfall. I didn't stay very long because I found it hard to breathe so I quickly went back to the rocks....leaving behind my wellies. The current and the fact that they weren't snug on my feet made them slip off. I tried to get them back but I could go down and get then with my hands because of the float I was wearing. I'm guessing it was a shock to Gordon. I remember him saying 'You lost both of them!' and everyone was staring at my stripy socks. I thought it was very funny. Luckily Gordon found the left one, I was happy with that, I just needed to be more careful and try not to lose the one I had left.

We got to jump in where the water was deeper near the elephants bum, I think that's what it's called. That felt exhilarating, I didn't really care that it was cold anymore. We got to slide on rocks too. We had the opportunity to go down backwards but I decided not to. 

It was so much fun but walking back I felt like an ice cube and the rocks were not nice to my right foot. I managed to get the nickname 'Hop' from Gordon too but I didn't mind.

Later on I went abseiling for the first time. It was a great experience but I enjoyed gorge walking more and I would love to do that again if I could.
When we got to the hostel we all good washed up and got ready for dinner. But a small group of us decided to go for a little stroll before dinner. We went to the ruins. It was interesting trying to remember what the ruined house would have looked like before and how time and weather can change something so beautiful.

After dinner we started to play games in the lounge. We basically had to guess the name of famous people like Judi Dench and Santa Claus. That was a bit frightning going up infront of the group but I did enjoy it and thought that it wasn't too bad. We also did a pass the parcel but instead of sweets we had dares to do. I got 'Smile for the rest of the game'. I thought it would be really easy but it really wasn't. By the end of the game my cheeks were aching so much.
The next day we had more activities like crossing planks to avoid the shark infested custard, throwing 6 juglling balls with an egg and the skiing game where we had to avoid an avalanche. I think I had an awesome team. We did really well on the penguin game because we won twice!
I think the CAS trip was a very enjoyable and exciting and would encourage all the upcoming IB1s to do it. We had so many bonding moments and there were many laughs too. I learnt that it takes a long time to really get to know someone. It's deffinitely improved my interpersonal skills and I've made so many good friends! 'What team??? Go wildcats!' \m/

TUTORING & DRAWING

I tutored Rafael today, a six year old who I also met during my work experience at the primary school Ysgol Mair. I helped him with his school work. He had maths and a book to read. For the maths work he had to count coins to reach a certain amount. There was a grid with coins and he had to go from start to finish. However I miss read the instructions and didn't mention to Rafael to end at the finish block. We sorted it out in the end and all was well. It gave me a wake up call to read the instructions carefully because this can relate to my exams. I will need to carefully read the questions and not rush and miss out important detail. Every point counts!
The book he had to read was about the life cycle of a swan. I thought he read very well, it was fast and fluent. While reading the book with him I also learned things about swans like baby swans are called 'cygnets'. It makes you realise that knowledge can be learnt from a variety of places and we shouldn't be quick to judge. Just because something seems childish and simple doesn't mean we should dismiss it.
To end the session we went onto the creativity side. We took out some coloured paper and drew swans but it was a little bit more difficult for Rafael so he drew trees and game characters.
It feels nice to just draw and let time slip away. You get to improvise and be creative. That is why drawing is one of my hobbies.

GUITAR PRACTICE

Today was my first time joining the church's guitar practice/lessons. Father Charles teaches a small group on a Saturday at 2pm for an hour. Apart from playing the guitar there are people who sing. We are practicing hymns to play for the Saturday mass at 5pm. We practiced the songs, 'Amazing Grace', 'Silent Night' and 'John B Sails'. There were other songs too but we ran out of time. 

I was very grateful for Father Charles to let me join and to spend an hour of his busy life to teach a few eager people. It's made me think that even when it feels like your time is being spent doing one thing; like with me doing work for IB, I can and need to spend time to relax and enjoy other activities. I need to find time for my friends and shouldn't be too serious all the time.

PHYSICS SIT IN

IB Physics

At the beginning of the IB I was unaware of which higher level subjects to choose and we were able to sit in certain subjects that could have been a possible higher level subject and so I picked Physics. I chose to sit in Physics because it was a science subject which I am very keen on which is why I have chosen to do higher level Chemistry and Biology. I told myself before doing the IB that if I were to do A-Levels if I couldn't quialify for the IB I would choose to do Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Maths so Physics was always a possibility. I remember the first lesson was a quick mock test and I remember how panicked I was that I didn't know the answers and what was worse was that we were going around the class sharing answers. So when Nick got to me I was quite embarassed and quiet because I had no clue about most of the questions but luckily most of the class was in the same position as me so maybe it was just because it was the beginning of the year and that it was the first lesson. I wanted to do well in it so I made sure to listen to all that was discussed in class and made notes on the past paper. It was a good wake up call I think because it makes you realise that you are no longer in the summer holidays and you need to get back into routine and focus again. 

         In the end I didn't pick Physics as my higher level subject due to a few reasons. Firstly it was immensely difficult and second there wasn't enough people wanting to do it so the lesson was cancelled or you had to share the Physics lesson with the A-Levels. Sharing the class would have made it tooo complicated for the teachers Nigel and Nick because they would need to juggle and balance both sylabuses and making sure to cover everything that was required for both. What I learnt that college was a big step up from high school. The Physics or maybe all of my lessons was 10 times more indepth and harder whereas in high school the teachers would spoonfeed you the content required. You don't have to go to college so all the work has to be for yourself because the tutors aren't going to chase up work that is late. Even though I did not choose Physics as my higher level subject I think the experience was still valuable. It gave me an insight into the subject and college ways too. It was also a good way to meet other students and get to know the teachers better.

SQUASH 7

Today Angel and I played squash with two sport students, Chris and John. They're one of our filipino friends here at college. Katrin was with us too but she just watched and had tokkie conversations with us. I feel like I actually played a proper squash game with Chris and John even though I lost to both; the point differences wasn't that big. I had so much fun and it even got quite competitive. Let's just say I can dodge really well. All I need to improve now is my serving. 

Another improvement was that we didn't lose the ball.

Squash doesn't feel like an activity I have to do for CAS hours, I actually enjoy it and even without CAS I would still play it with my friends. I'm also seeing the benefit of squash with my health and it will also improve the health of the people I play with. I don't get tired as easily and I can keep playing for a longer amount of time. I think now I realise how important it is to stay fit and active but also to be persistent in what I do.

SQUASH 6

Today I played with Nathan, Katrin and Angel after we had our Spanish class. I was a nice way to end a school day. We all took turns playing because only two could play at any time. While Angel and Nathan was playing I was watching them play with Katrin and having tokkie converstaions.
Yet again the ball was lost and Angel had to pay Linda 50p. You really have to make sure you hit the ball straight, not too high that it doesn't come back down but not too low that you lose a point.
I think I'm imporoving my aiming skills now I just to learn tricks and tactics to beat my competitor. I think that's the key things in life is to find the things you're not that good in and to improve. It's the only way to succeed because we're not born with knowledge, we're all like a blank peice of paper. We need to learn to develop.

TABLE TENNIS

Today Angel, Alex and I tried table tennis that was advertised in the little cards handed out by Dave at the sports center. He was really pleased to see students participating and that his little cards weren't a waste. Dave was really nice and helped set out the table, he gave us brand new paddles and he even printed out the rules and how to play table tennis for us. At times when he checked up on us he even played too.
I did have some experience playing table tennis back at my high school. I thought it was really fun to play and Alex and I had a really long rally. At time we didn't even need the table! We were just running around the room chasing the ball.
I think it's important to do and to be exposed to different things, if that be a person or activity. It builds up knowledge and creates relationships. It could even alter the path of you life.

JOEY G

Visit from Joseph George a.k.a Joey G!

Have you ever wondered what 'rap' stands for? 
Today I found out that it stands for rhythm and poetry. Joseph is a rapper and also part of a christian community. He has his own album and has even toured around Philippines! 
Today of our CAS lesson he helped us make a rap about 'food' and 'pizza'. We all brainstormed of words that rhymed with them and began structuring sentences. I'd write it here for you but it's too good to share. 
Joseph decided to rap it for us first and then Nathan bravely attempted it after with a little persuasion. To get the whole class to get involved we decided to do a rap competition. While someone was rapping someone else would be humming a tune, clicking their fingers and cheering. I thought it was really funny. xD

More about Joseph George --> http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7514968&style=music&fulldesc=T

  What I found interesting in what Joseph said is that don't just have to rap about negative things with lots a swearing. He raps about positive things, things that makes people feel better about themselves and that it's okay if you fall as-long as you stand back up. Joseph also incorporates religious text into his rap which makes him stand out.
It made me realise how powerful music can be. It can be a way of expressing how you feel; either good or bad. It can also be a way to educate. Many examples of this are given in our Spanish lesson. This song called 'Cry me a verb' teaches about verbs in Spanish.
In short there are many ways you can use music.