CHRISTMAS CAROLING AGAIN!

Caroling at Convent of Mercy and at Bay View!

As a class, we decided that we should keep our initial charity group which is Chernobyl Children's Lifeline. Last year we made a quiz for them and raised over £400. This year with our caroling service we raised £109.40! We had eight practices in college as our CAS lesson which we really enjoyed. We did some of the carols we did last year but we did do different songs too. To make this year's carolling more festive and fun we decided to dress up. Initial ideas were to do a nativy themed carol service and I had the pleasure of being a shepherd. However that required being to buy expensive costumes and we thought that it wasn't worth buying those expensive costumes when we could be giving that money to our charity. At one point during a practice the whole dressing up thing was scrapped but we somehow got the idea back as some people had already bought their costumes. We had a star, two christmas trees, a christmas had, two presents and the rest came in a christmas jumper. My jumber had a reindeer on it and it even had bells so when we were having fun singing and swaying the bells on my jumper was ringing and added to the precussion. The money that we raised will help children who are affected by the Chernobyl accident. It could give a child a chance to have a holiday where they can finaly breath clean air and have a good time in a new country. The elderly people at the Covent of Mercy was happy to have us. There were some singing along and waving their arms and swaying to the songs and they even asked for an encore! The only thing was the room that we were in was quite small and having lots of being in one small room meant it was boiling hot. Present costumes were not worn at this time. I think this was a really good activity to do as it reminds us that there are others that require our help and to give up a few hours of our day won't hurt. A good deed can go a long way and it also makes you feel good that you are contributing into making someones life a little bit better.

WALKS

Walk down to Rudland and around Betws-y-Coed

There were plenty of sheep on walks staring whilst we passed by. The walk down to Rudland and back took almost 4 hours including breaks. The route we took was the same route we did for our sponsored walk back in year 8. The walk down was lovely and entertaining because of new sights and the thrill of doing something out of the blue, just because you could. However, the walk back up felt longer and by the time we got back our legs felt like jelly and we just crashed on the couch. What I found motivating about doing this walk was that I completed it. There were no cheats where we got a lift or took the bus. Also the sheep made the walk a whole lot more interesting!

I had been to Betws-Y-Coed a few times since I moved here in the U.K. but I had never come across this wooden bridge before because this was only seen if you followed the trails. We followed the river and circled the place.We went quite early so there weren't that many people around. It was very foggy and quite cold but that type of weather isn't really surprising. Again I felt good about this walk because we completed the trails that we found. Along the way we came across a church, this bridge shown in the picture, trains and gold courses. I think when you go to a place it can show many different sides to the place. The main touristy areas and then there's the place's other beautiful spots that are a bit less appreciated but still beautiful.

WORK EXPERIENCE/ O.J.T

Work experience is a way to get a feel for the type of job you want to do in the future and to find out if you really like it or not and if it suits you. Once you do work experience you don't think of the job you want to do the way you want to inside your head. It suddenly becomes real and it may or may not be the way you expect them to be. 

I know in the future I want to be in a job where I can help others and medicine will let me do just that. This may have stemmed from the fact that both my parents were nurses and it I'm thankful that they are because they were able to help when my family became ill or in any emergencies. 

Work experience for medicine is particularly hard to find because it deals with patients and there's no room for error. I wanted to get work experience for the summer so that it didn't clash with college time but we were also going to the Philippines for a short holiday and time was running out so I figured why not find some in the Philppines? Luckily I was able to find some but the process I had to go through was also time consuming. I went to the city mayor (Hon. Isidro L. Hemedes, Jr.) to explain and ask him for permission to get work experience which in the Philippines they call O.J.T. at the city hall.

I couldn't have done this though without the help of my grandad; because he was friends with the mayor, I got to meet the mayor. 

They mayor wrote this letter for me to bring to Dr. Diamante. If I didn't have this letter I don't think I would have had the chance to fo work experience at City Health Office I. 

I was only observing what the nurses and midwifes were doing and while I was there I got to see how they do blood tests on babies, how they organise admissions and consultations, fetal screening and immunisations. Everyday there were lots of people especially children because most of the mediciation was free and even more if you had Phil Health. To find out that medication was free was shocking to me because normally health check and medication wasn't free. I was glad to know that now the people that can't afford treatments now can but the downside is they only treat basic illnesses. If what the patient requires is beyond what they can offer then they will send them to another department who can help them or the hospital. All the midwifes I met were very friendly and they were happy to answer all my questions and I answered all of theirs. I got to know about their routines and schedules and how they felt about their job. One of the midwifes I talked to called Emily said that she preferred small organisations like this one and even more in the smaller branches where they help the poorer poeple rather than the hospital because of the tighter relationships held with the patients and because the stress levels were lower. She said jokingly that the hospitals were more toxic which I sort of understood because you have more of a responsibility to the many people you meet. She didn't put me off working in a hospital because everyone is different and have different likings and I haven't experienced it for myself. They on the other hand were very curious about the education here in the U.K. and also about the I.B because in the Philippines after you finish high school you then go on to college which is equivalent to university; after college they then find work. 

It was a great work experience although it was a short one and I'm glad to have had the chance to do it.

SWIMMING

Getting sun burnt for the first time!

PATUNGAN BEACH

One of my favourite sports has always been swimming although I'm not really a confident swimmer in very deep waters. Whilst I was in the Philippines I got to visit my uncles and aunties that I don't get to see very often, even when I am home in the Philippines. One of them is my Aunt Liezel and she lives in Batangas which is about a two or three hour drive from Laguna, which is where I am from. Whenever we left to visit her we would always go at around 4 or 5 am just to beat the traffic because the traffic in the Philippines is nothing like the traffic here.

Our first destination was Patungan Beach. I had never swam in the sea before and I was really surprised at how salty the water was. It felt like drinking a glass of water that was mixed with a whole bottle of salt. The waves were stronger on the edge rather than when you go in and the water was cloudy at the start but the deeper you went the bluer it became but I didn't go that far because I can't stay in deep waters. We got to the beach at around 7 and swam in it all morning. The reason we went so early was so that we wouldn't be swimming in the scorching heat but as you can see from the subheading I was silly and forgot to put sunblock on my shoulders. I've never been burnt before so I wasn't all that bothered about sunblock and so I payed the price. By the end of that day my shoulders became this red colour and for about a week onward my shoulder bag became my hand bag.  I had lots of fun and I think I became a little bit more confident in deeper water. It was nice to see all my family but the adventure didn't stop there. After the beach and after eating, my cousins wanted to go to Talon Falls, I don't go to the Philippines that often so I was definitely going. We took a tricycle (not the kids one if you're wondering) from the beach up to this bridge and from there we had to walk through the forest for about 20 minutes to get to Talon Falls. The excitement began once you heard the crashing of water and when we got there the first thing you'll notice is how clear the water is and also how cold it was even though the weather was around 35 degrees. It wasn't a heavy waterfall and people were sliding down it, I wanted to slide down it myself but the water was deep at the end of the water fall and the push of the water would push me down to much. We took lots of pictures, above and below the water and we were all shivering at the end. It was amazing to swim in the sea and at the waterfall and I hope to go back there whenever I go back to the Philippines. And for those out there wondering, no wellies were lost. ;)

ICESKATING

Before getting to the Deeside Icerink, I thought ice skating wasn't too hard but I was sadly mistaken... I was stuck on the side for a good half hour before I ventured a metre away. I also found out that going in pairs or group made balancing easier and so you could go faster. It was great fun going round the rink with my friends but falling wasn't! I'm glad to say that I only fell twice and on one of them I blame the really good people racing around at like 50 miles per hour. But I got them back, by chance; as I was trying to balance my arm was flailing around and they happened to come a bit too close and I accidentally hit them. It was funny but I knew I had to be more careful. There were a few things that helped me as I got more comfortable on the ice. Looking ahead rather than at my feet, taking longer strides and bending my legs definitely helped me get better at ice skating. I really enjoyed the day and has made me more excited to do other activities like this with friends and family because you learn new skills, have a break and enjoy good quality time with friends and family. However, for anyone who does want to try to ice skate for the first time, I warn you that sore muscles and bruises will surely follow.

QUIZ NIGHT

Raised over £400!

We have been helping the Chernobyl trust since the start of our course and it has been amazing to see how much can be done to help if everybody works together. At the quiz we raised over £400 which will help bring a child from the radioactive zones of Bulgaria to have a holiday here in the U.K. Once they are here they can finally get clean water to drink and clean food to eat with a shelter above their heads and people who cares for them. It is a truly a great charity to support and I am glad to help with my IB class. 

          The quiz was quite stressful to organise but we somehow managed. We all worked together, assigned jobs to everyone. We all had to deliver letter to shops to get raffle prizes and bring food. My contributions were coconut macaroons and caramel bites. We had cupcakes, a chocolate fountain, fruits, marshmallows, cheese & crackers, quiche and for drinks we had tea, coffee, water, juices and fizzy drinks. For the quiz itself we had 10 rounds all with 10 questions. My quiz round was films and to be honest I was quite shocked that some of the teachers didn't know the name of the cat that loves to eat lasagna - Garfield. It was really fun to watch the teachers getting competitive with each other and congratulations to Arwel's team that won! Better luck next time to the other teams next year at the new IB1's quiz.

Me with head caterer, Lil' Oliv

           I think doing this quiz has really helped our class to better work together and it really shows how much can be done if everyone participates. We will, as the new IB2's, be doing more to help our chosen charities in the second year to help those that need our help. We hope to get the same response from the quiz and we are happy to be a part of helping those we have helped to have a chance at a new life.

ART TRIP

Pinhole Photography with Vivien Rickman-Poole

Our picture with Vivien herself.

Us in the classroom making our pinhole camera:)

For our CAS day out we went to Bodelwyddan Castle to see and learn more about Francesca Woodman's art work. She took many photographs of herself in black and white for the viewer to interpret. Her photographs have a kind of mystery to it and it may even hold the key to the reason of her suicide when she was only 22. Vivien was the artist that we met when we got there. An interesting fact about her is that she goes swimming everyday in rivers, lakes, seas but never in a swimming pool; even in the winter! She taught us how to make a pinhole camera using a coca cola can interestingly enough. All we had to do was poke a pin on the side of the can, make a shutter and lid with duck tape and put in photo paper. With the picture taking, we went around the castle and took pictures of the scenery or ourselves; we could be as creative as we wanted. The pinhole camera had to placed still and the shutter taken off for a maximum of 4 seconds, any longer and the photo paper would have had too much exposure and turned completely black. Also to prevent it from getting too much exposure it was recommended that we didn't face our pinhole camera at the sun. I think it was great to experience things like this because it lets you see the world in a different perspective, you aren't just trapped to belive in one thing and I think that's what's great about art, is that it's open to interpretations and you can express things that couldn't be expressed through words. This trip has also let me be creative and a sort of outlet from work. A balance is definitely required for a healthy life or else we might stumble into a deep depression and isolate oursleves from the world. We can only make assumptions as to why Francesca Woodman took her own life at such a young age but she would have had been unduring a hell for her to make that decision.

Our break spent at the swings!

One of my pictures.

BANGOR CHEMISTRY COMPETITION

This competition was held at Bangor University for many students in sixth form and colleges to compete. Llandrillo college hadn't competed in a few years so it was a pleasure to be chosen. I was very surprised that I was chosen because I have some very talented classmates in my chemistry class. There was a procedure taken to be chosen and as a class, we were assessed on our written practicals and we were also observed whilst doing the practicals. You had to be quick but careful and be able to work well as a group. I think my group worked very well together because we all get along in all our other classes and are very good friends. 

The competition was a great way to experience what laboratories looked like in universities and the equipment they used. We were given a method and answer sheet to work on and the only help we received was a quick talk with our chemistry teacher, Nick, about the scenario given, which was about water contamination. It was very exciting to  be just given a method and left to carry out the experiment with new equipment and environment. We saved a lot of time with giving out small jobs for everyone to do so that nobody would be waiting and we would always check each others work whilst communicating. It started off well but we did ran into some problems. One of the equipment used to measure light gave us two readings for the same set of samples we made and I think this was where things went wrong. We needed those result to carry on with our calculations but since we were unsure on which readings to take, we had a 50 50 chance but we did come up with an answer in the end.

After the experiment was done, we had lunch and headed to the lecture theater to hear the announcement of the winners. Unfortunately, we didn't win but it was okay because we had a good time and learnt some new things. Also we had a small show about different chemicals and how they reacted. The most exciting one was when the balloon full of helium was lit up and gave a very loud bang! And anyway we got some glow sticks and a goody bag to take home so everyone was happy. 

It would be amazing to compete again next year but I think we need to let the new IB1s next year to have a go, or to even try other competitions. You learn new things and you can put it in your CV that you've been taking part in these kinds of things in your free time. It shows interest and we can find out if we want to carry on in that sort of field. All in all, it was a great day and a great experience. Also, we had lots of photos taken but only three made it!

CHERNOBYL CHILDREN VISIT

We were visited by two lovely little girls from Chernoby today. They were the few lucky children that were chosen to have a holiday here in the UK to visit other places apart from their home town and get better in health, since they will temporarily be out of a radioactive zone. We decided to play simple games with them that didn't require much speaking since they cuold only speak Russian and we could only speak English. So we decided to play jenga with them and also made a really long paper chain that we took out in the hallway to see which team won. They seemed to really enjoy these simple activities and it made me think of the lives lived by some people in the world that doesn't have the same luxuries as I do and it made me feel grateful for everything that I have and the family I have. I think these holidays that are provided for these children are really important because it gives them a chance to see the world outside their town/ village and also so that they can feel healthy again and make new friends. It's not fair that they have to sudder for someone elses fault and this holiday, short it may be, is still a chance for them to develope and gain a better understanding about the world. It can also make them feel like they aren't alone and there are people that are trying to help them.

RIBI YOUNG WRITER/ PHOTOGRAPHER COMPETITION

Runner Up!

The themes for the three pictures that we had to produce was 'people' so I decided that for my pictures I would show career, leisure and friendship as I believe that that is the norm or modern take in today's society. Almost everybody in our modern world now are born into this somewhat routine. You go through education to get a job to do things you like and you meet nice and bad people as you go along. My first picture of the person playing the guitar looks at career and the edit of it being black and white shows that a lot of people nowadays do jobs just to live. To earn a decent living to feed the family and to get by. This isn't for everyone as there are people who love their jobs but I think for the majority it's the case of finding a job to have a job. But on the flip side I think in this picture it shows commitment and sacrifice and I think that's very important.

My second picture I tried to convey leisure. Everyone has different hobbies and interests and I see them as a way of escape; to leave reality for a while and enjoy the things you like. It could be as simple as drawing or to more complex things like climbing mountains. 

In my last picture I wanted to portray friendship. Friendship can be with other people but also with animals. I agree with the quote 'A dog is a man's best friend' but for me I have a cat instead of a dog. I believe that animals can relieve stress that comes with responsibility of life. I think the picture represents how animals can bond with their owners. 

FILIPINO CHRISTMAS PARTY

Dance Practice, 80s theme!

Every year the filipino organising committee organises a big Christmas party at Rhyl town hall for everyone to attend. It's very joyful and memorable. To make it interesting there is a programme which consists of performances, such as dances, singing and raffle draws. I was part of the dancing groups as you can see below in the picture. The theme was 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, my group had the 70's music and we met up whenever everybody was free to practice. Someone decided on the music we were going to dance with and someone choreographed. To be honest it was quite hectic but our practices paid off and we performed very well! It got me out of my comfort zone since I don't really like to be performing in front of a big crowd but it was exciting and I got through it. But if someone would ask me again if I were to do it again for next year, I would probably hide back again in my comfort zone and reject the offer. I think this was a great way to experience and realise the things that I can do and shouldn't be afraid of doing but also to find out the things I like and don't.  

CAROLLING

Choir Practice & Performance: Chernobyl Trust

We had 8 choir practice sessions and we were lucky to have Tasha as our coordinator. We sang a mixture of christmas carols and some classics from the Beatles. I was only a singer but there were guitar players, keyboard players and tamborine players. I was going to play the guitar but I suddenly got stage fright so I decided against it. Maybe as a challenge I might play next time.

My favourite song out of the whole pack was 'Hey Jude' by the Beatles. It was very relaxing and had a good message, also the nah nah nah bit at the end is just fun to rock to.

Performing at bay view was a first for me since I've never been in a choir before. I enjoyed it, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We had people stopping and singling along and the crowd was very generous.

I think I prefered singing at the Convent of Mercy Nursing Home because it was quiet you could really appreciate the songs. And looking at the elderly people enjoying the music and clapping along made it worth while. They may not akways be able to go out so it was right that us young people to go and visit them.

In conclusion it was a great time for bonding with the IB1s and we were helping out for a good cause.

POINT MARKER

Basketball Match between Llandrillo Lightnings and West Cheshire College

Angel and I had the pleasure of keeping track of the team's scores. I was responsible for West Cheshire and Angel for the home team. Our task was to write down the number of who scored, the number on their jersey top and how many they got. I was panicking at the start because I've never dine anything like this before but David, their coach was extremely kind and helpful and told me everything I had to know. It was quiet a challenge because the pace of the game was very quick and I had to make sure I familiarised myself with the team to make it easier. By the end of the game I knew who was the main shooter, in defence and the rebounder. West Cheshire was very skilled and won with an outstanding score of 100. 

What I noticed during the game was their coaches demands. I for one thought he was being a bit harsh at times but looking back I guess it was necessary to keep the player in a state of mind to win. Their coach was very passionateand the game and it showed in his coaching.

I also saw and learnt that even though one team looses, at the end of the game both team come together and shake hands and there's no arguements or hard feelings. It was nice to see that there is good sportsmanship, no cheating just a fair game. 

I would like to do something like this again so I learn about the sport itself and I like sports anyway so I enjoy it a lot too. 

PSEUDOSCIENCE TRIP

Pseudoscience at Manchester 

We went to Manchester early morning to go to some talks that also included being hypnotized. The talks were quite interesting but I didn't agree with all what was said. For example they said that vitamins were completely useless. I think they do help people and from experience has helped me too and I think just the way they said that is was useless was too much of a statement. But the disagreement I had made me listen more and I guess I enjoyed it more. There was a lot of people who came and the room was almost full of students and tutors. The hypnotist that came wanted some participants but I didn't qualify with the initial test that he did which showed if we were suggestible people. There was this test where we had to imagine closing the light and we had to close our eyes and if you were suggestible you couldn't open your eyes until he said you could. But I could open my eyes which meant I wasn't suggestible. I think I was not suggestible because I was very aware and knew that I was in control of myself. I was very suspicious of everything he did so I guess that made me a less reliable participant.

This hypnotist part of the day was very funny and very interesting because there were some people that did everything he suggested to them. I was wondering if they were actors or just doing everything he said to be funny but it did look like they weren't acting. It sort of makes you think about different kinds of people and how you could manipulate others for your own good or to help. You can hypnotize a person to forget a traumatic event or you can hypnotize someone to do something bad. So it sort of makes you think about morals and peoples intentions. 

CAFOD SPONSORED WALK

Father Charles from St.Mary's church organised a sponsored walk to raise money for CAFOD. It started early by taking a group of us to a church service in Colwyn Bay and we started the walk after mass. There was a group from a school from Flint that we went with. The walk was from Colwyn Bay to Rhyl back to St.Mary's church. It took just over five hours and we had a good talk with the students from Flint school. It was also ironic that they were the same group that we went to the same retreat in year 10 with.

I wanted to do this sponsored walk because it helps people in need of help. It helps the poor and also it was good exercise. I did finish the walk and by the next day my legs were aching so much that it hurt to walk up the stairs. But I would have done it again because it goes toward a good cause. The only difficulty I faced was being really pessimistic and thinking I want a lift or why is it so far away. But being with other students and friends made it worth while. I think this activity showed commitment and endurance because it was a long activity and you are volunteering so you are giving up your own time. 

The money goes forward to help developing countries which I think is the right thing to do because if we don't help people that need help then we are just being selfish and it's just not good for the world either because they'll be lagging behind when we have the resources to help them. 

If I were to do this again next year I would definitely advertise the event for others to join because that way you can raise more money and raise more awareness about the developing countries. This activity has helped me to organise my own events to raise money for our chosen charities in the IB. 

FUNDRAISING

Bag Packing at Morrisons: Typhoon Haiyan

Angel and I thought it was neccessary to help raise some money for the Philippines since we ourselves are from the Philippines. I was nice to see so many people helping and the customers were very generous. Who knew small change could amount to so much! Everything little thing helps when we work together. It was a horrific storm that came through Tacloban and it doesn't help a country that is still undeveloped.
It was very heartwarming when so many countries come together to help.
I've never done bag packing before and it was a great experience. It felt good knowing that you helped.

COOKING & NAIL ART

Since university was soon on its way, I had a thought that once I live alone I will be forced to cook for myself since I will then become independent of my parents. I am clueless when it comes to cooking so I asked a friend (her name is Andrea) to teach me a fairly easy dish that's quick to do and taste great. I also wanted to cook a filipino dish so we decided to make Pancit. It is a noodle based dish with a chicken and mixed vegetable topping. It is very popular in the Philippines and is very well known. So in exchange for her knowledge I went and bought the ingredients. It was really fun to make and it was also a great laugh as I didn't have a clue on what to do. With Andrea's help, I somehow made a delicious Pancit dish that my parents also approved of. We plan to meet up again and cook more dishes. It also made me realise how much I depend on my parents for example, cooking, laundry and ironing. I will soon be doing those things by myself and I think this was a good idea so that I won't be overwhelmed when I get to university. 

After we made Pancit, we decided to do some nail art since it was too early to say goodbye and we didn't want to waste the day, so might as well be creative! We both really like to paint our nails, but mostly just plain block colours, so this time we ventured out of our comfort zone and painted our nails with a panda design! It definitely required a steady hand and a lot of patience because you had to wait for the paint to dry before proceeding to the next step. Final result wasn't like a printed copy of a panda but it looked like panda. It was just free time we filled with fun and we got cute nail designs too. 

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

As part of the charity we are supporting, we had the opportunity to help with Operation Christmas Child. I think it's a great charity to support because it makes the lives of unprivilidged children, especially during Christmas time. This is the time where families get together and since all they have is each other, a small present can give the child a little extra. They can get toys, clothing, toiletries, sweets, stationary and even a letter. 
So as a class we came up with the idea of a cupcake stall at the reception and all the proceeds goes towards O.C.C. In total we raised £50.45! We can then use this money to get the boxes sent off or to make more boxes. It was such a lovely event we had because everyone contributed in one way or another. We had a variety of cupcakes. We had chocolate fudge, vanilla and orange and poppy seed. The designs were also very well thought of. Springkles were very popular. We sold every single cupcake at the two sales we had which was great! 
We also had generous donations to place in the boxes and we are all very grateful to them.
I think it's important to help with cases like these because everybody wants to be equal and if we could spread out food, water and clothing every single person could have something. Sharing is vital, we may not have everything spread out evenly right now but at least we're trying to help and that is a good start. 
We hope that the boxes we made are distributed to the right places. That those children know that somewhere in the world somebody cares for them.  

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.