Action - Ultimate frisbee

Since the school musical finished i was able to join a new after school activity. I was very keen on doing something that required action because most of my CAS this semester has come from creativity and srervice. I decided to join Ultimate frisbee as it has a lot of running and sweating. The game is also a new sport for me because i have never played it before. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the game and it helpde me to undertake new challanges.

Also, this game helped me to engage with a greater community as I worked collaboratively with students from grade 3 to grade 11. This was very satisfying as we were able to help each other achieve to our maximum potential.

Fiddler on the roof - Thursday and Friday night performance

Last thursday and friday we performed Fiddler on the roof in front of the school community and others. We had spent the entire week rehearsing for the show and this meant dedicating each of our afternoons to the play. I felt confident before the start of the week as I had familiarized myself with the lines.

This week was entirely dedicated to the show and it helped me to Work collaboratively with others  because without teamwork the show would be nothing and a complete flop. More importantly I spent a great period of time on monday, tuesday and wednesday as well as the performance days working with the other cast members to improve the show to make it spectacular.

Above is a picture of me during rehearsels on monday where we had to wear our costumes. Credits to Keisha Gani.

Creativity - UN Day performance

On Friday 14th October our drama class had to perform in front of the entire secondary school. We each had written 2 original monologues addressing themes related to child rights. This activity required creativity on so many different levels because we had to write and perform the monologues. Although we were given guidance it was entirely up to us to figure out the best way to express our characters emotions and feelings towards the situation they were in.

This activity enabled me to Engage with an issue of of Global Importance because we dealt with child rights and we had to put ourselves in the shoes of the victims suffering from fates like sexual slavery, physical abuse and alienation from society. In addition to enhancing our acting skills we also intended to spread a message through our performance and depict the lives of under priviledged children to our audience.

This acitivty enabled me to Undertake new challenges as this was the first time I had to use acting skills to deal with such a serious theme/topic. Since my acting style is more comical and jovial it was quite difficult to develop the appropriate emotions and act with confidence. It was challenging no doubt, but after having completed it and looking back now I am very happy that I put in the effort.

Service - Visiting the Lady Ridgeway Hospital

On Thursday 29th September the cleft palette group visited the Lady Ridgeway hospital in Colombo. Although the visit was brief, we managed to speak to some of the patients and observe the effects of this condition. We also saw a patient who had a successful operation and I then learnt the seriousness of this condition. I realised at this point how urgent it is to raise money because if the operation isn't completed within the first year of birth, the baby is likely to be deformed for the rest of his/her life.

Creativity - School production - Fiddler on the roof

For the last 3 weeks I have been involved in the school musical, Fiddler on the roof. The role I am playing is significant in the plot and requires great creativity to fully depict. His name is Lazar Wolfe and he is a Jewish man who is destined to marry the daughter of Tevye (lead character) and in the end she falls for someone else leaving him heartbroken. Wolfe has a very prominent presence and personality as I have been told by Ms Grant and he is one of the toughest characters to act out in the play. In order to be successful I have been practising my posture while seating, the way I walk, talk and even my facial expression. All of these developments have required great creativity and imagination and i hope to further enhance my acting skills through this experience

Action - Sports Day

On September 7th 2011, it was sports day! The entire morning and a bit of the afternoon was dedicated to playing a variety of games. I took part in football, basketball, kickball and volleyball. I think this is an excellent example of Action because we were sweating profusely by noon. Also we showed a great sense of teamwork and collaboration and especially red house (my house) as we came first place.

Goals

During the next 2 years I hope to fulfill my CAS requirement by engaging in a number of activities.

For Creativity, I am going to participate in the school musical, Fiddler on the Roof. I feel that this will demonstrate creativity because it's theatre and I have to act and sing in front of a large audience which is no easy task. Since the actual musical is in November I will be quite occupied with the it for most of the semester and I think it's fair to say that the musical alone will fulfill my creativity requirement for the first semester.

For Action I won't be doing a lot this semester because I will be taking part in the musical and when combined with homework, almost all my time is taken. However I do go to the gym 4 times a week which fulfills the requirement stating that students have to sweat! I can further modify this and perhaps try out new programs in order to make it more interesting and give me something to talk and reflect about.

For Service, I am currently enrolled in the Cleft-Lip and Palette service group which I did last semester (Grade 10) as well. I feel this CAS is one that I can contribute to because the activities we organise to raise money are for an extremely good cause. This gives students like myself an incentive to put in maximum effort to to help these underprivileged children.