Botanical garden

My friends and I had to work collaboratively to plant the seeds and dig the soil. While doing this activity I was able to develop more physical strength and more coordination between my team and I. We could have used chemicals to make the soil more fertile but it would be unethical hence we did not use any chemicals. I was tired on the 2nd day but, with my commitment and perseverance, I was able to complete this activity. We faced challenges like some of the equipment were not in a working condition, many of the teammates remained absent, although these challenges were overcome with the help of new volunteers joining our team.

CAS Plan

Proposed Activities Duration Description of the activity Components (C/A/S) Start and End Dates Goals Learning Outcomes Location Ethical implications related to the activity (if any)
HMUN India Short Term Participation in HMUN India as head delegate Creativity Conference Dates 13 to 16 August. Preparation started from July. Getting experience of public speaking, debate and conflict resolution.
Learning about International Disputes and countries of the world. Representing the school at international level conference.
LO 1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
LO 6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Out of School: Hyderabad, Telengana When discussing about world issues as controversial as religious and ethnic conflicts, the language should be politically correct. The perspectives of different religions and cultures must also be respected.
Football Short Term Participation in Subroto Cup International Football Tournament (District Level) Activity 16th July 2015 Building physical fitness (strength, stamina)
Cooperation with teammates
Improving football skills and learning new skills and tactics
LO 1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
LO 7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
In School Fair play
Session with IIMUN students Short Term Giving the students tips and advice for research, preparation and the actual conference. Service 17th July 2015 Help students from my school perform better at an MUN when representing our school. Help students understand about the complexities of MUN conferences. LO 1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
LO 6 engagement with issues of global significance
In School
FSMUN (CAS PROJECT) Long Term Organising the FSMUN as the Secretary General. Overseeing the content side of the event. Creativity, Service 28-29 November 2015 Use what I have learnt in BM (Business plan, etc.) to plan the event.
Spread awareness abput world issues in school students.
Inculcate debate and public speaking skills in students.
Learn to work effectively in a team.
Get exposure by interacting with different people.
LO 1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
LO 3 Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
LO 5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
LO 6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
In School
Arts and Literary Fest Long Term Segement manager for “Ads to Add up” event. Creativity, Service 22-23rd August 2015 Develop deeper understanding of how advertisements can be used to sell a product. Connect this learning with subjects such as BM, Englsih and Hindi. Develop organisational, management and planning skills. LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
LO 3 Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
In School
Arts and Literary Fest Short Term Participation in Debate Competition Creativity 22-23rd August 2015 Develop reasoning, public speaking and criticial thinking skills. Use persuasuive skills learnt in English for speeches and argument LO 1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
LO 5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
LO 6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
In School
Tennis Long Term Playing Tennis for recreation and fitness Activity All year long Imporve accuracy of groundstrokes. Minimize unforced errors.
Improve power and accuracy of serve.
Learn to use different types of strokes to advantage in match.
Develop endurance and agility.
LO 1 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
Out of school
SUO Short Term Venue coordinator for Surat Ultimate Open Activity, Service 05-06 December 2015 Learn about ultimate frisbee
Meet new people who are engaged with the sport
Help provide a platform for people to explore the sport
LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
LO 5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
LO 7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
In School Following spirit of game, making sure everyone (players and OC members) are treated fairly
Visual Arts Long Term AS Visual Arts Creativity All year long Learn new forms of visual arts such as sculpture, painting, etc.
Develop creativity and fine motor skills
Learn about art histroy and famour artists
LO 2 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
LO 4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
LO 7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
In School Academic/ Artistic honesty, not taking credit for/ copying the work and ideas of other artists
Winter Trip: Naggar Short Term A class winter trip to Naggar, Himachal Pradesh where we took part in various adventure activities. Activity 27 Dec 15 – 4 Jan 16 Creating awareness about keeping the environment clean
Supporting local industries
Learning about a new culture and way of life
Participating in treks and hikes
Participating in various adventure activities
Learning to adjust outside comfort zone
LO 5 Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
LO 7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Out-Of-School Eco-tourism
Supporting local cottage industries
Tree plantation @ KV School Short Term Planting trees at Kendriya Vidyalay School Opposite SVNIT Service 03-Sep-15 Contributing to the creation of a cleaner, greener city LO 6 Engagement with issues of global significance
LO 7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Out-Of-School Ethical to give back the environment, society

Me, Myself and I.

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“Life begins, at the end of your comfort zone”

This has been my principle throughout my life.

I am Priyam Joshi and I grew up in a convent school, but when I was in the 11th grade, I decided to take up a challenge, get out of my comfort zone and shift to an international baccalaureate school.
And just as the quote says, that was when my life truly began.

The opportunities that were provided to me, led me to discovering my true self.
I found my favourite hobbies like singing, acting, hosting merely by trying something new.
Meanwhile, I could also develop my existing skills like playing guitar, MUNning and debating by making use of the excellent resources that were provided to me.
But the most important thing that I found was my passion – raising mental health awareness! As a part of CAS, I conducted an event to provide opportunities for differently-abled children and raise awareness about developmental disabilities. While it was a just a one day event, organising and executing it truly impacted me, I was inspired to make my own start-up called “Make a difference” which continues to work for such endeavours!
This project definitely affirmed by ambition and inclination of being a psychologist!

Other than psychology, I have several other interests, out of which travelling and different forms of art battle for my priority. Having grown up in a family of artists, my childhood was filled with drawing sessions, road trips to heritage sights, pottery workshops and glitter-tainted hands. Consequently, I have fallen in love with exploring new places, and different art forms.
I have also peddled in classical music and dance, and to this day, still enjoy every bit of it!

However, the most I have travelled in through books! My love for reading has been catalysed through exposure to new people, MUNs, IB subjects etc. I have lived multiple lives, travelled to infinities and had amazing experiences just through these books.

As I begin a new chapter of college next year, I aspire to raise mental health awareness and contribute to the field of psychology. I hope to continue finding new passions, and living life with a positive outlook while always being ready to try new things!

I am confident that wherever I go, whatever I do, I will put myself further out of my comfort zone to live the true essence of a magical life.

CAS – A journey of memories, learnings, and fun.

I shifted from a Gujarat Board school to pursue the IB Diploma in the 11th grade. One of the most intriguing and interesting parts of the Diploma was the “CAS” component. Ever since I was a little child, I was always involved in some form of curricular activities everyday, so doing it as a part of a school curriculum seemed exciting.

I began my CAS journey by participating in activities that I was used to… like singing, debating, MUNning. I had a lot of fun developing my skills in these. I was exposed to new kinds of competitions where I had to use my skills, and identified areas where I could improve even more.

But as I moved on, CAS helped me get involved in things that were out of my comfort zone. I participated in sports, and activities which involved physical exertion. I learnt the importance of physical activity in maintaining my health, and also had new experiences of doing yoga, going for runs etc.

I also experienced the amazing joy of winning a team sport – Kabbadi! The feeling of unity and pride shared with your team-mates is a feeling which everyone should experience atleast once in their lifetime.

Additionally, CAS also gave me a chance to make the lives of other people better. I participated in various volunteering and tutoring, activities, book drives, plantation activities and other forms of community service which made me reflect on how privileged I am with the opportunities that I have been given. I also realized my duties as a responsible citizen of my country.

Apart from learning, CAS gave me an opportunity to become closer to my new classmates, I went on trips with them where I shared stories, clicked pictures, trekked, and had a lot of fun with my new friends in naggar! This trip made me get a lot of new friends, and create some fantabulous memories for life.

One of the most important things that CAS exposed me to were activities which made me realize my passion. The highlight of my CAS journey was my project called “Make a difference” where we organized events for differently-abled children. Through this activity, I gained insight into the problems faced by people with developmental disabilities and learnt techniques to make this situation better. I found my passion for working to raise mental health awareness!

Through this journey, I have grown tremendously as a person. The best part about this was that I learnt to do everything ethically. When I started, I was scared to try new things or to lead, but as time went on, I became a leader and faced challenges, learnt how to deal with failures, developed my skills in various areas like music, speaking, cooking, tried a lot of new things like kabbadi and in the end, created memories and friends for life!

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CAS Plan

Activities Components (C/A/S) Duration & Start/ End Dates Learning Outcomes
Young Orators 15-16 Creativity 1st December 2015 – 20th January 2016 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills L4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience L6. Engagement with issues of global significance
Youth Run Synapse’16 Action/Service 26th January 2016 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills L6. Engagement with issues of global significance
L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Fountainhead School Model United Nations 2.0 Creativity/Service 28th November 2015 – 30th November 2015 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills L4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience
L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively
L6. Engagement with issues of global significance
L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Book drive for Youth Unstoppable Creativity/Action/Service 1st February 2016 – 29th March 2016 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
L3. Initiate and plan a CAS experience L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively
L6. Engagement with issues of global significance
Teacher’s day volunteering! Creativity/Service 5th September 2015 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
L3. Initiate and plan a CAS experience L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Trip to vansda ( Tree plantation ) Action/Service 18th July 2015 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills L4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience
L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively
L6. Engagement with issues of global significance
L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Trip to naggar Creativity/Action/Service 26th December 2015 – 4th January 2016 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Make a difference – Fest for Special Children Creativity/Action/Service 25th June 2016 – 7th August 2016 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
L3. Initiate and plan a CAS experience
L4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience
L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively
L6. Engagement with issues of global significance
L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Adds to add up – LitHum Fest Creativity 18th August 2015 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively
L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Debate Competition – LitHum Fest Creativity 17th August 2015 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills L4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience
L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively
L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Singing in Kala Utsav Creativity 15th October 2015 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
L3. Initiate and plan a CAS experience L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively
Kabbadi Tournament Action 30th August 2016 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills L4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience
L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively
L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Swimming Action 15th January 2016 – 30th April 2016 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
L3. Initiate and plan a CAS experience L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboartively
What’s the good word? – LitHum Fest Creativity/Service 1st August 2015 – 17th August 2015 L1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
L2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills
L3. Initiate and plan a CAS experience
L4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience
L5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively L7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

“Just keep swimming!”

“Challenges are what makes life interesting, overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”

Inspired by this quote, I decided to take up a big challenge as a new years resolution –> to swim everyday for an hour!

I am not a very athletic or active person, and would rather curl up in my bed and read a good book in winter than go and swim in the chilly water, however, I was determined to conquer this challenge and become fit.

I already knew the basics of swimming but started training under my coach, who was very strict about the methods of swimming and made me work very hard every single day. In the initial few days, I would come home very exhausted and drained and would sleep immediately…and in the mornings, my entire body would ache, additionally, it took me a lot of efforts and pushing from my mom to get the willpower to wear a swimming costume in the cold weather. I was very close to giving up, but since I had promised myself to try this activity for at-least 30 days, I continued going and stayed committed.

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With time and practice, my strength started increasing and I would not feel so tired, soon, I would actually look forward to my swimming lessons. My coach taught me a lot of new styles like butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and so on, he also taught me breathing exercises. In this manner, I learnt a lot of new skills as well.

However, I realized that I needed to work on my stamina and also improve my sense of commitment as I would skip classes on some days, I also had to increase my strength for enduring cold and had to remove my habit of being lethargic. There were certain ethical considerations which I had to keep in mind, like making sure that I did not dirty the swimming pool and the locker rooms as they were public property.

Overall, I am glad that I took up this new years resolution and found a love for swimming and water! I also took part in a competition in the summer and have noticed an increase in my stamina, however, this activity also highlighted some aspects of me where I can improve.

 

Trip to Vansda!

A large part of our country’s population consists of farmers. Farmers are one of the most hard working kind of people, and I got a little taste of this tremendous hard work through this plantation and farming activity organized by our school.

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This activity took place in Janki Van in early july, and being a new student, I was very anxious to go on this trip because I was not a very active person so I was worried if I would be able to the hard work and also, because I didn’t have a lot of friends yet as I was a new student. However, I decided to take up this new challenge of planting and getting dirty in the mud with new people! And it is safe to say that I did not regret it.

When we arrived to the beautiful Janki Van, we were first shown and instructed about how to plant the saplings, how to get the mud and ground ready for the plantation, how to dig etc… all these things looked very easy but when we started doing them I realised how difficult they were.

While digging and planting at first, we were all very confused and bored, a few hours went by, and despite all our hard work, we were very slow and felt exhausted in the heat. Then we came up with the solution to divide the work according to our strengths, the people who were good at digging, started doing that and the people who were good at planting and getting the mud ready started doing that, so with this sort of team work, our working-speed increased.

After a few hours, even when we were very tired, we stayed committed and we continued working until we had finished planting all the saplings and all the work assigned to us, by mid afternoon, our hands and legs were aching but we did not stop working. After all of this work, we went to a river and relaxed there and had fun.

At the end of the day, I was very exhausted, and realized that I needed to get more active and increase my stamina for physical exertion. I also realized the importance of team efforts in getting a job done and also ended up making new friends in the process. I had to be ethically mindful as I needed to stay committed to my promise of getting the work done and doing it properly while using proper methods so that I did not waste the resources of Janki Van, I also had to be mindful that I did my efforts as a team worker and did not just laze around and let everyone else do the work.

One of the most important lessons I learnt was that of the hard work that our farmers do, I got tired in just one day of a small plantation activity but my sense of gratitude for the farmers of our country grew immensely. I felt a new found respect for them, and also vowed to never waste food as a lot of effort has gone into growing the food and grains.

Another lesson I learnt was the importance of growing plants in saving our earth, while farming is hard work, I learnt a new skill of plantations and realized that if we all knew the basics of planting small saplings, we could do our own bit to save the world from global warming.

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