Grade 12 Sangfroid – Page 23

Reflection on Champak workshop:

November 28, 2015 Avina Umashankar Agarwal Avina Umashankar Agarwal

It was a creative workshop, initiated by Champak (a children’s magazine). In this workshop, I developed a new skill of designing layouts (for making year book) using/on technological devices. In this, I had used my previous knowledge and understanding of colour theory and different layout structure (Visual Arts), while designing the cover page. My aim for attending the workshop was to improve my knowledge of use of Visual Arts that would help me in my subject as well as in preparing for designing year book for my next year (another CAS related activity).

We were shown a presentation which was informative, yet not as interesting; as there were other students as well and a lot of time was taken in explaining things I already knew; also because the site we used was newly developed, by group of students, there were a lot of hazards in learning proper techniques. The most interesting thing in the presentation were a few slides of illusion which gave a lot of interesting ideas for my art works also increased my understanding of illustrating words/pictures.

For this task, we first had to work individually on our devices and later with a group, but because it was bit insipid many people from our group did not participate and many also had left the workshop in middle! This was unexpected and unaccepted but true. This was a result of the workshop going to slow and also because of the technical hazards in the software. In my opinion, if those technical hazards have not had taken place then it would have been a much better and informative workshop.

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Literature and Arts Fest – Worth waking up early on a weekend

November 2, 2015 Khushi Kalpesh Shah Khushi Kalpesh Shah

Firstly, was really pissed at school for having the literature and arts fest on a weekend (22nd July – 23rd July 2015), and not just on Saturday but also on Sunday. I mean, who likes to come to school on a weekend? I was hoping for a nice 2 day break from school, studies, tests and deadlines – but no, our school won’t let us have a weekend to relax.

Anyway, I got to know on Saturday that there were many activities happening, separately for Arts Fest and Literature Fest, all over school in different places. Here is the list of few activities:

Arts: Music, Line drawing (Still life), Mehndi, Rangoli, Thali/pot decoration, bBest out of waste, Salad decoration, Photography, Quelling, Dance and many more
Literature: Scrabble wall, Bingo, Logo quiz, Anagrams – time bound, Crosswords, Cross and Zero, Just a minute, Spell Bee, What’s the good word, Debate, Ads to ad up (Creating adverts for products) and many more

Later I got to know that there was going to be competition between the houses (our school has 4 houses – Integrity, Dignity, Unity and Liberty) and the points will be added to individual houses as per their wins. This got me excited. It ignited the patriotic feeling for my house, which is Integrity.

I had taken my camera with me for photography, as a volunteer, so I had to roam all around the school to capture all activities. While going around I met few of my classmates and they forced me to participate in few activities only because there weren’t enough participants. So, I took part in Anagrams. Where jumbled words are given and the right word is to be formed. We were 4 students in a team of Integrity. There were going to be 2 rounds, in the first round I was able to guess the maximum number of words. Before the 2nd round more students turned up to participate, but everyone still chose me to be 1 of the 4 to be in the team. We won because we were able to identify the most number of right words than the other houses. I realised I was good at this. Before Literature Fest, I had no clue that something like Anagram existed. It was a new discovery for me and by me.

I also took part in Ads to Ad up. Where you are given a product for which an advertisement has to be designed. I had gone there for photography but was forced to participate as the team needed a person good in drawing and creative. We could only have 7 people in team and there were 11 of us. So we split, and I was in a group with students one to two grades below me. I was kinda disappointed because I wanted to be in the same age group as me. Everyone had to design an advertisement for a pen that only writes the truth. We all took a moment to let the imaginary and weird product sink in… I could relate the “only truth” with one of the book I had read (Divergent) and with that I suggested that we keep the name “CANDOUR” and then we began thinking about the tagline and other things that we plan to include in the advertisement. After some time it dawned on me that we need to consider the global factors into our advertisements, and we can’t limit it to just India or any one country. Few members from my group left so I gave my idea to the other Integrity group and made only one advertisement from our house. We came up with a good advertisement but none of us seemed that satisfied. We submitted it, we could have done much better if we had more time. There were in all 4 advertisements and in this also Integrity won. Everybody appreciated my contribution.

There was Zumba being played in the assembly some my us started dancing and others joined. It was fun, all of us were dancing with great coordination.

Having a camera with me all time kept me busy, otherwise there were chances that I would have been bored the first day and then wouldn’t have attended the second day. In the next fest, I would participate is as many activities as I can so I wouldn’t need my camera.

I was glad to attend the fest because all I would have done if it was not for the fest, is sleep. I am looking forward to the next Literature and Arts Fest.

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What’s the good word? (Lit_Hum fest 2015)

October 21, 2015 Priyam Manoj Joshi Priyam Manoj Joshi

“What’s the good word?” was a competition in the literature and humanities fest 2015 ( 22nd-23rd august ).

It was undertaken by me and Maharsh. This competition required a lot of planning and coordinating which helped me achieve LO3.

In the first stage, we had to gather participants and constantly mail them about the details of the meetings. We had a few problems in organizing the meetings as we could not co-ordinate the timings of all the participants as they were from the 7-12^th grades and also, since the art fest was going to take place at the same time.

But we took help from our mentor teachers and found solutions to these problems, which helped me achieve LO2

After we had 3 meetings to explain the rules of this competition, our next phase included publicity where I made a poster and posted on the blog urging people to participate, as this was a fresh and very interesting game. Next, we held the semi final rounds and selected 1 team from each house for both the middle years and the higher grades.

We then proceeded to find words and prepare for the competition day by arranging for the chairs, mikes and other requirements. The competition was fun and we received great feedback from the audience as well as the participants.

Overall, even though we had a few problems in the beginning, we overcame the challenges because Maharsh and I had systematically divided our duties and tried to be perseverant and committed so we got our work done quickly and also owing to the fact that the other art fest coordinators had been very cooperative with us.( addressing to LO4) I am currently working with Maharsh on another activity as well.

The organization of this competition helped me identify my strength which is leadership and also helped me learn how to plan an event as it was a new experiences for me which in turn helped me achieve LO1. Along with that, I learnt meanings of lots of new words while researching for the competition, which helped me develop my vocabulary which are helping me while I’m preparing for SAT. I also enjoyed making the posters and have made posters for other events after this one. These skills helped me accomplish LO8.

One lesson that I learnt is that in an event like this…it is important to have some fun activities planned for the audience as well so that they don’t get bored.

To conclude, it was a fun event and I’m really glad we got voted as the best organized as well the most favourite event.

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Football Subroto Districts_16/7/15

October 17, 2015 Parvashi Manish Naik Parvashi Manish Naik

Subroto Cup Football has always been a tournament the whole team is awaited for. The format of this tournament is a little different from others. Rather than individual players getting selected for higher level, in this tournament, the whole winning team is selected to play at the higher level. What i learnt from this format was that We win as a team, we lose as a team. This one was very special for all of us as this is our last year we will be playing this tournament as the age limitations are there. Very less teams participate in the district level. We cracked this level and now, the whole team is selected for the state level where we will represent our district and face 32 other teams. We will represent Surat Rural District. The tournament was also special because this was our fourth win consecutively in these years. What i learnt in this tournament was, i need to work more on my stamina and endurance. Skills was not a big problem. But dribbling and cutting is something i need to put more efforts as I did not play from a long time. I discovered that i am pretty comfortable playing any position given. District win was not my aim. I aim to win the state level again for the third time as their will be experienced teams and even they must have worked very hard for this. I aim to improve on my fitness and help the team win and crack this stage to reach the national level, where we will represent our state, Gujarat. Football has been a little challenging for me. But, i figured out that i learnt a skills which will also help me in my life off-field, that is being committed to your responsibility and working hard to achieve goals. I go for camps early in the morning and practise the game to improve on my skills. This brings improvement in my game, and that improvement results in the benefit of the whole team. I am usually very aggressive in the game, but football has taught me to keep calm. I got angry, but i did not become violent because that could result in a yellow or a red card which was not something the team can afford. so the ethical implications like rules and regulations were followed by me this year. This way, it also helps me to stay calm in real life situations as well.

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Ndtv Workshop

October 15, 2015 Naomi Pankaj Gajjar Naomi Pankaj Gajjar

I had attended the NDTV school TV workshop which was an engaging and fun learning experience.The workshop was a 3 day workshop. Where in we were divided into groups and were taught the skills of movie making ( photography,videography,editing , compiling) and then were further asked to produce a short film of our own. During the course of the workshop I Identified my own strengths and developed on my areas of growth by means of learning new skills and improving on previously possessed skills.Also my areas of strength were further identified while we entered the movie making process as I then clearly understood where I stand in a variety of areas. However I faced many challenges when I had to edit the video as that was a new skill and I had never worked with high tech editing softwares. I have always been with the camera and hence it was a challenge for me to leave my comfort and work with the computer.Also one major thing that i learnt was the commitment and collaboration are the 2 main keys to the making of any movie.Commitment because one cannot just leave the movie whenever they feel like, and also that one has to do a scene as many times ( retakes ) as required and not be reluctant to not doing them . Also collaboration because even a small difference in the coordination and teamwork of the crew can lead to a disastrous movie. Furthermore I also understood the ethical implications that need to be kept in mind while a movie is being made as it should not hurt the sentiments of any person living or alive as then it can lead to huge controversies.This workshop based on creative aspects not only gave me a lot of new skills but also taught me life long learnings.

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Activity 1: Subroto Cup Football Tournament (District Level) | Activity

October 11, 2015 Aashna Mehul Jain Aashna Mehul Jain

I participated in the district level football tournament on 16th July 2015. Although I have been playing football for a long time, this was a completely new experience for me as I played as I played a position that was new to me. Usually, I play football as a defender, but in this tournament, the coach asked me to play as an attacker. This experience taught me about the pressure that attackers feel when they are under a lot of pressure to score a goal. I used to think that defenders played under a lot of pressure, and that attackers always got second chances if they missed goals, but this experience taught me otherwise and made me realise that everyone on the team equally shares the responsibility of winning or losing the game.

The activity helped me fulfill Learning Outcomes 1 and 2 particularly well as I was able to identify my skills as a footballer, and channel them into a new aspect of the game. I think was able to handle my new position well because I ended up scoring two goals for my team and assisting several other key goals.

Learning outcome 3 was also fulfilled as football is a team game in which you will never win if your cannot collaborate successfully with your teammates.

An ethical dilemma arose in the tournament when we had a match against a team of very young children who were playing in the tournament meant for girls under the age of 17. We were conflicted whether to be tough and play our game or to go easy on the kids. In the end, we decided to play an easy game, i.e. with minimal body contact, so that they wouldn’t not get hurt, but we did not compromise on the level of our game so that they could learn from us.

Winning this tournament has now given the team a chance to represent our district in the state level tournament, something that everyone in the team is eagerly looking forward to.

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Activity 3: Participation in Harvard Model United Nations India 2015 | Creativity

October 11, 2015 Aashna Mehul Jain Aashna Mehul Jain

IMG-20150820-WA0000 I participated in the fifth session of Harvard Model United Nations India that took place in
the city of Hyderabad as the delegate of South Sudan in
General Assembly I: Disarmament and International Security Council. Although I did not win any awards in this event, this conference ended up becoming extremely rewarding.

While preparing for the conference, researching about the country that I was representing, South Sudan, enabled me to get a deeper understanding about the conflicts and problems that newly made, war-struck countries face. The topic area that my committee was discussing, “Asymmetric Warfare and National Sovereignty” was, in the beginning quite difficult to understand, but after further research, I discovered that although ‘law’ seems like a universal, eternal concept, changing global scenarios and advancement in modern warfare techniques has caused the foundations on which the concept of ‘countries’ has been built to become obsolete. Therefore, this conference helped me connect with issues of global significance.
This conference also gave me the wonderful opportunity to interact with people from different walks of life. I made friends who came from different countries and backgrounds and not only learnt about their perspectives on international politics, but also realized that the world today has become so flat, that no matter where we come from, we are all able to dance to the same songs and laugh at the same songs.

This conference taught me the importance of working collaboratively and the need to be patient and tolerant because in a committee of nearly 200 people, resolutions can be formed only if people work together. This conference also inculcated in me important lessons about compromise and leadership while working in a bloc (a bloc is a group of countries that has the same position on a topic). My skills were tested when I had to use my research and knowledge about international relations to come up with creative, yet pragmatic solutions for the topic area.

Overall, I am really glad that I attended the conference, and I hope I’ll be able to attend and maybe even win next year.

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Activity 5: Organizing ‘Ads to Add Up’ in Lit. Hum. Fest | Creativity and Service

October 11, 2015 Aashna Mehul Jain Aashna Mehul Jain

Capture I was the segment coordinator for an event called ‘Ads to Add Up’ in the Literature and Humanities Fest. Using the activity, I was able to provide my peers with a platform to exhibit their creativity and persuasive skills.

Organizing this event was a unique experience because I have a tendency to micro-manage everything that I do, but in this event, I tried to be a little more liberal. In the beginning, the chaos that was ensuing in the room was agreeable to me because I like order, but then I realized that I need to let participants make noise and have fun for them to truly appreciate the event.

I was able to connect the event which required participants to make advertisements about ‘a pen that only writes the truth’ to what I’ve learnt about marketing in Business Management and what I’ve learnt about advertising in Hindi and what I’ve learnt about persuasion in English. Out of all the advertisements that participants made, the one that used the elements of humor seemed to be the most popular, because it was directed at a target audience that consists of school children. The best advertisement also used the 4 P’s of the marketing mix (Price, Product, Promotion and Place) which was evidence that following the theory that we have learnt in Business Management will lead to better results in practical life.

This activity really helped me work on my tolerance and patience simply because it tested my tolerance and patience at every step of the way. It was extremely difficult to manage so many students who were making so much noise. I learnt that the best way to get people to listen to you is not to speak loudly, but to become quiet. When you stop addressing the crown, individual participants come and ask you their doubts, which leads to better communication.

I also took a feedback session about the activity, and found that most participants enjoyed it. Some of them did not quite enjoy the topic that they had and I think that’s something I can work on the next time I do such an event, i.e, I can do ‘market research’ before setting up the event (More BM connections!).

Overall, I am satisfied with how the event turned out, and I was able to use my creativity in terms of coming up with the topic, rules of the event and the poster for the event to provide a service to my peers.

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Plantation, Vansda

October 5, 2015 Khushi Kalpesh Shah Khushi Kalpesh Shah

Date: 18/7/2015

Place: Vansda, Gujarat

Time: 7:30 am to 8:00 pm

This was our first CAS trip planned by school. We went to Janki Van – a new botanical garden which is being developed by Ministry of Forest (Gujarat) under the guidance of Head of Forest Department in Vansda, which is about 90 Kms from Surat. The garden has periphery of about 4000 meters and contains beautiful and variety of plants, flowers and trees.

We fulfilled our service and activity component by planting saplings of “mehendi”. It was a new experience for me as I learnt the skill of neatly planting delicate seedlings in their designated area. It was simple yet tiring, I out in my best efforts because it was something of my interest.

Our work was to get the plants from a place where they were assembled and then plant them. I even watered the plants. When we were quite satisfied with our work we went to the other group and planted some more. We leveled the ground, clicked photos and had fun. Digging up was a lot of labor and the sun was hard on us. We cleaned up when it was time for lunch, and during that I broke my footwear. So I had to walk barefoot all the way to the bus where I had an extra pair – however, on the way we found a tractor and climbed on it. It was the most fun riding the tractor on it’s back while standing, the road had so many bumps and that’s what made it more adventurous and fun. Few of my friends who didn’t get the opportunity to get in the tractor watched me and were jealous to be at my place.

Janki Van garden has numerous species of plants and shrubs. As per different constellations it has formation of certain plants and flowers. The vibrant colors of the flowers and leaves gives the place a beautiful and scenic view.

After the tiring day, we had lunch in a nearby restaurant – we all ate till we were completely full because we were all so hungry and tired.

We went to Check-Dam of Padamdungri, where some of us got refreshed by getting into the water, but I didn’t want to get wet so I had fun by clicking their pictures.

On the way back to Surat, I reflected on all the activities done and concluded that gardening is something I enjoy, so would make it my hobby for example, there are plants in my house just because on my request, and now everybody is glad because at night entire house is filled with the aroma of the flower that blossoms, and I water them regularly.

I realized I didn’t mind getting my hands dirty for a while.

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Champak workshop

September 7, 2015 Naomi Pankaj Gajjar Naomi Pankaj Gajjar

It was a creative workshop, initiated by Champak (a children’s magazine). In this workshop, I developed a new skills in photography. I had prior knowledge about photography that we learnt during art classes at school(Visual Arts), while designing the My aim for attending the workshop was to improve my knowledge of using a camera and developing better pictures as this is my field of interest

We were shown a presentation which was informative, yet not as interesting; as there were other students as well and a lot of time was taken in explaining things I already knew; also because each student had a different kind and model of camera, there were a lot of hazards in learning proper techniques. The most interesting thing in the presentation were a few pictures that formed illusions which gave a lot of interesting ideas for my art works also increased my understanding of photography and the art of illusion

For this task, we had to work on our photography skills individually , but it was bit insipid because we were a lot of students and hence it became difficult to clear our doubts and develop new skills but eventually we all collaborated with each other and shared our knowledge with each other which helped us learn better . I learnt a lot of new photography skills which i was unaware about previously. I learnt how to play with aperture and shutter speed and also about ISO. Over all it was a fun workshop but could have been organized better

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