November 2016 – CAS 2017

Trip to Naggar (December 2015)

November 30, 2016 Jayani Jignesh Mehta Jayani Jignesh Mehta

Every year we go for a 7-10 day trip from school during winters, this time we planned to go to Naggar, which is a town near Manali, Himachal Pradesh. Usually these trips are planned by the school however, this a few of my friends and I planned the trip with the help of one of the adventure tourism agency in India. During the trip we did a lot of activities such as skiing, trekking, yoga, etc.

This trip was not like the other trips because this trip did not start from the day we boarded the train but 2 months before that, since the time we started planning for the destination. The process was full of arguments and disagreements, however, the trip turned out to be one of the greatest, it not only was full of enjoyment but also helped me fulfill most of the CAS learning outcomes:

Learning Outcome 1 and 2, all the trips that we have taken from school have trekking, although, this one had a lot of steep and long uphill routes, which was very exhausting, this allowed me to develop my trekking skills. I have helped in organising a few events earlier, however, while we were planning for the trip a lot of disagreements were raised which lead to some problems however, because I had been a part of organising committees before, I knew how to deal with a few people, but an entire class was a huge task. So we looked for a few solutions and resolved the problem.

Learning Outcome 3, as we initiated the activity by taking up the task to plan the trip for our entire grade, which included, deciding on a place, booking the tickets and hotels, etc. However, this process was made easier for us as an adventure organisation “Connect with Himalaya’s” supported us.

Learning Outcome 4, this was one trip which required a lot of commitment throughout, even though people opposed with what we proposed, we did not stop working at new ideas. We tried to find balance and to give the best idea. Even during the trip, trekking for long distances or steep hills was difficult but I continued towards achieving my goal and completing the activity.

Learning Outcome 5, this was one of the most difficult part of the trip, the fact that everyone has a personal stand, and yet to come to the same decision is a task. So we were going for a morning walk, there were 2 ways that we could take, however, even though it was such a simple task people argued to go either left or right. Similarly, while planning the schedule for the entire trip there were conflicts but at the end we learned to compromise as that is the only thing that is going to help us all work efficiently. After, all the yays and nays, we finally came to a perfect conclusion and could enjoy our winter trip.

Learning Outcome 6, the trip was to a place which wasn’t a touristy place, so there were places which were only used by the locals. However, Connect with Himalayas took us to those places which weren’t open to the tourists like a nearby village. During these trips we were strictly asked to not litter and not insult/comment about the way people live. People in India are known for littering, littering is a very important global issue in India. By keeping in mind not to litter we added to making India clean.

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Gym!

November 30, 2016 Pranit Nitin Bagadia Pranit Nitin Bagadia

In March I was determined that I have to achieve an aim of mine which I had set months ago; which was to workout in a gym for 5-6 months continuously. Before the month of March I was very lethargic and not committed to my workout schedule in the gym, but after I noticed that I was becoming unfit, I made up my mind that I will have to work out in the gym every day no matter what.

The biggest challenge I faced in this activity was ‘fighting with my laziness’. According to my schedule, I need to go to the gym at 6:30 pm, which exactly 45 minutes after I reach home to school. Well, usually after I come home I am completely exhausted and just lie around on my bed for about an hour. But now because I need to go to the gym at about 6:30, I need to freshen up, eat some snacks and pack my gym bag after I come from school. Gyming has not only helped me getting fit but also helped me release all my stress and frustration in form of physical workout. I was able to utilize my time in something better (such as getting fit) rather than wasting it in watching movies and TV shows.

There were many such instances that my trainer was busy with his other clients, but he used to instruct me the work pattern for the day; it was in my ethical considerations that I didn’t cheat or lie to my trainer about completing a task that I hadn’t done. I also made a few new friends who helped and motivated me in completing my workout, which encouraged a teamwork between us as we used to communicate and help each other whenever required. This activity thought me how to be extremely committed to your work no matter what costs it involves and also helped me enhance my teamwork skills.

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Cooking

November 29, 2016 Disha Sanjay Sarawagi Disha Sanjay Sarawagi

Cooking? “If an architect makes a mistake, he grows ivy to cover it. If a doctor makes a mistake, he covers it with soil. If a cook makes a mistake, he covers it with some sauce and say’s it is a new recipe” – Paul Bocuse

I never liked cooking; I am not lazy but for me cooking was something that didn’t interest me any day. However I took cooking as a challenge and tried learning it. In an entire 1-year course, I learnt how to cut vegetables, few starters and some items from the main course. Gradually, I developed interest in cooking, because after cooking – we got to eat all the good food. 😛 In Fact, cooking is one of my favourite leisure time activities now. It’s difficult for my parents/friends to digest the fact that I can cook GOOD or EDIBLE food.

As, in one the cooking classes in school, my ma’am asked me to make lemonade and I thought that ya it’s going to be easy to do so. But while I was making it, inspite of adding more sugar I had added more salt. I shall not tell how it tasted, but it surely looked like surf excel mixed in water. 😛 But, this incident in fact made me realize my perception towards cooking being easy, whereas I have now realised it that it’s the most difficult activity. I think when I cook it requires a lot of attention, concentration into what/how I’m doing and the safety measure to be taken care of. Cooking has helped me also realize that it one important thing that an individual should know. Plus, it is going to help me when i go out of home for further studies, at least i will be able to survive on my own;independently. Cooking is now one of my strengths. Below are few of the food items that I indulged in, in the past few months.

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French Cooking- Bon Appetite!

November 29, 2016 Anshu Bhingradia Anshu Bhingradia

French, a totally new language which we were exposed to just 7 months before we planned and initiated this activity. Everyone loves food, especially if it is a French cuisine. While we were studying French, we had this one chapter regarding food! Suddenly, it struck our mind, we thought of initiating an activity which we will use to explore French cuisines.

For the first stage, we had created presentations of French cuisines and during which festivals or occasions is the cuisine consumed. It didn’t go very well because we had to make presentations in French and as we were rookie, we made many grammatical and language errors in the presentation. Further, a month later, we initiated our final stage which was a French Assembly where we prepared French food. However there were a lot of concerns such as:

1: We were only 6 students in French

2: Because of certain restrictions in school food policy

3: It was our first time in cooking French cuisine which is rather different than of Indian Cuisine.

We just had a few days to decide our recipes and find alternatives for each and every ingredient which was restricted in school policy. For example, for making French Toast (I had to cook French Toasts) I had to find alternatives for Eggs because school policy doesn’t allow us to bring or use eggs in food (only in school), as our state also restricts alcoholic drinks me and my classmates had to find alternative for alcoholic substances as well!

During the activity, I realised that I can perform the tasks assigned to me but I cannot lead a team as a whole so I decided to turn one of my Hindi classmate as co-leader and instructed her to assign us tasks which we had to do and ensure it is done in time. My team and I were a mere of 4 members, we had to ensure that every member gives his or her best effort. Overall, the team work was good and we were the first to complete preparation of our French Cuisine!

We managed to find solutions for all the 3 issues. for the first concern, we decided to prepare French cuisine with our class friends who were studying Hindi instead of French. This step had both negatives and positives, positive was that we (French students) were able to helpers in preparing French cuisine, negative happened to be controlling so many students. After Hindi students joined us, We 6 people were accompanied by 33 more members which is a total of 39 students. For the second concern, as I earlier stated we searched for different alternatives which were permitted in school. For the 3rd concern, we tried our best to Prepare a “consumable” and “non toxic” and “non poisonous” French buffet! But our judgements and our choices indeed violated one of goal to some extent which was “not to waste consumables/resources”, We tried our best to waste minimal resources!

Overall, it was a great experience for me, I learned that time management is necessary while cooking, leadership is one of the important element required to become a chef and without team work, nothing is possible.

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CAS Essay!

November 28, 2016 Disha Sanjay Sarawagi Disha Sanjay Sarawagi

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart – Helen Keller

C A S. where do I start from? You know what, the BEST part of doing IB was CAS. I would have left Diploma and opted for course, but the ONLY thing that stopped me from opting for course was and is, CAS. It’s what I love doing at any point of time. Because it’s not just the activities that we are doing, but also the life experience we get from it and the memories that follow down the lane. This component is a package full of new discoveries and adventure. It has taught me things for the very first time in my life. It has made me more independent and it has changed my perception for the world I’m surrounded by. Alongside learning new skills, CAS has helped me know more about myself. It has helped me develop to be a better human being. CAS has lot aspects that I undertook as a learner and that I effectively achieved them. To the places that we visited, unexpectedly taught me to be an open-minded and a confident person. I take in pride by saying that ‘CAS will always be the heart’ for me than any other subject of IB.

C A S was a turning point in my life where it helped me excel in the entire process of planning, taking opportunities, expectations, challenges, progress, and finally leading to personal growth. In this essay I will be talking about the most memorable moments I had in my entire CAS period.

There have been a lot of ups and downs but I always told myself that “If I have started this, I am going to end this”. This always motivated me to complete my CAS activities. Like, while I was doing my CAS project, we used to work for hours and I used to get exhausted, but I was very keen and determined for my work. I and my teammates never gave up. We kept doing our work till the event day and at the end all our hard-work just paid off, specially when I could see thousands of children and young ladies smiling and riding a bicycle. I can’t express, how heartwarming it was. On the other hand, organizing creative mela for kids was different experience in all. Because, while planning activities for them I really had to place myself in their position to experience whether they will really like it or not. After the event, when I asked them how they felt, they all were SMILING and they thanked me straight from their hearts. The little ones never fail to be the most adorable and loved ones to work with and creates memories with.

All the events that I took part in or the ones that I organized, have taught me to be a better person for tomorrow. I think I am proud enough to say now that, I can challenge and take risk in life to achieve what I dreamt of.

Activities like sports tournaments are also imperative as they yield something much more than medal, they yield experience. I believe that experience and success have a cause and effect relationship and learning to lose once is a healthy practice. Personally, I believe learning to survive daily is of more prime importance that to be winning.

Plus, working for the underprivileged and helping in planting trees, has taught me a lesson that, One day wherever I may be, from all that I’m going to earn, I’m ALWAYS going to keep some percent of the profits for the betterment of the society. Contribution doesn’t just mean donation but also the skills that i posses. CAS has taught me, about the world that surrounds me. Because we have got the privilege to be a part of this world, we should always contribute for a better tomorrow. CAS has helped me change my mindset that trying something for the first time is not a threat but a challenge that will lead to an experience of a lifetime full of discoveries. Discovering my secret possessions, which will help me know myself and help me perform better in life. Anyways, if I’m asked to replace CAS with another name, I would replace it with “LIFE”.

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Profile

November 28, 2016 Pranjal Pranjal Sanjay Bhansali

fsk2009469-17092016024033 My name is Pranjal Bhansali and I am 17 years old. I was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 5th March 1999 and was brought up in Surat, Gujarat. I joined Fountainhead School in Grade 5, and have been studying here ever since.

Basically, my talents and interests include- playing Football and Ultimate Frisbee, strumming Guitar, once in a while, debating and sometimes being a role model for a few and dancing. I mainly enjoy playing all kinds of sports and games. When I was young I used to skate at the state level, I have also been part of state level championships for Athletics (long jump and hurdles). Later, I gained interest in Football and have been playing the sport since grade 6. Apart from Football I enjoy adventurous activities and trying new sports; like rock climbing, rappelling, squash, billiards, table tennis etc.

I try to take interest in current affairs, but reading has always been a problem for me. In addition, to strike a balance in personal wellbeing, I make sure I do well at academics too, as it is equally important. When I was young I used to take Trinity exams (communication skills) and used to participate in oratory competitions along with spell bees. But as years passed and I got caught up with school and Football, I stopped participating in extracurricular activities.

Even though I am an extrovert, I can only stand a few people’s company. Many say that I am a strong girl and a role model for a lot of people. I strongly believe in self-growth and anything that hinders it affects me greatly. I try to take a clear stand in places where it is necessary and fight for what I believe is right. I am very short tempered and it does affect my relations with people, but I try to avoid instances like that.

There are a lot of things that I enjoy doing and the same amount of new things that I would want to learn. I did start playing drums a year back but stopped because I lost interest. Now, I think I am getting it back and I would like to play and learn drums again. Moreover, playing a grand piano has always fascinated me and my mother, apart from singing. If I get a chance and time to spare some time for music I would like to indulge in that.

Life, for me, is unpredictable, and I like it to be that way. I have always been a person who goes ‘with the flow’. I believe it is important for each one of us to think little about the past and future and live the present to the fullest. This has helped me in most places, but when I think about everything this way I end up procrastinating and not working at all. There are a few things that define me- smart, sporty, rage and lazy. As funny as it sounds, this is me.

I don’t feel for world issues too much unless I actually encounter them. When they strike me, it is not for long, I try to take a few steps towards it and then the fire is gone. But there is one thing I am very intolerant about, i.e. unfairness in the sports sector. I strongly believe in fairness, at least here. Everything that has been up in India and sports is not very pleasant to hear; but when the stories of athletes, participating in Rio Olympics came out, I was impressed by the efforts.

I would always want to be a person my mom asks me to be. A rational yet selfish being. Family is very important to me and friends too. I try to keep everybody happy and strive to fulfill everybody’s expectations. Like everything else, this is both good and bad. It affects me sometimes but other times it does bring the best in me.

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CAS PLAN

November 25, 2016 Muskaan Gajendra Agarwal Muskaan Gajendra Agarwal

Activities	Components (C/A/S)	Duration with start date and end date	Learning Outcomes
Activity – Dance	Creativity, Activity	4-Jul-2015 to 31-Mar-2016	LO1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth LO2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills LO4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience LO5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively
Tree plantation activity at vansda	Activity, Service	19-Jul-2015 (4 hours)	LO2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills LO4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience LO5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively LO6. Engagement with issues of global significance LO7. Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Volunteering in Garba Fest	Creativity, Service	7-Sep-2015 to 11-Oct-2015	LO1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth LO2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills LO4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience LO5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively LO6. Engagement with issues of global significance LO7. Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Football – Suboroto Cup State Championship	Activity	8-Sept-2015	LO1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth LO2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills LO4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience LO5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively LO7. Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Surat City Half Marathon	Activity, Service	13-Sep-2015 (4 Hours)	LO1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth LO2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills LO4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience LO5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively LO6. Engagement with issues of global significance LO7. Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions
DP FEST ORGANISATION	Creativity	21-Nov-2015 to 11-Dec-2015	LO1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth LO2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills LO3. Initiate and plan a CAS experience LO4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience LO5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively LO7. Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Organising Farewell for seniors	Creativity	10-Feb-2016 to 8-April-2016	LO1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth LO2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills LO3. Initiate and plan a CAS experience LO4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience LO5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively LO7. Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Plantation Drive	Activity, Service	3-Jul-2016 (3 Hours)	LO1.Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth LO2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills LO4. Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience LO5. Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively LO6. Engagement with issues of global significance
Visiting and spending time with special kids	Service	6-Aug-2016 (1 hour)	LO2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills LO6. Engagement with issues of global significance LO7. Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions

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Activity – Dance

November 25, 2016 Muskaan Gajendra Agarwal Muskaan Gajendra Agarwal

One thing that has always been a part of my life is dancing. Dancing brings me immense pleasure and is one of the activities I have always been complimented for. For my CAS I chose dance as a long term activity and formally learned new techniques and forms of dancing for two years. During this course of time I learned different forms of dance including hip-hop, Robotics, tutting, freestyle, whacking and salsa.

It was one of the most interesting things and well I was always the first one to reach the class. However we could only formally go to the class once a week which for me was very frustrating because it took too long to complete a song and practise is never enough. This really brought my morale down and sometimes we didn’t even receive this one class. However I always tried to put in extra effort therefore always practising when I was at home.

Out of all the dance forms, I was worst at robotics. I also tried to convince my teacher to remove this section however he made me understand that practise is important and if you try you could excel in this area as well. Our first official performance in front of our parents was on the song “sorry” by Justin Beiber. Many of us did mess up the performance a little but our teacher yet assured us he was proud of us as this was our first performance. I really enjoyed learning this dance form as I had been learning Indian and International folk dance for the past four years therefore performing on a new pop song was really exciting for me. There were some clashes between the students of my grade and the younger grade because of the differences in opinions and just the fact they were really different from us. Therefore it really took time for all of us to gel up and sometimes things are still awkward but adjusting and cooperation is what I have learned here.

Dance performance on song “Sorry by Justin Bieber” (Me: front row wearing White Tshirt and red shirt)

Overall my experience for these two years has been amazing and my take away as a learner has been immense. I’ve learned new skills and forms making me a versatile dancer and I am also currently working on new performance encompassing all the new forms I’ve learned. I am really excited for the same and hopefully will demonstrate how much hard work has been put in these two years.

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Organising Farewell for seniors

November 25, 2016 Muskaan Gajendra Agarwal Muskaan Gajendra Agarwal

For my CAS project, I chose to organise the farewell of the “now” former grade 12 students of my school. I really wanted to take charge of this event because of my personal interest in event management which is the reason why I informed the authorities about my interest almost one year before the event had to be planned. When the time came, I came to know that I had to collaborate with my classmate Kripa which was actually good news because we are good friends and she in my opinion is very capable.

Before we started the planning, we knew there were two big challenges we would face.

First being that the event demanded utmost creativity to make it as entertaining and memorable as possible for the students whilst using emotions to connect to each and every student in a personal way.
and second that the finalised date of the event, was just before two days my final exams for grade eleven started. Meaning that in the following one month, I had to work for the event as well as coordinate studying for my examination.

Needless to say I took up the challenge to organise the event. We started planning for the event by first discussing what the theme of the event should be. So that the whole grade eleven felt that they were a part of the event, we decided to act democratically and always collaborated with everyone for the decision making process as everyone’s opinion mattered. The theme that was finalised was the red carpet where all the grade 12 students would be celebrities and would be presented with an award for one of their qualities. With that we came up with different ideas like a dance performance from grade 11 and teachers and making a video based on how their day goes around in school.

Kripa and I came up with several other ideas that could be incorporated such as a slideshow displaying teachers comments. We wanted to make it as interesting and realistic as possible so we decided to print invites. Vanshika my classmate was well versed with editing so we took help from her to design the invitation.

Trophies

Now the big work started. Because it wasn’t a small event and there was so much work to be done, the whole grade was divided into groups according to their preferences and where assigned departments such as the Decorations department, Photo booth, Game planners(who decided what games were going to be played), Technical department, dancers, filmmaking and acting. For the next couple days preparations were going on I had to be updated about everything. For that bit I really felt stressed and thought what have I stepped into because of the pressure of exams and managing 40 people wasn’t as easy. We also had to make sure we acted ethically from holding ourselves together to always being fair and doing the righteous thing. Kripa and I had to work really hard to get jobs done as beside managing these departments we had to design the trophy, Decide the menu, arrange transport and above all of that maintain a budget. We almost had at least one meeting every day for 10 days where we ordered all the material that would be needed, Approved of the trophies, decided the menu with the chef, finalised the location of the event, ordering the cake, designed the banner of the photo booth, arrange transport and decide the time of the event.

When it comes to organising an event, our school give us the full liberty to explore and really experience what event management in real feels like because we have the opportunity to work from the scratch and being a part of this event really gave me an unforgettable experience for my future.

THE DAY OF EVENT

Well the main day on which the event was taking place was full of crisis and mishaps. Kripa and I divided ourselves so I looked at the food, decorating and other stuff whereas she finished the movie that was supposed to be made. I wasn’t aware of the fact that the venue(Amphitheatre) of the event was already booked by junior grade teachers for practise. They did not want to negotiate and did not understand our situation which really got me frustrated. The event would begin at 3:30 PM and the hall wasn’t going to be free until noon. Which meant EVERYTHING including decorations, dance practise, on stage practise, sound check has to be done within three hours.

Finally it was noon and we were given the venue. Although there were mere conflicts between my classmates, but all was sorted later on. Everyone came together even the people making the movie video and teachers who were free to complete decorations and everything started going in the right direction FINALLY. Everything was in place, the cake and trophies arrived, the hall was decorated, dance practise was over, the food was in place and everybody rushed to get dressed. Grade 12 students arrived at the venue and everyone was looking as pretty as the venue. I was extremely happy and proud of myself at that point of time. The show started and we performed and it was a wrap.

The Hall

Seniors cutting their cake

Farewell review from one of the senior

To sum up, I am very happy that I was a part of this project. It did hamper my examination but that I is what I have learned. How to work in pressure and how you’ve got to be prepared for crisis and most of all how to keep calm and think before you act. This project really gave me insight into how this profession works and how “People” management is the key to event management. In the end the appreciation from grade 12 students and all the teachers truly brought peace and made all of the hard work worth it.

Video of Kripa and I giving Acknowledgement speech (After 1:41)

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CAS Profile

November 25, 2016 Varun Yogesh Agarwal Varun Yogesh Agarwal

I am Varun Agarwal and I am 16 years old. I was born in Surat, Gujarat and have been here ever since. I prefer listening rather than talking and writing instead of presenting. It is clear from my preferences that I am an introvert.

Being an introvert, I have always disliked talking and meeting with new people. It has repeatedly held me back in life by the ways of stage-fright and limited interaction with people. These drawbacks have often caused me to wonder how my life would have been if I was an extrovert. Although, I do try to push myself to meet with new people and participate more in stage events, I am still a long way from being an extrovert.

I believe that people usually like what they are good at and are good at what they like. This is probably because of the appreciation you get when you are good at something which makes you start liking it and because if you are passionate about something you would work hard for it and eventually get good at it. Hence, my talents and interests are studying Business Management, playing Football and playing video games such as CS and Watch Dogs.

My outlook on life has always been to spend time on whatever you like as much as you want till the point that it does not harms you in the long run. For example, I should play as much Football as I want till the point that it does not invade my study time and harm me in the long run through academic failure.

There are a lot of things that I wish to learn and a lot of questions that I wish to be answered. At many times I have dreamed of having a machine which could answer all of my questions which are left unanswered such as “Is there extraterrestrial life?”, “Do humans have a purpose on Earth?”, “Would time travel ever be possible?” and many other such questions.

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