Final CAS Reflection

~ "What feels like the end is often the beginning." ~

Creativity

For this final year I tried to limit my after school activities in order to focus more on my academics and this reflected especially on those to do with Creativity. As opposed to last year, where I was a part of the SGA and the Drawing Club, this year I was only able to attend Piano Lessons on a regular basis and Art Club on a semi-regular basis. While Art Club was used as an excuse to relax and unwind while doing something I enjoy, like drawing, learning to play piano was more structured and allowed me to Develop new skills as well as to Show perseverance and commitment in my activities due to having attended the lessons for 2 years or so.

(Photo credit: OSC)

Action

In keeping with my goal of trying to focus more on my studies this year, I was not as involved with all of the sports I enjoy playing, although I did try out for an entirely new sport and so Undertook a new challenge. My main focus in Action this year was to try to get a leadership position for one of my teams and I achieved this for Volleyball. Another overall goal for action was to Increase awareness of my own strengths and areas of growth as well as to Work more collaboratively with others. Aside from Volleyball, the only other SAISA sport that I was on the team for was Badminton, which was a new experience for me. I had never played before trying out, except briefly in PE a few years back, but enjoyed the game and playing with my teammates, as well as playing individually which took some getting used to as I usually play in team sports. After Badminton in the second quarter I opted not to go to SAISA for Football but still attended practice to keep in shape and because I do love playing the game.

(Photo credit: Ms Lockwood)

Service

For Service this year I wanted to join an entirely different group from Alzheimer’s Awareness which I was a part of last year, and so I picked a new group called the Checkmates. As this was a new group however, we all had some say in Planning and initiating activities, although not as much as the service leaders. The main goal of the group was to teach less fortunate kids from other schools how to play chess, which is highly beneficial for building academic skills and recreational purposes, both of which lend to Engagement with issues of global importance, as it is a universally acknowledged game and to the Consideration of the ethical implications of our actions, specifically relating to the people we meet and affect.

(Photo credit: Checkmates service group)

Service: The Checkmates

It’s nearing the end of the CAS program and the Checkmates have really progressed as a service group. Since my last post on the group’s activities, we have made it a regular occurrence for the younger students to come to our school every week to play chess and to get to know each other better despite the language barrier. In the beginning when we were first introduced to each other and them to the game of chess, we encountered this barrier when trying to teach them the different moves that the pieces can make, so I made drawings on the board of the chess pieces and the moves they could make.

(Photo credit: Checkmates service group)

At the end of the previous semester we held a Christmas party with another service group, Gecko Inc., who also work with kids from the same school as ours. We had a lot of fun, with lots of snacks and playing chess. With the end of the old, came the new semester, with new members. The seniors were slowly starting to step down from leadership positions and handing them off to grade 11s but we continued with our schedule from the previous semester of teaching and playing with the kids every week.

(Photo credit: Checkmates service group)

Our plans for the future of this service group is to hopefully complete our earlier goals of helping one of the kids get a sponsorship for chess or to provide their school with new chess boards, but unfortunately these goals will have to be carried over to the next year without us. Thankfully, new leadership has been chosen and hopefully the group will be left in capable hands.

(Photo credit: Mr Javier Canizales) 

The thing that I’m really happy about in regards to the progress of the service group is the relationship between us and the kids and their progress in chess. They have improved a lot from their first session and are much more enthusiastic about theses visits. Sometimes they just run into the room, grab a chess set and start packing it out immediately, then look at us expectantly. It’s one of the things that I will miss the most and I hope they carry over this eagerness for next year’s members.

SAISA Badminton 2016

This year for the 3rd ASA Quarter I had a hard time choosing what SAISA sport I would do that season. Traditionally I have tried out for the U19 girls’ basketball team and for the past two years the sport has been very enjoyable for me. However this year I decided to try out for a less stressful sport as this is my last year and my academics are more important than a sport that leaves me too exhausted to work properly at the end of the day. Therefore this year I chose to try out for the badminton team.

(Photo credit: Ms Lockwood)

Even though it’s not as popular an activity as the gendered sports at this school, I found that playing badminton was very enjoyable as it reminded me of tennis (which I have not played in years) and because it is a game that not only requires athletic ability and skill but it is also necessary to create strategies on the spot and play accordingly. In many of the sports I have played previously, such as with volleyball, basketball and football, it was not necessary for me to think on my feet or change a play or strategy at will because of my usually defensive positions (for example, defender in football and post in basketball). Another difference is that those are team sports that rely almost entirely on teamwork, but for badminton the only time teamwork is necessary is when you play with a partner.

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

In SAISA there are the team placements and the individual placements. In these placements are three categories of games an individual player can enter in and those are singles, doubles and mixed doubles. And in those categories are sub-categories for player levels; seed 1 to 4. Even though this was my first year playing SAISA badminton (and badminton in general) I was placed in seed 1 as a learning experience and to lessen the pressure that comes from being a first time player and focus only on gaining skills.

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

Needless to say I lost all my singles matches for the team placement matches but I am happy to say that I improved a lot during each match as the point differences between myself and my opponents decreased with every match. This improvement was also evident during the individual placements as I won a few of my matches before losing during the quarter finals. Although I am not happy with my performance during the beginning of the match as the score was 2 to 11, I was able to win back 6 points during a streak in the second half and this was largely due to using my brain to change and think up strategies on the spot, like changing the placement of the shuttlecock at the last second.

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

In the end, our school came 3^rd in the team placements and the only individual placement we won was for 3^rd place for the girls’ doubles matches for my partner Rishika and me. The whole tournament was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I am also very happy about finding out that this sport can be played by people of all ages, so I’ll be able to play badminton for a long time after school.

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

(Photo credit: American School of Bombay)

Issues of Global Importance

Global Importance of Chess

The Checkmates as a service group have a link to the CAS Learning Outcome of global importance through its universal educational value. The game of chess which we play and teach to children from local schools is very important and is played on an international level because of these reasons:

• Can be played by people of all ages and backgrounds
• Works as a mental exercise that helps to improve critical thinking and learning abilities
• Teaches strategy and discipline
• In some cases it helps improve a child’s self confidence
• Increases a person’s memory skills
• Helps improve concentration and academic performance
• Has been successfully used in therapy as recreational therapy
• It’s a fun board game

On a more local level, chess is important in Sri Lanka because of its potential to gain an accomplished player a good school scholarship or recommendation. That is the service groups ultimate goal, to get an exceptional player a chess scholarship to a good school.