CAS Communication

CAS Objectives:

•  Planned and initiated activities- I was able to plan and organize the different activities, and what was going to happen during Alex Bjoroy Tournament, in which I believe I was very successful at.
• Worked collaboratively with others- In order to complete the first objective I worked collaboratively with the other members in order to obtain a successful result to the Alex Bjoroy tournament.

This activity was part of my second term for this year, and it recognizes hours in creativity and service as I helped organize the Alex Bjoroy, that was a success, and the Talent Show, that will happen soon. Throughout the various days planning and organizing the Alex Bjoroy, I worked effectively with the main organizer, Simon Halpin, obtain all the information required from other school, writing the official invitation letter, attempting to expand it into an international scale, finding food suppliers for the match, and others. This factors were crucial to the event as they helped sustain the basic requirements for it to happen.

CAS communication helped me a lot with my organization skills, and with my ability to plan activities correctly due to the fact that we were successful on the organization of the Alex Bjoroy. I was able to complete the CAS Objectives as I was required to work with the other team members in order to obtain a better result, which was very good as we were able to fully organize, plan and initiate the Alex Bjoroy Tournament.

Alex Bjoroy Tournament

CAS Objectives:

•  Planned and initiated activities- In order to complete the CAS Objectives for this activity I planned the exact activities that would happen during the Alex Bjoroy, with the rest of the group.
• Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities-  I was in charge of taking the scores for the second field, in which the sub 13 and sub 16 played, in which I was required to show commitment and perseverance throughout the activity.

The Alex Bjoroy Tournament is a memorial to remember  a ex-student and friend of the CGB community, who tragically died on the Air France 447 flight crash in 2009. The tournament is held every year in which CGB and other colombian and rugby schools compete in this splendid sport. The main point of the tournament is for the crowd to have a nice time, and for the teams to compete in order to win trophies in different divisions. This year there were 3 divisions, as the teams competed with the under 13, under 16 and under 19, while the teams that participated were the Anglo, Barbarians, Minotaurs, Alianza, BAC, and of course CGB. I was one of the people in charge of helping in the organization of the tournament which awarded me with creativity hours for the CAS requirements. The organization was explained with more detail on the CAS communication blog entry.

During the tournament I was in charge of writing the scores for each match, while also adding the referee's comment on the best players and winners of the match, along with the names of the players who scored a try or a conversion. At first it seemed like an easy job to do as I just had to watch the game carefully, but as time passed it became harder and harder to concentrate on the game, and narrow down the scores correctly. Even though I had to take scores for the whole day, losing the chance to watch most of the CGB games, I still had fun watching the little kids play as CGB sub-13 dominated the other teams with their agility and speed. I learned the different rules applied to Rugby and when to apply them, and that even thought the job seemed easy, it got harder with time, which means that I had to improve my concentration skills in order to keep it efficient. I really appreciated being at the tournament and being able to help on the whole process of organization and the actual event.

Football Outside School

CAS Objectives:

• Worked collaboratively with others- This is something that was achieved through the nature of the game, while also participating in several activities with the group in order to my achieve maximum potential.
• Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities- I was required to show perseverance and commitment in the activity, but it was easy for me to do it because I really enjoy playing, and its my favorite sport, so I wanted to improve as much as I could.
• Developed new skills- Outside school I was able to learn many new skills, and improve the skills I already knew, along with implementing those skills in actual matches.
• Increase their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth- I learned the mistakes that I was making and was able to understand the different areas that I was better at, while knowing what position I should play in.

This was my only activity that was not related to the school, as I participated in a Colombian league team outside school named Pacific F.C. I have been part of the team for almost an year as I started practicing with them on may of 2012. This awarded me a great variety of action hours as I am constantly developing new skills and improving the skills I already had, along with knowing what are my strengths and weaknesses in order to know what to improve. I have shown a great value of commitment to the team only missing a few number of practices through my time participating on this activity, as I also worked with my teammates not only on the official matches but also throughout training and outside. I learned many things throughout my experience as a football player, which not only helps me inside the pitch but also outside, like organization and concentration, along with never giving up on what you desire. It still is a great experience for me to be part of this activity, and will continue it until my final days at Colombia, as football is something that I am very passionate about. The objectives of the were to work collaboratively, show perseverance, develop new skills, and understand your weaknesses  which can be obtained by the nature of the sport, as a teamwork experience is needed in order to be victorious.

CAS Hockey

Cas Objectives:

•  Developed new skills- I was able to develop new hockey skills through the term due to the fact that, it was my first time actually playing the sport, while I also improved the skills I had obtained through the lessons, which made me become really good at the sport.
• Worked collaboratively with others- I also was able to work with others in order to learn new skills and tricks for when I am playing hockey, which helped me improve and become a better team player.
• Increase their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth- This activity helped me understand the different areas of Hockey that I need to improve on, and that i am actually good at the sport, although it was my first time playing it.

This was the first activity for thee CAS program this year, and its goal was to complete the action hours as it was a new sport for me, but also completing service hours as I was in charge of helping the coaches and obtained the material needed for the lesson of the day. At CAS Hockey there were activities such as practicing passing skills, shooting skills, how to dribble with the ball, along with others. I am very proud of my achievements in this class because it was my very first time playing the sport, making it a challenge for me, but I improved a lot throughout the term increasing my areas of strength. It helped me a lot because I was able to learn a new sport and become good at it in a very small amount of time, showing that with enough effort you can obtain anything. These objectives were obtained by working towards helping the hockey coach in different lessons, while also learning new skills, and knowing what areas I needed to improve in. 

Cazuca Fun Day

CAS Objectives:

• Considered the ethical implications of their actions- During this activity I was able to understand the ethical implications of my actions, as I understood that the Cazuca kids had different perspectives and point of views in comparison to me.
• Engaged with issues of global importance- I was also able to engage with a global issue, which is poverty, and was able to make them happier and let them have a good time with me.
• Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities- I made sure that kid that I was taking care of was very happy, and went with him to all the activities in the park.

I still remember the look on my kid's face as he ran across multiparque finding new activities to do as time passed. With him, I was able to go on the go karts, the water rides, and other parks which made me really happy because he was happy. After participating in most of the places to go on the park, we went to each lunch with the rest of the group, while he clearly demonstrated the appreciation and happiness towards this event at multiparque. I learned a lot from this Cazuca Fun Day as my kid showed to me how we should appreciate the little things that life offers to us, instead of always asking for more. It was a very interesting experience for me, and I really hope I can repeat it in a near future. The objectives were completed by the perseverance shown during the activity, and how the Cazuca situation at the moment is of global importance, having many ethical implications to my actions during the activity.

CAS Poster Making 4

CAS Objectives:

• Planned and initiated activities- This objective was completed by the work I was required to do in order to plan and initiate the poster making correctly, which was very interesting and helpful for me.
• Worked collaboratively with others- I was required to work along with my team, in order to obtain this objective and be successful in it. It was a great experience as we worked better when we were united in comparison to when we were working individually.

The completion of the posters happened today, and even though the posters looked very neat, it was still lacking a lot detailed and profound information on the topic demonstrated on the paper. This was the end of the Poster Making activity, and of my CAS for the first year of the ib program, in which I believe that I was able to accomplish all the goals that were set during the year, and am ready to do what is required of me next year to be successful. From this specific activity I learned how to be more organized, and how teamwork and organization are the keys to success! Some mistakes were made throughout the activities, but that were corrected as time passed, which could be considered very effective. I believe that the three main characteristics of the CAS program, which are, action, service, and creativity were met throughout this first year.

CAS Poster Making 3

CAS Objectives:

• Planned and initiated activities- This was accomplished by planning the different components of the poster that we were making. While also initiating it by looking for places to take pictures of.

• Worked collaboratively with others- I accomplished this by working with the other members of the group in order to be successful in the activity chose for the term.

Due to the fact that I was sick last week I could not attend the CAS activity on tuesday, but when I came back today the two posters were already being prepared, and in the middle of the process, but they still required my help. The posters were really advanced in comparison to when I last saw them, as they had written most of the information down with Sharpies, and had several ideas for a drawing of a building in the middle of the poster.

We were still missing pictures, so I decided to go around the construction obtaining photographs with my cellphone and continuing to obtain facts about it. Unfortunately I already erased all the pictures taken, so I will not be able to show it in this blog post.