Class of 2022 CAS Final Reflection and Celebration

Joy's CAS Journey

Cas experience, in the beginning, is a vital work that is boring and perhaps time-wasting, but as I went into it, I found it more interesting than I expected. I get to finish the CAS activities unconsciously, and most of the service and creativity are just things that I am personally interested in. The activities bothered me the most since I don’t enjoy exercising, yet, I found out that the exercises helped my body health and found it more meaningful than expected. Because of the CAS experiences, I learned a lot of things that I usually will not study in DP courses and better fulfill my DP life so that it’s not only about looking. Further, CAS became an excuse for me to clear some time to do things I enjoy or want to try out.

process check

1. Identify my own Strengths and Develop areas for Growth

This learning outcome is most achieved throughout all the activities. I also believe that this outcome was very well performed because I challenged myself greatly in my CAS activities. For example, the Seussical backdrop design event trained my painting skills and teaching skills. Since this is the first time I have ever painted a big canvas like this, it took me some time to get used to it and some effort to make it look good. I developed the skills in color mixing since the canvas is significant that can not be finished once. In this case, it challenges me to be able to mix the same color next time. It took some time, but eventually, I will be able to mix out almost the same color. With many other growths in my skills, I understand that regarding this outcome, I achieved well.

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

I am not good at exercising and all other activities that require moving around. Therefore I developed some new skills in this specific area. Badminton training is a good example of showing. Before the training, the most I could do about badminton was pass the shuttlecock back without precision. During the practices, I understood many difficulties that I could not overcome, for example, essential body strength and badminton skills. I’m glad that I eventually didn’t give up and that I trained new skills in badminton. I learned about using steps to take actions faster and skills like lob and lift. Those skills took me a lot of time to work on because this is not only about the skills but requires muscular body strength to be able to act it out. Therefore, this was definitely a challenge for me and allowed me to develop new skills.

me practicing

my student and I

3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

A lot of the activities require planning and achieving the plan. I believe that this outcome is well achieved because most of my activities follow the plan I made. For example, the beyond horizon English teaching event took me a lot of time to plan the classes. It allows me to realize that planning is not a simple task but requires investigation. In this case, I planned two classes to understand the child’s language level to prepare the other classes more effectively. Through this experience, I also understood that a plan has to go through several adjustments. I designed this kid’s class three weeks ahead but will often change plans after a class because of different situations like specific weaknesses or interests in topics. Therefore this service activity trains me to start up a plan but adjust for different occasions.

4. Show commitment and perseverance to CAS experiences

This is also another learning outcome included in most of the activities. This is especially true for experiences regarding active moving. The training that showed the most perseverance was the daily exercise route I did in the summer. I tried to exercise daily before, but all ended within three days. Therefore this time, a set a strict plan to follow accompanied by a specific aim. I thought about quitting because of laziness and tiredness during the process, yet I overcame them and eventually did the exercise every day for almost four weeks. Because of the insistence, I get to reach the goal I set at the beginning, which at the same time receive unexpected improvements in my body health. I also record my process so that when I look back, I see my progress. Except for this experience, the other activities are all done without quitting, showing the achievements in this outcome.

One of the exercising video

*this is a video but I didn't put the link in*

5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaborativel

This is an essential skill for a big project. I might not be successful initially but later develop this skill. The activity that I learned the most was the organization of the bilingual festival. Because of preparation time, we got to rush. Maybe because of the pressure and the others were new to the club, Michelle(leader) and I(co-leader) decided to do as much as we could, handling most of the complex work like the proposal or letters, etc. However, after realizing the massive amount of work is not achievable by only the two of us, we spread the task to the other members, at the same time giving out our trust. It turns out that with more people in the discussion, not just all the members will get more familiar with this event, but it also leads to a more innovative discussion. Therefore, through this experience, I find myself growing in trusting the members and working more collaboratively.

Bilingual Festival online competition

a game played in Hunger 12 with kids

6. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

The activities in World Vision Club allow me to engage more in global issues. In the activity of Matthew 25, precisely Hunger 12, we discuss famine issues around the world. We design questions to educate kids about hunger and allow them to experience it so that they will understand the horrible situation happening globally. This is a significant activity to me because it’s not only me that connects to this global issue, but a lot of the kids in the lower grade are willing to understand and realize this problem. Therefore, even though this outcome is not as commonly demonstrated as the other outcomes, I find it one of the most meaningful outcomes presented.

7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

This is the hardest learning outcome because to me ethical choices are often natural. However, I found myself considering ethics for the events of Matthew 25 for world vision. This is when we are writing the letters to the parents as well as making the games. I found that specific word choices are dangerous and bad influences. In this case, the wording has to be natural, sincere, and respectful. This is difficult because often some stereotypical wordings will be included. Therefore, we will especially have to be aware of describing the events, so that it’s empathy, not sympathy. And I think this involves some ethical choices in deciding whether it’s more important to get people’s donations or to get the others to understand the important topics more. Therefore, for this outcome, I will not say I accomplished it widely but can say that it does consider ethics.

Lastly,

For future CAS students, I will suggest doing things that you are interested in. CAS can be an exciting event if you don't take it as necessary work. Try doing something that you want to do or have not done before. Those things can even be ones you initially are not interested in, such as my exercise routine. It’s also a good chance to challenge yourself to do something other than studying in front of the desk.

After five years, I don’t think I will remember what I learned in class, to be honest, but I’ll definitely remember those CAS activities because they are really good memories. They might not be all happy memories, but the exciting part of the DP program is that something else other than studying brings a strong sense of achievement and fulfillment.

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