Friday, November 19, 2010

Reflection: Tzu Chi Medical Mission

DIRECTIONS: Within two weeks of completion of an activity, attached a typed Reflective Essay with this form to your CAS Coordinator. The reflection should be in essay format with a minimum of 150 words in length. Make sure to attach this page to your reflection essay. Your essay should explore your experience. Consider the following questions:

 Describe the activity. What did you do at each stage? Include dates where relevant.
 What did you hope to accomplish by this activity? What did you actually accomplish?
 What difficulties did you encounter? Did you feel at any stage that you were failing to
     achieve what you wanted from this activity?
 What did you hope to learn from this activity, about yourself, about others, or about
     academic subjects? (For example: self-confidence, modesty, curiosity, objectivity, new
     skills, determination and the ability to meet challenges).
 Did anyone help you during this activity? If so, describe the help given.
 How will you provide thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress,
     reporting on this activity?
 Does this activity lend itself to reflection on outcomes and personal learning
 How did you record what you have done for this activity? Please provide evidence that you have actually done it.

When my friend William told me about his plans for the upcoming weekend (to volunteer at the Tzu Chi Foundation Medical Clinic), I asked him to sign me up for it. I knew I would have to make some sacrfices such as missing the upcoming Pacquiao fight, but I was determined to join the mission on that weekend (Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010.) I quickly wrote my proposal and asked helped from our CAS director for  other requirements, and help set up meetings between him and my proposed supervisor for this activity, Mrs. Fang Lin Chen. After getting all the requirements done in a rush, I went to manila that Friday for personal reasons. On Sunday at 6 AM, I was quick to get up, ready to go to the mission. Unfortunately, my driver arrived late due to some traffic problems, and I left my condo at around 7.20, when I was to be there at 7.30! Luckily, the place was near, but again, the place was hard to find. We got lost and took wrong turns, but at around 7:45 I arrived at the Tzu Chi Great Love Campus. William and I met up right away and I was provided with my yellow volunteer vest (for easy identification.) A taiwanese lady toured us around the campus, showing us what we had to do, where we had to go, where the refreshments were, etc. At one point we passed by the main outdoor gymnasium where all the people for that day, were waiting to be treated and given medication. There was loads of people. As we were briefed about our job,  I couldn't help but notice the different posters on the hallways with different buddhist aphorisms from the famous Buddhist founder of Tzu Chi. Those aphorisms were actually quite interesting. My favorite ones were "To have two good hands and refuse to work, is no different than having no hands at all" and "Giving is not the privilege of the rich, it is the privilege of the sincere." When around 9 AM came around, we were ready to start. Waves of people started coming in at the waiting room. I was placed at the general medicine area and my job was to collect the prescription from the patient after being checked by the doctor, lead them to another waiting room and give the prescription to one of the handlers which will then look for the medicine. Once the medicine is found, it is double checked by some other volunteers to make sure the right medicine is given, then my job was to call the person from the waiting room and lead them to the releaser who will then let the patient sign a form, so that the patient can leave with their medication. At first I thought my job was quite boring, since patients only came in one at a time. However, as time went on, I had to deal with around 5-10 patients who gave in their prescription at one time. Some patients were very demanding, and aggressive. They claimed that they asked for medicine before another person and some were begging me to hurry up because they had a "headache" and that they needed their medication ASAP. All I could say was that some medicines are easier to find than others, and that we were doing our best. After a while, there were too many patients on the hallway, and it was getting really, really hot and crowded, so we moved all the patients to a bigger waiting area. This went on until around 11.30 AM when Mrs. Fang Lin Chen called William and I, so that we may have a quick rest. After our quick coffee and bread break, we went to drink some water from the main hallway, but we were quickly interrupted when a lady came up to us and asked if we were volunteers. We of course, said yes, so she asked us to bring a 5 gallon water container up to the third floor of the building and across the campus! It was crazy tiring. When we made it back to the general surgery area, we hurried back into our post. By around 12.30, the patients were coming in at a slow pace, and we thought we would be done early, so we went on a lunch break. The food was pretty good, it was all vegetarian. At around 1 PM, we got back to work again and found out that we were wrong, there was a whole new wave of patients, but this time William was in the same post as me, so we took turns in collecting prescriptions and calling the patient with the prepared medication. I asked one of the other volunteers how many more patients we were going to allow in, and she said that we would stop at the 400th person mark. At one point, one of the patients were really begging me to hurry up with their medicine because of her grandpa, so I went to one of the handlers to ask them if they could hurry up with that specific patient (all patients had a number tag), and she yelled at me and said that   her job wasn't easy and that she's trying her best and that I should tell the patient to wait like everybody else. Of course I didn't tell the patient this, but after a few more minutes, the patient finally got her grandpa's medication. At around 3 PM, we passed the 400th mark, and Mrs. Fang Lin Chen told us that it was time to go home. It was a great experience for me, and I learned how sad some people's lives are and how much they need help, but also  realized how thankful I should be for what I have and continue to help those who are not as blessed.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

CAS Proposal Form 4 (Tzu Chi Medical Mission)


This form must be submitted to and approved by the CAS Coordinator BEFORE you begin your work.


Armand Mendoza




Tzu Chi Medical Mission


Tzu Chi, a Buddhist foundation founded in Taiwan has provided aid to many people in many different cases, such as the Haiti earthquake and Typhoon disasters in the Philippines. This Sunday, (November 14) a medical mission will take place in manila where we aim to provide medicine for less fortunate patients. My roles will also include assisting the doctors with anything they may ask for. There will be many volunteers, doctors and nurses who will collaborate this Sunday.






My goal is to help doctors and nurses to provide aid to less fortunate people with their medical issues. I hope to make a lot of people happy during this process and improve my team building skills at the same time.


The patients who need help will obviously benefit from this event as everything provided will be free. My collaborators and I will also definitely learn from this experience as well as it is my first time to be doing something like this before. (I've been with my dad in his medical missions when I was a little kid, but I don't recall helping out at all.)


The Tzu Chi Medical Mission will be held on Sunday, November 14, 2010 at the Tzu Chi Great Love Campus in 1000 Cordillera corner Lubiran Streets Bacood, Sta. Mesa, Manila. The event will last from Sunday morning until Sunday afternoon.


Mrs. Fang-Lin Chen


Tzu Chi Foundation


Email: fnhsu@hotmail.com Address: Binictican Dr. Mahogany St. 37F SBFZ Contact Number: (047)2500274

Student Agreement

I will commit to the activity at the above-stated time/s and given duration to the best of my ability. I understand that it is my responsibility to see this activity to its completion, and once approved, can only be cancelled through negotiation with the supervisor and the CAS Coordinator. (Click the SUBMIT button to signify your agreement.)

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

CAS Proposal Form 3 (Boy's Varsity Soccer)




This form must be submitted to and approved by the CAS Coordinator BEFORE you begin your work.

Armand Mendoza


Boys Varsity Soccer

I am currently part of the Boys Varsity Soccer team. My role is switched between being a striker and mid-fielder. I work together with my teammates everyday from 4-6 pm. In joining this team, I hope to improve my skills, strengthen my sportsmanship, build leadership skills and to learn how to collaborate with new teammates.



I hope to improve my stamina, my speed, my leadership skills, and my sportsmanship. Soccer practice can be very demanding and time consuming, and with the IB workload, there will be challenges in doing a good job in both areas. However, this will train me to learn how to manage my time wisely and be a more balanced student. Since there are only 2 non koreans in the team (Javier and I), I foresee some challenges in teamwork as I might be seen as an outsider, but hopefully as this season progresses, I can prove myself and be trusted by my teammates as I will learn to do for them as well, and come ISAC, we should be playing as one team to win the gold.

Joining the team will definitely benefit me, as the training itself will help me stay fit and improve my stamina, speed, and leg strength. My teammates and the coach as well will also benefit from this activity as playing together will develop new friendships, and win or lose, if we play well, will also benefit us all, including the coach.

Everyday from 4-6 pm. ISAC tournament on January 19-23, 2011.

Mr Davis

Brent Subic


Student Agreement

I will commit to the activity at the above-stated time/s and given duration to the best of my ability. I understand that it is my responsibility to see this activity to its completion, and once approved, can only be cancelled through negotiation with the supervisor and the CAS Coordinator. (Click the SUBMIT button to signify your agreement.)

Monday, October 11, 2010

Reflection: International Coastal Cleanup

DIRECTIONS: Within two weeks of completion of an activity, attached a typed Reflective Essay with this form to your CAS Coordinator. The reflection should be in essay format with a minimum of 150 words in length. Make sure to attach this page to your reflection essay. Your essay should explore your experience. Consider the following questions:

Describe the activity. What did you do at each stage? Include dates where relevant.
What did you hope to accomplish by this activity? What did you actually accomplish?
What difficulties did you encounter? Did you feel at any stage that you were failing to
     achieve what you wanted from this activity?
What did you hope to learn from this activity, about yourself, about others, or about
     academic subjects? (For example: self-confidence, modesty, curiosity, objectivity, new
     skills, determination and the ability to meet challenges).
Did anyone help you during this activity? If so, describe the help given.
How will you provide thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress,
     reporting on this activity?
Does this activity lend itself to reflection on outcomes and personal learning
How did you record what you have done for this activity? Please provide evidence that you have actually done it.


    When I heard about the International Coastal Cleanup in the announcement during Chapel, I was quick to sign up for the organizing committee because I thought that it was a great opportunity to help the environment and to represent our school.  Our first meeting was on Friday, Sept 17. Our advisors were Mr Cosca and Mr Tolentino.  We split into 3 groups, Marketing, Transportation, and Volunteers. Ramona and Akber were in charge of Marketing, Jana and Kay were in charge of Transportation, and Bryan Bala and I were the ones in charge of the Volunteers. We had to make sure that the people who were going were split into groups of 5 and that they were of their roles and what was going to happen on that day. We were in charge in letting them know what to bring that day as well. If anyone had any questions, Bryan and I were to be the experts of that matter. On the following Wednesday, Akber, Ramona and myself made announcements about the event on Chapel (we also showed a short video of the event), then a couple of other people reinforced the announcements in all the homerooms. (I could not do it because I had an HL extension class for IB Biology) We set up giant sign up sheets on the bulletin board outside the MPH. Day after day, more and more people signed up and we were accomplishing our goals. We also sent out permission slips to all students. Sadly, not all of them turned them in on time. That whole week I told the Boy's Volleyball team to sign up and turn in their permission slips in, and they all made it on the day which was really great. The only difficulties were getting all the people to turn in their permission slips because some were unsure if they were going or not, and how they were getting there, and who they were going with. On Sept 23, Mr Gomez was supposed to come to our campus and answer any other concerns, but he could not make it. Mr Cosca then just told me that Mr Gomez suggested that it would be great if our volunteers could bring their own pencils since they are not provided on that day. Luckily, everyone brought their own writing materials on the day of the event. On the day of the event, more people came than expected and our planning seemed to have payed off. Brent collected 541 kg of trash and I felt very proud of our school, and even more proud of our team who helped organize the event. In my proposal, I wrote that I hope to improve my skills in planning, leadership, commitment,
teamwork, and in helping our world. I believe that I have fulfilled these goals through my experiences from this event. I have this slideshow below as evidence of my participation in the ICC.




Reflection: ISAC Boy's Volleyball

This year's volleyball season has taught me so many great lessons. It was one of the most exciting experiences I've ever had in my life. Our team went to the ISAC tournament with high hopes of winning the championship. We've all trained hard for it all season, and we (especially the seniors) were hungry for a 1st place trophy.
One the first day of the competition, we thought we had the advantage of being able to watch all the teams play before our first game, but this proved to do the opposite as we had to play against Brent Baguio, the defending champs, for the first time away from our home court. I myself was nervous, and needed time to adjust. Our libero was not used to playing on a different court. Baguio had already adjusted to the court as they played up to the third set against another team earlier that morning. We started playing our game late in the 2nd set, however, Baguio still ended the game in 2 sets. Although it was a harsh loss, we shook it off and won our second game that day against Brent Manila.
The second day was a tough day. We had to play 3 games, one with a strong team with homecourt advantage, CIS. Our first game was with BSM, we didn't seem to have a problem, and we played our game and won the game in 2 sets. Our second game was a tough one. We played against CIS, who had a couple of strong hitters, a decent setter, and all of them fought for every ball. The first set was intense, winning it with the ending score of 31-29. The second set was won by CIS. By the 3rd set, everyone looked tired. The crowd was roaring, and my hands were shaking both because I was nervous, and probably because my muscles were tired as well. Our coach kept telling us that it was all about "heart" ("puso" in filipino) and about who wanted it more. We worked hard as a team, we did not give up and as we were drifting away from them, I could see the look on their faces. I could tell that they were giving up. This however, boosted me and my teammates up, and took the 3rd set. It was a great game maybe the 2nd best game of my life so far. Later that day we faced FAM. Our fist set was rusty, but after a timeout, we brought our team back together and defeated them in 2 sets. FAM taught us a valuable lesson which was to not underestimate any team, and give them our respect by playing our best game.
The last day of the competition was the most tiring and emotional day of the whole tournament. We played Southville in the morning and took the game in 2 sets. This placed us 2nd in the tournament. Baguio(1st) would have to face Southville(4th) and Subic(2nd) would have to face CIS(3rd) for the semi finals. We ate lunch, took showers, and relaxed while waiting for our game against CIS. As the time got nearer, we warmed up, reviewed our strategies and prayed as a team as usual. I was pretty nervous for this game, but I was excited as I was looking forward to giving the crowd and everyone else there another great volleyball game. We served the ball well, without a single error, our libero and other teammates fought for every ball and received well, and we communicated and cheered our hearts out. We took the first set and was looking forward to taking the game in 2 sets. However, CIS would not let that happen. They played with the same intensity as us, taking the 2nd set. Our team was exhausted. I was really, really tired, but my adrenaline kept me going. I really wanted to win, and I was willing to do whatever it took to win that game. I went for everyball, as did my other teammates, and I even successfully executed a "pancake." It was a fun game, and the 2nd to the last point, was a block by me and my teammate. I was very proud of myself in that game, and even more proud of my teammates. We won the 3rd set, and WE made it to the finals. CIS were very nice and congratulated us, and promised to cheer for us in the finals. I felt honored to have played with them.
At around 7.30, we started warming up for the final game against Baguio. Most of my teammates showed symptoms of sore eyes, and I was really worried for our libero. We gathered as a team, and talked about our strategies, prayed together, and visualized what we were going to do in that game. I somehow did not feel so nervous for this game. I felt a lot more nervous in going against CIS. I felt ready for this game. Baguio played their game and took the first set. We were making a lot of errors. Our serves weren't going in. Our spikers were hesitant, and I was making mistakes with my setting as well. We were ready to take the game to the 3rd set, but again we were making the same mistakes, and I myself were making really terrible mistakes in setting. Our team was not going to give up and we continued to play our hearts out, but it was too late. Baguio was gaining confidence as we were making mistakes. Baguio took the game in 2 sets, winning the ISAC championship. Our team was devastated, especially because we knew that we could've played better. We all knew from the start that if we wanted to win this game, we had to push ourselves farther than how we normally played since we were not stronger individuals than Baguio.
Although we lost the championship game, I still felt very proud that we got this far. I was very proud of my teammates, and I was honored to have been led by our coach since without these people we wouldn't have gotten to where we were. This year's team has taught me how to play well under pressure, make wise decisions (think before acting), and has taught me how to handle my emotions (accepting defeat.) I believed that in these 2 and a half months, I have grown as a person, as a teammate, and as a leader which will help me for the rest of my life. I believe that in next year's ISAC Volleyball tournament, I can be a more complete player, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.


Tuesday, September 28, 2010

(A) Goal for this week: Boys Vball [Sept 28 - Oct 1]

I've noticed that I was a bit shaky today at practice and I'm pretty sure it was because of the 3 day break. At the start of practice I honestly felt like I was learning how to set all over again, but after a few minutes I was able to retain most of it back. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be on my way to setting well again so that I have a few more days for improvement. My goal for this week is just to polish my setting, get a little more conditioning done so that I feel fit and ready for ISAC, and lastly to just know my role confidently and produce good outcomes with it. I need a lot of focus to be able to fulfill my goals, and a lot of perseverance as I push myself as much I can before the upcoming tournament. I need to really use my head while playing on the court, and continue to boost the team's morale. I hope to deliver all this on Thursday's game, and hopefully go to ISAC with another victory on the home court.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

(A)(S) Goal for the next 3 days: International Coastal Cleanup [Sept 22-Sept 24]

Sept 22 (Wednesday)
1. Continue to encourage people to volunteer and sign up for the beach cleanup
2. Prepare and deliver an announcement for chapel concerning the event
3. With a couple of other students, follow up the announcements to the homeroom classes
4. Make sure all teachers hand out permission slips to all students who are willing to go

Sept 23 (Thursday)
1. Play the promotional video in the Office
2. Continue to encourage students to join
3. Pair up volleyball teams with 4th and 5th graders

Sept 24
(Friday)
1. Make sure all the groups have been divided properly
2. Make sure at least 3 groups (15 students) are assigned to a teacher that has is going to the event.

(A) Goal for this week: Boys Vball [Sept 20- Sept 24]

My goal for this week is to polish my "forced quick" setting, my "shoot" setting, and my "back quick" setting. I intend to accomplish this goal simply by trying them out continuously during our practices. I will also focus in thinking more during the games, instead of just setting the ball up for the hitter. I need to focus more on making smarter decisions such as setting the ball to an area where the opponent's blocker is short. I need to focus on not making the same mistakes again and to learn to adjust quickly when playing against different types of teams. Lastly, I would like to improve my motivational skills on the court since I have noticed, especially in last Friday's game against Baguio, that we play at a much higher level when we are psyched up during a game.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

CAS Proposal Form 2 (International Coastal Cleanup)



This form must be submitted to and approved by the CAS Coordinator BEFORE you begin your work.


Armand Mendoza




International Coastal Cleanup


I wish to take part on this International Coastal Cleanup as a member of the organizing committee. As part of the organizing committee, I would have to plan out everything and make sure everyone who is volunteering knows exactly what to do on that day, and give specific roles to people. I would have to make sure that everyone is aware of what is going to happen and make sure everyone's doing their job on that day. Right now, I believe that I will be working with Jana Ong, Ramona Kabigting, Bryan Jim Bala and Akber Khan.








My personal goals for this Beach Cleanup is to improve my leadership skills and at the same time participate in a world-wide event to help out our environment. I will have to undertake new challenges because this will be my first time to join an organizing committee for any event. I will obviously have to plan and initiate activities as part of the organizing committee. I will work collaboratively with the 4 other members of the organizing committee as well as the volunteers who will help out during the day of the event. Perseverance and commitment will obviously come into play on the day of the event as I will need both to successfully execute the cleanup. I will also be engaging in issues of global importance as cleaning up the beaches will benefit our environment as well as the local community who use it. Lastly, I will develop new skills in leadership (as I help organize and lead the people in knowing their roles) and in team building (as I help encourage the older people work with the younger people in their groups) throughout this activity.


Our world will benefit from this activity because people from around the world are going to be doing this (hopefully) simultaneously which will make an impact on the world's awareness and maybe even fix a little bit of the damage that the previous generations has done to our beaches. Our local community will also benefit from this as our beaches will be somewhat cleaner which will hopefully attract more tourists and at the same time raise awareness for the people in our community. Lastly, I will benefit from this activity as taking part of this will build character and will probably raise my own awareness for this global issue and will help me realize that offering my help, even in this small amount will still be a valuable contribution to the restoration of our environment.


This will take place on Saturday, September 25 from 6am – 12pm at The Lighthouse Marina Resort, SBMA, Ocean Conservancy.


Mr Tolentino


Brent Subic



Student Agreement

I will commit to the activity at the above-stated time/s and given duration to the best of my ability. I understand that it is my responsibility to see this activity to its completion, and once approved, can only be cancelled through negotiation with the supervisor and the CAS Coordinator. (Click the SUBMIT button to signify your agreement.)

Monday, September 13, 2010

(A) Goal for this week: Boys Vball [Sept 13 - Sept 17]

So my goal last week was pretty much successful since I finally solved my problem of setting the ball near my face. I am now catching the ball above my head as it should be. I can now set the ball more accurately in open and I am adding many varieties to my sets such as C's, back quicks, shoot, and stacks. I was not able to do a successful soft block last week during the game, although there were instances where the ball would check my fingertips. My goal for this week is just to polish my setting even further by just focusing more and using my legs. Occasionally, the ball would be drenched with sweat making it hard for me to set, but I will have to find a way to set the ball because in the ISAC tournament I cannot complain to the referee about a wet ball once he has blown the whistle. I also still want to work on my soft block and try to apply it in one of the games this week or on Saturday's games. The third thing I want to work on this week is diving and rolling properly. I will bring my knee pads to make it easier for me to do. I believe learning this skill will help me save the ball in crucial moments in the games we might play in ISAC. Not to mention that it looks super cool when you dive. To perform these dives successfully, I think that all I need to do is overcome the fear of falling on the ground and just stretch my body smoothly so that it won't hurt as bad.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

(A) Response to Comment [Vball]

What is it about setting that you're having difficulty with? What's wrong with your sets? Try to break down the skill into its individual components and identify which ones you are doing well and which ones need more work. The same can be said for learning how to soft block. What do you know about it? Have you tried to learn about it outside of training time? =)


I have trouble pushing the ball to the "open" area. I'm pretty much set for setting quicks and C's and 3's since it doesn't require me to push the ball. The reason I have difficulty with setting is because I've gotten into the habit of catching the ball near my face which hinders me from pushing the ball successfully. I'm confident with setting the ball except for the open, which is actually for our team is the most important spot to learn since we use it the most during games because we haven't gotten to the point where we dictate the plays that we initiate on the court (since our 1st ball receiving isn't always up to par) 


Now with soft blocking, it's a much harder task and I rarely get the chance to practice it since we don't have many hitters who can spike the ball straight down consistently. Hopefully, this coming Friday, there will be plenty of good hitters who I can practice my blocking against.


For that last question, the answer is No, I haven't been practicing outside of training time simply because I have other priorities to worry about besides volleyball. (not that volleyball isn't important :p)





Sunday, September 5, 2010

(A) Goal for this week: Boys Vball [Sept 6 - Sept 10]

I continue to have problems with setting the ball. I would say that I am only 60% accurate with my sets, sometimes even less. My goal for this week, is to be able to set to open, at least 8 out of 10 times. I want to be able to apply it on the pick up game on Thursday. As the ISAC tournament is nearing, I must be able to do my role well as a setter if I am to make it to the final ten. If I accomplish this goal earlier before the end of this week, another goal of mine is to be able to do at least one soft block either during practice or during the Thursday game. :)

CAS Proposal Form 1 (Boy's Varsity Volleyball)




This form must be submitted to and approved by the CAS Coordinator BEFORE you begin your work.


Armand Mendoza




Boys Varsity Volleyball


I am currently part of the Boys Varsity Volleyball team. My role is switched between being a setter and being a back open hitter. I work together with my teammates everyday from 4-5.30 pm. (Adam, Andy, William, Jack, Chris, Stin, Kevin, Dongyun, Henry, Cyron, David, Allen, John An, and John Kwak) I wish to develop my skill further, and increase my experience in the sport but still keep up with my school work.








I wish to improve my reflexes, my vertical jump, my leadership skills, and my sportsmanship, and challenge myself to balance sports with studies which requires a lot of time management which will make me a much more organized person. In doing this, I would have to develop new skills, show perseverance, face new challenges and increase my awareness of my strengths and weaknesses and work well with other people.


I believe that I will benefit from joining this team as I will build stregnth, and become a more agile person because the training targets the whole body. Our team, including the coach, will certainly benefit because of the experience and the exciting games we will have, even if we don't win. The whole team will also develop discipline as volleyball is not an easy going sport. It requires a lot of focus and teamwork.


Everyday from 4-5.30 pm.There are pick up games every Thursday but the big tournament is in Cebu on October 6, 2010.


Mr Tolentino


Brent Subic



Student Agreement

I will commit to the activity at the above-stated time/s and given duration to the best of my ability. I understand that it is my responsibility to see this activity to its completion, and once approved, can only be cancelled through negotiation with the supervisor and the CAS Coordinator. (Click the SUBMIT button to signify your agreement.)