This form must be submitted to and approved by the CAS Coordinator BEFORE you begin your work.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
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.
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.
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