CAS evaluation

My intentions for CAS had been firmly implemented in my mind before i ever began these two years of IB.  I knew, form the beginning, that i wanted to get involved in a variety of projects, which would broaden my thinking and understanding of the world.  I knew it was important for me to do this for it would be the only way i would get the most out of all the hours that i would spend doing CAS.  Knowing this before i started was extremely beneficial as it set up my expectations and goals for the rest of the year.  I tried to carry out these expectations to the best of my ability and i did this through; being a part of the Artsco group, which carried out a number of different creative projects, being a part of the varsity football team as well as the ISSEA football team, volunteering in the special needs department at Oshwal school, painting a classroom on our IC trips, teaching children a variety of subjects at Arya Vedic school, committing to the ISK varsity Hockey team for the fourth year, helping the environment by planting trees in Karura forest, and building on my fitness with some Muay Thai training.  It is through these activities that i feel i've grown as a person.
By playing for the various football and hockey teams i feel that i grew in maturity as i demonstrated my commitment and leadership skills in both teams.  Prior to this experience (in my previous sport seasons), i had a more lethargic, carefree nature towards aspects such as practices and games.  Being part of these teams has showed me that committing to something, like a team, in the future requires me to fulfill my duties to the best of my abilities. Giving encouragement and mentoring the younger players has enhanced my leadership skills, skills which will be embedded within me for many years to come.  Teaching children a variety of subjects in Arya Vedic school and volunteering in the special needs department in Oshwal, were both experiences which may have had the greatest impact on my understanding of my abilities to help other people.
In Arya Vedic school, teaching the children was, at first, challenging as at times i didn't know how explain certain topics in a different manner in which the children would understand the subject.  However, as i began to maneuver through these problems i began to realize that there was more than one way of teaching a subject.  I began to come up with different methods of teaching and, in the end, the children found it educational and fun.  Although this experience taught me a lot about face and deal with problems, volunteering at the special needs department at Oshwal included using these skills but was one of the most inspirational experiences i will ever encounter.  Helping those students was more than just teaching them one plus one, i had to get to know them, get to understand them and so in time, they began to trust me and consider me a friend.  And as they did so they began to learn from and me from them.  I did not realize how a simple mind could yet be such a great one.  Through this volunteer work, i found within me certain love for these students and the way they view the world and in turn, learnt that doing any work or job with all your heart will make it extremely enjoyable and interesting.  Helping the environment was always one of my goals and by planting the ten trees in Karura forest i felt that it was my duty and pleasure to give to the environment that has given me so much.
All in all, through the activities i completed over these two years i feel that not only have i helped people ad myself, i have grown in my understanding of the world and the qualities that make me who i am.  Growing in maturity, confidence, and various different abilities have all been enhanced and will continue to as continue to find my place in the world.
       

Muay Thai lessons

Since mid-December, i have been taking muay thai lessons, which is a professional fighting technique.  My trainer, Ash, has been fighting for many years and has also fought in many competitions.  I had decided to take these lesson in order to keep fit for the up and coming hockey season and also to gain some strength.  At first i found these lessons extremely difficult, as i found out soon enough that i was quite unfit.  The constant energy and power required really surprised me and i decided to get a lot more fit in order to keep up with these lessons.
By the end of january i had learnt all the basic moves and techniques and Ash told me that it was time i begin to learn how to complete some more complex combos.  As i began to learn these combos, i found that i had a burning determination to learn and perfect these moves.  I soon found that it was this determination, which is going to really benefit me in the future.  I was also able to use this determination in the hockey season, which carried me through some games and the Aga Khan tournament in particular.
At the moment, i've taken a bit of a break as i feel that it is necessary for me to concentrate more on my academics for the nearing IB exams.  However, i have no intention of stopping these muay thai lessons as i feel as though i still have a lot to learn about the art and, in turn, about myself.  

Planting trees at karura forest

I have always felt that it is our duty to give back to nature because we've taken so much from it. I was presented with an opportunity to do this, by planting trees in the Karura forest, whose greenery has been severely depleted. Before we did this, we learnt about the necessity of trees in the forrest, and how the irrigation systems contribute towards keeping the forest healthy. Due to the increasing demands for space by the industrial world, beautiful natural scenery was destroyed in order to create more areas for companies to build upon. This deforestation has led to the Karura forest becoming thinner than it ever was. I have taken the initiative to plant trees in this forest in the hopes that the Karura forest will one day return to its former glory, and that it will once again thrive with animals and trees.

I planted my ten trees in the forest in the hope that it will be the start of the reforestation of the forest. I feel that by seizing this opportunity to help the forest, I have grown in my mentality towards nature, and i have learned to appreciate the small things which make the world a beautiful place. I feel that now that I have gone through this experience, I wish to continue doing this regularly. I feel that if everyone made this small effort towards saving our planet, then we would be living in a very different, natural, and beautiful place.

Hockey

This is my fourth and final year in the varsity hockey team. At the start of the season, we had an unmotivated, and unfocused squad. As the time progressed, our team chemistry blossomed, and we could finally start to see the talents of our players being unleashed. Our most improved player has to be Yash Patel, whom i trained with every day in order for him to reach his true hockey potential. I showed great amounts of leadership and commitment as I led the midfield forwards and supplied the strikers from my central midfield role. I believe that this season has allowed me to grow closer towards my fellow teammates, and the encouragement i gave was a role i felt i had to undertake.
We played well in all three tournaments, ISK, Aga Khan and the Hillcrest tournament and i feel that these tournaments allowed me to continue to demonstrate my leadership abilities and also show my growing commitment to my team, as i was at times required to play long periods of games even though i may have been quite fatigued or even be carrying an injury.
Overall i feel as though this hockey season, similarly to the football season, has enabled be to become a more mature and all rounded person.

Playing indoor football

Now that football season is over and hockey season has yet to begin, to keep fit and active the varsity football boys have organized a weekly game of indoor football supervised by M. Lotze.  These game are always a lot of fun.  Meeting on Saturday's from 9-11.  This activity has always been a challenging one because, even though we all love plating football, it is extremely tiring and requires a lot of perseverance and determination.  Also because the ground in the gym is hard it takes courage to go into some of the more dangerous tackles.  All in all, this activity is an extremely good workout, which has enhanced my perseverance, determination and courageousness.

Last year, Arnold Fomete brought a local team to play us in an indoor football game.  This was a great experirence not only for us boys but also for them.  They must have never played in such close quarters and , from the looks of it, really enjoyed showing off their skills.  Playing with this local team allowed me to get to know some of the other players better and discuss with them their strengths and weaknesses.  Also similar to the experience in Babong, when we mixed the teams, we were all communicating adequately, which showed me again that i can always communicate with someone without necessarily knowing their lamguage.In the coming weeks we may decide to organize another match similar to this.

Teaching at Arya Vedic school

Along with one my friends, Giri, i decided that it would be a good experience for me to teach classrooms in  a public school called Arya Vedic.  For two weekends I went to this school taught different aspects of science and mathematics.  In my classroom there were only a few students which made it easier for me to interact with children and also allowed to me to pay attention to the children's individual problems with understanding different topics.

I found it quite challenging when a child asked me explain a certain aspect in a different manner, maybe because i was only taught it one way but when i went home and mulled over the question i found that there were so many possibilities to answer the question.  The next day i explained to the child and immediately he understood the problem.  This demonstrated to me that solving problems need a broader view so that you can  look at a problem through a number of perspectives.
 
This experience enabled me to enhance my leadership and communicating skills.  It was interesting to see how i am able to explain aspects in different ways thereby enabling the children to receive a broader view of the subject.  Also i had to become extremely organized as i had to prepare the lessons on advance and also get any materials that may be needed for the classroom on the day.  The children were enthusiastic and enjoyed learning from me, which was great to witness.

Painting a school at Babong

Last year for the class trips i opted to go for the trip into the highlands known as Babong.  In Babong there is quite a large community school whom are always welcoming and entertaining.  As a group we decided that we should paint one of their newly built classrooms.  Personally, i had never walls before and so i was extremely eager to learn form this experience.  I learnt the different types of paint of paint used and also learned to use different techniques of painting.  It took us about an hour and a half to complete painting the whole classroom.  It was simply a pleasure to see all the students so appreciative of our hard work.  Painting the classrooms may have only been an hours work for us and i maybe only learnt to paint walls but the smiles and gratefulness of the children is something that i will cherish forever and something the school may not forget for many years to come.

After painting the classrooms, the older children challenged us to a football match and so we played...the school some good players and it was great to mix up the teams, which really challenged our communication skills.  However, as we began to play the game, we began to communicate very easily and therefore played very well.  It was surprising for me to see that when people from different cultures and backgrounds do the same thing, cooperating with each other, they communicate without even realizing it for they begin to grow a special understanding with each other.

After an exhausting game in the heat, the whole school gathered together and the head master of the school thanked us for all our help and we generously donated books, pencils and mosquito nets, after which all the students sung a song of thankfulness for us.

Cooperating not only with my peers, whilst painting the classroom, but also with the students, during the football game, allowed for a mixture of cultures to interact and enjoy each others company.