Water Sports:)

Today I went down south to Bentota and did a few water sports. We jet skied, water skied and did the tubing. It was the first time I'd ever water skied so my brother and I decided to learn how to do it together. In learning how to do this I undertook a new challenge and developed new skills. It was really quite difficult and there was a lot of technique to it that I actually had no idea about before today. We were taught to bend our knees and keep our arms straight so as not to lose balance. When being pulled out of the water one has to keep the knees bent to the chin and skis straight up, which was really difficult as managing to point the skis up in the water was quite a task.

We tried holding onto the bar of the boat first, then we held onto a short rope and then a long rope, which was the hardest one, taking us both 4 times to get a proper run (without falling) on it. I had a lot of trouble with the long rope, a lot more trouble than my brother and it was really disconcerting. I truly didn't think I could do it. Our instructor gave me one last chance and I finally managed to get a proper run on it, which made me really happy.

Another activity I did this winter break was an Introduction to Diving while I was in the Maldives. This also allowed me to develop a new skill as well as undertake a new challenge. I learnt a lot from my instructor, like about all the different equipment one uses when you go diving as well as some emergency drills underwater. We had to practice taking our regulator out of our mouths and then putting it back in, filling our masks with water and getting it out and using the emergency regulator of another diver.

This was a new challenge as I've never dived before and I went for the course alone. It was a little intimidating because I went with the instructor and another man, both of whom are at least in their late 20's. I'm much smaller built than both of them so I had a little trouble balancing all the diving equipment, especially when we were meant to stay still in the water as the current was very strong. I'm glad I did it though because it counts towards certification and my goal is to get certified before I turn 18 and go to college.

OSC's Got Talent

We held OSC's Got Talent on Friday and it was a huge success. SGA held auditions a couple weeks ago during lunchtime as we wanted to get it out of the way before the week we held our lunch time games and the pep rally. Keisha and I were judges at the auditions as Sorrel, Roger and Nadeera all participated in the event. We chose the acts before I left for SAISA Basketball and as soon as I returned we had to begin really planning for this event, which was scheduled for the Friday of the week I returned. I got back Monday morning and on Monday afternoon I went to Kent's, a trophy shop my mom discovered near Slave Island. I ordered a first place trophy and told them to print OSC's Got Talent, 2011, 1st Place on it. I also got the idea to buy a shield on which we could print OSC's Got Talent and the winners' names so that we could pass this event on to the next SGA and we'd be able to create a new tradition at this school. This way the new SGA will be obligated to carry on this tradition, showing our ability to undertake a new challenge. We wanted to try something new and it worked well, just like the lunch time games, and we've now created a planned event that can recur year after year.

I also went to Arpico and bought a bunch of glasses in three different sizes for first, second and third place as well as some plastic wrapping paper. I want to fill them with the leftover candy from Halloween and we'll give them as prizes to those who place. I have some outliner that can be used to write on glass at home so we can use this to write OSC #1, #2 and #3 on them. We were going to get sashes from Theshika's family as her father works at a printing company but at that point I didn't think we were going to as we'd asked too late so I bought the glasses as a back up plan. I'm glad that we now know that her father works at a printing company because we can utilize this for OSCars so we don't have to spend as much on prizes.

The next day, Tuesday, we had rehearsals from 4-6. They went fairly well, we didn't run the acts in order as many people had to leave early. We simply asked each act to perform, we timed them and recorded the equipment they need for the night. I also went and talked to Warren about doing sound and lighting and he said that he could do one or the other so I ought to find someone to do lighting. I asked Conzi since she had done it for Fiddler on the Roof but she was unable to since it was such short notice. In the end we managed to get Rasmus to do it and he'd had experience with lighting doing Battle of the Bands. At first I was going to work offstage with Keisha to move chairs and microphones around however we decided it would be better if I worked on the balcony, helping Rasmus out with the lights and playing the soundtracks from my laptop. This was a new challenge for me and I learnt a lot about the light board, developing new skills, as I've never really worked with the technical aspects of stage as much.

For our next rehearsal, on Thursday after CAS, we had a running order and we wanted to run the whole show with lighting and sound. We did not follow our aim at all during this rehearsal. Rasmus had said he'd be able to do lights for the show but he couldn't come for this rehearsal so we only had Warren controlling sound. We managed to get clip on mics for the first act with Kalila, Nikolina, and Shenali so he had to deal with turning these off and on as well because as I discovered when doing Fiddler on the Roof, if one leaves those mics on they will pick up sound backstage. Furthermore not everyone was there and some people had to leave early so we could not follow the running order.

We were able to get in a few more practices the day of the performance however Rasmus was a little late and I was worried that I'd have to do lighting myself so I started learning about the light board. Then he showed up and he knew almost all the lighting he had to do as I'd given him a running order with the lighting each act needed the day before. I'd also given this to Crawford who helped us with spotlights. I'm not sure how many lists I made with the running order, the list of equipment they needed, the lights/sound etc. but it took a great deal of planning on both my and Keisha's parts as we both helped to create these lists. Every time the list was updated I sent it to Warren and he was excellent with printing it out and being ready for rehearsal. In working on the balcony I think that I really had to work collaboratively with those helping run the show through giving them instructions on lighting and sound and how things should be placed on stage etc.

Overall I think the performance went well. I think that if we'd had more publicity we would have had a bigger turn out so that's something the SGA can work on for next year. Also we had a few technical difficulties: one person's mic did not work as she started her song, the sound was very poor for Still Thinking however we had never rehearsed with them before as they did not show up to either of the rehearsals so we did the best we could, and the lighting for Kalila, Shenali and Nikolina's act was bad because we only had two spotlights and there was three of them. Another thing we really need to fix up for next year is the judging criteria. We really had no proper criteria and this made the judging quite difficult. Ms. Grant specifically asked me the next week to think about having some explicit criteria to which the judges could adhere to in order to fairly judge contestants. Daisy passed out right before her act which caused us to go to intermission early however she recovered in a short amount of time and was able to go on with her performance.

The surprise teacher's act was a great hit and I think it was an excellent way to end the talent show and give the judges some time to deliberate. In the end I went on stage and thanked Warren, Rasmus, Crawford, John (who jumped in last minute to help with the spotlight), and the judges. Then I handed over the mic to Mr. Snyder who announced the winners as Keisha, Sorrel and I handed out the prizes. Shenali won 3rd place, Bharat and Sky won 2nd and Cami and Bharat won 1st place. I think that OSC's Got Talent allowed me to increase my awareness of my own strengths and areas for growth. I was able to see that I am a strong coordinator and able to work collaboratively in order to bring together different elements for successful event management. As for areas for growth in my enthusiasm I sometimes attempt to take on too much which leads to stress.

SGA SPIRIT:)

I'm leaving on SAISA Basketball tomorrow so for SGA we made the decision to try and raise spirit during this week before the SAISA athletes left. On Monday we had a day of small games including Ring Toss, Can Knock Out, Ping Pong Ball Toss, Goals and Free Throw. Everyone who participated earned a point for their particular house and if they did well in the game they won a piece of candy. We used the candy that we bought from Halloween as we've already spent the money on it and must use it up before 2012 as many of the bags expire in early 2012. These games were a planned and initiated activity, it took a lot of work to collaborate with the whole SGA to ensure that we were prepared for this day. We faced a few challenges along the way, like the fact that all the balloons I'd bought for the Water Balloon Toss were stolen and we were unable to do this game. On the whole it was a very successful event and I'm quite pleased with it. We undertook a new challenge in doing these games and I'm so glad we did because not only did the younger kids get into it but many of the older kids came out and participated which was great. This type of thing has never really been done at OSC before and I think it should be done more often, if I was here next semester I'd definitely do it again and I'm sure Sorrel, Roger, Nadeera and Keisha will do it again.

Today we undertook another new challenge by holding a Pep Rally during lunch. It did not go very well. We were incredibly disorganized in the beginning, nobody knew who was speaking. It was slow and nobody was cheering, it was not how a Pep Rally is supposed to be like. The Pep Rallies in my old school were much more effective, people had more SPIRIT there in general. It was embarrassing how badly it went. In the end we played four way tug of war, the boys split up into two teams, the girls played on one side and the coaches played on another. That was fun and would have been better had people been cheering and egging us on. I think two of the major problems were that not enough people showed up, in my old school it was mandatory to attend, and we weren't organized enough. I think that if we want to do a Pep Rally in the future we need the school to collaborate with us. If they are, in any way, interested in raising the spirit at this school, which truly lacks any sense of spirit then they will choose to work with us. It's too difficult for the SGA, a group of 22 people, to instill spirit into a school of over 400 people without the backing of the teachers.

Although the Pep Rally was not effective I think that I've shown perseverance and commitment to raising spirit at this school. We've had 4 spirit days now, Hippy Day, Nerd Day, Halloween, and Gangsta Day. We created a Spirit Banner in the beginning of the year when we did the Welcome Back Disco. Now we've also done a Pep Rally and some lunch time games in which spirit points were earned.

Poem

At the beginning of this school year I established the goal to publish one of my poems by entering some sort of competition. I took a step in this direction by entering the poem below in a competition through the school in October before the break.

Fairytale

Put on a show.

The public they will see

Your cuts are now scabs

Your burns first degree.

Scream out inside

But tread carefully.

The pain you feel within

Is not reality.

Prove to the world,

You’re not broken.

Put on a smile,

A happy token.

Your face is what they see.

Your words are what they hear.

So continue to laugh.

Hold back the tears.

Wounds close up

Scars begin to fade

You’re perfect on the outside

In the fairytale you made.

Basketball

I tried out for Basketball and made the team a couple weeks ago. I said earlier that I wanted to do Basketball for two reasons, first of all I want to fit in as many SAISAs as I possibly can before I move, which is two SAISAs. Secondly, I did Basketball last year and I want to persevere in this sport. We will be traveling to Mumbai for the competition on the 30th of November and we have lost two significant players, Ayla and Alice. Last year we came in 3rd place but this year AES is out of the running and they won first place. Their withdrawal from SAISA gives us more of a chance to win. Our toughest competition last year was ASB and AISD, ASB won second place and AISD was fourth.

In order to get prepared for the SAISA tournament we've entered a tournament hosted by BSC here in Sri Lanka. We played our first game on Tuesday and lost to AIS but we played another game last night against Elizabeth Moir and won! If we won the upcoming game this Monday versus Lyceum (which I won't play in because of rehearsal) we will go to the Semi Finals! Being able to compete in a tournament before SAISA allows us to work collaboratively with each other, which is incredibly important as I've seen in previous SAISAs. The most improvement occurs during the tournament as we become used to a game situation and understand how we may work effectively as a team.

At the moment I'm having trouble with my lay ups, I can make the ball into the basket but I'm unable to jump up with the ball. The combination of jumping and making a basket feels unnatural to me and this defeats the purpose of a lay up. I hope to develop this skill over the course of this season.

Preparing for the Bake Sale:)

SAISA Basketball

I went on my last SAISA during the first weekend of December, fulfilling one of my goals made in the beginning of this year. It was an incredible experience and I'm so glad I went! I was able to play a great deal more than I played in 10th grade and even made more baskets than I made that year. I was able to show perseverance and commitment to an activity in continuing with basketball and was FINALLY able to be part of the championship team of SAISA. It was an incredible feeling to have won the whole tournament after coming so close each SAISA and local tournament. I definitely increased my awareness of my own strengths and weaknesses as I saw both my improvements and what I still have trouble with. I think that I've improved my lay up over the course of this season however I think I could have been a better defender and I should have been more confident when going for the fast break. Overall it was wonderful, an excellent end to my SAISAs at OSC.

SGA Halloween Bake Sale

We had planned to hold a movie night and haunted house along with trick or treating on the 28th but this was postponed due to the tragic passing of Mr. Kolitha. We recently decided as a collective group to cancel the event overall, it is too far from Halloween now, we’d be unlikely to get a large turn out and the motivation to attend and hold the event is gone. I put a lot of time and effort into the planning of this event; I worked throughout my holidays thinking of new ideas to add to our haunted house, bought decorations, candy etc. I spent an hour on Skype with Keisha, working collaboratively with her in order to be prepared for when we returned. I think that much of the executive showed great dedication and commitment to the SGA, as all of us were thinking of the event during our break. Keisha made bat, ghost and pumpkin stamps and made popcorn bags to use at the event. Roger created a poster to advertise our event. I asked Upandha and Daisy to create a poster to advertise our bake sale as well. I’ve put them in charge of Spirit Days and Points which was incredibly helpful, as it takes a lot of stress of the executive and allows me to actually use the SGA rather than doing everything myself. I think I’ve had some trouble letting go and depending on others to get things done and just taking this step was significant in allowing others to do things.
We did, however, have a Halloween Bake Sale at the beginning of this week, October 31st. This bake sale, as the last one, was quite successful. We ended up earning over 15,000 rupees, which was going to be used to fund our Halloween Event but is now just extra cash. We do need to compensate for a Rs. 8000 loss as the surplus of drinks we’d ordered for the disco expired last week and we will not be able to sell them. This bake sale, as the last one, allowed the SGA to plan and initiate an activity as well as work collaboratively with one another.

SAISA Volleyball Tournament

I participated in the SAISA Volleyball tournament during the weekend of October 7-9. It was a difficult tournament and we ended up getting second place, losing to Dhaka by only a few points. We played seven games, winning against our toughest competition on the first day, Lincoln and Dhaka, teams who got third and second respectively last year. This was OSC's first year playing Volleyball in a number of years and we were absolutely shocked that we won both of these games. On the second day of the tournament we played against Chennai, Bombay, and Lahore, winning two out of three games. We expected to win against Lahore and it was a struggle against Chennai but, unfortunately, we lost against Bombay. We were really bummed about this because it was the first match we'd lost and we had done so well until this game. It didn't really affect us in the tournament though as we ended up coming 1st seed, which meant we'd only have to play two games on the third day. Those two games would be decided on the games played prior to ours. We played against Bombay for our first game and won. We were wary of playing this game, as Bombay was the only team we'd lost against and losing again would be a major factor affecting our standing in the tournament.

There was a lot riding on our last game, we made it to the finals and we were facing Dhaka, a team we’d previously beat but who had played really well that day. The people I was hosting were also on this team. A large portion of our school showed up to watch that game, there was a lot of pressure and I still think we could have won. As a team, we’re less experienced than the other teams and hence we’ve had less game time. I think the stress affected how we played, not in just this game but throughout the tournament, at points we got stuck in a rut and we could not get out of it. It was a tight match and losing was incredibly disappointing. Dhaka was a good sport about it though, as we walked into the Award Banquet the whole team stood up and began applauding for us. I thought that was great of them, they acknowledged that we were tough competition and that it could have gone either way.

My biggest frustration throughout this tournament was not having enough playing time. I did not get put in very often and this really surprised me because I truly thought I’d get quite a bit of playing time in however I spent a majority of the tournament on the bench. I believe I showed perseverance and commitment for Volleyball at this point as I was so ready to give up after not being able to play time after time. The worst part about this was not only that it crushed my confidence when I did get subbed in but it also made me feel as if I hadn’t earned my spot on the team. I was really disappointed because I’d invested so much time into practice and I know I’ve improved in this sport but I did not get to prove myself. I felt like I deserved to be playing and this really frustrated me.

This tournament helped me see my own strengths and areas for growth as I was told multiple times by Mr. Shipley, to calm down and not get so frustrated on court when I made a mistake. He said he'd seen this in me with soccer as well as he was my coach for soccer and when I really think about it, it is a recurring issue with me. If I make a mistake I get angry at myself and this causes me to play worse afterwards. What made this even more difficult was that I only played for a very short period of time and was not able to redeem myself when I made a mistake.

Volleyball Game

We had a Volleyball game today and we played terribly, losing 4 out of 4 sets. This was not a very good morale boost considering the SAISA tournament is next week. We didn't have very good communication or transitions. Like I said, I generally play liberro and so I didn't play in the front row in the first three sets but in the last one Mr. B put me in for the entire game which meant I went to the front row. I had no idea where I was going at this point, it was embarrassing. In the car, on the way home I asked Vera what I was doing wrong and I now understand so hopefully I will not mess it up next time. We played the senior team the first two sets which is why we got crushed, but it was a learning experience for all of us, we didn't play to our full potential and have an increased awareness of our strengths and most importantly our areas for growth. By playing the senior team this time we were able to undertake a new challenge, they were much better than the junior team and we were not having a very good day. The above photo is of a practice, not of the game we had today, photos and videos of which I can get later on the U Drive.

SGA Bakesale

The Bake Sale allowed us to work collaboratively with one another and was a huge success. We sold nearly everything we baked and could have sold more if we'd had more of the more popular baked goods. We now not only have an easy, efficient way of raising money but we also know what will sell and what won't. The fruit cake didn't sell at all, which really says something about the health of our school but this helps us as we'll know what not to bake next time. I'm debating having another one before the Halloween Event, which we've now decided to be a movie night with trick or treating and a haunted house. We have a meeting tomorrow in which we'll discuss this event as it's coming up frighteningly soon, it is planned on October 28th, the Friday we return from October Break. We raised Rs. 10,540 in this bake sale which was impressive but from this we have to subtract the money we owe the canteen for drinks from the disco as well as the money we have to pay the decorations, both in the Rs. 1000 to 2000 range. This doesn't leave us with much and we need to buy candy for the trick or treating. I need to find out before tomorrow whether I'll be able to buy candy from the American Commissary with SGA money as having American candy will be a great incentive for many people to come. I'm glad we undertook this new activity as it's given us a great experience as well as way to raise money.

SGA Meeting

The SGA is planning two Spirit days for next week, Hippy Day and Blue & White Day. On Hippy Day we're organizing a bake sale and today's meeting was regarding that. There has not been a bake sale at this school organized by the SGA in the two years I've been here however I believe that bake sales are an excellent way to raise money. My friend and I held a bake sale in Jordan and were able to raise nearly $100 with simply five people running the stall and providing food. I hope that the bake sale next week will provide us with more than this as its purpose is to provide for our Halloween event. It's important that we raise money rather than lose for this event because our previous event, the Welcome Back Disco, caused us to lose money as we had a small turnout. We need to work collaboratively in order to make this bake sale a success, many of the SGA need to bring something as well as help run the stall during break and lunch time. I'm having trouble getting a straight answer from representatives as to what they want to bring and this is troubling because the bake sale is on Wednesday next week and therefore we don't have a meeting before then. I've asked them to check their OSC emails, a resource the students at this school really need to begin to check more frequently.

Bethlehem Creche: September 8, 2011

We were given today's meeting to work on our blogs as the MYP students needed to create their blogs. On Sport's Day we had planned to sell 'Spirit Bags' in which we had put strings, balloons, ribbons and stickers in the colors of each individual house. Unfortunately we were unable to sell the bags because all of us were required to play at the time that the bags should've been selling. I think that this could have been better organized; we would have been able to earn a substantial amount of money if these bags had been sold. We are going to save these bags and sell them on the Primary Sports Day which will be just as effective, if not more, however, as of now, we have not been able to raise any money for the Creche. Next Thursday we will be having the children visit the school and we still do not know what we'll be doing with them. I don't think our meetings have been effective in decision-making and if we don't pull it together I don't think we'll be able to have much of an impact on the children there. I made the goal to raise enough money to purchase a DVD player and am still not sure how we are going to accomplish this. We have made the choice to visit the school and repaint the walls, as Sister Florella asked us before the summer. We are currently planning this activity to be held on an upcoming Sunday and before this occur we must first plan out what we will paint on the walls, what colors we need and who will paint what.

Initial CAS Goals

Creativity:
Last year for my Personal Project I published a book of poems. I have been writing poetry most of my life and really enjoy it and before last year I'd never shared my poetry with people other than my family and close friends so I underwent a large risk in publishing that book. I'd like to work on my poetry as an aspect of creativity in my last two years of high school. In the end of 10th grade I was debating publishing another book including poetry that were directly linked to my own life as the ones in the other book were based on the theme of poverty. However, this year I'm of a different opinion. To publish my book in 10th grade I had to pay a sum of money but in the next two years I want to publish at least one poem without paying money but by entering a competition or some other method. This would allow me to undertake a new challenge, as I've never published a poem on my own before.
I'm playing the role of Golde in the Secondary Production of Fiddler on the Roof. This production is required for HL Drama students and although it does not truly constitute as CAS I will be putting in much effort not expected by Drama class. The production is a musical and in this fact alone it allows me to undertake a completely new challenge because I’ve never been in a musical as well as increase my awareness of my own strengths. I realize that a large part of the reason as to why I got this part is the fact that I am in HL Drama and she must give priority to us. I feel like by being given the opportunity to play Golde I’m able to see how I approach a singing role even though I’ve never been considered a particularly strong singer. I had rehearsal on Monday where Giorgio and I practiced the song, ‘Do You Love Me’. He is my husband and throughout our marriage we’ve never truly said ‘I love you’ and in this song we finally establish a sort of love for one another. I think this song is adorable; you gain an insight to not only this couple’s marriage but to a whole other culture overall. You see a sort of tentative love and affection shared between those in an arranged marriage. I’ve seen this in my grandparents’ relationship. Their marriage was arranged and although they don’t openly display their love you can tell they’ve grown to love one another.

Action:

Volleyball and Basketball--
I want to fit in as many SAISAs as possible before I move from Sri Lanka so I'm going to do both these seasons. I did the Volleyball last year when it was still in its trial phase because I simply wanted to have something to do. I decided to do it this year because it's another way to stay fit and I relatively enjoy it. I've found that although I've played sports all my life I hate competition, it takes the fun out for me and adds stress to a once fun game. However overall I believe that being on a team is important for me. I like the bonding that takes place between teammates produced by collaborative work and am able to learn a lot about the sport I compete in, developing new skills. Last year I participated in Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball and Badminton. As mentioned Volleyball was not an actual SAISA and neither was Badminton however we played games against the local schools for Badminton. I don't know yet if I've made the Volleyball team but I've been to enough practices to know what I need to work on. I want to 'perfect' my spike and work on my blocking. We had a game last Saturday and I was assigned the position of liberro. Essentially I substituted in for certain people, only remaining in the back row, and doing everything I could to try not to let the ball hit the ground. In Basketball I hope to make the team as I did last year and be able to travel one last time before I move. I wanted to do Basketball this year especially since I did it last year and I want to persevere in this sport.

Service:
I’m currently involved in a project called Bethlehem Creche, which I initiated last year as a result of my Personal Project. I have a series of goals I’d really like to accomplish before I move in December of this year. I’d like to purchase a DVD player for the Creche. To do this we need to do a fundraiser at the school. We could do a bake sale, sell drinks at a function or sell some sort of souvenir/trinket, as the Alzheimer group did last year. DVD players are not outrageously expensive and I really believe that through one or two fundraisers we’ll be able to buy one. Although a DVD player may seem trivial I think this purchase is important because it’ s a tool the Creche uses to entertain the children and they’ve been asking for one ever since the building was flooded last year. During the summer I remained involved with the Creche, inviting the children to come visit the American Center as I had an internship at the library there. They had a great time and had the opportunity to both experience a different environment as well as watch a movie, which they don’t get to do very often. If we were to buy them a DVD player they’d easily be able to enjoy this at the Creche rather than go through the formalities of visiting the American Center.
I also made a goal to paint the playground, tables and chairs there, a goal we’ve established within the service group. As I mentioned in another reflection we plan on visiting the Creche one Sunday to paint the murals and perhaps part of the playground. I really believe this will brighten the whole building and atmosphere there. Previously I thought we’d have to raise money for the paints however I found out that Ms. Shameela will provide us with paints using the C&S funds which will be very helpful.
I also want to begin reading to an orphanage near my house called the Fathima Welfare Center. While working for the US Embassy over the summer I visited the orphanage twice and was able to make an impression on the girls there. I really enjoyed the visits and genuinely want to return. I recently donated some items and was able to see some of the girls and they were very excited to see me. I promised I’d come back and by reading to them I’d be undertaking a new activity, as I’ve never really had so much attention focused upon me before. I believe my reading to the girls is will be a good thing to do because it is important to be able to connect with someone not within the community who is of the same age group and gender. It’s wonderful because they are able to relate to me in a way they cannot to the teachers and administrators there. I hope to get involved soon; I’ve gotten the number but have not yet called to see if I can begin reading as I’ve become so busy. My goal is to begin reading by October.

End of MYP Reflection

I've been involved with two services in the past year, Bethlehem Creche and Alzheimers, the first one more so. I began with Alzheimer's while at the same time still working with the Creche. The Creche is a daycare run by a group of nuns, the sister in charge being Sister Florella. It is for children ranging from 6 months to 5 years of age who have one parent either in jail or unable to care for them. The sisters take them in during the day on the condition that their one parent will work throughout the day. I got involved with this daycare because I wrote a book of poetry for my Personal Project and sold it in order to raise money for the Creche. By the end I had raised $500. They were able to use this money at a time when the monsoons had hit hard and the daycare had been flooded. I became much more of a risk taker through this project. I've never gotten involved with a CAS on my own, been able to make such a difference on my own. It's taught me that I really can do a lot by myself, I can start something, I don't need someone else to start it as I simply follow behind. I later began speaking with Ms. Shameela about possibly incorporating the Creche with our CAS program. Prison Babies, a CAS already established at the school, was being dropped and needed to be replaced and Ms. Shameela thought that this would be a good institution to work with. I was incredibly happy with this idea. To have simply worked with the Creche for a school project and have made such a difference to their lives was amazing. I was overwhelmed by the fact that really, I could do so much. It's true when they say that one person can make a difference. We've had 5 or 6 meetings for this CAS and it will continue next year. We attempted to raise money at the Food and Fun Fair by blowing balloons and selling cotton candy and actually quite a significant amount however this money was donated to Japan. We then visited the Creche twice, creating books in order to help teach the children English. I formed a booklet with different sports with pictures to define them. The kids also visited the school twice, one time we simply played with them and the next we held a party to wrap up the year. We handed out candy and food as well as watching Tom and Jerry with them and making puzzles. I really enjoyed making the puzzles as it was interesting to see whether they could match the pieces themselves. Two of the girls were very sweet and helped me clean up afterwards. Although I cannot really speak with them as I don't understand Sinhalese and they do not understand English it's nice to know we are still able to interact. I've attempted to learn a bit of Sinhalese in order to talk to them, I've learnt how to tell them my name, ask what there's is and say 'what is this?' which was helpful when we were using the English booklets with them. I'm so glad I got involved with this Creche. It's been such a great experience for me and I now have a good relationship with Sister Florella who is an incredible person. She's sacrificed so much for these children and deserves to be commended.