Pinhole Photography

For an after school activity in block 2 I have chosen Pinhole Photography. My goal is to cover some more time in the Creativity part of CAS.
So far I've learned how to create photographs using a pinhole camera, and I've created couple of examples from which this one is the best.
First, I need a can with a very small hole on it (about 2-3mm) and a black cover for the hole. Also, the inside of the can where the photo paper is put should be black. Then, I put the camera on the place that I want to take picture of, and open the hole for a minute or two, dependable of the amount of light in the room, and how big the hole is.
Apart from taking pictures, we have learned how to develop our photographs. In the dark room I put the photo paper in 3 different chemicals until it's developed. After that the photography is left drying.
Yesterday also, we went to the Computer Lab and scanned and photoshoped our photographs, inverted it, flip it and change the contrast. In the end they came out to look very good, regarding the fact that this is the first time I've done this.
With this I have undertaken new challenges and developed new skills, because these are things that I haven't done before.

Picture of me with a Pinhole camera

Wall Climbing Trip

On the 8th of October, the Wall Climbing group with guidance from Mr. Lockwood, Mr. Simms and Mr. Smith, went to Thulhiriya where we had opportunity to do real rock climbing, b-laying, ab sailing and climbing up the giant ladder. I have already done that before, on the IB trip which was on the same place, but still it was a good experience because now I had more practice before the trip on the Wall in the gym.
We started off at 7 A.M. from OSC, and from the beginning we could see that the weather is going to be a problem, it looked like every second it was about to rain. And it eventually did. We spent around 2 hours on the way to there, and as soon as we arrived, we had a short snack and we were ready to go. First we did the rock climbing and it was really challenging because it was raining and the rocks were really wet and slippery. I was b-laying first, which was little challenging for the arm muscles, but apart from that it wasn't hard. Then the time came when I was supposed to climb up the rock and I think I did good. I got to the point which we considered to be the top, because the rain didn't allow us to go further up.
After that we went ab sailing, and I was little scared at the beginning, but I did good but I got out of it with bruised fingers from the rope. And finally I climbed up to the top of the Giant Ladder with another student, and it was challenging because as we went further up the difference between the steps got longer and longer.
It was a good experience because I developed my skills and tested my strength. Also, I worked collaboratively with other people, like in b-laying and the climbing on the giant ladder which took place in pairs. The activity was a good one, and it had a big role in my action part of CAS. This trip, and the whole Wall Climbing course made me think about continuing to do this sport, as I will be looking forward to doing it next year too.

 Me on the Giant ladder

Me b-laying

Pictures taken by Mr. Lockwood, October 2010

Football

Saturday, 3:40 PM.
That's what I am waiting for the whole week - Football.
I have been playing football for long time now, since I have started going to school, and I don't think I'll ever get bored from it. I joined the group as soon as I found out about it, and I've been going to trainings every Saturday unless I'm not in Colombo. In the group there are a lot of people, from different ages, both boys and girls but that doesn't make any difference whatsoever. We play for 2 to 3 hours every training and sometimes it's hard because of the hot weather, or sometimes the pitch is bad because of rain. But that's good - if it wasn't hard it wouldn't be interesting. (:
Anyway I haven't been on a training for 3 weeks now, I have a leg injury sustained guess where... football. Well, football is a rough sport and this is normal, so I am not complaining. If nothing else, this will remind me to wear my shin guards next time. With football I am fulfilling my Action part of CAS, as I am running and sweating, and I am completing my goals of training hard and getting my body in better shape.
The football games include working collaboratively with others, and it also increases my awareness of my strenghts and areas for growth.


And, another thing regarding the other sport I started this block - swimming, I was obliged to quit because of medical problems that I have already suffered before.

Wall Climbing

For my after school activity in OSC, I have chosen Wall Climbing, Mostly because I've never had any experience with this kind of sport, except little rock climbing on the IB Trip. Anyway, the Wall Climbing classes, now finished, have proven to be a good experience for me. A lot of action which results with lots of sweating, and arms' and legs' muscles pumping. I was the oldest student in the group, but not the best because there were other students who have already been rock and wall climbing. But as time went by I started getting better and better, and by now, I've managed to climb up 2 of the 4 walls which I consider a success, also regarding the fact that I have broken my arms' bones couple of times.
With this I have increased my awareness of my strenghts and my areas for growth, undertaken new challenges and developed new skills.
Overall, I liked this activity, and I am looking forward to joining in next year again.

Sunflower Project

I have joined the CAS group Sunflower Project, where every Thursday there are students coming to OSC from a local school. Our goal is to teach them how to swim, and to develop the skills of the ones that have basic knowledge about swimming already. Three weeks have already passed since we had our first training, and everything is going fine. We divided them in two groups, the ones that can and the ones that can't swim, and I am one of the students in charge the group of three guys that can swim. We are having trainings for about 30 minutes to 45, after that we spend around 20 minutes having fun, mostly playing water polo. After the training, they are all rewarded with a chocolate milk. From my point of view there can be seen some progress in our group of 3, but there is still a lot to be done.
With
This is fulfilling my service part of CAS and my goals of teaching the children how to swim, also I have worked collaboratively with others.

Community Action Service Goals. @ OSC

My goals for the CAS program, which is still new to me, I will be setting now, and will look into expanding them in the future. They will be interesting, and some new to me, and doable so I don't have problems afterwards. At the beginning of 11th grade, I started wall climbing for the first time, also football and swimming (which I've been doing for years). I got in the Sunflower Village group, and we will be looking to teach them the basics of swimming.The Sunflower Village is new to me, and my goal is to teach the kids from a local school how to swim, as much as I could. And with this I want to develop my leadership skills towards the kids. As far as football and swimming, my goal is to train hard, compete, and get my body in better shape, with that also fulfill my free time with something active.


So this are my goals for the first few months, after I finish them I will set new ones about which I will think in the mean time. (: