CAS Final Essay

The IB CAS programme has had a profound effect on my life. It has changed my skills, values, initiative, and overall world view. It has taken me to many places to learn new things, and develop as a human. Overall, my CAS experience has been an enlightening one mainly because I have learnt many new things, but also because I have learnt many new things about myself. As a whole it has helped mould me into a well-rounded individual. CAS has many important aspects to it, the full IB student should: undertake new challenges, initiate activities, work collaboratively, show perseverance and commitment, engage in issues of global importance, consider ethical implications of their actions, be aware of their own strengths and areas for growth, and develop new skills. All of these characteristics are present in me thanks to CAS and the activities I’ve been involved in.

I have obviously undertaken new challenges through this CAS programme. For example my week-long learning to snowboard and learning to sail trips were both action activities I had never done before. They were challenging because it was the first time I had tried either of them, but they were fun. With every activity I take part in for CAS, there is some aspect of a new challenge I have never come across, for example in Composer’s Club, I have never been a part of a musical arrangement until recently.

In the initiation of activities section, I have helped the planning of events such as the concert by composers club and Friends of Marich that will take place in April to raise money for Bridging the Gap Foundation and the Friends of Marich club. I have also taken the initiative to plan an indoor football tournament to also raise money for the Friends of Marich club. In the past I have helped the organization of the ISK Mini World Cup.

Working collaboratively is a strength of mine that I have had to apply to many activities like being in the Varsity and ISSEA football teams, as well as being in the Jazz Band and Composer’s Club. On service trips I have also had to demonstrate this characteristic like when building a playground for a small school near the Marich Field Study Center.

I have shown perseverance and commitment to all of the activities I was involved in, this was definitely true when I sacrificed an entire weekend to organize and help at the Mini World Cup, I was committed to the cause of making sure the tournament ran smoothly weeks before the event began. I also demonstrated commitment to the Friends of Marich club; this is my 3^rd year of helping the cause that is the Pokot region of Northern Kenya. It is amazing to witness 1^st hand how a club has grown and progressed from its foundations, this is certainly true for Friends of Marich.

In this very club I am also involved with issues of global importance like travel infrastructure that comes in the form of the bridges we built on the Marich field trip. We also address conservation on the Senior Trip this year with the work and learning we did at the Watamu Turtle Watch. The issue of poverty was tackled when raising money at Goals to Go. Other initiatives involve the threat of pollution to the local environment, and promoting sustainability within a community.

Whilst being involved in CAS I have been considering the ethical considerations of my actions. This has been demonstrated through every activity I have participated in because I am well aware of ethics and morals involved in interactions with other people. For example, playing football I always demonstrate good sportsmanship and fair play. When visiting a another tribe or culture I make sure to respect their values and traditions like the Pokot Tribe in Northern Kenya when I went on the Marich Field Trip in 11^th grade.

After every activity I have completed in the CAS programme, I have been aware of my strengths and weaknesses in the area. I can then use this knowledge to further my learning and continue to improve. A perfect example of this would be on the Ski Trip during March of 2011. My instructor made me aware of my strengths and what I need to improve on, I also used his example to apply to my own situation and decided for myself how I could improve better. I needed to work on my turn from heel-side to toe-side of my board.

Throughout CAS my main goal has been to develop new skills, I achieved this in many senses. Like improving my football skills at a high level, learning to sail, learning to snowboard, continuing with my passion for music, learning to compose, and developing people skills through service activities that have given me much responsibility.

My overall CAS experience has been enriching with new experiences that have moulded me into the person I am today. I use skills and my enhanced worldview in any difficult situations I encounter. I have participated in dozens of fun activities through CAS that have developed my personality.

Indoor Football

I have been playing indoor football with my friends for a few months now. We have played most Saturdays since the Varsity Football season has ended. We play for 2 hours each time. It has a completely different dynamic to outdoor football which I am used to. It is a game more based on individual skill than regular football. Teamwork is still crucial to the game but not as important as in regular football. The main objective of starting the group of indoor footballers was to develop individual close ball skills and have fun doing it. So far we have been very successful at this, and have even begun to teach new players who have joined, the basic skills. I have learnt about the importance of individual effort in achieving a team goal through indoor football. In order for the team to be successful, there has to be at least one individual that he producing results and supplying full effort. I have learnt that one person putting in effort can change the dynamics of the game, and alter the situation. I have been this person on more than one occasion because I have great desire to win and play well anytime I try something, especially in sport. In addition to individual growth, we have all grown as friends and teammates over the past couple of months.

ISK Mini World Cup

The Mini World Cup has a deceptive name, the tournament was the biggest ISK has ever been a part of. It is a football tournament for schools and teams all over Kenya with categories of U7, U9, and U11. These refer to the age groups of the kids that participate. The event included over 30 teams and was one of the biggest football tournaments in Nairobi on the basis of number of games palyed. The name “Mini” comes from the size of the players. With so many teams needing to know where they had to be a t what time, what field they were playing on, who they were playing against, etc. There were some volunteer high school students helping out, I was one. The tournament was all day Saturday 4^th of February, and Sunday 5^th of February. I stayed for the duration of both days doing various jobs. I was in charge of coordinating the U11 teams on the upper field. This involved telling teams where to be and at what times, telling referees where to be, collecting scores, sending scores to the head table, making announcements, scouting the matches to award “player of the tournament” awards, posting scores, sorting out age discrepancies and birth certificates among teams and other small jobs and errands to run. It was a very busy couple of days that involved a lot of running around and was quite stressful at times. The main objective of us helpers was to make sure the games ran smoothly, and limit time delays so that the day stayed on schedule. I learnt a lot from this experience. I was responsible for many different things in the tournament and many coaches came to me with questions and concerns that I could easily assist with. I helped a lot of the coordination of the tournament so this gave me many responsibilities. I learnt how to deal with complaints from the coaches in a constructive way and handle situations of coaches blaming each other of unfairness and cheating. It gave me vital experience in acting quickly in pressure situations and dealing with many tasks given to me simultaneously. It was great fun to be involved in the tournament, because of the many life skills it helped me develop, including people skills that I had to use to help lost people, or explain things to. It was fun to be a vital part of such a huge event.

Senior Trip 2012

The senior trip this year was to Watamu, and it was a four-day trip from Monday to Thursday. The trip was with the whole senior class to the coast of Kenya, it was a really fun trip with my class mates. We had been previously divided into strands/groups which would determine the activities we would do. The strands were: Culture, Service, Environment, Creativity 1 and Creativity 2. I was in the Service strand; the activities that we were involved in included a beach clean-up, a first-aid class, Turtle Watch, and visiting an Orphanage. We were each given a job in order to contribute to our final piece of work that would summarize the trip, my primary job was photographer.

The beach clean-up was an activity that took place on the first day of arrival at the Ocean Sports Hotel on Watamu beach. As a class, we took bin bags and went in groups down the beach picking up water bottles, plastic bags, glass, pieces of flip-flops, and all other kinds of rubbish. After two hours of collecting the rubbish that had collected near the sea-line, I had filled a bin liner bag. As a class we collected over 30 bags of rubbish, and made the beach a much nicer environment for tourists and locals. The beach clean-up cleared the area of most of the rubbish (certainly all we could see) and it was a fulfilling experience. The bag I carried for the walk back along the beach became really heavy and difficult to carry back, but I managed in the end. It was a valuable activity in the sense that it symbolizes a respect for one’s environment. It was a humbling experience that made me feel like I was helping the community and environment; which I was because much of the rubbish could be harmful to fish or other animals in the ocean.

On the second day, the morning activity our group took part in was a first-aid class. First-aid is an important life skill to have, because it can save the life of a human being. First-aid, we learnt, means the first form of treatment or assistance given to a person in medical distress. We learnt about the importance of first-aid, and precautions necessary for when helping someone in need of assistance. We learnt skills in what to do if someone had fallen from a height, if someone was choking, and if someone had fainted. All of these skills are useful for everyday life. Before the class, I had felt like I did not know much about first-aid, besides what cinema and other media has told me. However, after the hour-long session, I felt like had been well-informed on the basics, and I had a clear understanding of what to do if someone on our trip had an accident similar to one of the previously mentioned events. I felt like I had learnt some valuable lessons in first-aid.

The most fun and morally enriching activity our group took part was to me, the work we did at the Watamu Turtle Watch. Watamu Tutle Watch is an organization dedicated to saving the green turtles in the Watamu area. They re-habilitate as well as provide medical care for injured turtles.  They save injured turtles that have been caught by fisherman, or injured by boats. They then release the healed turtles back into the wild. At the center we visited, there was a turtle that had its shell cut by the engine of a boat. We helped clean the turtle’s cut back with toothbrushes, gently cleaned off the algae and other growths on the injured turtle. As well as cleaning the turtle, we replaced the water and cleaned the tanks of 2 turtles. The job included moving the turtle, draining the dirty water out from the tank, brushing the entire tank with brushes and sand, cleaning the tank with water, measuring 20kgs of salt, filtering the salt and replacing the water back into the tank. The job took plenty of energy and elbow grease as well has a couple of hours. After our hard work we were rewarded with the extraordinary task of releasing two turtle back into the wild. It was an amazing event to be a part of; the turtles were quite heavy, and eager to be set free. I was holding one of the turtles and it was great to witness it swimming back out to sea. The arduous task of keeping the tanks clean and taking care of the turtles was one that the employees of Turtle Watch had to do every day. It was great to know we were helping them out, but the greatest experience was what we learnt about conservation and the turtles. We also learnt about the importance of their habitat and how the nests have become under threat, but Turtle Watch has increased awareness and they are managing to protect the turtles and their environment successfully.

The final activity besides the choice activity we participated in as a group was visiting God Our Saviour Orphanage in Watamu. We visited this orphanage on the third day and it was a real highlight of the trip. We donated old text books, colouring books, short stories, workbooks, clothes, hygiene products, and other items. The orphanage has grown significantly in the past 10 years, and it houses babies of a few weeks old to children of 7 years old. When we first arrived the children performed a song and dance to welcome us. We were then given a tour of the compound and the facilities available. After that we spent time with the orphans playing football with them and playing with them. It was great interacting and playing with the kids, they were so happy being picked up, swung around, and playing football. I learned a valuable lesson about the advantages I had growing up compared to the inspiring children at this Watamu orphanage. It was a great pleasure to get to know these children.

Composer's Club 2011-2012

This year I am involved in a new club that is designed for passionate musicians of the ISK high school. We meet every Wednesday after school for 2 hours and arrange other meetings within the small ensembles that are playing specific pieces. I am involved in about 10 different pieces playing the drums for all of them. Some are covers of songs, like "Fix You" by Coldplay, but most songs are original compositions by members of the club. For the songs I am a part of, I composed the drum music for it. The practices and meetings are to prepare for a concert to be hosted at ISK on April 14th that will raise money for Operation Smile. The club is also partnering up with the Friends of Marich club that I am also involved in. We will be performing a few acts in a concert at Tamambo at the Village Market. It will help to raise money for the club and donate to Bridging the Gap Foundation.
Personally at this club, I have developed my skills as a musician on both instruments trumpet and drums, but mainly the drums because we have only tried a few songs with me on the trumpet. I also am experiencing playing and performing in small groups, instead of individually or in a large band. It is an opportunity to form an intimate relationship through music with my peers, and interact and work together. To brainstorm ideas, and explore the endless possibilities in music. I have had a great time at this club and look forward to coming to every practice session. It is a lot of fun to play music and make new friends doing it. We have had to be creative to come up with new parts to old songs and to create parts for entirely new songs. As we prepare for the up coming concert we put in many hours of practice and have really bonded well as a group. It has helped me with time management skills because I need to make room for school work, sport, and music.

Friends of Marich club

I am a part of the new Friends of Marich club in my senior year. The main goal of this club is to fund raise for a school in the West Pokot region of Northern Kenya, and to raise money to build a bridge with Bridging the Gap foundation in the same area. Our main source of funds in from a golf tournament and raffle hosted at Windsor golf course and country club. The Golf tournament was on the 11th of November, I was involved in organizing and setting up the tournament, by putting up banners and advertisements that our sponsors provided. Many holes of the course were sponsored by large companies like Tribe hotel, Java house, Village Market, and General Motors. There were others as well that sponsored holes worth 35,000ksh or 20,000ksh. There was also a raffle that day including prizes sponsored/donated by the Hilton, Osteria, Tribe, and others. The raffle tickets sold for 200ksh each, I sold 30 raffle tickets. My role in the club is on the fund raising committee. I plan to host and organize a charity concert to raise funds for the Marich cause. The target for the bridge could be as high as $12,000. So we want to raise more money so we can plan to help a local school to that area as well as build a bridge. This concert will take place in late April at Village Market, a local shopping center. I am in charge of organizing the acts at the concert and the times that they will be going on stage. I will also be performing in the concert in the Jazz Band and in small ensembles form Composer's Club. I did not be attend the Marich field trip this school year because I am a senior and went on the senior trip to Watamu. But I went on the Marich trip the last 2 years and know what it is all about. It is very fulfilling to contribute to helping a community, and building this bridge will change and save lives. Also helping the school will change the lives of the students at the school. My main goal in this club is contribute to fund raising enough money to complete the project. Also to help guide and educate the younger members of this group about the project and how amazing Marich is. In this club I have developed organizational and leadership skills as well as teamwork skills in order to plan and organize fund raising projects. In the past years, this trip has been very successful and enjoyable, and I'm sure due to our fund raising efforts the trip this school year will be even more successful.

Jazz Band (2010-2012)

I have been a part of the ISK Jazz Band for 5 years now, I am an experienced trumpet and drums player, but I have mainly played the trumpet throughout my Jazz Band years. I have played in many concerts and many events around Kenya, including a trip to Mombasa performing at a school there. As a senior I am one of the more experienced musicians in the Band. Practices are every Wednesday and Friday mornings an hour long each. So far in senior year we have played one concert which was at the PTO Welcome Back Picnic. So far this year I have been unable to attend all of the practices because of Varsity football on Wednesday mornings, but now that it is finished I will have more time for Jazz Band. Last year we played in over 10 performances including a function at the Moroccan ambassador's house for a silent auction that raises money for various projects around Kenya. We also performed at  the Born Free Gala dinner and a Mardi Gras function at the American Embassy. Throughout my Jazz Band career I have developed drastically as a trumpet player and overall musician. There have been many occasions when during performances, I have had to sight read a piece of music because I have never seen it before due to a few missed practices because of football practice. This has allowed me to improve on this skill and be able to apply it in a performance situation, which is a useful skill. Jazz Band has also helped improve my technique on the trumpet and increased playing endurance. It is hard work on the lips and cheeks to play the trumpet, so practising and performing has increased my stamina. My main goal for this year is to play to the best of my ability and help the younger trumpeters learn techniques I have mastered from my seven years of trumpet experience. So far I have mentored some of the younger players to a degree in certain songs, and teaching them easy ways to remember notes. I would like to continue this and continue playing well in performances.