Creativity, Action and service

CAS Portfolio
By Nishant Shah

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Film-making
}  About the activity:
We had to make a short film. First we were divided into groups and
everything from directing to script-writing had to be done by us. Our
roles were divided like one person was the director while other was
cameraman and few of them were actors.
After dividing into groups we had to first come up with a script by
discussing. Then we decided our role in the activity like who would be
what. I was the editor of the film so my job came in the last and the
most important and difficult job of the whole activity.


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}  Reflection:
This was a completely new activity for me as I have never done
something like this before. This was not only new but also interesting
and fun activity. There were things that I did during this activity that I
never thought that I would ever do. Things like editing the whole film
and shooting few scenes. I also learned many things from this activity
like how difficult it is to make a film. Ours was only a short film but in
reality a film is supposed to be longer which is far to difficult.
I was the editor of the film which was the most difficult job because the
final result depends on me. I was supposed to make a good film better
which was the most difficult task. During this task, I learned that how
important it is to take care of even slightest detail and how it affects the
final outcome of the film.

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 The script

}  We started discussing in the group

about our ideas of the script on
which our film was going to be on.
This was very important because
our whole activity was supposed to
be based upon, it was the skeleton
of our activity. After a long
discussion, we finally came up with
an idea of a story then it was up to
the script writer to improve upon
the idea and come up with a great
story. This the first page of the first
draft of the script named Possessed

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Theory Of Knowledge(TOK) workshop
}  About the activity:
Just like CAS, TOK is also a core subject and it is very important in this
programme. This course is about critical thinking and inquiring about
knowledge and ways of knowing, rather than just learning about a particular
body of knowledge. An important part of this course is the presentation where
students are supposed to present on a real life situation using their TOK
thinking.
Our school held a workshop where students from other schools came to ours to
present on their own topic and got it judged. It is was like a competition for TOK
presentations. We had to organized the event and watch their presentations.
We had to organize the event so the guests that come are comfortable, we
arranged breakfast and lunch for them since this was a long event.

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}  Reflection:
This event was more of a TOK then CAS but I had a lot to learn. This
event was held when I was in IBDP 1 so I had to only watch the
presentations and make notes. But there was an important part which
was that we had to organized, we had to take care of everything from
welcoming the guests to their breakfast and lunch.
During this I learnt a lot about communicating and hospitality. At
first I thought it would be a really easy job but it was difficult than
expected. Organizing an event is not an easy job, we had to take care of
everything as the reputation of our school depended on us. If we missed
anything than the school would look bad so it was very important we
take care of everything. It also made me realize one other thing that
how difficult it is to organize an event.
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Cambodia trip

}  Cambodia once known as the Khmer Empire, is a country located in

the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Its
total landmass is 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi), bordered
by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the
east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

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}  About the activity:
Our trip to Cambodia was solely for CAS. It had all three categories;
creativity, action and service. We visited many places like museums
there which was a lot of fun. Our two main activity there was to teach
small children at FCCP Orphan’s school and build a hut for widows.
We visited two cities there which were Phnom Pehn and Siem Reap.
Both cities were really great.
First we visited Siem Reap where we had teach children at FCCP
Orphan’s school , not only did we teach but we visited many other
places there like the famous Angkor Wat temple in the morning. Also
we visited two other temples which represented Cambodian history.

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}  Then we went to Phnom Pehn where our primary activity there was to
build a hut for widows of the village. We had to make those huts using
bamboo sticks. Phnom Pehn was the capital of Cambodia so there were
many things that we could visit while we were there. Things like a
history museum that we visited called the genocide museum. That
museum represented many things like pain and suffering and not only
the Cambodian history.

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}  Reflection:
It was a long trip where I had a lot fun and learnt a lot things that I
never thought I would ever learn. I did many new things there
throughout the whole trip. Everyday there I learnt things that
completely interesting and fun. Even while teaching those small
children, I learnt from them.
During this trip I learnt to be open-minded, reflective and many more
things. Everyday there was something new to learn, I did something
new. I have never liked museums before but after seeing the genocide
museum I realized that it is important to respect the lives that were lost,
artefacts that represent their culture and their history.


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}  Day 1
We arrived at Siem Reap and settled at the hotel. Then in
evening we visited a small handicraft factory where they made
things like soaps, candles and wrappers from organic
materials. It was fun and inspiring to watch those people work
so hard and make amazing things.
This visit taught me how to be knowledgeable as I got to learn
different things that were completely different than things
that I usually would choose to learn. This field was very
creative, innovative and new to learn.

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}  Day 2
The next day we went to Angkor Wat temple at 4 in the morning.
Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious
monument in the world, with site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000
sq meters). It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple for
the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple
toward the end of the 12th century. It was built by
the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century
in Yaśodharapura, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple
and eventual mausoleum. That temple represented many elements of
Cambodian history which was really fun to find out. It was also
interesting because I never liked history very much.
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}  Day 3
This was an important day because we went to FCCP Orphan’s school for the
first time to teach small children. We started by introducing ourselves to the
children. It was quite fun teaching them but I also learned few things from
them too. This experience taught me how to be open- minded since I heard
what the children wanted to do and they also taught me things. It was really
interesting to learn from them since I was there to teach them.
In order to teach I should be able to communicate well with the children, this
experience also taught me how to be a communicator. In the evening we
visited a place where different plays were held.

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}  Day 4
It was our final day at the school and we did more activities
with those children rather than teach them. Activities like
colour, clay modelling and drawing. At first this activities was
supposed be boring even for us but by the end of the day we
ended up having fun in these activities.
it was very inspiring to watch those kids use there own
creativity and thinking. That day I learnt from them how to be
creative and imaginative and from this I learnt how to be a
thinker because in the evening I started to think about those
things.
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}  Day 6
This was the next day after we arrived at Phnom Pehn. That day we went to a
nearby place across a river using a raft. That raft was very dangerous as it
had no support. It taught how to be a risk-taker since I have never been on a
raft and crossed a river. That place had a school which was the first thing we
were introduced to and it was our resting place later in the day. After visiting
the school we went to the site where we had build a hut for widows.
First we were taught about how to smoothen the bamboo and how to nail it.
Then we started working as our jobs were allotted. It was a lot of hard work
but we finally completed it by the end of the day. That day it taught me how
to be a reflector as I reflected back on that day realizing that hard work pays
off.

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}  Day 7
It was our last day in Phnom Pehn and as we completed the hut we
were free to do anything. So we visited the genocide museum which was
far beyond expectations. I thought it would be boring but it was
interesting. There I realized the pain and suffering of the people had to
go through. It was not at all as I expected, I realized many things there
which were life changing.
Now I don't find museum boring but feel that it is the place to respect
the culture and history of the country.

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Shimla
}  Shimla also known as Simla, is the capital city of the
Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, located in northern
India. Shimla is bounded by Mandi and Kullu in the
north, Kinnaur in the east, the state of Uttarakhand in
the south-east, and Solan and Sirmaur. The city has rich
history as in 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer
capital of British India, succeeding Murree, northeast
of Rawalpindi. After independence, the city became the
capital of Punjab and was later named the capital of
Himachal Pradesh. It is the principal commercial,
cultural, and educational centre of the hilly regions of
the state.
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}  About the activity:
Shimla is a beautiful city with many tourist spots to visit but I went
there as a trekking trip. I did lot of activities there that were new and
exciting to me. Activities such as trekking through map reading, bush
craft, double rope crossing, Burma bridge, rock climbing, rappelling
and treasure hunt.
All these activities were fun and exciting and completely new to me. I
have never done these things in my life. It was a memorable experience.
Though at first I was a bit afraid to take the risk but I ended up having
lots of fun.

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}  Reflection:
I have never been to Shimla before in my life and I was so worried how
the place might me. Shimla as a city was beautiful and I got to see
sceneries which were brilliant and majestic. I went there for a trekking
trip which sounds very exciting but I was afraid rather than excited. All
activities were thrilling and fun and I would never get another chance
to do it again.
All the activities taught me many things but one most important thing
it taught me was to be a risk-taker. I kept an open-mind and tried new
things which are only a one time opportunity in my life. I would rarely
get an another chance to do something like this again. Not only
activities but I had fun meeting different and new people there.

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}  Burma bridge
Burma bridge is an interesting activity where we
have to cross a bridge that is unbalanced and only
support that we have is ropes on either sides. It
wasn’t so difficult as I expected it to be. I had walk
on logs of wood taking support of two ropes on my
either sides.
At first I was terrified to see that I’ll have walk on
logs of wood but there precautions that were taking
before I started to walk on it. Precautions like I wore
a helmet I was tied to a harness which prevented me
from falling.

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 }  Double rope crossing
This was a fun activity where I had to walk on a
single rope with support of a rope above me.
In this activity I was not that much afraid
because I knew there would be precautions
taken. After doing it, I was so excited that I
wanted to do it again. This was completely
new to me as I have never tried anything like
this before in my life. I learned from this
activity that safety is really important when
you are doing something like this.

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}  Valley crossing
Next activity was valley crossing which was very thrilling and exciting.
In this activity I was afraid the most because we had to go from a hill to
another through leaning on a rope. I was so afraid that I didn’t wanted
to it but after I was motivated to do it I ended up having fun. This was
the most dangerous activity and yet the most exciting one as well.

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}  Rock climbing and rappelling
This was the easiest activity of all as I had to just climb up a few rocks and
rappel back down. I had already done this before but this time something
new was added like while climbing I had no safety. This made it more
exciting as there was no safety. I learnt to be a risk taker again as I did a
thing which I already did before in a new way.

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}  Map navigation
This was one of the most interesting activities where I had to
come back to camp site using a map. As I was just visiting the
city it made it more difficult for me to navigate because I
didn’t new the place. But overall it was so much fun that I
enjoyed it more than I could ever expect. Main part about this
activity was that I have never navigated through a map before.

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}  Bush Craft
This was another surprisingly fun activity which was new to
me. The main thing that this activity taught was to be open-
minded as it was a teamwork activity. We were tied with each
other through a rope in a chain and we had to trek through a
bushy forest. This was very adventurous because we were tied
with each other which made passing through bushes very
difficult.

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}  Treasure hunt
This was very interesting activity where we had to start by
solving a riddle to find the next clue then the next and so on
until we find the final price. It was new to me and I had no
idea what I was doing. But it was fun chasing the clues to the
final price. Another thing that made it more exciting was the
clock, we had until dawn to find the price.

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Clay modelling
}  About the activity:
Clay modelling is interesting and creative form of art and craft. In
this activity we had make a model of god Ganpathi using clay and
water. The clay which was given to us was different than the normal
children’s clay. We had to use our imagination to make a Ganpathi
that was different than the rest. When you are making a model of a god
there very few ways that we can make different from the rest.
In the end, this activity was fun because I used my own imagination
and creativity.

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}  Reflection:
This activity was fun and interesting as I got to use my imagination and
creativity to make a model of a god. It was a really long time since I
used my creativity skills to do something. It was really fun to imagine a
different model of a god than the rest of the class.
The clay was also different as it got harden after every minute so I had
to constantly apply water over it to keep it mouldable. This was
something new I got to do in school after a long time. I learnt to be
open-minded since I had to listen to views of other people before I
began.

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Swach Bharat Abhiyaan
}  About the activity:
This was an activity that was to promote the prime minister’s act to
clean India. So we went to nearby slum areas to clean that place. It was
a difficult activity since we had to clean our streets but it was for a right
cause so it was totally worth it. We went there with broomsticks and
started cleaning the streets for an hour on weekends.
we did this activity on weekends for a month which is not long but we
learned many things.

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}  Reflection:
I learnt a lot from this activity like being open-minded. I also
realized something like how important it is to clean our
country. It was a difficult task as it would be embarrassing to
walk on streets holding a broom but as I was doing it I felt
good because it was a noble act.
I also realized how people criticize dirty streets but won’t do
anything themselves to change that.

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Bibliography
}  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodia
}  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
}  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat#/media/File:Angkor_Wat.jpg
}  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimla
}  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimla#/media/File:Shimla_Montage.jpg

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