Tree Planting

       At the starting of the year we did tree planting, which was a great experience. We got to spend time with nature and give back to the community. It was so nice to just be outside and embrace the beautiful trees we have. Each individual planted around 3-6 trees. Harina, Mansi and I planted trees together. We planted about 8 trees, and that went successfully. It was muddy, slippery and wet, this made tree planting a little harder. It was also hard to pick up the trees, but we got through it! Everyone was doing a great job and it was overall a lot of fun! I would love to go back and see how those trees have grown. Overall it was a great experience with nature, and I'd love to do it again, when the weather is nice again.

Leadership Interim Report

          
Community Leadership till now has been one of the best experiences of my life. I've learnt a lot from this class; there have been so many wonderful experiences. It really does feel great when you give back to the community; it's like you are taking care of a part of you. Community Leadership has taught us more then just that; it has taught us all how to be leaders. Everyone has been given an opportunity to lead, and we all learn from it. Each leader has a different leading style, and as time goes we all learn from each other. In general this class is a wonderful experience and you learn something from every part of it.

        We have many leadership values, and personally I feel I can connect to everyone. I think I have fulfilled these values with the class, and I think everyone has adhered to these values. Personally all of these are used in our everyday class activities or even actual events. I think I really do adhere to these values and often even in my daily life use them. I definitely always have a positive attitude; in every class I come with a positive attitude and smile on my face. I personally find that keeping a positive attitude is very important and helps a lot through your life. I think till now though all these qualities have came to me; one value I often here a lot towards me is that I am selfless. Many people have told me I am selfless, which is quite understandable. I’m always helping people out, which may be the reason; I personally love helping people. Another value I personally value a lot is honesty; I find honesty is very important in life. I think that without honesty you will go nowhere; honesty is in everything you do. Being an honest person is not easy, but it definitely makes you feel great that you don’t have to worry about the lies you’ve said. I personally do think I have adhered to each of these values especially these three, along with equality, personal & social responsibility, commitment, teamwork, everyone’s voice, and creativity. I think all these values are important in life, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job living up to them. If I did have a top five it would be a positive attitude, selflessness, honesty, respect and personal & social responsibility.

            There is so much to enjoy about this course; this course has so many opportunities and moments to enjoy. I think I enjoy organizing events and volunteering the most like Grade Eight Retreat and Remembrance Day. It is very fun to do that and it truly teaches you leadership. I enjoy having class discussions and playing games with the class as well. It’s nice to see the class bond as a team and everyone laughing together. This course is personally serving me very well; I am learning new things everyday. This course is different from other courses; it has a complete different meaning and purpose. I’ve really enjoyed this course till now; it has been a wonderful experience. I have learnt so much from this course in terms of leadership and responsibility. This course has been a great experience till now with lots to learn, and I look forward to the rest of it!   

            I don’t think I want to change anything about this course; this course is fantastic. I’m personally very happy I took this course because it was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I’ve learnt so much through this course and I’m so glad I was able to take it.

            I think I deserve a G as a work habit. I think I’ve been well in class in term of behavior and focus. I’m always involved and respecting my peers. I don’t really talk when others are and I respect my peers when we are working. In terms of a grade percentage I think I deserve a 92%. I think this grade fits pretty well. I’ve been doing pretty good in this class, and been working quite hard towards it. I’ve been enjoying this class a lot, and I am looking forward to all the experiences and memories yet to come. (:

Grade Eight Retreat Reflection

I personally believe that the grade eight retreat was an experience that we all learnt from. Overall I think the activities went well, people were engaging in the activities and were having fun while doing them. I also think the lunch part went very well. It was very well organized and everything was done properly. I would definitely want some of the things more organized for next year. There was a little lack of organization in some leader roles and with some games; there was a lack of explanation. Some of my strengths were that I treated everyone equally; I didn’t favor anyone. I was also very involved and made sure everyone was enjoying himself or herself, while also making sure that the naughty kids were being controlled. I think I was also a loud speaker and was able to project my voice in a good way. There is always room for improvement and one of the things I think I should improve on is explaining activities, I felt a little weak in that. I didn’t really explain much and would always get someone else to most of the time. Another thing I think I should improve on is always having a back up plan. There were some things that didn’t work out, so I feel there should always be a back up plan incase something goes wrong. A moment I had as a teacher was when there was a kid who was injured, and was trying to hide it. He was crying and grabbing on to his wrist but he wouldn’t move and refused to get ice. I gave him some strength and assured him it would all be okay, and he agreed to get ice. I felt like a true leader there because it was definitely a tough time, but I was able to get through it. A time where I felt like a learner was when I was spending time with the younger kids. When you are young you don’t see yourself the same way as you do when you’re older. Looking at the young kids you see how different things are when you grow up. Now that I’m older a lot of the time I’m just thinking I have this much work, or I need to complete this. These kids taught me to enjoy myself while I have it. I learnt to enjoy myself when I spent time with these kids, and all in all it was just such a wonderful experience. I learnt to just let go, and have fun for a bit. One of the most challenging things was probably to get the kids to listen. Kids are very hyper and filled with excitement so it is hard to get them to listen and get in control. Although they were hard to control, I was still able to go with the flow, and just keep on going no matter what happens. All together I think this was a great experience and I would love to do it again!