andjelamhc

[andjelamhc]

CAS Project

ctActivity title:  Creating an IB advice blog

Type of activity: Activity, creativity, service

Duration: two months

Learning outcomes:

Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

Activity description: 

My classmates and I decided to gather the knowledge we gained during our experiences in the IB programme, and share them with the world. We created a website that provides advice for many topics in the IB, including the core, IAs, and the Extended essay. 

Reflection: 

During the time we spent making this website, we realized a lot of things about ourselves. One of the first things I realized is that my abilities in making a website could not be any worse. But I decided not to give up on a goal to help other students and found an amazing site which provided templates for some website designs. I explored my creativity, and organized all the tips and tricks in an aesthetic way, which made this experience fun and exciting. While writing content for the website, I looked back at all the knowledge about the IB I lacked in the beginning, and spent hours online while looking for good answers. Most of the time I was unable to find answers to very specific questions, so I decided to include all those specific questions from my personal experience into these tips. This CAS Project is therefore useful to students like me, who did not know many older IB students in the beginning. You can visit the website using this link https://wordpress.com/view/ibstudentadvice.wordpress.com

Andjela

[andjelamhc]

Gym

Activity title: Going to the gym

Activity type: Activity 

Duration: Two months

Learning outcomes:

1. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.

3.  Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.

Activity description:

During the last month, I started going to the local gym again. I often go five days a week, and when I am feeling a bit more energetic, I go on the 6th day as well.

Reflection:

 I used to train a lot in my hometown, but when I had a bad time adjusting my previous routine when I moved for school. I had a lot more obligations, and a lot more school work. 

But, since I had some free time, I decided I should start going to the gym again. At first, the thought itself felt a bit intimidating but I found motivation in the feeling of relaxation after a workout. And, even with our uneven school timetable, I was still able to create a routine for myself. Working out again has helped me to deal with stress regarding our exams and finishing school, and I am also able to concentrate better on whatever I am studying. 

I am glad I started working out again. 

Andjela

[andjelamhc]

Winter vacation

Activity title: Skiing 

Activity type: Activity

Date: 13th - 18th January 

Learning outcomes:

1. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

4. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Activity description: 

My friends and I decided to go skiing on Jahorina and also celebrate the Orthodox New Year. We planned it all the way in October and I was so happy when we finally got there. We spent our days freezing on the ski trail, drinking a whole bunch of fruit tea and eating hundreds of spoons of honey, and the nights we spent enjoying the traditional foods and positive energy around us. We walked until our legs felt like they were going to fall of, and sang until our voices broke (quite literally). But, even though I had lost my voice to the cold, I still enjoyed my trip with friends, because with them every experience is worth it. 

Reflection: 

As a child, I always went skiing with my parents but as I got older, the fear of every possible injury I could get if I am not concentrated for a second kept flowing to the surface. But, my friends helped me overcome the fear and this year we had more fun than ever. I have met a lot of new people and was able to learn a lot about myself and develop my character. I think that overcoming a fear by fear is what makes a person grow and help them grow up in a way they should. I am very happy with the experience I had and am more than excited to repeat it next year as well. I used to not be a fan of winter but now, I think I love it. 

Andjela

[andjelamhc]

Exploring the historical sites of Vienna

Activity title: Exploring the historical sites of Vienna 

Activity type: Activity 

Date: 1st - 7th November 2021

Learning outcomes: 

1. Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process 

3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

4. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Activity description:

For the autumn break I went to visit my friend in Vienna. I wanted to get out of my apartment a bit because I spent too much time in it during the time in school. I had a plan to apply for a college in Vienna so I wanted to see how living in it would be. The two of us had the most amazing time together, we went to a lot of important historical places and they were absolutely mesmerizing. I loved every second of this trip because I have never explored any city in such a fun way! Even though it was freezing, I have not felt cold even for a bit, because i was too busy trying to take a picture of everything. 

Reflection: 

This experience was a bit challenging for me because it was the first time I ever flew somewhere alone. It was a bit of a frightening experience but it was so worth it because I would definitely regret not visiting Vienna. It brought me a lot closer to my friend, and I know we will remember those few days for the rest of our lives, because they were amazing. I was also able to practice speaking German with native speakers, which was also a good thing. I look forward to many experiences like these in the future. 

Andjela

[andjelamhc]

Greenhouse gardening

Activity title: Greenhouse gardening

Activity type: Activity & Service

Date: Two weeks in October 2021

Learning outcomes:

1. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

3. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

4. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

Activity description: 

My mother purchased a greenhouse last year but she refused to let me near it because of my lack of experience. But, while I was working on my Biology IA, I used her greenhouse as a place for my experiment, she chose to teach me some interesting activities in agriculture such as planting in her greenhouse. We spent days just putting seeds previously kept in water in their separate containers and letting them grow on their own, then we planted them under the nylon which is used to keep the warm temperature close to the plant and control the amount of water they get. 

I learned a lot from her and even though I was unable to feel my back after the planting day, I do not regret a single bit. 

Reflection: 

My mother always taught us that natural is the best and that we should eat as much vegetables from our garden if we want to grow up. Even though I did not grow as much, I still thank her for teaching me to care about what I eat. I think that in a world obsessed with fast food we need more mothers like her. I feel like we do not care about our nutrition as much as we should because we are what we eat. And, lastly, while doing something that is good for our health and our planet, I was able to learn a lot about the process that goes in growing a single plant. 

Andjela

[andjelamhc]

Recording and editing videos

Activity title: Recording and editing videos

Activity type: Creativity & Service

Date: June 2021 - August 2021

Learning outcomes: 

1.  Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

2.  Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

3. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Activity description: 

During the last few weeks of our first year of IB, I recorded several videos of our Visual Arts classes because we were doing a lot of fun activities together. Then the professor and I came to an idea to make a video of our class in order to send it to the IB Organization, and we did. I recorded a lot of things we were working on, and also made some great videos in front of our school. While I was editing the videos together to send them to our coordinator, I found the process quite interesting and decided to film as much as I could on a trip with friends, edit that as well and give each one of us a nice memory. 

Reflection: 

As a kid who grew up watchin youtube, I thought that editing videos was the hardest thing on earth, and when my professor asked me to edit the videos I recorded, I was a bit intimidated because I knew absolutely nothing about it. I did not know what programs are available for me to use, and I did not know how to add sounds, photos or anything similar to a video. But I chose to learn something new and try my best making the video. I found an amazing program which is very beginner friendly and I started on from there. It was a lot easier than I expected and I liked the process a lot. It is one bonus way on how I can express my creativity and do something useful for someone else. Since the coordinator liked the video and sent it out, I started to believe that I am not so bad at it, so I decided to film a trip with friends and edit it for us. It made me realize that there are many things that we do not even know we are good at because we have never tried them before. I feel like everyone is good at multiple things but the reason that people do not find themselves for the most part is that they are too afraid to start, and that their fear of not being perfect at something right away stops them from developing. I am more than happy that I chose to try this activity. 

Andjela 

[andjelamhc]

A trip with classmates

Duration: 3 days

Type of the activity: creativity, activity

Learning outcomes:

Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth

Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

Activity description:

After the stressful and extremely tiring premocks came to an end, a couple od my classmates and I decided to celebrate by relaxing in nature. All of us wanted to feel relaxed once again and sleep without alarms, noisy cars on the street or loud siblings, so we organized a trip to Sipovo.

It was an amazing experience. We drank a lot of coffee, we cooked, cleaned, relaxed in the Sun, ate a lot of junk food, did each others make up, had a spa night, watched some weird movies and most importantly - got to know each other in the way we could never behind our screens and online classes. We walked a lot to many different beautiful locations in Sipovo, and we were so tired that even coffee could not help but the memories are worth it. 

I am looking forward to many new experiences like these. 

Andjela

[andjelamhc]

𝓣𝓮𝓬𝓱𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓖𝓲𝓻𝓵𝓼 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓮

Activity title: Participating in Technovation Girls 2021 Worldwide Challenge

Duration: 14 weeks

Activity type: Service/Creativity

Learning outcomes: 

1. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

3. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

4. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

5. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

Activity description:

Together with a friend, I have participated in a Worldwide Challenge called Technovation Girls 2021, where I have met a lot of new people and developed an app with my team. In their organization, Technovation Girls welcome young girls from all around the world and mentor them in developing an app of their choice. This year, we had five teams from Bosnia, and my team consisted of three girls: a friend from class, a new girl from Sarajevo and me, and we had two amazing mentors Tea and Nate. With their guidance, we managed to learn a lot about marketing, business planning, and app development in a short period of only 14 weeks. 

It was all in all an amazing and empowering experience because I got to learn from people who have jobs I want to have one day. It was so amazing hearing their stories and all the opportunities their job has brought them. Other than that, I learned about marketing strategy, business planning and financials when it comes to starting a business. When it comes to coding, it was extremely challenging for me, but since we were working as a team - we divided obligations into what each of us does best and in this we were able to express all our talents while doing an amazing job. 

While I was learning about coding and all the complications of our business plan, I learned a lot about myself. I learned how to manage time better and allow myself to make mistakes at the beginning of doing something, other than just not doing it at all. I think that I learned an important lesson of trying an failing, and despite the failure - starting all over again. Also, I learned how important a purpose is, because without purpose we might find giving up easier. But since the purpose of our team was to develop an app which would be an online therapist for young adults and teenagers from all around the world - we did not quit. 

I am looking forward to many similar experiences and I hope I will use the knowledge I acquired from this challenge correctly in the future. 

[andjelamhc]

𝓜𝔂 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓸𝓶 𝓓𝓪𝔂

Activity title: Participating in the My Freedom Day event

Type of the activity: Service

Date: March 16th, 2021

Learning outcomes: 

 - Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.

 - Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience.

 - Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

 - Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

Activity description: 

My Freedom Day is an annual event which is backed up by CNN. Every year, with an aim to bring awareness to modern day slavery, students organize a variety of activities together. My classmates and I decided to film a short movie where we were talking about what freedom means to us. 

Reflection: 

While I was preparing for this event, I learned a lot about slavery (both throughout history and now). It made me realize how grateful I am to have my freedom. I never paid attention to my freedom of speech, travelling or being independent before. This is why these kind of events are important, and they should be organized more frequently (not necessarily about slavery, but about other global issues currently).  I think that events like these show how everyone can make an impact when working collaboratively. When we work together as a group, we can bring attention to certain issues and therefore impact our communities development. I am very glad I got a chance to participate in this event and I am looking forward to participating in many similar activities concerning global issues. 

𝓐𝓷𝓭𝓳𝓮𝓵𝓪

[andjelamhc]

𝓥𝓲𝓻𝓽𝓾𝓪𝓵 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓴𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓹

Name of the activity:  Participating in a virtual workshop about the role Facebook and other social media have in tourism

Date: 28th January 2021

Type of the activity: Creativity/Service

Learning outcomes: 

Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.

Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

 Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.

Activity description: 

I had the opportunity to participate in one of Marina Ugrinic`s workshops where she connects people from different backrounds and gives them the opportunity to improve without bringing anyone ´s health in jeopardy. She presented us with a few ways we can lead a business page on Facebook in order to promote not just our country`s wonders, but many other things. Other than that, we as participants helped her to improve her presenting skills which she will need for her course by filling out surveys about the workshop after it ended. 

Reflection:

This was a new experience for me and I think I learned things which will benefit me in the future. Leaning about how to manage an account from someone so experienced and successful will definitely come be of a great use some day. I got to hear many stories of people who successfully promoted some of the most rural parts of our country, using nothing but a social network. That was very inspiring to me because I think our county is wonderful and that it deserves way more appreciation. Also, I had an amazing opportunity to help Marina improve in her job and that was also a great  experience. Tourism has suffered during the pandemic, as well as many other things. We could not travel to foreign countries and we were kind of stuck here, which seemed really sad. However, these people showed us how beautiful our own country actually is, and they improved it`s tourism. 

[andjelamhc]

𝓒𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰

Name of the activity: Cooking meals for Christmas 

Date: January 6th, 2021 

Type of the activity: Creativity 

Learning outcomes: 

Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

Activity description: 

This year my brother and I decided to change a big part of our communities tradition - I wanted us to make the Christmas meals instead of our mother. So, after making a list of all ingredients we needed, we bought all we needed and headed straight to cooking. My brother was mostly occupied with deserts, while I prepared salty foods. The next day our family and us tried everything and we were all amazed, especially our mother. 

Reflection: 

Other than cooking some of these meals for the very first time, which was challenging but also fun, I got to spend some quality time with my family. I learned some new skills, which will definitely benefit me in the future (and other food lovers as well). Also, I got to learn more about our tradition and religion, which was very interesting. I must admit, it was definitely scary to cook for more people, not just for myself. Having to think about other people`s preferences when it comes to seasoning or something similar is not easy. However, my brother and I helped each other a lot and we could not have done this without each other. It taught bot of us how important team work is, and how important family is. After some mistakes and a lot of fixing, the accomplishment we felt was unforgettable. We realized how much fun did we actually have and we are going to remember this for sure. We made our parents proud, and we made ourselves proud as well. We realized how much work our mother had to do alone every year, and we felt happy that we gave her a year off. I hope I will have more experiences like these.

𝓐𝓷𝓭𝓳𝓮𝓵𝓪

[andjelamhc]

𝓢𝓮𝓬𝓻𝓮𝓽 𝓢𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪

Name of the activity: Secret Santa

Date: 18th December, 2020

Type of activity: Creativity

Learning outcomes:

Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience 

Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Activity description: 

In order to keep the tradition going, my class decided to organize the Secret Santa event this year as well. We wrote name of each of us on a piece of paper and put it into a hat. Then, everyone pulled out one name. Since we did not have the opportunity to get to know each other, we made a google document where everyone wrote what to get to someone they knew. Then, 18th December after school we went to a nearby caffe and exchanged gifts. 

Reflection:

I thought that this event was not going to turn out well, because most of us did not know each other well. For example, the name I pulled out was Anja. I was really nervous about what to buy her until we made that google document. But still, buying a gift to someone you do not really know is always scary. When I checked the document, there were already many ideas on what to buy her  Since all of us worked together to make everything organized, we got to know each other better. I learned a lot about my classmates and I have become so much closer with them since this event. Also, Leontina pulled out a paper with my name on it, and getting something that I love (painting supplies) from someone I did not really know was for sure an amazing feeling. All in all, this was probably one of my favorite activities with the class because we worked together. I am looking forward to many events like these. 

𝓐𝓷𝓭𝓳𝓮𝓵𝓪

[andjelamhc]

𝒫𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔

Name of the activity: Painting

Duration: Unspecified, long-term activity

Type of activity: Creativity

Learning outcomes: 

Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

Activity description: 

Every once in a while, when I have an idea to paint something or to say something without using words, I pick up my brushes and messy paints. Sometimes I spend hours mixing the right shade for a picture, and sometimes the whole painting is done in 40 minutes. 

Reflection: 

I have always appreciated art, disregarding the form. I love poetry, music, architecture and drawing, but painting is probably my biggest passion. Big artist always say that there is no place for mistakes in art, and that everything we imagine becomes possible with some brushes, paint and some effort. I see painting as a therapeutic activity. It helps me gather my thoughts, see things from different perspectives and it also gives me a sense of control when I feel like I cannot control things. In stressful times like these, it is crucial for our general well being to have an escape from all the problems. However, as much as it calms me, painting is sometimes a big challenge. I like to give myself challenges (choose bigger canvases, restrict myself to primary colors only, choose more complex ideas and so on), and when I do that I develop new skills and learn about myself as well. 

𝓐𝓷𝓭𝓳𝓮𝓵𝓪

[andjelamhc]

𝑅𝓊𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔

𝒜𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝒸𝓇𝒾𝓅𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: 𝐿𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓊𝓉𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓈:

𝒜𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝓉𝒾𝓉𝓁𝑒: running up a hill

𝒟𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: 1.5 h

𝒯𝓎𝓅𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎: activity

𝐿𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓊𝓉𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓈:

Identify own strengths and develop areas for personal growth. 

𝒜𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝒸𝓇𝒾𝓅𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃: 

A friend of mine and I decided to spend the rest of the days before December  starts and spend more time outside. I came to her house around 9 am and we started running from there. We ran up a hill near town and then we rested on a bench with a view of our city. When were we coming down the hill, we took some pictures because the backround looked really nice.                                              

𝑅𝑒𝒻𝓁𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃:

I used to run a lot but I injured my knee so I kind of stopped, so running was definitely a challenge for me. It made me feel accomplished and I really liked the fact that I did not spend my morning scrolling trough social media, but spent it with a friend instead. It made me enjoy the few days of nice weather that were left before December. There are a lot of benefits being physically active brings and I am am glad that I have pushed myself to start over. 

𝒜𝓃đ𝑒𝓁𝒶

[andjelamhc]

Event : Međunarodni salon stripa 

Date and place : 10.10.2020. Kamena kuća, Kastel, Banja Luka

Members: Anja Zahorodni, Nađa Mandić, Sara Tešanović, Nikola Gašparević, Petar Jelušić, Lana Cvijić, Branko Lekić, Ivana Galić, Milana Čubrilović, Nina Kutić, Nikša Marjanović, Teodora Kovačević, Iskra Maksimović and me. 

Overall opinion : I found the event really interesting. We were able to see many comics and we also had the opportunity to buy them. Later, we heard a speech about comics and it was really interesting. We learned a lot about how comics are drawn, imagination, putting it all together.. There was also a place where we could express our own creativity and draw our own comics which was my favorite part.