bartlomiejdmowskicas

[bartlomiejdmowskicas]

CAS Reflection

Some of my CAS Experiences were very continuous - they started in September 2021 and ended in February 2023. As such, I noticed a huge growth and development. Observing the improvement of my cooking skills or how it was becoming easier and easier to have a 2-hour long walk or two walks per week were probably my favorite parts of CAS. At the end of CAS, I think that these two skills must have developed best. Regarding them, the difference between the beginning and end of CAS is strong. On the third place are writing skills, as numerous of my CAS activities involved writing.

The most challenging moment during CAS was to begin a CAS Project - due to numerous other duties, I could not find time for many months. As such, I began very late. But as soon as I began - thanks to a groupmate who inspired everyone to take action - I managed to complete it fairly quickly. Another significant obstacle was to keep a routine. In some months it was not hard to find time to complete 6 posts. In other - it could be seen as impossible. It held less significance than the problem with CAS Project, but was very disturbing and long-lasting. Some kind of routine was created, but not enough to fully contain this.

The learning outcome of Undertaking new challenges was the easiest to achieve, as all of my CAS experiences were more or less about trying something new. If not with the first month then with the next ones. New cake or type of cake which is difficult to make, go on a longer walk than usually or attend a Habitat action - these are just examples of new challenges that eventually were certain to come. I am not sure which of my learning outcomes was the most difficult to achieve, but possibly Demonstrating the skills and recognizing the benefits of working collaboratively. My Service was concentrated around this, but Creativity and Activity involved solely things which were done on my own.

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Summary of CAS Part 3

9. Evidence of reflection on significant CAS experiences.

Learning outcomes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QIKIQoH4GTiJl4dvrtCS_6q-28agIZZEqjqPlObkwFw/edit

Signatures:

file:///C:/Users/barte/Downloads/Crosslink_English_Cafe_-_Bartomiej_Jakub_Dmowski%20(4).pdf

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Summary of CAS Part 2

5. Evidence of commitment and perseverance in CAS experiences (LO4).

6. Evidence of demonstrating skills and recognizing the benefits of working collaboratively.

7. Evidence of engagement with issues of global significance.

8. Evidence of recognizing and considering the ethics of choices and actions.

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Summary of CAS Part 1

Evidence for completion of CAS Project

2. Evidence of identification of strengths and areas for personal growth (LO1).

3. Evidence of undertaking new challenges and developing new skills in the process (LO2).

4. Evidence of initiating and planning CAS experience (LO3).

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CAS Project: Reflection

Our CAS Project began in May 2022 and ended in February 2023. Initially, not much happened. In May I only came up with an idea, in July I made a list of 6 pilots, knowing that 10 were needed. This part gave me a valuable lesson - I knew with whom I wanted to do the CAS Project and thought about something that can interest both of us. When I was thinking about pilots, I wanted them to be from different countries and eras not only because it would be more interesting as a project, but also so that my groupmate writing about planes would have different models to write about. I left 4 places for him, because I wanted him to have a choice as well. I thought that maybe he had some planes he preferred and this would lead me to pilots. Only when a third person joined us in Nivember, I learned to pay more attention to the project. When the fourth and last person joined us, we realized that our tasks were dependent on each other - without my work completed, the person responsible for posters would be unable to act. This was a stimulating factor. One of us showed excellent leadership and motivation skills - thanks to him I managed to complete my list quickly. So I learned about importance of a good leaderships in the projects. When it comes specifically to my part, the project helped me to learn how to divide my work into fixed parts done daily in January. Ultimately I didn't manage to achieve this and I ended with completing 5 pilots in 2 days, but it was a lesson anyway. Later on, I experienced doubts whether the project can be completed in time. But I was unable to do anything other than asking about progress my groupmates. My work was completed. Our taking action in February was spontaneous to some extent. We didn't know where to hang it and didn't even have the pins. Luckily, we found everything we needed. And this gave me thoughts how it's important to plan everything. When I paid extra attention to the way posters hang, I noticed that the appearance of presented information is necessary.

The project was initiated by us and helped me to identify what I'm good and week at. For sure I enjoyed working in a group. The fact that everyone had to do something in which we are good at was very helpful and showed me how to divide work in a group. Some experience (like waiting for others to complete their work in time) was new to me. I asked two people about our project they could see in the aula - both were very positive and even enthusiastic.

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CAS Project: Taking action

My groupmates finished their work - posters were designed and printed. As such, we were ready for the next step. We wanted it to happen in the half of February, but Mock exams and winter holidays severely halted our progress - it was hard to focus on work and then we were unable to access school. Although, we maintained online contact and all made sure to be ready on the first day of school after winter holidays. In total, we had 20 posters - 1 per each pilot and 10 for their planes. We decided to hang them in the big place, where they would be visible. There is a big board which can be used by anyone - we took advantage and put our posters in pairs - a pilot and his plane in a pair. I combined the posters of two - Erich Hartmann and Manfred von Richthofen - because they were both German and both were fighting in World Wars. The process of hanging was quick. I made sure that all were hanged properly, so that they look pleasant for the viewer. They are spread across the room, so our work can be seen in small pieces, but by everyone.

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January Creativity 2*

*this post should have appeared in January, I deleted it accidentally before posting.

Another opportunity to bake a cake appeared with the first days of the New Year, when we wanted to celebrate it. I opted for something simple - a brownie. I used an old recipe that I tried before. I think I did it a lot better than these many months ago. It was a very simple recipe, so there was no option of doing something wrong. But I felt like I went smoother and faster. I didn't think much, I felt confident. This shows my skills in the kitchen have improved.

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February Activity 3

At the end of the month, I finally achieved my objective - I went on a walk two times in a week and in both cases it was longer than 2 hours. One walk was with my dog, the other on my own. In both cases I monitored my time and used only known paths, although due to changing weather, sometimes I had to improvise. Sometimes there was a stream where once was a dry path. I didn't feel like it was something extraordinary or very tiring to go twice on long walks - in fact, in a row. I remember how in the past I would get tired after about 1.5 hours. So I feel that while trying to achieve my aim throughout these months, my physical condition improved. Also, I learned how to walk in a forest, how to avoid getting wet or dirty.

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February Service 1

This month I participated in my final action with Habitat for Humanity. Just like the last time, it took place in a flat which will after serious renovation will be given to a family which needs it. This time I wasn't building IKEA furniture but a floor out of floor panels. It was my first time, but I received a very helpful guidance and assistance, so it was done properly. Later on I was painting walls and a ceiling, which was a lot easier, so my lack of experience wasn't a barrier. In both cases I tried my best. As always, the thought that someone will use my work later on was giving motivation and satisfaction. The staff from Habitat was very polite and helpful, so we worked in a good atmosphere. I felt a bit sad when I was leaving, remembering that it was my last action after so many months. Helping there, I learned a lot and helped many people, which was a wonderful feeling.

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February Creativity 2

In the end of this month I wanted to make one great dessert - Crème brûlée. I was thinking about trying it before, but one thing was stopping me - the lack of torch. And the dessert might seem complicated for many. Now I had the torch and thought that at the end of CAS I could try. 2 months ago I did it too, but only the creme part. The recipe turned out to be relatively easy, only took long to complete. The final outcome was great - I wouldn't try to improve this recipe in any way. I loved the taste. My family also enjoyed this dessert, some were very surprised of how good it was. Surely I will try to do this recipe again one day.

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February Activity 2

This week, I remembered to keep my app on. It was possibly one of the rare times, if not the only one, when I didn't look at my progress until I came back home. My walk was partially spontaneous, I was just picking one path after another and went far into the forest. But at some point I decided to reach one place and had to used my knowledge of that place to find the right road. In the end, it was a long and satisfying walk, at the end I didn't even feel very tired. It took slightly less than 3 hours, so it was my longest walk. The fact that I didn't monitor my progress and did such a long walk is a good improvement.

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February Creativity 1

In the beginning of this month I decided to return to baking cakes. I began with chocolate fondant. It was relatively simple, but the outcome was incredible in taste. Everybody approved it. There was a problem with too big dish, but eventually it disappeared. What I really enjoyed is that this cake brought me memories of other cake I remember from my earlier years, one that I really liked. In conclusion, I think that I'm mastering the technique of making cakes, as I can do them quickly and without much effort, but have a very good result. I noticed that it did spread also to other segments of cooking. My breakfasts are more elaborate and contain more ingredients.

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February Activity 1

In the first weekend of February, I manged to go on a walk on my own again. I forgot to turn the app again, I reminded myself about it after less than 15 minutes. I think that I tend to forget about it, because I go on these walks in big part for pleasure. I made this walk 2 hours long, but felt that it could have been longer - the path I took forced me to come back. Additionally, due to deep snow I covered some parts quickly. And I didn't feel as tired as I used to feel after these walks, which is a positive sign. As such, I feel that it's very possible to install a routine of going on these long walks at least twice a week.

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CAS Project: Preparation

My main task in the project was preparation of information about our 10 pilots. It took me about 2 weeks in total. Initially, I was doing one per day, but I skipped few days and at last, I did two per day. Ussually I was able to complete information about one in one sitting, but one, Roderick "Rod" Smith, I did in two sittings, as materials about him were particularly hard to understand - it was a set of articles, and other documents about him. For the others, I used mostly Wikipedia. About another one, Bob Gililand, I found fan-made articles. Sometimes I was switching between Polish and English versions of the articles, as they contained different sets of information and it was told in different ways. In case of Giora Epstein, I switched to the Israeli Wikipedia and translated the page to English - this also helped me to gain interesting information. This stage helped me to gain some knowledge about being a pilot. I realized that many of these very different people had in fact much in common. Additionally, I got an experience of dividing work into small equal parts and everyday having to do a small part. The problem was that in some cases these texts might be too long, but I tried to make them interesting and not long at the same time.

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January Activity 1

This month, my progress haltened again. But it doesn't mean that I didn't go on any walks. And it seems that I fully managed to accomplish the length of 2 hours, even with my dog (it makes me go faster). One of such long walks took place on 28th of January. I began too late, however, and came back home when it was dark. Although I realised that I already know this place by heart. As such, there was no problem to navigate. I tried some new paths, but I always knew where I was. At the end I felt very exhausted, but happy.

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January Service 3

On 27th January, MYP2 students visited us to find out about subjects in DP. I volunteered to help, my subject was Mathematics AI. I explained the differences between it and Mathematics AA and brought some details about being a student of this subject. I think that I brushed aside many doubts. I repeated many things I heard when I was in their age. I tried to put everything clear, so that they don't get confused. In the end I think that it was a worthy experience and that it's good to explain, help others understand.

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January Creativity 1

In November I started watching videos with interesting recipies. While they can be strange, I found inspiring ones too. Despite the fact that I mainly do cakes, including this month, this time I decided to try something different - a Korean snack known as corn dogs. It seemed easy, but the batter brought me great concerns - I feel that I did it in the wrong way, after all. For the first time I was deep-frying something, which was an interesting experience. Eventually, the result was only partially satisfying. The corn dogs felt too sweet, but I managed to prevent the cheese from leaving batter and melted it really well. It tasted in a way like something failed, but now I think that maybe one day I will try again, but modify the recipe and try harder to make it taste well. This was something new for me, but certainly I will not leave this path I just entered. I realized how my experience made me feel so confident in the kitchen, even when I try completely new things.