At the start of Term 2 I found out that we had a new Japanese intern teacher at Woodcroft College. I wanted to test my Japanese conversation and grammar ability, so I contacted the teacher and asked if I could work with her for the CAS project.

For the first conversation with the intern Japanese teacher, Miss Atae, I could not speak fluently. I did not have a Japanese background speaker or a teacher to practice with in previous times when I was learning this language. I have not learned Japanese in a language class before, I learned Japanese for my interest by myself.

However, after I had my speaking practice twice a week over approximately six weeks, I asked many questions about grammar that I was not sure how to use or in what situation. I also wanted to learn how to speak like a background speaker (speak in Japanese without a Cantonese accent). Currently I can speak in Japanese much more fluently than I could

This activity includes the elements of creativity for CAS, this gave me the opportunity to try a different activity that I normally would not do and improve my language skills.

LEI Man I (Minnie)
Year 11 IB student

My CAS experience was planning and completing a tennis training session where I coached some children who are younger than me and are interested in the game of tennis. To do this I ran an hour long coaching session at my local tennis courts which involved numerous different drills and games to improve each player’s skills.

The goals of my experience were to get a group of younger children outside and having fun playing tennis with their friends as well as my communication and interpersonal skills when coaching younger children. I also aimed to use my tennis knowledge to help younger players with their tennis game and share my passion for tennis.

The coaching sessions ran smoothly, despite rain earlier in the day, and by the end everyone showed amazing improvement in their skills. The session ended up going over the hour that I had planned because everyone was having so much fun. All the children left with a smile on their face which was another positive everyone was able to show me that they had a great time.

My tennis coaching session was a wonderful experience which challenged me to plan a full hour session as well as communicate and offer feedback to younger children. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed running my tennis session.

Amara Campbell 
Year 11 IB Student

The Evatt Competition is organised by the UN Youth Forum and involves teams of 2 competing against each other in a simulation of the United Nations Security Council.

Teams act as diplomats of their assigned countries and aim to push their country's agenda whilst making amendments to UN resolutions on global issues and negotiating with other countries.

Together, Jeremy and I made a dynamic duo, winning our way through the Preliminary Rounds and Semi-finals to make it to the Evatt SA Grand Final, representing the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan and the United States of America along the way.

The journey to this point involved intense teamwork, research and cooperation skills, where we were put on our feet in a variety of situations. Sometimes we would be negotiating a solution to an oil crisis between Iran and Iraq that could lead to war, other times we were arguing for the sovereignty of the Arctic Circle, or questioning the use of lethal self-autonomous weapons.

In the later rounds many topics for debate were secret until the day, so we entered these with no prepared speeches, no research and no help, only relying on our skills in diplomacy to get us through. We developed our confidence throughout the competition to be able to stand up and make impromptu speeches to further our country’s agenda, or make points of information to question the motives of others.

The competition was an absolutely fantastic experience and opened my eyes to many issues facing our planet. The environment was fun and full of like-minded people who were always keen for a good debate. It’s a great way to improve your public-speaking skills and get involved with the amazing work of the United Nations.

Georgia Dallimore
Year 11 IB Student

In 2017 I was a part of the reading tutoring program conducted within the school. I met twice a week with a younger (Year 7) student, and during these sessions, they read a novel of their choice out loud, whilst I provided the assistance and encouragement the student needed. As the sessions progressed, I saw a major improvement in the student - not only in their pronunciation or vocabulary knowledge - but in their confidence. The way in which the student learnt to approach words they did not know, or were unfamiliar with taught me lessons that I could apply to my own life about how to approach and handle difficulties, and further, allowed me to develop a greater understanding of and desire to support those who face learning difficulties in education.

Katherine Shores
Year 12 IB

Last Term I, along with Megan Alexander, Abbey Burley, Grace Lockhart, , Kiona Martin and Aurora Mok had our first Art Club session, which is open to all Year 6 students. Art Club provides an opportunity for students to make a diverse range of artworks and handicrafts. This term we have been working on art for the College Musical with an “Under the Sea” theme.

Art Club takes place every Wednesday lunchtime in Room 43 and we are there to assist the Year 6 students make their own works and to help them get the materials they need. Mrs Osborne is also there to provide support. As the group leader, I was in charge of organising the meetings for the group, taking notes on any artwork ideas and finalising the materials lists for Mrs Osborne. At the start of every Art Club, I would give instructions to all the students of the main activity we would be doing on the day and make sure that everyone knows what they are doing.

Overall, I have really enjoyed Art Club, it was a great activity that allowed us to make artwork for the Musical and give the Year 6 students and opportunity to enjoy some fun activities. This activity has encompassed elements of creativity and service, and has allowed me to develop my skills as a leader, and improve my collaboration skills. It was a great experience and I would love to do this again!

Nguyen, Huynh (Katarina)
Year 11 IB Student

As one of my CAS activities, I trained and competed in dog agility (for the first year of my IB course). This was something which I already had some experience in and had began training for, before starting the IB program. I have always loved dogs and thoroughly enjoyed working with a beautiful Dalmatian called Morgan. We trained 1-2 times a week and competed in a total of 6 double trials.

This sport contains both physical and mental elements which was very rewarding to myself and of course, Morgan. Together we achieved his JD title (Novice jumping dog) which was a wonderful experience for the both of us, as it was an indicator that our work in training had paid off.

Overall, this was a wonderful CAS experience which allowed me to develop new skills, face new challenges and build my confidence. 

Jenna Chapman
Year 12 IB student

From the beginning of Term 3, Katarina, Aurora, Kiona, Abbey, Grace and I have been in charge of running Art Club for most the Year 6 and 7 students. Art Club is held on Wednesday in which students are able to have a creative outlet at lunch, while also contributing to the musical this year in Week 9 of this term. As the musical this year is The Little Mermaid, we decided to make Art Club under the sea themed, where the students have made paintings, paper mâché, banners and other decorations. As the students are part of a club, it is an ongoing responsibility, and we aim to try and teach the kids a number of skills such as commitment, open mindedness, thinking outside the box while also having fun.

Teaching kids is quite a challenge, so it has really tested our skills, sometimes our patience too. But I think we have learned incredibly valuable skills through this experience, like developing our sense of responsibility and thinking on a scale bigger than ourselves, while also getting us to think creatively and improving our planning and organising to. I also think engaging with a younger age group has definitely helped develop our people and social skills, as we are connecting with people we probably may not have before, and it is quite rewarding seeing the kids have fun. I have developed a greater appreciation for the skills that our teachers have in order to teach us, and I am so grateful for being able to have learned some of these skills so that we are able to influence and teach young people, and bring a little bit more fun and creativity to their Wednesday lunch times.

The musical is in Week 9 and it is currently Week 6; the decorations look amazing and overall we are really proud of the students and all the work they have put in, and I’m sure the musical will be beautifully decorated.

Megan Alexander
Year 11 IB

I have created a YouTube channel to record my life studying in Australia.

As it is the nearly the end of Year 12, I wanted to record these memorable moments forever, so I decided to film it and share it with my friends.

The first video I have done is a vlog video to the open day of The University of Adelaide.

I have used an app called "Final Cut Pro" to edit my videos. This is my first time using this app, it was quite hard to use at first, but once I got to know it I found that it is a very good app to use for editing videos.

Here is the link to my video.

https://youtu.be/XJxyqgVORik

KO Hei Tung (Kika) 
Year 12 IB Student

At the start of the year I joined the Christies Beach Surf Life Saving Club and trained to be a life saver. Surf lifesaving is a great activity for people who, like me, are fascinated by the beach. It involves weekend patrols and other physical activity.

When training for the life saver test (Bronze Medallion) I struggled a bit at the start, but after increasing my training to twice a week over 1 to 2 months I passed the test and became a qualified life saver. Currently I am training for surf ski and winter time activities, other than patrolling.

This activity includes the elements of activity and service for CAS, it allows me to try different activities that I am not familiar with, improve my fitness, appreciate the importance of teamwork and I am able to give back to the community.

KUOK Long U (Lennox)
Year 12 IB student

Earlier this year the Woodcroft College Charity Group held a telegram service. Over a hundred telegrams were sent out early in Term 1, each with an encouraging personal message aimed to make someone’s day.

As a charity ambassador, I was tasked with managing the service with the help of volunteer students across the college.

It was overwhelmingly positive to see so many people taking time out of their busy day to write a letter. Overall the experience was very positive and will definitely be run again.

Thomas Lu 
Year 12 IB student