IB board restyling Reflection

Name of Adult in Charge of Activity: Miss Street Dates of Services : Oct 2011 Number of Hours served: 4h

Down right at the bottom of the Upper School staircase, there is a narrow but tall board. On it you can find the different attributes an IB student possesses and there is also a picture of the IB hexagon and some explanations regarding about it. The IB board was pretty old and it looked sort of monotonous. Miss Street kindly gave me and two other students the chance to re-style it. This was my first ever CAS activity, so I didnt try to challenge myself that much. It turned out that it wasnt an easy task at all. Before we could get started, we had to take down the old one. There were so many bits and pieces stapled, it took us hours to get rid of the majority of the tiny staples. The rest of the task was very much downhill. We were a creative bunch and we came up with some good ideas. Overall I found this small activity to be the perfect way to get CAS. Started it really showed me how even when Im going for an easy option, there always some challenges, but Im glad that endured through them. I would very much recommend this type of activity to anyone who is struggling with creativity hours or dont know really where to get started.

Recycling Bins Project Reflection

Name of Adult in Charge of Activity: Mrs. Barone Date(s) of Service: November 2012 January 2013 Number of Hours served: 1.5 h/week

A while ago, the schools only organized recycling system was downstairs in the dining hall. They then introduced a plastic caps bin as well. However everywhere else in the school, there were only simple bins with the purpose of holding any type of waste. This was especially wasteful inside classrooms, were a lot of the garbage was paper. This is how the project got started. We were to create some sort of paper recycling bins, for nearly every classroom. The eco-friendly attitude was kept also in the making of the bins. Just buying some plastic bins wasnt a feasible option, so we decided to recycle our self some bins. We collected some empty boxes destined to be thrown away. We cut off unnecessary parts and did some bricolage work. To continue the environmentally friendly vibe we decided to paint them all green. This step was the most entertaining and also messy. Turned out we spent a lot of the time after finishing a set of boxes, cleaning up! The do it yourself tasks were quite simple compared to the difficult task of finding the actual boxes. We needed them to be not too big and not too small. Of course they had to be in decent conditions. The activity was my second green activity after eco-day and it felt very gratifying not only because of the bigger implications but especially because of the small contribution we made to our school society.

Art Exposition Reflection

Name of Adult in Charge of Activity: Mrs. Barone Date(s) of Service: 19th June 2012 Number of Hours served: 4h

We attended as group, this art exposition held in Milan at the Spazio Krizia. We initially took a glance around and then we participated in an interactive session with the artist and designer, Francesco Roggero. The whole focus of the exposition were colours. The place was separated in different zones, each had a different colour theme. The colours were attributed to words and more commonly art work and paint. We could see each colour in all its forms. We then created paintings using different colour techniques and learnt how to apply these to a web program. We then also competed in this photographic competition. The exhibition was sponsored by Nintendo and their newly release console, so we had to take photos with it, photos which would best symbolize the essence of the exposition. This was the most enjoyable part of the activity, as all the students fell to their competitive side, we all tried our best to win.

Basketball Team (Polisportiva Kolbe) Reflection

Name of Adult in Charge of Activity: Alberto Solzi, Ned Lavecic Date(s) of Service: October 2011 May 2013 Number of Hours served: 6 h/week

Polisportiva Kolbe is a small association formed by the Kolbe oratory. The team trains two times a week and normally play a CSI league match on the Sundays. This is my second year Ive been playing basketball properly in a team, even if I always played at park in my own time. Ive always participated to the school club, however the basketball club has just started to gain some popularity and its becoming a more central and vital activity in school. Thats why I decided to face my fear of committing to something. If I was really passionate about basketball, furthermore I wanted to improve, I had to join a team. Between trainings and matches I sadly prefer trainings. I still dont have a lot of playing time during the match and when I do come in, I feel that my potential is suppressed by the anxiety and the fear of missing the shot. Nevertheless, the only way Ill get over this is by keep playing and more and more practice. I think that this kind of long term commitments activities are must for any IB students. The possibility of working on some sort of skill, throughout the two years and then see the results of your slow but relentless work.

Football Club Reflection

Name of Adult in Charge of Activity: Mr. Reily Date(s) of Service: September 2011 January 2012 September 2012 December 2013 Two times per week we have football training at Centro Schuster. The students participating end up composing the schools football team. The obvious objective of the training is to create a strong solid team, improve our tactics, movements and refining our football skills. Ive always loved football, I have been signing up for the club since Y8 or Y9. That wish to improve and be part of the starting 11 every single match is what pushed me to improve. What made me attend every club session. Football between the school community is a passion, but its also a very competitive topic. Being the best or at least one of the best, brought upon you this regal respect from your peers. In Y11 I was able to attend the 2011 MIST tournament and played in the second team. After that I set myself the goal of being called for the ISST squad for the London trip. Im pretty sure I wasnt in the staring 11 but I was so pleased to receive an invitation. Unfortunately turned out I couldnt attend for different reasons, so I attended to the 2012 MIST tournament. This year has been quite a bitter one. I didnt the make the ISST squad, I got a small amount of playing time in the NISSA fixtures and to top it off turns out we are not participating to MIST. I was very quite angry initially, but now Im using that anger to really push my limits in basketball and focus solely in that. Number of Hours served: 3 h/week

Basketball NISSA tournament 2013 Reflection

Name of Adult in Charge of Activity: Mr. Shaw Date(s) of Service: 8th February 9th February Number of Hours served: 2 days

The NISSA tournament was hosted by TASIS in Lugarno. A number of schools located in the North region of Italy were invited to participate. We departed Friday in the early afternoon and got there by evening. During the two days we had to play a total of four games, potentially 5. After an hour after our arrival to the school, we had to play our first game. This tournament was vital for me. As a lot of the older members of the team werent able to attend, me and another Y13 were the oldest. We were missing some of our best players, so the two of us had to be team leaders in pushing the squad, scoring points. The first three games were tough. We were trying different positions and tactics, but I couldnt click offensively. Then we finally found the correct position for me in what was the decisive game. I could score, the whole team could score. We won the game, (I got the game winning shot!) We got it the play offs and played for the 4th and 3rd placement. We lost, but we gave everything we had.

Volunteering at A77(Milano Altruista) Reflection

Name of Adult in Charge of Activity: Odile Robotti Date(s) of Service: 16th April 2012 Number of Hours served: 5h

I was invited by the mother of a friend to participate in one of the activities of Milano Altruista, a non-profit foundation started up by her and others. There was a big dinner planned at A77s center, an association which manages patients diagnosed with AIDS. I and a group of people had to set up and then help the cook, which himself was volunteering. Being introduced directly by one of the founders of Milano Altruista, there was a weird pressure on me. People thought I was the Ultimate Volunteer. So setting up the table, preparing the food, the presentation of the food, the barbecue and serving were all activities the ultimate can manage! It was an arduous 5 hours of volunteering. We had to cook some amazing food, but then we got a small taste and nothing else. A torture. A pleasant torture.