Monday, October 1, 2012

Hope for Kids


For the first four meetings of Hope for Kids, we only managed to go to the hospital once and we spent the rest of the Thursdays planning. As a team we decided on different activities that would appeal to different interests of the individual kids. Being sensitive to the kids’ needs and generally their lack of ability to participate in physical activities, we had to come up with activities that would still be fun and engaging. As a group, with individual ideas being reviewed as a whole, we came up with activities such as origami, leaf painting, and board games. I took on a more leading role as I strove to keep the ideas flowing and the topic on track.
Some time during last year or this summer there were several hundred Hope for Kids t-shirts ordered. I was unaware of this, but we now need to find a way to sell them and raise money for the hospital. We first had to sort through all the t-shirts and organize them so as to not be a burden on the teachers who were kind enough to let us store them in their classrooms. We then needed to think of a way to sell them. As I believe that these shirts can be a great marketing method, I am very keen on continuing work in this area, however a conclusion hasn’t been made as to what the group feels we should do first. Several ideas were thrown around including selling tickets to a show of some sort that then pays of the t-shirt price and also raises money for the hospital, or if we could sell them at UN day, or something similar.
The future of this CAS is good for me, as it allows me to take a leadership role through committing to the program and being able to understand the new requirements of the program. Additionally, the group requires me as well as the official leaders, to initiate activities and have the leadership position in maintaining focus and perseverance within the group. Finally, I am lucky because the hospital allows me to have a hands on way of connecting with the people whose lives I’m trying to improve.

Volleyball as a Team Sport

This year has had a short volleyball season. As a senior I am disappointed at this fact as volleyball has been an activity I have committed myself to passionately for over 6 years. We were very lucky that last year’s team was a truly special combination of incredible talent, passion to push ourselves to new limits, and not afraid to try new things. Coming from last years team into a team that is starting almost from scratch is a bit of a challenge; I am one of the first to admit that I sometimes (basically: a lot of the time) lose my temper when we don’t get something this year that we did perfectly last year. 
But I am also very proud of our new volleyball girls. While I am not team captain or co-captain, as one of the three seniors on the team I have a crucial role in that my actions on and off the court and even outside of the gym play an important role. I must be a good example, something which doesn’t always come naturally to me. As one of the older girls I have to often initiate activities, undertake and develop new skills and be supportive. Volleyball more then most sports is a team sport, which makes communication and teamwork crucial. I am thrilled to say that our team this year is much more of a team mentality then the team last year. We have all worked very hard and made much improvement and I’m looking forward to all of us being able to show our ability at SAISA.