Drawing

When I was little the best piece of art I was able to produce was only a circle instead of a head and some other strange figures which no one could really see. While growing up I had always wanted to take drawing lessons and actually understand is there a special way I should draw certain things or I should only use my imagination and seek consolation in the fact that I was the only person who was going to see my drawings. That’s why lately I spend a lot of time trying to draw. I looked up in youtube for some video, teaching you how to sketch some things or draw simple shapes and to be honest it really helped me. I still can’t draw without having an example, or just the idea from somewhere, because if I try to express my feelings and the things I see in my mind with the help of a pencil on a piece of paper, the paper will be full with scribble. So here are some of my ‘’works’’ and I hope you can imagine without seeing my previous ones that there is a huge improvement.

·         During this activity I have developed amazing new skills; I have increased an awareness of my strengths and areas of growth and I have undertook new challenges. So, who knows, one day they might call me ‘’NeDavinci’’.

Swimming - march

Lately I don’t have any excuses for going swimming. Even when I have lots of other things to do, swimming is one of my main priorities. I have not only gotten much better than last year, but I also have the feeling I cannot stop and I don’t want to. I swim faster than last year, breaking my records with at least 1 minute, which is a massive improvement, according to me. I also don’t have the pain I felt in my back any more and I feel I have more energy than ever even when the weather is depressing and we have exams. It became a part of my life and I am grateful I started doing it last year. During this activity I undertook new challenges, I increased awareness of my strengths and areas of growth and I developed many and new important skills regarding swimming.

Nanny's diary

 Since January I have been volunteering again to babysit 2 kids, part of a Bulgarian family which lives 3 minutes away from my place, therefore I have time to go there every Tuesday and Thursday and every time I have to be creative in chosing which games we will play. The kids are 1) 10 year old and 2) 4 year old. So it is a bit hard to think of games which could entertain both of them but their favourite one is hide and seek of course. It was also my favourite when I was their age. It is a game with no age limits so it is suitable for everyone. But i changed it a bit. We play it like this- I hide and count to 100 and during this time they should change something in the house ( the position of a chair, table) / put something somewhere where I should find it, but they don't tell me what is changes. While searching where are they I have to find out what did they change. And if I am right and I guessed then they draw me pictures and give them to me, if not I give them chocolate. We are having a lot of fun, I am with them only for 2 hours, while their mother is at the gym, therefore we have enough time to get to know each other. Sometimes they are very tired so I am cooking something for them and we watch a movie, but I am glad I can help their mother so that she would have at least a few hours on her own. During this activity I am working collaboratively with other, I am undertaking a new challenge every time and I am developing new skills.

Jogging - march

The snow is still here. There is no sign of spring in Moscow that is why I am still running on the ice. I slipped last week and almost broke my arm, but thanks to all the clothes I had on top of me, I was enough protected. I thought jogging on ice/snow wouldn’t contribute to an improvement in my skills, but I actually realized I am used to running during this type of weather and if I am used to that, then I wouldn’t have any problems running in any other type or weather, therefore I have developed a new skill. I am also still helping the people to clean the snow on the weekends so my arm muscles have also got stronger thanks to all the digging, so I guess In every work we do, there is an advantage.

Tutoring (school)

This is the month when all the IGSCE students have their oral examinations for their Language B. That is why, after talking to my Spanish teacher and asking her who needs help with preparing for the exams, I decided to talk to Edgar and Dini in Year 11. Both are very bright and easy learners, but they also had a common problem- memory and pronunciation. The problem with Edgar was that he was trying to memorize the text as it is written and Dini didn’t understand the meaning of most of the complicated words.

So the week before their exams I asked them to see me twice during lunch breaks and we spent that time wisely and trying to prepare them well for their presentations.

For both of them Mrs. Mihailovksaya gave me papers on which were written dialogues, a special preparation for the exam.

I spoke with each person for 30 minutes, since the break is only 1 hour. With Edgar we had improvement even from the first 5 minutes. Although he was interrupting me while I was speaking and wasn’t listening very carefully I helped him with his accents and he really improved.

With Dini, the problem was that he wasn’t able to structure simple sentences like ‘’My father has brown hair and hazel eyes’’. I translated for him word after word and when he got the meaning of each one he started to get the whole text. We also worked on his pronunciation.

With both Edgar and DIni I improvised during the dialogues so that their answer won’t be memorized but they could actually think.

During this activity I have worked collaboratively with others and I undertook new challenges.

Creativity- poem

 Grey raindrops are falling slowly in the sea

My soul is deep dark blue, why can’t you just see

They loose their direction, but follow the sounds

The sounds of the shells hitting slowly the ground

Waves wash away our memories in the sand

They days when you loved me, when we walked hand in hand

So here I am- a mermaid, a wave, hitting the rocks…

I am overflowing without a direction

So lost in my lonely reflection

Hear my song, my memory, my voice

I’m here for you, waiting for so long, giving you one last choice.

I wrote a long time ago I was writing lyrics and poems, but in Bulgarian. So finally I decided to try in English. Here is the result- a poem which I created for 5 minutes, waiting at the metro station.

With this I developed a new creative skill and I undertook a challenge, due to the fact that it is for sure not easy to write rhymes, which have a meaning, especially when it is not in your native language.

Baba Marta

Baba Marta is a traditional Bulgarian holiday, and translated it literally means ‘’ Gandma Marta’’.  On this day we celebrate the beginning of Spring, and it is well known that this Baba Marta actually ‘’sends away’’ the winter. To celebrate it, we put on our wrists little bracelets/ bands called martenitsa , woven by the combination between red and white colored threads. We wear those bans until the day when we see a stork or a bloomed tree, symbols of warmer weather and spring.

We also say to each other ´´ Честита Баба Марта!’’ (Chestita Baba Marta), which means ‘’ Happy Baba Marta’’ and we wish each other health and happiness.

Usually, you can buy the martenitsa from everywhere around the country- from supermarkets to little street corners and the prices varies also. But as I live in Moscow, I cannot buy it from anywhere, that is why I have to make my own ones. I also prepare some for my relatives.

Here is a video showing how you could make your own martenitsa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP168PuhfVY

Swimming

For the past one month I have developed a lot of new skills, but one of the most important and meaningful ones was getting better and better in swimming. Just to compare with last year November- I was swimming 100m for 2 minutes and 10 seconds with 1 minute pause after each and now I can swim 100m for more or less than 1.10 minutes without any pauses. Plus I am also increasing the lengths every single time by adding one more. Therefore in November and before that, I was swimming only around 10 lengths. But now, after all this practice, I can handle around 20-25, but of course, after a certain number I get exhausted and I could swim more but it will be for sure slower.

But in the end, I have increased awareness of my strengths and areas for growth,I have also developed new skills and undertook a lot of challenges.

Pilates 2nd trial

After last time I went to pilates with my mother it turned out I liked it so we decided to go again.

This time it way easier, maybe the reason for this was that I was prepared and that I worked out in the gym the previous day. Plus I also had an aspirin just in case I get the muscular fever again.

So this time we did the same exercises as the previous time, but the instructor was different. In fact she was pregnant in the 4^th month, which absolutely amazed me and made me even more motivated. If a pregnant woman can do all that, why couldn’t I?

Even this time I had a little problem with the ab series but I handled it and I am sure with each next time I will get better. I have decided that in case there are days when I wouldn’t be able to go I can just write in youtube ‘’pilates workout’’ and have a 30 minute session.

Photography

I love travelling and I love the fact that we have so many vacation during the whole school year because during this time I get the opportunity to travel to different destinations and therefore capture every breath taking moment or just incredible views which I would like to share with you here, in my blog. Some of the photos are photoshopped using Photoshop or Digital Photo Professional, but I left most of them untouched, due to the fact that they are beautiful anywyas. I have undertook new challenges as I was using different types of cameras, some are even from phones, but for me that doesn't really matter. I have also developed new skills.

Valenitne's Day preparation

As everyone know 14^th of February is an important day for our school, since this is the time, when all the kids can have a disco organized especially for them, exchange secret valentine cards and have fun. That is why we had to plan and initiate a new activity. This year we decided to be more organized than last year. Mostly, it was Year 12s activity, but Year 13s also helped with what we could. I, for example, helped Dina sell the Valentine cards and promote the disco to as many children as possible.

The disco is going to take place on the exact day -14.02.2013 and unfortunately I am not going to be there, so that is why I tried to help with whatever I could while planning everything.

Taya and some other girls from Year 12 made amazing bracelets, which are going to serve as a badge or a ticket at the entrance of the disco, which is going to be in the big hall inside school.

Also I helped the rest of the girls organize how exactly it is going to be decorated. We figured out- the more balloons, the better.

In the end, I got more than 20 people who signed up for the disco and therefore I had to go around the school during the breaks and give them all an official letter to their parents, asking for their permission for their children to stay at school until 7:00 p.m. on the 14^th of February.

I have worked collaboratively with other people from Years 12 and 13, I have also planned and initiated an activity and I have developed my skills.

Winter day 2013

In the beginning of February, due to the constant Moscow winter, we had our Winter day. Me, Sabina and Matanat initiated the Snow Art activity. Sabina bought the acrylic paints and the brushes, although we also used some from the Art department, after Ms Platt proposed to us to use some of the materials from there.

During the activity groups of children from different years were coming and we had to act quickly because 1^st ) it was very cold and we didn’t want the paints to freeze, so we decided to mix them with hot water. That way invented a really usefull method for drawing in the snow- we found out that each bottle was used up in about 2-3  minutes and every time we had to fill it up with water - either going back to school or bringing a big basin with hot water inside. We also did that because most of the children didn't understand that they shouldn't completely empty the bottle and as a result we ran out of acrylic paints. However, thanks to Sabina’s food colouring paints, we discovered that they were long lasting, easily soluble in water and the final effect of the paint on the snow was amazing, due to the fact the paints were very strong.

At first, our group wanted to do snow sculptures, but since it's hard to build even snowmen with the snow outside, we decided drawing on snow was a better idea and it turned out to work very well. So during Snow day, we showed the children how to draw on snow and we hope they enjoyed it. I can say it from the looks on their faces . The only problem in the beginning we had was that we couldn’t organize the kids to draw something which they obviously didn’t want to, so we made them little competitions and this got them more motivated, so they were actually productive, instead of just wasting the paint on the snow, which was happening in the beginning. I think this activity was helpful for the kids to see to what extent is their imagination working and to also make the day funnier and more interesting for them.

Some issues that arised during the activity:

 We forgot to  bring our own bottles
 We also didn't think of how to fill them up quickly
 In the beginning of the activity we should have told all the children what to do or at least give them an idea, because they spent a lot of time thinking about what exactly to draw/ sculpt.

 Most of the groups were coming from a previous activity- hockey, which was taking place in the gym, therefore a lot of the kids weren’t wearing jackets, so we had to force them to get inside and put their warmer clothes on because we didn’t want them to have health isues.

 Students did not come to the even on time.

Positive outcomes from/during the activity:

 A lot of new ideas of making sculptures and not only drawing on snow

 We achieved the target which was to teach children to draw on snow and enjoy it

 The event was organized completely by year 13 with little supervision from teachers. As a result, we, as a whole group, managed to entertain the school, providing children with various outside activities and "Free Hot chocolate" service .

Therefore during Snow day we undertook new challenges, we developed new skills and worked collaboratively with others. And, of course, we planned and initiated new activities.

Jogging

During the February break I was in Spain. The weather was amazing, therefore I decided to proceed practicing sports there. I went jogging in the park 3 days out of 7, which is alright I guess and I don’t have the feeling I lost my shape. Of course it is much better to run in an amazing park on a dry path, not in the snow, but it was also an adventure, because Spanish people are really friendly so most of them were stopping me just to talk, or I had to give directions to tourists or translate form Spanish to English. Therefore I worked collaboratively with others and I undertook a new challenge.

Winter day preparation

This year we didn’t have a Sports Day in September, and that was the reason we decided to organize a Snow Day, although we are still not sure when is it going to happen, as the weather is changing every week and it is either getting colder, either the snow begins to melt and we really need it, as the whole event’s point is to take place in the snow.

Me, Sabina and Matanat decided to plan and initiate an activity related to Art- we are going to help children draw in the snow or make different sculptures. As last year’s snowmen weren’t very good, because the snow was too soft, this time we thought that it is better not to risk. The hardest thing to do in the preparations process is to dig out all the snow and to structure it in a way that it is going to be suitable for drawing on it. That is why I asked Stefan and Mark to help me dig it and we put all the snow on the left side as in the middle we dug a path where kids are going to walk and then draw on the left side where is the huge pile of snow.

I also helped them and Vinit to dig the whole area, where their activity was going to take place.

We spent nearly 3 weeks every day of which, during lunch breaks, we were digging and digging and digging and during the weekends all the efforts were ruined because of the extra amount of new snow. But we managed to prepare everything for the Snow day.

Tutoring - results

The results from my brother’s test just came out. He has 97% !!! I am so proud of him! He says he owes most of it to me, but I am still on the opinion that my tutoring has contrubited only a bit to his knowledge, because he has always been a smart kid.

From now on we decided that I will tutor him only before an important exam or a test, so that he would have more time to study for his other subjects such as French and Russia, where I cannot really help to a great extent.

But at least his amazing result proved that all my efforts were actually worth it! J

Tutoring 3

During last week I had 2 lessons with my brother because he had a test so he wanted me to prepare him and to help him get the highest grade. Therefore we made a little revision and we practiced 3 topics: Probability, multiplying out brackets and percentage change.

For each one of the topics I gave him different tasks to do. For example for percentage change we listed all the important points he needs to remember and then we look through past questions they have done in class. I also gave him new questions like ‘’ How to find 65% of $82?” or ‘’ Neda’s class had a maths test. The total number of marks was 50. Neda got 70%. How many marks did she get?’’ Althought the questions are not hard, I think they are really helpful as he is practicing and the knowledge he already has is becoming more stable.

During this activity I have planned and initiated an activity; collaborated with others and undertook new challenges.

Jogging

After I came back from Bulgaria I had gained a lot of extra weight. That is why I decided to force myself go out in the snow and run. We have special machines to clean the snow here, but people can also help, so I have been cleaning the snow for the past 2 weeks every weekend, therefore I have shown perseverance and commitment and worked collaboratively with others.

It is still slippery thought. That is why I undertook a new challenge by running on almost icy platform, which is even a little dangerous. I am slower now, because of the weather conditions and I know I could always go to the gym and run there, but I prefer to run outside and to help the staff here clean the big amount of snow.

Swimming

During the break I was in Bulgaria, so I wasn’t able to swim that often but I went to the swimming pool twice. However, right after I came back in Moscow I started going to the gym and to swim more often than ever. It doesn’t really have any effect on my body because I am compensating with huge amounts of food (haha), but at least it gives me the feeling that I have became stronger and I also think I can spend more and more time swimming and working out as my muscles are becoming harder and stronger. That is why now I will try a new diet, or better said- a regimen of diet, and I will eat only healthy food.

But to get back on my swimming- there is a huge improvement, especially after the little problem I had back In December with the cramps. Now, I became faster and the people with whom I am usually swimming in the same time and the instructor tell me my style/way of swimming is becoming better.

I guess in time I will get my old shape back from when I was young and I was competing in swimming, but unfortunately that was a long time ago.

While swimming(2) and working out(1) I undertake new challenges, I increase awareness of my strengths and areas of growth and I develop new skills.

Dancing

While I was studying in Bulgaria I used to go dancing in Roberta Ballet, which is a dancing school for mostly girls between the ages of 3 and 20 or even more. The school is very popular and it is mostly with balley dance clases but one of the girls who used to go there since she was little grew up and decided to make a hip-hop class. And as she is a friend of mine, we decided to form a group of girls and participate in the big concerts which Roberta Ballet is organizing 3 times a year. But since I live in Moscow I am no longer part of it and I miss it a lot. And the girls knew that so we decided to get together again when I was in Bulgaria in October’s break and then communicate with video calls on skype so that we could practice a dance and perform it on the winter concert. In the end we were very well prepared, all of the other teachers in the balley school admired us for being so prepared and devoted to dancing and the concert was very nice. I don’t have a video, because no one had the change to record one, but I found a very blury photo on which I guess if you know me you could tell who I am (if you don’t- I am on the far left). During this activity I have definitely worked collaboratively with others, I have developed new skills, I have been creative as we all contributed to the invention of the dance moves for our dance and I have undertaken a challenge.

CAS PLAN JAN-MAY

Creativity:
1) Develop my photography skills by using photoshop and a special program I received with my new camera
2) Start drawing and improve by looking at pictures online and trying not to copy them but redraw them by memory
3) Winter day + Valentines day- cards and organizing the event
Action:
1) Swimming- improve my breathing  and my styles
2) Keep on jogging until I reach the time when I am already in my best shape
3) Pilates- try again?
4) Dancing - concert( + creativity because I will help in the organization and the dancemoves)
 Service:
1) Tutor my brother math and science and help him prepare for his tests
2) Tutor people from school - help them with their spanish before the IGSCE Exams
3) Being a nanny for a Bulgarian family