IB CAS & INTERNSHIP BLOG

I have taken on an elective course in personal finance with my school. This involves the study of markets investing in retirement planning. This is been a fairly formal course with some creative aspects, but we decided to present our Learning in a creative form. I proposed to the class that we present what we learned through a video, specifically, a music video. There seem to be some shock at first with my proposal, people became more likened to the idea. In the development of this video, my work connected much to LO5. Although creativity is something often seen this individual, collaboration is also important when you are presenting ideas. We would all share our ideas for songs styles and content, and work together to find the best format to share something in the way we intended to get it across the audience. I did a lot of work with this video, working for many hours with one of my peers, but we had great success in the end incorporating all of our group's ideas.

I have worked a bit more with the faculty of the school, and have begun taking more steps to implementing my project. So that I can make my creative decisions for the landscaping. I have worked with a program called SketchUp in the past and have utilized it here. I had some basic skills about doing digital architectural designs, so I knew how to set up basic shapes, but I've had to do some learning using online tutorials to be able to create more complex shapes and aspects to the render. This connects to LO1. I have also used photos and measurements as a basis to design the model. I've used my creative skills to plan out types of shrubbery and what will best fit the needs of the school. They would like an area where students can work, but one that will also be open, and so I decided that my project would include a fountain some stepping stones, and some small bushes.

I’ve returned to Costa Rica for a second time for a short exchange program with an IB high school. As part of our after school activities, I have taken on surfing with some of the other students. This has actually been a huge challenge, even though I have started surfing in the past. For the first few days, I could hardly get up on the board, which I had done many times before in the previous year. This highlights the importance of practicing skills. This connects to LO2, as I had to continually challenge myself each day going out into the ocean and tiring myself as I tried to get up on the board. I would frequently be completely out of breath after coming back onto the beach following this attempt, but I was always invigorated, and I eventually redeveloped some of my skills.