Community Leadership Legacy

 - Most powerful experience in the course…

My most powerful experience in leadership is probably most common: the Christmas Bureau family sponsorship. It's probably been repeated over and over in a lot of my peers' Legacies, but this project is just THAT special. Our entire class was given five families of different sizes, ages, and locations. Mr. Vaughan talked about each family and we were allowed to pick whichever family we wanted to help. I picked the smallest family which was a single mom and her 1 year old son. I think it might have just been the thought that a 1 year old wouldn't be able to spend his first christmas with presents and a nice dinner (even though he can't eat proper food yet). Also the single mom must have been having a tough time, taking care of a newborn baby and trying to provide for both. 

Planning with my group for the things we wanted to buy for them was also fun. After we called them, we only really needed to think about presents. Thinking of the gifts and hoping they would be happy made you feel nice about doing all of it. 

Meeting the family was brief but memerable. When we walked in, the lady was smiling so much, welcoming us into her house. We were a little awkward and shy, but had smiles upon our faces. She even let us hold her baby, who was as expected, adorable. When we gave our gifts, all she could do was say 'thank you'. She praised our class for stepping up to do this for families and was just overjoyed.

This experience was very special to me because I got to make someone else's Christmas special like mine has been every year.

- What I bring to the class dynamic…

I personally think that I brought my own creativity, organisation, and positive energy to this class. During group activities I tried to put in my own creative ideas and tried to make things work out nicely the way that the others would want.

- How I contribute to the class community…
I may not have been much of a public speaker in class, but when we went out to do our activities, I spoke out when needed and sometimes when others didn't. During the grade 8 retreat for one, I took charge a few time to organize and explain games. When we went around to classes to talk about our fundraisers and events, I would also try and speak up.

- How I’ve grown…
I think the way I've grown is not so much around my goal, which was public speaking, but that has improved quite a bit.

- New understandings about leadership…
In my opinion a leader is someone who's not afraid to start something new and state their opinion. A leader that can make those around him/her feel comfortable and free to express themselves. A leader is someone who shows others how to do something and pushes them in the right direction to lead something themselves. I think a leader is someone who can create a safe, free environment for others.

- Something that I’ve been working towards improving…
The "something" I've been wanting to improve on, until the end, is my public speaking. I feel a lot more comfortable to go up to a class and present our event we planned than actually standing up in class and presenting something. Maybe it's the fact that in class I know everyone and their abilities and in other classes, all I know is their grade. The type of public speaking I've improved in is a more informal type, so it's more comfortable to present. I don't think I'll ever get over my hate for presenting anything long that's really prepared and will be graded in the end, because the stress is probably what messes me up the most. Overall I think I've grown a bit with public speaking.

- My most memorable moment as a teacher…  As a learner…
My most memorable moment as a teacher will definitely not be the only one popping up on our Legacies. It was definitely the Grade 8 Retreat that we organized. This was one of the events I liked the most as well. First we got to play a whole bunch of fun games and then we showed and taught the grade 8s at their retreat. I think the most rewarding part was when they enjoyed it too and showed the same excitement you felt while playing the games. Seeing them laugh as they play makes you laugh as well and feel a little lighter at heart and make you comfortable. I think that was probably also why I was able to speak up so much that day.
My most memorable moment as a student might actually be when we went to God's Little Acres farm. I've, for one, never farmed before, and corn was not something I had seen anywhere else besides the super market. I think it was really cool that we got to experience what farming corn was like. How you had to make sure the corn wasn't too small and then having to twist and pull it down to get it off the plant. It was fun to walk around the corn with your friends and picking them. We would randomly start singing too because it was cold. At times they would start chucking corn at the bin and unfortunately some people got hit. I think the farm was a leaning experience for me because I did something I've never done before and won't easily get the chance to do again.

- My hero / mentor / icon (same or different now?)…
For me it's kind of hard to actually pick someone whom I look up to. There are so many inspiring people in the world who have improved it in their own ways. If there was a person that was a mix of all those people, I'd probably pick them. I don't think I can really pick one person as my hero. I just look up to those who actually step up to make a difference, it doesn't matter what it is for. Each and every one of those people deserve the positive attention they get, and there are probably so many other people just walking around in our neighbourhood that could be doing something just as great as them, but to in front of a camera. I myself look up to some of my peers as well when they help out at our events and speak up. My point is that I don't really have A hero, I have A LOT.

- Plans for continued growth as a leader…
This is hard for me to decide but for now all I can think of is volunteering and finding something I enjoy to do that helps others.

Final Report Card Self Evaluation

Wow I can't believe it's already the end of the semester and I'm writing this bog post. Wasn't it a few weeks back when we wrote our first one? Time passed by really quickly this time. I feel pretty sad to know that in a few weeks when I go back up the hill to that portable, it won't be to discuss a new opportunity to give back to the community or make someone's day a bit better and happy like the way we normally live.

I chose this class because 1. I heard about it from my friend 2. I heard it was fun 3. well... I think I wanted to find some way to give back and find ways I can enjoy doing it. I don't think I realized how many things this class has accomplished until now when I needed to write it down. We've been pretty busy planning everything and then actually doing as we planned. I think the "doing" part was the most exciting. Not just for obvious reasons that we planned it all so obviously we were going to pick corn or sell mustaches we cut up. When we actually started picking the corn, planting trees, or  collecting donations, no matter what it was, somehow our class managed to make it fun. We would find ways to joke around and changed things up to make it like a game (although some involved actually getting hit by the corn). I've laughed a lot in this class and that's what I always looked forward to when I walked to class, finding a new way to not worry about anything and just laugh and enjoy what I'm doing. The best part was that I was having fun for a good cause. We were helping clean up the school in the cold, and still laughed; we bought gifts and food for a family to make their Christmas just a little more special; we got scratched by Christmas tries as we attempted to set them up and make the school a little more festive. Leadership has given me many precious memories in the first half of grade 11.

As for the grade part of thinks (haha), I've never missed or skipped a class except for the one day I was really sick. Hmm..... I participate in class, show up, and try to bring some energy when I come it. It's a little harder this time of the year to be all bright when you walk in, the past weeks have been pretty stressful with projects, test, and the there are exams and provincials coming up too. I try though haha. I think if I were to turn my experience and work into a percentage number for a grade... I think I deserve somewhere around a 93%-95%. I'm not too sure if that's accurate because its hard to grade your own work. I've had these sort of problems since grade 8 PE haha. So I think 93-95% sounds about right ^.^

Leadership Report Card

During this first term, we accomplished a lot of things as a group and I did as well for myself. We did a lot of volunteer work from which I learned a lot. Going to God's Little Acres and the Invasive Species Removal that we did were activities I particularly enjoyed. I have never before planted tress, removing them is also foreign to me. Even while it was cold outside and our feet were getting wet, I had a lot of fun doing this with friends and the class. I also really like that we are doing more activities in the community. It makes me feel good about myself and at the end of the day I'll feel happy that I did something that benefited the community. The in class activities we do is something I also really like. From the wake-up games to the event planning. The morning games definitely brighten my mood and it's fun to plan events for the school.

For this term, I think I deserve an A (90%). I think I deserve this mark because I always come to class prepared and on time. I participate and take initiative in the activities we have in and outside class. I always try to bring a bright attitude to the class, even if it takes some time for me to wake up in the morning. I think there is definitely some room for improvement, such as public speaking, but I already think it has improved a bit since the start of the semester as I have gotten to know the class a lot better.

Made in Bangladesh

"Made in Bangladesh" was a documentary made by CBC. The video revolves around a former designer who is determined to find out how his clothes were really made. After hearing about the factory collapse in Bangladesh, causing many workers to be buried alive. We also learned that the factory had frequent fires. The large fires in the past also killed many as the doors were blocked by boxes and the windows were barred with metal.

It made me really sad to see how some people suffer for our selfish desires. Not only are they pressured to make a large amount of clothes in a short amount of time, but also payed way too little for all their efforts.

I hope that in the future it's possible for people in more fortunate countries like ours to do something about the horrible factory conditions in countries like Bangladesh.

SE Report Card

"Write a post about what you learned about yourself from your peers' perspective."

Reading all the comments that everyone in the class wrote about me, I saw that everyone has pretty much the same opinion and thoughts about me. Lots of papers said that in was nice, friendly, and creative. It made me happy to see all these comments coming from everyone. They made me smile and laugh.

I think this was a good activity to do for our report cards. Its anonymous and allows everyone to comfortably compliment others without an awkward atmosphere.

As Sulli Leaders We Value...

- respecting others, ourselves, and the opinions of everyone. (G)

- individuality and being able to express ourselves freely.(G)

- creating and maintaining a safe and positive environment.(G)

- keeping a tenacious nature about our passions.(G)

- providing others with similar opportunities as our own.(S)

I put an S on the last line because we are still on our way to achieving this goal. With the other ones I put a G because I respect others's believes and goals. I don't act rude to others, especially because the way you act will be the way you'll be treated. 

New Blog!

Hurray

New year

New class

New blog ^7^

Community Leadership 2013-2014 Blog