Creativity
Battle of the Bands
LO 1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
LO 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
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Every year here at Colegio Roosevelt we start off with a huge burst of school, more specifically grade, spirit. At the end of the first month, each individual grade level bands together to compete against the other in a series of events for a three-day high-intensity clash that's filled with cheers, wins, and losses.
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With each student participating from one to five different activities, it becomes inevitable to be involved. For me, one of my activities was an event called Battle of the Bands where each grade level must come up with an original composition to then present in a huge auditorium in front of the four grades as. Here, it becomes crucial to work alongside the strengths and weaknesses of your fellow band members--and yourself.
I was able to meet up after school with different classmates whom I know I would not have had this opportunity to interact with if this didn't exist. Throughout our preparation weeks, two classmates and I would devote time to creating the lyrics for the song or matching up chords so the piano and guitar would know when and what to play when we would meet up with the rest of the group to play together. I considered it very entertaining to be able to work alongside my classmates who were more talented than they let on. I also found out more about my role in this type of dynamic. Although I knew a bit about music, I struggled to come up with stable musical progressions or specific notes--being able to hum them didn't help much. With this experience, my limits presented themselves to me and to the others, but we gladly used what each could offer and added on to one another's ideas.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
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Every year, the high school drama association (the RTA) chooses a play to perform near the end of the first semester. This year's a Shakespearian play, A Midsummer Dream, was undertaken and since I had previously participated in last year's play, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to further develop my theatrical skill and help out the school's theater department.
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From late August all the way to performance day in October, I alongside the rest of the cast would devote many days after school to rehearse and practice each scene. On top of this, we also came into school on a Saturday to further devote time to make sure our performance was the best it could be.
Through this experience, I was able to meet a couple of students whom I would have never had gotten the opportunity to meet with them otherwise.
FDR Piano Night
LO1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
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This year, the TRI-M honor society organized its first piano night, open for all ages. Since my instrument of choice is the piano, I signed up to play. I knew that I had some strength within this area, so I was confident to perform well. Weeks away before the date, I had already started to practice at home. I had already chosen my two songs, but it had admittedly been a while since I last practiced them seriously.
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To tackle this goal, I made sure to practice at least twice a week for half an hour to an hour and ensure each area that I was struggling with was smoothed over enough that I felt confident at it. By the week before the performance, I made sure to practice a little bit more often to make sure all was well. I even simulated an audience with my family members.
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Come the day of the performance, I was a bit nervous; stage fright never really goes away. Afterward, I recognized the mistakes I made and why I made them. It had been a while since last performed on stage and this was definitely good practice to improve that area.
Animal Crossing New Horizons
LO3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
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In Nintendo's latest installment of their Animal Crossing series, you play as the island representative of a deserted island: chose specifically as a destination to get away from the hassle of regular life before the game's events. As the representative, you are given the power to alter the island to your wish. Playing in realtime, you set up various constructions and upgrades that take a while to complete. In the meantime, you can clear the island of weeds, destroy rocks with your shovel, pick the native island's fruit, buy items in the island shop, chat with your neighbors, and much more.
With a wide variety of customization tools made available to you, the player, it takes a lot of time to try and plan a layout that you are happy with. Alongside an entire island to work with, you are also able to customize your house by filling it with furniture, changing the outside, and expanding to up to six rooms. With this in mind, the game also includes a rating system that scores both the island you've decorated and the home you've customized. As such, I've reached the perfect scores on both fronts: an S for home design and a 5/5 star rating for the island. Regardless, there is still much out there to be done, and you can never finish customizing everything.
FDR Esports Presentations
LO3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
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New to this semester was the esports group that was formed alongside its advisor, Mr. R. Swanson. Here, instead of just being a group of students trying to play video games for fun Condor Esports actually aimed to help players better their game and learn more about the in-depth mechanics at their reach. The main game that C.E. focuses on is League of Legends, and I am in charge of organizing and maintaining around 12 students who want to play.
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In addition, I am also an experienced player and know a bit more about the game (and a specific role) that I could help teach to the others. To do this, I planned out when I wanted to hold a workshop and set myself a date to finish a presentation with the introductory information to be known about the role I play. This had the purpose to inform and educate the more recent players and give them an insider's view on how to get better. Since we are in quarantine, I used Discord--a social platform similar to Skype or TeamSpeak--to present to the attendees.
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To carry out this CAS experience, I had to plan, research, and execute an after-school presentation on my own time separate from schoolwork.
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"LifeCare" Roosevelt Studios
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
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This year, COVID-19 has affected the yearly traditions that many students looked forward to. One such activity was theater. Although it seemed impossible to actually produce some type of theatrical product without being in person, Roosevelt Studios found a way.
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Even though I am not part of the club, I was called upon to help portray one of the characters in the film dubbed "LifeCare" a spin on the TV series "The Office" but, of course, through zoom. Directed by Jose Huambo, this film was met with a lot of difficulties with various filming and connectivity issues.
On this experience, I worked with various of my friends whom I had established a connection through theater and other activities. Through acting in a new environment, however, I was able to form new skills like minimalistic acting (since I was confined to my chair and the space captured by my camera). I greatly enjoyed the experience and the final product can be found here if you're interested.
FDR's Second Piano Night
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
LO4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
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Persevering through the middle of the pandemic, Tri-M was able to host the second Piano Festival with a "live" zoom concert. Participants, myself included, had sent in their best recordings of a song of choice to later be shown off in front of FDR's community in a Zoom call. If you're interested in my performance, check out my cover of Yanni's "One Man's Dream" below.
