CAS BOOKLET

This is my CAS booklet, it shows what, when, and where have I done. I wish to share it with everyone who is interested in what I am doing after school!
CAS is Creativity, Action, Service
CAS is REFLECTION
CAS is "Thinking globally, acting locally"

Creativity-"arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking."
Action-"physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle."
Service-"an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning

benefit for the student."


*IBO CAS GUIDE


For me CAS is something that motivates me to do things that I would like to do but I couldn't find time for them. I really enjoy the spirit of CAS because it encourages student to to activities good for both, him/herself and other people.



sobota, 17 grudnia 2011

swiateczna paczka

Aspect: Service
Time: 5 hours


For the second year already together with my fellow schoolmates we have participated in Swiateczna Paczka which translated into English means Christmas Box. It is a great initiative commenced by      in order to help needy people and allow them to fully celebrate Christmas. At our school we collected gifts, basic necessities, and presents for one family and it turned out to be a great success.
My role in this activity was to pack all the boxes, wrap up the gifts, and carry them to the meeting place where I also helped in organizing it.

1. It thought me to work collaboratively with others, it was a team work, and we did not have much time to pack it up, thus we had to work with each other in order to succeed. In fact, working against a clock with a group of friends might be very fruitful, and I have to say we also had good time together because we knew that we were doing something good.

2. This activity also shows us how to engage ourselves with issues of global importance, aiding people in need is an ever since activity in which people who are in position to help out should engage themselves and I believe that this is of immense importance that we really get involved in charity to change the world!


Outcomes
Reached or not
Outcome explanation
increase your awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth

Yes
I believe that working for charity always can be improved and one can always do more in order to help out those in need. 
undertake new challenges

No
Last year I have also participated in Swiateczna Paczka and my role was similar to this of this year's thus it is a continued action. 
plan and initiate activities
Yes
Swiateczka Paczka requires planning and I have adjusted myself to these plans in order to be able to participate. 
work collaboratively with others
Yes
This activity requirers collaboration and cooperation between participants for the work to go smoothly and without any major flaws. 
show perseverance and commitment in your activities
Yes

As this is already my second time as a participant of Swiateczna Paczka I believe I am persistent in it. 
engage with issues of global importance

Yes
Economic problems are present in every part of the world, and same activities - helping families from poorer background to spend their Christmases in decent condition take place all over the globe. 
consider the ethical implications of your actions

Yes
Participating in charities is a very purposeful action. I wish to heal the world and have fun doing it! 
develop new skills

Yes 
Every time when participating in such activity one encounters different opportunities and thus develops new skills. 

czwartek, 10 listopada 2011

“A sound mind in a sound body”


Aspect: Action
Time per session: 1h30
Total time of the activity: 30 hours
Supervisor: Dorota Drążała: 795 762 476 
I find the maxim “a sound mind in a sound body” highly appropriate. I believe that in order to maintain mental balance one must also be able to perform physical activities, since they are very helpful in preserving the general condition of the organism in a good health. Work out which I am undertaking mainly consists of wellness training, meaning that I am not overworking my body. Through going to the gym I attempt to improve my stamina, as well as exercise my already full schedule. 
  1. This is a planned and initiated activity, lasting for a period of at least 3 months. I devote every second Saturday to spend time at the gym, improving the general health of my organism. 
  2. Working out also shows perseverance and commitment to the activity. However, it is not easy to find time to actively spend in the gym, I try my best, aiming for improving general health, again in reference with the maxim “a sound mind in a sound body.”
  3. I also increase my awareness and seek for the areas of growth. Through work out people discover their both weak and strong sides. I have learned what are my weaknesses that I have to work on, in order to improve my results, in for instance: time of running, lifting weights, working out abs. 

Outcomes
Reached  or not
Outcome explanation
increase your awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth

Yes
Before I was never determined enough to start going to the gym and CAS allowed me and to an extent made me believe that attending gym is necessary to keep the balance of the organism and to maintain the general health. I know that through training I can become more healthy and there is still a lot of room for improvement.
undertake new challenges

Yes
I have never been going to the gym on regular basis and CAS made me started to seriously think of workout.
plan and initiate activities
Yes
My workout is a planned and initiated activity, I do it regularly and I am fully devoted to it.
work collaboratively with others
No        
show perseverance and commitment in your activities
Yes

I show commitment through attending sessions every week, as well as on every possible occasion and I believe that it shows my perseverance. 
engage with issues of global importance

No
Gym does not engage me in issues of global importance, certainly.
consider the ethical implications of your actions

Yes
Attending the gym implies that I want to improve my health condition and thus I am going to the gym.
develop new skills

Yes 
I believe that without CAS I would never have started my workout sessions and it certainly helped me developing a new skill. 

wtorek, 25 października 2011

WrocMUN

Aspect - Creativity, Service
Time - 35 hours
Supervisor: Iga Zadrzywilska

http://wrocmun.lo5.wroc.pl/

With much success we have attended 2 Model United Nation sessions so far. The time has come for a real challenge - famous WrocMUN. I have created the delegation, prompting two students from MIS IB II class - Basia & Kasia, as well as two students from BSW. The inter-school delegation gives us the opportunity to  encounter new, interesting people, and importantly - tackle real world problems.
Participation in WrocMUN is immensely satisfying for me, as I really wanted our school to take part in it last year, and I am pleased to announce that it will happen this year.

Furthermore, we will represent United Kingdom, therefore I will have help out my classmates and prepare them, because the country we represent is a permanent member it will demand a lot of effort from all of us.

1.
Through participating in MUN I consider ethical implications of my actions. By reason of that activity I will understand how the world is functioning and what consequences can some actions bring.
I am really satisfied that we have created a team and hope to achieve something there. Of course there are competitive delegates, but I think we might play an important part. I am going there with a certain purpose and I understand why conferences like MUN are significant - they help understanding the current situation in the world.



2.
Thanks to this activity I will hopefully increase awareness of my own strengths and areas for growth, because I have participated in the conference only once so far. I think that I could do real good and possibly I will use the skill obtained thanks to MUN in the future. Definitely it will help me to see whether I am able to make good speeches and talk to a big group of people. I think that it also teaches how to deal with stress and it is very important in everyone's lives.


3.
By that activity I will engage myself with issues of global importance. As we know Model United Nations concern problems of global importance, for instance Korean Conflict and participating in the conference is a great opportunity to become a part of events. MUN's aim is to reproduce the real meeting of countries' statesmen and it helps understanding not only the background of the conflicts but also shows solutions that delegates have to find during the conference. As a Security Council deputy I will be forced to think about country's safety and prevention of future conflicts.



Name of student: Jan Górczyński

Name of activity: WrocMUN 
Duration (when and how many hours):

Outcomes
Reached or not
Outcome explanation
increase your awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth

Yes
WrocMUN was my fourth MUN and it has only confirmed that there is still a lot to learn, however, it also showed that I am in fact one of the most successful young diplomat among participants in Poland which makes me very proud of myself. 
undertake new challenges

Yes
Even though I have participated in numerous MUNs before every single one is a different experience and every time I learn something new.  
plan and initiate activities
Yes
WrocMUN was an activity entirely planned by myself, I have leaded the inter-school delegation and it was also my idea to go to Wroclaw and participate in Wroclaw Model United Nations. 
work collaboratively with others
Yes
MUN is all about collaborative work, not only should you work collaboratively with your delegation, but also within the committee one should find their allies and enemies, thus team work is the key! 
show perseverance and commitment in your activities
Yes

I show commitment through participating in MUNs, on every possible occasion I do it again and I believe that it shows my perseverance. 
engage with issues of global importance

Yes
The topics deal with real-life issues and young diplomats help to resolve the problems of global importance such as hunger in Somalia, struggles in the Gaza Zone etc. 
consider the ethical implications of your actions

Yes
Participating in MUN is a very purposeful action. I wish to heal the world and have fun doing it! 
develop new skills

No 
I believe that I am confident enough and my diplomatic skills are developed to the extent at which I can fully participate and lead the discussions both within committees and General Assembly. 

środa, 14 września 2011

Essay

Confession 


During my vacation I was supposed to write an essay on my personal fails, and why did they occur, there it goes: 

‘My personal fails in CAS’
This year was for many reasons different from my previous ones. I have experienced some personal difficulties, and I have realized that sometimes one has to take care of more people than just himself. In fact, I am a selfish person and sometimes I think that the world is spinning around myself. Some of my service activities taught me that this is not entirely true and that one is obliged to think about the other people surrounding him... 
Sometimes I find it difficult to admit that I have failed, I try to avoid thinking of being unsuccessful. In some cases this is a good method, because you would not feel depressed, sad, or whatsoever. However, there comes the time when it is absolutely necessary to admit when you lose, and besides my successes I have also noted down some difficulties, leading to collapses and fails. 
I have always had problems with being systematic, I have taken up many activities and ended up with doing none of them. The problem appears to be still valid, and even though I have improved to some extent I am still not able to overcome this problem totally. This seems to be very common for young people but it is immensely annoying for me. Due to this it was very uneasy for me to keep up with all of activities scheduled because I was always able to find excuses - homework, head ache, other activities, etc. As a matter of fact this irregularity was, and is one of my biggest fails. Not only it does not allow me to achieve full success but also often leaves me with 10 started and unfinished projects, which is the worst because one cannot focus on 10 things at a time and accomplish them 100% correctly. 
Another problem that I have to struggle with and which generally leads to fail is pretending that I have everything under control. I try to be self sufficient but sometimes I am aware of the fact that I am not experienced enough to do something on my own, and I still do it. This leads not only to many problems but much more. It is understandable that a person of my age is less experienced and generally less capable of accomplishing certain goals than an adult. However, I never admit it and I always try to prove that I am the best in most of the fields. 
Due to this attitude the photo exhibition was a total mistake and as a matter of fact it was prepared in approximately 10 minutes, while we had over a month for it. I decided to be the ‘commander’ and as it turned out I was not capable of forcing my friends to fully commit to it. Also because I had an ‘it is a piece of cake attitude’ I gave up the real preparation for the exhibition and printed out some pictures downloaded from Facebook in the very day. I think that the lack of planning, preparing, and meticulously organizing every single event leads to a collapse, and this is what I have to improve, otherwise I will never be able to achieve a full success. 
Even though my CAS booklet presents only the positive and successful aspects of my year, along with successes there are also fails and the most difficult part is to fully admit and accept your problems, in order to improve. Improvement is possible only when one tries to deal with one’s problems and this is what I am trying to do, hoping that my CAS attitude and activities will contribute to it. 

poniedziałek, 13 czerwca 2011

Changes - Logo

Aspect - Creativity, Service
Time - 8 hours

Last month I have been thinking what can we possibly change in our school and I decided to think of a new name, and logo which would finally deal with an unsolved problem of "how to refer to our school."
I had an idea - Monnet International School(MIS) and to my great surprise it was warmly welcomed by both the teachers and students.

1. Through this activity I have definitely undertook a new challenge as this was risky to propose such significant changes, however I am sure it will do good for the school, and I am content that the whole idea has worked out.

2. This activity also involved working collaboratively with others, not only with a friend of mine - Jas Sosnowski but also with the principal, her spouse and teachers. I believe that it was a fruitful collaboration and that together we have achieved a success.

3. Thanks to this activity I also have developed new skills by reason of this activity I have learned how to implement new ideas, and how to discuss them with others.

poniedziałek, 11 kwietnia 2011

"A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up"

Aspect - Service, creativity - 48 hours
Supervisor: Joanna Firek: 606 444 125


In everybody's life there comes the time when they realize that they want to do something more, the life they lead is not enough. In my life this moment has just come, I figured out that it is time to take some tangible actions, so I decided to sign up for charity work - in Laski. Helping people who are not only blind and deaf but, also suffer from mental retardation problems is uneasy, as one can imagine. However, I find it really interesting and I believe that my contribution will be meaningful. So far I have enjoyed my "adventure" and I hope that it will:




1.  Increase awareness of own strengths and areas for growth, I have never participated in any sort of volunteering action, and I know that for the first time I am doing something truly for other people, who will not give me anything in return. I have understood that helping people is my strong side, and I am really satisfied with my job. 


2. This activity is a new challenge, I have not been doing this kind of activity so far. It is very difficult for the person who sees, hears and is perfectly normal to understand the reality of a handicap. They see the world differently, and this is really challenging, to understand what do they feel like, in order to be able to give them real assistance. 


3. Through this activity I will also consider the ethical implications of my actions, this activity will hopefully bring some positive outcomes not only to the kids but will also help me to understand why my work is important. I bear in mind that helping people is important and I will do everything I can to make it a good experience. 

czwartek, 3 lutego 2011

TBSMUN 4 APRIL, 2011

Aspect - Creativity, Service
Time - approx. 30 hours
Supervisor - Jennifer Pastakia - 798 492 906

Our school for the first time will participate in the Model United Nations conference organized at The British School of Warsaw. Our team consists of Adam Koscielak, Klaudia Niwecka, Jake Sacawa and Me - Jan Gorczynski. I was chosen to be the leader of the team and will be assigned for the Security Council. I really wanted our school to take part in the WrocMUN, however, we have gotten organized a little bit to late. I have already sent the Application Form (deadline is on 14 February). Participating in the MUN helps students understanding the situation in the world.
Participating in MUN is engaging myself with issues of global importance, as we know Model United Nations concerns problems of many countries, delegates fill the roles of:

                                                       - Security Council - Me
                                                       - Disarmament Committee - Adam Koscielak
- Human Rights Committee - Jake Sacawa
- Environmental and Social Committee - Klaudia Niwecka




1.

Through participating in MUN I consider ethical implications of my actions. By reason of that activity I will understand how the world is functioning and what consequences can some actions bring.
I am really satisfied that we have created a team and hope to achieve something there. Of course there are competitive delegates, but I think we might play an important part. I am going there with a certain purpose and I understand why conferences like MUN are significant - they help understanding the current situation in the world.

2.

Thanks to this activity I will hopefully increase awareness of my own strengths and areas for growth, because I have participated in the conference only once so far. I think that I could do real good and possibly I will use the skill obtained thanks to MUN in the future. Definitely it will help me to see whether I am able to make good speeches and talk to a big group of people. I think that it also teaches how to deal with stress and it is very important in everyone's lives.

3.

By that activity I will engage myself with issues of global importance. As we know Model United Nations concern problems of global importance, for instance Korean Conflict and participating in the conference is a great opportunity to become a part of events. MUN's aim is to reproduce the real meeting of countries' statesmen and it helps understanding not only the background of the conflicts but also shows solutions that delegates have to find during the conference. As a Security Council deputy I will be forced to think about country's safety and prevention of future conflicts.

niedziela, 16 stycznia 2011

Singing time about to commence.

Aspect - Creativity
Time - 1 - 1.5 hrs, every Sunday.
Total time 15 hours


Teacher : Victoria Dasha Kataeva
http://www.myspace.com/victoriakatajew
cell phone : + 48 790 735 678


Since the beginning of November I've been taking singing classes. Every Sunday at 7 p.m. I meet up with my singing teacher, to practice and learn something new.

The ordinary meeting is divided into three main parts:

-part one(10-15 minutes) - voice warm-up, singing loudly.
-part two(35-40 minutes) - developing new techniques, practicing vibrato.
-part three(5 minutes) - cooling down the diaphragm.

1.

Despite the fact that classes give me satisfaction, through the classes I was able to achieve important outcomes, I've shown show perseverance and commitment, because I am really interested in that, and I haven't missed a single class so far! In such activities commitment and perseverance are very vital because without them student cannot achieve what he wants, and I have a certain goals, I do not want to become a professional singer, however, I want to be able to sing well, because I simply enjoy doing it. Hopefully thanks to this activity I managed to achieve one of CAS learning outcomes and I am satisfied about it.

2. This is also undertaking new challenges, even though this is not my first experience with music, I used to play guitar, for the first time I thought that I could sing. Singing is not an easy activity, especially considering the fact that I am not young enough, but thanks to that it gives me more satisfaction when I do something correct. I like challenges and singing is both, pleasurable and challenging, which means that, although, it's hard I like doing it.

czwartek, 13 stycznia 2011

basketball is ma favorite sport, i like the way i dribble up and down the court

Aspects-Creativity, Action and Service.
Monnet’s Basketball Section 2011/2012 !
Supervisor: Mr. Janusz Tryzno
Time: 1.5 hours per sessiom
Total time: approximately 50 hours


With my classmate Oscar Lange we have decided to run a basketball team in our school.Together we thought that we could achieve something and have a lot of fun as well. We want to keep fit and have a little break from school, by having balanced life which consist of both study & sport.


So far we’ve managed to talk with the Headmaster who agreed and supported the idea. Personally I’m really looking forward to it, because I know how sport is important in everyday life.

We’ve prepared two versions of posters, recruited the team and after the mock exams we would like to start. By now we meet up once a week on Friday and play for approximately 70 minutes, but we’re planning to do trainings on Wednesday and Thursdays also.

1.

This definitely is a planned and initiated action as it was our own idea and initiative. This activity definitely demands some devotion and work, it's not easy to set everything up to working, especially considering the fact that we have a lot of school work, however, I am sure that through this activity both of us learned how to plan actions and as it was our own idea we showed the initiative. For me organizing events and other actions is really entertaining and gives me satisfaction, I think that everything is going alright and thanks to that activity, except for the basketball, we will improve in many other areas, such as
planning and initiating actions. 


2.

This activity is all about working collaboratively with others, it isn't involving only one or two persons, but the whole team, and for the team to work well, the cooperation is something that cannot be lacking. So far we are really getting on with each other well, we have other opinions on some aspects, but we do manage to be productive and my cooperation with the teammates is very good. Not only we have common interests - basketball, but also we have many other subjects to discuss. This activity taught me that I have to listen to others, in order to achieve something, and that opinions of other people might be useful as well, and I'm happy that I have understood it so far.

Supervisor for the moment - Mr. Tryzno

poniedziałek, 3 stycznia 2011

Diamond Cars


Aspect - Creativity
Time - 5 hours

I do a lot of projects in Photoshop and Illustrator because I am pretty fluent in these programs. I had a great opportunity to participate in the free contest, my work did not win, but it took third place, I've put a lot of effort into it, because I wanted it to be as good as possible. It took me about 5 hours and I think that for the amount of time I spent it's a good job. Another outcome that I have achieved thanks to the activity is "undertaking new challenges", I wasn't sure if I shall participate in the contest, due to the fact that I don't have much free time and I am really involved in school affairs, but I am really happy that finally I decided to go for it.

1. It increased the awareness of my own strengths and areas for growth because I both knew I could take the first place and I'm satisfied with what I achieved because other participants were really gifted. I know that there is still room for me to grow and improve, because I am still young person who can achieve a lot. I think that every activity we do teaches us something and we should learn something from it. Preparing that logo taught me that if we try hard for something we can achieve it.

2. Thanks to that activity I  have also developed a new skill. I discovered a new, interesting and a very vital feature in Photoshop - how to create the three dimensional effect. Everything that we do should bring us somewhere, this activity taught me that there we are never too old and that there is never too late to improve and to learn something.