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. 

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.

"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. 

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.

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.

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

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.