First edition of the IB newspaper

On 26^th October we printed our first edition of the IB newspaper. We sold fifty copies of it but it turned out that they weren’t enough and we had to make more. I was pleasantly surprised that so many students wanted to buy the newspaper. I felt so excited when we went to the room of the 8^th graders and all of them wanted to buy it.

The newspaper had many columns written by all of my classmates and me. My task was to write about my first impression of the IB program and to take an interview from the IB coordinator.

I should say that we put a lot of effort to do it but it is worth it when you reap the fruits of your labour.

Organization of our Halloween party, Decoupage art and discussing the local project

On 21^st October we had a CAS meeting where we discussed our Halloween party again. We organized the screenplay and ordered the prizes for the winners in the games and the lottery. We talked about the screen play too and had a lot of fun while doing it. Now I'm thinking about jokes and other ideas that will be useful and fun for the show.

We finished the work with the IB newspaper and had a decoupage class too. We cut napkins and decorated small jewel-boxes and at the end of the class they were just perfect! I was a little late with my box, but I am proud of the result! When I showed it to my friends they liked it a lot. I am going to give it to my mother, I am sure she will love it!

This is my creation of course :)

At the end of the meeting we had a lot of work to do but it is very interesting at the same time. J

Yoga class

On 20^th October we had our second yoga class. What I found out is that it was easier to do the exercises when you had done them once. We started with relaxing, where we lay down and just listened to our teacher. She was talking about the world, how we should forget about the bad thoughts and throw them away and I found it really useful. The same afternoon I was feeling so well, relaxed and calm that I wanted to have yoga classes every day but unfortunately I don’t have a lot of time. So back to the yoga class – for the next part of the class we did exercises to improve our flexibility and to remove the pressure from our body. The last part, the funniest one, is composed of two or three exercises where we charge us with positive energy.

All in all, I am pleased with our yoga classes and stimulated to attend them again because of the way I feel. Actually I think it is a brilliant way to fill my spare time.

Discussing decoupage actvities, our local project and the Halloween party

On 14^th October we had a CAS meeting where we discussed the Halloween party and it turned out that we are going to the sea side in a five-star hotel, which made us very excited so we day-dreamed a lot J
Again, we were too enthusiastic, even though we had a lot of work to do. I hope that the party will be stunning and everybody will be satisfied, so let’s do it girls!!! We  also talked about the local project - we made a scheme of our newspaper and everybody got their role in this first edition. I'm going to take an interview from our IB coordinator about the program from the past years.
AT this meeting our teacher explained to us how to decorate boxes using decopage. She had made one so she showed us and it was beautiful! I can't wait to make my box too!
Here is a link for Egyptian arts of decoupage:
http://www.decoupage-online.com/gallery/egyptian.html

Making posters about collecting clothes for charity.

On 11^th October one of my classmates and I created posters about collecting clothes, toys and books for the children with special needs.  We hanged them in the hall of our school with the intention to focus the pupils' attention. I think that the campaign is very useful and I will be happy if we can give a smile to these children.  Nobody can stay emotionless if they see the background of the children. It always makes me sad but I’m glad that I can do something to help the children. Actually I think that there are so many things that people are able to do to help those who need it and to make life better and I hope our campaign is just the beginning.

CAS meeting

On 7^th October my classmates, our CAS teacher and I visited a small shop, full of a lot of interesting and beautiful things, which we use for our decoupage classes. There were so many beautiful things, it was like a place in a fairy tale. If only I had a lot of free time, I would go there and sit for hours till I collect all the stuff I like.

We had a lot of work to do so we went to the nearest café and made plans about the Halloween party, the newspaper we are going to establish and the upcoming campaign for collecting clothes for children with special needs. This meeting made me feel useful as a human being, capable of sharing with those who need it, and, on the other hand excited about the organization of the holiday.

                                                            A mask from the shop

First yoga class

On 6^th October I visited my first yoga class, which I found wonderful. My teacher talked about the ancient art called yoga and its principles. She told the group about the beliefs of sun and moon, lightness and darkness, about the energy we have. I am interested in different cultures and love when somebody talks to me about them. I found yoga very pleasing, refreshing and after the class – irreplaceable. Even though I messed some of the exercises, it made me feel calm and happy and I can’t wait to visit the next class. J

The International Day of Older Persons

1^st October is the International Day of Older Persons. Some of my classmates and I went to the local resident home for old people. Our College has been working with this institution for eight years. We celebrate together some holidays, they take parts in some of our programs and we do too. In Bulgaria the society doesn't  pay attention to the elderly which I find very sad. They just need love and contact with younger people. 

So on this day my task was to read the welcoming message to them and I was really nervous, but when they started to dance and sing I calmed down and actually I enjoyed myself a lot.  They looked so happy to see us and they knew how to have fun. We took part in some Bulgarian traditional dances and had a great time.

Here is a link from the website of our college:

http://www.ac-arcus.com/?lng=EN&mod=events&show=234

Decoupage

On 30^th September we took our first class of decorating art. Decoupage technique is gluing cutouts of coloured paper, drawings or napkins on different objects like small boxes, piece of furniture or plates.
Here is a link I found in internet where you can learn the basics of the art and also some interesting facts:
http://www.artcraftsite.com/paper/decoupage.shtml

We decorated plates, using different papers and the result was stunning. It is not complicated but not easy too. While making them we had a great fun. In my opinion decoupage is way to express yourself and to relax at the same time. The point of this activity is to sell the plates and the other ceramic works for charity.

Second CAS meeting. Making the planning page.

On 23th of September we made our second meeting. We created our planning page and discussed the activities that we are going to do during the first term of school. We had to decide in which holidays we want to participate as making something useful like creating things, helping or giving joy to somebody or going somewhere. We haven't been into the CAS thing yet, but we all enjoy it. On the other hand I think that our CAS activities will develop my competitive skills, because I want to improve all the annual things that were done before and I think I am able to. I'm so excited about everything and especially about the organization of our annual Christmas charity ball, which is a tradition of the College.
Here is a model list of my personal planning page:

Personal Planing Page - Term 1
Activities	Evidence	Hours	Total
Creativity	-   Creativity (Ceramic) club	15	24
	-   Theater visiting	5
	-   Making a poster about Christmas selling of ceramic plates and tiles	1
	-   School decoration for Christmas	2
	-   Making posters for charity action (collecting clothes for the children)	1
Action	-   Yoga Club	11	21
	-   Trip to Varna	8
	-   Bowling competition	2
Service	-Charity club	16	34
	-Organization of Halloween party	5
	-Organization of Christmas charity prom	11
	-Campaign “Give a   smile” for the international day of the smile	2

                                                                                                                                          Total: 79
Project: Local project - IB newspaper
Interaional project:  European Voluntary Corps