The Final Reflection for 2014

In this year, I've fulfilled a few of the goals that I set for myself. My first goal was to take lessons and learn a new instrument. I took piano lessons every week for 3 months and was able to learn how to play. I wanted to try something new and was successful in doing so. The other creative goal that I was striving for was to raise enough money to fund an activity with kids from less fortunate backgrounds. With the co-operation and teamwork of my service group, we were able to do so. I believe this is a matter of global importance; interacting with and helping those that are less fortunate.

My action goal was to develop my skills in basketball. I also wanted to improve and maintain my skills. The biggest goal regarding basketball though was to make the SAISA basketball team and win the tournament. Although we didn't win the tournament, I was able to achieve my goal of making the team and representing the school.

Being part of the Gecko Inc. service group has definitely helped me improve my collaboration skills due to having to work together effectively and efficiently to keep operations and events running smoothly. Taking on these activities has helped me become better at organizing and carrying out activities on a large scale.

Gecko Inc! - Meeting the kids

Yesterday, my service group and I met up with the children from a local school. It was great to finally see the group interacting with the kids instead of spending most of the time planning. There were 25 kids ranging around the age of 5 to 9-years-old. We introduced ourselves and began with a fun activity to get them comfortable with us. We all grabbed the edges of a multi-coloured paruachute and ran under it when a corresponding colour was called out. They seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed it!

The second activity that followed up the parachuting was quite successful. We thought we'd try a spot of ULTIMATE FRISBEE. This was another hit with the kids and we had bucket fulls of fun.

To end the day off, we gave the children drinks to cool off and pizza.

This was a matter of global importance because we are helping and interacting with kids from less fortunate backgrounds.

                                           
                                          Posing for the camera

                                          My designated Ultimate Frisbee bro

SAISA Day 1

March 11th marked the beginning of the Boys Basketball SAISA tournament. The day commenced at around 3:30 in the morning on a Tuesday. I felt like dropping dead from sleep deprivation.

The basketball team met up at the school at 4:00 and we set off for the airport with determination and fire in our hearts!

Getting through to our flight was surprisingly painless and easy. It was a reasonably short flight; most of the team just slept through it. Upon arriving at Bangladesh, Dhaka, there were noticeable differences when compared to Sri Lanka. Dhaka was clearly not as developed as Sri Lanka. There was rubbish littered on the streets, beggars everywhere and 

Basketball Training - So Intense

Basketball training's difficulty has increased exponentially. This is due to the fact that we're learning and practicing a new motion offense. We call it 'THE THUNDER'.
It takes some time to get a hang of but once perfected, it'll become a powerful tool that can be utilized to decimate our opponents. It requires a good deal of teamwork and co-ordination. The training sessions are always something to look forward to because of all the work and effort the members of the team put into every session. Here are a few wise words from a fellow member. "The overall standards of the team effort that has been displayed...by the team, is outstanding." - Kevin Fernando

Surface Embellishment - An Untold Tale

I had yet another wonderful experience in Surface Embellishment today. We've moved on from fooling around with vegetables and patterns and have commenced a new chapter in this increasingly intriguing story. We're learning how to stitch shapes into cloth such as rolling hills and clouds. So actually we haven't really progressed from patterns. I have learned the stitching technique called the cross stitch and have utilized it with great efficiency during my stitching endeavors. Another successful day of embellishing surfaces!

Basketball update

On Tuesday we played against a school called Gateway - It was a great game and we were evenly matched. Towards the second half of the game we started to gain a bigger lead. Must be our superior stamina!
The end results were 69-57 in our favour.

Basketball Team

I made the basketball team and I'll be travelling to Dhaka, Bangladesh for the SAISA tournament. Great.

I also have an after school game today against the school that has cancelled on us twice in a row. Will they back out? Find out next time on Jack's Blog.