QOTD: “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” – Abraham Lincoln
Morning class:
Today for morning class, we had our second Thinking and Learning session. We started off the lesson by sorting out different descriptors for the 4 thinking styles. A lot of the descriptions crossed over on 2 of the ‘colours’ of thinking, but every group had roughly the same answers. Once that small activity was done, we split off into our CLP/School groups, and began profiling our group as a whole. The MWSC group was fairly similar, with our dominant section being our rational self (blue – 40/120), close second being our risk taking self (yellow – 38/120) and the thinking styles we ‘avoid’ are our safe-keeping/organised self (green – 18/120), and our emotional self (red – 23/120). We then had to answer questions on how our team would work together and if there could be any clashes between members of the group based on their predominant thinking style.
After afternoon tea, we got given a ‘test’. It was a Zooley challenge. We were given 2 papers. 1 with questions, and the other with a very basic diagram of different ‘families’, which were animals in a zoo. The questions were very vague, and we had to use our thinking and problem solving skills to figure out the diagram. Many people were complaining about how confusing it was and how they didn’t understand the first question, but eventually, everyone started looking through all the questions, which helped them figure out some of the answers. After a short time, we were told to split off into groups of 4 with the most diverse thinking styles as possible. I – a blue (rational thinker) - was in a group with two red (emotional thinkers) and a yellow (experimental thinker). We went off into a separate room, and quite easily we were able to decipher the code. Some of it took quite a lot off thinking, but in the end, everything fell into place – even though overall, the whole test didn’t make much sense at all. We were all told to come back into the room to share our answers, and everyone went quite well, with only 1 or 2 mistakes in those that actually made some.
After that task, we watched a video on how powerful your mind can be over your physical performance. The video was hosted by Todd Sampson, and in it they showed how important it is to have your mind prepared for different situations, how stress is the enemy of the mind and body, and how a person can improve in certain activities, by just envisioning success. It was a very motivational clip which helped me realise how true the phrase “you can do anything if you just set your mind to it” is.
For afternoon class, we did a presenting class. We were shown a TEDTalks video featuring Adora Svitak, and a (not so good) video on how to ‘improve your presenting skills’. We then got 15 minutes (not too certain how long we had) to make a 2-minute presentation on something we were passionate about. As it was one of my goals, I decided to open up a bit more and talk about something personal, so I took a massive leap, and did my speech on Pedro (my brother) I did a short overview on who he was, and his condition, and although I started tearing up at the end, I am proud of the fact I let myself open up to people, since that is a topic that I haven’t even told some people I have known for over 2 years.
Thankful Thursday:
The things I am thankful for this week are:
- Having such a supportive and friendly community to be around, who let you be comfortable with who you are and help you grow as a leader.
- Being able to have so many opportunities here at Snowy that I wouldn't always have at home, and being able to do it all with new friends.
- Having teachers here who are ready to help, and give you insightful tips when you are in activities.
Morning class:
Today for morning class, we had our second Thinking and Learning session. We started off the lesson by sorting out different descriptors for the 4 thinking styles. A lot of the descriptions crossed over on 2 of the ‘colours’ of thinking, but every group had roughly the same answers. Once that small activity was done, we split off into our CLP/School groups, and began profiling our group as a whole. The MWSC group was fairly similar, with our dominant section being our rational self (blue – 40/120), close second being our risk taking self (yellow – 38/120) and the thinking styles we ‘avoid’ are our safe-keeping/organised self (green – 18/120), and our emotional self (red – 23/120). We then had to answer questions on how our team would work together and if there could be any clashes between members of the group based on their predominant thinking style.
After afternoon tea, we got given a ‘test’. It was a Zooley challenge. We were given 2 papers. 1 with questions, and the other with a very basic diagram of different ‘families’, which were animals in a zoo. The questions were very vague, and we had to use our thinking and problem solving skills to figure out the diagram. Many people were complaining about how confusing it was and how they didn’t understand the first question, but eventually, everyone started looking through all the questions, which helped them figure out some of the answers. After a short time, we were told to split off into groups of 4 with the most diverse thinking styles as possible. I – a blue (rational thinker) - was in a group with two red (emotional thinkers) and a yellow (experimental thinker). We went off into a separate room, and quite easily we were able to decipher the code. Some of it took quite a lot off thinking, but in the end, everything fell into place – even though overall, the whole test didn’t make much sense at all. We were all told to come back into the room to share our answers, and everyone went quite well, with only 1 or 2 mistakes in those that actually made some.
After that task, we watched a video on how powerful your mind can be over your physical performance. The video was hosted by Todd Sampson, and in it they showed how important it is to have your mind prepared for different situations, how stress is the enemy of the mind and body, and how a person can improve in certain activities, by just envisioning success. It was a very motivational clip which helped me realise how true the phrase “you can do anything if you just set your mind to it” is.
For afternoon class, we did a presenting class. We were shown a TEDTalks video featuring Adora Svitak, and a (not so good) video on how to ‘improve your presenting skills’. We then got 15 minutes (not too certain how long we had) to make a 2-minute presentation on something we were passionate about. As it was one of my goals, I decided to open up a bit more and talk about something personal, so I took a massive leap, and did my speech on Pedro (my brother) I did a short overview on who he was, and his condition, and although I started tearing up at the end, I am proud of the fact I let myself open up to people, since that is a topic that I haven’t even told some people I have known for over 2 years.
Thankful Thursday:
The things I am thankful for this week are:
- Having such a supportive and friendly community to be around, who let you be comfortable with who you are and help you grow as a leader.
- Being able to have so many opportunities here at Snowy that I wouldn't always have at home, and being able to do it all with new friends.
- Having teachers here who are ready to help, and give you insightful tips when you are in activities.
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