Circle of Life BTB Musical CAS

*Photos are not of the best quality x.x

Last 2013 our school Bina Tunas Bangsa had our first ever musical production, the "Bits and Pieces of Broadway", showcasing our students in an entertaining 2 hour long performance. This year, we were inspired to do the same but better. "Circle of Life" was a Lion King inspired musical performance, with a modern twist to it, including new pop songs that were popular during the period. The singing and dancing by children of the primary sector were spectacular, face painting making them look even more adorable. Their electrifying talents blew everyone away as nobody had expected such unification and capability in little children. Us eleventh graders on the other hand, worked as behind the scene ushers.

Ten of us were in on it, me; Gabriella Wina, Jermysen Vendarwan, Dennis Oh, Kelvin Jordan, Anthonie Tjendana, Tommy Gunawan, Juanito Clement Tanjung, William Hartono, Devin Christian, and Denzel Andrews. We wore with such pride a black tee with an orange lion on its front, the symbol of the musical.

On Friday, 17 April 2015, we were given our uniforms and briefed with what each of us should do. Each of us were given a station to work at, some being in pairs, either guarding the music room, working the ticket station, greeting guests in the main door, and even roaming the 3rd and 4th floor looking for requested staff or students. As the parents who came were overly excited to see their children, we had to start working at 4pm, even though the show would begin at 6. The same happened the next day, with even more parents arriving early, most probably since it was the show's last day, and it was on a Saturday as well.

Sure it was tiring work, having to stand for hours straight with only a few sitting breaks in two consecutive days, but it was also insanely fun. With friends like these you start to forget about how weak your legs become and instead laugh and have a great time, even socializing with the staff and guests that came. During the show, when nobody else came to show their tickets, some of us went inside to make sure that the guests won't exit using the wrong door, and we helped maintain the silence of the audience as there were many younger brothers and sisters of the performers who were starting to create commotion. Me being one of the people who got to stay inside for a little bit thus got a peek and let me tell you. It made the crowd go wild.

Post performance we went back to our stations to make sure that the parents won't bring their children home straight away as the curtain call was still going on, and we had the honor of a new job: High five-ing the performers telling them they did a great job. I was blessed to be able to hi-five the young king of the jungle.

It was almost nine when all the guests had eventually gone, and since we were still young at heart, we snagged the opportunity to take pictures on the amazing set that was built, act all Mufasa and Scar on stage and ran away when we realized people were watching us. We were also provided with food, and as we dined we had a delightful exchange of opinions on who the prettiest kid actress was. I just love being friends with dudes.

And that was it. Two days, five hours each, and ten crazy people racing all the way to IB.

That was our Circle of Life the Musical CAS.

I don't know how to smile xD

Learning outcomes checklist:

1. Increased their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth 

There were different jobs for each of us, with some having to greet the visitors, some having to hand out flyers, and some accepting the tickets in. At first I was asked to show the audience to their seats, but seeing that I'm not that good with talking to people, I was shifted to the ticket department. It showed where I was lacking and now I know where I need to improve myself.

2. Undertaken new challenges
I've been in a school performance before, but I have never helped in setting one up. This was really new to me, and I didn't know how much of a fuss it would be to work backstage.

5. Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities
Since some people came in late, it was up to me and my friends to show them the right way to the show and make them feel welcomed. We stayed in our stations the whole time and had glimpses of the show as we took shifts. 

7. Considered the ethical implications of their actions
Talking the audience was hard enough, but to know that these are also the friends and family of my school's students made it even more nerve-wracking. We were sure to be polite and nice to the people that came, making sure to not ruin the school's reputation.

Christmas CAS Dec 2014

December 5th, 2014- The grade eleven class conducted their first CAS, nervous and inexperienced with this IB task of theirs. The Christmas celebration was merry, classes performing songs and dances, filling the air with Christmas spirit. We set up three booths as a way of raising funds, including the photo booth, game booth, and the classic jail booth.

The photo booth, complete with a candy cane background and props for posing with, turned out to be a great success, with students, teachers, and even parents paying to take a picture with Santa, Mrs.Claus, and one of the pointy-eared elves. Many tested their aiming skills in the game booth, knocking down cans, shooting into holes, bouncing rubber balls into cups, and even catching fish! The jail booth was the most crowded of all, the curtained jail full of people, and even more were lined up to send their friends to jail, even our CAS staff were captured! Our main objective was to raise funds for charity, while at the same time having fun and spreading the joy of Christmas. I believe we achieved that.

I think that the MSHS students are all mature enough to see our CAS activity as something to enjoy, something mainly for fun and entertainment, and not something to use against other students. We are proud to say that our profit reached 3,000,000IDR, with the inclusion of what we earned from Christmas caroling earlier that day.

To say that this CAS had no problems at all would be a lie. We had a few small issues along the way, yet compared to the end result, they were insignificant. All that mattered was the time we spent, the effort we exerted and those long hours of cutting and pasting finally paying off. This was our way of contributing to Creativity Action Service. This was our Christmas.

 -Gabs, 2015. Spotlight News Articles

Learning outcomes checklist:

3. Planned and initiated activities
Our creativity was tested when we had to impress the entire student body, as well as parents and teachers. Some of us designed the Photo Booth, some built the jail booth and others set up the games. Our idea came mostly from previous case activities by our older batches, but we made sure to add some tweaks to the game.

4. Worked collaboratively with others
We wouldn't have been able to do this alone. The entire thing was a class effort, and everyone did their part so well that it brought the whole school together. 

5. Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities 
As we were assigned to our booths, we had to take shifts in experiencing the fun ourselves. Despite having breaks, the booths were constantly full and it was up to us to treat our customers right, even if that did mean working overtime!

6. Engaged with issues of global importance
All the money collected went to charity, supporting impoverished orphans to be exact. Unfortunately we could not meet them due to our tight schedule, but hey, its the thought that counts, right?

7. Considered the ethical implications of their actions 

We knew that some people wouldn't want to be stuck in jail for so long, so we made sure that nobody was in for more than 30 minutes. Many complained, but we did give them the option to bail out if they wished. We also made sure that the jail wasn't too full, just in case anyone with claustrophobia was in it.