Action - Duke of Edinburgh (Prémio)

Activity: Duke of Edinbrugh (Prémio)

Type of Activity: Action

Number of Hours: 25

In year 12, I attended weekly lunchtimes meetings where we learned map reading, first aid, and many other more useful things that could turn out to be applicable during the Duke of Edinbrugh. In the beginning of April, we went for a practice one in Sintra for one night. At 10 o'clock in the morning, we all gathered at the Aki next to Cascaishopping. From there, we walked to Sintra which took us about 2 hours, each with very heavy backpacks on our back. When we arrived in Sintra, at the Pedra Amarelo where we were going to spend the night, we ate and set up our tents. After that, we went for another walk and had to test our map reading skills. My group arrived first to the finish, so this wasn't a problem. I think the funnest part of the Duke of Edinburgh was the night, where me cooked our own dinner and made a big fire where we roasted marshmallows. Around midnight, we went for another short walk and it was amazing because it was completely foggy and we stood on top of a mountain in the middle of a cloud. It was a really strange feeling, since it was quite chilly yet such a mysterious atmosphere. The next day, we packed our tents, and went for a big walk back to the Aki. However, we took the long way, because we had to walk more and could take no shortcuts. 

I was supposed to do the real Duke of Edinburgh in the middle of may, and get my award as well, but I changed school so I did not get to get assessed and receive an award. However, I truly loved the experience and I would do it again without thinking twice. I learned many, many useful things in life, and it is a pity that I did not get to complete what I started.

Contact for Proof: Ms. Figueiredo - 919238587

Action/Service - Taking Care of Horse

Activity: Taking care of a horse & riding her
Type of Activity: Action & Service
Number of Hours: 4 hours/week --> 150 hours+

Something I really enjoy doing besides football, is horse riding. My dad’s colleague owns a horse, but since she is away for business quite frequently, she does not always have time to go and take care of the horse. For this reason, whenever she is away for work or does not have time, I go to the stables and clean, feed and give the horse movement. Movement is essential for horses, just like for any other animal or human being, because it helps their metabolism and prevents their intestines to get clogged, which can be fatal. This tends to happen fairly fast for horses, so they need to get movement at least once a day.

The owner of the horse is away quite frequently, thus I spend about four hours a week with the horse. When she is out of the country, this is about six hours of week. I really enjoy being with the horse but I do not always have time for this, and sometimes it feels like a sacrifice rather than something that I really want to do. However, I continue to be with the horse because it takes my mind off things and it relaxes me to spend time with horses.

The owner of the horse really appreciates what I do for her and her horse, which is satisfying for me. Also, by being with this horse, I learned a lot more about the behavior of this animal and about horses in general. 

Contact for Proof: Jitte Boutens

Action - Football Training

Activity: Football Training

Type of Activity: Action

Number of Hours: 3hours/week --> ±60 hours

In order to do well in the tournaments, we had football practice twice a week that lasted three hours. I remember the football practices as one of the best things during year 12, because they really helped me get my mind off all the schoolwork and focus on what I really love doing. The coach said that I have improved a lot throughout the years that I have been training with him, and that he wanted to make me the captain of the team. I was very happy of course, which encouraged me to try even harder in practices and eventually use this to my advantage to become a better (team) player.

I remember the football team as being really close, because we were all friends and hung around out of school. This helped us to develop as a better team, and always be there for each other when a game didn’t go well or when someone made a mistake with disappointing consequences. The St. Dominic’s football team is one of the best memories of my life, and the things I have learned with this team are unimaginable. 

Contact for Proof: s.blackburn@dominics-int.org

Action - Football Tournament in Barcelona

Activity: Football Tournament in Barcelona
Type of Activity: Action
Number of Hours: 80

In the start of May, the St. Dominic’s football team went to Barcelona for a tournament. I was the captain of the team and scored 7 goals in 6 games. We managed to come 3^rd out of the 10 teams that participated, and it was a very satisfying outcome. The schools that participated came from all over Europe; Portugal, England, Spain and Turkey. Host families hosted us and in the end of the tournament we were tired but very happy because all of us had a great time.

From being the captain of the football team, I learned to take the lead and think as a team rather than as an individual. I learned to take important decisions but use the opinions of players from the rest of the team to assist me. I personally think that I should have been less disappointed when we lost a game because that caused me to isolate myself a little bit, where I forgot that I needed to do the opposite and lift the team up in terms of spirit. Besides this, I am very happy with what we as a team have achieved during these three days. 

Contact for Proof: s.blackburn@dominics-int.org

Creativity - Dance Class

Activity: Dance Class
Type of Activity: Creativity
Number of Hours: 2

In the end of November, the St. Julian’s football team went to a football tournament in the Algarve. It lasted 3 days and we stayed in a holiday resort with all sorts of apartments. We were free to use to the pool and the Jacuzzi, and even follow some dance classes. After a tiring day of football, the whole team decided to take one dance class that lasted quite a long time and was extremely tiring, but very fun. I had never really experienced a class where this type of dance was taught, as it was a mixture between hip-hop and some sort of kung fu, and it was definitely interesting. I enjoyed learning this new dance, but it sure was very tiring and demanding for a team that has played 2 or 3 games of 40 minutes of football a day.

Contact for Proof: rdunn@stjulians.com

Creativity - Helping out in the Dutch Lessons

Activity: Helping out in Dutch lessons given every saturday morning

Type of Activity: Creativity
Number of Hours: 4

Every Saturday morning, the Dutch children from 5-10 years of age that live in Portugal and go to an international school have Dutch class to keep up with their level of this language. Most of the children have lived in Portugal their whole lives and have pretty much forgotten all their Dutch. The things they do in the class is not spelling or writing, but rather learning dances on Dutch songs, paint typically Dutch objects or other Holland-related things. A few times, I have gone to these lessons to help out the teachers and teach dances to the children. We had to learn these dances from YouTube and then pass the choreography onto the little children. It was very funny because half of the children are boys who are not so excited about learning dances, so it was quite difficult to motivate them. I did this with a Dutch friend of mine and it was quite a fun experience, and the teachers really appreciated our help. As I really like to work with children, I enjoyed the experience of teaching them new things and learning new things about children myself. 

 Contact for Proof:  arine.imming@hotmail.com