From August 22nd to 25th, the Diploma students (G11s and G12s) were off to Cha-am for the annual DP Retreat. For the G11s it was a new experience for them to get used to DP lifestyle. As for the G12s, it was a chance to relax (a bit) and have a perfect mindset before going through their last school year. Ultimately, this event was about bonding and helping each other out as a DP community, regardless of the grade levels.
After relaxing for at the lovely beach for a while (including a couple of sumo wrestlings on the sand), the event started off with Mr. Carl’s Amazing Quiz which included a mixture of trivia and weird questions. The event looked more like Santa Claus festival as Mr. Carl gave out university merchandise (that he had collected over the years) as prizes.
The next day was probably the most tiring day ever as the Inaugural Beach Olympics took place in the morning. The G12 representatives came up with some creative games using equipment around the beach. The students also managed to learn how to collaborate as a team and help each other out in tough times. The games were really fun but the only problem was the weather. It was BLAZING HOT, SERIOUSLY. Thank God we had the ice water tank or else we would have turned into, I don’t know, jerkies or something.
After the Olympics, it was the leadership session where students were divided into groups to learn about different leaders around the world who made huge contributions to our world such as Liz Murray, Malala Yousafzai, Laura Dekker. It was a chance for us to be inspired and learn some of the qualities that we can apply to our DP life to become a well-being IB student during the Diploma program. Later on, we also learnt about how to adjust to DP life appropriately as the G12s and the teachers showed some examples of how to be a good, self-controlled leader within the KIS community.
The next day was mainly about International Mindedness activities where the students were separated into different groups such as dancing, making music, debating, role playing, drawing, and yoga to learn on how we can be more about how to be a more self-controlled individual based on IB learner profile principles. All the groups were able to learn the importance of teamwork and many new concepts along the way. The presentation was spectacular. If you don’t believe us, then check out this awesome choreography from the dancing group!
The trip ended with a brief introduction to TOK where the G11s got to understand more about what TOK really is and where our knowledge originates from. It was a great trip with a mixture of bonding, leadership, new experiences, and entertainment. Good luck with DP everyone!
Also, I have to say that the spring rolls were really awesome. Oh, and here’s some of the awesome pictures we took from the retreat. Enjoy.
Credits to Emily Br, Faa (G12), Hugo (G11), and Mr. Carl.
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