The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. – Nelson Mandela
Nowadays in our society so many young people are blinded by the thought that you should never fail, lose or do bad, that when that does happen, they cannot comprehend how to bounce back. This quote above resembles with me a lot because it shows the importance of integrity and determination. If you ever fail, lose or not do as well in something as you wished, you should not completely dismiss yourself, you should take it on the chin and bounce back even harder.
My name is Tanaka Munyikwa. I am fifteen years old, born on May 31, 2007, and currently attend All Saints’ College in Western Australia. I have been a part of the All Saints community since 2019, entering in Year 7. From the very beginning, I have cherished my time here. I am a trustworthy individual who values integrity and determination as the two most essential qualities one should possess.
Interests and Hobbies:
In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, listening to music, and participating in various sports. I also take pleasure in spending time with friends and engaging in community service and charity events. Contributing to the community brings me great joy, especially knowing that my actions can bring happiness to others.
Academic Journey:
When I first joined All Saints in 2019, my academic performance was satisfactory, though it fell short of the expectations my parents and I had set. Unfortunately, my grades declined further in 2020 and 2021, despite my efforts. This period was challenging, as I struggled to achieve the results I desired, often scoring in the low 60s. This led to a decrease in my motivation, and I found myself at a low point.
However, in 2022, I made a personal commitment to improve both academically and personally. This resolve proved successful, as I have since achieved my best academic results to date, consistently earning top scores and maintaining an A average across my MESH subjects (Math, English, Science, Humanities and Social Sciences).
Now in 2024, I have continued to build on this momentum through the help of friends, family and those around me I am tackling ATAR and producing the best grades I have seen in my life. Which will allow me to get to the course and university I am going for.
Reflection:
This experience has reinforced my belief in the importance of integrity and determination. By honestly assessing my situation, I recognized that my grades were not where they needed to be, and I used determination to drive my efforts to improve. The quote, “rise every time we fall,” resonates deeply with me, as it encapsulates the journey I’ve undertaken.
Conclusion:
This story holds great significance to me because it exemplifies the power of integrity and determination. I hope it inspires others to recognize that there is always an opportunity to rise after a fall. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and I wish you a wonderful day.
What were the biggest things you learnt while completing this task?
One of the most significant lessons I learned is the serious risk posed by distracted driving, particularly when using a mobile phone. Intoxicated driving is, of course, incredibly dangerous, but what surprised me most was realizing how even something as simple as eating while driving can be hazardous.
What one piece of advice would you pass on to young drivers above all else? Why?
If I could offer one crucial piece of advice to young drivers, it would be this: Never allow your phone to distract you while driving. A split second of distraction can be the difference between life and death. I emphasize this point because, as a teenager, I understand how deeply embedded mobile phones and social media are in our daily lives, and how difficult it can be to resist the urge to check them constantly.
Write down a pledge that you will commit to when you start driving. Why did you pick these things to commit to? How will you stick to these commitments?
Never Drink and Drive
Never Use My Phone While Driving
I chose these commitments because they are essential not only for safe driving but also for personal growth. Avoiding drinking and driving will help me establish responsible habits, reducing the risk of developing an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. Similarly, by not using my phone while driving, I can better manage my impulses and understand the dangers of technology addiction. While I acknowledge that there might be situations where eating while driving is unavoidable, I believe that by adhering to these two pledges, I can not only protect myself but also set a positive example for others.
To stay committed to these pledges, I plan to take on responsibilities that reinforce them. For example, when attending social events with friends, I will volunteer to be the designated driver. This will give me a clear reason to abstain from drinking. As for my phone, I will make it a habit to place it out of reach, such as in the glovebox, before I start driving. This simple action will help eliminate the temptation to check it while on the road.
In Year 9 Science, we were tasked with an engineering challenge where we would create an earthquake resistance model of a building, all while documenting our research and following the Engineering process: Define, Research, Design, Create, Test, Evaluate.
My Group
Before starting the challenge our teacher Mrs Schoen had assigned us, groups of 3-4 to work in, my group was Senuka Jayasekara and Sam Harban. I was quite happy with this group as I’ve worked with them before and they were great people to work with. First, our group had to assign each other roles.
Roles:
Senuka (Project Manager): His role is to make sure that everyone understands the challenge and keeps the team on track. He was chosen because he is strong in leadership and organisation
Sam (Equipment Manager): Makes sure that the materials needed for the task are available and that everyone cleans up after each session because he’s good at communication and teamwork.
Tanaka (Speaker/Reporter): Person who clarifies ideas and documents, because he is strong in communication and collaboration
To avoid any confrontation or arguments we had to create rules that our group members would abide by.
Rules
All decisions are resolved in a democratic way.
We set goals and aim to complete them by the end of the day.
If someone isn’t pulling their weight, other team members are allowed to give constructive criticism.
Team members can give friendly suggestions on how to improve each other’s work.
Define:
Our challenge was to create a model of an earthquake-resistant building using only materials like spaghetti and blu tack. The intended outcome is for the building we have created to withstand the shaking from the ground for 10 seconds with as little damage as possible. We could only use spaghetti ($1 for 10cm) and Blu-Tack ($1 per gram) we a budget of $60. The structure must be at least 60cm and the base should not exceed 30x30cm.
The challenge we have been tasked with is important in the real world because it teaches us about how difficult it is to build earthquake-resistant buildings with a low budget through the engineering process.
This project helped me and my group to experience the design process and develop capabilities such as teamwork, time management, collaboration and problem-solving.
Research
Before starting our build my group and I had to scout the internet by researching, investigating the problem, gathering data, and searching for information about ways this problem has been tackled by engineers in the real world. We researched three topics: Frame/Foundation, Materials and Reinforcements. We learned that for the base/foundation that triangular shape are strong because of their structural characteristics and that for the roofs they tend to be slanted because both sides can bend without the building breaking. When researching about materials we found out that steel is able to undergo massive amounts of stress and movements compared to its other counterpart materials. Wood because its able to withstand high loads for short periods of time and retain its elasticity which is good because earthquakes behave in the same way and it’s a lot lighter than other materials. Reinforced concrete is good because it is stiff and strong. We realised that engineer’s used these materials because of their high ductility and high energy absorbance with the exception of wood but wood is still find as it has a good weight/strength ratio. For reinforcements we found that cross braces are common as they maximise the load the structure is able to support. Horizontal frames (diaphragms) are popular as they divert force to the walls/edges of the building. Seismic dampers are also a common protection used in earthquake-resistant buildings as they absorb destructive energy
Design:
We discussed which methods would be realistic to implement and which ones were not. From there we drew multiple sketches of how our building possibly could look like before voting on the best one.
Our main challenges we faced was staying in budget whilst making sure we are above the minimum height. We brainstormed possible ways to fix this problem and the final solution was to make our building three sided instead of four sided which slimmed down the amount of blu-tack and spaghetti we would use. We solved the height problem by sticking one strand of spaghetti on top so we could be above the minimum height whilst staying in budget. Our final design was a pyramid shaped structure with three sides featuring triangular bracing and triangular horizontal frames.
Final Design on the right side.
Create
Our group built the model fast whilst keeping precision and care. We measured everything and the process was quite quick taking less than one lesson, however we had to be patient as there were times when the spaghetti kept snapping, but we trusted the process and ended up building the structure without losing our tempers.
Final Prototype
Test
We tested our structure using the shake table. We used two different types of shaking, there was the “side to side’ shaking where we would shake te table side to side which would mimick primary and secondary waves and there was the “banging” where we smashed the table mimicking surface waves, the most destructive type.
During the first round of tests, our building suffered no damage from the “side-shake” test, withstanding a “Catastrophic” Level on the Mercalli scale.
Side to Side
However during the smashing test two strand disconnected from the joints but our structure was still standing surviving the “catastrophic” level of the Mercalli Scale
Smashing Test
Evaluation
At the end of the firs tests we listed our advantages and disadvantages. The advantages was that our building was still in budget was within range of the measurement and suffered hardly any damage, however we still had room for improvement. Our building was not completely immune to damage and the joints came undone quite easily.
After a long process of planning and brainstorming we decided that to improve our current situation we redistributed blu-tack from the top half to the bottom half making our foundation stronger to forces and keep the top half flexible enough not to detach.
In our second round of tests we received no damage in the side-shake and it took none from the smashing test!!
Test 2:
Nice.
Now our changes were adequate enough to create a complete earthquake resistant building!
“The key to being a leader is influence not authority”
During the camp the capability that I improved the most was leadership. It was the last day of camp, all I could think about was getting home and showering, but my priority was cleaning. Throughout our camp, we used portable cooking equipment called Trangia. Whilst they were convenient, we also had to clean them straight after use. On the last day, we were required to do a final cleanup of the equipment for the next camp group to use, in my group was Wiremu and Marshall. This clean was different from the others, the Trangia had black staining on the bottom of the wok which was difficult to get off. We all sat in a circle cleaning, the first fifteen minutes went well, and we handed in our dishes… Only to be rejected, we took it to the chin and continued. This continued for the next fifteen minutes, and I could feel my group’s motivation depleting. After our sixth time being rejected my group members had started to become very angry and they got into an argument with our camp instructor.
My Camp group for the Year 9 OLP to Kalbarri
Throughout camp, there were many other situations exactly like this which I decided not to get involved with but this time, I decided to step up and I told my team that no matter how much we complain it’s not going to change our situation and that we needed to stop whining. This allowed me and my team to step back and reflect on what we were doing at that moment and look at how we can improve/make our situation better.
Reflecting on this situation I feel that my capability of leadership was improved through the skill of problem-solving and determination. Because of the situation, I was in, I was allowed the opportunity to showcase/display my leadership skills and gain experience to improve on them. While there were arguably many other capabilities that I developed during this situation such as problem-solving, I can easily say that leadership was the most improved for me because of how often I faced these types of challenges.
For 1 of my electives for semester 1 in Year 9 I chose the outdoor ED, MUIR. In this subject. In Term 1 the first topic we explored was snorkeling. When we started we looked at snorkeling and what it is. We looked into the different techniques of snorkeling, duck diving and blowing. We also looked at the different types of equipment needed to snorkel fun and successfully, like a mask, tube, wetsuit and fins. I was not a very good swimmer at the time of learning this, but this topic helped me become more confident in swimming and snorkeling, and also helped me gain lots of skills capabilities.
Coogee:
After a few weeks practicing in the closed environment we went on our first snorkelling excursion to coogee. This was really fun as we got to head down to Coogee beach and the maritime trail (shipwreck). Its a really interesting place and amazing to snorkel at, as there are many attractions like marine life and submerged shipwreck details. We were separated into groups of two and went out.
Rottnest:
After going out to Coogee on three different occasions we took a ferry to Rottnest. This was a very fun day, our classes went out in rotations to snorkel at the basin. I was really grateful for the experience considering what the rest of the world is going through with the COVID pandemic.
Capabilities/Skills
Through my experiences snorkelling in MUIR I have learn’t and sharpened many capabilities that I can use in situations for the rest of my life. These are leadership, problem solving, being collaborative and organisation.
The skill I think I have sharpened the most is organisation. When we first started snorkelling and practicing in the aquatic center, usually I would forget to bring bathers and swim in my shorts. I would also never bring goggles or a towel. These actions impacted me and my chances of being able to swim at Coogee and Rottnest as I did not have the equipment. After realizing this I started to pay more attention to my organisational skills by doing things such as setting reminders on my watch and filling out my diary.
My second largest skill I believe I sharpened was being collaborative, when I came into year 9 I was used to stay in litttle groups with my friends for everything. When Muir started Mrs Gray noticed that and she started to split us up with other people. I am quite grateful this happened because it led me to build new relationships with others and learn about new perspectives and opinions. This is also very realistic to the real world as you will rarely get to choose who you want to work with. This helped my collaborative skills very much and made it easier to build friendships and work with other people that I rarely meet or talk to.
Leadership is another capability/skill I believed I improved. When I first started I could consider myself a good leader, but I didn’t really care about being a leader or showcasing my skill. My leadership skills improved because Mrs Gray gave us lots of oppourtunities. For example we were given tasks to create a team building game, we were also put into groups for certain activities and that helped me to lead my group and help them. Another example is always adding in something to say as long as it helps the class.
My problem solving skills have always been good but participating in MUIR has made them better. During snorkelling I was given a lot of problem solving situations for example, being disorganised I problem solved by doing things that will help me for example setting reminder on my watch and filling out my diary.
Sadly the journey of Me, Yohan and Abdullah in $20 Boss has ended. $20 Boss is a project we did in InnovatED where we were given $20 and we could make a startup business and sell our products at runway market or pasar malam. Our business was called “Origin Streetwear”, we would sell customised T-Shirts which were $15 and customised hoodies which were $30 we also had premade designs which are $8. Our business was very innovative and could’ve been successful. We know this because we made a forms and sent it out to the whole year and there were more than 50 participants. In all questions about prices majority of participants liked our prices and our products. We could not execute because somebody in our group did not pull their weight or do any work. Me and Yohan decided to exit out of $20 boss because people in our group would not help. The journey was really fun as at the start we went to multiple workshops to learn about marketing, financial advice and innovation. I would like to thank all the InnovatED facilitators and teachers for supporting us and helping us throughout the journey. In the end, If I were to go through this process all over again, I would: Ask for a better group, be more organized, do even better in our advertising and do better on this project as a whole.
Term 3 was me of my favourite terms for innovatED. This is because I got to learn about the UN Global Goals. I loved it because it gave me a wider perspective on Poverty, the homeless and climate change. I loved working with other people making new thrilling projects but also meeting new friends.
One of our projects in the UN global Goals faze was our climate change project. I was in a group with Charlie, Josh, Cooper and Callum of whom some I did not know. Our purpose was to be able to reuse and recycle food scraps and feed them to the chickens, while the eggs laid can be used to give to the canteen or to homeless community services to help feed others who are not as fortunate.
Our purpose of recycling these food scraps was to reduce landfill which reduces Carbon Dioxide gas releases helping the ozone layer to not get weaker and let more UV rays melt the ice caps. Although our project may not be world breaking it still makes an impact in our local suburb, Bullcreek.
Reflecting back I thought that this was a good project and hopefully can continue throughout the rest of the year.
At the start of Term 4, we started a project called the Christmas Market. The whole point was for the school to give us $30 to use to create products. With the profit from the products we created, we had it given all to the salvation army.
My group had consisted of Myself, Matthew and Benjamin Our basketball game and we had high hopes for our sales.
At the end, If I were to go through this process all over again, I would: Choose a better group, choose and easier product to meet demands and make a better profit, be more organized, do even better in our advertising and be able to have done better in this whole market assessment.
