This is it, the final reflection of what have been two monumental years. Throughout these two years and my involvement with the CAS program during them, i have have come out with quite a few new things and a new sense of my own abilities. The CAS program has really helped me explore different aspects of my daily life and even though it was more of a compulsory activity in the beginning, it has grown to become almost an everyday feature of my daily life. The thing's I will take away from this program are the 8 learning outcomes which really changed the way I acted upon skills I already possessed or persevered to acquire. The learning outcomes really encompassed everything that make a person holistic and I am glad to say that I managed to fulfill all the requirements related to those 8 learning outcomes.
Firstly, the CAS program is about recognizing your own strengths and working with them to develop them. Throughout the two years I undertook activities that helped me build upon those skills. Sports and action are my strengths as a complete student. Football has always been my passion and I am lucky to possess a set of skills that help me stand out while partaking in activities. This skill I combined with another strong point of mine, my Leadership skills. I became the captain of my football team in the the 11th grade and was able to lead the team in 2 Saisa events. This really helped in 2 ways. Firstly i was obliged to set an example and therefore worked extra hard to stand out thereby improving on my own skill level. In 2011 I managed to score 3 fantastic goals and assist a few during our Saisa tournament in Dhaka and then in the next Saisa I played as goalkeeper and was able to make some good saves to help my team to a 4th place finish. For my performances in both tournaments in different positions, i was able to win consecutive 'most valuable player' awards. Secondly the captaincy helped me in working collaboratively with others. As a team captain and as a football team in general it is vital that everybody collaborates to achieve a good result. Captaincy helped me do this. It also made me in cases consider the ethical implications of my actions. On the football field sometimes, issues would arise as there would be spats with opposing team members or between teammates. As a captain it was my job to make sure I kept personal opinions aside sometimes and act in a way befitting my leadership position to help calm things down. Even off the field I had to take care how I acted as those actions would reflect on me and the way I set an example for others. Being passionate about football it was natural that I was persevering and committed throughout the two years. Up to date I have only missed a handful of training's due to injury or sickness. I also planned and initiated OSC's involvement in last years regional school competition in Colombo. This was the first instance that OSC had participated in such a tournament and it was down to me persisting on our school participating. Unfortunately for us, half the team was missing due to senior exams and Saisa track events and me getting injured in the quarter-final, however our makeshift team managed to end up in 4th place.
I have also shown perseverance in community service. In my first year I was part of the OSC recycling program and I attended almost every session missing only 2. I was able to learn about an issue of global importance. In the latter part of the year I joined the Cleft Lip and Palate service program as I wanted to have a more meaningful contribution to the Sri Lankan community. I have been a part of the program ever since and have attended all sessions apart from 2 this year due to sickness. The Cleft-Lip and Palate program really helped me in gaining awareness of an issue of global importance. Visiting the hospital a few times and finding out more about the disease really made me feel for these kids and want to help them out. This year our group planned and initiated a charity concert called the "battle of the bands" in which we were able to raise more than 2000 dollars to help in the operation of children with the Cleft Lip and Palate deformity. Throughout the year and especially during the concert it was essential that we all worked collaboratively to have success. In all our meetings i also participated and collaborated in coming up with new ideas for the group. I also had to consider the ethical implications of my actions. Visiting the hospitals I was conflicted by the thought that the parents of the infants would not approve of us observing their kids like a museum showpiece. Also, it was not right that we were so close to them as we could easily have given them some virus to which their system was not yet immune.
The CAS program is as much about learning new skills and undertaking new challenges as it is about developing the skills you posses. In my two years I have undertaken a variety of new challenges which I would otherwise not have done were it not for the CAS program. Firstly i started painting on my own (some of the pictures are present on the blog). I wasn't really good in the beginning but i gradually improved and now i am able to paint in a way that people can vaguely recognize the object i am trying to draw. Being hopeless with music, i also tried to learn to play the guitar. I had a mixed result there as I managed to learn a few basic chords, enough to play a few melodies, however it just didn't kick off for me. I have however starting teaching myself how to drum and it is an activity which I am really enjoying. It is difficult for me to easily pick up beats, something that would come naturally to a musician, but since i am having fun doing it, I am persevering and hope that I can improve. In football I also developed a new skill and expanded the skill set I already possessed. Having played striker, midfielder and defender, picking up new skills for each position on the way, I learnt a completely new skill, playing GK. Due to our usual goalkeeper being unable to travel I took up the responsibility of playing Goalkeeper even though my skills would have been needed upfront. I was able to drastically develop my skill as goalkeeper, my fast reflexes helping me there, and hence i was able to contribute in my team finishing fourth at Saisa this year, making a couple of vital saves along the way. As a result of my performances i was awarded the 'most valuable player' award. I have also started scuba diving as I aim to acquire a skill completely new to me. I also took part in 2 plays during the last two years. This helped me develop new skills as during acting you take up roles unfamiliar to you. I also had to collaborate with the other actors to ensure the performances ran smoothly.
The CAS program has really helped in all aspects of extra-curricular and curricular life. It helped me balance out studies with sports and made sure i was always considering the implications of my actions. I learnt to participate in the community, dealing with issues of global importance and working collaboratively with others. It helped me undertake new challenges and develop new skills. Most importantly it made me realize all the different aspects of who I am, my strengths and weaknesses and how I can be a complete and holistic human being.
Firstly, the CAS program is about recognizing your own strengths and working with them to develop them. Throughout the two years I undertook activities that helped me build upon those skills. Sports and action are my strengths as a complete student. Football has always been my passion and I am lucky to possess a set of skills that help me stand out while partaking in activities. This skill I combined with another strong point of mine, my Leadership skills. I became the captain of my football team in the the 11th grade and was able to lead the team in 2 Saisa events. This really helped in 2 ways. Firstly i was obliged to set an example and therefore worked extra hard to stand out thereby improving on my own skill level. In 2011 I managed to score 3 fantastic goals and assist a few during our Saisa tournament in Dhaka and then in the next Saisa I played as goalkeeper and was able to make some good saves to help my team to a 4th place finish. For my performances in both tournaments in different positions, i was able to win consecutive 'most valuable player' awards. Secondly the captaincy helped me in working collaboratively with others. As a team captain and as a football team in general it is vital that everybody collaborates to achieve a good result. Captaincy helped me do this. It also made me in cases consider the ethical implications of my actions. On the football field sometimes, issues would arise as there would be spats with opposing team members or between teammates. As a captain it was my job to make sure I kept personal opinions aside sometimes and act in a way befitting my leadership position to help calm things down. Even off the field I had to take care how I acted as those actions would reflect on me and the way I set an example for others. Being passionate about football it was natural that I was persevering and committed throughout the two years. Up to date I have only missed a handful of training's due to injury or sickness. I also planned and initiated OSC's involvement in last years regional school competition in Colombo. This was the first instance that OSC had participated in such a tournament and it was down to me persisting on our school participating. Unfortunately for us, half the team was missing due to senior exams and Saisa track events and me getting injured in the quarter-final, however our makeshift team managed to end up in 4th place.
I have also shown perseverance in community service. In my first year I was part of the OSC recycling program and I attended almost every session missing only 2. I was able to learn about an issue of global importance. In the latter part of the year I joined the Cleft Lip and Palate service program as I wanted to have a more meaningful contribution to the Sri Lankan community. I have been a part of the program ever since and have attended all sessions apart from 2 this year due to sickness. The Cleft-Lip and Palate program really helped me in gaining awareness of an issue of global importance. Visiting the hospital a few times and finding out more about the disease really made me feel for these kids and want to help them out. This year our group planned and initiated a charity concert called the "battle of the bands" in which we were able to raise more than 2000 dollars to help in the operation of children with the Cleft Lip and Palate deformity. Throughout the year and especially during the concert it was essential that we all worked collaboratively to have success. In all our meetings i also participated and collaborated in coming up with new ideas for the group. I also had to consider the ethical implications of my actions. Visiting the hospitals I was conflicted by the thought that the parents of the infants would not approve of us observing their kids like a museum showpiece. Also, it was not right that we were so close to them as we could easily have given them some virus to which their system was not yet immune.
The CAS program is as much about learning new skills and undertaking new challenges as it is about developing the skills you posses. In my two years I have undertaken a variety of new challenges which I would otherwise not have done were it not for the CAS program. Firstly i started painting on my own (some of the pictures are present on the blog). I wasn't really good in the beginning but i gradually improved and now i am able to paint in a way that people can vaguely recognize the object i am trying to draw. Being hopeless with music, i also tried to learn to play the guitar. I had a mixed result there as I managed to learn a few basic chords, enough to play a few melodies, however it just didn't kick off for me. I have however starting teaching myself how to drum and it is an activity which I am really enjoying. It is difficult for me to easily pick up beats, something that would come naturally to a musician, but since i am having fun doing it, I am persevering and hope that I can improve. In football I also developed a new skill and expanded the skill set I already possessed. Having played striker, midfielder and defender, picking up new skills for each position on the way, I learnt a completely new skill, playing GK. Due to our usual goalkeeper being unable to travel I took up the responsibility of playing Goalkeeper even though my skills would have been needed upfront. I was able to drastically develop my skill as goalkeeper, my fast reflexes helping me there, and hence i was able to contribute in my team finishing fourth at Saisa this year, making a couple of vital saves along the way. As a result of my performances i was awarded the 'most valuable player' award. I have also started scuba diving as I aim to acquire a skill completely new to me. I also took part in 2 plays during the last two years. This helped me develop new skills as during acting you take up roles unfamiliar to you. I also had to collaborate with the other actors to ensure the performances ran smoothly.
The CAS program has really helped in all aspects of extra-curricular and curricular life. It helped me balance out studies with sports and made sure i was always considering the implications of my actions. I learnt to participate in the community, dealing with issues of global importance and working collaboratively with others. It helped me undertake new challenges and develop new skills. Most importantly it made me realize all the different aspects of who I am, my strengths and weaknesses and how I can be a complete and holistic human being.
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