“The main purpose of education isn’t just to receive a certification that leads to a career, but to become a well-rounded person in so many aspects of life.” 

― Edmond Mbiaka

I strongly believe that balanced education is key the  to academic and life achievement. We learn a lot of skills outside the classroom from sports, holidays, service etc. This is why CAS is an important component for the students following the IB diploma. CAS means Creativity, Activity and Service. I would like to take this opportunity to challenge myself to engage with issues of global significance, learn new skills, work collaborately with others, accept challenges and to come out of my comfort zone.

Creativity.

This year I have got involved in  playing the cello in the school concert band. I have never played in a band before and on top of that I started learning to play the cello only at the beginning of this year. This makes it even more challening. But I have pushed myself to learn the skills needed to perform in a band while working collaboratively with the other band members and to learn more cello skills. My goals will be to perform at upcoming school events such as assemblies, Winter Gala,Spring Gala… etc. and to participate in SAISA music next year in Nepal.

Outside of school I take private cello and piano lessons. I have two Trinity College London exams coming up in Novemeber. One will be the grade 7 theory exam and the other grade 1 cello exam. I hope to perform well in both of these exams and to expand my knowldge on music theory whilst developing more skills in music.

My Trinity College London grade 7 practical exam will be in May of 2019. More than scoring well in this exam I hope to get over of stage fright that I have when performing solo’s.

Activity

I have not been very active this year before I joined OSC. I have very bad fitness levels and I am not a sporty person. This year I thought of changing my attitude towards sports and to engage in a sport that I have not done before and I have chosen fun basketball. I hope to improve my fitness levels, develop muscle strength and also to identify my own strengths. One of my goals for later this year will be to try out wall climbing and Zumba to get in shape.

Service

For service this year I have signed up for the ‘Temple School’ project. Our service group helps less fortunate children between the ages of 3-5 years by teaching them English, providing snacks, play time etc. I chose this service group because my ‘Sinhala’ language speaking skill will help me to interact more with the children of our community. My goals will be to engage with issues of global significance such as the improvement of education in LEDC countries and to be the service leader of this service group next year. I hope to get a better understanding of how children in this age group think by interacting more with these children.