The closing of a chapter and the start of a new, two of years CAS summed up in a single post, the past year amidst the pandemic was a journey down the rabbit hole uncertain and seeming to never end. But having reached the bottom I feel both nostalgia for the journey but also great relief for having reached my destination.
Identify your own strengths and develop areas for growth
As a dancer self criticism is nothing unfamiliar but though my journey through the CAS program I’ve discovered areas for growth one of which include structure and organization. During the pandemic I was tasked with organizing my own routine for dance and also pushing myself to work on my art independently. Through this I realized that I needed to work on my planning as well as on structuring my extracurriculars in order to see improvement.
Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
During CAS I undertook many new activities including yearbook, the Advocate and even starting hip hop classes. These new ventures were challenging and allowed me to push myself out of my comfort zone. One of the highlights of my CAS journey was participating in Moove, a dance competition in Colombo. Having never competed before this was great opportunity to learn to be independent especially in rehearsal and choreography.
Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience.
My CAS project involved portraying Colombo through dance and photography. The project not only involved meticulous planning but also collaboration. Additionally doing our project with COVID still persistent in the country safety was also a concern and such the planning process involved a complex of different factors that we had to carefully consider as we formed the blueprint for our project. With the success of the project I believe it taught me much in terms of the importance of planning and collaboration,
Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
Throughout my CAS journey I have been regularly involved in Dance, Art and my service group Hope for Kids across the two years. By being consistent with my CAS experiences I was able to find balance within the rigorous IB curriculum while exploring avenues outside of my academics.
Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
Collaboration took place in my CAS journey through my collaborative CAS project as well as by being part of the school swim team and my dance troupe “With My Feet”. I was also part of the yearbook design team and designed pages along with Imandi from my class. These experiences in total have taught me how to work with others and that strength comes in unity.
Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.
I believe this area of CAS was largely addressed by my service group Hope for Kids. Working with patients from the Maharagama cancer hospital only furthered my desire to work in biomedical research in hopes of helping the development of healthcare throughout the global community.
Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
Due to the pandemic one major ethical consideration was making sure that the activities I took part in were safe during a pandemic. This involved wearing masks even while dancing and also during the photoshoot done in public areas for my CAS project.
And that leads to the end. End of era, the end of a journey.
Comments
Ashvini,
Your blog is a fine record of your deep and sustained involvement in the Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) program during your time at OSC. This final post documents with clarity all that you have been involved with. We at the school are proud of your engagement and involvement. I’m personally impressed by your originality and wide range of creative talents that compliment your significant academic achievements. The Colombo Dance Project ((https://www.instagram.com/cmbdanceproject/) demonstrated collaboration, creativity and originality in ways rarely seen in IB students. Well done with putting this together and working with your classmates to makes this a model CAS Project. I wish you all the best and look forward to reading more about your future learning adventures. Do stay in touch.
Ian Lockwood
OSC DP CAS Coordinator
https://caspathways.wordpress.com/
https://osc.lk/cas/