Now that the DP program is almost over I can reflect on all my CAS experiences over the last two years and whether I have met my goals and fulfilled the seven learning outcomes. It has been an interesting two years in regards to CAS due to COVID but I managed to sustain a good level of CAS activities and posts throughout the DP.
- Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
This learning outcome was clearly met in my opinion because I grew a lot as a person over the last few years and have grown within the CAS activities that I have done. I have also identified my areas of strength throughout the DP program and have improved my areas of weakness. One clear example of this was in the Oliver! secondary school performance where I identified an area of strength which was that I was comfortable with performing on a stage due to doing this with the concert band on numerous occasions before. I then identified my area of weakness which was speaking on stage which I had never done before and was quite nervous about. I practiced my lines a lot and spoke to groups of people to prepare and in the end I was able to perform very confidently and clearly improved my public speaking which was a great area of growth due to its possible applications in the future. I’m sure I will have to use this CAS objective in the future to help me improve my weak areas after identifying my strong areas.
- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
Similarly to the last learning outcome, facing challenges and developing new skills has been a major part of the CAS journey and I have done this many times. The Oliver! performance was one example of a challenge I faced, but a different one was SAISA basketball and football. The build up to these international sports tournaments was very tough because of the sheer amount of training that was done and the hours I put into developing my athletic skills. To improve as a sportsman, you have to put many hours into the sport which is exactly what I did. The challenge was to commit to the training and I accomplished this and developed new skills which were put on display in the tournaments. Although the team didn’t perform as well as I had hoped for, we improved a lot as a team in both tournaments and were generally proud of our performances.
- Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
This outcome was met during the CAS journey to some extent, but only a few of my experiences included a proper planning phase. Many of my activities were training for activity and practice for creativity, but in service there was a lot of initiating and planning. During our time learning from home, we were forced out of our hands-on service meetings and had to instead be online in a zoom call. This brought about lots of planning regarding what would happen with the group if we were to go back to school. Now that we are back in school, we have been able to fulfil some of our plans and goals we set. Other than this, my CAS project, the OSC Zoom-a-thon, was a huge success which involved a great amount of planning and initiating. The initiating came from our teacher Mr. Rosberg which then led to the students all having to plan the event. My peers and I all contributed to the project effectively and were able to meet our goals that we set during the planning phase of the project.
- Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
Showing commitment and perseverance in CAS isn’t easy but I fell I was able to do this throughout the last two years. In every activity that I have done, I haven’t quit or given up on my goals. I have met all my DP1 and DP2 CAS goals and have always remained committed to all the activities I have posted about throughout the CAS journey. If I have started an activity such as playing the trumpet in the concert band, I have stuck to this commitment by practicing at home and participating in every in-school practice and performance. COVID has caused some of my activities to stop such as the concert band in-school practices and performances but this is out of my control. I have managed to continue practicing the trumpet every now and then and posted about it during the summer holiday. As mentioned before, the pandemic has limited the success I have had in regarding this outcome but given the circumstances I feel I have met this outcome during my CAS experience.
- Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
Working collaboratively has once again been limited by the rules of lockdown and self-isolation brought about by the pandemic, but prior to the pandemic I feel that once again the sports teams I was involved in were great in helping me recognize the benefits of working collaboratively. Communication on a sports team is crucial to the team’s success which I have realized over the last few years in CAS. Being one of the older players on both the football and basketball teams helped me lead the teams which is a highly important skill in sports and working collaboratively. I was able to lead through giving my teammates confidence and leading by example due to the work I put into the sports. I didn’t possess these leadership traits at the beginning of the DP program but recognized and developed them throughout the journey and became a better collaborative worker in general.
- Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
This outcome was a tricky one and was difficult to meet when most of my posts were about sports or music practice. This outcome however was met through the Zoom-a-thon where we raised money for charity (UNICEF Sri Lanka) which intended to improve the lives of many in-need Sri Lankan people. This outcome was also met through the Housing & Habitat service group which I participated in throughout the DP program. Prior to the pandemic, we always met on Thursday’s to build tables and chair for local schools in need of these materials. We also held a home run event to raise money so that we could continue to engage in this global issue which is to provide the people in need with useful resources. This goal was clearly met in the DP as we were able to provide local schools with tables and chairs to enhance the education of the local students.
- Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Finally, this outcome is an interesting one which I feel was met in my CAS journey. Ethical decisions are made throughout our lives without us even realising it and I feel that I made many ethical decisions and actions in all of my CAS experiences. Relating back to the last outcome, making a choice to participate in the H&H service group is ethical due to what the group does on a weekly basis. As a child growing up in a privileged environment, it is easy to forget about the people who aren’t living privileged lives and get carried away in our own worlds. Helping out the local community who are in need of support from people like me is very important and a good ethical decision that I made in the DP.
In conclusion, my CAS journey in the DP has been extremely fun and resourceful. It has helped me grow as a person and become much more flexible in terms of trying out new things and participating in multiple unique activities which are all extremely beneficial. The seven learning outcomes will help me not only for CAS, but in life due to their importance and significance in the world. I’m sure that thanks to CAS I will be able to always participate in many activities in the future and use the learning objectives in my day to day adult life.