With final IB exams swiftly approaching, my CAS blog too must conclude. Overall the CAS blog writing experience has truly driven me to pursue my ambitions and develop my skills in a range of fields. Despite this being my final CAS post, I will be continuing practicing my Creativity, Activity, and Service skills as I enter a challenging new dynamic in my life, university.

Learning Outcome 1: Identify your own strength’s and develop areas for personal growth

Creativity: As I am quite a strong baker, I tried to push myself to experiment with new recipes that I have never tried before. One of these was attempting Tres Leches, a milk-soaked cake. Making the sponge of the cake itself was a simple process for me however, once it got to the milk portion I struggled. I combined the evaporated, whole, and condensed milk into a jug and then poured it over the cake. Ultimately, the cake itself turned out well, but the bottom layer of milk appeared to have solidified or ‘cooked’. This experience taught me how to improve my skills as a baker, as I should practice being more patient in order to effectively carry out new recipes.

Activity: Prior to quarantine, my fitness schedule was relatively frequent as I played football 3 days a week in 2-hour sessions. This was done to prepare for SAISA, a South Asia-based event featuring various international schools competing musically, academically, or athletically. Since the start of quarantine, my motivation to be active was considerably lessened, as the pandemic brought social-isolation and general anxiety. However, once beginning DP1 and then returning to DLP, I realised that letting lockdown take away my active energy would be a disservice to myself, so I began planning effective workouts to get me back into shape. Workouts involved HIIT as well as cardio (treadmill running and the 12 3 30 walking routine) to improve my stamina and generally improve my mental health. I found that onceI began working on my fitness, my general mood improved as I felt productive after receiving a rush of endorphins from working out.

Service: I am co-leader of the Girls for Girls service group, dedicated to supporting sexually abused Sri Lankan women. Becoming leader felt extremely accomplishing for me as I have been interested in the service since arriving at OSC 5 years ago. Taking on the role of co-leader however was quite nerve-racking, as I sometimes felt insecure of my ability to guide the group and come up with effective strategies to improve the service. In order to improve my communication and leadership skills, I worked collaboratively with the other leader of the service in brainstorming ideas to expand the service and enhance presence. From this, beneficial additions were made to the group such as: creating and posting service-related content to social media (Instagram and Facebook), creating a dedicated ‘Women’s Week’ for the service (which was a huge success and will be continued for years to come), as well as fundraising to give back to the Emerge Lanka organisation which sponsors the women/girls we work with.

Learning Outcome 2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

Creativity: I wanted to challenging myself creatively by taking up a new and useful skill, driving. The car I had been learning with was a manual car, making it quite difficult to get a grasp of. I initially struggled with my acceleration and clutch control, as well as the transitions between gears respective to the adjustment of the clutch pedal. Though learning has been difficult, I feel a manual car will be more useful to me when I move back to England.

Activity: I faced challenges keeping fit during lockdown as I lacked motivation, however once I began reconnecting with friends and thinking of future sports opportunities,  I eased my way back into a workout routine.

Service: During lockdown, the presence of service at school was not as lively as it once was. Times were uncertain and we were unsure of when we would return on campus. This was challenging as attending and considering plans for the year. Becoming a service leader for Girls for Girls, a service dedicated to supporting sexually abused Sri Lankan women, taught me key skills I needed to effectively adapt to uncertain or challenging situations. For example, I learned to involve my service members through online activities, such as debates, as well as on campus work to uplift and promote the service.

Learning Outcome 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

Creativity: To plan for my CAS project, which is to create an in-school bookshop, I decided to create posters to advertise and circulate the opening of the shop within the school community. The posters were designed and planned to use a a vibrant yet versatile colour palette to connect with a range of audiences at school. In addition, a bold font was selected to emphasise the book shops opening and engage with audiences upon first glance. The planning for the poster was then taken further as we received permission to display it in the daily bulletin (accessible to all students) as well as to hang them up around school.

Activity: In order to prepare for the upcoming football season, I took it upon myself to plan at-home workouts which target key skills needed for football playing. The workouts were cardio, agility, and core based, all supportive of football.

Service: The largest aspect of CAS has been my collaborative CAS project, which combines my art and design skills, with the principles and values of OSC’s Room to Read service, a group dedicated to supporting learning/reading spaces in Sri Lanka. The project idea is to create an on campus book shop which sells second hand books. This project is ultimately quite challenging to achieve in a short period of time, however the large planning portion of the project has been achieved, ready to receive its finishing touches from the services’ next leaders. To plan for this project a series of tasks were conducted such as: meeting with the head of school to receive approval for the book shop, designating a space in school for the shop ( a success, as the shop now has its own room located just outside the library!), as well as the making of promotional posters which invite members of the community to visit the shop.

Learning Outcome 4: Show commitment and perseverance in CAS experiences

Creativity: I am consistently showing commitment to my creative endeavours as I  have been practicing my driving once a week for the last year. Additionally, I am consistently baking from my friends and family, attempting new and more challenging recipes, listening to their feedback and learning from it.

Activity: I have shown commitment and perseverance in many of my activities. I have been a player for the varsity girls football team since 8th grade (5 years) and have continued to work on my football skill despite the cancellation of SAISA due to Covid.

Service: I have shown commitment to my service groups for the past 5 years at OSC. Originally I spent 3 years in the Temple School service group, which works to support young children through providing clothes, toys, and educational supplies, however the service had to be shut down due to Covid. I then transferred to the Girls for Girls service group, which I have been apart of for 2 years and even became co-leader of!

Learning Outcome 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively

Creativity: I have been working collaboratively on my creative endeavours since the start of my CAS blog, and I have found this to be an amazing addition to the experience. For example, during the DP, I hosted numerous friends, inviting them to my kitchen to bake with me. This not only helped collectively teach us key life skills which will surely be of use in future, but also provided a social outlet in very uncertain times. I have also used my peers to reach out and learn new skills for myself, such as DJing. Not only were all of these experiences good for my creativity, but also fun, social , and educational.

Activity: I worked collaboratively in activity by doing group football practice sessions, and learning the value of teamwork during intense football matches. Working with my team taught me patience and drive as we were able to all use our best skills to support the team and play strong matches. Additionally I worked out at home with friends which motivated me to work my best as my competitive side was sparked. I also learnt the importance of mindfulness through practicing yoga, taught by my mum.

Service: My CAS project has been the strongest service-based activity which has taught me the value in working collaboratively. Through working with the Room to Read service group, a group dedicated to creating accessible environments for reading around Sri Lanka, I have been able to take my CAS project further and truly develop it. My project, done collaboratively with the Room to Read service leader Zoe, is to create an on campus book shop which will consist of second-hand books. Money earned from the shop will be reinvested into Room to Read’s partner schools. Initially the idea for the shop was small, intended to be within the library under the staircase. However being able to incorporate other members of the school community as well as Room to Read’s group has been invaluable to the project. Now the shop has its own room, which will be painted and decorated by myself and other members. Additionally, other school services have volunteered to help, such as the Housing and Habitat group which has offered to construct book shelves for the shop. Overall this has shown be how useful asking others for help as well as getting input from others can be in contributing to making ideas come to life.

Learning Outcome 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

Creativity: Though I spent a portion of my CAS experience documenting my driving lessons, I took up additional skills to keep me active as well as engage with globally significant issues. Air pollution is an increasingly prevalent issue in today’s industrialised world. The use of cars is a predominant factor in the release of harmful gasses, such as CO2, which contribute to the greenhouse effect and the presence of harmful particulate matter in the atmosphere. Having not obtained my licence yet, and being an Environmental Systems student, I decided to take up skateboarding. I was taught by a friend and continued to practice my skills till I felt confident. Skateboards are a useful, ecological mode of transport as they do not release emissions and essentially can be recycled. On top of this, they are a convenient and cheap way to get from one destination to the next.

Service: As mentioned, Girls for Girls is a service dedicated to providing both emotional and financial support for sexually abused Sri Lankan women. The principles and values of the service itself has continuously shown care for issues of global significance such as gender inequalities and female empowerment. Engaging with issues of global significance were achieved through service-lead events, such as the hosting of a self-defence class during Women’s Week, a week-long series of events curated by Girls for Girls service members. Leading this service has additionally developed my understanding in the value of communicating and being an activist for global issues, which additionally was demonstrated through a protest parade on campus. For my CAS project, I worked to help design and plan the upcoming on campus book shop with the OSC Room to Read service group. The purpose of the book shop itself, being one that reuses and rehouses used books, shows engagement to globally significant issues. The shop ultimately combats the over production of goods such as paper by reintroducing used books for their same purpose.