2 years of CAS have zoomed by (That was a terrible joke i’m sorry). It seems like it was just yesterday that we were young, naive DP1s sitting in Mr. Lockwood’s classroom where we were just setting up our CAS blogs. Unaware of the crazy journey we were embarking on. Filled with lockdowns, power cuts, and other crazy events. As I near the end of my CAS journey, and also my time at OSC, It’s only fitting to reflect back on the times I’ve had writing about CAS.
Creativity –
With the pandemic sweeping in and out of the country, it was tricky to keep school open for the entirety of our DP journey. This made things difficult for me being a passionate singer and drummer. ASAs were absent up until February of 2022 so performing opportunities were rather limited. I decided that this time would be good for me to work on my drumming, considering I had a kit in my room. I practiced almost everyday for nearly an hour. It helped me clear my mind and relieve the stress associated with IBDP.
I definitely feel like the lockdowns did some good for my drumming. My hand to food coordination improved significantly.
As far as my singing, There was little opportunity for this. Thankfully however, COVID died down after our last lockdown in September 2021. An opportunity presented itself that December in celebration of the school’s coffee shop being opened. My first performance at OSC in nearly 2 years.
Another singing opportunity arose in April in the form of the Spring Gala. Being that I was also a drummer, I was placed in majority of the performances as part of the ensemble. Further helping me improve my drumming skills.
Overall, these opportunities improved my confidence in singing, as well as drumming in front of an audience.
Activity –
With Sri Lanka constantly running in and out of lockdown, it proved difficult to stay active and fit. However, during the times where we were free to roam around freely, I made every effort to get out. My primary source of activity (and my favorite) was taking my overweight dog for a walk. Initially I would take him to the Thalangama lake due to the peaceful nature of the area. However, the opening of the beach park at Port City proved less of a trek and for the remainder of my CAS journey, I always went there.
I also took time to work on my volleyball skills as I was keen to try out for the volleyball team (A plan that couldn’t make happen as I had to prioritize concert band. I had played volleyball during lunchtimes at school, playing with team members like Chloe and Kaalep. It was apparent that my form was not the greatest.
In this short period of time, I felt like I had improved my serving skills and felt satisfied with the physical activity I had taken part in.
Service – I became service leader of my service group; OSC’s Room To Read, at the beginning of DP1. I was extremely grateful for this opportunity to improve my thinking and confidence skills with engaging with other members of the community. We hosted a number of events including literary afternoons, book drives, and our most recent event, a weekly session of books n cookies.
Throughout the years of being service leader, I feel more involved and willing to express my opinions and ideas when partaking in group discussions. I also owe it to my co-leader and classmate, Zoe Pringiers, and of course Ms. Lockwood who both helped me improve my confidence and encouraged me to have more input on the group.
My CAS project was also service based. I hosted a car maintenance workshop during our “Life-Skills” lessons for CAS/SAC. I was asked to do this by Ms. Fleming as I am known throughout the grade as the car guru. I was excited to take up the challenge as I was able to input my own knowledge to my peers and provide a service to them that would be useful in the future.
This helped me engage with my class in a way that I hadn’t done before as I am not close to every one of them. It was a unique experience, not only for me but also my peers as I was keen to educate them on something I was so passionate about.
Conclusion –
To conclude, my CAS journey has been eventful, fun, and challenging. My confidence and thinking skills for certain situations ranging from all 3 strands of Creativity, Activity and Service have been greatly improved since I first joined OSC in September of 2019. I am truly grateful to my teachers and my peers for assisting and guiding me throughout this journey that wasn’t always easy going. CAS showed me to think outside of the box and be resilient in times of lockdowns and power cuts. It will definitely be useful to utilize the skills gained from this journey in my future endeavors, either in university or in the workplace.