Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

This badminton season I really wanted to work on my weaknesses rather than strengthening my strengths. It is much easier to practice the skills that you are good at over and over again. However, real improvement comes when the skills that you were bad at before become stronger. I worked a lot more on being a better defensive player and returning all the attacks. I also wanted to spend this season being cautious and to avoid any injuries. I learned to take warmup and cool downs seriously and to do them properly to have a good practice. 

 

Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

For our CAS project, Talia and I created a virtual record board for OSCs Swimming and Track Records. In our visits to other SAISA and IASAS schools, we both noticed that these schools had large display boards showcasing the athletic records that students within the school uphold. After our own conversation, we thought that it would be a good idea if OSC had one as well considering we are an athletic school. That’s when we decided it would be a good project to take on ourselves. We communicated with Ms. Sue and Mr. Turner and we divided the work so that Talia would compile all of the data and I created the design for the boards. During the creation of these displays, collaboration and communication were key to the success of it. Not just between Talia and me but between the athletics department as well; checking in and seeing the design looks nice or if there are any mistakes in the records and just sharing ideas and opinions on how to improve on what was done. 

The end product was two aesthetically pleasing virtual boards showcasing and recognizing OSCs athletes for their hard work and dedication to the sport.

 

Commitment and Perseverance 

Band is an activity that I have been doing for the past 6 years. Even after 10th grade when I no longer took band and a course, I continued to be active in the school’s music department by continuing to participate in Jazz Band (an afterschool program that met once a week and performed at various shows). Since its initiation in 6th grade, I’ve been a member every single year and performed and every concert. Being a more experienced member of the band I was given the duty of helping my other trumpet players who are still learning to play. After moving to OSC, I wanted to continue playing my instrument in a band and I luckily had the opportunity to be a part of the after-school Concert Band. Even though my time in the OSC band was short lived, I thoroughly enjoyed that drastic change it was from my previous school band and the challenge of adapting to the norms of this band. Which allowed me to learn new skills and play types of music I haven’t before. 

 

Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

 

I was in the community planning the annual SAC food fair. During the planning we discussed having vendors from each of the SAARC countries. I volunteered to contacts a Sri Lankan vendor. I managed to contact the owner of a population Sri lankan restaurant called “Taste of Lanka ” and work with them in curating a menu that would be appealing to the majority and also gives a taste of authentic sri lankan food. I spent a long time working out the logistics with the security department and the quantity of food needed. In the end, it all worked out and it was very successful. The Taste of Lanka stall was one of the most popular food stalls.

 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

Reef Keepers is a student-led service group dedicated to raising awareness of plastic use within our community and advocating for coral preservation and ocean life protection.  I partook in the discussions that were in the discussions of new merchandise. We came up with the idea of additionally selling hoodies, water bottles, and masks along with the T-Shirts. Our group also created a new logo that could be printed with the merchandise. When discussing what merchandise that Reef Keepers should sell, we considered selling phone cases and water bottles, however, we realized that it may be counterproductive to the Reef keeper’s agenda. We also looked into the idea of using sustainably sourced materials for the production of the T-shirts and hoodies, however, we were not able to find a company that could do so (within our budget).