As we near the final IB exams, my DP CAS adventure is also coming to an end. I hope to continue to participate in CAS activities in the future to gain experiences.

Learning Outcome 1: Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth

Creativity: For Senior Voice, although we were sadly unable to perform, the songs that we practiced were challenging so I had to practice regularly to make sure I was singing the right pitch. The song that was the most challenging was “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper covered by Pentatonix because we mostly sang the backing sounds as one person sang. This helped me identify my strengths as a singer being good projection and my areas for personal growth to be pitching when not singing the melody.

Activity: Over the past two years I participated in SAISA Swimming and SAISA Track and Field in addition to individual fitness over the quarantine period. Although I did not do as successful in SAISA Swimming and SAISA Track and Field as previous years I still did reasonably well and performed to the best of my abilities. After SAISA got cancelled, I had to be independent with my fitness, this proved to be challenging as I did not have the same facilities in addition to the camaraderie that SAISA sports provide. Therefore, my strengths were determination by attending many additional SAISA practices and my areas for personal growth would be self-motivation to do individual fitness.

Service: One of the major improvements I made while leading the ReefKeepers and attending Eco-Schools was communication. During the quarantine period we had to communicate with the ReefKeepers service group regularly in addition to the Recycling and Sustainability service group for the Earth Day spirit week. Additionally, in the Eco-Schools service group I was in charge of sending out emails to large groups which further improved my communication skills. The area I could have improved in was organisation for the individual ReefKeeper meetings. I think that if we had a tighter schedule for each meeting we could have been more productive and gotten more done.

Learning Outcome 2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the processCreativity: In creativity the major challenge was the difficult songs that we undertook in Senior Voice. Especially “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper covered by Pentatoninix was a difficult song especially for the alto singers. In this process I learnt various singing skills but also learnt the importance of practice. Additionally, when I took on the challenge of learning guitar which helped me learn guitar skills as well as determination when teaching myself something.

Activity: The major challenge that I had to undertake was keeping fit during quarantine which required the skills of self-motivation.

Service: One of the major challenges of service was organising different events remotely during the quarantine period, in particular Earth Day. During this I learned organisational skills in addition to communication skills and I was able to get many people to participate in this spirit week.

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

Activity: I only played small roles in initiation and planning as most of the practices were organised by our coaches. Instead, I planned a CAS project where I compiled all of the school records for both swimming and track and field for the school. This will provide great benefit to the school as it improves school spirit and competition.

Service: For service we had a lot of practice initiating CAS experiences, for example, the neighbourhood sweep and Earth Day. For the neighbourhood sweep we checked if the routes planned were feasible, how long it takes, and potential safety concerns that need to be mentioned beforehand. For Earth Day, we had meetings to discuss how to celebrate Earth Day and additionally make scheduled daily reminder emails for people to access padlets.

Learning Outcome 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Creativity: I have showed commitment to Senior Voice as I have been a member for four years. Additionally, despite having to stop Senior Voice I continued to sing while I wasn’t in an organised group activity showing perseverance.

Activity: I showed commitment to SAISA Swimming and SAISA Track and Field as I was a part of these groups for 7 years, additionally, I have been a part of SAISA Basketball for 4 years. Every year it was a challenge to make it on to the SAISA teams and I showed perseverance by continuing to work hard to make it every year.

Service: I have been a part of the ReefKeepers service group for four years and a leader for two. Despite the option of changing service groups yearly I continued to stick with ReefKeepers as I was passionate about the service. My commitment and perseverance allowed me to eventually become service leader.

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

Creativity: In the Senior Voice group it was important to work collaboratively in order to produce a good sound. Therefore, I gained a lot of skills by simultaneously listening to different groups while listening to my own group at the same time.

Activity: My SAISA team allowed me to be an active member of a team with different roles. Sometimes just as a participant and role model (for younger teammates), others as a specific position on the court, and some as captains. In this, I had to adjust my collaborations with the teams according to my role. And this wasn’t just on team sports, it was taking care of my teammates in swimming and track and field.

Service: As a leader of my service group it was important to work collaboratively in order to achieve different incentives. Especially because in both the ReefKeepers and Eco-Schools there were several different tasks that were going on at the same time, therefore, we had to allocate different tasks in smaller groups where we worked collaboratively.

Learning Outcome 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance

Service: Eco-Schools is an international award programme that guides schools through a seven-step process that helps them address a variety of environmental issues. ReefKeepers is a student led service group that is dedicated to advocating for awareness and reducing plastic use within our community and beyond, to help protect the oceans. I joined this service group after going on a school trip where we participated in a coral reef study and beach sweep in Hikkaduwa (a local beach in Sri Lanka). After observing the bleached corals and the huge amount of plastic on the shore, I decided I wanted to be a part of the initiative to help address this global issue.