Due to the coronavirus, our DP1 journey had continued through a distance-learning program (DLP). Thus, we had to do our learning primarily with Zoom calls and Google meets. This was a rather hectic time, due to the unusual circumstances but we got through. As the COVID-19 situation has now improved in Sri Lanka, we have face-to-face school again (albeit with procedures to disinfect everything and maintaining social distance at all times).

 

Mountains and trees, from the physics field trip. (when we could travel). Image courtesy of Mr. Duncan

Furthermore, while our school has physically opened up, many places in Sri Lanka still haven’t. At the time of writing, many countries are still dealing with huge outbreaks of the coronavirus, and thus traveling isn’t possible either. With all of the restrictions in place for our safety, along with the start DP2, it is necessary for me to make new goals for CAS.

My initial plan for Activity was to continue with SAISA (South Asian Inter-Scholastic Association) Track and Field. Due to the aforementioned restrictions, this probably won’t be possible anymore. Instead, my current plan (still open to change) is to now base my activities in the Gym (in my apartment). To be more specific, I’d use weights and the treadmill, and monitor my times / weight lifted to keep track of progress. Also, if our school conducts Track and Field training, or even any other sport, I’d also partake in that (LO#4).

As of now, Service is the hardest one to plan for. This is because my service, Gecko Net, primarily involves raising awareness and informing people about activities/events in the school. With COVID-19 still active, it is highly unlikely that there will be any such events. Seeing as our service supervisor also left last year, I’m not completely sure what our service is going to do. As of now, a possible idea would be to help other students/teachers with producing media (photos, videos, presentations etc.) as all of us have expertise in that area (LO#3). However, this is something that I’ll have to discuss with my fellow service members (LO#5).

For creativity, I’d like to continue with the Advocate (a literary magazine) if possible. In addition to that, I’d like to continue to improve my skills with various digital tools such as (but not limited to) Photoshop and Premier Pro (photo/video editing). I’d also like to take up photography, as my Dad recently bought a DSLR. Thus, there are a lot of creative activities I could/will explore.

In conclusion, while COVID-19 and the various restrictions because of it make setting goals a bit more difficult, there is still a lot of room for various CAS activities.