ZOE DP CAS GOALS

Being a balanced individual can be beneficial for you and the community you are in. Throughout the DP, the IB has created CAS, allowing students to be balanced outside of academics. By incorporating creativity, activity, and service into daily life, you allow yourself and the community to develop and grow. It gives you the opportunity to achieve personal goals as you break out of your comfort zone, and experience new things. Starting the year away from school and the impact of the coronavirus has created a large grey zone on my goals for the year to come, however, this will allow me to develop and challenge myself to commit to CAS. I have started this year off in a different country, as the travel restrictions made it difficult to return back to Sri Lanka. After a few months of online learning, I made it back to Sri Lanka and can now get creative with ways for me to incorporate CAS. 

“I am not afraid of the storms, as I am learning to sail my own ship”- Louisa May Alcott

 The following are my goals for the next year:

Creativity

Throughout the next year, I aim to be a member of the student government association as a student representative for my grade. Last year, I was fortunate to be a part of the SGA and I found I enjoyed being a part of the association. I believe this will help me to develop my creative skills as I will be helping to plan events, find new ways to raise funds for our larger projects, make decorations and posters, and brainstorm ideas on how we can make the campus a safer and spirited environment. It will allow me to use my creativity to improve the OSC campus and community, and achieve “Unity In Diversity”. By participating in this group, I give myself an outlet to be creative, whilst developing collaborative skills and improving my confidence. Additionally, I also plan to incorporate some more direct creativity through visual art. As I am not taking an Art class during DP, I plan to incorporate visual art into the CAS Program. I plan to create a series of artworks (1-2) that reflect my experience and personal perspective of the current lockdown situation. I want to build on my artistic skills and maintain them by putting them into practice. 

Activity

I value activity as it helps me to become stronger both mentally and physically. Throughout secondary school, I have become more involved in physical activity and team sports both in and out of school. My first goal is to participate in SAISA volleyball and Football, as I have done for many years, however, I am unsure if this is possible this semester, or year, due to the coronavirus. I am also aiming to get at least 20-30 minutes of exercise for a minimum of 3 days a week in order to stay fit and get stronger. One specific goal for me is to able to run 5km in 30 to 40 minutes. I plan to achieve this by running consistently, and I hope to achieve this before the end of the DP. For now, I am unable to access a mode of running, however, I do have access to indoor cycling, so for the time being, I will be using this to keep my cardio up. This will help me improve my level of discipline and make me a fitter player in volleyball and football. If I am unable to participate in SAISA this year, I will have to be fluid with my goals, possibly making a commitment to other physical after school activities. If that becomes the case, my goal is to join one in-school sport or fitness activity per term and consistently attend them. 

Service

As for service, I plan to rejoin OSC’s “Room To Read” group, as I have been dedicated to this group and enjoy the service we do. I plan to be service leader again, though, I am still unsure of how and when our school will be providing service-learning again due to the coronavirus. Room to Read is a service group dedicated to providing well-resourced reading spaces for local schools around Sri Lanka through the facilitation of necessary materials. This year, I strive to facilitate the “Bapa Jaya Vidyaloka Maha Vidyalaya” school with a proper reading space by renovating and facilitating the space they have allowed for us to work with. I would like to finish the library by the end of the school year, although I am unsure if that is obtainable due to the coronavirus. For the time being, I hope to participate in this service-learning group and act as a leader, showing my commitment, patience, confidence, and providing creative ideas that can help us raise funds and work towards our goals.