Coaching SAISA Girls Basketball

Recently I have been going to the SAISA girls practice as the development team coach. The possibility of a development team is pretty slim at the moment so i'm not sure if this will hold. I've been to the last 3 practices and have helped Justin and Tharindu in coaching all the 20 girls (before the actual team has been chosen). 

Coaching the girls really helped me evaluate and reflect on my own game. I realized all the little mistakes i do and i remember hypocritically telling the girls to not to make those mistakes. I also got some creativity points by coming up with some drills and running some basic weaving plays. I did take the time to talk to some of the girls individually to work on some fundamental lacks.

In this activity i will be developing new skills such as learning how to teach and cater my knowledge to a skill set that is not as advanced as i'm used to. Like i mentioned before i'm also learning new things about my own game and leaning to not make the same mistakes that i always do. Another leaning outcome would be planning activities, in this case it would be planning and executing drills that help further the skills of others. I also think that working collaboratively with the other coaches in also key. Especially when Justin and me were asked for our opinion on the team selection. Overall I've had a really fun time helping out with the coaching and i really hope that the development team comes through and i get to continue.

Fashion Show

Gecko Inc.

We have decided to organize a fashion show to raise the funds for out trip to kilinochchi. Right now we are trying to collaborate with the school as well as other outside sponsors to make this event happen. The key thing here is time. Before we can organize such a big event there are so many things that we need to get in place. We need to get permission from school and apparently need to include the community that we are helping. This in itself is another thing we need to plan because that requires more permission from the foundation along with school. I guess the only way to make this happen is to show perseverance and push through until the event is complete. 

Critical Learning Outcomes

Throughout my next two years i will go through many different activities and experiences that explore the aspects of Creativity, Action and Service. Throughout these experiences i will link my learning to the following outcomes.

Increased their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth
They are able to see themselves as individuals with various skills and abilities, some more developed than others, and understand that they can make choices about how they wish to move forward.

Undertaken new challenges
A new challenge may be an unfamiliar activity, or an extension to an existing one.

Planned and initiated activities
Planning and initiation will often be in collaboration with others. It can be shown in activities that are part of larger projects, for example, ongoing school activities in the local community, as well as in small student-led activities.

Worked collaboratively with others
Collaboration can be shown in many different activities, such as team sports, playing music in a band, or helping in a kindergarten. At least one project involving collaboration and the integration of at least two of creativity, action and service, is required.

Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities
At a minimum, this implies attending regularly and accepting a share of the responsibility for dealing with problems that arise in the course of activities.

Engaged with issues of global importance
Students may be involved in international projects but there are many global issues that can be acted upon locally or nationally (for example, environmental concerns, caring for the elderly).

Considered the ethical implications of their actions
Ethical decisions arise in almost any CAS activity (for example, on the sports field, in musical composition, in relationships with others involved in service activities). Evidence of thinking about ethical issues can be shown in various ways, including journal entries and conversations with CAS advisers.

Developed new skills
As with new challenges, new skills may be shown in activities that the student has not previously undertaken, or in increased expertise in an established area.

:)

Gecko Inc.

Gecko Inc.

We have been facing some issues in getting permission from the board to bring the kids over. Mr Shipley suggested that we should go to the kids instead. Judging from the amount of time however we don't think that we will be able to organize either. Therefore we are just going to have fundraisers to fund us to organize something next semester.  

Saisa Volleyball Tournament 2013 Colombo

Osc Vs Lincoln 5th and 6th Placement Game

So the SAISA volleyball tournament that was held in Colombo just finished. We placed 5th overall which considering that we came in 10th last year is a huge achievement. We did however have a really strong team and half way through the tournament i really believed that we could have won it. Evidence of this is that in our first game we beat the champions TASIM. One of the most influential parts of the tournament was when Justin gave the now famous "I believe" speech, which motivated the team to play at our best and push through even when we were losing. I think that many different learning outcome were addressed in the 3 day tournament. Working collaboratively with others was one of the main ones. Being a risk taker and being a dedicated athlete were important aspects of the learner profile that were in play. For me these two aspects are especially important because i have been given countless speeches in the past for not fulfilling my sports or my school work to the best of my potential. I didn't participate in SAISA Basketball 2012 because i was lazy and didn't want to go to practice. I really think that having participated in SAISA has made me fall in love with the event and now i know i'll regret not participating in all the SAISA events that i can possibly do. Hence the reason i am hoping that they change the SAISA seasons so that track and field and basketball are not in the same season. Anyways, i think that this tournament was an amazing opportunity to play in front of the home crowd and meet new people. I also think that after each SAISA Tournament i become closer to being an ideal IB Learner. This experience increased my awareness of my own strengths in such as diving for the ball and being up on the net. It also help me realize that i have a weakness in receiving and back court play. As i mentioned before I also learned how to show perseverance and to be committed in all the activities that i participate it. I also definitely developed new skills and i'm hoping that by next year i will be 2 folds better that player that i was this year.

:)

Fundraising for Gecko Inc.

Fundraising for Gecko Inc.

To fund the trip to OSC for the kids we need to come up with fundraisers. This is going to be part of my creativity aspect for CAS. In our service we have been separated into a bunch of groups. My group which consists of 4 people are in charge of fundraising. We currently have a few idea such as a bake sale and a movie night. These fundraisers do take a lot of planning to make sure that our time and resources are used as efficiently as possible. We want to end up making as much money as we possibly can.

IB Orientation Reflection

The orientation trip took place on September 6th and it lasted for 3 days. It was to Borderlands in Kitulgala. The orientation trip really connected the whole grade. I personally got to know people that i didn't usually talk to and got to know a lot more about people that i do talk to usually. The trip consisted a lot of risk-taking and activities that challenged us physically as well as mentally. For example the abseil down the waterfall didn't take much physical prowess but required a strong mental drive. Activities such as rafting and end of the day reflections were what in my opinion brought our grade closer. I really enjoyed our service activity that consisted of us making up questions for the local community of Kitulgala and finding out about their lives. It really open my eyes to how most peoples live are made up of only work and providing for they family, while mine consists of a whole bunch of different things. To conclude the Ib orientation trip was really fun and i hope the grade can do something like that again.

SAISA Volleyball

The Saisa Volleyball tournament is only a few weeks away and the teams have been selected. Practices are on Tuesday and Friday afternoon and Wednesday and Saturday in the morning. Recently we have been trying out a different formations from last year. Since we came in 10th last year the whole team is really looking forward to coming in somewhere in the top 5. This year I think that we have a really strong team. Since we have a strong team the difficulty of the plays we run has increased drastically from last year. To be able to learn and run these plays effectively will be a real challenge for the whole team. To really perform at the best of our ability we are required to come to all practices including the "optional" practice on Wednesdays. This takes a certain level of commitment and perseverance. Despite all this i believe that the team will develop new skills and show up to Saisa as a strong contender.  

:) 

Gecko Inc.

Gecko Inc.

This year my service is Gecko Inc. The main purpose of this service is to interact with kids in rural areas of Sri Lanka using sports and games. We spend our Cas sessions planing the next trip. This year the plan is to invite kids in 9th grade to come to OSC and stay for a couple of days. They will be participating in sports like volleyball, basketball and football.

To fund this trip we are in the process of thinking of fundraisers. The fundraisers will be in our school community. Things such as bake sales and sausage sizzles are what we have in mind.

I think that 2 of the main critical learning outcome that are represented in this service are planning activities and working collaboratively with others. Usually i tend to be a close-minded person when it come to making a decision but over the past years i've learned to embrace the Ib learner profile and be slightly more open- minded. I now try not to take a strong leadership role and be more of a contributor than a decider.