Final CAS Reflection

Its been an eventful, action-packed and reward-full 2 years of CAS in the Diploma Program. I've been apart of multiple programs, sports tournaments, service activities, fundraisers and productions. Every single one being a new learning experience for me and has pushed me to new areas, well out of my comfort zone.

Here is a list of things I've been apart of;

SAISA Boys Basketball and Volleyball Tournaments (2013-2015) Held in Dhaka, Chennai, Nepal  and Colombo. 

Stage Manager for the Drama Production. 

Event Crew for SAISA Badminton (2014) Held in Colombo. 

Treasurer for the Student Government. 

Mother Tongue Service Project.

Gecko Inc. 

Being a Referee

Coach of the Development Girls Basketball Team.

Being a Judge on Gecko Factor.

Everything listed above has been closely linked to the following outcomes,

Increased their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth

Sports has been the key area for thing outcome. SAISA in particular has made me aware of the areas i'm strong in and the areas I am not so strong in. Through perseverance and constant attempts I have pushed myself further in athleticism and skill and I've developed skills in mental stability and commitment.

Undertaken new challenges

Being a stage manager, Being a referee, a judge, a coach, teaching kids and being a member of student government have all been examples of new challenges that I've undertaken this year. These are things that I never thought I would do and I feel that these are experiences that I will use in the future as either a source of inspiration or just something to look back and laugh about.

Planned and initiated activities

Stage manager, Fundraisers, Oscars, Event crew and service projects (MT and Gecko Inc) have contributed to this outcome. I've grown immensely in my organization and planning skills. Organizing in Event crew was one of the most tantalizing tasks of the year for me and the amount of skill I have acquired from this experience is unmatched.

Worked collaboratively with others

SAISA, Coaching, Treasurer(SGA), Fundraiser and Event crew have all required me to work with peers and superiors in getting tasks done. Collaboration in a valuable skill in today's society and i'm glad i had a chance to acquire it. 


Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities

Sports again is a key focus here. I've gone through multiple injures that have ranged from weeks to months. Staying fit and picking myself up is something i'm sure i'll have to do in college and for the rest of my life.

Engaged with issues of global importance

In my 2 years of CAS this is the once learning outcome i feel i did not address or complete well enough. The mother tongue service project and being a referee (Ethics) are the closest I've come to being engaged with an issue of global importance. 

Considered the ethical implications of their actions

Ethics are a factor in almost all our daily activities and it ranges. Being a referee, a judge, a coach, a stage manager, a athletic and a treasurer has placed me in multiple ethical situations(Big and small). I've dealt with these situations and I expect to be in many more along the line. 

Developed new skills

The Kevin Fernando of 2 years ago would be absolutely unmatched to the person who is currently writing this final CAS reflection post. Skills; academic skills, athletic skills, social skills, writing skills and organizational skills. I've acquired all these skills through the Diploma CAS Program, and what initially seemed like a chore has evolved into a lifestyle.


Thanks,

Kevin Fernando

Oscars

The SGA organized the 2015 Oscars for March. As Co-Treasurer I was in-charge of  organizing and allocating funds for the event. The Oscars is the Final big event of the School Year and we usually use all the funds we raised over the year to make Oscars the most lucrative event. This year's theme was Candy-Land, it was pretty easy to fund as all we needed was the venue, the place and decor.

We decided to make our own decor. So one day we all stayed after school and got to work in the art room. I made a few donuts and a some mints :D 

Overall the night turned out to be a blast and SGA 2015 did an amazing job. 

                               OSCAR Awards and CandyLand themed chocolate fountain :D

Seniors Class of 2015

SAISA Basketball

The SAISA U19 Boys Basketball Tournament is steadily approaching.

This week we are finalizing the traveling team and so we expect a lot of paperwork in the upcoming days. The team is working well together and we are playing regular games on Friday. We have also started working on our new offense and it seems to be quite complicated. luckily, 5 years of Basketball experience comes in handy.

My body has been feeling pretty banged up and bruised recently. 4 times a week practice is quite difficult with my already injured muscles and bones. Over the past years I've had many injures; big and small, that always come back when my body is pushed to it's limits. However, I need to show a higher level of perseverance and be careful with how much I push myself. I tend to be quite injury prone, so I also need to take care when playing full games.

As a veteran player on the squad, I also need to be aware of the examples I set to the younger players. The new bunch seem to be quite immature and I need to make sure that their heads are in game-mode when SAISA comes around.

Gecko Factor Auditions

As the Treasurer of the SGA, I was one of the judges for the Gecko-Factor auditions. The Gecko-Factor is a talent show that mimics the TV. series X-factor. Being a judge is kind of interesting as you get to see people who you usually wouldn't expect to see singing or displaying their talent. It was also hard to be critical when you know the people who are auditioning and I feel this deals with an issue of Global importance in a sense. Being ethical in decision making and evaluating is an issue everyone deals with when put in a position of power; may it be as a manager, a university admissions board member or a judge.

The final list of participants for X-Factor will be released soon and as Treasurer I'll be in charge of funding the event.

SAISA Basketball

The SAISA Basketball season has started and training will commence on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

The team is full of amateurs and unpolished talent. We are aiming for a Top-3 place and are also aiming to train and the younger players to ensure the future of Gecko Basketball. 

I've been dealing with a few recurring injuries over the past SAISA seasons and they seem to be coming back due to the increased play. I'll need to be smart about when I choose to play or not. I'll need to show perseverance in icing and resting to ensure my 100% participation at SAISA in April. 

The team does have some veterans in Max, Joaquin and Olaf. We hope to acquire some new talent and be a contender for the gold. Being the Captain will also be a challenging task as we have an inexperienced team and it takes a lot to whip them into shape. 

Pictures to come!

Fun Basketball

Every Friday the school organizers a fun game of basketball on the outside court. The players are usually beginners who are there to learn. Every now and again you get a visit from a member of the Basketball team, makes the game more interesting. The reason I do "Fun Basketball" is mainly to get ready for the upcoming season. I've been out of shape recently and have had a long break from athletics since SAISA volleyball ended in October. Running around is actually pretty tiring but i'm showing perseverance to get back into form. Another reason I go to the game is to scout out talent, and help some students improve their skills. I teach them plays and give them advice on how to improve their skills. There is definitely some fresh talent at OSC and it makes me happy that our basketball program has a bright future.

Pictures to come!   

Being a Referee

For the past 3 weeks I've been a referee for the games the Girls Basketball team have every Friday. The games are scheduled at 3:30 and are against local schools. Being a referee is definitely a new skill for me. I have refereed a few games in the past and since i've played basketball for about 4 years i feel that i was quite accustomed to it. The perspective of the game however is quite different from being a player to being a referee. Referees need to be more unbiased in calls and need to look at each call with a calm, focused mind. I'm also dealing with a issue of ethics. As I am refereeing Gecko games, I am quite biased towards my team. However as a referee I need to be objective as it is my responsibility to officiate the game with the utmost level of fairness. Being a biased ref would not only be unfair to the local teams but would also be a show of disrespect to the home Geckos.

Mother Tongue Service Project

 Hasara and I have met with the preschool and Grade 3 classes regularly.for the past 2 weeks. We meet with the preschool class every Monday and the Grade 3's on Thursday. The Sinhalese class is actually integrated into the classes schedules.

The Grade 3's seem to be quite successful at remembering almost all of the vocabulary we teach them. Studies have shown that at a young age children have the ability to learn languages quickly and more succinctly. We have just finished a unit on colors and animals. We are now organizing a unit on fruits. We are trying to organize and plan  lessons that relate to what they are currently studying in their normal classes. This week they are doing "Healthy Foods" and we feel that a unit on fruits will be perfect. 

The Preschool class seem to find it harder to remember a lot of the vocab that we teach them. They all seems to remember a few colors and even a few animals. They are currently doing a unit on farm animals. We met them last week and asked them to draw some of the animals that they had learnt. We then thought them the Sinhalese word and they seemed to enjoy the lesson. With the preschool class we try to incorporate a more fun work ethic and we ind that this works well. They are easily distracted and teaching them takes quite a lot of perseverance.    

This service project has really made me aware of the skill I have with talking to and teaching kids. I feel like since i'm still young, it is easier for me to connect with them and make the lessons enjoyable for both the kids and myself. I also feel that Hasara and I are dealing with a issue of global importance. The mother tongue service group is an interesting way to tackle the idea of "preserving culture through language". Which is a significant issue in our ever globalizing community.

"An estimated 7,000 languages are being spoken around the world. But that number is expected to shrink rapidly in the coming decades. What is lost when a language dies?"
(BBC World)

Article: The Death of Language 

This Article really sums up what this service project is about. In today's world society languages such as English, Mandarin and French are being spoken all over the world. What happens when a new child is born and the only language he/she learns is English? In a 100 or maybe even a 1000 years how many languages will be lost? Teaching preschool kids may not me a sure-fire way to fight the loss of language, but it's a start. 

  

SAISA Volleyball Tournament 2014 Dhaka, Bangladesh

29th October-1st November

The OSC Geckos took part in this years SAISA volleyball tournament held in Dhaka. We placed 4th and lost to the host team in the semi final. They would end up winning the championship, The tournament was structured in a round robin setting and we played a total of 8 qualifying games. It was exhausting. I personally had to show a great deal of perseverance as my right knee was bruised up pretty bad and it was effecting my jump. After every game I had to ice every 20 minute interval to make sure I was ready for the next game. SAISA has never had a round robin setting before and it was a completely new structure that demanded a lot of physical and mental prowess. As Captain I had to make sure that my team weren't neglecting their injuries and were resting well.

Our last round robin game was also against the home team ; Tigers. The scores were dead even between 15 and 20 points. As captain I was shouting and screaming at my team until my voice would give in. We were up 20-18. Suddenly, we started falling apart. The score was 20-23 in an instant and we were playing like we had already accepted the loss. Volleyball isn't a game that anyone can win by themselves, it's not possible. After the 23rd point I brought my team into a huddle and spoke to them directly. I told them that we look like we've given up and we are not playing our game. It's against the rules to be in a huddle for longer than a few seconds without calling a timeout. We didn't care. I still can't remember what I said to my team but when we broke we had this new found adrenaline to fight. We ended up losing that set 23-25. I was really proud of my teams ability to come together in the end and play through that mental block. I was also really proud of myself for being able to inspire it. 

I'm currently starting training for the SAISA Basketball tournament 2015 that is going to be held in Chennai, India. 

Photo Credits- Gimesh Ragapakse                                                    OSC Gecko vs LAS Buffaloes 2-0 

Being Captain was an interesting experience that I learned a great deal from. I feel like it prepared me for being a leader in the future and most definitely prepared me for captaining the SAISA basketball team. 

Photo Credits- Gimesh Ragapakse                                  Osc Geckos vs AISD Tigers 0-2

Mother Tongue Project

Last week Hasara and I met with the grade 3s. We wanted to start this lesson off as a more of a introductory lesson rather than a teaching lesson. Handling preschoolers is certainly a new thing for Hasara and me. They are easily distracted and you need to keep them active and attentive. During this lesson we told them who we were and what we wanted to do with them. We learned their names and thought them a few basics such as "My name is" and a "Blue" "Red" "Yellow" and "Green". It was actually quite fun and teaching a class together really involves a lot of collaborating with your co-teacher. We are meeting them again next Thursday and we have a different class lined up for this Monday as well :)

Selfie I took with the class on my Iphone.

Endicott survey- SGA

Over the past 2 weeks the Executive Committee of the SGA has been looking over the Endicott survey results of the past 2 years. We have been comparing the areas in which OSC has been improving and where it has been depreciating. We brainstormed ideas of how we could make the necessary changes in school and what capabilities the SGA has to make those changes. We are currently trying to find a way to express the SGAs ideas and changes to the Board and HODs.

The SGA is also organizing more spirit days and a rally for the SAISA teams. 

Local Volleyball Tournament Hosted at OSC

Starting this Friday on the 17th and 18th of October OSC is hosting a inter- school volleyball tournament. We are hosting 4 teams and will be playing round robin games on Friday we will be playing the placement games. SAISA is only a week away and this tournament is a great chance for us to test our skill and our collaboration as a team in clutch situations. This will also be my first chance to be the captain of the team for a long period of time. We will be at school as a team for a total of 8 hours between Friday and Saturday, we need to concentrate on conditioning and being ready for every game. As captain it's my responsibility to make sure that my team is keeping up physically and mentally. Leadership is not a new skill for me but it is a skill that I have acquired over the past year and I still have many aspects in which I need improvement. I will be the Captain of the Basketball team in 2015 and I really hope I can carry my team to a medal.

Mother Tongue Project

This week Hasara and I went to the library to borrow a Sinhalese children's book. I am on par fluent in speaking Sinhalese and so is Hasara. I however cannot read and Hasara is at a grade 1 reading level. Therefore actually taking a book out, reading and explaining it was pretty challenging for the 2 of us. We did pretty well I think, reading Sinhalese is a new skill I wish to gain and I feel that this service project will really help my acquire it.

SAISA Volleyball Week 4

I've been selected as the Captain of the team.

This brings in a creativity aspect to my primary action. I'll be in charge of warm ups/cool downs and basic team management. This is a leadership role that requires a lot of responsibility and is actually a new skill for me as this the first SAISA team i'm captaining. I've taken up other leadership roles in sports day when I led Red House and in my Group 4 Project when I led my group. Being the Captain of a SAISA team however is a little different, it is a 10 week commitment and my captaincy stays off the court as well. I'm in charge of making sure my team does not get into idiotic trouble and organizing food for visiting teams. It's also added pressure on the court too, I need to be the one who keeps his composure and keeps the team together. I can't be having emotional outbursts despite my lack of performance and concentrate on keeping the team moral up. 

We are currently organizing our visa applications for Dhaka and have about 7 weeks left until we travel. The team is improving exponentially and I'm really looking forward to bringing home a medal. 

SGA- Treasurer

SGA organizes something for every school event. As treasurer I will be in charge of funds and making sure that we have ample money in the budget to support all the events we plan. Meetings are on Wednesday at lunch.

SAISA Volleyball

Last week was the start of SAISA Volleyball 2014. Practices will be on Tuesday, Wednesday,Friday and Saturday. I'm really excited for the weeks to come and to see the team at the end of the 10 week season, I feel we have a lot of potential. Can't wait for October.

CAS Goals

My CAS goals this year relate to 3 thing. SAISA, SGA and The Mother Tongue Project.

In SAISA,

I want to win one of the 3 SAISA awards for both Volleyball and Basketball. For volleyball I want to win the Most Spirited Award, I'm going to achieve this by communicating and collaborating with my team effectively throughout all training sessions and games. For basketball I want to win the MVP award, which has always been a goal of mine since I started playing SAISA. This being my last year is my only shot. I want to show perseverance and develop a lot of new skills to make me a candidate for the award.

In SGA,

A goal of mine is to be a reliable treasurer. As one of the 5 main SGA positions I not only want to concentrate on my job as treasurer but also have an impact on the SGA as a whole. For this I will need to work well with Shanthi Haaze, who is my co-treasurer.

In The Mother Tongue Project,

The goal is to become fluent in Sinhalese, which is my technical mother tongue. As growing up I never learnt it and I hope having a year long commitment to this service will let me achieve this. Another goal of mine is to teach another kid as much Sinhalese as I can to make sure he/she doesn't end up like me :)

Final CAS Reflection

CAS Reflection

This year for CAS I have done many different activities regarding CAS. For Creativity i’ve done Even Crew and Drama Stage Manager for Yerma. For Action i’ve done SAISA Basketball,Friday 3-3 Basketball and SAISA Volleyball. For Service I’ve been apart of Gecko Inc.

Throughout the year i’ve learned so much about myself and where I excel in and where i still need to grow. In basketball i’ve learned about how I still lack in mental preparation and staying prepared for all games. I realised this as well in Volleyball where my mental status got in the way of my physical game. My strengths unpredictably are my ability to take on a lot of work and still come through, something I learned through event crew.

Gecko Inc and Event crew were the two activities I did this year where I had to plan and initiate activities. I planned the adopt a team process and sportsmanship for Event crew along with some activities for the school that we are interacting with for service. I’ve learned that i am pretty resourceful when it comes to planning activities since i have good intuitive ideas along with a sense of responsibility.

I collaborated with a team in mostly all my activities besides when being a Stage Manager for Yerma. In both SAISA teams I really bonded with the team and worked collaboratively with them all to win every game we did and lose and reflect on the games we didn’t. In Even Crew I worked effectively with Greta to plan sportsmanship and the Adopt-a-team process, along with some key roles in both the opening ceremony and line judging.

Throughout all my sports activities i had to fight through a bad ankle injury and it took a lot of perseverance to get through to the end of each season. Event Crew really pushed me as i had to host 4 Dhaka players, do my EE along with returning home late every day.

Throughout every single activity i’ve gained new skills. I’ve learned to use my left hand in basketball, plan activities in Event crew, learned to be a responsible student in being a stage manager and learned new socialising skills when meeting new people in all the activities in CAS.

I hope to have a successful next year as I did this year.

CAS Reflection

My understanding of CAS goals was slightly off last year.

I haven't been sky diving, but I've achieved the other 2 personal goals. That's 2/3

Haven't achieved a 7 in econ or french but I did pass TOK. That's 1/3

Been fit throughout the year, made the starters list in both volleyball and basketball. That's 3/3

6/9 of my goals were accomplished but I feel that for the upcoming year I need to set goals that are more Creativity/Action/Service rather than personal,academic and athletic.

Goals set in August 2013

Personal 

To go Sky Diving. 

To improve in my thinking and application of knowledge.

To be more dedicated and contribute more to formative assessments 

Academic 

To get a 39 in the IB. 

To get a 7 in French Abnitio. 

To get a 7 in economics. 

To pass TOK.

Sports 

Make the starting 6 of the Volleyball Team.

Make the starting 5 of the Basketball Team and be the leading scorer. 

Be fit throughout the 2 years of the IB