Final CAS Reflection

CAS Individual Student Completion Form

NAME OF STUDENT: Avindhya Koralagamage

IB CANDIDATE NUMBER: 000245-018

CAS COORDINATOR: Ian Lockwood

SCHOOL YEARS: 2010-2012

Learning Outcomes	Achieved?	Nature/Location of Evidence
Increased awareness of their own strengths and areas of growth	Yes	Sunflower village- leadership of program gave me a good opportunity to identify what areas I would need to develop pot holes that I had as a Service Leader, and successfully exercise my areas of strength. One instance that I would recall was where I was required to find an alternative for swimming training for the children that visit OSC due to bad weather. The children had arrived prepared for regular swimming lessons, but a sudden outbreak of a thunderstorm, led to postpone the event. In order to keep the children entertained until it was time for them to leave. I suggested the possibility of using the gymnasium as a venue to play basketball with them. Their school lacked basketball court so I thought it would be a good opportunity for them to get a brief grasp of a sport that they only could have seen on T.V. OSC having the adequate facilities; the children participated in a friendly game of what they knew as basketball. It was a combination of netball and basketball. In terms of an area of development, I would say that I need further concentration on making sure all my team members remain on task and support the children’s learning rather than satisfying themselves with amongst other students from OSC that are also present in the pool.
Undertaken new challenges	Yes	There are several challenges that I had to undertake during my period of leadership. Out of these two major challenges outstand amongst the others. One being that the 2011-2012 service year having only 5 members from OSC community to run a program that has over 10 kids. It required each member of our team to ensure that two children get equal amount of support in developing their swimming skills. Second being the introduction of a sport activity of their preference other than swimming lessons in the pool. The children suggested that they play cricket as it would be beneficial in them developing their skills to a greater potential, as the facilities that OSC has to offer lets them go beyond their boundaries that they may be limited to in their school sports facilities. This was a entirely new addition
Planned and initiated activities	Yes	Apart from sport activities that we have introduced to the program, we also separated some time for the children where we could give them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with computers. Considering their age boundary (12-17) we thought it would be a great opportunity for them to get some firsthand experience in some of the up to date technology that OSC has to provide. It addresses the criteria of engaging in an issue of global importance as well.  Not only so, but we also planned the schedule which where we decided how we can organize the time spent doing each of these different activities. That alone was rather a difficult task for me as a leader because the children wanted to do whatever they wanted, not according to the schedule. It was a bit challenging keeping them satisfied with the planned schedule as the level of friendship between my group and them had exceeded the expected level. Furthermore, we also planned to supply their yearly writing books for school as it would be a reduced economic burden for their parents to purchase over 12 books for each child.
Worked collaboratively with others	Yes	The organization that takes place every Thursday afternoon to adapt to the varying number of students require a considerable amount of collaboration. Apart from service itself, being a team member of the 2012 SAISA Basketball team is where I would clearly outstand as the point where I worked collaboratively the most. Being a part of a team is no easy task. You are given a specific role to perform and it is your duty to make sure it happens. When running a play on offence or defense, you collaborative participation play a crucial role to the success of the whole team in general. My position as a wing player and number 3-4 on defense enabled me to clearly understand the importance of this role, not only this year but the previous as well.
Shown perseverance and commitment in their activities	Yes	My dedication to show up on time and prevalence to skip any basketball practice other than a medical condition clearly highlights this component. My effort to keep up this perseverance throughout the season paid off in being accepted as representative of both SAISA Basketball seasons 2011-2012. Not only in sports, but also every Thursday service. I was not absent to the service program without further notice to my team members or supervisor, nor was I not  present in the pool other than for a medical reason. Although I occasionally forget to bring my swim gear, I strictly refrained from omitting to participate in the program.
Engaged with issues of global importance	Yes	In terms of service, I would say all three aspects: swimming, sports, and using the tech labs are three main indicators of addressing issues of global importance in the host country we live in. Sri Lanka being a developing nation, not all government schools are able to construct swimming pools for the children’s use. So the very fact that we are volunteering to give the rare opportunity of swimming lessons under the guidance of our school swim instructors to children who lack access to such facilities is definitely a step towards addressing a issue with global importance. Cricket is the dominant sport played in sri lanka. Not all schools have the basic facility of a large cricket field and proper gear to properly play the sport. Kids who dream of being a popular cricketer in Sri Lanka are countless. Ending up in the Sri Lankan cricket team is almost everything a cricket oriented teenage child would dream of. Therefore it is our duty to do our bit from OSC. Although we may be catering a immensely small proportion of all the school children in Sri Lanka, it is brings to my pleasure to say that my team of 5 OSC members including me, do their bit in helping at least one child discover their potential in sport. Finally, the distribution of school books and separation of computer lab time every other Thursday, is how we aimed to extend how we address this criteria.
Considered the ethical implications of their actions	Yes	There were instances where I had to be somewhat harsh and demanding to my team members to carry out their duty. On some occasions I was rather un-flexible towards their requests. Requests such as finishing up service earlier than usual, early departure from the activity. Also not being flexible to those who do not carry out their duty as requested. This may seem as if though my intention is to appear as a boss and exercise my authority as a leader, but in my perspective, it was entirely for their benefit. Most of my team members were a year below being eligible for leadership of the program. And my intention was to develop them to a standard where they would not struggle in maintaining a successful period as a leader of the program.
Developed new skills	Yes	There are numerous new skills that I have learned from my service experience. From being a participating member of a activity to getting the opportunity to lead the program is a significant amount of skills one can learn. My first skill that I developed prior to being the leader of sunflower village was the ability to effectively engage in with the children. This hugely triggered my interest in the program to seeing it as more of an opportunity where I can utilize my ability as an individual for the benefit of another, than a regular every Thursday commitment that I must attend. Not only did I develop as an individual, but my friends from OSC who were in the program saw me as an example in how to develop a better relationship with the children. Punctuality was another significant aspect that I developed from the program. As a leader my presence before anybody else is important as all that goes on depends on my decisions. The importance of punctuality was one of the biggest elements that I learnt from this program.

Basketball Day 7 2nd Week

As we reach the end of the second week of Basketball practice I have further developed my awareness on my strengths and weaknesses. Continuously we have been focusing on developing our defensive and offensive plays. We have been continuously practicing the plays we have previously been running through so that all members of the team get the chance to be familiar in their positions on court. Personally, my goal is to continuously give my full participation  and effort into the team so that we will have a sucessfull season.

Begining of new semester

Today the Community Service block for the second semester commenced once again. We were notified that  we will be training the same group of children from last semester. We waited for their arrival but nobody showed up. So we decided to take this opportunity to make modifications to our schedule of training with the students. Last semester we spared some time to allow the kids to engage in a activity rather different from swimming. We introduced a 20 minute session of teaching computer basics; such as how to handle a mouse properly, correct seating positioning while working on a computer, hand placement on keyboard for typing prior entering the pool for swimming training. By doing so we thought it will give the children a chance to gain some additional skills apart from just swimming. This however, was only successful to a certain extent. We realized that the children got rather distracted and bored after a few weeks into the new routine. Although a typing software was used to help them learn these fundamental skills, most of them deviated from the instructions given. Almost every child kept using their index finger to peck on the keyboard. Some were not seated properly and were still typing. We soon realized that this was not all that satisfactory. This is one of the goals that we wish to accomplish this semester. We need to ensure that the children remain focused and is given full attention by one of OSC members.

Children learn best when their personal interest in a particular area is present. So we decided to incorporated another additional activity to the program and alter the schedule which we already follow. We decided to incorporate cricket into the service program. So every other Thursday, we would only focus on cricket and computer training leaving swimming training for the next week. We ran a quick survey at the beginning asking the children what sport they wished to play. There were choices such as volleyball and netball, but obviously cricket was a dominating vote over the rest. By expanding the spectrum of activities the service has to offer it will only benefit the children. Playing cricket on the OSC field will give them the freedom of space and access to better environments to do what they enjoy doing most (playing cricket).

To keep the children encouraged to do what they do best, we also skimmed the idea to utilize our CAS budget to purchase cricket bats for the children. This way, we as the OSC community can help the children pursue their desired sport. 

This semester we aim to achieve the following goals as a team

• Ensure that the children are fully engaged and following instructions in the computer lessons
• Support them in the best possible manner to improve and developing their skills in using a computer
• Provide a suitable environment for the children to engage in playing cricket
• Maintain the same level of motivation towards teaching those children in need of extra support developing their swimming skills.
• Give my best effort to purchase cricket equipment for the children with Terunaga's assistance
• Be committed, show perseverance, and dedication towards the program at all times until my leadership is passed on.

SAISA Baskeball Day 1

Intense heartburn and sore leg muscles marks today as the first day of SAISA Basketball training. Today was a opportunity to see for ourselves our current position on fitness as a team an as individuals. 4 scheduled practices a week will prepare us for the upcoming SAISA tournament that is to be held at OSC. In today's practice, we focused on some basic fundamentals of basketball. Triple threat, dribbling, lay up's and jump shots were the few main aspects we focused on.

This gave me a opportunity to spot my weaknesses as a individual and also as a team. Overall, there are plenty of new faces that have signed up for this years boys basketball season. None of them I have ever talked with before. The fact that there were more new members to this years team from last years, I think caused a considerable lack of confidence for communication to happen in practice. Communication and collaboration are two main fundamentals that make basketball possible. In order for the the team and myself to improve, communication must take place at all times in practice and in game situations. It is also important that we support our team members in every step of the way until we reach our tournament. I will make a priority goal that I will improve my collaborative and communication skills throughout the season. 

A Little Part-ayy

As the year came to an end, we celebrated the success of the program with a delicious meal of Kentuckey Fried Chicken funded by Yariq Captain. It was a good opportunity for our team to converse with the kids and talk about their personal view on how they felt about their achievements of from the program. Some of them felt rather shy in the beginning, but eventually we got them talking. It was also a good opportunity to talk to the children about about their ideas for the future once they finish school. Almost all of the kids wanted to be a engineer or a doctor as it is stereotypically considered the two common and reputed occupations one can earn in Sri Lanka. At the end of the day everyone enjoyed the event and left with a smile to return next year.

During the party our group members discussed the possibility of providing the children with their school book for their school year. Their education is a matter of global importance and it is our duty that we support the children in what ever way we can. Unlike OSC, students in government run schools are required to purchase their own notebooks and stationary material. So we thought that it would be a great opportunity to provide the children with their school books as we have the adequate funding necessary. While this contribution may have benefited a group of children, it also brings out the ethical implications of only providing the school books to a group of 9 children. There are more children back at their school who could also benefit from the aid of free school books, but did not get the chance. Although it may be out of our hands to provide school books for an entire school, we can be satisfied with the fact that we were able to help at least a minute proportion of that school in what ever way we can. 

Sunset for Sunflower Village

As the semester comes to an end, I can proudly say that I have successfully achieved the objectives I indented to achieve for this semester. I have addressed all 8 criteria in this semester through service itself. One criterion that I have made significant progress in this semester is “engaged with issues of global importance”. As an addition to swimming lessons, we incorporated a 20 minutes session of computer training. In rapidly developing world, technology is a key tool which we utilize in our daily lives. Throughout all provinces of Sri Lanka, computer literacy rates are low as 10%. Therefore we separated some time each Thursday to allow the children get some experience in technology at the most basic level.

Throughout the 20 minutes that we separated for the children in the technology labs, we stuck with the idea of letting them play games that tested their ability to type on a keyboard. At the beginning of the year, we asked the children if they have a computer at home or has used a computer before. Every one raised their hands to having used a computer, but only a few raised their hands to having a computer at home. This also made a significant difference in the variance of those with the skill and ability to type properly, and those with not. Only a few kids were comfortable keeping up with the pace at which they type, but the rest found it rather challenging. 

This coming semester I will focus on helping those children who had difficulty with the newly added computer program. It is essential that they get the maximum out of the available technology that is not available to them back at their own school. As mentioned earlier, being computer literate is a great skill for one to have under his or her sleeve. Having some knowledge at a young age will benefit them in their future.

School Books to The Children

Earlier this month we decided to give school books to the sunflower village children so it spares them the effort, money of worrying over writing material. Today we presented the books to the children in the SMPR. All 9 students arrived to OSC and the books were distributed out to the children. It was a pleasure to provide them with material that will help them in their education and more over, the smiles that they had on their faces were even more satisfying to see as it was a indication of thankfulness and  happiness.