Week Without Walls (WWW) goals - Detailed

The Week Without Walls (WWW) 2012 will be an opportunity for all Grade 11 students to engage in a variety of Community, Action and Service (CAS) related activities in a rural region near Hambantota. As this will be the final WWW trip for our grade, we will all be in leadership positions and all the plans will be made and initiated by us, i.e. the students, while under the guidance of the teachers. This will enable us to collaborate, plan and initiate activities, undertake new challenges and develop new skills.
 

This trip is majorly CAS oriented and the main purpose of the two sections of Grade 11 will be to help in the renovation of two individual pre-schools in the need of urgent maintenance out of eight built by The Overseas School of Colombo (OSC) as a rehabilitation program for the migrating population from the South-Eastern coast of Sri Lanka impacted by the devastating 2004 tsunami. Thus, we will all be engaging in an issue of global importance. My section of grade 11, i.e. Grade 11.2, will be working towards renovating School #2 in the Gonnaruwa region as shown in the map below. Hence, this trip will be a very unique experience for the whole grade and will allow us all to become aware of our own strengths and weaknesses, consider the ethical implications of our actions and reflect about our growth towards becoming a "whole person" as stated in the OSC motto - "OSC develops the whole person as a responsible learner striving for personal excellence within a culturally diverse school".
 

A map showing the different pre-schools constructed by OSC for the 2004 tsunami rehabilitation near Hambantota. We (me and the peers of my grade) will be working in School #2 in the Gannoruwa. - Map Created by and property of Mr. Ian Lockwood.

A photograph taken during a recce at School #2. The photograph taken during the monsoon season shows the school playground from the angle of a highway. - Photograph taken by and property of Mr. Ian Lockwood.

A photograph taken during a recce at School #2. The photograph taken during the monsoon season shows the school playground from the angle of the school. - Photograph taken by and property of Mr. Ian Lockwood

My main goals for this trip are:

1. I will always be 100% dedicated and committed to my tasks.
   
   This is very crucial as the we will only have 2 days with approximately 12 hours to work on the renovation tasks. Approximately 1 hour in the beginning on both the days will be spent to interact and play with the school children.
   
   
2. I will work responsibly and will be focused while working and will be aware of the social implications of my task.
   
   It will be very important to keep in mind that all my actions are going to directly impact the life and future of the school children, school teachers, as well as the children's parents. I must be responsible and focused while working in order to be successful in positively helping the pre-school community.
    
3. I will always keep in mind that communication and collaboration is the key to the success of this activity.
    
   Communication amongst me and all my peers in my grade will be an important factor determining the level of success achieved by us in completing our tasks efficiently and properly.
    
4. I will remember that me and my peers are all ambassadors of the OSC community and hence utmost respect must be given towards the pre-school community as well as towards the task.
    
5. I will face all challenges confidently and develop new skills to succeed in the main goal of renovating the task.
    
   To tackle different challenges, I must collaborate with my peers and also learn new skills from them. This will be helpful for me in both the short-term future, by enabling me to lend my complete service towards completing the renovation of the pre-school, and in the long-term, by enabling me to use my experiences and skills to accomplish a wide variety of tasks.
   
   
6. I will be organized, balanced and disciplined.
    
   I will work in a dedicated manner and properly in order to efficiently succeed at my task. I will work with my peers to create a feasible plan during the recce on the first day of the trip that will be done in the absence of the school community. This plan will be followed during the two construction days of the trip and hence it will be very important to see the major improvements that need to be made. Later, I will also be able to help others in accomplishing their tasks.
    
7. I will use this unique opportunity to extend my experience and knowledge about my host nation Sri Lanka. I will also gain knowledge about my own areas of strengths and areas of growth, i.e. both physical as well as mental, regarding CAS.
   
   
8. I WILL WORK WHOLEHEARTEDLY AND ENJOY THE PROCESS!!! 

I am now looking forward to WWW!!!