Annual Report 2022

I welcome to our 2022 Prize Giving, the 16th Bishop of Colombo the Right Rev. Dushantha Rodrigo and Mrs. Shehara Rodrigo our chief guests this evening, clergy, special invitees, members of the governing body, OGA and PTA, former Principals and Vice-Principals, our Manager, Vice-Principal, Sectional Heads and Deputies, Consultants, staff, donors, students and parents.

Let me start with a little story …….

This story is about a little baby – the youngest of three children who was born in Trincomalee. He went on to study at St. Thomas’ Mt Lavinia and being interested in entering the Church at the young age of 11 years, he went to Theological College after he left school. Having secured his Bachelors degree of Divinity, and external degree from India, a PgD in Counselling from the University of Colombo, a MA in Development studies from the Open University, he pursued ecumenical studies in Switzerland. In the field of Education, he has served as acting Warden of St Thomas’ College Mt. Lavinia, Headmaster of St. Thomas’ Preparatory School, School Chaplain of many schools and Chairperson of many School Boards. He was ordained a deacon in 1994 and served as vicar in numerous churches across our country for more than 25 years. More important than all his many accolades, he collected his most valuable earthly treasure – Mrs. Shehara Rodrigo who was passionate about gardening and enjoyed playing the piano. Above all she is known to have a kind heart and go out of her way to help others. As our chief shepherd, he is a man of deep faith and a person much loved for his unique sense of humour and amazing ability to interact with people of all age groups. Our Chief Guest is no stranger and he has been with us here on special occasions at Ladies’ College in 2022. Thank you Bishop Dushy (as you are fondly referred to by all of us) for accepting our invitation to grace this occasion as our Chief Guest.

Ranmalee – you are a rare treasure! Apart from all your qualifications and being a gifted and loved teacher for more than a quarter of a century at LC your kindness, wisdom, humility, integrity and deep faith have personally been a tower of strength. It is a joy and privilege to make this journey together with you at LC.

We will look at 2022 through 5 aspects

i.e. celebrations, our ethos as put in place by our founders and reinforced by successive administrators (sound learning, varied natural life and spiritual growth) and being one family unbroken (an integral part as set out in our School hymn).

CELEBRATIONS

We celebrated our 122nd Founders Day on the 11th of March, 2022. We had two sets of school leaders (2021 and 2022) being a part of our Founders Day Service. The Faith Stories book with 122 stories of faith was dedicated and launched and our students were treated to a special staff concert after a decade – to our very own version of Mama Mia. The traditional Prefects vs. Teachers Netball match was won by the teachers. At our Founders Day Assembly, we felicitated three special Guide and Little Friend old girl leaders who had served the school with dedication and love for more than 50 years – they were, Mrs. Marlene Dissanayake, Mrs. Dushyanthi Perera and Mrs. Kumudini Amaratunga.

We are also grateful that notwithstanding the challenging circumstances we faced with COVID-19, fuel, economic and political crises in our country we were able to celebrate Avurudhu, Children’s Day and our former Vice-Principal, Mrs. Dumbukola’s milestone 90th birthday.

SOUND LEARNING

What did sound learning look like in 2022 at Ladies’ College?

Our Nursery held Rhyme Land in the 1st Term and thereafter working with their annual theme of Habitats, the children enjoyed learning about animals and plant life in different habitats. The Nursery concert which was a new experience for all our Nursery students was held in November (the theme being ‘Habitats’). New features were introduced to the Nursery – weekly assemblies (through which we witnessed our toddlers become confident), ICT as a subject for the 4+ students and the reintroduction of their very own Carol Service after many years.

Grades 4 to 9 enjoyed their first Term’s project of ‘Dance World’. Our Literacy Term projects took our KG through the adventures of Flat Stanley to many locations around the world. Diaries and Journals was the Book Day theme from Grades 4 – 9. The KG Activity Day was ‘Dolls & their stories’ and an Activity Day was introduced to the Primary in the form of a musical experience. Our Primary students, too, travelled around the world with a collection of buttons in the story of ‘The Button Box’. Each student even designed their own programme cover. The KG also had their Science Exhibition titled “Under the Ground” where they enjoyed researching and presenting information about life and substances underground.

Some new aspects + the strengthening of an existing aspect were done for Upper School – mainly Grade 12 and above. The Soft Skills programme was fine-tuned and strengthened with a series of planned programmes and interactive sessions. Outside resource persons were used for some of the sessions. Three new aspects that were introduced were –

• An effective orientation programme for students crossing from O’ Levels to A’ Levels. This two week programme saw old girl experts in various fields come in as motivational speakers. An outbound activity was done on four core aspects such as integrity, humility etc. Visits to universities and a University fair (which had to be done virtually due to the situation in the country) were also part of this programme.
• The International Duke of Edinburgh programme was introduced and 25 students registered to do the bronze level. This programme adds value to students’ university applications both locally and overseas. The participants went on an adventure journey to Sigiriya which they had to plan and organize by themselves.
• A Career Guidance Intraweb was set up for students. The School signed up with cialfo (web engine) giving access to students to more than 500 universities around the world, free UCASS applications etc., virtual university exhibitions. An active drive to secure scholarships and concessions for students in universities overseas was handled by our very versatile, dedicated and efficient Career Guidance Counsellor, Ms. Taanya Tranchell (a former Head Girl of Ladies’ College).

School assembly themes ranged from – “Stories of Hope through conflict” which was respectively presented by the Religious Societies and other Clubs and Societies. Post pandemic effects around the world (ENV Society), Paradoxes (Math Society), To infinity and beyond (Science Society), Music at the movies (Music Circle), Sri Lankan authors and poets in the new millennia (the 3 respective Literary Societies), Independence Day (Grade 11), on Kindness (at Primary assemblies). KG and Nursery, too, had their weekly assemblies presented by their students.

Inter-House competitions (Solo Singing, Sinhala and Tamil Drama, Oratorics, Debating, General Knowledge, Sports etc.) and other competitions (Art, Essay writing, Cartoon, Digital animation, Photography etc. ) were held throughout the year. Programmes were conducted on Cyber Bullying and Teenage Challenges by Mr. Hans Billimoria.

Notwithstanding the emotional trauma our students were subjected to, we are grateful to God for the many academic successes our students were able to secure.

Local Advanced Level

3 As – 11%
2 As – 7%
Pass rate – 96%

Local Ordinary Level

9 As – 28% (31 students)
–
Eligible for A/Ls – 95%

British Advance Level

3 A* – 11%
2 A* – 11%
Pass Rate – 98%

World Prize

Accounting High Achievers – 9 Above 3A* – 4 students

BTEC

Business : 3D* – 60% & 2D* – 40%
Hospitality – 3D* – 100%
Pass Rate – 100%

Higher Achiever Awards

Business – 5  &  Hospitality – 3

Academic Awards & Accolades

PEARSON EDEXCEL

PROGRAMME

WORLD PRIZE

BRITISH A' LEVELS
Soraya Mohamed in Accounting

PROGRAMME

BRITISH A' LEVELS

WORLD PRIZE

Soraya Mohamed in Accounting

HIGH ACHIEVERS

Soraya Mohamed achieved the highest mark in the world for Accounting, Neorah Peiris, Kiara Abhayaratne, Nadeesha Fernando

CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL

PROGRAMME

WORLD PRIZE

BRITISH A' LEVELS
Alana Seneviratne – joint second place in the world (A2 Level)

PROGRAMME

BRITISH A' LEVELS

WORLD PRIZE

Alana Seneviratne – joint second place in the world (A2 Level)

HIGH ACHIEVERS

Avanti De Silva, Sayaka Giulia Gunasekara, Vibushayini Logendran, Ayana Gunasekara, Reiha Wimalasekere (AS Level)

PROGRAMME

BTEC

PROGRAMME

BRITISH A' LEVELS

HIGH ACHIEVERS

3D*s – Fathima Amarah Mohamed, Anarkali Fernando, Oneli Ariyakumara, Shanessa Shanmugalingam, Bisandi Seneviratne 2D*s * 1D – Andrea Rodrigo, Suwarna Sivapatham, Sanalya Hettiarachchi

University Applications, Visits and Exhibitions

The intraweb that was set up for the students and parents enabled them to familiarize themselves with applying to universities around the world. Ladies’ College signed up with Cialfo, a university application platform that gives students the ability to research universities from all over the world, store details, do psychometric tests, and make their own CVs. Students also can apply to universities directly or through the UCAS and Common App which is hosted on the Cialfo platform. This year many students used the fee waiver facility offered by Cialfo for UCAS applicants and successfully processed their applications. In addition students applied via Cialfo’s direct applying system to many universities as well. Cialfo is given to all students of Grade 12 upwards.

The following Universities visited the school and conducted presentations for the students: Physical visits: New York University, Abu Dhabi, University of Houston Victoria, USA and Sunway University, Malaysia. Online discussions: University of Edinburgh and Stevens Institute of Technology.

2 Virtual Exhibitions were held in November: Co-hosting 1 exhibition where the Admissions officer, South Asia from the University of Texas at Arlington addressed the students. Hosting a university exhibition with 15 universities from around the world, which included Imperial College London, Ohio University, The University of Sheffield, Northeastern University and the University of Houston Victoria.

University Applications, Visits and Exhibitions

Apart from the Lester B Pearson Scholarship for the University of Toronto, Boston University Trustee Fund Scholarship and the Tokyo International University scholarship, Ladies College was invited to nominate students for the following scholarships:

University of Virginia – Jefferson

Scholars Foundation Indiana

University of Bloomington – Wells

Scholars Program

Atlas SkillTech University, India – 1 Atlas Full Scholarship, covering 100% of tuition and hostel fees and 1 Atlas Full Tuition Scholarship, covering 100% tuition fees waiver.

Our sincere thanks to the tireless efforts of our academic and non-academic staff who supported and contributed in numerous ways to ensure that our students kept abreast of their academic curricula.

VARIED NATURAL LIFE

In yet another year that we had to grapple with Covid19 and then unexpected political and economic upheaval in Sri Lanka which led to the closure of schools and postponements of schedules and tournaments, we celebrate in humility all that our students have achieved in the sports arena and in their extra curricular activities.

SPORTS

SPORT

ACHIVEMENT

Artistic Swimming
2nd at National Age Group Championships / 2nd at Junior National Aquatic Championship
Athletics
Zonal Champions / Students were placed at Western Province, Senior Tarbot and Junior Nationals
Basketball
B Division Champions
Chess
3rd place at the Battle of the Kings Tournament
Hockey
2 students were selected for the Sri Lanka Schools Team / 3rd Runners-up at the All Island
Karate
A student was placed 3rd at the Sri Lanka Schools Junior Karate Championship
Netball
Ranked in the top 16 Netball teams
Rowing
37th Junior National Championship winners
Scrabble
6 players ranked in the top 24 in the All Island Age-Group Championship
Squash
2 players were placed at the Asian Junior Squash Championship (in Thailand) / 3 players were placed at the 33rd Junior National Squash Championship
Swimming
Western Province Champions / 2nd at the Age Group Nationals / 3rd at the Relay Carnival / 3rd at the Nationals and Junior National Championship
Table Tennis
Teams were placed 2nd Under-18 and placed 3rd Under-20 at the Western Province Table Tennis Tournament.
Tennis
Placed 2nd at the Arjan Perera Memorial Tennis Trophy / The U-8 team (Orange Ball) was champions and the U-10 (Green Ball) team was placed 3rd at the Cool Tennis Inter School Kids Play Day
Water Polo
Novices Champions / 3rd at the National Water Polo Championship

ACHIEVERS

ACHIVERS

ACHIVEMENTS

Abigail Pirakanthan
3rd in the 50m back, freestyle, breast strokes at the National Age Group Swimming Championship.
Adeleine Duckworth
3rd at the Sri Lanka Schools Junior Karate Championship
Adithi Gunasekera
2nd at the 29th Asian Junior Squash Championship (in Thailand)/1st at the 32nd Junior National Squash Championship/ was selected to represent Sri Lanka at the 21st Asian Senior Squash Team Championship conducted by Asian Squash Federation held in Korea.
Amara Watson Kittle
3rd in 50m breaststroke at the Western Province Swimming Meet.
Amara Watson Kittle, Miheli Jayasuriya, Kihara Goonetilleke and Rehani Perera
1st in the 4x50m Medley relay at the Western Province Swimming Meet.
Amara Watson Kittle, Aheli Joseph, Miheli Jayasuriya and Kihara Goonetilleke
2nd in the 4x50m freestyle relay at the Western Province Swimming Meet.
Amershia De Silva
1st in 4x50m medley relay, 3rd in 50m breaststroke at the National School Games and 1st in 50m breaststroke & medley relay, 2nd in 100m breaststroke at the Western Province Meet in Swimming
Anaisha Choksy
Placed 8th in the world at the World Schools BLITZ Tournament Under 18. Achieved the highest score at All Island Schools Individual Chess Championship Equal 3rd place under 20 Girls at All Island Sri Lanka Schools Chess Championships. She was awarded best performance on board 6 and board prize at National Schools Team Chess Championships- Western Province
Andrea Thirukumar
2nd in 4x50m freestyle relay at the National School Games/ 1st in 4x50m medley relay & 1st in 4x50m freestyle relay at the Western Province Swimming Meet/2nd in 4x100m & 4x50m in freestyle at the National & Junior National Swimming Meet.
Aneeka Sumanatilleke
2nd in the 4x50m medley relay at the National School Games and Western Province Swimming Meets / 1st and 2nd in the 4x50m freestyle relay at the Western Province Swimming Meet and National School Games respectively / 3rd in both 4x50m & 4x200m freestyle relays at the National & Junior National meets / 3rd in both 50m and 100m freestyle at the National School Games. 1st in 50m & 2nd in 100m freestyle at the Western Province Swimming Meet / 2nd in the 50m freestyle at the National Age Group Meet.
Anitra Dharmaratne, Dinara Welagedara, Nishka Vivekanandan, Saveha Wimalasekera, and Chenaya Pathirage
Runners up in the A-Division 1 (Under 16) at the All Island Inter School Arjen Perera Memorial Trophy.
Anya Fernando
3rd in both 50m & 100m breaststroke at the Western Province Meet / 2nd in both 4x50m freestyle relay & 4x50m medley relay at Western Province Swimming Meet / 2nd in 4x50m freestyle relay at the National School Games.
Ayla Chitty
2nd at the Junior National Table Tennis Championship (U-18) 2020 held in 2021 and at the 75th National Table Tennis Championship 2021 played in 2022 / 2nd in the Open Women's doubles and was a semi-finalist in the Open Women's singles / silver medalist in both the junior girls doubles and junior girls team at the South Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships 2022 in the Maldives.
Ayla Watson Kittle
3rd in the duet at the National Age group Championship in Artistic Swimming.
Abigail Gabriel, Alisha Devasagayam, Kiandra Benjamin, Sareesha Mapagunaratne, Sabira Sinan, Tashya Weerakody, Dewdhinie Daluwatte, Amaya Devasagayam, Tamalee Ratnayake, Sentina Fonseka, Taliya De Fonseka and Tashya Fernando
Overall champions at the Sri Lanka Schools Basketball Under 20 'B' Division Championship 2022.
Aniela Ponnambalampella, Adya Wijeysundara, Yahela Wimarrarachchi, Yenuri Vithanage, Tia Wimalasooriya, Raika Ravindran, Yeshalee Fernando, Rayeli Perera, Zhara Abashoby, Swaara Gunasekara
Champions (Under 8) at the Cool Tennis Tournament.
Anaisha Choksy, Minara Nanayakkara, Senaya Peiris, Hana Samad, Aanjali Salgado, Amna Samad and Minudhi Joseph
Chiara Wijetilleke, Gabrielle Senanayake, Tanita Goonetilleke, Niharra Chandrasena and Keshya Varia
3rd at 25th Battle of the Kings Inter School Chess Championship organized by Royal College (International rated tournament)
Won a gold medal at the All Island Junior Nationals Regatta 2021.
Chirathi Perera
2nd best speaker at the N M Perera Debating Tournament. Chirathi Perera was selected to the National Debating Team of 2022 which emerged semi finalists at the World Schools Debating Championship. In November 2021 at the EurOpen, Chirathi’s team (Team Sri Lanka Blue) reached the semi-finals. At the Hong Kong Debate Open she emerged runners-up with her team (Sri Lanka Blue). At the Oldham Cup, team Sri Lanka reached the semi-finals. They emerged champions at the Reddot Open.
Denila Robin
2nd 50m in fly, 1st in 4x50m medley relay, 2nd in 4x50m freestyle relay at the National School Games/ 1st in 4x50m medley relay, 2nd 50m in fly, 1st in 4x50m freestyle relay at the Western Province Swimming Meet/2nd 50m in fly at the National Age Group Swimming Meet. 3rd in the solo at National Age group Championship.
Dehara Senarathne, Kiandra Benjamin, Seneca Dissanayake and Thimanya Ellapola
Were selected to the National Schools Hockey Pool
Harshi Saparamadu
2nd in the 4x50m medley relay at the National School Games and Western Province Swimming Meets/1st & 2nd in the 4x50m freestyle relay at the Western Province Swimming Meet and National School Games respectively/3rd in both 4x50m & 4x200m freestyle relays at the National & Junior National Meets/ 1st in the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke at the Western Province Swimming Meet / 1st in both 100m & 200m backstroke and 3rd in 50m backstroke at the National School Games.
Jithara Warnakulasuriya
2nd in both the Mixed doubles and Women's doubles at the 74th National Table Tennis Championship 2020 held in December 2021.
Karishma Hewavisenti
1st & 2nd in the 4x50m freestyle relay at the Western Province Swimming Meet and National School Game /3rd in both 4x50m & 4x200m freestyle relays at the National & Junior National Meets/2nd in 200m breaststroke at both the National School Games & Western Province Swimming Meets/3rd in the 100m breaststroke at the National Age Group Meet.
Kihara Goonetilleke
3rd in the solo at National Age group Championship.
Kiyasha Kurukulasuriya
2nd in Hammer Throw and 3rd in Shot Put and Discus Throw at the Junior National Athletic Championship
Nishka Samarasinghe, Yenushka Dayaratne, Thimanya Ellepola, Manindra Bandara, Kiyasha Kurukulasooriya
Runners up in A-Division 3 in the Under 18 at the All Island Inter School Arjen Perera Memorial Trophy in Tennis.
Kyasha Samarakkody, Kyoshi Samarakkody, Bethany Lazarus, Tianna Rathnayake, and Taalia Kaleel
Runners up in A-Division 3 in the Under 14 Age group at the All Island Inter School Arjen Perera Memorial Trophy in Tennis.
Maithri Pieris
1st in the 100m hurdles at the Western Province Athletic Meet (Under 20).
Minara Nanayakkara
Board Prize winner at the Western Province School Games
Minna Hassim, Malinthie Desilva, Serah Jebamani, Joannah Stephen, Roshni Jebenessan and Aarna Vyravanathan
2nd at the Western Province School Games 2022 – Table Tennis (Under 18)
Mckaela Karunaratne, Mihel Jayasuriya, Nivaanya Kanag-isvaran, Sayli Basnayake and Lohara Hewavitharana
Runners up in Division 2 in the Under 12 age group at the All Island Inter School Arjen Perera Memorial Trophy in Tennis
Naduni Chandrasena
1st in the Double Scull Under 14 National Rowing Regatta
Niharra Chandrasena and Sayaka Gunasekara
Won gold medals at the All Island Junior Nationals Regatta.
Navya Ganegoda
Navya Ganegoda 2nd (U-11) at the 33rd Sri Lanka Junior National Squash Championship 2022
Nethanya Wickremasinghe
1st at the 33rd Sri Lanka Junior National Squash Championship (Under 9) .
Nethmi Wickremasinghe
1st at the 32nd Junior National Squash Championship (Under 13) held in 2021. She represented Sri Lanka at the 29th Asian Junior Individual Squash Championship held in Pattaya-Thailand and was placed 3rd in the Plate event.
Nehara Nanayakkara, Thuruni Cooray, Amaara Dissanayake, Dinara Karunasena and Amaya Samaranayake
Runners up in B-Division 3 (Under 16) at the All Island Inter School Arjen Perera Memorial Trophy in Tennis.
Nischka Nanayakkara
2nd in the 4x50m Medley relay at the National School Games and Western Province Swimming Meets /3rd in both 200m IM & 50m Butterfly at the National School Games / 2nd in the 50m Butterfly & 3rd in the 200m IM at the Western Province Swimming Meet / 2nd in the 200m IM & 3rd in the 200m Freestyle at the National Age Group Meet / 1st & 2nd in the 4x50m freestyle relays at the Western Province Swimming Meet & National School Games respectively / 3rd in both 4x50m & 4x200m freestyle relays at the National & Junior National Meets.
Nishka Vivekananthan
Selected by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association to represent Sri Lanka at the Junior Davis Cup & Junior Billie Jean King Competition 2022 in India
Pranchalee Britto
3rd in Javelin Throw at the Junior National Athletic Championship.
Pranali Britto
1st, 2nd and 2nd in Shot Put events at the Senior Tarbot Athletic Meet, Junior National Athletic Meet and Western Province Athletic Meet respectively.
Reiha Wimalasekera
Best speaker at the N M Perera Debating Tournament. She was selected to the National Debating team of 2022 which emerged Semi Finalists at the World Schools Debating Championship 2022. In November 2021 Reiha’s team (Team Sri Lanka Yellow) reached the quarter finals. At the Hong Kong Debate Open her team (Sri Lanka Yellow) reached the quarter finals. At the Oldham Cup, team Sri Lanka reached the semi-finals. They emerged champions at the Reddot Open.
Rosheena Dias
2nd in both 4x50m freestyle relay & 4x50m medley relay at Western Province Swimming Meet / 2nd in 4x50m freestyle relay at the National School Games / 2nd in 200m backstroke & 3rd in 100m backstroke at National School Games / 2nd in 50m,100m and 200m backstroke events at the Western Province Meet.
Sanindi De Silva
1st in Scull and 1st in the Double Scull Under 14 National Rowing Regatta
Sanuri Vitanage
1st in the 100m freestyle and 2nd in both 50m and 100m breaststroke in the under 11 age group at the National Age Group Swimming Championship.
Shenaya Siriwardena
3rd at the 32nd Junior National Squash Championship (Under 17) held in 2021. She represented Sri Lanka at the 29th Asian Junior Individual Squash Championship held in Pattaya-Thailand.
Satvi Arjuna
3rd in the duet at the National Age Group Championship in Artistic Swimming / 2nd in both the 4x50m & 4x100m freestyle relays at the National & Junior National Swimming Meets.
Sithaarah Zuhair
3rd in the 200m breaststroke at the National School Games / 2nd in the 100m breaststroke & 3rd in the 200m breaststroke at the Western Province Swimming Meet / 2nd in the 4x50m medley relay at the National School Games and Western Province Swimming Meet.
Soraya Gunaratne
2nd in long jump – Western Province Athletic Meet (U-18).
Shanessa Adams
1st in the 4x50m medley relay at the National School Games & Western Province Swimming Meet / 1st and 2nd at the Western Province Swimming Meet and National School games respectively in the 4x50m freestyle relay / 2nd in both the 4x50m and 4x100m freestyle relays at the National & Junior National Swimming Meet.
Tanalia Rekewa
1st in the solo at both the National Age Group Championship and National & Junior National Aquatic Championship in Artistic Swimming.
Tharuni Samarakkody
Ranked 3rd in the Sri Lanka Archery Association at the 9th Junior National Archery tournament.
Treasa Adams
3rd in the 100m Backstroke at the National Age Group Swimming Meet
Tehani Fernando and Amanda De Silva
2nd in both 4x50m freestyle relay & 4x50m medley relay at Western Province Swimming Meet / 2nd in 4x50m freestyle relay at the National School Games.

OVERSEAS REPRESENTATION

REPRESENTATIVE

FOREIGN REPRESENTATION

Anaisha Choksy
Placed 8th in the world at the World Schools BLITZ Tournament Under 18 held in Greece.
Ayala Chitty
Silver medalist at the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championship in the Maldives
Adithi Gunasekera
2nd in the Asian Junior Squash Championship in Thailand / Selected to represent Sri Lanka at the 21st Asian Senior Squash Team Championship conducted by Asian Squash Federation held in Korea.
Kaya Daluwatte
Represented Sri Lanka at the Junior British Open Golf Championship in Scotland
Kioshi Samarakkody, Keyasha Samarakkody and Sohanya De Mel
Represented Sri Lanka at the International Sailing Championship in Mumbai, India.
Nethmi Wickremasinghe
3rd in the Asian Junior Squash Championship in Thailand
Nishka Vivekananthan
Selected by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association to represent Sri Lanka at the Junior Davis Cup & Junior Billie Jean King Competition 2022 in India.
Nischka Nanayakkara
1st in the solo at the National Age Group Championship and 2nd in the solo at the National & Junior National Aquatic Championship.
Shenaya Siriwardena
Participated in the Asian Junior Squash Championship in Thailand.
Sohnya De Mel
Represented Sri Lanka at the Sri Lanka Opti Dingy Boat races in India.
Taalya Tranchell
Represented Sri Lanka in the Eastern Seaboard Sailing Regatta in Thailand (in October) / Participated at the ILCA Open Asian Championship held in Thailand (in December) / She was also a part of the National Sailing Team for the Asian Games that was scheduled to be held this year which has been rescheduled for September 2023.
Mrs. Shevanthi Samaraweera (French teacher)
Awarded French Knighthood and represented Sri Lanka as the president of the French Teachers Association for the Asia Pacific Regional French Teachers seminar held in Vietnam from 1st to 4th November 2022.
Mrs. Taanya Tranchell (Career Guidance Counsellor)
She won a scholarship (all expenses paid) to attend the IC3 Conference in Hyderabad India. The IC3 movement focuses on developing Career College Counselling in all schools and connecting universities with schools. She represented Ladies’ College and was successful in connecting with many universities.

Mr. Mahela Jayawardena was the motivational speaker who addressed all students doing sports. Mr. Hans Billimoria conducted a training session for our coaches on our Code of Conduct. A team race was introduced for our Support staff at the KG Sport meet, which they participated in with much enthusiasm.

Extra-Curricular activities

PERFORMING ARTS

The Senior Choir continued to give excellent performances. A recorded video of the Messiah sung by the Senior Choir was released during Easter. Songs composed by students were sung at the Induction service of the new Principal and at the Carol Service. A touching aspect that reinforced the diversity and unity at Ladies’ College was that one of the student compositions sung at the 2022 Carol Service was composed by two Buddhist girls.

The students of the Music Circle presented “Music at the movies” at Assembly. A memorable day filled with the mellifluous sounds of fusion music when the students of the Hewisi Band, Eastern, Carnatic and Western orchestras and choirs came together as one to surprise the school with a flash mob during the school interval. Tuneful musical tones along with the joyful sounds of excitement filled the air as many students and teachers flocked to the garden outside the Simon Block to witness the first ever musical flash mob in school. They also had a Musical themed food sale on the same day. The members also hosted a music day named ‘EUPHONIC’ under the theme peace and unity. The main objective of this event was to strengthen the interschools ties by uniting students through interactive educational musical activities and performances in all 3 languages. Students from nine other schools participated. It was an eventful day which started with fun interactive and educational music related games. It ended on a perfect cadence with the peace and unity concert where our students from the Western, Sinhala and Tamil Orchestras and choirs, the Hewisi and the Band Heroes group and the students from other schools performed at the concert.

A group of young students formed the pop band ‘Monarch’ which performed at some school concerts both at Ladies’ College and in other schools.

The Hewisi Band and dance troupe performed at various inter school related events and functions. 

Clubs & Societies

The clubs and societies actively carried out and participated in numerous programmes.

Animal Welfare Society

The theme for the first two terms was ‘The Big Cats of Sri Lanka’. Poster campaigns were carried out throughout the school to create awareness on this topic / Anya Ratnayake (an old girl) delivered a lecture on the same topic. Field visit with the students on fishing cats was unable to do so due to Covid restrictions etc. / The members visited and assisted the Animal Welfare and Protection Association / Members conducted an awareness session on the marine life of Sri Lanka for the Primary School students, followed by a time of games and handwork.

Art & Design Club

Students submitted drawings for the “Faith Stories” book / Committee members joined a webinar on “Textiles and Heritage” focusing on utilizing traditional crafts for contemporary design work / Students visited the Geoffrey Bawa exhibition titled “It is essential to be there” / The 4th International Loving Peace Art Competition was organized by the International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG) based in South Korea. The following students were placed at National Level – Tiyara Senanayake (Gr 13) and Dhalia Rekawa (Gr 10) were placed 1st & 2nd respectively at the High School Sector. Anvisha Anundan and Arya Peiris (both in Gr 3) were placed 2nd & 3rd respectively at the Elementary School Sector.

Commerce Society

The Ladies’ College team was selected to the finals of the “Venture Tomorrow” programme (Business Plan) organized by the Law Faculty

Environmental Society

Members presented “Post pandemic effects around the World” at Assembly / A stall that sold glass water bottles, iced coffee, cards, books and stickers related to the environment was run at the event ‘’Continental Drift’’ which was organized by the Interact Club of St. Thomas’ College / Members took part in an online video competition on ‘’solutions for ozone depletion’’ which was organized by the Wilderness & Wildlife Protection Society of Royal College / An online seminar was conducted by Ms. Anjali Watson (an old girl) and Dr. Andrew Kittle, on the topic ‘Wilderness and Wildlife Conservation Trust’/ Due to the continuous food and economic crisis, the members planted fruit and vegetable seeds in school for future benefits. The seed planting campaign was called “seeds of tomorrow” / students took part in ‘Envforce Day’ an Environmental Career Fair which was organized by the Federation of Environmental Organizations in Sri Lanka held at the St. Thomas Preparatory School / A collaborative project with Royal College named ‘Envira’ was carried out to raise awareness to protect the environment / The annual project ‘Greener Mile’ with Royal College. A project where the members donated more than hundred plants to different organizations, with the aim of revitalizing scenery in an environmentally conscious manner.

English – Debating

‘A’ Team were champions at the 2021 Debaters Council League Championship, the Holy Family Debates Tournament, the N M Perera Debate Tournament and they were runners-up in the Royal Institute Colombo Inter School Debate Championship / ‘A’ team was semi-finalist at the Sri Lanka Schools Debating Championship, at the SWRD Bandaranaike Memorial Debate Championship and at the Shanthi Pieris Memorial Debating Championship / Participated in the World Schools Debate League, an online international debating competition / Reiha Wimalasooriya was judged the best speaker and Chirathi Perera was judged the 2nd best speaker at the N M Perera Debate Tournament and they both were part of Sri Lanka’s Debating Team at many international tournaments / Lilian Nixon Debating Tournament was held with 30 schools participating.

Sinhala – Debating

Members participated in the Law faculty Debating Tournament / ‘Vagavi 22’ the Inter School Debating Tournament hosted by Ladies’ College with 38 schools participating.

Tamil – Debating

Members organized an Inter School Debating Tournament with many schools participating.

Heritage Club

Committee members carried out an extensive research project on the history of the Galle Fort titled “Revisiting the history of the Galle Fort”. Their findings were uploaded to the Heritage Club website / Annual trip to Galle / Grade 10 students visited the mobile History Exhibition organized by Historical dialog.lk and witnessed the launch of their official website / The annual topic was ‘The Military History of Sri Lanka’ and the members especially focused on the military history

of Galle and delved into the weaponry and war tactics used by the colonizers as well as the people / Members planned an oratorical competition named ‘I Have a Dream’. The competition was intended to allow all our participants to speak and express their ideas on the topics provided. Nine participants spoke eloquently on topics ranging from colonization, the tourism industry’s impacts on historical sites and the importance of history in modern politics. Amaya De Silva was placed 1st, Mickaela Schoorman placed 2nd and Vithushana Rajaratnam was placed 3rd / Mr. Chamikara Pilapitiya an expert on ancient military history was the guest speaker at the annual Heritage Club assembly and addressed the students on ‘Military Heritage of Sri Lanka. He gave his insight and educated the middle and upper schools students on historical warfare that took place in both ancient and colonial battles.

ICT Society

Field Trip was organized to the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. Members observed the processing systems of the organization from gathering data to distribution of newspapers / Members organized the ICT RAID for the students from Primary School upwards. They conducted many interactive games, puzzles, quizzes, word searches etc

English Literacy

Our members together with the Drama Society of Royal College organized a joint project named ‘Ambience’ which included a drama workshop followed by a carnival in order to raise funds for their respective societies.

Sinhala Literacy

The Sinhala Day celebrations included the Inter-House Sinhala Drama competition

Tamil Literacy

The Tamil Manavar Sangam celebrated its 90th Anniversary. This special event was named ‘Then Thamizhuku Aaram’ and was set on the theme ‘Navam’ which means ‘Nine’ and includes dance, music and drama. Moreover, nine dance items signifying the theme of Navam were presented. Various competitions such as essay writing, poetry, short story, speech, solo singing, debating were carried out prior to the Tamil Day for the students of other schools. The winners were awarded certificates.

Math Society

Workshop organized by the University of Colombo for our students / “Fun with Mathematics” was conducted for Primary students / “Paradoxes” were presented at Assembly / Our members together with the Mathematics Society of Royal College organized and hosted an inter-school mathematics competition named ‘Quantic’. The competition was open to students from grades 6 to 13 and was conducted in Sinhala, Tamil and English and the top three winners of each age category were recognized at the awards ceremony.

Model United Nations Club

Students participated in the SL MUN Conference
Students participated in the Colombo Operated MUN Conference

Photography Society

Held the annual photography exhibition / published and sold 2023 calendars.

Student Christian Movement

The Youth Alpha (10 week) programme was conducted / ‘Sisters in Christ’ overnight stay in the Hostel where the Bishops College Christian students joined in / online sessions for both juniors and seniors / a 3 day (overnight) SCM Camp was held at which 123 students participated / SCM Day (‘Untangled’) where other schools participated / fundraising project ‘Boxes of love”

Buddhist Society

Annual bodhi pooja was held for the O/L students at Meththaramaya temple / poya day programmes / Bakthi geetha programmes

Hindu Society

Navarathri programme

Islam Society

Ramazan programme was held online / Iftar programme / Members took part at the Bishop’s College Islamic Day Competitions and Hayaa Hussain was placed 3rd in the Calligraphy event.

Science Society

Assembly was taken on the theme of ‘To infinity and beyond’ / Science Day ‘Eclipse 22’ was organized in collaboration with Royal College which had interactive science games. The Guest Speaker was Mr. Uditha Weerasinghe, from the University of Colombo / Science News Magazine – “ COSMICPOLITAN” was launched by the members for the first time at Ladies’ College.

Sri Lanka Unites

A 3 x 3 Basketball Tournament “Squad Games” was organized together with Trinity College to raise funds for outreach work.

Other Activity

General Knowledge Teams

The Inter-House General Knowledge Quiz (which couldn’t be held due to covid) was held after 2 years.

Girl Guides

3 Guides (Thanushri Kaluarachchi, Hirnaya Fernando and Imeshi Karunaratne) were selected to represent Sri Lanka at a jamboree in Rajasthan, India / The Guides hosted a Christmas party for a ward in the Ridgeway Hospital / Two of our guides embarked on a national level project to uplift nutrition of adolescents and their families named “Fuel to Empower” organized by the Girl Guides Association and sponsored by Global Youth Mobilization / Guides participated in the “Thinking Day” programme which was a National event.

Others

A Team of 4 Grade 11 students were selected to participate at the national level “Young Researcher” competition held by the Ministry of Education and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board were one of the 6 finalist teams.

10 A’ Level students engaged in the MAS Girls STEM Programme over a period of 8 months (some of the topics were – Motorsport, Aerospace, Fem Tech, Wearable Technology and conservation).

Joanna Jeyaprgasam was accepted for the “Innovation & Entrepreneurship Programme for Young Leaders” in partnership with Harvard Student Agencies.

Excursions & Outreach

Students from Grade 1 up and from the Special Education Unit went on their class trips. Due to the fuel crisis, distant locations could not be visited. The staff and the Support staff also went on their respective trips at the end of the year.

Dry rations collected were distributed to the Support staff. Items collected at the KG Harvest Festival and Nativity service were distributed to needy children and families.

OUTREACH / SOCIAL SERVICE DONE

BY WHOM IT WAS DONE

Distribution of dry rations to underprivileged families in Colombo 6
All 4 Religious Societies
Assistance was given to and an afternoon was spent at the Hands of hope (for those with disabilities)
Student Christian Movement
Book donation to St Clair’s College and Parakramabahu Vidyalaya Narahenpita
Buddhist Society
Lunches for Support Staff
School Prefects
Significant donations were made to The Deaf & Blind Schools and to Mowbray
Founders Day Collections
Donations were made to the Deaf and Blind Schools in Rathmalana & Kaithady
Tamil Manavar Sangam
Financial assistance was given to individuals and organizations that actively work to feed and medically aid stray dogs and cats in Sri Lanka
Animal Welfare Society
A food donation programme was conducted for the less fortunate students in other schools
ENV Society
Laptop donation to an underprivileged school in Meemure
Sri Lanka Unites Club
Christmas party held at a ward at the Ridgeway Hospital
Guides
With monies collected by the KG for collection, the following outreach work was done : Menhandy Disabled Children's Home in Kalubowila / Suhada Lanka Children's Home Moratuwa / Gokulam Children's Home / Belantara Kids Home Sanhinda Children's Home / Salvation Army Elders and Children's Home in Dehiwala / Ascension Home in Bandarawela / Nugalanda Parish in Ampara/ Islam Home / Sucharithodaya Home in Pamunuwa / Leprosy Hospital in Wattala / Moratumulla Elders Home
Kindergarten

We are grateful to all our Sports teachers, teachers-in-charge of various activities, coaches, assistant coaches, trainers, Support staff and all those who toiled and supported the numerous activities and programmes of our students specially, in these challenging times.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

The spiritual growth of our children is the cornerstone on which their lives are built. Morning worship in all four faiths was continuously held on a staggered basis (by section) in keeping with covid restrictions. Communion Services were held each month and staff communion services were held at the beginning of each term. Special services held this year: Induction & installation service of the new Principal, Blessing of the Grade 1 students, Founders Day Service, Easter Service, KG & Nursery Harvest Festival, Confirmation service at which the Vice-Principal was given a blessing on her appointment, Valedictory Service, respective Nativity services for Nursery, KG and Primary and the Carol Service.

We have been blessed by the quiet assuring presence of our Chaplain in all the Christian activities in the School
– thank you, Fr. Christie Joseph, for shepherding us with love and care.

Buddhist, Hindu and Islam prayers were also held. Bakthi geetha programmes were held by the KG, Primary and the rest of the School. Navarathri and Iftar were also celebrated.

ONE FAMILY UNBROKEN

The strength and beauty of Ladies’ College is the amazing unity we experience through diversity – our one family unbroken.

In this journey – 

• We salute you, our Manager, Sectional Heads and Deputies and Consultants for your tireless and bold leadership and initiatives in these challenging times. We give thanks for your labour of love – for always readily going that extra mile (with a smile) for the School
• Prefects of 2021/2022, you have experienced unimaginable storms but you have shown us that you are resilient to face any uncertainty in life.
• OGA, you have amidst the numerous roadblocks you have faced, courageously and with an indomitable spirit supported the School – your race against all odds and contribution has been nothing less than “amazing”! To all our old girls both here and around the world, thank you for continuing to support Ladies’ College in numerous ways – we have been blessed by all of it.
• PTA, our safety net, in many instances – helping and standing in the gap in numerous ways …… we are indebted for all the help given as we turned so many corners this year.

On a personal note, my heartfelt thanks to the angels without wings in my life – mentors, close friends and my family – specially, my ardent old boy (husband) and old girl (daughter) cheerleaders.

So, I bow in all humility, thanking God for the ability to daily experience His goodness. I am grateful for all those who have upheld Ladies’ College and all of us in prayer throughout this year – I have constantly felt the presence of your prayers helping us to move through this year with integrity, discernment and wisdom.

To our dear students – Take pride in how far you have come. Have faith in how far you can go. Above all, enjoy the journey.

Thank you and God bless,

Mrs. Deepika Dassenaike
Principal

5^th December, 2022