VIT registered experienced teacher with Master of Teaching in Secondary Education with Chemistry and Biology as specialized areas (Federation University) and Master of Education from Monash University

I'm Ehansa Methmini, a post A/L(IAL Edexcel) student at St. Bridget's Convent Colombo 07 (A leading catholic girls' school in Sri Lanka).
I am pleased to recommend Mrs. Ruwani Kannangara, who has been an exceptional Chemistry teacher for our Advanced level students at the school. Mrs. Kannangara is an outstanding educator who effectively translates complex scientific concepts into understandable, engaging lessons. It was so easy to approach her in both the matters of academic or personal growth. She'd always deepen our chemistry knowledge whilst practicing a lot of past papers, model papers and providing us with short notes. Her chemistry notes were always on point which made us easy to understand and score all the necessary points in the exams. Most of the credits goes to her as I got an A* for Chemistry in IAL Edexcel with full marks for 2 units. I am confident that Mrs. Kannangara will be an invaluable asset to any institution that values a passionate, knowledgeable, and committed educator. I highly recommend her for any opportunity that would allow her to continue shaping young minds and contributing to the field of education.

I am Erandee Ranasinghe currently studying Master of Landscape Architecture at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia and am pleased to recommend Ruwani Kannagara, who was my chemistry teacher. Her passion for the subject and her engaging teaching style made complex concepts easy to understand. She created a supportive environment that encouraged questions and critical thinking. Her dedication to her students’ success was evident in her willingness to provide extra help and her innovative lesson plans. I truly appreciated her commitment to fostering a love for chemistry in all of us.

I am a former student (with PhD from Monash University, BSc. Eng. Hons University of Moratuwa) of Mrs. Ruwani Kannangara.

I had the privilege of having Mrs. Kannangara as my high-school class teacher and chemistry teacher at Musaeus College (a leading private girls' school in Sri Lanka), up to the ATAR equivalent GCE Advanced Level Examination.

Mrs. Kannangara’s commitment to teaching was evident in every lesson. Her classes were engaging and supported by thoughtfully prepared notes. She always ensured our understanding by asking thoughtful questions and encouraging participation, fostering an inclusive learning environment.

While preparing for my GCE A/L examination, I was also a senior prefect and led two sports teams at the school. Mrs. Kannangara’s support and mentorship helped me balance my extracurricular activities with academic commitments. Under her guidance, I achieved distinctions in all my subjects, gaining admission to the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Moratuwa—Sri Lanka’s most prestigious technical university with the highest entry requirements—alongside several of my classmates.

I am confident that Mrs. Kannangara will bring the same level of dedication and excellence to any teaching position she takes on anywhere in the world. I wholeheartedly recommend her for any teaching role, knowing that she will inspire and guide her future students with the same care and dedication she showed us at Musaeus College.

Mrs. Ruwani Kannangara was both my class teacher and my Chemistry teacher for Grade 12-13 at Musaeus College, Sri Lanka. She is a kind-hearted, attentive, and dedicated teacher who was always well-prepared and delivered lessons in a highly engaging, effective, and enjoyable manner. She consistently fostered a learning environment that encouraged questions and active participation from all students.

Mrs. Kannangara had a remarkable ability to recognise each student's potential and individual learning needs, and was deeply committed to helping every student excel. Her guidance, teaching, and mentorship were crucial to my success during my preparations for the highly competitive GCE A/L examination, where I achieved a distinction in Chemistry. This accomplishment led to my acceptance into the engineering degree programme at University of Moratuwa, the most prestigious technical university in Sri Lanka.

With her exceptional dedication and commitment to teaching, I am confident that Mrs. Ruwani Kannangara will excel in any teaching role she undertakes, making a positive impact on her students. I highly recommend her as an outstanding and inspiring educator.

-- Dinithi Sumanaweera (Postdoc at University of Cambridge UK; Former PhD student at Monash University Australia; Former Computer Science and Engineering undergraduate at University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka).

Miss Ruwani is one of those rare teachers that can actually make a real a difference.

Miss Ruwani is the only reason I got through my O-Level Chemistry and Biology, so successfully. Relocating from US to Sri Lanka, I had to face the GCE London O-Level exams in a period of only 16 months. Chemistry and Biology were completely new subjects as these were not taught at that stage of schooling in the US. I was under tremendous pressure in school to catch up with the rest of the students who have already covered huge chunks of the syllabus. There was just so much to learn and I was so overwhelmed.

Miss Ruwani taught these two subjects in my school. Unfortunately for me, she had to take maternity leave a few weeks after I joined. She understood my hardships and offered private classes in both subjects if I wanted help. This was a huge relief for me and I was very thankful that she could spare her time during maternity break to help me so I started classes immediately.

I have never seen anyone who has the patience and the skill in communicating and breaking down complex ideas as she does. She was able to identify my strengths and weaknesses in both subjects and would tailor every lesson precisely. As a result, her teaching was extremely efficient and I was able to completely understand everything she taught. Furthermore, she helped me plan a time table to make sure I was on track and gave me countless study tips, advice and encouragement to help keep me focused. My interim test scores in school, which at the very beginning were embarrassing, started reaching high eighties to nineties.

We managed to complete all the material for both Chemistry and Biology in about 14 months which I never thought was possible. This gave us about two months to just prepare for the exams. Miss Ruwani gave me extremely valuable exams tips especially on how to time myself and how to write to the point. On the exam day, my confidence was so high I was so excited to see the paper. I was able to achieve the highest result with a grade A in both Chemistry and Biology only because of her.

She has been a huge positive influence in my life and I am truly grateful for everything she has done for me. I highly recommend Miss Ruwani as an extremely talented and dedicated teacher.

Having a strong academic foundation has helped me throughout my higher education journey. I was able to pursue my interests in electronics at university and achieved a first class honors at bachelor's level in Electronic Engineering and went on to complete a PhD in RF electronics.

I came to know Ruwani when she joined St. Bridgets Convent in 2023. She is a very friendly person who gets on with her colleagues and her superiors very well. She never hesitates to go out of her way to help anyone who needs her help.

She did not show any difficulty in adjusting to the school environment which was predominantly Catholic although she is from a different religious background. She willingly participated in religious activities and community outreach work.


Ruwani taught Chemistry to Edexcel A/L classes, which is the London curriculum to students undertaking Advanced Level exams which is equivalent to VCE examination in Melbourne. She also served as the sectional head of London Edexcel section and was responsible person for all the activities of grades 9, 10 ( O/L classes) , AS & A2 ( A/L classes similar to VCE classes).

She was responsible for the discipline of all the students in that section & also made sure teachers are following their timetables. She was responsible for preparing timetables for teachers including the exam and supervision timetable and timely handling them over to the principal and vice principal.

She was a good mentor to the new teachers who joined the school during this period.

She also took part in school extra curricular activities and spent after school hours and weekends, practicing and preparing students for the events.

I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

Regards,
Ms. Shanthi Alahakoon