C.A.S.

1. C.A.S. Creativity, Action, Service Updates and ManageBac

2. CAS • CAS begins on the first day of 11th Grade and not a minute before. • Nothing done over the summer between 10th and 11th Grades count towards CAS. • It still counts for Bright Futures just not towards the completion of CAS. • “Concurrency of learning is important in the Diploma Programme. Therefore, CAS activities should continue on a regular basis for as long as possible throughout the programme, and certainly for at least 18 months.” • In theory CAS never ends it should remain part of life.

3. CAS • In reference to CAS delete the term “Hours” from your vocabulary. • Hours are no longer counted or considered acceptable • IB does random reviews of school’s CAS programs, they don’t want to see the word “hours” anywhere.

4. “How do We Keep Track of What We’re Doing?”

5. “So How do We Tell You What We Did?” • It’s not what you did it’s what you learned or achieved! • “So how do we show you that?” • Reflection, Reflection, Reflection • The reflection is more important than the activity. • The reflection can be done in may ways; • Video, Picture Book, Essay, Email Conversations, Blog… • It simply has to be done very well!

6. “What Does My Activity Have to Cover?” • For student development to occur, CAS should involve: • real, purposeful activities, with significant outcomes • personal challenge—tasks must extend the student and be achievable in scope • thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress, reporting • reflection on outcomes and personal learning. • All proposed CAS activities need to meet these four criteria. It is also essential that they do not replicate other parts of the student’s Diploma Programme work.

7. “What should I learn or get out of my CAS activity?” As a result of their CAS experience as a whole, including their reflections, there should be evidence that students have: • increased their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth • They are able to see themselves as individuals with various skills and abilities, some more developed than others, and understand that they can make choices about how they wish to move forward. • undertaken new challenges • A new challenge may be an unfamiliar activity, or an extension to an existing one. • planned and initiated activities • Planning and initiation will often be in collaboration with others. It can be shown in activities that are part of larger projects, for example, ongoing school activities in the local community, as well as in small student‑led activities. • worked collaboratively with others • Collaboration can be shown in many different activities, such as team sports, playing music in a band, or helping in a kindergarten. At least one project, involving collaboration and the integration of at least two of creativity, action and service, is required. • shown perseverance and commitment in their activities • At a minimum, this implies attending regularly and accepting a share of the responsibility for dealing with problems that arise in the course of activities. • engaged with issues of global importance • Students may be involved in international projects but there are many global issues that can be acted upon locally or nationally (for example, environmental concerns, caring for the elderly). • considered the ethical implications of their actions • Ethical decisions arise in almost any CAS activity (for example, on the sports field, in musical composition, in relationships with others involved in service activities). Evidence of thinking about ethical issues can be shown in various ways, including journal entries and conversations with CAS advisers. • developed new skills • As with new challenges, new skills may be shown in activities that the student has not previously undertaken, or in increased expertise in an established area.

8. All eight outcomes must be present for a student to complete the CAS requirement. Some may be demonstrated many times, in a variety of activities, but completion requires only that there is some evidence for every outcome.

9. “So what do we need to do?” • Over the 18 months in the program you should be involved with 10-15 activities, maybe more, maybe a lot more. • Of those activities one must be a “project”. The project must include more than one area of CAS. • Most good CAS activities include more than one area of CAS (creative, action, service). • In-order to meet the CAS requirement you will be expected to reflect on all your activities. • The reflection on your “project” must be very detailed: goals, expectations, timelines, (beginning, middle, end) reflections.

10. Example Reflections • Self-Interview: Video • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yehd9_kNEc • Short Narrative or E-mail Hospital Volunteer I am not quite sure how exactly to write this reflection, so I will tell you about the incident that happened while I was volunteering last week. Last Saturday, I went to volunteer at the hospital as usual, and I expected to copy and file papers, ask patients if they need anything, or change beds. However, this Saturday, a nurse asked me to make chicken noodle soup for a patient. I was excited about making the soup because my work at the hospital is extremely limited and not too stimulating due to the fact that I am a student without any certification. All I was to do open a can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup and put it in the microwave. This was such a simple task if you knew that you were not supposed to put cans in the microwave. Ignorant of this crucial fact, I put the whole can in the microwave. Oh my…let’s just say that the poor pregnant lady never got her soup. Standing in front of the microwave, I had one of the most profound epiphanies. I never realized that I didn’t know how to do the most practical things, such as using a washing machine or the dish washer. As an IB student, I had centered my life around studying, not on doing the laundry or washing the dishes. I had always left these “trivial” things for my mom to do based on the excuse that I needed to study. But as I stood in front of the microwave realizing that I was not going to get the soup, I realized that practical knowledge was just as important as trigonometry and English Lit. Never will I put another can in the microwave, and never will I dismiss practical knowledge as merely trivial. • Essay • Picture Book • Journal…