Introduction to CAS “Unless this is done then an IB education will result in producing graduates who know a great deal but who do not care or act on what they know.”

Overview

The Nature of CAS Creativity: arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking. Activity: physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the Diploma Programme. Service: an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student. The rights, dignity and autonomy of all those involved are respected.

Timelines CAS must begin in September of Year 1 (11) CAS must continue for at least 18 months At CHCI, your CAS portfolio is due on March 1st of Year 2 (12) Grade 9 and 10 activities are encouraged, but you will not provide evidence or reflect formally on those activities.

IB Learner Profile Inquirers Knowledgeable Thinkers Risk-Takers Principled Reflective Caring Communicators Balanced Open-Minded

Learning Outcomes In order to complete CAS, the school must determine if the Learning Outcomes have been achieved. Therefore, in your CAS experience, particularly in your reflections, you must provide evidence that the outcomes have been achieved.

Learning Outcomes Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions

Learning Outcomes All seven 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. So what qualifies as evidence?

Evidence of Learning Outcomes Written reflections Photos with captions Brochures with explanation Photo journals Facebook page Blog + many more! Thank you letter Certificate Award Product created through the activity Journal Chart showing goal setting and achievement Audio recording

How much is enough? Guidelines: “Approximately the equivalent of half a day per school week, 3 to 4 hours per week, or approximately 150 hours in total, with a reasonable balance between creativity, action and service. Hour counting is not encouraged.”

How to begin? Check out the CAS pages on the CHCI website CHCI’s CAS Guidelines Between June 1st of Grade 10 and September 15th of Grade 11, you are expected to complete your PROPOSALSWhat do you PLAN to do to complete CAS requirement? Approved by Co-ordinator by September 15th, grade 11

Following Through During grade 11 and grade 12, it is your responsibility to follow through with your CAS activities. Keep track of the activities in which you participate. Add CAS experiences regularly on ManageBac. Gather evidence of each experience and upload to ManageBac. Reflect on each activity when you are done check off appropriate Learning Outcomes on ManageBac. Submit experiences for approval to ManageBac.

What is NOT CAS? Examples of activities which would be inappropriate are listed below:   any course or project for which you receive a grade in the IB Programme any activity for which you receive financial compensation doing simple, tedious and repetitive work, like returning library books to the shelves or photocopying working in an old people’s or children’s home when the student: - has no idea how the home operates - is just making sandwiches - has no contact at all with the old people or children - actually does no service for other people a passive pursuit (such as a visit to a museum, theater, concert, sports event, etc.) all forms of duty with the family work experience which only benefits the student fund-raising with no clearly defined end in sight religious devotion and any activity which can be interpreted as proselytizing an activity where there is no leader or responsible adult on site to evaluate and confirm student performance activities which cause division amongst different groups in the community any unplanned activity or sport

Responsibilities of the Student Students are required to: Self-review at the beginning of their CAS experience and set personal goal (PROPOSAL) Plan, do and reflect over an 18 month period Undertake at least one interim review and final review with CAS advisor (we will meet at least 3 times) Take part in a range of activities, including at least one project, some of which they have initiated themselves, collaborated with others and one that “crosses over” between two areas Keep records of their activities and achievements, including a list of the principal activities undertaken on ManageBac Gather evidence of achievement of the seven CAS learning outcomes (Evidence and Reflections) Complete your CAS portfolio by March 1st of Year 2 (Grade 12)

What might a CAS Programme look like? Activity Dates/Time Period C/A/S ? Evidence? Learning outcome Volleyball Team -Sem 1 of grades 11 and 12 -16 weeks, 4 x week, 1.5 hrs each time (practices and games) -Action -photo/ reflection   -Collaboration -New skills Arts Showcase -Sem 2 of grades 11 and 12 -12 weeks, 1.5 hrs per week (planning) -4 weeks, 2 hrs practice each wk -Leader of Publicity -Performer (poetry reading) -Creativity/Service (leadership role/initiated) -brochure/ reflection PROJECT -Planned and initiated -Awareness of strengths and weaknesses Shoebox Project -Dec. grades 11 and 12 -4 weeks, 1 hr. per week -Service -letter/ reflection -Issue of Global imp -Ethical impl Assistant Coach: Community Soccer -Spring and Summer of grade 11 -20 weeks, 2 hrs each week (games and practices) -Action and Service -award/ reflection -New Challenge Guitar Lessons -15 months, 1 hr lesson each week, .5 hrs practice each week -planning of and performance in Coffee House -Creativity and Service (leadership in Coffee House) -facebook page/reflection -Persevered -New Skills

Assessment For OSSD, your CAS portfolio will be assessed to determine a final Grade in GPP3OI. For the IB Diploma, the CAS portfolio will be assessed as Complete or Incomplete—is their evidence of the 7 learning outcomes and were the activities sustained over the 18 month period, balanced between the 3 areas? CAS is compulsory to receive IB Diploma.

Final Reminders Visit the CAS page under the IB tab to familiarize yourself with the expectations. Log into ManageBac once you receive your welcome email. Plan your CAS experiences. Complete your CAS proposal by Sept 20 of Year 1 Keep records/record information regularly. Questions?