CAS Guide for Students
CREATIVITY, ACTIVITY, SERVICE
Experiential Learning Outside the Classroom
An opportunity to try new things --- Learn through experience --- Provides opportunity for personal growth --- Provides chances for you to give back & make a difference in your school and community --- Interact with different cultures --- Engage in global issues --- Problem solve --- Reflect on importance of these experiences --- Develop new skills
CAS is a compulsory part of the IB Core and is graded with a pass/fail grade. Passing CAS is a required component for earning the IB Diploma. CAS stands for creativity, activity, and service. This three-part learning programme encourages students to be involved in creative pursuits, physical activity, and community service work. The Programme fosters students’ awareness and appreciation of life beyond the academic arena. All IB students must complete and document hours of non-academic activity spent in creative, active and service endeavors, as well as undertake a long-term CAS project under the Diploma Programme.
What Counts as CAS
The guidelines for a CAS experience are:
The student must engage with one, or more, of the three CAS strands.
It should be based on a personal interest, skill, talent or opportunity for growth.
It can be a single event or an extended series of events.
It should provide opportunities to develop the attributes of the IB learner profile.
Normally you would be able to address a CAS Learning Outcome.
The guidelines for a CAS Project are:
Must be student initiated
Must be collaborative with others (group)
The project must integrate one or more of the three CAS strands.
The duration of the project must be a month or more from planning to completion.
The project you undertake must challenge you to show initiative, demonstrate perseverance, and develop skills such as those of collaboration, problem solving, and decision making.
What Doesn't Count Towards CAS
Additionally, the following activities, while potentially meaningful, cannot count toward a student’s CAS requirement:
Menial, simple, tedious tasks
Experiences performed for family or friends
Experiences that try to persuade others’ political or religious beliefs
Experiences for which you receive tangible benefits (grade, extra credit, payment, etc.)
The 3 Strands of CAS
Creativity: Encourages the use of your imagination.
CREATIVE ACTIVITIES IDEAS:
Ex| A student group plans, designs and creates a mural.
Other Ideas:
Academic challenge Team
Art guild
Boy’s State
CCPS Fine Arts Festival
Debate Team or Forensics
Drama production
World language clubs
Exchange programs
Girls State
Governor’s Academies
High School Diplomat
Midlothian Publications
Model United Nations
Music camps
Peer tutoring
Planning a workshop
Music lessons
Richmond Ballet
Writer’s guild
...And many more!
Activity: Encourages you to live a healthy lifestyle.
ACTIVE ACTIVITIES IDEAS:
Ex| Students organize and participate in a sports team including training sessions and matches against other teams.
Other Ideas:
Charity run or walk
Classes at the gym
Hospital volunteer (active)
Little league coaches
Little league referees
School or community-based sports (for example: football, baseball, soccer, etc.)
Spirit club
Managers of sport teams
Volunteer at RAL to walk the dogs
...And many more!
Service: Encourages experiences that help others.
SERVICE ACTIVITIES IDEAS:
Ex| Students set up and conduct tutoring for people in need.
Other Ideas:
Adopt a Highway
American Cancer Society
American Red Cross
Big Brother/Sister
Richmond Animal League
Boy/Girl Scouts
Hospital volunteer
Habitat for Humanity
March of Dimes
Muscular Dystrophy
Special Olympics
Salvation Army
United Way
UNICEF
...And many more!
Combining CAS Strands
Combining Service and Activity
Ex| Students plan and participate in the planting and maintenance of a garden with members of the local community.
Combining Creativity, Service and Activity
Ex| Students rehearse and perform a dance production for a community retirement home.
CAS Requirements for 9th & 10th Graders
All (pre-Diploma) grade year submissions must be received by: May 1st for 9th & 10th grade. Activities done during the summer (after June 1st) can count toward your new school year.
1st Semester:
Complete at least 3 separate CAS experiences.
Demonstrate achievement of at least 3 CAS Learning Outcomes.
Complete reflections on experiences.
2nd Semester:
Complete at least 3 additional CAS experiences.
Demonstrate achievement of all 7 Learning Outcomes.
Complete reflections on experiences.
Logging CAS experiences for credit:
Students will document CAS experiences (which include evidence) with an ongoing Google Slide Deck that is shared with the IB Coordinator and our CAS Coordinator.
Each CAS Google Slide Deck must have a minimum of 2 slides. Supervisor Verification will not be required to be submitted into your documentation, but we may at times request it.
-On slide 1: Description of activity and identification of CAS strands and learning outcomes.
-On Slide 2: Your evidence and reflections.
Please Note: Activities accumulated during the 9th and 10th grade years DO NOT count toward the requirement during 11th and 12th grade.
CAS Requirements for 11th & 12th Graders
Diploma Programme students must:
Consistently participate in CAS.
Complete required CAS experience activity totals over the two years.
Expected to maintain and complete a CAS portfolio as evidence of their engagement with CAS.
Complete a long-term CAS project by the end of first semester senior year.
Meet with their CAS Advisor/IB Coordinator three times.
CAS Experiences:
Juniors and Seniors submit CAS experiences via Managebac
12 Activities (reasonably balanced between Creativity, Action, Service) required over the two years
You will write a reflection for each of your activities to evaluate your personal growth.
All 7 Learning Outcomes must be demonstrated.
Documenting and Reflecting upon the Learning Outcomes is more important than the total number of hours.
All IB experience submissions must be completed between August 1st of the junior year and March 31st of the senior year.
CAS Project:
Diploma Programme students must complete a long-term CAS project by the end of first semester senior year.
Plan and initiate at least one CAS project using the CAS stages framework. Collect evidence and undertake meaningful reflection.
CAS Project details are discussed as student enters the IB Diploma Programme.
Logging CAS experiences for credit:
Students will document CAS experiences (which include evidence) with an ongoing Google Slide Deck that is shared with the IB Coordinator and our CAS Coordinator.
Each CAS Google Slide Deck must have a minimum of 2 slides. Supervisor Verification will not be required to be submitted into your documentation, but we may at times request it.
-On slide 1: Description of activity and identification of CAS strands and learning outcomes.
-On Slide 2: Your evidence and reflections.
IB Juniors and Seniors will also be required to log and submit detailed reflections of CAS experiences and their CAS Project in ManageBac.
Students who DO NOT meet the CAS requirements in the program cannot earn the IB diploma, per IBO.
How to Get Started
CAS experiences require student planning and undertaking. These are activities that you will be doing on your own outside of class. You may proceed with activities that meet CAS criteria with confidence, however the IB Coordinator will issue a final approval on each activity. If you're unsure if it meets CAS criteria, please consult the IB Coordinator prior to starting your activity.
Keep in mind that your CAS activities should be real and purposeful or pose a personal challenge. You will need to self-review prior to the beginning of each CAS experience and set personal goals for what you hope to achieve.
Plan, do and reflect (plan activities, carry them out and reflect on what you have learned). You will need to meet the CAS Requirements for your grade-level set for each semester.
Every time you do a CAS activity, write a reflection and log your experience. Students will log submissions on an ongoing basis throughout their time in IB. Collect evidence of achievement of the CAS learning outcomes, undertake meaningful reflection, and make sure that you have completed each of the CAS grade-level requirements.
Diploma students must complete a long-term CAS project by the end of first semester senior year. This will be discussed more in your TOK class.
Finding CAS Opportunities
Join local community organizations, sports, clubs, performing arts groups, etc.
Attend service events throughout the year hosted by IBPC and IBSC.
Check Midlo IB Canvas for CAS opportunity postings (Midlo IB generally will email these posts to IB families as well).
Explore ideas on pre-approved opportunities for personal growth (i.e., personal workout plan).
CAS Stages
CAS Learning Outcomes
Students must use these stages as the framework for documenting your CAS experiences and the CAS Project. More information for documenting your CAS Project will be discussed in the students TOK class junior year.
1. Investigation: Students identify their interests, skills and talents to be used in considering opportunities for CAS experiences, as well as areas for personal growth and development. Students investigate what they want to do and determine the purpose for their CAS experience. In the case of service, students identify a need they want to address.
2. Preparation: Students clarify roles and responsibilities, develop a plan of actions to be taken, identify specified resources and timelines, and acquire any skills as needed to engage in the CAS experience.
3. Action: Students implement their idea or plan. This often requires decision-making and problem solving. Students may work individually, with partners, or in groups.
4. Reflection: Students describe what happened, express feelings, generate ideas, and raise questions. Reflection can occur at any time during CAS to further understanding, to assist with revising plans, to learn from the experience, and to make explicit connections between their growth, accomplishments, and the learning outcomes for personal awareness. Reflection may lead to new action.
5. Demonstration: Students make explicit what and how they learned and what they have accomplished, for example, by sharing their CAS experience through their CAS portfolio or with others in an informal or formal manner. Through demonstration and communication, students solidify their understanding and evoke response from others.
For each CAS activity the student must be able to write a reflection on how that activity led to personal growth and fostered at least one of the 7 Learning Outcomes.
Learning Outcome 1: Identify their own strengths and develop areas for growth.
Students are able to see themselves as individuals with various abilities and skills, of which some are more developed than others.
Learning Outcome 2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
A new challenge may be an unfamiliar experience or an extension of an existing one. The newly acquired or developed skills may be shown through new experiences or through increased expertise in an established area.
Learning Outcome 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS activity/experience.
Students can articulate the stages from conceiving an idea to executing a plan for individual or collaborative CAS experiences. Students may show their knowledge and awareness by building on a previous experience or by launching a new idea or process.
Learning Outcome 4: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively with others.
Students demonstrate regular involvement and active engagement in CAS.
Learning Outcome 5: Show commitment to and perseverance in their CAS activities/experiences.
Students are able to identify, demonstrate and critically discuss the benefits and challenges of collaboration gained through CAS experiences.
Learning Outcome 6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global importance/significance.
Students are able to identify and demonstrate their understanding of global issues, make responsible decisions and take appropriate action in response to the issue either locally, nationally or internationally.
Learning Outcome 7: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global Recognize and consider the ethical implications of their choices and actions.
Students show awareness of the consequences of choices and actions in planning and carrying out CAS experiences.
Contacts
International Baccalaureate Programme Office
CAS Coordinator:
Phone: 804-378-2440 x 4148
Midlo Morning Passes Available
For more information:
The information on this page is meant as only a brief introduction to the topic. Complete information can be found in the Copies of the Midlo IB CAS Handbook which are available in the IB Office.