CAS Experiences

The International Baccalaureate® programme has designed the CAS (creativity, activity, service) requirement to complement the challenging academic programme in a holistic way, in order to provide opportunities for self-determination, collaboration, accomplishment, and enjoyment. Key to a student having a successful CAS experience is personal engagement, choice, reflection, and enjoyment. Students use the service learning stages as they plan, act, reflect, and demonstrate their service weekly through 18 months. At West Jordan High School, candidates are encouraged to design a CAS proposal using the CAS stages that meet personal goals and interests, supports all CAS guidelines, provides challenge toward a new role/experience, and includes a balance of group and individually-based activities. Although many CAS opportunities will come along during the student’s junior and senior years, he/she will be asked to have an overall plan prepared and approved their junior year. Among other expectations, this plan must also include one in-depth experience designated as a CAS project (see below). The following activities are intended to give students some ideas:

CREATIVITY=Personal Enrichment

This aspect is interpreted as covering a wide range of activities outside the normal curriculum. The goal of creative enrichment is to explore and extend ideas leading to an original product or performance. Creativity will come from the student's talents, interests, passions, emotional responses, and imagination; the form of expression is limitless. 

Ongoing creativity:

You may already be engaged in creativity as part of a school group or club, or through some other form of sustained creativity. You may continue this as part of creativity; however you will be encouraged to further extend and develop your participation if appropriate.

School-based creativity:

You are encouraged to participate in meaningful creativity and to explore your own sense of original thinking and expression. In school, there may be appropriate creativity opportunities in which you can engage. These experiences could be part of the school’s CAS projects, a school club or other opportunities.

Community based creativity:

Participating in creativity within the local community advances your awareness and understanding of interpersonal relationships with others, particularly if the creativity experience involves the local community. For example, you could join a community based theatre group contribute towards a community art gallery, create sculpture for the community park, take cooking classes or other opportunities.

Individual creativity:

You may decide that you wish to engage in solitary creativity experiences such as composing music, developing a website, writing a compilation of short fiction stories, designing furniture, creating arts and crafts, or painting a series of portraits. Such creativity experiences are of most benefit when they take place over an extended duration of time. You can be encouraged to set personal goals and work towards these in a sustained manner.  

Other Examples of Creativity

• Participation in West Jordan’s Band, Choir, Dance Company, Orchestra, and/or Theatrical performances*

• Private lessons in music, art, dance, theater, photography, and so forth that led to a performance or product* (competitions, shows, parades, recitals, and so forth)

• Planning events and projects for West Jordan High, the community, or other organizations to which you belong and carrying out the events.

• Optional participation in the West Jordan newspaper, literary publications, and/or yearbook*

• Create an IB yearbook that documents your class's experiences throughout the program

• Create an IB Instagram account where you promote the IB program and document your experiences

• Website development

• Make a short documentary for a public screening

• Develop a YouTube channel 

• Create and participate in a community poetry slam

*These activities may not be part of any class for which you will receive a certificate or diploma, or receive credit/grade

*These activities count for the extracurricular aspects of these activities (not for what you complete in class during the regular school day)

ACTIVITY= Healthy Lifestyle

This aspect includes activities that require physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle. The aim of the "activity" strand is to promote lifelong healthy habits related to physical well-being. This may include individual and team sports, aerobic exercise, dance, outdoor recreation, fitness training, and any other form of physical exertion that purposefully contributes to a healthy lifestyle. The key to this component is setting goals and showing the steps you make to reach those goals.

School-based activity:

You are encouraged to participate in meaningful activity that benefits your physical well-being. In school there may well be appropriate activity opportunities in which you can engage. You may elect to initiate a school-based activity such as basketball or tennis and engage other CAS students or any student within the school.

Community-based activity:

Participating in activity within the local community advances your awareness and understanding of interpersonal relationships, particularly if the activity experience involves members of the local community. However, single events of activity can lack depth and meaning. When possible, activity experiences best occur with a regularity that builds and sustains relationships while allowing the growth of physical well being for yourself. For example, rather than a single activity experience at a community-based fun run, students could be encouraged to join a community-based running club, a dance class, an aerobics class or an out-of-school sports group.

Individual activity:

• You may decide that you wish to engage in solitary activity experiences such as, for example, attending a gym, bicycling, roller-skating, swimming, or strength conditioning. Such activity experiences are of most benefit when they take place over an extended duration of time. Students can be encouraged to set personal goals and work towards these in a sustained and correctly applied manner.  

SERVICE=Reaching Out to Others Locally, Internationally, and/or Globally

This aspect consists of unpaid, collaborative, and reciprocal engagement with the community in response to an authentic need. The rights, dignity, and autonomy of all those involved are respected. The aim of the service strand is for students to understand their capacity to make a meaningful contribution to their community and society. 

Community-based service:

Participating in service within the local community advances your awareness and understanding of social issues and solutions. However, single incidents of engagement with individuals in a service context can lack depth and meaning. When possible, interactions involving people in a service context best occur with a regularity that builds and sustains relationships for the mutual benefit of all. For example, rather than a single service experience at a retirement facility, you can decide to establish regular visits when they realize their efforts are valued and have reciprocal impact.

 Immediate need service:

In response to a disaster, you could want to move towards immediate action. Typically you quickly attempt to assess the need and devise a planned response. Later, you can be reminded and encouraged to further investigate the issue to better understand underlying causes. This provides greater context even if the service action has already taken place. With increased knowledge, you may commit to ongoing assistance, for example, such as joining with prevention or community resilience initiatives regarding an environmental issue.

Fundraising:

The preferred approach is for most students to initially develop their understanding of the organization they choose to support and the issues being addressed. You can draw from your interests, skills and talents to plan the method and manner of fundraising. Ideally, you directly communicate with the organization and establish accountability for funds raised. Sharing the rationale for the fundraising educates others and advocates the chosen cause. You can also be asked to consider other ways to augment their contribution through direct, advocacy, or research service.

 International service:

You are encouraged to participate locally in service before considering service opportunities outside the country. When participating in international service, you must understand the background and the circumstances of an identified and authenticated need to support your involvement. When direct communication with an overseas community is not possible, you could cooperate with an outside agency to provide an appropriate service. You do benefit from serving in an international context when able to make clear links to parallel issues in your local environs and they understand the consequences of your service.

Volunteerism:

You could volunteer in service experiences organized by other students, the school or an external group. In such cases, you benefit from prior knowledge of the context and the service need. Being informed and prepared increases the likelihood that your contribution will have personal meaning and value. Utilizing the CAS stages prior to volunteering is highly recommended.

Service arising from the curriculum:

Teachers can plan units with service learning opportunities in mind, students may or may not respond and act. For example, while studying freshwater ecology in environmental systems and society, you could decide to monitor and improve a local water system. 

 Other Examples of Service

• Volunteering at a hospital, nursing home, public library, museum, animal shelter, and so forth

• Volunteering at the local Humane Society and/or animal shelter

• Participating in a summer or weekend community service project

• Organizing and assisting at a blood drive

• Restoring a stream and/or clearing hiking trails

• Tutoring children or providing free translation services

• Creating a community environmental group

• Teaching computer skills to those in need

• Assisting with a local research project to collect, analyze, and present data

• Developing a schoolwide anti-bullying program

All service based experiences must be supervised by a supervisor (who is not a family member)

Other Sample CAS Experiences

The letters C, A, and S correspond to “creativity,” “activity,” and “service.” Depending on the details of the experience, not all categories will apply.

·         A structured series of visits to a home for orphans (S)

·         Helping with rehabilitation at the local hospital (S)

·         Cooking classes where you create your own recipes and/or menu planning (C)

·         Tree planting as a part of a forest restoration project (A, S)

·         Establishing and coaching a sports team for disadvantaged youngsters (C, A, S)

·         Establishing and leading a musical ensemble for visually impaired people (C, S)

·         Involvement in a theatrical production to which refugee children are invited (C, S)

·         Teaching the use of computers (C, S)

·         Making a series of hiking trails wheelchair accessible (A, S)

·         Teaching children who have a disability how to swim (A, S)

·         Coaching a community softball team (A, S)

·         Teaching piano to children (C, S)

·         Writing articles for the school newspaper for events that occur after regular school hours (C, S)

·         Working with disadvantaged children to paint a public mural (C, S)

·         Teaching English to newly arrived immigrant children (C, S)

·         Leading a mountain expedition (A, S)

·         Organizing a walk-a-thon to raise money for guide dogs (C, A, S)

·         Awareness and leadership to raise money for Greenpeace, World Wide Fund for Nature, or Amnesty International (C, S)

·         Creating and maintaining a service-oriented website (C, S)

·         Assisting victims of a natural disaster (C, A, S)

·         Learning to paint landscapes (C)

·         Learning to salsa for a future performance (C, A)

·         Learning to rock climb (A)

·         Gymnastics (classes, team practice, competition) (A)

·         Joining a running club (A)

·         Planting flowers as a community beautification project (A, S)

·         Making crafts for a charity event (C, S)

·         Producing banners and posters to promote a school club (C)

·         Sponsor and promote a holiday celebration assembly at the local elementary school (C, S)

·         Design an online game and invite participants to play and offer feedback (C)

·         Surveying a grade or the entire school on a topic of cultural importance and presenting the research findings to the school’s administration team (S)