CAS

CAS Details

Anytime you are at home or when activities are limited or if you aren't necessarily involved in activites out in the community or at school:

• Consider some physical activities that you can do at home or near your home.  Can you do any exercise (walk in your neighborhood, walk your dog, take a run on gym equipment at your house, stretch, do sit ups or push ups, do a free exercise video you find on youtube, jump on a trampoline, etc.)?

• Consider some creative activities you can do at home.  Can you write in a journal about your experiences--maybe create daily entries for how you are handling your schoolwork, home life, etc?  Can you create some drawings or learn a new drawing technique via a video? Can you learn a new tech skill so that you can create a new product that you haven't learned before (like learning how to use flipgrid or learning how to use a google hangout or learning how to do something new in an app or website that you already knew the basics of)? Can you learn a new skill in dance or music or ??-- if you do one of these things, how can you extend your knowledge?  Can you start taking photos or learn how to edit photos using an app or program?

• Can you help out your family or community in some way (this is the service aspect)?  Consider how you can make an impact on others.  Can you tutor someone? Do you have responsibilities with siblings or other family members? Can you help a neighbor who has issues getting out and about? 

• Create reflections and track what you are doing.  Keep logs of hours, write reflections about what you are learning and why you chose those activities, explain how an activity meets one or more of the 7 learning outcomes (see the CAS Handbook attachment), etc.  These documents/reflections/logs/photos/evidence of hours/evidence of learning outcomes should be kept together somewhere...maybe consider a folder in google drive. Or, create your own CAS google site and keep all your evidence and such there or create a google slide show.  TOTALLY your choice and IB has no preferred mechanism for tracking/logging/reflecting/showing the learning outcomes have been met.

Here is the CAS Handbook for your reference:

CAS Handbook 

What should you be doing generally to meet the requirements of CAS?

• keep track of hours in each area in a log or spreadsheet or however you choose

• be sure you have hours in all three areas and that your hours are fairly regular and ongoing (they should not all be done over the summer)

• plan for at least 150 hours, though IB does not "count" hours...your regular involvement in a few things should get you there

• make sure you are meeting each of the 7 learning outcomes at least once in your activities

• plan at least one activity (IB refers to this as a project, but it can be something you do as part of CAS anyway) that will last at least one month in duration and that will involve collaboration with at least one other person. Be prepared to talk about this activity specifically in terms of who you worked with, how you planned the activity, what challenges/good things you encountered along the way, how long the project/activity was, what areas of CAS it covered (can be one, two, or all three), etc. (IDEAS of things you might do already-- writing and directing a One Act, writing/otherwise putting together an edition of the school newspaper, putting together a small ensemble piece for a choir or band concert, preparing for the marching band season, preparing and completing a sports season, preparing and participating in the school musical, organizing/executing a fundraiser for a club, etc.)

• create a product that demonstrates you have done the hours in each area throughout the junior and senior year (video, PowerPoint, google slides, prezi, audio files, scrapbook, journals, etc., or a combination of any of these)

• be sure your product includes reflection (what was good/bad, what you learned, what you still want to learn, what you might do differently next time, what you are good at, what you are not good at, etc.)

• make sure the product demonstrates how you have met each of the seven learning outcomes and details the project

• complete all documentation and your product by April of senior year

Here is the CAS Handbook for your reference (in case you lose your hard copy):

CAS Handbook 

CAS IDEAS:

CREATIVITY: Creative endeavors are meant to lead to a creative product.  These can include hours spent in organized activities like a fine arts class or can be hours spent doing something on your own.

Examples: This list is not exhaustive!

• sketching

• photography

• writing for Polaris

• newspaper hours

• time spent playing a musical instrument

• writing music or song lyrics

• painting a mural

• designing a website or app

• keeping a weblog

• producing a YouTube video

• participating in a play/musical

• building a set

• building a bookcase

• designing a model

• dancing

ACTIVITY: Active hours are meant to get you away from your desk and even outside in the open air.  They can include organized activities or solo adventures.  Please be certain that you plan with your safety and well-being in mind.  Do not plan a hike in the wilderness alone or try skydiving for the first time, or try lifting a bunch of weight without proper training and a spotter, etc.  

Examples: Again, not an exhaustive list!

• sports participation inside or outside of school-- any sport

• trying a sporting activity (like playing golf at an open course)

• exercise-- walking, running, hiking, lifting weights, walking your dog, swimming

• marching band

• dancing

• doing a 5K

• volunteering for the local park and recs department

SERVICE: This is meant to be you giving back to the community or helping the environment in some way.  This can include time spent with one of our on-campus service clubs, but can also be anything outside of school that you do to serve others.  Again, be safe and smart in your choices!  This can include hours spent volunteering with your church or youth group as long as it is not time spent trying to get new members/converts.  It also cannot be time volunteering for a politician's office trying to get them elected or one of their initiatives passed.

Examples: Again, again, not an exhaustive list!

• Octagon

• Red Cross

• National Honor Society

• Key Club

• Tutoring through one of our on campus groups like Husky Help or Spanish Honor Society (non-paid only)

• Tutoring outside of school, even if just on your own with a single person or a group that you meet regularly with

• Peer tutoring during a free period of your day

• volunteering at a local library, park and rec facility, homeless shelter, after school program, Big brother/Big sister program, animal shelter, etc.

• participating in youth court or youth grant makers

• volunteering for a recognized organization like Habitat for Humanity or the National Red Cross

The video above will give you an introduction to CAS.  Please pay special attention to the CAS Handbook document.