FCPS students and faculty, if you need to ask a question, click on this link. You all can find answers to all of these questions here (walled garden so only FCPS-affiliated people can access).
Do my CAS project hours contribute to my overall hours?
Yep.
Does it matter if you have an imbalance of hours in strands as long as you still meet the hour requirements?
Nope, but don't come to me claiming that you've earned the golden trophy. Remember, balance, buddy, balance.
If I have an experience that I rarely participate in and I only have a few hours for, should I delete it or just not write more reflections for it?
I would. We ask that you focus on experiences that last for 10+ hours. IB wants CAS to be more ongoing than a 2-hour experience where you sold Christmas trees or something. However, you can tie every experience to a larger one, i.e. what club or sport asked that you sell trees?
How do I write a good reflection?
Think about how you've grown, struggled, understood more about yourself. Reflection comes from looking inward not writing about what you did. Check out this page and this template.
When talking about how the experience helped you grow, what should you talk about? Growth as a person? Growth in ability?
Yep. Yep. Focus on you. See above.
Roughly how many reflections per month are expected?
Write something every month ideally beginning in the 1st semester of your junior year. Everyone should have something written in February or March of the junior year. If you want the golden trophy, you will need to have 7 reflections, 1 for each Learning Outcome spread throughout January/February and March. If you write all of them in the span of a few days, then you may only earn the green flag. For the 4th quarter of the junior year, you will need some in late March, April, and May, again spread out throughout these months. Seniors should also write something every month, reaching 21 by end of Q1 and 28 by the end of Winter Break. Spread out your work.
Is each reflection only supposed to focus on one learning outcome? If so, does that mean that you could have several reflections per activity?
Yep and yep.
How do we know if our reflection has been approved?
See Mr. Booz, whether virtually during office hours, or in the IB office once we head back to school. I read an average of 25 per week, so I don't comment on all of them. There are c. 900 at the end of the 3rd quarter for the junior class and roughly 3500+ from the senior classes. If you want individual feedback, reach out to me at whbooz@fcps.edu.
When is our CAS Project due?
You should complete the junior-year project by Memorial Day and the senior CAS project by the end of Winter Break. If these dates don't work for you, see Mr. Booz.
Can we start senior year CAS project over the summer between junior and senior year?
Yep. Knock that puppy off of your plate.
What distinguishes a CAS project from a normal CAS experience?
Time: 24 hours + 2 months total. Additionally, you take on the role of leader and planner. Read more here.
What are the roles of supervisors, and do they need to do anything specifically?
They verify that you met your hours and may sit down with you to discuss your Learning Outcomes. Learn more at the bottom of this page. Their primary responsibility is to sign off when you complete an experience. Read more about supervisors here.