IB Creativity, Action, and Service

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE PROGRAM
CREATIVITY, ACTION, AND SERVICE (CAS)

CAS Forms

CAS Activities

CAS General Information and Rules

The CAS “attitude” is captured beautifully in John Hall’s poem.

“Real Evaluation”

Is anybody happier because you passed this way?
Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today?
The day is almost over, and its toiling time is through;
Is there anyone to utter now a kindly word to you?
Can you say tonight, in parting with the day that’s slipping fast,
That you helped a single person of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said?
Does the person whose hopes were fading, now with courage look ahead?
Did you waste the day, or lose it? Was it well or sorely spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness, or scar of discontent?
As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think someone will say,
“You have earned tomorrow by the work you did today?”

John Hall

Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) complements the academic disciplines and counter-balances academic self-absorption. It is a three to four hour per week commitment over the two years of the program. CAS is a spirit of discovery, self-reliance, skills, and interests that each of you will become aware of.

Your CAS hours must reflect a balance of creativity, action, and service activities.

CREATIVITY is imagination. Creativity involves creating or making something. It is your own, not something someone else will do. If there is no imagination involved, it is probably not creative. Music is creative if you are involved in writing a composition or score and then have it performed publicly. If you are following someone else’s creations, then it is not creative; it’s learning a skill.

ACTION means to carry out or execute a plan of some sort. Action is not going to a club meeting and sitting in the corner watching the clock. Action implies movement. Participation beyond the discussion level. You DO something.

SERVICE means you met a need in the community at large, you helped someone. Think: charity, environment, help someone, going beyond the school.

CAS Activities

• Must be approved before the activity begins if you want credit for them. You must submit a separate CAS activity form for each activity for which you are requesting credit. CAS forms are available from the CAS Coordinator, Mrs. Adelman.
  
  
• May be formal clubs, individual work, or groups of students working together on projects as long as there is an approved CAS leader.
  
  
• Must have a qualified, designated, approved adult leader. You must provide the leader’s name, address, and telephone number if the leader is not a member of B-CC’s staff. The leader must be present at the times when the activity is being carried out. The CAS leader must complete an evaluation form for each CAS student at the end of each activity.

CAS Diploma Requirement

• Failure to fulfill the requirement means IBO will not award an IB diploma.

Reflections

• The reflective pieces are written for each activity of ten hours or less; the responses may be written in question form or in lieu of writing individual answers an essay response that considers each of the questions may be done.
  
  
• This is a self-evaluation of your personal performances and should reflect:
1. The extent to which you develop personally as a result of the activity.
2. The understanding, skills and values you acquired through the activity.
3. The benefit you consider the activity was or may be to others.

Reflections are to record changes, successes and challenges during the program. These entries should prove quite helpful when the students compose their CAS essay at the end of their junior and senior years. It is NOT meant to be merely a record of time spend and/or activities undertaken.

CAS Final Essay

REFLECTION ON YOUR CREATIVITY, ACTION AND SERVICE ACTIVITES

Each student has to complete an essay summarizing and reflecting on the CAS experience as a whole. The paper should touch on the information related to the following guide questions along with anything else that a student wishes to share and reflect upon regarding the CAS experiences. The contents of questions overlap somewhat and are meant to be prompts for writing.

Guide Questions

1. What types of activities did you choose and why did you choose them?
2. What did you learn about the people with whom you worked?
3. How have your experiences broadened your understanding of other ethnic or cultural viewpoints? A culture may include institutions, clubs, communities, etc.
4. To what extent did contact with people having differing viewpoints and experiences broaden your own views?
5. What did you learn about yourself through your participation in CAS activities?

SENIOR ESSAYS ARE DUE IN LATE APRIL
JUNIOR ESSAYS ARE DUE IN JUNE

Suggested CAS Activities:

Creativity

*Credit is given for time spent performing, choreographing and/or composing, not for rehearsal

Action

Sports Teams: Credit is given for time spent in competition only. Take the number of games/matches and multiply by two.

Service

Volunteering in:

CAS General Information and Rules

• Any questions or concerns regarding a CAS project should be directed to the CAS Coordinator (Mrs. Adelman) in the IB Office, Room A215.
  
  
• Creativity, Action and Service hours should be broken down into approximately 50 hours for each section; requests to do more of one activity should be discussed with the CAS Coordinator.
  
  
• Each CAS form should have no more than 20 hours recorded on it.
  
  
• No duplicate forms - each CAS self evaluation form should have unique answers for that particular activity (20 hours or less).
  
  
• Try to do a variety of activities for your CAS hours and spread them out over the two years; don’t try to squeeze them all into one summer or one semester of school.
  
  
• Sports teams: credit is given for time spent in competition only. Take the number of games/matches and multiply by two.
  
  
• Theater productions: credit is given for time spent performing, choreographing and/or composing. Take the number of performances and multiply by two.
  
  
• Lessons for dance, music, art outside of B-CC count for lesson/instruction/performance time only, not for rehearsal time.
  
  
• Clubs can count up to a maximum of 20/year; extra involvement in a club such as being an officer can earn additional CAS hours if they are documented.
  
  
• Band and Chorus can count toward CAS hours up to a maximum of 20/year or by counting the performances.
  
  
• Taking lessons such as karate, dance, horseback riding, etc. can count toward action hours – however, only lessons/competitions may be counted, not practice time; count an hour of lesson/performance as one hour of CAS time.
  
  
• Students working toward their Eagle Scout certification may count some of their hours toward CAS – to be discussed with the CAS Coordinator.
  
  
• SGA officers may earn CAS hours of 20/year (for more hours additional documentation would be needed).
  
  
• Debate/Forensics/Math Team all count toward CAS hours (Creativity) – a maximum of 20/year.
  
  
• Students who work on the school newspaper and yearbook may count hours toward CAS – a maximum of 20/year.
  
  
• Classes at B-CC that do not count toward your diploma may go towards CAS hours. Some examples might be guitar class, ceramics class, basketball class, etc.; a maximum of 20/year may be counted.
  
  
• Working/volunteering with a political campaign and or lobbying group may not count toward CAS hours.
  
  

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