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C. A. S. CREATIVITY, ACTIVITY, SERVICE https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Hm. Yn 0 y. Ujh. MQ AHS video: https: //youtu. be/j. N 33 sb. XAAS 0

WHAT CAS IS… What is CAS? https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=p. Aw. Z 5 gl. GM 18

WHAT CAS IS… • Experiences for growth • Development of self-awareness and a sense of identity • Connections with extended essay (EE) and theory of knowledge (TOK) • Purposeful and thought-through • A life-style • A singular experience, a series of experiences or a collaborative project of experiences • Support for academic disciplines • International-mindedness • Thoughtful reflections of experiences

WHAT CAS IS NOT!

WHAT CAS IS NOT! • NOT about logging hours • NOT a religious activity interpreted as proselytizing • NOT paid activity or service • NOT activities that create social divisions or are divisive • NOT activities that do not “extend” the student • NOT work done for another IB class • NOT isolated, unplanned, singular experiences

2015 CHANGES AT A GLANCE This list are the changes from • Now it’s Creativity, Activity and Service • CAS experiences, not activity • No hour-counting, just continuous CAS experiences • 7 learning outcomes (not 8) • CAS project must be at least over 1 month • Required 3 documented interviews with coordinator • CAS participation must be continual throughout the two years

7 LEARNING OUTCOMES (You will include these in your proposals and reflections in Manage. Bac) Examples sheet for students to go through… Understanding the CAS Learning Outcomes. pdf

CREATIVITY • Creativity is exploring and extending ideas, leading to an original or interpretive product or performance. • Music, theatre, film, design technology, visual arts, dance, fashion and other experiences that involve creative thinking fall under creativity (for example, joining a choir or engaging with fashion design). • Ideas of what do you think works? • Ideas of what you’re already doing? *** See CAS handbook for more ideas!

ACTIVITY • Activity is physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle. • Taking on a new sport or extending your ability (for example, with football, yoga, dance, aerobics classes, biking or hiking), counts as activity. • Ideas of what do you think works? • Ideas of what you’re already doing? *** See CAS handbook for more ideas!

SERVICE Service in India: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=joo. Dck. H 56 y. U • Investigating and identifying a community need • Designing a plan of action that respects the rights, dignity and autonomy of all involved (for example, reading to the aged or advocating for a cause) • Implementing that plan. • Reflecting upon the experience and demonstrating what you learned somehow. • Ideas of what do you think works? • Ideas of what you’re already doing? *** See CAS handbook for more ideas!

SERVICE • Meaningful contribution to the community • Identify a need and try to meet it • Is your service WANTED? Do they WANT you there? • Are you doing it just for yourself or for others? • Decision-making, problem-solving, initiative, and responsibility • Develop relationships with other students and community members • Collaboration with others (students, community) • UNPAID • Can be at different levels: campus, local or international • BE SAFE! Don’t do something that puts you at risk.

EXAMPLES OF CAS EXPERIENCES The following table provides a brief list of possible CAS experiences.

5 STAGES OF CAS EXPERIENCES • 1. INVESTIGATION – identify a need / issue • 2. PREPARATION – design a plan • 3. ACTION – implement a plan • 4. REFLECTION – reflect on your feelings & thoughts from experience • 5. DEMONSTRATION – what and how you learned, share through CAS portfolio *** include this information for your proposal beforehand on Manage. Bac

STAGE 1 – INVESTIGATION SERVICE LEARNING Investigation has three basic parts. Include this information in your proposal on Manage. Bac. • 1. Personal profile: • Being cognizant about one’s interests, skills, talents and areas for growth develops selfawareness while providing personal insights about topics of concern and abilities. • 2. Finding a cause: • Generate topics of concern—local, global and general. • Notate your key interests, skills, talents and areas for growth. How could you utilize these? • Students brainstorm topics or issues. Once they have determined a topic or issue for their service, they then move to the third part of investigation. • 3. Gathering information about a community need: • Media: Include television, radio, Internet, newspapers, journals, brochures, maps, etc. • Interview: Meet with an expert on this topic to ask prepared questions. • Survey: Prepare questions and survey a chosen group to gain a better understanding. • Observation/experience: Visit an organization or community group where a need is apparent; students may also draw upon prior experience.

STAGE 2 – PREPARATION SERVICE LEARNING In all situations, students need to prepare. • Identify a local, regional, national or international organization working on this topic. Find out and record what they’re doing. • Determine what you will do (is it appropriate? ) • Prepare a proposal that articulates the plan and informs any partners of what they will be doing. You should enter this in Manage. Bac. • When doing a CAS project that includes service, clarifying roles and responsibilities for all involved.

STAGE 3 – ACTION SERVICE LEARNING Put your ideas for service into action, either individually or in groups. Remember that you may incorporate one or more kinds of action to meet the identified need. Here are 4 types: • direct service: where students’ interaction involves people, the environment or animals, such as tutoring, planting trees • indirect service: where students provide assistance in ways where they do not see the recipients of what they have done, such as writing and supplying bilingual books or improving an organization’s website • advocacy: where students assist through educating the public or supporting or initiating a campaign • research: where students collect information through varied sources, analyze data and report on a topic of importance to influence policy or practice.

STAGE 4 – REFLECTION SERVICE LEARNING The process of reflection assists in becoming more aware of the value of CAS experiences and can also lead to an articulation of meeting the learning outcomes. • • Examine your thoughts, feelings and actions How did it affect you? How did it affect others around you? Did you actually meet a need or were you just going through the motions?

STAGE 5 – DEMONSTRATION SERVICE LEARNING • Make explicit the connections between your growth, accomplishments and the 7 learning outcomes • Can be done in a variety of ways • Choose one that you prefer and are interested in! • art, music, poetry, movement, song, poem, video, poster, audio, pictures, written, dialogue, comic strip, dramatic performance, letter, dance, or a conversation with me during tutoring hours or over lunch • Upload these to Manage. Bac • Must be honest, like a conversation with us rather than a rote, mindless regurgitating • Examples from students…

NO IBS, PLEASE • • • “I graded papers and cut paper for a teacher. ” “I made cookies for my mom and friends. ” “I cleaned my room. ” “I walked to my classes. ” “I went on a date. ”

SUBMITTING A PROPOSAL • Go to Manage. Bac and login with login and password: https: //allenhs. managebac. com/login • Create a detailed proposal and submit it to me. Include: • Description: What’s the idea? Be specific about what you will do. • Goals: Goals and how you plan to grow though it. • Learning Outcomes: Which of the 7 Learning Outcomes will be addressed? Brief describe how they’ll will be addressed. • Final Results: What do you hope to accomplish as the results of your work? What do you expect to learn? • • I will either approve, ask for further clarification, or deny it Complete the activity. If it’s longer, give me updates When finished, complete your thoughtful reflection After submitting reflection, I will either approve or ask for further clarification • Lastly, your experience supervisor will complete a short review

REFLECTION • While a specified number of reflections is not stipulated or required, reflection is the vehicle to personal growth in CAS experiences. • Engage in reflection by choice, not by force. • Reflection is used to demonstrate achievement of the learner profile. • How do my choices and actions model empathy, compassion and respect for others? • How does this CAS experience allow me to become a genuine inquirer? • To what extent do my CAS experiences encourage creative and critical thinking? • How do the ethical issues that arise in my CAS experiences change me? • How does my CAS experience allow for risk-taking? • Relate reflections to the IB learner profile and 7 learning outcomes

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHILE REFLECTING • • • How did you react to / feel about the event? Did it develop any personal interests, skills or talents? What challenges did the experience provide? How did you feel about the challenges? Were there consequences of your experience for you, others, the community? What of the 7 seven learning outcomes were met? How did you change through this? How did the experience reflect your ideas / values? Are there any global or ethical connections?

UNDERSTANDING REFLECTION

REFLECTION IDEAS… Written reflections (Manage. Bac) and verbal reflections (with CAS coordinator / lunch group) are the most common ways students reflect. These are important methods; however, keep in mind that meaningful reflection can be expressed in various ways. Often, written reflection cannot express the depth of an experience in the way that visual, auditory or kinesthetic means of reflection. Kinesthetic reflection: dance theatre mime role play Auditory reflection: lyrics rap jingle melodies Visual reflection: photography painting animation sculpting/ceramics mosaic prints textile/needlework By engaging in diverse forms of reflection, students may discover their preferred ways to reflect and integrate reflection by choice into their daily lives.

CREATIVE REFLECTION IDEAS… • “Some students organized an impromptu ‘flash mob’ to commemorate their attendance at an annual Youth Leaders symposium. One of the art students then followed this up with a cartoon depiction of the event, which included caricatures of each student who had participated accompanied by speech bubbles with their individual comments on the flash mob experience and the symposium. ” • “A student created a magic show as his choice for expressive, meaningful reflection. Challenges and surprises were represented by objects appearing out of hats, from behind ears and magically out of thin air. Similarly, items disappeared within an instant, representing challenges successfully met along his CAS journey. The magic show demonstrated the student’s passion for magic—his distinct talent—as well as a compilation of numerous skills and knowledge acquired during his time in the DP. ” • “Following his involvement in a CAS project focusing on improving social justice, a student wrote two songs that acted as a culminating reflection. The student performed these songs in the school cafeteria, with an accompanying visual presentation that gave further details on his reflections and overall experience. ”

CREATIVE REFLECTION IDEAS… • “One of my students decided to take one photograph a week throughout her CAS experience that captured what she was feeling, thinking, seeing or learning. She combed through her photographs to create a gallery without a single caption to present to the community. She wanted to see if what she saw through her camera lens would reflect the story accurately. ” • “A student turned in a basketball to represent his reflection in Activity. All over the basketball he wrote phrases, attached photos, and adhered articles to repurpose the ball as a road map to his experience and represent his reflections. ” • “Students who, as part of a CAS group project, were tutoring children within the Hmong community learned about the story quilts that are their traditional art form. They collaborated on a tapestry using learned skills from the Hmong artisans to tell about their collective journey. ” • “A student decided to make a drawing on his growth process through CAS. Just with drawings we could understand how his experiences developed his self-identity. ”

EXAMPLES OF GOOD REFLECTIONS • “A few of my friends and I decided to choreograph a dance for an upcoming event. We worked collaboratively in that each of us put in our own ideas into the creation of this dance and decided as a group which steps to incorporate. Without working collaboratively, it would have been very difficult to create a dance in the short time we had. Commitment was essential when coming up with the dance. All four of u have busy lives but we wanted to do this performance and knew we only had a few weeks to create the dance. We were committed to spend a few hours on the weekend and, if we were not too busy, once or twice during the week so we could create the dance and polish it to perfection. We needed to cooperate and sacrifice some time to this dance. Lastly, we were challenged- our first challenge was being creative and thinking of ideas for the dance. Our second challenge was learning it in only a few weeks and perfecting it. And lastly, finding time to practice. We, however, did overcome these challenges and in my opinion i think we did a pretty good job. ”

CAS PORTFOLIO • • • • ongoing from beginning, turn in senior year create a “scrapbook” of what you did in CAS can be electronic, in Manage. Bac, or a tangible “scrapbook” showcase your experiences and reflections pick and choose what you want include a collection of evidence (photos, videos, etc…) must show a sustained CAS lifestyle over 18 months reveal how you have developed valuable for a college or work resume include documentation from our 3 scheduled meetings showcases your CAS program, source of pride not a singular preferred method for CAS portfolio – up to you! Format ideas: digital, online, diary, journal, scrapbook, create a website, blog, scrapbook, files, video log, etc. or blended • it’s not WHICH format you use, but HOW you use it

CAS PORTFOLIO Make sure that you include the following: 1. Profile: • Include interests, skills and talents, plans and goals • focus on the IB learner profile • identify both short-term and long-term goals 2. Experiences: • incorporate a variety of reflections, learning moments, personal achievements • add reflections regarding their process of development • state how you have utilized the CAS stages 3. Evidence: • collect the evidences of their involvement and achievement in CAS • can include planning documents, letters, emails, certificates, acknowledgements of participation and achievements, photographs, videos, etc.

CAS SENIOR PROJECT • • • Seniors will complete a collaborate CAS project Will include Creativity, Activity and/or Service Required for passing CAS, getting IB diploma Should show initiate, perseverance, skill-development, cooperation, problem-solving, decision-making A group of contributing students, part of a team, with different roles Should enhance and integrate your interests & skills Don’t have to be service, but can be or be included Must be at least 1 month, can be longer Can be a new idea or a previously-used project Reflect individually about the experience (preferably in a creative way)

CAS SENIOR PROJECT: IDEAS • Creativity: A student group plans, designs and creates a mural. • Activity: Students organize and participate in a sports team including training sessions and matches against other teams. • Service: Students set up and conduct tutoring for people in need over an extended period of time. • Creativity and activity: Students choreograph a routine for their marching band. • Service and activity: Students plan and participate in the planting and maintenance of a garden with members of the local community. • Service and creativity: Students identify that children at a local school need backpacks and subsequently design and make the backpacks out of recycled materials. • Creativity, activity, and service: Students rehearse and perform a dance production for a community retirement home.

CAS SENOR PROJECT: SERVICE LEARNING OPTION • • Must meet a genuine need, agree on by both sides Build upon prior knowledge, links to disciplines Liaison officer – person to contact community Think of potential risks Must be feasible Need approval (CAS coordinator, Allen High School) Reflect on how they went though the process and how they felt / thought about it • If it’s for a grade for IB, it can’t count for something else, but it can (and should!) extend from something you’re doing in class

CAS INTERVIEWS: We will have 3 formal interviews together: • Meeting #1 – beginning of junior year • understanding CAS setting goals, get to know you, ? ’s • Meeting #2 – toward end of junior year • how are you are progressing, discuss CAS project, ? ’s • Meeting #3 – 2 nd semester of senior year • discuss how CAS project went, look over CAS portfolio, wrap up program, growth, what learned, complete CAS checklist for approval, ? ’s • Feel free to ask questions and honestly tell me how things are going. I value your openness!

DIVERSITY IN VALUES / BELIEFS • Students can participate in faith-based, cultural or political events (charity events, music for church, political campaigns, cultural traditions, etc. ) • “Students’ personal engagement with faith-based, cultural, or political events can add great value to individual CAS programmes. ” • Explore how your ideas and values align with IB • Students cannot proselytize, or share their faith as a primary purpose • It cannot be divisive in nature

WHAT ARE MY RESPONSIBILITIES? • Complete a self‐review and set personal goals at the beginning of your CAS experience for what you hope to achieve within your CAS program. The self-review is available on the AHS IB website and also at the end of the handbook. This form needs to be digitally scanned or produced and uploaded into Manage. Bac before your first interview. • Keep and maintain a CAS Portfolio in which you record, show evidence and reflect upon a variety of creative, action, and service activities over a minimum of 18 months. You must manage your CAS program through Manage. Bac. It is essential that you make regular, consistent use of Manage. Bac to submit your work and stay current with CAS. I suggest every Monday. • Communicate with your CAS Advisor and/or CAS Coordinator regularly, not just at the 3 scheduled reviews meetings. • Be working continually on your CAS experiences by doing meaningful activities throughout the two-year CAS program (11 th and 12 th grades). There should be a reasonable balance between creativity, activity and service. Emphasis is on quality and sustained engagement/interaction as opposed to hour-counting. Initiative and planning is required, and you must show evidence of planning and initiation in the activities you choose. • Show evidence of accomplishing all 7 Learning Outcomes. • Be involved in at least one CAS project involving teamwork that integrates one or more of creativity, activity and service, and is of significant duration (more than 1 month). Larger scale activities of this sort may provide excellent opportunities for students to engage “with issues of global importance. ” Allen High School IB supports “Love Week” and this could be used for this requirement or come up with your own ideas! Usually done Senior Year.

SITUATIONS – YES? / NO? / MAYBE? Chat in groups whether it works or not and why. • Situation 1: Student wants to protest at pro-life march. • Situation 2: Students do yoga in the park. • Situation 3: Going to a museum or a concert.

FINAL THOUGHTS… • • • Can’t be paid Can’t be for a grade in another class (but it can be an extension) FIND SOMETHING YOU LOVE TO DO OR WANT TO LEARN TO DO!!! Give LOTS of details and descriptions Can’t be crammed, but must be ongoing throughout your IB experience (18 months, beginning junior year) CAS experiences must somewhat equally distributed between Creativity, Activity and Service. You can’t have all activity and very little service/creativity. There must be balance between the three. Try to enter proposals, reflections and updates in Manage. Bac at least every two weeks, if not weekly (every Monday). Try to reflect on your experiences quickly and timely Is evaluated Pass or Fail. You must pass to get your IB diploma. Once you complete a CAS experience, you have 2 weeks to submit evidence, reflect and have supervisor review completed or it will be deleted. I will not accept late experiences.

CONTACT INFO Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions at all! I have 5 th period dedicated to CAS coordinator: Jordan Kauffman Email: jordan_kauffman@allenisd. org Room: F 112 Phone: (972) 727 -0400 Ext. 5512 CAS Website: http: //www. allenisd. org/Page/43076 Manage. Bac: https: //allenhs. managebac. com/login