Volunteering Opportunities

On volontarbyran just now are lots of volunteering opportunities.  Here is a selection of the ones that might be suitable for you:

Paragames - last weekend in October - this event is being held at Eriksdallshallen and they are looking for people to help as functionaries, serving tea and coffee etc, and even filming the event.  Information is in Swedish, but not difficult to follow if you use a translating tool.  These games are for people with both physical and intellectual disabilities.  There are people coming from other countries so I don't think it is a disadvantage if you can't speak Swedish - an advantage if you speak other languages.  Starts this  Friday.

Christmas duties - it has become very popular to help out charities at Christmas time.  People are needed to serve meals, play with children, work in the kitchens etc.  on the main days around Christmas Eve.  If you are interested in this it is a good idea to sign up soon.  There are several groups organising Christmas dinners for people.  You can often choose one particular shift.  Two groups that are organising these dinners are 'Jul in Gemenskap' and 'Fatima Unionen'.  The guests are people living alone, on the streets or others without the money or ability to have a  proper Christmas meal.

Baking for Christmas - do you love baking and want to help out at Christmas?  'Jul in Gememskap' are looking for people to bake biscuits, pepparkakor and bullar for their Charity dinners. You need to deliver them on Dec 23rd to Emmanuel Church near the school.  Sign up now if you are interested.   All goods must be home baked.

RedCross Södermalm - is looking for volunteers to work in their shop on Saturday mornings

Check your CAS portfolio

I have written notes on a lot of portfolios this week.  If you still have a red flag, you really should look at what I wrote and see how to change it to green.  Remember that a satisfactory CAS portfolio is a requirement for the IB Diploma.  If you are not up-to-date you will receive a red flag on your report at the end of the year.  This is a warning that your portfolio is unsatisfactory.

Creative, spontaneous and service minded

Last week some students in the creativity club saw that the Breast Cancer foundation in Sweden was having a campaign.  They decided to jump on board and baked some pink cakes and cookies.  They sold their goods to MYP and DP students and gave out information about the Breast Cancer Foundation.  They managed to raise not only awareness of this important issue, but also 528kr which they will donate to the foundation to further research into this condition.  

If you wish to contribute to their collection - it is still open.  Go into the cancer foundation at siscollection and support this worthwhile cause.  

A note about fundraising experiences

It's great that the students want to raise money for good causes, but it is also important to go through the procedure properly and remember that raising awareness is a big part of what we should be doing in CAS.  No one should give money to a CAS experience without knowing what the money is for so it is important that all fund raising efforts inform people about the cause.  CAS experiences involving service should go through the CAS stages and all should be approved by the CAS coordinator before starting.  Provision must be made for collecting, storing and donating any money that is raised. Please make sure you have spoken to either Ms Smith  (grade 11)or Mr Boswell (grade 12) before collecting any money.

Evidence

It is important that you start uploading evidence of CAS experiences.  Everyone should have started at least one experience by now so you should all have something to add.  You can add pictures, files, videos audio.  This is especially important for people who volunteer for short experiences such as the film festival and Stockholm Open.  It can be hard to find some evidence if you wait 6 months.  Do it immediately.  Take a photo of your ID/pass card.  Collect programs, take photos, get a reference letter - it doesn't matter what form the evidence takes, but it must exist!

Still have a red flag?

That means one of the following:

• you have not uploaded both the personal profile and CAS proposal
• you have experiences that do not have complete descriptions and goals that show how you will meet the learning outcomes that you have chosen
• You have not uploaded any experiences.

Experiences not approved?

That means that you have not shown how you will meet the learning outcome (s) in your description or goals.  

Received a note from me via Managebac?

Please reply!  I spend time sending you notes with questions or suggestions - if I look a week later and find no action has been taken and no reply given, I suspect that you have not been checking your email or CAS portfolio. If I send a message, I expect a response, just as you would if you sent me a message.

Get a green flag!

Please take some time over the next 2 weeks to get your portfolio to the point that it is given a green flag.  Anyone who doesn't have a green flag after the break, will be called in for an extra interview

Volunteer work

VolontärByrån has a new look on their web page.  Naturally there are lots of opportunities there for people who wish to help in the community.  You can now search by category - for example - creative, IT etc.  

Red Flag? What should you do?

I have been through all the CAS portfolios and you should all have received a message if you have a red flag. A red flag means that you are not really up-to-date with what you need to do.  Don't put it off as you must start your CAS now in order to make the 18 months required by the IB.

Things to check:

• Have you uploaded your Personal Profile?
• Have you uploaded your CAS proposal?
• Have you added current CAS experiences?
• Do all your experiences have clear descriptions and goals that relate to the learning outcomes that you have selected for that experience?

If you have done all of the above you should have a green flag.  

Next Step

Once you have a green flag and are on your way, you need to start uploading evidence and reflections where appropriate.  Don't wait until an experience is complete.  Get used to checking your portfolio for 10 minutes a week and adding anything you can.  Evidence can be photos, films, membership, gym attendance, training schedules etc.  Reflections should be done if you have something significant to report about.  They do not have to be done every week.  You will get some time to reflect in advisory class in groups as well.  We will talk more about this in the coming weeks.  

Learning outcomes and goals

It is important that there is a link between your goals and the learning outcomes.  If you choose - show commitment and perseverance in CAS activities - then you must make a goal that matches that learning outcome.

e.g. You are a member of a sporting team.  Your goal could be to train and participate at least 2 times a week.  Then you would need evidence to show that you have done this.

If you are going to the gym - your goal might be to attend 2 times a week - then you need to have evidence that you have done this.

If you choose - Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth - you need to show how you have done that.  

e.g. You participate in a fun run - your goal is to run the 50% of the distance as you know that you do not have a great amount of stamina.  You manage to run 50% so you have shown that you can increase your stamina but still need to develop it more.  Your strength was that you made it to the end of the run.  

Look at your goals.  Look at your evidence.  Do they match with your chosen Learning Outcome? Remember that is evidence and reflections that show that you achieved the Learning Outcomes along with the 18 months of CAS that determines whether you get a 'complete' at the end of the IB.

Volunteer Work

Keep an eye out on volontärbyrån later in the week.  Just now it is not possible to search the site as they are changing to a new system.  It should be up and running on Tuesday.

CAS stages

This week we talked about the CAS stages.  Hopefully, you now have a better idea of how to record and plan your CAS project.  You should use the CAS stages for at least one project. They can be used for any long term experiences where you are working together with others.  Using the CAS stages, makes it easy to demonstrate how you have achieved the learning outcomes as well.

Evidence and reflections

Don't forget to keep uploading any evidence or thoughts about your experiences in your CAS portfolio.  The more you add, the easier it is to show that you have achieved the learning outcomes.

Outdoor Club

This week we heard from Ms Celino about the outdoor club.  This is a great opportunity to get some outdoor experience that qualifies for CAS activity. The group will kick-off on the 17th of October at school.  Make sure you there if you wish to join.  Contact Ms Celino to let her know you are coming. This is an exciting group and can give you many chances to be active - from hiking, to outdoor cooking, to kayaking and climbing.  If you decide to participate in this group, make sure you are committed as it is an ongoing experience and call only work if you make a firm decision to be part of it from the beginning.

Personal Profiles and CAS proposals

Don't forget to upload these documents in your CAS portfolio on ManageBac.  The deadline if the 5th October.  Make sure you see me if you don't know how to do it.

Amnesty International Group

This group kicked off their My Body, My Rights campaign by hanging coat hangers with message about decriminalising abortion in Ireland.  They will be spreading this message further over the next few weeks.

Rhino Group

Today more than 10 people from school turned up for the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos.  We walked together with about 30 others through the city from the Thai Embassy to the Chinese Embassy to leave our message about protecting these animals.

Just now on Volontärbyrån

There are a lot of volunteer opportunities just now.  Here are just a couple that I have selected (from the Swedish pages).  There are a lot more - have a look yourself and don't hesitate to answer as sometimes they disappear if they are popular experiences.  

Young people to meet up with young refugees and do outdoor activities hiking etc. 

Äventyr och friluftsliv med nyanlända ungdomarMiljöverkstan Flaten

The RedCross is looking for people to sort clothes - recently they have received so many that they have been unable to keep up.  Weekend shift available on the 10th October.
Förvandla gåvor till hjälp längs med flyktvägen!Röda Korset

Beskrivning av uppdraget/uppgifterna: 
Röda Korset har fått in stora mängder av kläder till förmån för människor på flykt, både från företag, organisationer och privatpersoner. För att hantera det inkomna på bästa sätt behöver vi er hjälp! Har du någon timme över och är intresserad av att vara med, så tveka inte. 

An organisation called Retoy is looking for people to pack toys for refugee children.