Too much to do?

It is great that so many of you are very active in participating in CAS experiences.  I would like to issue a word of caution to those of you who have not really got started.  Don't think that you will have time later!  This is probably the calmest period in the IB that you will have.  If you  don't believe me, just take a look at the grade 12s just now.  At this time next year, you will have so many deadlines with Extended Essays, Internal and External Assessments, that CAS will probably start to take a back seat.  Any learning outcomes that you have not worked towards will become difficult to achieve. Keep in mind that you must have evidence of each learning outcome.

CAS Learning Outcomes

A requirement of CAS is that you achieve the 7 learning outcomes through your CAS experiences. Your portfolio must contain evidence that you have met these outcomes. You can achieve an outcome more than once but each outcome must be attained at least once and your CAS experiences must cover a period of 18 months.

Quality not quantity

You have all heard that expression before and it really does apply to CAS.  It is not how much CAS you do, but how well you do it that counts.  If you find that you are unable to make meetings for one of your experiences because it clashes with another experience, then perhaps you need to take stock of what you are doing.  It is better to be 100% committed to one experience than to be 20% committed to 5 different experiences.  If you are a member of a group like Amnesty, MUN, Annexe or the Rhino Preservation Group,  it is necessary that you attend all the meetings. You are also expected to work on the project outside meeting time.  Just turning up it not enough.  You will not achieve the learning outcomes just by being present.  You have to actually believe and commit to the project. If the group meets every week and goes over the same points as the week before without going forward, it serves no purpose.  

Don't be afraid to drop experiences if you feel that you have over committed.  Decide what you want to focus on and do that.  Maybe you can be part of one group this term and another next rather than both at the same time.  

Shoe Box Appeal

Some of you were involved with the shoe box appeal last year.  This was a project that involves packaging Christmas Presents for needy people into shoe boxes and wrapping them.  They are then given out through different aid organisations in Sweden to people who might otherwise not get any presents.  The homepage for this organisation is here: skokartongsappellen.  If there is anyone who is interested in being part of this, please let me know and we can start collecting shoe boxes and items to go in them.  A list of desired items can be found on the web page.  If we start a little earlier this year, it could be possible to involve more of the school.  The webpage is in Swedish, but can be easily translated.

Make sure you portfolio is up-to-date

People who do not have the correct documentation and have not started actively participating in CAS experiences will be called to interviews next week.  Please make sure that your documents are uploaded in the correct place.  See the picture below. 

Have you read this far?

If read this blog, you have the chance to win a prize. The first student who can write the answers to 3 questions about this blog post on a piece of paper and give them to me will receive a reward. The questions are:

1. What word do you click in to reach the homepage of the group organising the shoe box appeal?

2. What is going to happen to people who have not uploaded the CAS personal Profile and Proposal form?

3. What are the names of the 4 groups that are mentioned in the section - Quality not Quantity?

Be the first person to bring the correct answers to me on a piece of paper and you will get the prize.