Final interviews and reflections

Exams are over and internal and external assessments are being handed in.  Don't forget that CAS is also a requirement for the Diploma so you need to make sure that you are up-to-date.

In the previous post I went through all the things you need to check.  Go back and look if you can't remember.

I will come to advisory lesson on Friday the 20th and talk about how to make your final reflections.

Final interviews and reflections

I will start final interviews on Wednesday the 25th March.  I will send out the schedule through Managebac.  Make sure you check that the time works for you (if you are in the main building you will have to change times).  This is your responsibility.  I am often around in the mornings and at breaks - you can find me in C10.  Don't hesitate to see me if you are unsure about something.  It's better you ask before the interview so that you have time to fix problems.

Want to continue CAS in the summer?

Remember it's quality not quantity that counts but that there is a requirement for around 50 hours for each of creativity, action and service.  If you don't meet minimum requirements you can make up your CAS in the summer break and get your diploma issued later but I am sure no one wants to be in that position!

Red flags, green flags

Do you have a red flag?

If you do, make sure you read my comments at the bottom of the worksheet.  You should be able to work out what you need to do in order to change that to a green flag.  

It could mean you  are missing hours, or haven't been doing reflections.  Fix the problems as soon as possible or see me if you are not sure what to do.  Don't let an incomplete CAS folder stop you from getting your Diploma!

Do you have a green flag?

That doesn't mean you can sit back an relax!  Check any notes that I have left on your folder - look right down the end.  

I can only judge your folder by what you put in it.  If you have said that you will do 50 hours at the gym, I will think that you are on track.  You will need to have evidence for this and if the evidence is only for 10 hours you will find yourself with an incomplete CAS and no Diploma.  Make sure you follow though on all you plans.  

Have enough hours?  Can you stop now?  NO!

It is a requirement of the IB that your CAS continues right up until May.  At least one activity must remain on-going.  For many people that easiest and the one that makes most sense is often going to the gym or something like that.  Keeping active during exam time is a good idea and helps you to meet the CAS requirements.

If you have a blog - you might not make as many posts as before but keep it going until May.

Covered all the outcomes?

You all have activities planned that cover the 8 outcomes but make sure you show how - that is usually by writing a reflection that relates to each of the outcomes.  Look at the green and yellow bars on your folder.  Green means that you have done a reflection on that outcome.  Yellow means that you have an activity that you planned to cover a certain outcome but have not reflected on it.  Try to make it all green.

Supervisor reports.

Any activity that is complete should have a supervisor report along with evidence of participation.  Make sure you follow the following procedure in order:

1. write reflections and upload evidence ( can be photos, gym membership/attendance, certificates, references)
2. complete the CAS questions
3. click the 'request a supervisor report' button
4. follow up with your supervisor if you don't get a report.

Final reflections and interviews

After the mock exams, I will call each of you in for a final interview.  I will also attend advisory time and you will all do a 'visual' reflection poster summing up your experience in CAS.  

Check your messages

I know that everyone is very busy now but I think it is wise to check the messages that you receive from me at this time as ignoring them can lead to problems with you CAS folder.

Please note that you must have at least ONE activity that is still open and you are participating in - actively.  There are a few activities that seem to have stopped but it is not clear from your entries.  Take 10 minutes to go through and check you are up-to-date.

Some activities that are on-going are:


Rhino group - they are selling friendship bands to give to an organisation that works with protecting rhinos.  They have many beautifully handcrafted armbands that they will be selling along with information about rhino preservation.  Look out for them and contribute to the cause.

Amnesty - as this group is now an official group in the Stockholm region some members will be attending training and some events with other gymnasium students in Stockholm.

Annexe Council - At Christmas annexe council raised 1000kr by selling candy canes.  Last week the money was sent to Stadsmission to help people most in need.  Well done.  Currently the new annexe council is selling Valentine candies to collect money for the Nepal project.

Newspaper - the Quirky Quibbler - now has an official page - look out for details when they have some articles - COMING SOON!

Some students in grade 12 are organising a collection of goods for Stadsmission.  Look out for information and see if you can support this good cause.


Opportunities on http://www.volontarbyran.org/eng/for-volunteers/ - go to the page for contact details:

Project assistant - Swedish Poetry Slam championshipPoetry Slam Sverige

Description of the volunteering opportunity: 
The Swedish Championships in Poetry Slam will be held 12 - 17 May in Stockholm.
We are now looking for committed people who want to help to create one of the biggest poetry events this spring.

Poetry Slam is not only a competition, it's also the annual event where spoken word poets from all over Sweden comes together to discuss the development of the stage.

We are looking for volunteers with experience and / or interest in making a great event for poets. The work can include marketing, project planning to decorating the stage. 
If you have an interest in working with this Project we have a place for you.

When and where will the volunteering take place: 
January - May in Stockholm 

Specific requirements and information: 
If you come aboard this project you will meet new people, learn more about project managing and it could also be a valuable reference in future job applications.

Help coordinate a big culture project! - Uppsala Culture Carnival  (Distance Job)Kulturernas Karneval, KulturAlla

Description of the volunteering opportunity: 
WHAT IS UPPSALA CULTURE CARNIVAL?
Carnival of Cultures (Kulturernas Karneval) is a colorful festival that will take place for the sixth time on 24 to 25 May 2014. The carnival has a carnival parade through the center of Uppsala to a festival place in the Botanical Garden where music, dance, food, market and lots of other things will be going on! 

We want the Carnival of Cultures celebrate all the cultures, cultural expressions and art forms that exist in the vicinityof Sweden. We want to make a scene and a forum for the broad and bustling cultural life. We also want to be an inter-generational , drug-free festival for everyone living in Uppsala and for carnival enthusiasts around Sweden.

Preparations for the Carnival of Cultures 2014 has already begun and now is the time to start building our teams. Each year around 30 people create the event and about 200 volunteers work during event days. The process is open for all to participate.

Are you a committed person with a curiosity for multicultural cultural projects? Then Carnival of Cultures is a perfect platform for you! Whether you have experience with a similar project, whether you have knowledge of volunteer assignments, you can find a mission with us. 

Carnival worker process provides the opportunity for both a social network through regular meetings and telecommuting via digital media. The project will contribute to a group that consists of many different ages, skills and backgrounds.

When and where will the volunteering take place: 
Information meeting and kick-off will be done separately for individual applications,The work continues until mid-June.

Specific requirements and information: 
What can you do?
Here is a list of working groups.
PROJECT COORDINATION
PROGRAM COORDINATION
VOLUNTEER COORDINATION
ART
INFRASTRUCTURE
DESIGN AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
SPONSORSHIP
ECONOMY ADMINISTRATION
IT

Municipality where the volunteering will take place: 
Distansuppdrag

The end is approaching!

Finishing off CAS

Over the next weeks you need to make sure that all your CAS is up-to-date.  Now is the time to get any supervisor reports that you might have forgotten about.  Write up the CAS questions for all completed activities and check that everything is in order.

Have you covered all the 8 outcomes - including writing reflections?

Have you got around about 50 hours for each of Creativity, Action and Service?

Do you have an activity that you will keep going until the end of the DP?

Next month I will come to Advisory lessons to talk about making final CAS reflections.  I will show you some of the posters that the grade 12s created last year.    

If you have any doubts or questions about you CAS come and see me ASAP.

I will start holding final interviews next month, but you can drop in and see me before then if you have some doubts.  Check your CAS folder as I often leave notes with ideas and suggestions.

Last term

As you approach the last term of the IB, most of you will be starting to find that there is plenty to keep you busy.  It is important to spend a little time thinking about CAS as you must have a complete CAS folder at the end the the IB in order to eligible for the Diploma.  It would be a pity to put in a lot of work and get fantastic grades only to find you miss out on a Diploma because you forgot to finish off your CAS!

Some things you should spend a little time checking in the next weeks are:

Do you have completed activities?  If yes, do the CAS questions and get a report from the supervisor ASAP.  Don't wait any longer with this as supervisors are not always easy to contact so you might need time to get the reports.  Remember - do the CAS questions BEFORE you send of the supervisor report.

Have all your supervisors responded? If no, you need to contact them.  I see that people have sent off requests for reports months ago and not got a response.  Is the email correct?  Can you call your supervisor and explain what it is?  Does your supervisor speak English?  If not see me and we can organise to contact them in another language.  You can also print out the report and take it to the supervisor to fill in and sign - then just scan it into evidence and let me know.

Have you covered all the outcomes?  This is essential as even if you miss one outcome you will not have a completed folder.

Have you reflected on every outcome? If you have a green bar next to an outcome that means you have a reflection that relates to it.  If you have a yellow bar that means you do not.  Try to choose the outcomes you have not reflected on before.  Focus your reflection on that outcome only.

Have you covered all Creativity, Action and Service - around 50 hours each?  Make sure you have planned and left time to reach your goals in every area.

Having problems? Pop in and see me before it is too late.

Final reflection:  Later in this term I will be coming to advisory to talk about making a final CAS reflection.  We will do this in the form of a poster.

Here are some activities for service from voluntärbyrån. (http://www.volontarbyran.org)

Make Musik Sthlm!Make Musik Sthlm

Description of the volunteering opportunity: 

Make Musik Sthlm is a music event happening on June 6th in Södermalm.

The concept is for all musicians (amateur and professional) to take over the streets and create a lively atmosphere.

Here are the main areas we need people:

social media

design

webmastering

global organisation

translation

When and where will the volunteering take place: 

We need volunteers all year long from now until June 10th in Stockholm.

Specific requirements and information: 

Interest in music and cultural events

Have some free time to commit to MMS

Knowledge in web mastering or social media preferable

Knowledge in different languages (Swedish, English, French, Spanish,...) preferable.

In Swedish you will find:

Teknologi för äldre människorHorisont Förening

They need people between 17 and 25 to help older people with Facebook, email, twitter etc

When and where:

Medborgarplatsen Bibliotek

Tuesdays between February and May 15.50 -18.30

Äldrekontakt 

This group organises coffee meetings for older people who live alone but would like to meet others,  You organise the 'fika' in your home and they have volunteers who bring them.

Winter Break

Most grade 12 students have completed the majority of their 'CAS'.  Don't forget that you must have at least one activity that continues right up until May.  I will be holding interviews with all students during next term to make sure that everyone is on track.  Check your folder for recent comments and if you have a red flag, make sure you know why and see that you do something about it.

Happenings

Amnesty International Group collected signatures for the 'Write for Rights Campaign' that has been going on over the last month.  The students in this group visited grades 9 and 10 as well as spoke to their class mates in  grades 11 and 12 to get signatures asking governments in several parts of the world to look at human rights issues.

Rhino Preservation Group is working towards a Rhino day next term.  They will be selling friendship bands to raise money to help save rhinos.  They are looking into the possibility of sponsoring a rhino.  Help is needed to make the friendship bands so anyone who feels like being creative is welcome to join the group on Monday a 15.30 in C10.  They aim to make around 200 bands.  

Annexe Council is spreading a little Christmas spirit this week by selling candy canes with seasons greetings.  The profits will go to Stadsmission a group that helps many people with limited incomes here in Sweden.

Volunteer opportunities from http://www.volontarbyran.org/eng/for-volunteers/

If you are going somewhere for the holidays that might have people in need of pens and paper, there is an organisation that can give you supplies to take with you.  See details below.  Go to http://www.volontarbyran.org/eng/for-volunteers/ to find out more details.

Distribute Pens & Papers!Pen & Paper

Description of the volunteering opportunity: 
Pen & Paper is a non-profit volunteer driven organization. In collaboration with volunteers going abroad, we give them an opportunity to make the experience more meaningful and sustainable. We offer the volunteers packets of pens and papers, to distribute to those who are in need. 

We are looking for volunteers who are planning on going abroad, and who would like to bring packets of pens and papers - they are waiting for you!

When and where will the volunteering take place: 
Anywhere in the world, where there is a need for pens and papers. 
The next meeting for interested volunteers is in Stockholm. Press "Go to form" and we will contact you for more info!

Specific requirements and information: 
If you are interested in volunteering we regularly hold meetings where we talk about the use of pens and papers, and we distribute the packets of pens & papers to the volunteers. We would like a follow-up, in which we are informed about the use of the pens & papers. 

End of another term

There are not many weeks left of this term and it is important that you all take a serious look at your CAS folder.  Have I left a message on it in the last month?  Have you answered it?  Don't leave it until the last moment - you are going to get even busier next term so make sure you have your CAS  under control.  A green flag is a good sign!

Christmas service

Shoe box appeal:  A woman in Stockholm is organising the shoe box appeal. 

"Shoebox Appeal is a non-profit initiative with the aim to collect and distribute Christmas presents to organizations and associations working with people living under difficult circumstances in Sweden. We have operations between October and January and the collection takes place during the first half of the month of December."

Basically what you do it put some presents in a shoe box .  http://www.skokartongsappellen.se/ The page is in Swedish but the main details are translated here under 'shoe box appeal' in the pages to the right side of the blog. I will also post this on ManageBac and on the notice board. Get a group of you together and make a few boxes. The deadline is Dec 13th.

More Service

Still looking for 'service'.  Here is a job that appeared on http://www.volontarbyran.org/ .  See previous posts for other opportunities.

  Translate Dala Ekoguide from Swedish to English
2014-11-25 Naturskyddsföreningen, Dalarna (Distance Job)

Description of the volunteering opportunity: 
We need help with translation of a book and website called www.dalaekoguide.se . It includes organic farmers, stores, beauty shops and more in Dalarna.

When and where will the volunteering take place: 
The translation must be ready in March 2015.

Specific requirements and information: 
Language skills in English and Swedish. 

Municipality where the volunteering will take place:
Distansuppdrag

Minimum time commitment: 
40 hours

Area of activity: 
Miljö/natur