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.  

CAS has started!

It was great to meet with so many of you over the past weeks and hear about your amazing ambitions for CAS.  I am really looking forward to hearing more as the IB progresses.  Some experiences that are planned are huge.  Others are not, but are just as worthwhile.  CAS is about learning from doing and that is different for everyone.  Sometimes we make big plans but don't reach our goal.  What is important is the process that we go through and what we learn along the way.

What You Need to do Now

CAS experiences

You all should have started adding CAS experiences to your CAS portfolio on ManageBac by now.  Please make sure that they are completely filled in.  Once all the details are there, I give them an 'approved' status.  You will know that I have done that as a blue thumbs up sign appears next the experience.

Evidence and reflections

Once you have started with a CAS experience you can also upload evidence and reflections.  There is no set amount of times you have to do this, but you should try to ensure that you have demonstrated how you reached the learning outcome(s) that you have selected for the experience. Remember no more than 3 learning outcomes per experience.

Personal Profile and CAS Proposal Forms

Make sure that you have now filled in the electronic versions of these forms and uploaded them onto ManageBac.  You can edit them in anyway you like.  They are your record of where you began CAS. At the end we will  compare that with where you end up.  Please finish these by October 5th.  

CAS Stages

When planning a CAS project or a major long term experience it is good to use the CAS Stages document.  You need to show how you have gone through the investigation, preparation, action, reflection and demonstration stages.  Everyone must follow this process for at least one project that you are involved in as a part of CAS. 

The links to all the documents can be found to the right side of the blog post in the page called 'links to documents'

Volunteering opportunities.  

Don't forget to keep a look out on VoluntärByrån. Some people mentioned wanting to work with animals.  I have added some links for some animal shelters in Stockholm to the page Webpages with ideas and inspiration for CAS - to the right of the blog post.  

Experiences to Inspire you

Here is  selection of the experiences that I heard about this week:

• Creativity club - some students are going to get together to teach and share with each other the creative skills that they have.  Each meeting someone will take charge and show the others how to be creative.  They have plans to include everything from literature analysis to baking to dancing.
• Hiking/trekking  including plans to walk to the South Pole and around Mount Blanc
• Learning/continuing to play an instrument - some with the idea to do a performance for the class or to start a music/cultural evening and invite people in
• Helping elderly people through inviting them for afternoon tea or cleaning their homes
• Environmental project - after the grade 10s participated in the Clean Up Sweden Week last year some are now hoping to spread this message to the rest of the school and make it a much bigger event
• Film making - I am sure we have some future directors amongst us.  People are filming a variety of topics - skiing, football, music
• Blogs - people are blogging about everything imaginable - Stockholm events, fashion, football, training etc.
• Some students have plans to develop a project around Operation Smile and have been inspired by having been in contact with children in countries where this organisation helps children with cleft palette surgery 

Many students are engaged in established groups at the school such as:

• MUN - planning a conference in the school
• Amnesty - look for their installation about 'My Body. My Rights' in the coming weeks
• Rhino Preservation Group - they are joining the Global March4Elephants&Rhinos again this year on the 4th of October - all are welcome to join. Come to the meeting on Thursday at 10.30 in C10 to sign up and get a placard.

Special post about climate event - opportunity to volonteer

Natursyddsförening - Nature Protection Society

This is an organisation here in Sweden that is organising a 'climate event'.  They need volunteers to help.   Even if you don't speak Swedish, I think that it is possible to get on board this event.  A great idea for anyone interested in working with the environment and what company doesn't want climate smart people in this day and age? You can see the dates below.  There will be a meeting on the 1st of October.  If you need help filling in the application, see me or a Swedish speaking friend.  You can find the registration form at http://www.volontarbyran.org/for-volontarer/.  It says no experience required and you will get free entry to events, food and a t-shirt!  It is taking place at Kulturhuset in the city.  Speak to me if you need help.  

Vill du vara volontär på årets största och roligaste klimatevent?Naturskyddsföreningen

Beskrivning av uppdraget/uppgifterna: 
Vill du vara volontär på årets största och roligaste klimatevent?

'I höst arrangerar Naturskyddsföreningen och Kulturhuset Stadsteatern i Stockholm årets stora klimatevent tillsammans: Klimathuset! 

Vi vill peppa och inspirera Sverige, samt ge nya ingångar till regeringen inför FN:s klimatförhandlingar i Paris. Vi vill göra det på det roligaste och bästa sättet som går. Därför behöver vi din hjälp!
Se: http://www.kulturhuset.stockholm.se/ForumDebatt/Evenemang/2015/Klimathuset/

Den 2-3 oktober kommer vi att klimatmaxa i Kulturhuset och på Sergels torg precis utanför. Vi behöver dig som vill hjälpa besökare att hitta till rätt lokal, bistå vid klädbyten (likt klädbytardagen) eller ge mikrofonen till frågeställaren i publiken mm.

Som volontär får ni gratis entré till alla spännande events, mat och en snygg Klimatmaxa T-shirt. Resa och boende ingår ej.

Ni kan välja att delta i ett eller flera arbetspass. De arbetspass som finns att välja mellan är:
2 okt (fredag) kl 8:00-13:45
2 okt (fredag) kl 13:30-17:45
2 okt (fredag) kl 17:30-ca 21:00
3 okt (lördag) kl 10:00-13:45
3 okt (lördag) kl 13:30-17:30

Sista anmälningsdag är den 23 September.

Den 1 oktober kommer vi att ha ett kortare uppsamlingsmöte i Kulturhuset om vad det innebär att vara volontär på detta event.
Vi kommer att försöka tillgodose de önskemål som finns vad gäller ansvarsområden. Vi återkommer således med föreslagna arbetsuppgifter till de som anmäler intresse av att vara volontärer.

Vi ses på Klimathuset! 

Interviews continuing

Some of you have already had your interviews and the rest should be completed this week before the break.  It is important that you bring your CAS handbook with the forms as well as your computer to the interview.

All students should be able to get started with CAS be adding experiences on ManageBac over the next weeks.

CAS personal profile and proposal forms

You should also complete the personal profile and CAS proposal form - see forms on the pages at the side here.  Once you have completed the forms electronically, save them and upload them on ManageBac.  You are expected to have this done by October 5th.

Other news

The Rhino Preservation group will be participating in the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos on Sunday the 4th of October.  Everyone is welcome to join us in showing our concern for these wonder animals by walking through Stockholm.  People all over the world will be marching on that weekend. The point of the march is raise global awareness of this issue.  

Some members of our Amnesty International Group attended a workshop around the theme of 'My body my rights' last week.  We all look forward to them presenting this issue to the school community in the near future.  If you are interested in reading about this campaign please see Amnesty's English webpage.  You are welcome to join this group in C10 on Tuesdays at 10.30 if you are interested in joining.  

The SIS newspaper is up and running again this term with the first article out being about CAS! Subscribe to the Quirky Quibbler to read the latest reports or come to the meeting on Monday in C9 at 15.30 if you wish to join.  Reporters, writers and photographers are welcome. 

Below is an opportunity from volontarbyran.  It is in Uppsala but many of the jobs can be done on line so you don't have to be there!  Contact them if you are interested.  

WHAT IS UPPSALA CULTURE CARNIVAL?
Carnival of Cultures (Kulturernas Karneval) is a colorful festival that will take place for the eighth time on 28-29 May 2016. The carnival has a carnival parade through the centre of Uppsala and a festival place in the Botanical Garden where concerts, dance performances, food and handicrafts market and lots of other things will tale place!

We want the Carnival of Cultures to celebrate all the cultures, cultural expressions and art forms that exist in the vicinity of Uppsala. 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 2016 has already begun and now is the time to start building our teams. Each year around 30 people create the event and about 180 volunteers work during the event days. The process is open for all to participate.

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

When and where will the volunteering take place: 
Information meeting and kick-off will be done separately for individual applications. The first big project meeting and kick-off will be 13th of October 6pm. 
The work with the project starts in October and continues until mid-June, but you are welcome even if you only can participate a limited time. 

Specific requirements and information: 
Are you a committed person with a curiosity for multicultural 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. We want to learn from each other and have fun together during the process! 

 

Interview Week and starting your experiences

This week I will start interviewing all grade 11 students.  Interviews should be finished before we go on our break next week.  Please check the previous post or managebac for what you need to bring to the interview.  Interview times are up in the pink notice board.  Make sure you have ticked your time if it works for you or that you see me if you need to change.

First experience and continuous participation

Hopefully all of you have started or planned to start you first experience for CAS.  On Friday I showed you how to add an experience to ManageBac.  If you can add one before our meeting that would be great.  Don't worry if you are not sure what to do - we will look at it in the interview.  You need to get started with CAS experiences as you must participate in CAS for at least 18 months.  That means if you start now you will be able to finish around the end of February next year.  You have up until the end of April to complete all your CAS.  It is important that your participation in CAS is continuous - that is you are always participating in a CAS experience throughout the 18 months. 

CAS stages

For some of your CAS experiences you will need to plan using the CAS stages.  I hope to explain them more in Advisory after the September break.

Some CAS ideas

The Stockholm  Film Festival is still looking for volunteers.  http://www.stockholmfilmfestival.se/en/about-us/work-volunteer  It is rather intensive but is a fun way to get to meet more people around Stockholm and participate it a great festival.  

Refugees You cannot have missed all the talk about the refugee crises in Europe over the last few weeks.  Many organisations have started collections - money and goods.  If you are interested in working with this issue come and see me and I can tell you about the opportunities available.

Volontörbyran - don't forget there are many opportunities in Stockholm listed at this site - even more if you try the Swedish version.  At the moment they are still seeking helpers for the Halloween Festival and people to illustrate articles about human rights in Africa amongst other things.

Kindergarten Assistants: If you are interested in helping out in the kindergarten this term please see me and I can see if there are times that work out for you.  You need to be available at some time during the school day - that is when you have a study period.