Creativity - Activity - Service (CAS)

The IB program takes a special interest in the importance of life outside the world of academics. CAS is about the education of the whole person through involvement in creative and physical activities that shape values and provide fun. Service to others is the third essential component of the CAS program. The IB philosophy embraces the idea that students who provide service to others become richer in their understanding of their place in our society and the world.

Each IB diploma student will meet with the CAS Coordinator over the two years of the program to define, document and reflect upon the goals of CAS in their own way. Students may play on an athletic team, provide leadership through student government, or be active in dance or other pursuits here at NHHS or off-campus. The program will include activities that will satisfy the NHHS requirement for community service. The challenge will be for students to grow in these activities and use their own interests as a foundation for making a contribution to others.

The final outcome of CAS will be students who are comfortable asking themselves:

Did I challenge myself?
Did I learn something new?
Did I help someone else? 
 

Requirements of CAS Activities

All proposed CAS activities need to meet these four criteria.

• real, purposeful activities, with significant outcomes.
• personal challenges that  are achievable in scope.
• thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress and reporting.
• reflection on outcomes and personal learning.

Eight Learning Outcomes

Evidence of the Eight Learning Outcomes must be produced to demonstrate the successful completion of the CAS program.

As a result of your completed CAS experience there should be evidence that you have:

• increased your awareness of your own strengths and areas for growth
  You are able to see yourself as an individual with various skills and abilities, some more developed than others, and understand that you can make choices about how you wish to move forward.
• undertaken new challenges
  A new challenge may be an unfamiliar activity, or an extension to an existing one.
• planned and initiated activities
  Planning and initiation will often be in collaboration with others. It can be shown in activities that are part of larger projects, for example, ongoing school activities in the local community, as well as in small student led activities.
• worked collaboratively with others
  Collaboration can be shown in many different activities, such as team sports, playing music in a band, or helping in a kindergarten. At least one project involving collaboration and the integration of at least two of the three strands, creativity, action and service, is required.
• shown perseverance and commitment in your activities
  At a minimum, this implies attending regularly and accepting a share of the responsibility for dealing with problems that arise in the course of activities.
• engaged with issues of global importance
  You may be involved in international projects but there are many global issues that can be acted upon locally or nationally (for example, environmental concerns, caring for the elderly).
• considered the ethical implications of your actions
  Ethical decisions arise in almost any CAS activity (for example, on the sports field, in musical composition, in relationships with others involved in service activities). Evidence of thinking about ethical issues can be shown in various ways, including journal entries and conversations with CAS advisers.
• developed new skills
  As with new challenges, new skills may be shown in activities that you have not previously undertaken, or in increased expertise in an established area.

All eight outcomes must be present for you to complete the CAS requirement. Some may be demonstrated many times, in a variety of activities, but completion requires only that there is some evidence for every outcome.

Contact Us

---

Alma Di Giorgio
IB Coordinator

Grace Nguyen
IB Diploma Counselor

Matt Armstrong
Theory of Knowledge Teacher

Bonnie Tucker
Extended Essay Coordinator