As an integral part of the IB program, students benefit both academically and personally to realize the social, economic and cultural environments of the world in which they inhabit.
Broken in to three areas, students develop skills of effective communication, critical and reflective thinking skills, synthesis and analysis of their ideas.
Creativity is interpreted broadly to include a wide range of arts activities as well as the creativity students demonstrate in designing and implementing service projects.
Action can include not only participation in individual and team sports but also taking part in expeditions and in local or international projects.
Service encompasses a host of community and social service activities. Some examples include helping children with special needs, visiting hospitals and working with refugees or homeless people.
The expectation is that students will be involved in the facilitation and delivery of CAS activities, gaining approximately 150 hours over the two years of the program.
Every year, IB students are offered an opportunity to go abroad to gain invaluable skills on what has become known as the CAS trip. This trip offered students the opportunity to visit Malaysia, a country that gave them an insight into a different culture, environment, food and traditions. Five days were spent in an orphanage working with physically and mentally disabled children and adults, a group of people less fortunate than ourselves.
An enriching and life changing experience for many of the students, working with the impoverished and coming back home to the luxury of our lives created a greater sense of grace and gratitude amongst our students. The physical challenges of trekking in the Cameron Highlands jungle tested individuals and pushed them to their limits, creating friendships on the trip that will be treasured for a lifetime.
A system of self-evaluation encourages students to reflect on the benefits of CAS participation to themselves and to others, and to evaluate the understanding and insights acquired. Further, they are part of the creation of a legacy of sustainable projects, impacting positively on the school, and wider, community.
I am delighted to be a part of this successful program and look forward to the shared challenges ahead of us in the forthcoming academic year.
