Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) is at the heart of the IB Diploma Programme and complements a challenging academic program in an holistic way, providing opportunities for self-determination, collaboration, accomplishment and enjoyment. It is one of the 3 essential elements in every student’s diploma experience.
CAS enables students to grow as unique individuals through experiential learning, and to understand they are members of local and global communities with responsibilities towards each other and the environment.
At QACI we are passionate about the vital role creative thinking plays in society through expressing ideas, developing empathy, giving a voice to the voiceless, advocating for change, and defining culture and identity. By connecting and aligning Service with our creative identity, we discover a sense of purpose and value extending far beyond our time at QACI.
CAS is organised around the 3 strands of creativity, activity and service.
Creativity - Exploring and extending ideas leading to an original or interpretive product or performance.
Activity - Physical exertion contributing to a healthy life-style.
Service - Collaboratively and reciprocal engagement with the community in response to an authentic need.
Learning Outcomes
To complete their CAS program, students are required to achieve the seven CAS learning outcomes comprising:
- Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
- Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
- Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
- Demonstrate the skills and recognise the benefits of working collaboratively
- Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
- Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Students reflect on CAS experiences at significant moments throughout the CAS Program and maintain a CAS portfolio of authentic reflection.
Reflection
Being reflective is one attribute of the IB learner profile: “We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.”
Reflection leads to improved problem solving, higher cognitive processes and greater depth of understanding in addition to exploring how CAS experiences may influence future possibilities. Purposeful, authentic reflection is about quality rather than quantity. Students should include reflections in their CAS portfolio that give evidence to achieving each of the seven CAS learning outcomes.
Reflections in CAS may be expressed through a paragraph, a letter, a poem, a comic strip, a dramatic performance, a song, a drawing, a dance, a video journal or other forms of expression. The appropriate occasion, amount and method is the student’s decision.
Recognition
Students who demonstrate outstanding passion and commitment to CAS, particularly through Service, are recognised each year through the Spirit of QACI Awards presented at ASPIRE. CAS is becoming increasingly recognised by universities when considering scholarship awards, as they value the holistic development of the individual and the sense of civic and social responsibility CAS fosters. The student’s CAS portfolio provides a rich testament to this and may be used as part of an application process or curriculum vitae.
Students are expected to share and demonstrate their CAS accomplishments with the QACI community. Ways of doing this include assembly presentations, website article, vlogs, and social media.
Creating a Personal CAS Plan
Successful completion of CAS is a requirement for the award of the IB Diploma. A successful CAS Plan mus include:
- Include at least one substantial leadership project of over 1 month duration which addresses one or more of the CAS strands.
- Include enough sustained CAS experiences/activities (at least five are recommended in addition to the project) to authentically achieve and reflect on each of the Learning Outcomes at least once.
- Use the CAS stages (investigation, preparation, action, reflection and demonstration) as a framework for CAS experiences and the CAS project.
- Demonstrate a reasonable balance across all three strands of CAS.
- Be sustained for at least 18 months to demonstrate commitment, perseverance and a growth mindset.
- Must have a responsible adult supervisor for each activity/project who is not a relative and who can provide a report on participation.
CAS Requirements
- Create a CAS proposal and personal profile at the end of Year 10 and submit to the CAS Advisor for approval.
- Enter the CAS plan in your ManageBac Portfolio (internal software program). All activities and projects must have a detailed description of student involvement and specific responsibilities and identify CAS strands and Learning Outcomes addressed.
- Complete and upload authentic Reflections on your involvement in CAS, addressing the nominated Learning Outcomes for each experience/project.
- Gather and upload rich Evidence of participation and completion of each experience/project. Guidelines are in the CAS checklist.
- Attend monitoring meetings over the 18-month CAS program. These will occur at the end of Semesters 1 & 2 in IB1, at the end of Terms 1, 2 and at the CAS sign-off in Term 3 IB2.
- Participate in three CAS interviews with your Advisor – one at the beginning of the program, one at the end of Year 11 and a final interview upon completion of CAS.
CAS is now becoming recognised in university scholarship applications as it demonstrates a 2-year journey of experiential learning aimed at developing the whole person.