Hello community! My name is Carolynne Bell and I am the CAS Coordinator here at BCG. As it is their assessment week and students are incredibly busy, I am writing this week's CAS corner. I am privileged to hold this role in the school and passionately believe that CAS offers some of the most valuable learning opportunities of all curricular subjects.
Through CAS, students are actively involved in a range of initiatives with the primary aim of REFLECTING CONSTRUCTIVELY on the process and outcomes of what they have done. Although they 'do' a lot of amazing things, what they do is not what allows them to achieve a passing grade. The ability to explain and describe the skills they have developed or are developing through doing gives them a credible CAS pass and an amazing head start in their journey towards being holistically healthy, happy adults. Process not product....and remember, without a CAS pass a student cannot be awarded the full IB Diploma.
As they carry out tasks and projects, students identify their personal strengths and weaknesses and are encouraged to think critically about the strengths and weaknesses of the world around them. They consider how their performance and progress is impacted by internal and external factors and how, if problems occur, they can best adapt towards success if they encounter similar obstacles in the future. When writing reflections, students are encouraged to be open-minded and consider a range of perspectives allowing them to become expert communicators who can express and manage their own feelings and emotions whilst at the same time respecting others and developing tolerance and empathy.
Lifelong learning is a phrase that we hear often and I wholeheartedly believe that through the CAS programme we generate life long learners. What does this phrase mean and what are the advantages of being a lifelong learner? In a nutshell, it means we are self motivated to seek opportunities to make positive change in our lives and in turn, positively impact the lives of others. A lifelong learner has the ability to continually analyse their actions and interactions looking to set targets for personal and interpersonal growth while at the same balancing academic, social and emotional well-being. The advantages are that we become resilient, responsible, determined and caring human beings with the ability to successfully navigate the fast-paced and unpredictable world in which we live.
Our world has many stresses, problems and conflicts and negativity is an unfortunate, and at times, unavoidable bi-product. We can easily become anxious and overwhelmed and at this stage people are often self depreciating. CAS encourages students to accept that sometimes people are not perfect and sometimes, despite the best planning, things do not always go as we predict or hope. Rather than dwell on mistakes or bad experiences, CAS encourages students to feel emotions, let go of the things we cannot directly control and set positive goals and achievable targets to move forward with. By continuing this cycle we become lifelong learners with a focused, positive mental attitude and subsequent potential to affect meaningful personal and societal change.
Ms. Bell