Need help figuring out what to do for CAS!

[liv521]

Hey everyone.

OK, so my school is requiring us to turn in 15 hours of CAS by next month. I am a junior (11th grade) by the way. Anyways, I have done NOTHING in the way of creativity, action, or service. I'm going to talk to the coordinator tomorrow, but I need some questions answered.

-We are fostering some stray kittens right now and are trying to find homes for them. This should count for C, A, and S if I can get someone from the local animal welfare society to sign for 'supervising adult', right?

-Would volunteering with a political campaign count for C, A, and S? We have a Senate election coming up in 2010 and the candidate is obviously asking for help from his constituents.

-Could I put together a photostream on Flickr or something like that for creativity? I was thinking about taking a picture of something important in that day for me every day for 100 days and then compiling them. Who would be the supervising adult though when I have to turn in the forms?

-I have a Twitter account. My mom ordered this 'make money with twitter' package. Could I do an investigation (kind of) and see if it really works, and then write about it or make a news-style report video or something? But again, who would be the supervising adult for signatures?

Besides that, I'm out of ideas. I live in the U.S.A., so if anyone has any ideas please tell me!!! I'm really limited on time, so it's hard for me to do any organized activities after school. Pretty much everything is going to have to be done over weekends and holidays. Help!

Thanks,

Liv

[sweetnsimple786]

CAS Coordinators are different when it comes to leniency. The following is what my CAS coordinator would most likely say.

-We are fostering some stray kittens right now and are trying to find homes for them. This should count for C, A, and S if I can get someone from the local animal welfare society to sign for 'supervising adult', right?

It would go fine under A and S. Make sure you're not profiting from doing this if you're using it for service.

-Would volunteering with a political campaign count for C, A, and S? We have a Senate election coming up in 2010 and the candidate is obviously asking for help from his constituents.

C and A. Service might be a strech

-Could I put together a photostream on Flickr or something like that for creativity? I was thinking about taking a picture of something important in that day for me every day for 100 days and then compiling them. Who would be the supervising adult though when I have to turn in the forms?

No. My CAS person wouldn't allow it. Yours might. Ask.

-I have a Twitter account. My mom ordered this 'make money with twitter' package. Could I do an investigation (kind of) and see if it really works, and then write about it or make a news-style report video or something? But again, who would be the supervising adult for signatures?

No. But same thing as the last one--check with your CAS coordinator.

Here are a few thread that have great ideas. Browse through the rest of the CAS forum if you still can't find anything. [unlikely!]

C, A, and S

Action

Creativity

[liv521]

OK, another idea.

I have a neighbor who LOVES to quilt. If I made a quilt or 2 and she "supervised" me, could that could for creativity?

[sweetnsimple786]

Yeah, that could work. But I think it'd be even better if you two made quilts together. Both of you are probably busy, but see if you can find time in his or her schedule.

When I'm filing out an activity sheet for CAS, I'm asked how my activity benefited more than just myself. This is a key concept for CAS. The IBO isn't just asking for 150 hours of BS. One goal is to create a better community. Hanging out with the neighbor and quilting is excellent CAS material =)

[liv521]

Yeah, that could work. But I think it'd be even better if you two made quilts together. Both of you are probably busy, but see if you can find time in his or her schedule.

When I'm filing out an activity sheet for CAS, I'm asked how my activity benefited more than just myself. This is a key concept for CAS. The IBO isn't just asking for 150 hours of BS. One goal is to create a better community. Hanging out with the neighbor and quilting is excellent CAS material =)

OK... so. This sound really stupid and I know it probably won't work, but out of curiosity, would taking a 38 hour driver's ed class count? Maybe?

[liv521]

Yeah, that could work. But I think it'd be even better if you two made quilts together. Both of you are probably busy, but see if you can find time in his or her schedule.

When I'm filing out an activity sheet for CAS, I'm asked how my activity benefited more than just myself. This is a key concept for CAS. The IBO isn't just asking for 150 hours of BS. One goal is to create a better community. Hanging out with the neighbor and quilting is excellent CAS material =)

OK... so. This sound really stupid and I know it probably won't work, but out of curiosity, would taking a 38 hour driver's ed class count? Maybe?

They talk about using driving in this thread:

It's learning a new skill...

[sweetnsimple786]

Yeah, you can probably get some hours from that. At my school, I can only get 20 hours in one category from one activity. So if I spent 38 hours doing a driving course, I could count 20 hours in creativity, and if I could somehow fit the lessons in action too, I could count the remaining 18 hours as action. Some schools allow 25 hours from one activity. Some schools don't have this rule at all. Clear it with your CAS coordinator, as always.

Edit: P.S. you can edit your post to add details or something after you add a post. That's neater than two posts that could be combined into one. =)

Edited August 20, 2009 by sweetnsimple786

[meh]

Hello, I have a few questions about CAS too but didn't think it was worth it to start a new thread since my questions are kind of similar. Anyways, our coordinator suggested that we get a head start on CAS hours during the summer (was in pre-IB last year) but he didn't go into detail about what types of activities he would approve of. I know it really all depends on the coordinator, but do you think I could do something like paint a picture, write a story or practice playing my violin for creativity? And do you need to have a supervising adult for everything you put down for CAS hours? Because those activities wouldn't really be supervised unfortunately...but there aren't a lot of other creativity things I can think of doing this summer.

[sweetnsimple786]

For something like practicing an instrument, you don't need a supervisor signature. It'd be nice, but your CAS coordinator will understand. I know that writing and painting can count too. Perhaps your coordinator will ask you to submit the writing or painting as proof you did it. Also, like I said earlier, being able to explain how your activity can help others is a big part. You can say something like... "I'm thinking of submitting this work or something I paint/write later into a contest to raise awareness of ____ or for a blind auction." Just try to be earnest!

[Sandwich]

You should always contact your CAS coordinator about what counts, though. CAS standards as to what is and what isn't acceptable do vary (sometimes wildly) between schools. For instance practising an instrument wouldn't count at my school - it'd only count if you were performing in a concert and therefore benefitting the community, and similarly if it was unsupervised it wouldn't count. It's always best to check with the school or specifically the person in charge of CAS as to whether it'll count or not, as they're the people who can tell you if you wasted your time on an activity or not. You should also inform that person of any conflicts - to use an example of a friend of mine, who joined a choir outside of school, got 51 hours of service for singing at the weekend and then a week before the deadline for CAS was told it didn't count because she took IB music, so couldn't count in any musical activities.

That kind of thing is what you have to watch out for. Every school has a different CAS policy - some of them are very strict, others will let you go more or less whatever you want, and the best person to tell you how your school is going to run it will be your CAS Coordinator. For peace of mind, I recommend you email them

[Taigan]

Exactly, your going to need to check with your IB-coordinator about certain things to see if your school allows them. Although, there are a few activities that are very unlikely not to be accepted by the IB so I would recommend starting with these first:

1) Take part in a school talent show.

2) Learn a new language.

3) Play a sport. Action hours...

4) Tutor other students (pre-IB would be better.)

5) Join a club (arts and crafts, yoga etc.) Here you can fill most of your Creativity hours...

6) Do some volunteering (Service hours...) You can go to charity shops or hospitals...

7) Go on a school trip to an MUN conference (not available to all but can get alot of hours)

8) Organize bake sales.

9) Run for student council (can get you lots of hours)

Good luck. If you have any more questions, just ask...

[meh]

Those are some excellent suggestions. Maybe it won't be as hard as I think it'll be getting all these hours =]

That's really unfortunate about the choir/IB music situation though. I guess there's some positives with not having any IB options at my school, that way it won't interfere with what I'll be able to count for my hours.