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THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE

Harare International School

2005-2006

ONLINE BROCHURE FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS

CREATIVITY, ACTION, AND SERVICE

What is CAS?

C.A.S. – Creativity, Action, and Service – is a fundamental element of the IB Diploma. The emphasis of C.A.S. lies in learning by experience;

The IB curriculum offers a complete educational program in which the non-academic parts of the curriculum are of comparable importance to the traditional academic subjects.

C.A.S. is a central requirement of the full IB Diploma.

The educational philosophy behind CAS suggests that:

· Essential aspects of education take place outside the classroom and examination hall. The academic program is enhanced and enriched by experiences outside the prescribed environment

· An international education must go beyond the basic provision of information and foster positive attitudes toward gender, race, class and religion.

· The will to act in the service of the community (local, national or international) complements intellectual development and the academic curriculum.

· IB schools have a special challenge and opportunity to establish links with the local community and, in doing so, further the aims of international understanding.

· Creativity and Action should play an equal part with Service.

Values Education and Citizenship

Experiences outside the classroom help you to develop as an individual.

· You learn useful skills in real-life situations. Many of these are people skills, which are essential for anyone who has to make frequent contact with other people. (Teachers, Doctors, etc.)

· You learn to meet challenges, to deal with the fears that come with new situations and the emotional aspects of work and service

· You learn more about the communities you live in and make connections with your school, the local area, the country and the global community.

THREE ELEMENTS OF CAS

Students are expected to spend at least 150 hours during their two-year IB course on CAS activities. Within this time, there must be a balance of the three elements. Students should be involved for around 3 to 4 hours a week in different CAS activities.

Creativity

Students are expected to spend a minimum of 25 hours per year on activities that develop their creative side. Creativity should be interpreted as imaginatively as possible to cover the widest range of arts and other activities which foster imagination, design skills and presentation. It includes creativity by the individual student in designing and carrying out service projects.

*This could involve doing dance, theatre, music, art, for example. Students should be engaged in group activities, and especially in new roles, whenever possible. Nevertheless, individual commitment to learning an art form is allowed, where it respects the requirements for all CAS activities: that goals are set and the student reflects on progress.

Action

Students are expected to spend a minimum of 25 hours per year on activities that develop their physical side.

*This aspect of CAS can include participation in expeditions, individual and team sports, and physical activities outside the normal curriculum; it also includes physical activity involved in carrying out creative and service projects. Action may involve participation in sport or other activities requiring physical exertion – such as expedition or camping trips, or planting trees in a rural school. Students should be encouraged towards group and team activities, and undertaking new roles, but an individual commitment is acceptable where the general requirements of CAS are met: goals are set and the student reflects on progress.

Service

Community Service is a requirement for Harare International School graduation. Service projects are undertaken by all students and not only those attempting the full IB Diploma.

One of the most important aspects of the CAS philosophy is the service element. It rests on the idea that service is a profoundly important part of intellectual development as well as a foundation for good citizenship. Students are expected to spend a minimum of 25 hours per year on activities which help others. Service does not mean exclusively social service but can encompass environmental and international projects. Helping with your own family cannot be counted as a service project. Neither can any form of paid work.

*Service projects and activities are often the most transforming element of the Diploma Program for the individual student; they have the potential to nurture and mould the global citizen. Service involves interaction, such as the building of links with individuals or groups in the community. The community may be the school, the local district, or it may exist on national and international levels (such as undertaking projects of assistance in a developing country). Service activities should not only involve doing things for others but also doing things with others and developing a real commitment to them. The relationship should, therefore, show respect for the dignity and self-respect of others.

All CAS activities should aim to challenge and extend the individual student, develop a spirit of discovery and self-reliance, and encourage individual skills and interests.

*Taken from IB Diploma Guide: Creativity, Action, Service, © International Baccalaureate Organization,

Contents:

PAGE 1 IB BROCHURE INTRODUCTION

PAGE 2 IB INTERNAL CALENDAR 2005-2006

PAGE 3 CONTACT INFORMATION

PAGE 4 GUIDANCE ON CHOICE OF SUBJECTS

PAGE 5 Languages in Groups 1 and 2

PAGE 6 Social Sciences

PAGE 7 Natural Sciences

PAGE 8 Mathematics

PAGE 9 Arts and Electives

PAGE 10 Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge