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Who am I and what is CAS?

Long story short - I am Alicja, I’m a 19-year-old from Poland, currently a senior in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. This Tumblr page was set up to collect and summarize my two-year CAS experience.

CAS, meaning Creativity, Activity and Service is a component of the IB Diploma Programme. It is obligatory for every student to produce a complete CAS Portfolio throughout the two-year study course.

The opinions about CAS differ from student to student. Some people hate it and cannot find pleasure in fulfilling their CAS obligations, some are indifferent to it (Well it is obligatory, so what can you do about it?) and others love it. I guess, I am somewhere in between. At the beginning it also annoyed me and I felt it was too time-consuming, but then I realised that it all gets easier when you learn to manage your time properly. So, after the first semester of the second grade I got to know how to mix my daily activities with CAS and I then started to truly enjoy it.

Right now, when I’m in the senior year, I wanted to share with others what I’d accomplished for the past year and what I’m doing for CAS at present. I’ll start with presenting the components of CAS.

Creativity - because you have to be imaginative not only when you don’t know the correct answer on a Biology test

Not everyone is born an artist and IB knows it. So you do not have to paint second ‘Guernica’ to pass your Creativity. As I, unfortunately, was not born a painter, my Creativity is limited to amateur phone photography and visiting museums and art galleries, and occasionally going on concerts or to see theatre plays.

Activity - so that you keep your soul at ease when school ain’t easy

When you think of managing school, physical activity and healthy diet you probably see this as impossible to tackle. And indeed it is daunting!

Activity is the second obligatory principle of CAS. It somehow forces you to think about your health when being busy with thinking about your education. It helps you create a balanced daily routine.

My Activity section in CAS mainly comprises of home-based workouts (usually following the routines posted on Blogilates yt channel https://www.youtube.com/user/blogilates), in addition to my school PE lessons, and cooking healthy meals or baking low-fat sweets. Both physical activity and meal preparation can act as good stress deterrents and help you wind down after a tiring school day.

Service - so that you find time to be there for others

When you read any IB guide you always come across the IB learners profile. It is a list of ten qualities an IB student has to acquire and demonstrate throughout the course. Above all, an IB student has to be an open-minded inquirer, who is eager to take risks and reflect on their actions. All of these qualities are promoted by CAS. That is why I view CAS as an opportunity for personal growth and development, mainly in the form of service activity. The idea of doing service as a part of my school programme is for me the most extraordinary part of CAS. It increases human sensitivity and makes person more extraverted and open for others’ problems.

As for the service strand of CAS I started a voluntary job in a local nursing home. It has been an amazing experience so far. I visit the house once a week or once in two-weeks, it depends on the month and work-overload, but I try to spend as much time with the elderly residents as I possibly can. We usually meet during some arts classes when we draw or make collages together. Sometimes I also read books for the members of the ‘Elderly Club’ which meets every twice a month and both I and them have a blast then.

For me, the voluntary work in a nursing home is a preparation for my future occupation, i.e. being a psychologist. Frankly speaking, it reassured me that working with people and especially people that have some personal problems or disabled ones, is what I want to do in life. I find sheer pleasure in analyzing human behaviour, as each person is interesting in their own way. This service work increased my social communication skills, patience and sensitivity, which I believe are vital when you work as a psychologist.

CAS Project

Roma - investigation on lives and history

CAS project can address any single strand of CAS, or combine two or all three strands of Creativity, Activity and Service.

Ours was mainly focused on Creativity and Service. It was a cross-cultural study of the life and history of Romani people in Poland, Greece and Germany. The project mixed international exchange and establishing friendships with tackling real world issues through workshops, visiting post-Holocaust camps on the territory of Poland, meetings with Romani people, learning more about their culture and persecution problems and trying to find a way to help by working with international organizations and spreading awareness of the issues Romani people face at our schools. It really helped me realize the urgency of different nations coming together to deal with global issues and I am beyond grateful I took part in it.

The youth that cares for the world :)

Me and my friends from the CAS Project :)

Last summer was the time for cycling. I was trying to use every sunny day and every free hour to go for a ride. These are summaries of only some of my bike trips :)

#activity #CAS Portfolio

Some of my finest Activity accomplishments from the beginning of the senior year :)

As I do not always have time to do workouts at home I try to walk a lot :)

#activity #CAS Portfolio

Inspiring pieces of art from Berlin :)

Creativity levels boosted!

#CAS Portfolio

Concerts, theatre plays and art galleries - the three major parts of my CAS Creativity :)

#creativity #CAS #CAS Portfolio #ib

As part of our Service, me and my friends from the History group helped to clean out the area around the preserved post-Nazi barracks at the State Museum at Majdanek. It was accompanied by workshops with a couple of conservators who take care of the relics from the period of Holocaust and the Second World War.

#CAS #CAS Portfolio #service

As a part of my Service, I attended a food collection as a volunteer with my classmate. We were collecting food and useful commodities for the residents of a local centre for disabled youth in Matczyn, Poland. :)

#service #CAS #CAS Portfolio #ib #International Baccalaureate

And here are some other healthy options that I prepare for myself as a substitute for sweets.

(From the upper left) oatmeal cookies with peanut butter, wholegrain fruit tart, another portion of oatmeal cookies, pumpkin pie, chickpea pie with raisins, homemade granola and raw, dark chocolate brownie :)

#activity #creativity #CAS #CAS Portfolio #ib #International Baccalaureate

When I don’t have time to exercise, I try to take care of my health by eating a balanced diet :) Porridge is one of my favourite meals to eat in the morning, but in order for it not to bore me, I try to come up with new toppings every day.

#activity #creativity #artisticme #CAS #CAS Portfolio #ib

Another dose of Creativity :)

The court case contest Me and my classmates took part in a contest for the best simulation of a court case organized by the Catholic University of Lublin. The scenario had been prepared beforehand by the organizers and we had to interpret it ourselves. I played a witness-policewoman and had to prepare my testimony from the scratch on my own which demanded a lot of creativity from me, I had to think like an actual policewoman which was not easy, but I had a lot of fun and satisfaction.

The pronunciation contest The other contest I took part in required learning a piece of poetry by heart. I chose The Chaos by Dr. Gerrard Nolst Ternité. It gave me an opportunity to polish up my English skills and although I did not win, I am really glad I participated in it as I learned a very important lesson- stressing-out never helps! I did not win because, although I was perfectly prepared, the stress dominated me when I was staying on stage. I hope it will never happen again. :)