Starting Strong - G12

Yikes! This is what my Google Reader feed looked like today.

Give it a rest already! That is way too many CAS proposals for me to have to read. It's going to seriously cut into my Facebook time!

Just kidding!

This is great! Thanks for getting off to a strong start with your self-evaluations and CAS Plans and new proposals. I think that many of you are going to really have some awesome experiences in CAS this year. 

Keep it up!

G11 Initial CAS Plan

If you are a grade 12 student and you are reading this, you are in the wrong place. Please scroll down to find your assignment!

Grade 11 students:

Step 1: Complete and submit your Initial CAS Plan by August 22.

Step 2: I will then scan and send you an electronic copy of your Initial CAS Plan.

Step 3: You will upload your Initial CAS Plan to your blog on a page titled CAS Plan.

Step 4: You will write a reflection about your Initial CAS Plan. Follow the instructions below.

Initial CAS Plan Reflection: 

What are some questions, comments, or concerns that you have about your CAS plan?  Where do you see problems arising? What will you need to do to make your activities happen? What will you need the most help and guidance with?

Mid Program CAS Progress Self-Evaluation (Grade 12)

The IB requires that every student meet with the IB Coordinator mid-way through the program to discuss their CAS progress.

To prepare for our meeting, you need to complete the following assignments.
The Mid-Program CAS Progress Self-Evaluation and the Year 2 CAS Plan will help you to prepare for that meeting. 

Please complete and submit via your CAS blog by Monday, August 13.

These assignments are required for all students. The meeting is optional for non-IB CAS students. 

CAS Progress Self-Evaluation

Copy and paste the following questions into a new blog post on your blog and answer the questions completely.

Do you have a balance of activities across the three areas: Creativity, Action, Service? If not, in which area do you need more involvement?

Over the past year, did you average about 3-4 hours per week on different CAS activities?

Have you collaborated with others on any CAS projects? Which ones and in what way?

Have you engaged with any issues of global importance in any CAS activities? If so, what issue?

Would you describe your level of engagement with that global issue as low, moderate, or high? (Did you become an expert in that area, could you explain the local situation around that issue to someone, did you just become acquainted with the issue?) 

What is one issue of global importance (check the list HERE) that you wanted to get involved with but you haven't had the opportunity to do so?

Which activity from last year was the most meaningful to you? Why?

Which activity did you not care for or was not very significant to you? Why?

What is one thing that you planned to do at the beginning of G11 that you have not begun yet?

Have you initiated any activities? Have you initiated any part of any activities? Describe.

What was the date of your first involvement in CAS activities?

Is your “List of Activities” page on your blog up to date?

How many of your blog posts are tagged with learning outcome labels?



Do you have an final refection for every significant CAS activity you did last year? If not, which reflections are you missing?

Using a Smart Phone to Reflect Easier

Source: surfmobee.com

OK, OK, so now I get what all the excitement was about. Smart phones are pretty cool. So far I've discovered a couple easy ways to make CAS reflection easier and more immediate using a smart phone or a tablet computer.

For each of these tricks, you will need to set up your blog's email address. This is really easy.

Setup your blog's email address:


1. Go to your blog.
2. Go to "Settings" and select "Mobile and email".

3. Type in a secret word in the space provided to create your blog's email address. 
4. REMEMBER it! Or better yet, save it in your contacts.


Then, use one of these tools to capture your reflection.

Voice Recording

The SoundCloud app (available for iPhone, iPad, and Android) allows you to voice-record your reflection right on your smart phone or tablet computer and then send it to your blog's email address where a link to your voice recorded reflection will appear.

You can login with Facebook but it might do weird things like publish your recordings to your wall. Even if you don't, it may try to make you share it on Facebook but you can navigate around until you see an orange @ icon. That will allow you to email the voice-recording.

You don't even have to go to your blog to post on your blog!

Anything you record on SoundCloud will be available to you at SoundCloud.com and there you can actually embed the snazzy looking player you see below instead of just a boring link.

Video

You can also use your smart phone or tablet computer to take a video of you reflecting on the activity or of you participating in the activity. Then you can email the video to your blog's email address and it will publish the video in a new blog entry.

In the subject line, write the title of the post.

You can always go in to your blog later and edit the post to add a description or captions.



Lastly, 

Reflection does not have to be a completely isolated activity. Reflection can be done in a group, with your teammates, with your supervisor, with your parent. Sometimes it's easier to reflect in the form of a conversation. Both of these tools can be used with either individual reflection or group reflection.



What do you think? Do you think these tools will make it easier for you to reflect with pictures, video, and voice-recordings?

Off-beat ACTION Activities

Get your SCUBA certification.
The Philippines is one of the cheapest places in the world to get SCUBA certification - around $300, I think. And it's good for life! You never have to renew your certification unless you want to. There are many places in the Philippines to take the course including right down the hill in San Fernando.  That's where Mr. Wright and Mr. Taylor got certified.

• Go HERE for more information.

Go farming.  
Farming can involve serious physical labor, especially when you are not using chemicals to do the hard work for you in the case of organic farming. That's why gardening is counted as an ACTION activity. Plus you'll learn how organic farming practices benefit people and the environment and understand better where your food comes from.

• Go HERE for more information.

Just a Few 4th Quarter Service Opportunities

Please sign up on the bulletin board outside of Mrs. Wright's classroom. These activities will be held every Saturday. Space is limited. Don't forget to write a proposal!

A Greener Brent CAS Project

While I like to think every day is Earth Day, most people tend to get more excited about the environment on especially designated environment days.

At the GIN conference we talked with students at other international schools across East Asia about the environmental projects that have been successful at their schools. Here are just a couple of ideas that I heard about that I think could be initiated at BISB if a few students collaborated to make it happen. Yes, some planning would be required and it will be challenging. In order to get past some of the obstacles you may encounter you will need to demonstrate commitment and perseverance. But you would no doubt be engaging with very pressing global issues and you will probably gain some new skills in the process.

Holy cow, that's a lot of learning outcomes!

Photo Credit

1. Organize a Meatless Monday or a Vegetarian Biyernes.

• Did you know that the production of meat for human consumption produces a lot of carbon dioxide and methane? Brent can lower its carbon footprint and raise awareness about how individual behavior impacts climate change by limiting meat consumption one day per week. Resources: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/spread-the-movement/

Photo Credit

2. Organize a campaign to serve more local and organic snacks in the canteen.

• Banana Q, fresh strawberries, buko shakes! Did you know that eating foods produced locally can also help to lower the carbon footprint of our school? Think of all the gasoline used to transport Pringles from wherever they are made. Consuming locally produced foods may also help to alleviate poverty by supporting local farmers. Resources: http://realfoodchallenge.org/commitment
• Eating healthy would be an additional benefit especially since diabetes is now the 7th leading cause of death in the Philippines!

3. Organize a campaign to set BISB on the path to ZERO-WASTE.

• Many schools are moving towards making their campuses ZERO-WASTE. Whether it is a reusable water bottle program that really works or looking for better solutions to disposable plates and packaging in the canteen there is always room to improve. Go here to get some inspiration from some of the greenest college campuses: http://www.thedailygreen

4. Organize a program to eliminate the use of disposable plastic cups on campus. 

• The International School of Singapore started a water bottle project where students could earn points every time they used their own water bottle and then when they got a certain number of points the environmental club planted a tree in their name. 
• What would incentivize Brent students to bring a reusable water bottle every day?