CAS
CAS is an acronym for Creativity, Activity, and Service and is an integral part of the IB program. It requires students to engage in extracurricular activities to promote personal growth, well-being, and community service.
What exactly is CAS ?
CAS stands for Creativity, Action, and Service, and is mandatory for all IB students. It is an opportunity for students to try new things, help their community, and develop valuable skills. The CAS program has 7 learning objectives that students must fulfill, including teamwork and global awareness.
Students begin their CAS projects and activities in Y11, including a mandatory summer project before they begin Y12.
CAS is a chance for you to showcase your commitment and engage in activities you're passionate about. So, embrace it and make the most out of it!
7 Learning Objectives
Creativity
Encourages innovation and originality through drama, design, and multimedia projects. Examples include learning a new instrument, making school decorations, or writing blog posts.
Activity
Encourages students to participate in physical pursuits that support a healthy lifestyle, which includes all team and individual sports.
Service
Encourages students to engage in community service programs and interact with a person or group for the good of the community. Tutoring younger children, volunteering at an animal shelter, or working with a non-governmental organization are a few examples.
CAS Highlights
Projects 2020 - 2022
One new project was the creation of a CAS News Writer. Elisabetta, Class of 2023, spearheaded the project by providing information on the annually recurring projects, summer CAS projects and new CAS projects added in 2020.
UNCENSORED
CAS Strand: Creativity
Duration: year round.
UNCENSORED is the school´s first online magazine with its very own website, Instagram page and notice board in school. It involves a group of writers, editors, illustrators and photographers who work together to produce content. Their slogan is “news from a different perspective”. Students get the chance to write about topics that are important to them from their own perspectives. This includes articles, reviews, opinion pieces and interviews accompanied by photographs and illustration.
UNCENSORED was based off the previous CAS activity Fake News and launched in May 2020.
ESA Space Camp
CAS Strand: Creativity
Duration: summer
For her summer CAS activity Ella Nergaard participated in Space Camp 2022 which was held by ESA (The European Space Agency). The camp took place in Bischofsgrün and lasted for two weeks. Participants attended the lessons which discussed every aspect of a rocket campaign, including brainstorming rocket technology, taking part in a debate about space and of course building a rocket.
The experience was very practical and hands-on. As described by Ella: “For building the rocket, I had to assemble rocket parts, this included gluing things together and using a 3D printer to create the nose cone. As for Kerbal (the rocket simulation) I had to build a rocket on a computer. After building the rocket I had to learn how to fly it as well as how to land it on the moon´s surface.”
This activity is a perfect summer CAS activity as not only does it take place every year during the holidays, but it also covers the Creativity strand. The building process of the rocket was particularly fun, as participants could design the rocket however they wanted to. Throughout the program Ella learned more about space and how rockets actually function. “Using the simulation rocket app was […] enjoyable because I learnt how to fly the rocket and although I crashed it multiple times, I still managed to make it to the moon.”
NABU
CAS Strand: Service
Duration: summer
Founded in 1899, NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland or Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union in English) is one of the oldest and largest environmental associations in Germany. NABU's main objectives are the preservation of habitats and biodiversity, the promotion of sustainability in agriculture, forest management, and water supply and distribution, as well as to enhance the significance of nature conservation in our society.
Mrs. Sharifzadeh, who is in contact with Tino Westphal, the leader of NABU in Seeheim, offers CAS students the chance to participate in
various projects. Most of the undertakings take place during the weekend when students have time. These include cutting down trees, moving logs, mowing open fields, saving amphibians and much more.
This activity is great for students who are passionate about nature and animals, and eager to preserve the earth.
Volunteering at the Retirement Home
CAS Strand: Service
Duration: summer
Over the summer, Anna and Taehee, volunteered at the Altenzentrum (retirement home) in Seeheim.
Finding a CAS activity to undertake during the summer break may sound challenging, but in many cases, it only takes a quick search on the Internet to find many opportunities in the vicinity. In this case, all it took was an email from Taehee asking if it would be possible to volunteer over the summer.
Source: nextvenue.org
The activity essentially consists of keeping the residents in the home company. Whether it be playing board games with them, reading out loud, painting, going for a walk or simply talking with them. Bingo nights were particularly enjoyable. Despite some communication challenges due to the seniors only speaking German, there was a lot to learn through her eye-opening conversations with the retirees. Anna commented, “Talking with them about their lives was interesting as they experienced the Second World War, so I received first-hand accounts of what it was like during the Hitler regime, and the war, and the aftermath in general. Some of them even talked about their careers with me and gave me advice for my future.”
Volunteering at the retirement home is the perfect summer CAS activity as extra help is mostly required due to the staff going on holiday. Furthermore, the organisational process is simple, the people are kind and the times are very flexible. This means you can get your hours done over the days you want to, instead of doing it exactly over two weeks of your holiday.
This activity is also great because it ticks off the Global Engagement learning outcome, which is the most challenging one, as isolation and loneliness amongst the older generation is one of global issues. Spending quality time with elderly people helps to reduce social isolation and loneliness among them. As Anna added, “the activities you wouldn’t expect doing or or expect to be fun, end up being the most valuable experiences and are eye-openers.”
Relaxation Club
CAS Strand: Activity and Service
Duration: year round
This activity started a few years ago by Ms. Koniarski, head of the supervision. As she is a licensed and active yoga teacher, she suggested a program where students would learn yoga, Qigong, and other fascinating techniques.
Once students gain sufficient knowledge on some of the topics, they can start with basic yoga exercises. Not only is the practical aspect of this experience fun and beneficial, but the theory is
intriguing too. Some days, whole yoga sessions are conducted, while others, students continue learning more about the exercises. At the end of the lesson pupils feel relaxed and peaceful.
This activity is great for CAS as it encompasses Action and Service. Why Service? Because, after a few months of learning about yoga and meditation, it´s the students´ turn to go visit lower classes and teach them about relaxation. Younger pupils are introduced to the world of yoga and join in on the exercises.
Not only does this pursuit help achieve several learning objectives, most importantly it is a healthy and useful activity that allows students to grow as people. Two students who graduated in 2018-2019 reported that they still kept practicing yoga and meditation themselves, even after they were finished with school and CAS.
One of the current year 11 CAS students participating in the relaxation club reflects, “Personally, I enjoy the experience of having a time in our day, where we attempt to relax, forget about everything else that has been bothering us, and we stay in this peaceful state of mind for a few minutes. I enjoy this stress-free moment the most, and I can only tell others to try it as well. One gets to learn so much about yoga, and who knows, maybe you will like it so much that you wish to go forward with it too after school. I always look forward to our session and the new, exciting features we get to learn about.”
German Club
CAS Strand: Creativity and Service
Duration: year round
German club consists of a group of year 11´s, led by Mrs. Sharifzadeh, who help out younger students who struggle with German. This is done by playing games, watching videos, listening to German songs and several other activities. Help with homework is also offered.
This activity falls under the Creativity and Service strands of CAS. It involves creative thinking, as students must use their imagination to come up with new activities each week that are fun, engaging and formative for the younger year groups. The project counts towards Service because students assist others and share their knowledge.
Not only do the Y11 students interact with younger pupils, but German club CAS students also cooperate with each other in order to create and run the sessions, achieving the 5th learning objective: demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively. Marlene Averbeck, a year 11 CAS student and member of German Club states, “It´s really fun working with the students because they are really open to almost everything.”
Projects 2021 - 2023
The CAS News Writer project welcomed two students from the Class of 2024: Ylva Hoven and Emily Höcker. Here are highlights of some summer CAS projects as well as year round projects.
Bensheim Refugee Camp
CAS Strand: Creativity and Service
Duration: year round and summer
Many countries all over the world are facing extreme political conflict, economic crises and natural disaster that lead to the people having to escape their countries and seek shelters somewhere else safe. By providing short- and long-term shelters, Germany plays a role as a donor of humanitarian assistance.
Volunteering in a refugee camp can seem overwhelming and intimidating at first. But if you are determined to help people in need and open to being more active in your community, then this could be the perfect summer CAS for you.
There are many different jobs you can do at a refugee camp, such as helping in the kitchen, handing out food, cleaning, showing refugees around town, teaching German and even translating letters if you’re bilingual.
This is a perfect summer CAS as it covers all learning outcomes and also counts towards the service and activity strands. Depending on what tasks you participate in, it can even apply towards the creativity strand. This is an activity perfect for everybody. All you need to bring to the table is an open mind and a willingness to listen. You’ll receive a simple training at the start to prepare you for this great opportunity.
One student from the class of 2023 volunteered at the refugee camp in Bensheim for her summer CAS project. She mentioned how despite the challenges one can face with language barriers, this activity is very rewarding and insightful. She also mentioned that learning the stories of the fellow volunteers at the camp is also a great way to connect and make new friends. She enjoyed her Summer CAS so much, that she even continued it after the break.
By: Ylva Hoven, Class of 2024
SISS Alumni Club
CAS Strand: Creativity and Service
Duration: year round and summer
The alumni website was launched in December 2022. It was created not only to nourish the connection between the SISS and former students but also between SISS alumni themselves. The content of SISS alumni’s website, includes a list of links to IB study resources (e.g., past papers, video and podcast), locations of planned reunion events and information about former students’ study, gap year and career paths once they left school.
Creating the website was part of a CAS summer activity. Although it required a lot of work, the students enjoyed learning the basics of website development as a team. Every member had a different responsibility to create different features of the website.
Marlene recommends the Alumni Club to others because it allows for a lot of creative freedom and only has a few limits.
The Alumni Club covers creativity as well as service strands as the students maintain the home page by working on the posts, layout and design. Furthermore, they organise get together events for alumni. It also ticks six out of the seven learning objectives (developing new skills, initiate and plan a CAS experience, commitment and perseverance, working collaboratively, ethics of choice and action, global significance).
By: Emily Höcker,
Class of 2024
Volunteering at NABU
CAS Strand: Service
Duration: summer
Founded in 1899, NABU (Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union), is one of the largest nature conservation groups, with more than 875,000 members and supporters. It is aiming to spread awareness of the declining biodiversity and organises national and international projects to help preserve nature and protect the environment.
For a summer CAS activity, Marisa spent a week volunteering at NAJU (Naturschutzjugend im NABU), one of NABU’s national projects for young people in Seeheim. Her voluntary work was to take care of the NABU sheep which play a significant role in controlling the vegetation in the local area.
As part of her voluntary work, Marisa helped with trimming down part of the field, assembling an electric fence, building the shelter and herding the sheep from the old pasture to the new one. Her regular tasks included monitoring the well-being of the sheep by feeding them, refilling the water on a regular basis and making sure the fences were still standing. In addition, she had to treat the wounded sheep.
When asked about her voluntary work Marisa commented: “I hope that next year more students will be interested in the activity, especially since my supervisor, Mr Westphal told me that he was aiming to have a larger student group that would independently take care of the sheep, which would also be a great way to show responsibility.”
This CAS activity is a great way to engage in the local community as well as the environment around us. It covers the service strand and provides all learning objectives, especially global engagement. Volunteering at NABU is an interesting CAS activity for summer and one that can be continued throughout the year. You have a chance to meet new people as you work in a group, which of course also develops communication and teamwork skills. Although there could be a slight language barrier if you’ve just begun learning German, the people from NABU are open to try their best to communicate in English.
To join the NABU you can speak with Mrs Sharifzadeh who is in contact with Mr Timo Westphal who is responsible for the NABU in Seeheim.
By: Emily Höcker,
Class of 2024
Internships
Many people wish to be able to have some experience in a company or some knowledge about the work culture before entering the job market. A great way to gain this experience, especially for students, is by doing an internship. Not only do internships give a huge benefit for the future of anybody who participates, they are also great CAS activity as they cover most learning objectives, although this can vary from internship to internship, and are great Summer CAS activity for anybody interested.
CAS Strand: potentially a mixture of all three
Duration: summer
One student was intrigued by this prospect and applied for an internship at SAP over the summer. He had been looking for an internship for a while, and after some got cancelled due to Covid, he was finally able to participate in one at SAP (System Analysis Program Development). SAP is an international software engineering company that produces software for the management of business processes.
An internship at SAP is great for anybody, especially students interested in computer science and programming. During his internship, each day entailed a different theme, including Work at SAP, Introduction to Dual Studium at SAP, Java Crash Course and Developing an Android App.
Despite it being challenging at the start, due to the new work environment, he quickly adjusted. The internship was beyond his expectations, as he didn’t expect to develop his own app and make as many connections as he did. It was a very enjoyable experience as he was able to learn many new skills he didn’t have prior to the internship.
By: Ylva Hoven, Class of 2024