As the new school year gets into full swing, the junior class is diving headfirst into one of the most unique and challenging aspects of the IB Diploma Program: Creativity, Activity, Service, or CAS. This marks the start of an adventure that goes beyond textbooks, essays, and exams. CAS is about stepping out of students’ comfort zones, exploring new interests, and making a difference in their communities. All while figuring out how to balance it with everything else IB throws at students. 

Students are able to mark down activities of CAS through a website called Manage Bac. Manage Bac makes it simple and convenient for students to be able to thoroughly explain the act of creativity, activity or service. In general, Manage Bac holds lots of resources for IB related activities which will be used a lot during Junior and Senior year. Throughout anytime after marking down an activity students are allowed to go back and reflect on experiences as many times as you want to. This sort of journaling helps students reflect on their experiences and activities in their busy daily lives which can be easy to overlook. Even though CAS is a required aspect of the IB Diploma Program it also allows students to reflect deeper on personal experiences which have shaped the community around them. 

At first, the idea of CAS can feel a little overwhelming. After all, it’s not just one project. Rather,  it’s a series of experiences that have to check all the boxes of creativity, activity, and service. It’s easy to see why many of us juniors are approaching it with a mix of excitement and nervousness because of the challenging multifaceted curriculum of IB.