Who am I and what the hell is CAS

Hi there

My name is Soraya Jayne McGinley, Ray for short.

I am Australian, I have a pet turtle named Candy and I have really curly hair.

Perhaps something more important you should know about me though, is that I am currently undertaking the international baccalaureate diploma program.

I started the program in the February of 2013 at Narrabundah College in Canberra, Australia. After completing my first year of the diploma there, I transferred to the Overseas School of Colombo in Sri Lanka (dad got a fancy job offering) where I will be completing my second year and finally graduating... YAY

This blog gives a super detailed account of what I did for the C.A.S component of my diploma. Now, what the hell does C.A.S mean you ask? Well, scroll down and I'll explain

C.A.S, or "Creativity, action and service" is a fundamental part of the international baccalaureate diploma program. The international baccalaureate (IB is a lot easier to type) is a non-profit educational organisation with the mission to "develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect." Whilst it of course has a strong academic focus, it also understands the importance of developing global awareness and the importance of life outside of the school walls. C.A.S is a program which aims for students to develop such things and to achieve the following eight learning outcomes:

To have increased awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth

To have undertaken new challenges

To have planned and initiated activities

To have worked collaboratively with others

To have shown perseverance and commitment

To have engaged with issues of global importance

To have considered ethical implications

To have developed new skills

The creativity aspect of the program pushes students to undertake a broad range of activities which promote creative thinking. Such activities should give students opportunities to express themselves and to bring to life their own original ideas.

Action simply requires the student to be getting out and participating in different forms of physical exercise, which is essential for maintaining good health and a positive well being.

Service involves the student going out and making meaningful contributions in a community- these communities may be local, national or even international. In doing this, students will develop their social skills and learn valuable life lessons.

I completed my C.A.S gradually over the course of the two year diploma, despite the timing of the uploads on this blog which may say otherwise. At Narrabundah college (remember, where I completed my first year...) C.A.S activates were recorded on a private school database whereas my new school here in Colombo has opted for us to upload our C.A.S activates onto a public blog. So, long story short, all of the activities I completed in my first year weren't uploaded until my second, which is why the dates in each of these posts won't match up with the date of the post upload... Just thought I should let you know.

I hope you somewhat enjoy reading through all my adventures... because I put heaps of time into this. I mean heaps.

xx