Community, Action and Service is an integral part of the IB MYP and DP curriculum. It combines meaningful experiences with learning. It embraces unpaid work performed to assist a community group or non-profit organization in their tasks to improve community life as well as encouraging a number of creative and physical activities. The platform in which the students develop their CAS experiences can be within their school community, local community and/or regional/global network.
At VSA, through Community, Action and Service, we aim to develop our students to become:
Open-minded
To understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities; and to be accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and be willing to grow from the experience.
Caring
To show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others; and to have a personal commitment to service and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
Balanced
To understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
Reflective
To give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience; to be able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
Community & Service at VSA embraces three core elements:
- Continuity – students understand their roles and responsibilities in the communities in which they live; they persevere to take part in steady and continued services activities so that they will further build on the sense of connectedness between themselves and their communities.
- Involvement – students find out the needs of the recipients of the service, then plan for the most apposite actions which lead to eventual personal investment of time and energy.
- Reflection – students identify areas where improvement is needed and spur on to more effective action in the future.
