Creativity, Activity and Service on the agenda at Montgomery International School

The Creativity Activity Service (CAS) Programme is an essential part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in the last two years of secondary school. It provides students with opportunities to express themselves and to develop different aspects of their character in order to grow as individuals and to undertake their university studies with a mature approach. 

“CAS is a compulsory component of the IB programme, which offers students room to explore Activity, Creativity and Service, outside of the school curriculum.” - Arthur DP2

“CAS is an opportunity for IB students to enrich their skills, and contribute to their community.” - Sven DP1

Through different experiences, students need to get out of their comfort zone and show interest in local and global issues while staying healthy and active. It is a lot of work but it’s meant to be a lot of fun too.

Margot, our CAS coordinator leads the programme and encourages the students to try new things and to put their big ideas into action. She also initiated some activities herself to lead by example. For instance, she took a group of our DP students to the Climate Walk which took place in Brussels, on October 10th.

CREATIVITY 

Creativity includes all experiences in which students get to express themselves through an artistic way: they can paint, sing, learn to play instruments or learn new languages. Some students learn to cook while others prefer to take drawing lessons for example.

While the students have completed many impressive projects, the most outstanding creative one so far has been Jules’. This is a student who designed and painted a mural in which he drew what EIM represents to him. This is a beautiful tribute to our school and a great addition to our Broqueville campus where the whole community can enjoy his art project.

ACTIVITY

Studying takes a lot of time and energy and the students sometimes forget that they need to take care of their mental and physical health as well. This is where the A in CAS plays out as students need to take on experiences and projects that allow them to “move”. Some students join gyms, others play basketball or run… There are as many different ideas as there are students.This year, one of our students, Konstantin, took on the challenge of running the 20 km of Brussels. We couldn’t be more proud. We hope to see more students join him in this challenge next year. Last year, a student also sponsored a semi-marathon in Brussels, and the funds raised were donated to a non-profit organisation in Moldavia. 

Moreover, students and teachers organise regular sport activities during lunch times or after school in which our whole community enjoys some healthy competition.

SERVICE

The IB prides itself on helping students become caring, risk-takers, principled and balanced citizens. This can be achieved through service as it gives students opportunities to get involved in different projects that they are passionate about. We organize food donations for charities, students contact and invite guest lecturers to speak about different topics of global importance. Many of our students decide to give back to the school by helping keep the courtyard clean of leaves, organizing activities for younger students or helping in the library.

At EIM, the community and the relationship between our younger and older students is very important. For this reason, we encourage DP students to help and tutor our PYP students. It is beneficial to both parties: they learn and develop different skills while getting to know each other.

One of the biggest service projects was led by our student Paolo, who organized a day for the secondary school students with the purpose of raising awareness about autism. He organised a day with group activities such as debates, discussions and meetings with experts in the field.

Our DP students put a lot of effort into their CAS programme. They all have ideas and slowly but surely advance in their various projects while being more and more organized and engaged, which is ultimately our aim. 

“CAS is a mandatory part of the IB diploma, it gives many opportunities for growth; both on an academic and personal level” - Samori DP1

In conclusion, the CAS Programme is a fun part of the IB education as it provides different opportunities for the students to develop their skills while affirming their values, personalities and finding out who they are as individuals in today’s society.