COMMUNITY SERVICE / CAS
CAS, Creativity, Action and Service, is one of 3 essential elements in every student’s Diploma Programme. CAS enables students to enhance their personal and interpersonal learning through experiential learning while counterbalancing their academic programme. Every student will have different goals and will approach the CAS activities differently.
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CAS students have helped several local organizations in various projects, namely:
Projects run by ISF in aid of:
Masuku Tree of Life (Malawi)
Tanzania Project
International School of Florence 2012/2013
9th and 10th Grade Community Service
Community Service is aimed at 9th and 10th Grade and coordinated by Ms N.Vieillard. This is a compulsory component of the High School program and each student must complete 30 hours per year. Community Service is a pre-requisite for the more challenging CAS requirement required in the IB diploma program. Please see the parent letter on the schoolwebsite for more detailed information on Community Service.
Purpose
The purpose of the 9th and 10th grade Community Service is to encourage and enable you to learn by doing hands-on tasks that have real consequences for the community, and then reflecting on these experiences over time. Community Service serves as training for the more challenging CAS requirement that you will need to complete in 11th and 12th grades.
As you carry out Community Service work you should not simply be thinking of it as “accumulating hours” or “scoring points”. You should find your community Service activities interesting, worthwhile, and beneficial to yourself and the community.
You are NOT fulfilling the purpose of Community Service if you are:
Playing a passive role while doing your activity.
Accepting money for the activity that you do.
Helping a member of your family.
Doing an activity without a leader or responsible adult to evaluate you.
Requirements
You need to complete a minimum of 30 hours of service in 9th grade, and a minimum of 30 hours of service in 10th grade. All service ideas must be discussed with Mrs. Vieillard prior to beginning the activity. All authorized service must be logged in your journal and signed by a leader or responsible adult. Your journal must be turned in to Mrs. Vieillard at the end of each trimester, so that completed hours of service can be recorded on your report card. If you do not turn in your journal, you have not fulfilled the 30 hour requirement. Students who fail to complete the required number of hours of Community Service will not be awarded the ISF High School Diploma.
While the majority of the service will be completed outside of the school community, there will be some service opportunities within the school community:
Recycling programs
PTA sponsored events (Winterfest, Bazaar, etc.)
School grounds – clean up
Yearbook class
Student Council
Green Team
Assisting with extra-curricular activities
Peer tutoring
Community Services gives the opportunity to break down some of the barriers between us and our host community, and, above all, the chance to serve others less fortunate than ourselves. You may wish to volunteer your services in a home for the elderly, or for disabled children, fundraising for Corri La Vita, participate to Angelo per un Giorno or join a group of students in cleaning up the city with Lega Ambiente. You can be actively involved with international service organizations such as UNICEF, WWF, Amnesty International, Green Peace, etc. There are many options for you to do your part in the community.
You may also create your own community service project, so long as it has been approved by Mrs. Vieillard, and can be evaluated.
Information
Please check regularly the notice board in reception and sign up for an activity in which you are sure to participate.
Events to come:
Dynamo Dinner: 26th September
Corri la Vita: 30thSeptember
Nathalie Vieillard
Community Service Coordinator.