Community service is a fundamental part of being at BSGE. Students need 100 hours from 7th grade to the end of 10th grade (even if they start in 9th grade), but it can be challenging to find a place to start. In addition, students in the IB program need 150 total CAS hours, with at least 20 being in each category (creativity, activity, service).
A lot of clubs provide community service hours, such as BaccRag and Helping Hands, which is a good place to start, as it is within the school. Margaret, the parent coordinator, also emails community service opportunities and other programs on the online bulletin boards.
There are also many opportunities outside of school. An anonymous student mentioned they got their hours through tutoring at a summer program. They said ,”It took me 2 months, and I volunteered each week for about 25 hours.” They were able to get this opportunity through the tutoring program they attended.
Another student, who also completed their hours in about 2 months, told us, “I worked at a nursing home to take care of the elderly for some time.” They worked 3 days a week for a while, then started working every weekday. They mentioned that he found this opportunity because, “I live in an apartment, and they had posters on a wall to let people know what’s going on in the community, and they had an opportunity for volunteers there.” So if you have anything similar in your apartment, it may be useful to look at it once in a while.
Although community service hours are important, a lot of students forget some crucial steps to getting your hours counted. Students need to fill out a reflection form regarding their community service hours experiences including notes and a signature from the supervisor of their activity.
The document for the reflection form can be found under the Student Resources section of the BSGE website. You can be directed there by clicking the Student Resources button under the Quick Links section of the homepage. You can also find paper copies in Peter Wilson’s office. In addition to the reflection form, a letter from a supervisor of the activity is needed. Then the hours can be turned in or emailed to Peter Wilson to be counted.
With that being said, CAS is a fundamental part of the IB program that contributes to a number of hours of service you have completed. Again, IB provides three categories – creativity, activity, and service hours. As mentioned above, BSGE provides clubs that can help you reach your requirements for the CAS part of the IB program.
Starting with creativity, clubs such as Robotics, Girls Who Code, and even the Math Club can provide you with those specific hours. Outside of school, students can create and document projects like art projects to portray creativity. Creativity hours help students understand the importance of critical thinking to devise their own phenomenon.
Moving to activity, sports teams (soccer, basketball, and softball) encourage you to experience a plentiful amount of physical activity, thus providing your activity hours. Disregarding school clubs/sports teams, students can provide physical exercises contributing to a healthy lifestyle, or complementing academic work elsewhere in the DP.
Last but not least, service hours. BSGE provides a surplus of clubs that contribute to service. Those being Helpings Hands with its amazing sub-committees (UNICEF, RED CROSS, RED, and many more). If school clubs for service hours is not your thing, no worries! You can always look around your community to find opportunities to help out, like a church or a healthcare center.
Anywhere in high school, you will end up running into some sort of requirement of needing to do community service hours. Some may like it, some may not, but do not take this time for granted. Many people learn about different things as they build upon their hours.
At BSGE, many students take the time to reflect on what their time spent on community service and how it has helped them, the people around them, and what it means for everyone else. BSGE provides many opportunities for students to achieve the accomplishments that this school sets them up for.
