CAS Trips started with a clear and personal mission. As a team of experienced IB Educators, travel experts, and experiential learning enthusiasts — we set out to challenge the status quo of educational travel and offer truly unique school trips.
Inspired by the multifaceted curriculum of the IB program, we wanted to find unique and impactful ways to realize the 7 Learning Outcomes and create conditions conducive to helping students cultivate the attributes of the IB Learner Profile. From building global student conferences, developing relationships in our host communities, navigating the challenges of the pandemic, and taking sustainability seriously, we have always sought to out-do ourselves and give students and educators the type of eye-opening experience that we believe they deserve.
As we embark on another exciting academic year full of learning and travel, here are a few of the ways we differentiate ourselves from other school trip operators.
We work hard to bring CAS to life
We have witnessed the transformative potential of CAS and want to give every student the opportunity to experience its magic. Informed by IB pedagogy, we have created CAS experiences that immerse in local culture, engage with social issues and actively challenge students in the categories of Creativity, Activity and Service.
We aim to push students out of their comfort zones and prove how and why CAS can be meaningful and fun simultaneously. This includes exposing students to a wide breadth of activities and organizations so that they can find something that speaks to them as individuals and providing ample inspiration when pursuing a CAS Project that can have a significant and long-term impact.
We are committed to tapping into the full potential of Service Learning
Service Learning is the vital component that makes CAS the powerful tool that it is. We have continually collaborated with the top thinkers and experts in the field to innovate our approach to Service Learning and ensure that we strike the right balance to achieve maximum benefit for all parties. It is vital that Service opportunities have a reciprocal benefit for students and the community.
In urban destinations, we partner with grassroots NGOs and charity organizations to give students a taste of exciting, hands-on volunteering. In developing countries, we follow a Community-Led Service model.
We believe in the power of reflection
Reflection is a fundamental pillar of CAS and is a big part of what allows the benefits it offers to be internalized and have an impact in the future. That said, creating meaningful, creative reflections is not always a straightforward process for students.
Therefore, every CAS Trip involves a Reflections Challenge and an on-trip Workshop in which students must use multimedia to reflect before, during and after their trip to demonstrate that reflection can be fun and easy.
We know that our trips are just the beginning
Whether a two-day or two-week journey, we aim to make each trip a highly memorable and inspiring experience for students. Beyond the travel itself, though, we incorporate elements into the itinerary that will continue giving back to students long after they have returned home. For example, our on-trip CAS Project Challenge Workshop ensures student impact continues into the future.
Using the 5 Stages of CAS, small teams of students use their on-trip experiences and the UN SDGs as a lens to investigate and plan a self-initiated CAS Project to be implemented back home: Think Global, Act Local.
Sustainability is the cornerstone of everything we do
Last but certainly not least, we take sustainability seriously. Although a commitment to protecting our planet and the wonderfully diverse communities that make it so unique has always been central to our mission, we have realized over the last several years that we need to go one step further.
Our Service Learning approach and IB-focused methodology naturally put sustainability at the forefront of our trips. It continues to grow in importance as we aim to create a greater local impact through local actions.
Ready to start travel planning a student trip? Check out our destinations here and email us at info@castrips.org for travel inspiration and planning assistance.
