Allison's CAS Blog

  How can we make CAS more relevant to the real world?  I think CAS can be encouraged to be more relevant to the real world by incorporating activities the IB group as a whole can do that contributes to the CAS experience. We got a few opportunities to do this last year, but as senior year rolled around, group IB CAS experiences occurred less frequently. How can you better support an IB student through the program? You have done a wonderful job supporting our group as IB seniors, especially since we are going through a lot of changes in our lives with graduation and college coming up. I think the only support that we are looking for is just some motivation or assistance in our future lives beyond IB. How to prepare future IB diploma candidates with the requirements of CAS? You have done a great job of keeping us on track with our blogs! The only thing I can think of is to ultimately tell them that this should not be an additional weight that they should significantly worry abo...

  As my CAS Project came to a close, it concluded a little over a month ago, I have allowed myself some time to reflect on my experience regarding the planning process and the implications of what led to my final results. It is safe to say that I am nothing short of proud of this project and I have the hope that it will continue on through a rising senior or another member of a club who hopes to provide the school with exposure to a clothing drive. My vision for this project was not only to develop a space where the students of Carrollton High School could shop from each other’s clothes that have no longer been used but to also provide clothing for people who may need extra items that they lack. Looking back, I admire the period leading up to the week of the project. I sought out all of the steps needed to continue the development of the project and had several planning days with just me and my trusty computer. I made connections with people and resources who were crucial in t...

 Now that it is past the halfway mark for my CAS progress, I'd say that it's time for a progress check regarding the development of the project. Starting on March 1st, I made many fliers for my project and posted them around the school along with the service project that the Environmental Club is conducting called EcoSneakers. As a refresher, these products are intended to help those who have clothing needs and are lacking resources for clothing. I know many students at Carrollton High School would love the opportunity to explore what clothing options other students have to offer, so I took it upon myself to host this clothing drive. I started collecting clothes on March 4th and will continue to collect until this Friday, March 22nd. There has been a great clothing turnout collectively given by students as well as teachers. I love seeing everyone come together to help this great cause of giving those in need clothing to one another. I met with Mrs. Cochran, the PASS specialist ...

The planning process for my CAS Project has been eye-opening yet stressful. Thinking about this project ever since my junior year of high school, it is really cool to see it come to life. I know that there are many steps to be taken to complete this project, therefore, I have listed out the things that I need to do to make it worthwhile. In order to come to the conclusion that I wanted to fulfill a clothing drive as a CAS project, there was a lot of thinking about what I could do to set this into motion. Because I had a lot of schoolwork during the first semester of my senior year, I found it best to push my project back to the second semester. I didn't expect it to be this late in the year, but there are a lot of IB final deadlines that I have to dedicate my time to.  During winter break, I had a meeting with myself to complete a checklist for my CAS project. I know that I have a lot ahead of me, but I have completed what I need to do to keep my schedule on track. I have narrowed ...

On the morning of the Sadie Hawkins dance, my church, First Baptist Church Carrollton, hosted a Rise Against Hunger event that is community-wide. I usually like to go to this event alone and can get service hours for the amount of time I've spent volunteering. Rise Against Hunger is a non-profit organization that involves packaging food and distributing it to help people around the world. Most countries that receive this food are still developing and need assistance concerning food and nutrition. Their main goals are to advocate, educate, and mandate food security all around the globe.  This relates to my blog because my Sadies date, my friend, and I wanted to go before Sadies as a kind of icebreaker before the night began. We met that morning at my church and were immediately put to work by the church staff who were also volunteering. We were assigned to make boxes for the food to be packaged in. This sounds a little boring, but it left room for conversation. All three of us talke...

  January 24th was my most recent Student Advisory Council meeting with the Georgia State Superintendent of Schools. Our first meeting, which was held back in November, consisted of a few icebreakers to get to know one another and a brief Q&A with Richard Woods as well as organizations asking for our input on different school policies such as the Student Health Survey. That meeting made me really excited for the next meeting. My previous blog was about my anticipation and preparation for the meeting that was just held last week. That preparation was incredibly useful and allowed me to come to the meeting with confidence.  On that Wednesday morning, I met another friend of 3 that I have gotten close to in all. Her name is Hannah and we hit it off really well. She is a junior who is a basketball cheerleader. We asked each other questions about our plans for college and for our service project. Her service project has to deal with helping students from low-income families wit...

  On Wednesday, I have another Student Advisory Council meeting. As mentioned previously in one of my blogs, to be a member of this council means taking on great responsibility. The introductory meeting took place on November 9th, where there were a lot of icebreakers and activities for us to get to know one another. Now that we have gotten the hang of what it takes to be a member and to know one another, they put us to work and asked for our opinions on different things the Georgia Board of Education was willing to implement. Things such as a video on mental health, questions that are on the student safety survey, and Georgia Futures scholarships were brought to our attention. I really enjoyed this because it allowed me to gain a voice for my peers at Carrollton High School and to advocate for what is best for our students.  At this moment, I am preparing for the next meeting for whatever it may intail. It was very important last meeting that we as members come up with a serv...

  As the new year begins and everyone decides to make their resolutions, it's hard to understand why everyone waits until January 1st to start taking control of of their life. Though knowing the reason why most people do this can be difficult, I have fell victim to this lifestyle as well. Seeing everyone have the "perfect" lifestyle on TikTok and Instagram often makes me feel insecure about my normal tendencies in my daily life. If I see one more "Day in the life" TikTok where the picture-perfect girl takes her resolutions and make them come to life my head might explode. Usually, I tend to spend the last week of December eating junk food, falling behind on my chores, and waking up late as if it makes me feel even better on January 1st when I actually act like a decend human being. However, now that I have "control" over my life, here is what I've decided my 2024's going to look like.  Starting with a journal entry, I reflected on my 2023 and l...

  As the holiday season rolls around, the different clubs at school have different ways of celebrating! As for Serteen, a club that encourages students to develop relationships with the special education students at Carrollton High School, many holiday parties are held throughout the year. This year, they had a Christmas party that encouraged all club members to attend so they could bond with their buddies. It was held during fourth block on the last Thursday of the semester and was in Coach Harper's room filled with all of the students in the special education and CBI -- collaborative-based instruction-- classes.  At the start of the party, I gave my gifts to my buddy, Dakota, who loves and is appreciative of everything he receives! He is filled with utmost joy and happiness when Christmas time rolls around and loves to talk with everyone who is around him. I've had the joy to get to know him and his wonderful personality and it really showed during this party. He loved cooki...

  Since the fall of 2020, my sister has been an NYU student and is now in her senior year of college! In the duration that she's been living in New York, I've visited her 4 times with my family, yet I never went by myself to visit her. My family and I decided that it was time to go visit her alone! As someone who has a minor fear of flying and traveling alone, I took this opportunity as a sign that this would give me great insight into what life would be like in college. This past weekend, I had a wonderful experience given by my sister of what life would be like as a student at NYU! Preparing for the travel date, I was super nervous yet anticipant of what was to come! I knew that the weekend ahead of me would be wonderful and full of newly made memories, so that made me excited for the flight. This allowed me to push past my fears of getting on a flight by myself! It turned out to be an incredibly smooth flight and I got there safely--after delays of course. The days were spen...

  In the middle of August, I applied to be a member of state superintendent Richard Woods' Student Advisory Council! Each year, there is a new student council that helps the superintendent create decisions for the betterment of the Georgia Department of Education. The application consisted of questions that asked us about what we would contribute as a member and what problems we see within the educational system. I decided to talk about the lack of diversity within higher-level classes such as AP and IB and the recent obsession with STEM programs instead of English and History subjects and how it affects a student's ability to communicate with others. At the end of September, I was notified that I was 1 out of 69 students who were chosen for the council!  Nearly two Thursdays ago, I had to travel to Atlanta to the Georgia Department of Education building that held the meeting we were all supposed to be in attendance for. The first thing on the agenda was to get breakfast which...

  This past Saturday, I chose to spend my day volunteering with the Serteen Club at Carrollton High School at the Miss Sparkle Pageant: a pageant that contains the special needs community throughout Carrollton. There are Little Miss, Junior Miss, Teen Miss, and Miss categories which separate the girls into four groups. Within their group, they are judged by about ten judges and are each crowned and given a flower at the end of the ceremony. However, there will be one winner throughout each category. Sometime during the pageant, each girl is escorted by a male member and given a description of who they are and their interests. This whole day was a huge learning experience on my part, but it is one experience I will never get tired of sharing.  At 12:00 p.m. all of the volunteers arrived to help welcome the girls, sign them in, and hang up their dresses so they could attend the pageant rehearsal. While they rehearsed, volunteers continued their role of welcoming contenders. Afte...

    Starting at the beginning of October, I began the college application process for early admissions. At first, I was at a loss. What colleges should I apply to? How should I manage my time? How many essays should I prepare for? While all of these questions were up in the air, my procrastination was at a high. When I am overwhelmed with certain elements of school work, my first response is to go on TikTok. Despite this, I managed to get out of that hole and begin the rigorous process of college applications.     After visiting Northwestern, Michigan, and Indiana during the summer, I added those to my Common App application as well as a few others that I didn't visit such as the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley. Each of the applications has aspects that are specific to the university, however, Common App has made it extremely easy and accessible to enter my information and background. Entering data about myself and my educational status is the least ...

  I had two back-to-back events a few Saturdays ago: the Key Club pumpkin patch setup and the Carrollton Pride event. I've been anticipating this Saturday for a while now and am excited to share it. First of all, to acquire the Key Club metal for graduation, I have to attend at least three events. This year, I've attended the pumpkin patch event and expect to attend the Out of the Darkness Walk to Fight Suicide and the Dig in the Dirt event. I love all of these events dearly and have no hesitation when it comes to signing up for them.  This specific Saturday was the pumpkin patch event where Key Club members met at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church to set up their pumpkin fundraiser. While a big truck is parked right beside the church, many church and club members grab pumpkins from the truck and form an assembly line so the pumpkins from the truck can go into a wheelbarrow. After they are placed in the wheelbarrows, we roll them over to where the pumpkins will be placed. My ...

  How has my senior year homecoming at Carrollton High School already come and gone? Each year, homecoming is what I love the most. The parade, homecoming court, celebrations, and donations are so much fun to partake in. This year, the senior class float's theme was "Under the Sea." We all did our best to ensure the float could turn out the best it could've looked! Our teachers, parents, and classmates loved the float!  Freshman and Junior year, I was a member of Carrollton High School's homecoming court and loved every second of it! This year, I was voted as the environmental sweetheart. I was super excited about this opportunity because I have never had the experience of being a sweetheart before! There are only a few differences between homecoming court and sweetheart. The first one is that you're representing only one club instead of the school's plethora of activities.  Sweethearts also buy two dresses, like the homecoming court, but walk during pre-g...

  As many people know, Homecoming in Carrollton, Georgia is one of my favorite times of the year. The numerous activities, events, and costumes set the week up to be incredibly exciting and fun for all the schools on campus! One of my favorite things is how we donate self-care items such as body soap, baby wipes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toilet paper, and much more to centers that need it the most. However, in order for all of these things to happen, all of the schools need to participate, and what better way to let high school kids get in touch with elementary school kids than to be on the broadcast?  Each class at the high school pairs up with grades at the lower schools and in this case, Seniors have paired with the second and third grade students at Carrollton Elementary School. We needed to spread the word to teachers, students, and parents as early as possible so they could know when and what items to bring. Our class president, Ramsey Sullivan, took it upon himself to ...

  Around May of last year, my dad and step-mom announced their pregnancy with my third youngest brother. As of now, I have one older sister and three younger brothers. I was initally so shocked when they delivered the news because this was 7 years after my second younger brother was born and my step mom has had procedures done to where it is not safe to have another baby. Flash forward a year and a half later and my little brother, Matthew, is now one-years-old! We found out about the baby in May while Tara, my step mom, was four months along. She thought it was early menopause and was confused of why her body was doing different things that it hasn't done in 7 years. A pregnancy explained a lot of those implications. He had a due date of late October but he decided to make his presence known on September 9th, 2022.  Matthew has been the sunshine that brightened up our lives ever since his birth. He has brightened up the day of everyone he has encountered and gives a big smile...

  As a former member of the Carrollton volleyball team for 3 years, it has been difficult to bring me back to watch a game. I started playing club volleyball for West Georgia Volleyball Association around 2018 and concluded my time in 2021. I played volleyball at Carrollton in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade. I loved so many things about it! I've gotten to travel to different places, make new friends, and become a better me all thanks to volleyball! However, there were some aspects that were not worth continuing my identity as a volleyball player. There were many different things that led me to quit volleyball such as coaches, environments, and circumstances. My junior high coach, Coach Passmore, was a tough cookie to crack. She scared us all. She eventually made us run every practice until girls started passing out! I learned that she needed communication from her girls. I decided to take initiative and speak for all of us when I asked to talk to her after practice one day. I wanted ...

      Midnight on a wonderful (sleepy) Monday, my dad and I departed Carrollton to embark on an eight-or-so-hour drive to Bloomington, Indiana to tour the University of Indiana. The day started with an information seminar led by two of the admissions office staff. Videos were shown and really great points were made by these instructors which made all of my questions answered! Already I am excited to jump to the next step of our visit after the wonderful first impression they have given my dad and me. During the campus tour, our guide, Ada, gave a history run down on each of the buildings and gave great insight into what student life would look like during a college student's stay at Indiana University. At the conclusion of the tour, my dad and I took it upon ourselves to do some exploring and during that time we found the gym, a dorm showroom, and other dining halls! My favorite part was looking at the wonderful architecture around the campus. One of the buildings that wa...

  Growing up, I have the fondest memories of attending vacation bible school at my home church. First Baptist Church Carrollton has always given me the love and care I've needed. The people and the environment has allowed me to grasp as much knowledge as I could grasp whether it was during children's church, Sunday school, Wednesday nights, youth camps, or vacation bible school. Every year, I had to know when the next VBS was held so I could look forward to the fun activities and stories my church would share during that week-long period. Before recent years, I used to say it was the best week of the whole year! Eventually, the time came to an end when I could attend vacation bible school as a student. On the bright side, my church allows youth members to teach and assist bible study leaders during preparations as well as the official week. I immediately jumped on that opportunity! I started helping out in 7th grade when I was the helper for a group of kindergarten through firs...