ADVISORY PROJECT GUIDE for Super Project leaders
Expectations:
All students in the advisory should be actively involved in the preparation of the project and
attend at least one project day.
Super Project leaders must be involved throughout the year in all stages of the project. Each
Super Project leader must organize and attend a minimum of at least three project visits.
The CAS coordinators can answer any questions about minimum expectations.
General Calendar
Before September 6: Choose to continue the same project from last year or choose a focus
area/area of interest. Add the advisory project as an activity on the CAS Manager.
If you are not continuing the same project as last year, then as an advisory group discuss
your options and try to find a common area of interest.
Potential focus areas: Environmental, Elderly, Children in Need, Handicapped, Homelessness,
Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Inclusion, etc.
CAS Manager
Once your advisory group has chosen their advisory project or focus area, log your project in
CAS Manager
Activity name: Advisory project: Your organization or your focus area
Is this a CAS project: Do not check this box unless you are using this as your Super Project
Hours: 10 for Creativity, 10 Service (This can be adjusted up or down at a later date if
necessary)
Supervisor Details: Please complete details for your advisor
Activity Description: Write a brief description indication that you will be participating in a
year-long project focused on XXXXXX (your organization or focus area)
Learning outcomes: Please check the learning outcomes you think your project will achieve
(You must choose “planned and initiated activities” as one of your outcomes)
Remember to click ‘add CAS activity’
Click on add new reflection: Write a reflection about why the project interests you and
your initial ideas.
September: Research your advisory project, meet the organization (if appropriate) and
set the project dates
Research
Even if your advisory is continuing with the same project as the previous year, remind
yourselves about the organization you are working with by doing some research. What does
the organization do? What services does the organization provide? How is it funded? What
did your advisory do last year that worked well? What did your advisory do last year that
could be improved upon? Do you want to make any changes to how the project is run? If
yes, how and why? Etc. Record all of the research questions and answers as a reflection on
CAS Manager.
If you are working with another advisory, be sure to do the research and planning together.
You will be working together for the whole year and so it is important to start doing so from
the very beginning of the year.
If you are taking over a project from another advisor, talk to the other advisory to ask them
about their experience and what worked or did not work. Use the questions above as a
guide line.
If you are starting a new project, decide as a group what research you will need to do to
ensure that your activities provide a real benefit to the focus area that you are working on.
• What are the problems?
• What is the impact of the problem in the school community? In the local
community? In the global community?
• What is already in place?
• What has been tried before?
How could you find the answers to these questions?
• Contacting people or organizations working in that area
• Talking with advisories who have or have had projects in that area
• Interviewing key people in that area
• Surveys
• Literature
• Statistics
Distribute the research tasks amongst the advisory students and put the research into a
Power Point presentation that will be shared with the other advisories in October.
Remember to set a deadline for all students to have their slide ready.
Brainstorm what you plan to do as an advisory throughout the year. For example, monthly
visits, a food or clothes drive, a special party around the holidays, an awareness campaign,
inviting a visiting speaker, informing the High School about a specific campaign, an art
exhibit, etc. Remember that all of your ideas should be linked to the advisory project and
develop the project in some way. Include your plans in your Power Point.
For an example, see Kattenberg Krafts
CAS Manager
Add a new reflection of the research that your advisory has done. Upload the advisory
presentation to CAS Manager and comment on how you contributed to the research.
Meeting the organization
If your advisory is working with an organization, then you might need to visit the location
and meet the supervisor on site before you start your regular visits. The CAS coordinators
will help schedule the initial meeting. Usually, the meeting will be attended by the Super
Project leaders, the CAS coordinator(s) and/or the advisor. The Super Project leaders are
expected to attend. This meeting is MANDATORY.
Before the meeting, write down some questions and some possible dates (bring an ISB
calendar). This meeting can help you with your research. Bring your camera so that you can
take photos of the outside of the building for the information sheet that you will need to put
together.
Project dates
Depending on the type of project you have, your advisory might be having monthly project
dates or a minimum of three project dates throughout the year. The project is a year-long
commitment and the calendar dates your advisory chooses should reflect this. Exceptions
include the Cake Auction and Special Olympics, as they culminate in a large, one day event.
1. Make a list of proposed project dates, remembering conflicts from holidays, sports,
etc. Confirm at least the first project date and inform your advisor and CAS
coordinator. We expect all projects to be starting by latest October 1.
2. Upload your list of dates (indicating if they are confirmed or tentative) to your
Google docs page for your advisory project. Your CAS coordinator shared the page
with all the Super Project leaders for your project.
For an example, see le Clos
October: Write an information sheet for your advisory project (if appropriate)
Put together the practical information for your organization into a document that you share
with the advisory, your advisor and the CAS coordinator. The document should include:
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contact information for the organization (address and telephone number)
a map showing where it is located
what public transport to take and what stop to get off at
a photo of the outside of the building
contact information of all of the Super Project leaders (email addresses and mobile
phone numbers)
the meeting time and length of the visit (if it is the same each time)
other necessary reminders (if needed)
For an example see Mother Theresa
October – June: Work on your advisory project and write a reflection at least once a
month. Each Super Project leader must be involved in the organization of the project days
Before each project day confirm:
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that the organization is expecting you
the list of attending students
the meeting point
the meeting time
contact information – get the mobile number of each student attending and give
them your telephone number
copy the CAS coordinator and your advisor in the reminder email you send to all
participating students and include any other necessary information (how to dress,
how long to plan to stay, etc.)
you can resend the information sheet as part of the reminder email. Make sure that
it is correct for the project date you are organizing
Reflections:
Reflections may be written journals, photos, uploaded documents, emails, links to videos,
etc. Include evidence of organizing by uploading emails about the project dates, calendars,
etc. Take photos of what you are doing during the project days. You can use the photos as
parts of reflections and also for an article on the CAS blog.
In your reflection, describe what you did, talk about the outcomes you thought about and
detail what you learned to help improve the next visit.
A student example:
From the first experience I had at the soup kitchen, many things have to be taken into consideration
for the trip I will organize:
- It is very important to check with the nuns to know the number of people that will already be helping
so the kitchen isn't too crowded, hence reducing efficiency.
- Assure that there is at least 1 French speaker accompanying, so that he can translate orders given
by the nuns and helpers.
- Assure that the people attending are ready to serve ALL kinds of people.
- Also the meeting point should be set to inside the actual kitchen, as it is quite cold outside and the
nuns always have something to have you do.
- Warn the advisory at least 2 weeks before the date of the trip to the soup kitchen so the members
have time to organize themselves.
January: Feedback to advisories on the progress of the advisory project
The Super Project leaders need to organize a short presentation about what the advisory
project has achieved so far and what the plans are until the end of the year. A Power Point
will help the Super Project leaders plan what they are going to say and can include photos of
the project days that have already happened, for example.
June: Final feedback advisories and an article for the CAS blog
The Super Project leaders need to organize the final presentation on the advisory project,
looking back on what was achieved throughout the year. Reflect on:
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what you learned
what went well
what could have been improved upon
have your ideas changed over the year
how the project compared to your expectations
If you are working with an outside organization, you will need to schedule a final meeting to
give and receive feedback on the project.
Write a final article/reflection for possible inclusion on the CAS blog.
A student example:
This year I feel like I have matured a lot, due to the super project. I feel like I have become more
confident in myself and I am not as scared to take a decision anymore. I have learnt how important it
is to be able to work in groups, and also the importance in being committed to the project. One thing
I have noticed is that the people that started helping out in the beginning of the project, are more
passionate about the project because they have been able to see the progress. Where on the other
side, the people that only decided to help out once, still don't really know much about the project.
Throughout the whole year we have been helping out at the Nativitas soup kitchen almost every
month. We have also had a donation going on, where we were collecting cups, glasses and plates.
The last thing we will be doing is to have a bake sale where we will donate the money to the
Nativitas. Today (May 29th) we went to Ms. Brennan's Advisory where they gave us 200 euros to
donate to the Nativitas as well.
The reason why we have been doing this is because we know how important it is for all people to get
a healthy diet and to have a place where they feel safe. Nativitas is a great place where homeless
people know that they will be able to find people with same problems as themselves, this makes
them feel safe and comfortable.