Keystones of Growth: Unveiling a World of Creativity, Activity, and Service at the Inaugural CAS Exhibition
As twilight descended upon the Keystone campus on September 11th, the bustling energy of day gradually yielded to the serene embrace of night. The Big Gym, once a hub of athletic fervor, metamorphosed into a sanctuary of intellectual and creative pursuits. Here, the fruits of Grade 12 students’ year-long journey through the Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) program were displayed with pride and purpose.
The air hummed with the excited voices of students as they stood before display boards, regaling schoolmates, teachers, and parents with tales of their explorations, detailing the intricacies of their projects and the lessons gleaned from their experiences.
CAS, a cornerstone of the Diploma Programme at Keystone, is a bridge between the theoretical knowledge of the classroom and the practical challenges of the world beyond. It is a crucible in which students forge their potential, honing their creative faculties, embracing physical pursuits, and cultivating a spirit of service. Through this process, they are transformed into conscientious global citizens, ready to face the complexities of our interconnected world.
This inaugural CAS exhibition at Keystone marked a significant milestone, bringing together the entire cohort of Grade 12 students in a celebration of their diverse accomplishments. For Grade 11 students in attendance, it offered a window into the abundant experiences that awaited them, while providing the broader Keystone community with invaluable insights into the students’ journeys of growth and discovery.
The exhibition space pulsated with the energy of myriad projects. Some students had channeled their compassion into initiatives for stray animals, while others had orchestrated charity concerts. The establishment of Chinese chess clubs and student bands spoke to the power of shared interests in fostering community bonds.
Beyond these creative endeavors, students recounted their forays into leadership and community engagement. Tales of service in the Student Council, the crafting of the Keystone Yearbook, and participation in cultural events like the Cultural Mosaic painted a picture of well-rounded individuals eager to leave their mark on the community.
In the verdant landscape of educational altruism, a seed planted in the fertile soil of Grade 10 blossomed into a tree of compassion by the time Jo Chi reached her 12th year. Alongside her schoolmates, she nurtured a project christened “Glimpse”, a KAP (Keystone Activities Program) that bridged the gap between Keystone and Shengshuiyu Primary School in Sishui County, offering targeted assistance that went beyond mere charity.
The roots of this initiative was deep into the foundation laid by Keystone’s previous donation of a library to Shengshuiyu Primary School. Jo and her cohort, in collaboration with the Keystone Libraries, orchestrated a continuous flow of nourishment. They carefully curated surplus books, transforming them into vessels of knowledge destined for eager minds at Sishui. Twice yearly, Jo and her companions journeyed to Sishui, their arms laden with donated tomes, their hearts full of anticipation for the children they would meet. As the project continued to flourish, the number of donated books swelled into the thousands.
Yet, in Jo’s perspective, material donations, while necessary, were but the first step on a longer path. The true essence of their mission lay in cultivating the spiritual and intellectual growth of the Sishui children. With this aim, the Glimpse KAP set foot in online courses. Jo and her partners shared the rich cultural heritage of The Forbidden City and Beijing’s hutong life, and collaborated with Jenny Zhang, a computer science teacher at Keystone, to make programming courses, opening windows to worlds previously unseen by the Sishui children.
This multifaceted approach aimed to expose the children of Sishui to a kaleidoscope of new experiences and skills, enriching their inner lives and expanding their horizons. In Jo’s words, this might be the key to genuinely altering the trajectory of these young lives.
Through their interactions with Sishui, Jo and her schoolmates discovered facets of China previously hidden from their view, peeling back layers to reveal a more authentic portrait of their homeland.
Symbolizing the power of connection, the name Glimpse emerged as an embodiment of their project’s essence. Through this program, students from both sides were able to take a glimpse and embrace a broader, more nuanced understanding of their country.
Jo’s experience crystallized into a realization. “Service,” she mused, “is not a unidirectional flow of benevolence. It is, in its truest essence, a reciprocal process of giving and receiving.” Jo and her peers aspired to nurture a connection that would outlast their high school years. “This is not merely a line item on our resumes,” she declared. “We yearn to cultivate a sustainable bond, one that will continue to flourish long after we’ve left Keystone.”
Jo’s narrative is but one story in the rich experiences told at the CAS exhibition. This showcase reflected the growth and achievements of Grade 12 students to the wider community. For the students themselves, it offered a chance to pause and reflect on their learning and practical application. Through reflection and synthesis, they found the ingredients necessary for continuous improvement and personal evolution.
The exhibition itself was born from the CAS projects of four students: Rosie Yu, Joyce Zhang, Shawn Shang, and Yolanda Wang. Through this public display, they aimed to illuminate the spirit of CAS for Grade 11 students and the broader Keystone community, and hoped to kindle the flames of creativity and service in the hearts of their younger peers.
Yet, the path to realization was not without its challenges. Constrained by the limited time and the weight of their tasks, the organizers encountered unforeseen obstacles and overlooked various details. These twists and turns, as they came to be known, became a valuable lesson of their personal growth.
Reflecting on the entire process, Yolanda and her peers found it hard to balance between anticipation and reality. “We started this journey, imagining different possible scenarios in our minds,” Yolanda reflected. “Yet, as we really took action, we discovered vast territories of inexperience. However, it was in attempting that we forged our mettle, and the obstacles became stepping stones towards mastery in conducting complex endeavors.”
CAS (Creativity, Activity, and Service) is not merely a core component of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP), but also a cornerstone of the cultural ethos that permeates the very essence of Keystone Academy. It is through this prism that Keystone seeks to refract the latent potential of its students, dispersing it into a spectrum of creative expression and enthusiastic engagement. Moreover, Keystone holds a more holistic vision of student development, one that embraces balance as a fundamental principle of stutents’ lives. This exhibition holds the promise of becoming an annual rite of passage. Through display and reflection, it will serve as a forum for sharing insights and celebrating personal and collective achievements.
