Dear IA Juniors and Seniors,

It's been great meeting so many of you over the last few weeks! I hope I have been able to answer all of your questions. Remember that CAS is a journey of discovering yourself and others. CAS experiences are unique to you and draw on your interests, skills, values and background.

Juniors- If we haven't met yet, you will soon see me in your language culture class or receive an invite for a meeting. This will be your first CAS interview. Below are the expectations for your junior year of CAS...

Expectations for recording experiences and reflections on ManageBac

By the end of first quarter: 2 experiences and 2 reflections

By the end of second quarter: 2 *additional experiences and 2 new *additional reflections (4 total)

By the end of the third quarter: 3 *additional experiences plus 3 *additional reflections (7 total)

By the end of the year: 3 *additional experiences and 3 new reflections (10 total)

Seniors- If you have not already submitted your CAS project proposal, you have until December 15. Here is the link. Below are your expectations and deadline...

Expectations for ManageBac

Over the summer: 2 experiences and 2 reflections (12 total)
By the end of second quarter: 3 experiences and 3 reflections (15 total) - these can include
By March 15: 18 experiences (total) and 18 reflections (total) including a completed CAS Project AT A MINIMUM

If you have any questions, please reach out!

Mrs. Belotti

Around Thanksgiving, we begin to talk about gratitude and what we are thankful for. That's great, but it's actually something that we should be practicing every day. Gratitude is a way to quickly pivot from one negative feeling to a more positive state of mind.

Everyone faces struggles and strife in their life, especially now. Some people are just so good at dealing with the stress, that it seems like their life is perfect. Although establishing healthy practices is super helpful, no one’s life is perfect. Let’s face it, some days are just better than others.

Gratitude is a simple concept, but not always easy to put into practice. Being thankful for what you have and training yourself not to focus on what you don’t have is not easy. So, it’s important to learn ways to replace these negative feelings with more useful feelings.

Many of us are trained to focus on what is missing in our lives. Establishing an attitude of gratitude helps us stay present to what we do have and take a minute to be grateful for it. Practicing gratitude reminds you to pause, put down your worries and stresses, and take a moment to appreciate everything good about your life. It can also manifest as being glad that someone or something is part of your life.

Here are 9 of the many ways to build habits to practice gratitude.

• Tell your loved ones how much you appreciate them.
• Keep a gratitude journal to jot down your grateful moments.
• Thank restaurant employees, clerks, and others for their service.
• Avoid negative social media posts and news. Unplug!
• Take care of yourself with downtime.
• Develop healthy habits.
• Live in the present, not the past, or the future.
• Add inspirational quotes to your surroundings.
• Focus on your strengths, not your shortcomings.

• Anything for which money is paid.
• Family duties, religious devotions, or proselytizing.
• Passive pursuits (ex. going to a museum or concert will not count alone).
• Activities that cause division among different groups in the community.
• Any course that is part of your IB Diploma Programme.
• Informally helping a friend with homework.

Have you registered for second semester enrichments? If not, registration is open at https://iaenrichments.digitalsignup.com/

Senior Deadline- April 5, 2023.

Junior Deadline- April 5, 2024.

As a reminder, enrichment requirements have been reduced to 4. You should complete a minimum of 3 enrichments and 1 career mentorship. Registration for career mentorships will open November 14. They will be held during mid winter break. You can also complete one independently. Application below.

Service Learning/Enrichment Coordinator

Email: lbelotti@bloomfield.org
Website: https://www.iatoday.org/
Phone: 2483415941