International Baccalaureate Diploma candidates produce podcast for CAS project

Mount Vernon High School International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma candidates worked on producing a podcast this Thursday, as they are finalizing their IB creativity, activity and service (CAS) projects. The podcast serves to highlight all winter sports throughout the high school, recognizing the hard work of the athletes who compete in them. 

“We just wanted to shine light upon all of these other sports,” said Ivan Irigoyen Rojas, senior at MVHS. “Not only to showcase our students, but the work that they put in to actually compete at the level they are.” 

To earn an IB diploma, students must complete at least six IB courses, a CAS project and a 4,000-word extended research essay that is independent and self-directed. They also can gain college credits for passing their courses.

Seniors McKale Green, Ryan Freckleton, Ivan Irigoyen Rojas, and Kamora Alston decided on a podcast for their CAS project because they wanted to give all athletes throughout their school the recognition that they deserve. They independently developed the idea, learned how to produce a podcast and executed it from start to finish, with guidance from their CAS advisor, Jennifer Roxas.

Students work on CAS for 18 months. In the first year, students have class time with their advisor and work on experiences that can help them achieve the seven learning outcomes outlined by IB, which include learning a new skill. During the second half of CAS, they work to complete their CAS project, which is student-initiated, planned and implemented. The projects also must be collaborative.

“Along the way, they learn that there is really a lot to this, but that’s where the learning comes in. They learn to do so much more because it was their own thing,” said Ms. Roxas. “It’s such a great portfolio experience for college and jobs. Nobody taught them how to do it, no one told them how to do it. They had to find out how to do it on their own.”

IB CAS projects are student-initiated, and students must plan and complete each step of the project without traditional teacher assistance. This fosters independence and perseverance, while also being a great learning opportunity for students to gain new skills while working through their project.

 “We learned it takes a lot to go into a podcast,” said Kamora. “There’s a lot of technical camera aspects, lighting, and just the idea to keep people engaged is also really important.” 

While students must complete the project independently, they can seek out guidance on the subject of their projects. The podcast group received support from Chad Ubiwa, a substitute teacher at MVHS who helped them with podcasting equipment, and Angelo Scarfone, a podcast producer who also taught students about the equipment and how to do a run of show. They produced a segment where they interviewed a runner on the girls’ track team on Thursday.

“I’m so proud of them,” said Mr. Scarfone. “They came in and started getting right to action right away without having to tell them what to do or having to tell them how to set up. They took notes the first time we met, and they learned something new every time I came.”

Students will complete their final interviews during April, where they will present a portfolio of everything that they learned during their CAS experience. Another group of IB Diploma candidates at MVHS hosted a Hispanic food festival at MVHS to connect with students in the Academic and Career Exploration program, a special education program at MVHS.