Thursday, March 5, the full IB Diploma students, their parents and teachers gathered in the library to celebrate the completion of the seniors’ Extended Essays and CAS requirements. 

There is much more that a full IB student has to do aside from taking all IB classes. In order to receive the IB Diploma, students must write a nearly 4000 word “Extended Essay” on any topic of their choosing in a specific IB subject area. 

They must also consistently demonstrate Creativity, Activity, and Service in their personal life and write reflections about their experiences. A core component of CAS is the CAS project, which needs to reflect two of those subject areas and is meant to “show initiative, demonstrate perseverance, and develop skills such as collaboration, problem solving and decision making.”

Mr. Matt Schultz, IB Coordinator at NDA, organizes one night each year to celebrate the completion of these components of the diploma. It begins with an introduction and prayer led by Mr. Schultz. Then, he calls up the students, reads off the subject area and Extended Essay question, and presents them with a bound copy of their essay and a CAS completion certificate.

“This truly is a celebration of the students’ accomplishments as we demonstrate the heart of the IB diploma,” said Schultz.

Each student has a station with a poster board and pictures demonstrating his CAS activities and Extended Essay. The stations were displayed all over the library for the parents and first year IB students to look at. While they wandered, they ate complementary food provided by Konop, which included a huge IB cake. 

Perhaps the most amusing part of the night was watching senior diploma candidate Dennis Guo devour multiple pieces of said cake. 

Schultz invited many significant people in the Greater Green Bay Area to join in the celebration, including Mayor Genrich, the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce, Green Bay West and Bay Port IB Coordinators, principals, EE supervisors and CAS moderators and the NDA School Board & Corporate Board members

The junior first-year students enjoyed speaking with the current seniors about their CAS projects and activities, as well the trials and tribulations of the Extended Essay. Many asked questions about the biggest struggles of IB, and the seniors were able to give them advice on surviving the next year. 

“It was nice talking to the seniors about what to expect with IB over the next year,” said junior Anna Zimmerman. “I was nervous about figuring out what to do for CAS, but their poster boards gave me a lot of ideas of my own activities that I can reflect about.”