Welcome to CAS Profiles, where we exhibit the completed CAS Projects of IB Diploma students at SASPD.
CAS, which stands for “Creativity, Activity, Service”, is a component of the IB Diploma Program, which requires students to complete a month-long activity following the stages of investigation, preparation, action, reflection, and demonstration. There are virtually no restrictions to activities students are allowed to do, but they must be collaborative and include at least one strand of creativity, activity, or service. The project process involves not only the main project, but also a series of reflections.
The dynamic and unique structure of a CAS project allows students to focus on their interests and create meaningful output. Keely and Allen utilized skills in videography to act upon a passion for food, and created an in-depth look at Shanghai and its cuisine, while simultaneously stumbling upon hidden gems that proved to be fleeting.
Interview conducted with Keely Boyle 23’ and Allen Liu 23’.
q) Could you introduce your project?
a) We made two videos about local Shanghainese cuisine, with each video introducing a specific food. In the videos, we would talk about the history/meanings of the food while visiting two destinations that were famous for making said food (one that was slightly more expensive, and another that was cheaper).
q) Where was this video distributed? is that related to the service aspect?
a) Originally, it was supposed to be played on the cafeteria TVs. but since we completed the activity during the spring lockdown, we never got a chance to play them.
q) Where did you get the inspiration to make this your project in the first place?
a) I’ve always really liked film and editing, so I thought this would be a fun way to experiment and practice. Also, I remember missing Shanghainese food a lot when the border closures happened in 2020 and a lot of us were stuck outside. Another source of inspiration was when I noticed that a lot of the local shops that make these foods well were starting to disappear because of government renovation programs, so we wanted to document them and maybe encourage some other people to go give them a go
q) Considering the lockdown and other obstacles, were there any challenges you encountered in the documenting process?
a) I (Keely) think the hardest part was probably coordinating filming times and skirting around lockdown restrictions. The original plan was to make four videos that included little cooking segments in each, where we would try to make our own versions of the dish. however, due to scheduling conflicts and the lockdown in may, we had to improvise a bit. I guess the other challenge was actually just filming in general. Being kids who looked like foreigners, spoke English, and carried around filming equipment, we drew quite a bit of attention to ourselves, so I often felt far from my comfort zone.
I (Allen) think the main challenges were the locking down of stores. Since my CAS project focused on diving locally into Shanghai, many small “mom and pop” stores weren’t able to survive through the pandemic due to a lack of funding, unemployment, forced shutdowns, etc. But adding on to that, there was the problem of us, the students ourselves, struggling with Green Codes and compound lockdowns, which forced my team to postpone our CAS project for weeks and locate new stores
q) What would you say was successful about the project, and were there any takeaways you left with?
a) Well I feel pretty satisfied with how it turned out overall. looking back on the videos there are definitely a lot of parts that could be improved, but I feel that we achieved our original purpose. I also got to work on a lot of editing skills during this project; we were able to use Adobe premiere from the school, which, despite taking a while for us to learn, was really helpful. I personally also learned a lot about the history and cultures surrounding some of these foods in making the videos. Unexpectedly, this project also got me to research and examine the effects of government renovation programs on local communities. many of the stores we went to were located in “old Shanghai”, which now faces destruction in the name of renovation. One of the most famous XiaoLongBao places closed two weeks after we visited—it had been there for more than 50 years.
q) Were there any unexpected encounters?
a) I (Allen) think the most unexpected thing I learned was just how popular some small local stores were. Some stores only had like 4-5 tables in a tiny rustic building, but had lines packing the restaurants and going blocks down. People were willing to wait an hour for some baozi, and it was just so interesting compared to malls a block away which had long lines for luxury products like Louis Vuitton. It really put people’s status and wants and needs in a different light.
Unexpectedly, this project also got us to research and examine the effects of government renovation programs on local communities. many of the stores we went to were located in “old Shanghai”, which now faces destruction in the name of renovation. One of the most famous XiaoLongBao places closed two weeks after we visited—it had been there for more than 50 years.