Year 12 CAS – Reinbeau
CAS stands for Creativity, Action, and Service, and it is one of three essential elements that every student must complete to receive the IB Diploma. While not formally assessed, CAS provides opportunities for students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development through hands-on learning.
One of the components of CAS is a ‘CAS Project’, a collaborative series of student-initiated CAS experiences over several months engaging students in one or more CAS strands (creativity, activity, and service). Following the five CAS stages of Investigation, Preparation, Demonstration, Action, and Reflection, students can explore their passions whilst challenging themselves to initiate purposeful action around defined goals. The following months will bring a series of interviews where the STC Media Team interviews different students around school to highlight their CAS projects and initiatives.
This week, Rie Du speaks to the STC Media Team about her CAS project Reinbeau, of which she is a leader. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Rie is passionate about advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and issues. In particular, she seeks to counter prejudiced misinformation by providing resources to help students understand their sexual orientation and gender identity better.
Can you introduce Reinbeau?
Reinbeau is a student-led STC organisation (est. 2013) that advocates for diversity, awareness, and LGBTQ+ rights in the school environment. This year, Clarice Yuen and I decided to take Reinbeau on as our CAS project, focusing on the Creative and Service strands, though we also have other members like Yi You Taing, Hannah Foxall, Anneke Yu, and Sylvia Chan working with us.
What is the purpose of your CAS project?
Reinbeau aims to increase students’ knowledge and awareness about the LGBTQ+ community and related issues. We try to perform rigorous fact-based advocacy supported by logical reasoning. Moreover, we seek to raise money for Pink Alliance through our various events. We see ourselves aligned with Pink Alliance because it aims to ‘push for equal rights for people of different sexual orientations and gender identities through events, campaigns and lobbying,’ similar to what we do.
What impact do you hope Reinbeau will have on the school community?
We hope Reinbeau will increase students’ knowledge on LGBTQ+ rights and issues. We also hope to counter bad-faith arguments students may encounter on the internet or from those around them. Consequently, we hope future generations will support their opinions with sound evidence.
Are there any Reinbeau events set to take place?
Outside of merchandise, Reinbeau has plans to collaborate with the STC Queer Straight Alliance (QSA), led by Kody Tang, to produce resources that could help teachers accurately teach the Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum. We also have some minor things planned for Instagram here and there.
We noticed that Reinbeau is holding a T-shirt design contest. What inspired you to organise this competition?
The purpose of this competition is so students can express pride in their sexual/gender identities and show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community without putting themselves in uncomfortable situations. Hence, our theme focuses on a more “subtle” representation of the LGBTQ+ community, primarily through the use of colours of various pride flags. Reinbeau has also always organised merch sales to raise funds for the Pink Alliance, so a partial aim of this competition is to carry on that tradition.
What advice would you give younger students about exploring their sexual/gender identity?
Don’t feel pressured to label every part of your identity or feel a need to conform yourself to a strict category. Take your time to understand who you are and what you like healthily. Even if you think you’re faking it, the chances are that you are not, so have faith in yourself.
Written by: Kadence Wong
