Thursday, March 25, 2010

Final CAS Reflection


Creativity, action and service are the three components of the CAS program. This program enabled me to experience new activities, undertake new challenges and develop new essential life skills, making me both an active and balanced risk-taker and thinker. It engaged me into initiating activities and projects both independently and in collaboration with others, making me a reflective communicator and inquirer. Moreover, this CAS program allowed me to engage myself with issues of local and global importance and forced me to consider the ethical implication of my activities and projects, making me a caring, open-minded and principled individual. As a whole, CAS has turned me into a knowledgeable citizen of the world both aware of its strength, areas for growth and his surroundings.
In the two year period that this IB program lasted, I actively participated in about 30 different activities, in all three categories, for which many were long term projects and for some of them are still continuing. Likewise, I was able to accumulate over 550 CAS hours.
I have participated in numerous sport camps. The first one was a three-week summer camp in the city of Millau, where I discovered the pleasures of paragliding, a fantastic sport. Supervised by professionals I successfully passed my autopilot certificate. Later, I went to a winter camp in the Alpes. For a week, I went snowboarding with other teens. I also tried a totally new sport, ice waterfall climbing. Later, I went to another camp this time in Corsica in the Mediterranean, where I was able to go white water rafting and sea kayaking. As well as being a thrilling experience, the setting was itself pure beauty. The next year, I returned to Corsica but this time I slept in a large catamaran and sailed around the island. I learned all the basics of sailing and how to use the different navigating instruments. Through this regatta I discovered, as well as, a mind-blowing landscape.
I also would regularly set myself craft challenges. For example I designed and constructed all out of planks of wood found in my basement objects such as a tea box and a birdhouse. The work was instructive and intense and result was not always perfect, but still well-crafted objects, in my opinion. I also undertook new challenges and developed new skills in creative writing, live drawing, origami, business cards, drama and others.
At Christmas time, I first participated in a charitable program “Love in a Box” with the American Cathedral of Paris, in which I helped to wrap Christmas presents for the orphans of Paris. This was not the only charitable association I volunteered in; I also offered my help at the ‘Banque Alimentaire’, the ‘Secours Populaire’ , a soup kitchen and at the ELSA committee in my school for a day. Lastly I was a math and computer mentor for people in need for a period of time.
Now this last summer, I spent the first month of my vacation in the Reunion Island. This trip was frankly one of the best. For instance through sometimes extremely long and perilous hikes, I discovered and swam in few of the numerous waterfalls that provide the island with fresh water. In my excursions in the steep valleys, I entered in environments exclusively accessible by foot and where I appreciated one of the last few conserved primitive forest on earth. I also climbed the still very active volcano of the island. On some afternoons I would also go body boarding in the large waves. I also went scuba-diving to observe the turtles and the coral reefs. Lastly, I was fortunate to catch a glimpse of the whales that took a stopover at the Island.
Above all these activities, there are two activities that carry a particular importance to me. Indeed, they have been running for the full two years and are still continuing. The first one is swimming. I joined a swim team in the Neptune Club de France in which I regularly go to evening trainings in the hope to improve my strokes, my fitness and my strength. It also participates regularly to competitions in and outside Paris. The swimming trainings, I follow, focuses on the competitive techniques of all four strokes as well as endurance and speed. This activity greatly helped me in my academics, to gain confidence and grow as a person.
The second long term activity is the recycling program, created by me and a group of student in the school. Initially we started by raising an awareness regarding recycling in the school by making "Recycling Boards". We later set up a rotating system which allowed for the recyclable wastes produced by the school and its students to be sorted out, collected and recycled. It included wastes such as paper, plastic bottles and tin cans. Moreover, this year the recycling group wanted to make this school project international. We wanted our program to have a positive effect beyond the school campus and be part of a global movement toward sustainability. We therefore organized fund raisers and donated the collected money to a charitable association in India, the Lion's Club. In return, it has promised to plant trees with our donations, to counter the deforestation in some areas of India.
This was a brief outline of most of the different activities and projects I engaged myself in and still is engaged in. As a whole, the CAS program provided me with the structure and opportunity to become a dynamic leader in my life and in a number of activities. It also provided me with a unique life experience that able me to evolve and grow in to the person I want to become later. It gave me the right opportunities, possibilities and tools to construct my identity and help me find my place in an ever more complex society.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Skiing at Tour and Grandes Montees at Argentiere

27th of December to the 2nd of January 2010

CAS element: Action
Time: 28 hours

I went to a week winter camp in the Aples in Argentiere. I snowboard and I went practically everyday skiing with other teenagers. We would leave in the morning with each our packed lunch in our bag. The skiing slopes were great as there were plenty of snow and almost all everyday had been sunny. It was quit cold but I had a good coat so that was not a problem. It was fun to ski with other teenagers. We helped each other and some showed off to us tricks we could try. When we were hungry, we would find a nice place off the slopes in the snow to eat our sandwishs. On the last two days, I was tired however I still enjoyed snowboarding and tried new tricks. I fell many times during the week, but fortunately I did not get hurt thanks to my helmet. Personally I think the week went by wait too fast, as most things do when you have fun. We left our place as soon as the slopes opened and stayed until they closed in the evening. I knew that a week would pass by extremely quickly and I wanted to enjoy it as much as possible. At night after a well deserved dinner, my friends and I would play all kind of games until late in the night. Keeping this rhythm for a week was a real challenge. When I got back home my all the muscles in my body were sore and ached from the many bruises. I was exhausted and had to sleep two straight days to recover, however I did not regret any bit of it and I cannot wait for next winter to do the same.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Candy Grams Project

22nd of October, 19th, 26th of November and 3rd of December 2009
CAS element: Service
Time: 8 hours
This year the recycling group wants to make this school project international. We want our program to have a positive effect beyond the school campus. We wish this project could be part of a global movement toward sustainability. Right now we are in contact with a charitable association in India, the Lion's Club. We want to collect money within the school premises and donate it to this association. In return, it has promised to plant trees with our donations, to counter the deforestation in some areas of India. As a group we, therefore, decided to organize a candy gram event in the school before the Christmas Holidays.


7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th of December 2009
CAS element: Service
Time: 14 hours

For the past two weeks the recycling group and I have been work hard daily to print the different cards and sell them. We have decided to make two kind of cards, black and white ones for one euro and colored ones for two euros. If you buy a colored candy gram you will send your friends a bigger bag of candy with a Ferrero Rocher. Everyday throughout the week, we went around the different homerooms in school to inform and sell as much candy grams as possible. At first only the elementary school bought significant amounts, where as the middle and high school seemed more reserved to chip in a euro or two. On the first Thursday, we decided to start packing some of the candy grams. We adopted a chain like production and where able to make them quickly , that is what we thought at the time. The next week, we continued on selling and this time much more students in the middle and high school seemed to be willing to contribute. We actually reached selling records and quickly ran out of cards to sell. On the next Thursday, we continued to pack the candy grams and rapidly realized that we will have to increase our production by at least three, compared to last week, so that we can finish to pack the about 600 candy grams that we sold and distribute then the next day. Fortunately we had many volunteers that offered their help and enable us to finish everything although late in the evening. The next day our last task was to go in each homeroom and distribute the candy grams. I very much enjoyed this part because as you can inside the room all the eyes were on you, waiting impatiently to overhear their name. Especially with the younger ones, the expression of pure joy on their face when they were given their price was worth all the effort that this project required. To sum up, the recycling team was able to collect about 650 euros of donation for the Lion's Club association in India.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wood Construction; Tea Box




28th of October 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 3 hours





29th of October 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 3 hours




30th of October 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 3 hours




31st of October 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 2 hours






1st of November 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 2 hours



During this school break, I wanted to make again a wood construction, since I learned a lot and very much enjoy making my first construction, the bird house. However since I am only going to spend less than a week at my house in the country side, I can only make a simple construction. I decided, then, to construct a tea box that will be used to store and sort out all my tea bags. After I have made the plan, selected the wood needed to make each piece of the box. I had to make the right measurements and cut out the pieces. However the hardest part was to polish each piece with sandpapers of different fineness because the wood I used was quite old and rough. The other challenge was to assemble the polished pieces. I had some trouble screwing all the screws correctly. Later with some perseverance and the help of a screwdriver I found in the garage, I finally got he structure to hold together. The next part, which is the part I like the most, is the painting. The paint makes each vein of the wood stand up and adds a very warm color touch to it. The next morning, I was extremely pleased to see my tea box right in the middle of the table filled with tea bags, while I was taking my breakfast. Although this new wood construction was not as hard as the first one, it is a more useful creation that I will make use of daily.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

"Croisiere Cotieres" Sailing around Corsica


From the 17th to the 30th of August 2009

17th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 1 hours

18th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 3 hours


19th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 4 hours

20th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 4 hours

21th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 3 hours


22th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 5 hours

23th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 3 hours


24th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 2 hours

25th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 4 hours


26th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 4 hours


27th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 3 hours

28th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 3 hours


29th of August 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 2 hours


(41hrs)

This year's summer camp takes place in a enormous 25 meters catamaran. With the companionship of 20 other teenagers, we sailed all around Corsica in a period of two weeks. The main occupation was sailing this beautiful ship with all the different shores that had to be done to do so around the coasts of Corsica lost in the Mediterranean Sea. It is not simple to sail a boat of this size over such distances. A lot of workforce is required to perform all the different tasks. Fortunately that was not a problem since all of us were very motivated and willing to help. On top of that we were under the instruction of two very competent skippers, who continuously showed us what we had to do. I learned how to pull up the sails, use the different equipments on board to keep the right bearing like the electronic compass, the GPS, the radar and the wind angle. I also learned how to make different knots and fold long ropes neatly, as well as, casting or weighing anchor. We would sail almost everyday and on average 3-4 hours a day, usually in the afternoon. Everymorning before the breakfast, I would go swimming for an hour, since it is such a great pleasure to swim in turquoise blue water and observe the many fishes that inhabit this paradis. On top of that, I would go windsurfing around the Catamaran when the wind allowed me to. These two weeks sailing allowed me to discover the pleasure of sailing while decovering a mindblowing landscape from a different angle; the sea...

Monday, August 17, 2009

Wood Construction; Bird house



10th of August 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 3 hours


11th of August 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 3 hours


12th of August 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 3 hours


13th of August 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 3 hours




14th of August 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 3 hours


15th of August 2009

CAS element: Creativity
Time: 2 hours



This summer I wanted to set myself a challenge and after some reflection I decided to construct a bird house entirely out of wood. I first had to decide on the form and dimensions
of my craft work. I wanted it to be, as well as a host for a bird's nest, a food reservoir for all the surrounding birds. When this was done I had to buy the raw material and get started on dividing up the wooden board into the right pieces and cutting them out. This was part was long and hard, since all of it had to be done with an old saw that did not cut very well. Moreover I was not an expert yet at handling this king of equipment. I would work very hard everyday with an average pace of two hours in the morning and one in the afternoon. The next step was to polish with sand paper every single piece of wood to give it a more agreeable touch. I hope the birds will enjoy it because this part also gave me an hard time.
The next day was devoted to the assemblage of all the different pieces with small silver colored screws. This day was very enjoyable since I could finally see my work coming
to shape. Every piece coming together more or less smoothly. The last step, probably the easiest one, was to entirely paint the wooden bird house to add a protective layer and an aesthetic touch to it. The chosen paint was brown with a slit tint of red which made the veins of the wood stand out beautifully. I am extremely happy for the end result and proud of myself. I just hope the birds in my garden will enjoy it as much as I did making it...

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Hiking in Reunion Island

16th of July 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 5 hours


We woke up early to arrive at the Piton de Maido in the morning. At the top we had a spectacular view above the Circus of Mafate. To appreciate the full beauty of the panorama we strolled for sometime along the cornice of the cliff. After a simple and quick lunch protected by trees, we finally started the real hike to the Ilet Acide few kilometers above us. The climb was steep and rocky, but that was not the biggest problem we faced this day. On the way back we got lost in the jungle that was getting denser for every step we took. Fortunately when all hope was almost lost we were indicated the right way back by a passing local peasant.

21th of July 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 4 hours


Today's excursion brought us in one of the three circus of the island, the Circus of Salazie. In this new environment, we were able to appreciate a completely new biodiversity; one of the last few conserved primitive forest on earth with its many waterfalls poring down the green organic blanket covering the cliffs.





25th of July 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 3 hours

In the afternoon we spontaneously decided to go for a small hike to the Bassins des Cormorants not far away from where we stayed. Althoughh it was not long, the path was narrow and slippery and even mudy at times. When we arrived at the waterfall, I was the first one to jump in. The water was freezing and not everyone went for a swim. On the way back we had to take our shoes off because we walked in water canals that run a long the rocks and sometimes in tunnels in the cliff. This last part of the hike was extremely fun and refreshing.




27h
of July 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 9 hours


Today was going to be the biggest hike of the trip in the circus that is only accessible by foot or helicopter, the Circus of Mafate. To enter the circus and gain time we drove up the Riviere des Galets with four wheelers at 6 am. At some points we had to continue by foot and here started the long a perilous hike. For the most part we had to climb up steep and narrow slopes along cliffs, but the panorama that gradually unfolded itself as we passed every turn was worth the endless efforts we had supplied. At lunch we ate at one of the few locals that dare to live in such an hostile and isolated environment. We were like lost in time with these people that lived as if civilization had never existed. Unforgettable experience!!

31th of July 2009

CAS element: Action
Time: 2 hours

Today we wanted to walk up the Langvin river to see its two beautiful waterfalls; one called Trou Noir and the other one a bit higher, but I cannot get myself to remember its name. Just walking along the river was by itself magnificent, with the intense bright rays igniting every drop of the crystal clear water splashing against the grey rocks. The waterfalls were also extraordinary, unfortunately the water was still as cold if not more. However once you are in it, it is fine.