By Hon Sum Yip

On November 22 to November 26, Year 12 students got the chance to participate in various activities around Hong Kong as a part of CAS Week. Students were allocated to one of their top three choices from the selection of activities. 

Below is a short recap of what students did over CAS Week. 

Coding: 

During coding, students learnt about machine learning, and the applications of machine learning in real life. Then students were taught how a large data pool was important for image processing, and given an introduction into the basics of html, css, and javascript, which are different types of coding languages.  

“Coding was a waste of time, I would have preferred to have spent my time studying or in school, because at least I learnt something in school.” - Anonymous Year 12 student

“The most enjoyable moment during CAS Week for me was the night dive, as it was really fun to see the environment from a different perspective, and there were also a lot of tiny fish!”

Diving: 

Students learnt the basics of diving, such as how to communicate with hand signals underwater, how to remove and replace a mask underwater, and more. Students had training dives to improve their diving skills, but also participated in other fun dives to explore the Hong Kong area and environment. 

“The most enjoyable moment during CAS Week for me was the night dive, as it was really fun to see the environment from a different perspective, and there were also a lot of tiny fish! Overall, although it was chilly, the weather and views were also really pretty.” - Anika Cheung

Filmmaking: 

In filmmaking, students got to experience the whole filmmaking process, as well as learn about different filming and editing techniques from Babel film workshop – a Hong Kong film and visual literacy education company – to help students create their own short film. The week was split into five days, each day with a different aim and activity, which included scouting, writing, shooting, editing, and presenting. 

“For a first attempt at this activity, it was satisfactory. They could’ve given more options in terms of places to film so we [didn’t] need to go to Central and back. Overall though it was a great experience with plentiful opportunities.” - Justin Yuen

Hospitality and Culinary Arts:

For hospitality and culinary arts, students went to the International Culinary Institute in Pok Fu Lam to learn about the different aspects of food science. This included the properties of water, different flavours in food and how humans perceive them, the science of baking, and the science behind basic ingredients such as eggs, oils/fats, yeast, baking soda, etc. Students also got to learn about pre-dining preparations as well as flavour combinations with wine and how those different flavours affect the taste of the wine. Students also learnt more about Western and Northern Chinese cuisine and got to do some cooking. 

“The experience was generally boring, but the first and last days were quite entertaining and enjoyable. The middle three days consisted of boring lectures and standing around a table and watching boring demonstrations, I kind of wish they made the activities more interactive and hands on, as this would've given us more experience and boost overall engagement. Overall CAS week was a new and interesting experience and I got to learn some new skills and information from this activity.” - Chelsea Kam

“It was super fun to learn design techniques that aren’t possible with the school’s resources and make our own line of metal jewellery.”

Jewellery making: 

With jewellery making, students got to get their hands on the real jewellery-making process and got to create their own jewellery collection. Every day, students learnt different techniques, and were given time to practice them, ultimately using them to create their own designs. 

“I thought CAS Week was a fantastic experience, I really enjoyed it overall and wished it was longer. It was super fun to learn design techniques that aren’t possible with the school’s resources and make our own line of metal jewellery.” - Nicole Wong

Service: 

As for service, students helped out at three different NGOs (non-governmental organisations): Sai Kung Stray Friends Foundation (SKSF), Impact Hong Kong, and Crossroads Hong Kong over four days. At SKSF, students helped walk dogs, clean kennels, and fill water bowls. With Impact Hong Kong, students participated in a kindness walk, where they gave kindness packages to the homeless. The kindness packages contained water, boiled eggs, masks and wet tissues. Then at Crossroads, students helped certain sectors within Crossroads to manage and check the quality of donated items. 

“Taking care of so many dogs was a challenging task and was an insight to the dedication SKSF has to take care of these dogs.”

“Sai Kung Stray Friends provided us with an opportunity to understand and volunteer for the actions SKSF must take in order to care for more than 100 dogs and the hardships involved, from cleaning dog kennels to walking multiple dogs at once to compensate for a lack of staff. Taking care of so many dogs was a challenging task and was an insight to the dedication SKSF has to take care of these dogs.” - James Guo

Overall, CAS Week received mixed responses from the Year 12 students, with some students not enjoying it as much as others. 

Another anonymous Year 12 student said, “I think what they should have done for CAS Week was to make it optional, because I really didn't feel that there were many good options other than a few of the service and action activities, which had far too small numbers of available slots.”

However, other students had positive experiences. As Guo said, “CAS Week was a great activity that allowed me to rest and take a breather during the chaos of exams and overloading schoolwork. I would definitely go to CAS Week again if given the opportunity.”