CAS

Celia de Mena May 2026

CAS Portfolio

START

Experiences

Project

BACK

Service

Creativity

Activity

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Reflection

Development

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Family Day

Sewing

Wood Working

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Ping-Pong

10Km Run

Pilates

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Hike

K5 Library

Soup Kitchen

DEVELOPMENT

The plan is to have Mrs. Patoc (10th grade chemistry teacher) email the syllabus to both Sophie and me, ensuring we have enough time to plan the activities and make the powerpoint before the desired start day of our collaborative CAS project which is on March 6th. Once we have the syllabus, we can begin to research experiences and experiments that correspond with the planned learning. This will help enrich the student's understanding of the chemistry course as they learn it. We will only add an activity to the powerpoint once both of us had accepted it. Once we have the powerpoint, we would go over it with Mrs. Patoc. This is vital to make sure we are on the same page. For the next 4 weeks we will conduct experiments and experiences with the 10th graders.

+ Info

TIMELINE

March 12, 2025 We have completed the first activity! It went extremely well which gives us hope for the rest of the project. However, we are not feeling so prepared for tomorrow’s experience. We have a math test tomorrow and we have both been studying all week. Now, I need to find some time in the afternoon to prepare for tomorrow's class. I am now realizing how much time it takes for teachers to organize, schedule, and prepare their classes. My admiration towards them has increased. Right now this project is my priority because I have been taught that when I do things, I should do them well. I know many people are counting on me to have this class ready and I don’t want to disappoint them.

BACK

March 27, 2025 Today is another frustrating day for our project. I spent a while last night revising the powerpoint for today’s class. Sophie, Sara and I arrive at Mrs. Patoc’s class only to have her tell us that today’s class was not ready for the experiment. She told us that she had been out sick one day and they were behind the other classes. Due to an upcoming quiz, it was necessary for her to use that period to teach her students. This was pretty frustrating, especially because I had spent time preparing for the class. However, I also need to reflect and take time to understand that this is a reflection of life. Not everything is going to happen when you expect and there will always be challenges.

February 25, 2025 Though we had planned for the syllabus to be sent to us today, due to certain inconveniences experienced by Mrs. Patoc, she was unable to do so. It’s a bit frustrating for the first point of your checklist to be delayed; however, both Sophie and I are trying to keep a positive attitude. We don’t want this minor setback to possibly ruin the experience of conducting the CAS project. We have been told that we will receive the syllabus within the next couple of days.

April 3, 2025 Today we finally got to do our final class of our CAS project. It was bittersweet because no matter how much time it took up, I ultimately enjoyed watching the students enjoy chemistry like I do. Today we had a smaller class that we took to the lab to try separation techniques. It was a success! This was actually quite a shock to both Sophie and I, as in past experiments it had never worked out so well. Today was possibly the best day of the whole project. Watching all our work pay off right before our eyes gave me the satisfaction of knowing I had done well. I was very proud of the team Sophie and I had made with Sara right by our side.

REFLECTION

BACK

LO: 1,2,3,4,5

Throughout the length of the project I felt myself grow in patience. Normally, I like to control as much as I can when it comes to schoolwork, but this project taught me to adapt to different and unexpected circumstances. I began to realize that it was okay for your plans to be pushed back because a solution can always be found. I found myself assimilating this idea during the last day of the project (April 3rd) when we had a very small and controlled class, and I understood that if we hadn’t been pushed back, we might not have had the chance to teach the ideal class. Additionally, I learnt how to effectively communicate scientific concepts. Both Sophie and I had to simplify the concepts, allowing the 10th grade students to understand them without losing scientific accuracy. This skill is not only helpful in an educational setting, but essential in future leadership roles. In the end, Sophie and I spent over a month planning and going through with the project which was more than anticipated. This however, was a minor setback and we managed to push through, completing everything we had planned. This project has ultimately taught me that I am capable of more than I hold myself accountable for. I have learnt that when I push myself I grow. Therefore, this project will help me take on more projects with less fear of failing and trust myself more.

FAMILY DAY

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LO: 1,2,7

As students, we were given the opportunity to help organize and run the annual Family Day at school. In an effort to participate more in school activities I signed up to help, not knowing what job I would be given. I got there and I was told that I would be selling food with Elena Guida as a fundraiser. At first we had a bit of trouble attracting customers, but then we creatively came up with what we called ‘mystery boxes’. In these, we would make a deal for the customers, allowing them to pay less for more food. Through this, we were able to sell out in under an hour, making plenty of money. We came up with chants and greeted people with a happy attitude as to attract them towards our stand. In this activity I learned to handle money honestly while multitasking. We were only 2 students at the stand, so we had to make sure nobody was taking food without paying while also ensuring we were attracting enough customers. Additionally, having worked together significantly reduced the workload, allowing us to not only work but also enjoy the experience. Working with money that doesn’t belong to you can be a bit nervewrecking. It was vital that Elena and I were honest and fair when selling the goodies and returning the money to adults in charge, proving that we can recognize and consider and ethics of our actions.

SEWING

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LO: 1,5,6

I had always wanted to learn how to sew, but I had never found the time. This summer seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I talked to my grandma and she agreed to teach me. Our first problem was at the fabrics store where my grandma had a very different taste in fabrics than I did. It was hard telling her that I didn’t like what she was picking, but eventually we found a couple of fabrics that we both agreed on. We came home eager to start. We began with the pink shorts. That morning I had cut out a template and taped it all together (this was way harder than it had first seemed), and we traced those templates onto the fabric. This first pair of shorts had no pockets because we couldn’t quite find where to put them or how to sew them on. The next pair of shorts had pockets, but we didn’t put an elastic on the waistband because we accidentally sewed the opening shut. The third pair of shorts had an elastic but no string because we hadn’t managed to make an extra layer. By the fourth pair of shorts we felt like pros. We had mastered it, and we managed to make the perfect shorts I wore all summer long!

At first, I only found I was good at cutting the fabrics, but with further practice, I mastered sewing together different parts of the shorts and I learned to improve my skills from one project to the next. I pushed myself to learn a new skill I didn’t have before. On another hand, f it wouldn’t have been for my grandma, learning would have been much harder. I would have had to interact with others through videos regardless, but having someone to help me in person made the experience more enjoyable and to some extent easier. This experience helped me connect with the modern problem of fast-fashion. I was able to upcycle some old fabrics into new shorts, giving them a new life and consequently reducing waste.

WOOD WORKING

BACK

LO: 1,3,4

This CAS activity was completely unplanned at first. I had seen a couple of cool videos of people doing woodworking at home, and I decided that it was the perfect summer activity. That afternoon, I ordered a knife for woodcutting and a couple of blocks to carve. My first creation was a disaster. I attempted to make a fish but I ended up creating a torpedo-like structured piece of block that everyone laughed at. It was okay though because I was determined to make the most perfect fish anyone had ever made. I spent a couple more hours working on the next fish the following day and I was pretty proud with my result. I had managed to make the tail look like a fish tail and the smoothness of the fish I was striving for was achieved. This was a solo activity where I had to learn how to do something in order to prove my capabilities to myself. The rough draft of my fish was perfect. I found that tracing a drawing from a picture was pretty easy. The initial cuts were also doable, but as soon as I got to the nitty gritty detailed work, it was much harder. I had to learn how to master the corners and the smoothing process. For this experience I had to be persistent. It was time consuming to chip off very small pieces of wood, nonetheless, it was satisfying to see my result come to life (especially the second time).

PING - PONG

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LO: 1,2,4

Elena Guida and I spent a fraction of our lunch block playing pingpong for the last year. When the school installed pingpong tables we were ecstatic, but this excitement slowly died down. For the entire first week, we played against our classmates, teachers, friends and we lost EVERY SINGLE GAME. It was at that point that we decided that we were going to train and work our way up the levels of pingpong. We decided that we wanted to be a challenge for other players rather than an easy win. I took the pingpong paddles to school and we would pass the ball back and forth, play games against each other, and then challenge ourselves against other players. By the end of the year we were capable of beating the vast majority of the players and we owe that to our consistency.

Learning how to play pingpong helped me improve my reaction time significantly. Not only that, but I felt relaxed after playing due to the mental stimulation that occurred. We played pingpong during the whole year without fault. This commitment is what ultimately helped us reach the level we find ourselves at. Though at the beginning it was slow, we trusted the process and I can confidently say it was worth it. Without Elena this experience wouldn't have been possible which helped me learn that sometimes I need to be less stubborn and I have to let myself be helped, shwoing me the importance of teamwork.

10Km RUN

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LO: 1,2,4,7

My friend Sara found out about the race called La Carrera Contra el Cancer from her mother who was also partaking in the activity. She then enthusiastically wrote to me about it, and though we weren’t sure we would be able to run the 10km without stopping, we signed up. Though the race wasn’t initially my idea, I helped encourage Sara to sign up to the 10km rather than the 4.5km as a physical challenge. In the race Sara, Elena, and I would chant songs and encourage fellow runners as we passed them or they passed us. At the end of the race there was a fair and we enjoyed playing games with other people in order to win rewards. During this activity, I became aware of the mental strain of physical activities. When we were only 3km in I began to regret signing up to the 10km. However, having signed up before also served as motivation to keep me going. We didn’t have the best time, but I was extremely proud of running the whole way rather than walking. In the upcoming weeks to the race, I trained by running in the woods by my house. Though the conditions were going to be different, I attempted to build up stamina which further helped me realize the importance of a healthy lifestyle. At the end of the training period I ran the race, proving how commitment can lead to success. The run was charity focused and helped us realize the significance of minimal actions. We solely signed up to the race for fun, but seeing how many people were there running for people who they had lost to cancer fully changed my perspective of the run. I also realized that what might seem like a small contribution to me could potentially help someone who needs it.

PILATES

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LO: 1,4,7

In May 2024 I got surgery done on my knee to fix my torn ACL and broken meniscus. It was a hard time for me because I had been told I couldn’t play soccer for 9 months. In this process of healing I was introduced to Pilates. The gym that I went to for rehabilitation had a pilates program, so my mom and I decided to give it a go in order to get me out of my sports slump. It didn’t have the adrenaline that soccer does, but it presently surprised me and I decided to go back, once a week for the following eight weeks. Surprisingly, it helped rebuild the muscles around my knee without pushing my leg to unhealthy levels. At first, my mom and I kind of made a fool out of ourselves, not knowing how the different objects worked. As we went to more classes, we got the hang of it and began to understand what the instructor was asking us to do. The environment was very quiet, but not in an uncomfortable way, and I mostly just smiled at people without verbally interacting with them. In pilates I was able to push myself physically, but in a controlled manner so as to not strain my knee. I improved my flexibility and balance that has helped me in the long run as I recovered from my surgery. I went to this pilates class for 8 weeks straight, proving that I can commit to an activity even if it isn’t what I would normally go for. Over time I saw progression and evolution within myself. Here I also learned the importance of making time for myself. I realized that if I stopped caring about my physical and mental state I would burn out, leading me to realize the human responsibility I have to take care of myself, my minds, and my bodies.

TRASH PICK-UP HIKE

BACK

LO: 2,6,7

I decided that I would do this activity because of various reasons. To start, my family had proposed going on a hike one Saturday. I wouldn’t say that I didn’t want to go on the hike, but it just seemed a bit too dull for my taste. I was scrolling through social media when I saw someone go out to their local forest to pick up trash. I decided that I would take a trash bag and pick up some trash on the hike. After a long car ride, we got to the mountain and not 5 minutes into the hike I was taken aback, unpleasantly surprised. I already saw a beer glass and a smushed water bottle on the floor. We kept on walking, and everytime I saw some trash on the floor I would pick it up, making sure nothing was left behind, and put it in the trash bag. Once I got home, I sorted through the trash, recycling the plastic and glass in different containers. Throughout this experience, I challenged myself by responsibly picking up trash while also completing a 5 hour long hike, proving both a physical and mental strain. Additionally, I practiced environmental sustainability by both picking up trash and then sorting through it, allowing it to be rightfully recycled. By the end of the experience I began to realize how important it is to take care of my waste. I recognized the ethical importance to protect the environment and inspire others to do the same.

K5 LIBRARY

BACK

My friend Emma Riley came up to me one day and asked how I felt about helping a couple of teachers organize the library for the young k5 students. I immediately said yes knowing that I would have loved to have a library full of books in my classroom as a kid. We went to the classroom only to find that the bookshelves were empty and there were piles and piles of books on the tables and the floor. We felt overwhelmed with work, but having a group of 5 students reduced the workload immensely. My peers took turns cutting tape and labels while I taped the labels to the books. We separated the books based on their corresponding genres. We ultimately helped the teacher plan, organize, and sort through the books, leaving behind an organized space in which the students could grow as young learners. I put my organizational skills to practice during this activity, and it proved extremely helpful, not only to set up the library, but to have a specific order to complete the work. I however had to work on my patience. I realized that I was getting easily frustrated while taping the lables onto the books as every time, it felt as if their position didn't match the lables on the other books. Though it took a long time, we stuck through the experience. The pride I felt on the car ride home was unmatched; I had once again proven to myself that I was capable of sustaining focus on a very tedious and monotonous task.

LO: 1,4,5

SOUP KITCHEN

BACK

LO: 5,6,7

This activity came to be because every Friday my father would go to the soup kitchen. He would come home in an amazing mood and something about that really caught my attention. I decided to try it out one day to see what it was like to help people who have less than me. I wanted to expand my mindset, not by reading about problems but fully immersing myself in the experience and interacting with these people first hand. I arrived at about 5:00 pm and immediately

washed my hands, put some gloves and an apron on, and began working. We cut up fish, prepared meals, heated up the pasta that a public school had donated to the cause, and opened up the yogurts for dessert. It came as a surprise to me that they weren’t allowed to use forks or knives to avoid stabbing. Once we had set the tables, people began walking in. We gave everybody their plates and began serving drinks (non-alcoholic). It was hard at first to tell the people that I couldn’t give them food to take home or different food. Being a charity soup kitchen, they only have what they’re given. I spent about 3 more hours serving food and drinks to our guests and I got caught up learning each of their stories and seeing their little kids eat from the food we had carefully prepared. It was thanks to the help of the kitchen team that we were able to effectively make all the meals and serve them in an organized manner. We were so focused and smooth the we managed to serve over 400 meals in 3 hours! Once all the guests left, we began to sort through the fruit. We had to throw out the moldy pieces and carefully sort out the healthy pieces into new boxes. I ended the day extremely tired but simultaneously satisfied with my job. I had, at that point, understood my dad’s satisfaction with helping out at the soup kitchen. Additionally, by supporting people struggling to find food, I engaged with the global issue of hunger while treating everyone with respect by making them feel seen and heard.