CAS Week 2025 – Chiang Mai
A mixed group of 38 Y7-9 students embarked on an adventurous trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand for their CAS week accompanied by Ms Moran, Mr Hughes, Mr Pizzi and Mr Woodburn. They undertook a variety of daytime activities ranging from: trekking through the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, finding temples and waterfalls along the way; mountain biking up to the Mae Kuang Udom Thara dam, kayaking the Mae Faek river, to ziplining in Mae Raem. Evening activities included wildlife spotting at the night safari, to dinner budgeting in night markets and malls. The trip concluded with a truly memorable trip to the Chiang Mai Elephant Nature Park where students engaged in service activities such as making medicine balls for elderly and infirm elephants, mucking out elephant enclosures, and preparing nutritious meals for the elephants. Behaviour was exemplary throughout the trip and it was wonderful to see different year groups collaborating in a friendly and supportive spirit.
Aarav: Kayaking was tiring. It lasted almost 3 hours. Our hands were hurting for a long time. To overcome this, me and Dylan tried to use strategies that the instructor told us to do. For example, we tried to have better communication and synchronise our hand movements. This really helped us go faster. I think in general I learned how to make a strenuous activity fun. I also learned that using strategies can be important, and it is more important than strength.
Priyaan: The zipline seemed extra scary for me because I am scared of heights. To overcome this I ignored my mental block and walked across the bridge. While walking across I could feel an adrenaline rush and afterwards it felt so good. This tells me that my fear of heights is fake and I can overcome anything if I ignore the fear or pain.
Constantin: The trekking was exhausting but the view from the top of the mountain was breathtaking and definitely worth it.
Ryan: Today we went to the elephant sanctuary and it was a lot more fun than I thought. I am so glad I got a tick on my bucket list by seeing elephants for the first time and even learning about them. It was a very good experience.
Sean: At one point, we faced a long and steep slope that convinced everyone that they were too tired already. However, gathering my determination and will, I managed to ride to the top without getting off the bike. Facing these challenges, I also learned to enjoy the moment when there is no immediate solution to a problem.
Gabby: Today we went to the elephant sanctuary and prepared food (mangos) for the elephants. We interacted with others by checking if the mangoes were good, bad or unripe. I hoped to wash and participate in the meal prep a lot and I really think in the beginning I was a bit disgusted but eventually I think I did a lot. I learnt that I’m the type of person to adapt quickly into different environments.
