Activities

On this page, I will be sharing the different activities that I took part in.

The Montreal Holocaust Museum

As a part of the interdisciplinary week, I had the chance to visit the Montreal Holocaust Museum. There, there was plenty of objects that actually belonged to the victims. It was a great opportunity to learn and know more about the Holocaust but from another point of view. Furthermore, the visit made me realize that I actually did not know that much about this part of history and that Jewish people were treated horribly by more countries and people that I would have thought of.

Japan Trip

During the winter break, as a part of the winter semester, I participated in the course trip to Japan. There, I completed my second French class and my first complementary class. Aside from the courses, this was the best trip of my life. We went to five different cities (Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto). In retrospect, I could not say that one city really stood from one another since they were all so different and had similar, yet not at all, cultures. However, my favorite part of the trip was definitely all of the different foods I tried (even if some were better than others). Moreover, the karaoke night that some of the students and the teachers had was definitely unforgettable. Otherwise, as far as the visiting goes, the Tokyo Tower and the Higashiyama District in Kyoto were out of this world experiences that I will never forget. The tower offered a majestic and futuristic view while Higashiyama allowed us a look into Japan's past.

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Political picnic

For the interdisciplinary week, I took part in a political picnic. While the weather took away the picnic part, the participants still had the opportunity to assist to a conference about municipal politics. There the speaker spoke on parks and nature parks. Furthermore, we learned more about the economic aspect of parks (which part of the municipality finances the parks; how are the budget and costs separated and defined). Also, after the conference, we got the chance to walk a bit into the «Parc nature du Bois de l'Île Bizarre».

World Press Photo

In September, I have had the opportunity to visit the World Press Photo exposition. The World Press Photo is a photojournalism international competition where journalists submit pictures they have taken during the year. The pictures cannot be modified except in regards to changing a picture in color to being in black and white. The main themes explored in the exposition were wars, international conflicts, natural disasters, social inequalities, religion, poverty or local traditions. Before going to the exposition, the group visiting with Sainte-Anne had a brief presentation on photojournalism (what is it?, what are the rules and ethics?), the historical and political background of some of the conflicts presented, and the philosophy of and behind photography. Overall, I really appreciated the visit and it has made me learn more on different subjects that are not the main focus point in western medias.

*To see the full exposition, visit the World Press Photo's website:

https://www.worldpressphoto.org/

New York Trip and UN Visit

In November, along with many of my classmates in the social sciences, I participated in the New York trip. There, we had a few days to visit the city and do anything that we wanted in the city of lights. During this free time, along with some shopping, we visited the American Museum of Natural History. We chose to get tickets that granted access to all of the expositions which allowed us to see expositions on butterflies, mammals, the universe, the Big Bang, the evolution of humans, amongst many other things. Furthermore, during our trip, there was Christmas market right next to our meeting spot which enabled us to see the hard work of many artisans as well as discover and eat food from around the world. Then on the last day, a visit to the United Nations Headquarters was organized. During this visit, we had a private tour where the guide told us more about the history of the UN and the functioning of the international organization.

Sainte-Anne Open house

During the school year, CISA has organized to open house in order to allow potential students to visit and learn more about the school. On both occasions, I attended as a volunteer which enabled me to interact with future students and their parents. During the first open house, my role was within the trip section. This means that I gave more information, to those interested, about the trips organized by the teachers and I especially spoke about the Japan trip, which is the one I attended. While I did really enjoy my day and speaking about Sainte-Anne's nicest features, what marked my day was the fun I had alongside the other students and teachers that were in the same classroom as me.

As for the second occurence of CISA's open house, I was located in the social sciences section. Once again, I spoke with many future and potential students. However, the main subject of our conversations were the social sciences, what they were and why should they chose this program if they hadn't already. Additionally, since this station was not the most popular, I had the opportunity to connect and interact more with the first year honours students which was one of the first time I did.

Forum Étudiant

In January, during the winter break, along with other honours students, others Sainte-Anne students, and M. Mitrasca, I participated in a parliamentary simulation that occurred in the National Assembly and that reunited students from CEGEPs all across Quebec. This activity consisted in a simulation where every participants took on a real role in the National Assembly or in a sphere surrounding it. Thus, some were ministers, deputies, members of the oppositions, presidents, journalists, amongst many other things. There, I had the role of a press attach which means that I had the responsibility to communicate with journalists and the other press attaches that were not apart of the government. Everyday, every member of the government met in order to distribute roles and organize the different sessions that would occur. Furthermore, along with the other press attach in the government, every morning, we had to do press reviews and briefly explain the Forum's headlines as well as the real headlines. Moreover, as a press attach, I had the opportunity to visit the press tribune and meet famous journalists in Québec as well as discover the behind the scenes of the medias and the process behind the recording of the National Assembly's sessions. Overall, this activity allowed me to branch out and meet many other people that I probably would not have otherwise. Additionally, it enabled me to understand more the parliamentary process in Quebec and everything that occurs backstage.

Participating in the Forum Étudiant as also led for our group to meet the deputy of Sainte-Anne's circumscription, Enrico Ciccone. We had the chance to discuss with him about our experiences at the forum. We could also ask him questions about recent events in the news as well as learn more about his daily tasks and overall job as a Member of the National Assembly.