New Initiatives

Despite the pandemic and the subsequent restrictions placed on gatherings, Section activities have continued, albeit in a modified form. Our goal has been to give our students as “normal” an experience as possible, even though most meetings have been forced to move online and outings and trips have been canceled. Believe it or not, two very popular new clubs were created this year!

ECONOMICS TAKES FLIGHT

Sometimes it takes a pandemic for an idea to take flight. In September and October of 2018, “break period” conversations with my Seconde ENL class would often take the form of informal chats on economics and the markets. I think that there was a core group of kids in the room for whom the subject offered a new world to unlock with their mathematical/scientific minds like a campfire waiting for a match. Outside of these talks, I would later learn, these Secondes (current Terminales), had built up a trading community amongst their friends on Discord groups. On their own, they set up personal “paper trading,” (virtual-pretend money) accounts; each began with $10,000 that could be “invested” and move in real time with the markets. This was just before the November market correction that ran through January 2019. By mid-January, the most successful investor of the group was a student who had lost his login information, and therefore still had his original $10,000 in cash. The rest of them had been cleaned out in the sell-off.

They were hooked.

Last February, those same students approached me with the idea of beginning an Economics Club at the Section. The kids made successful pitches to Mike and Adrienne, the green light was given, and the American Section Economics Club became a real thing. Our first meetings were during the lockdown, and it was ideal. In those weeks, we studied economics by following and discussing the dramatic market response to the Covid-19 crisis. A highlight of that period was when we were visited by Section parents on two occasions, both of whom delivered wonderful talks on their work in sustainable development across Africa.

The Economics Club meets virtually every other week and has 15 participants from Seconde – Terminale.

Christian Vachon, Economics Club Advisor

A NEW CLUB FOR MANGA AND ANIME AFICIONADOS

“The world isn’t perfect. But it’s there for us, doing the best it can.... that’s what makes it so damn beautiful.” ~ Roy Mustang in FullMetal Alchemist

At the beginning of the school year a group of Middle School students created the Manga Club. At first, the idea was to better understand manga and anime, as well as appreciate Japanese culture. Soon enough, club members came up with the goal of creating their very own manga. Some students are in charge of art, while others work on character designs, plot, general design, storyline, and much more. The goal behind the project is to learn more about this unique art form, while having fun creating our own world and turning some of the students’ dreams into reality. Club members have regular meetings both in and out of school to make sure that the manga is advancing at a good pace. Meetings are also the time to study memorable quotes from favorite mangas. Club member Ambre Elhaoussine says “We have had some deep conversations based on these profound thoughts. They mess up our minds, and destabilize our current notion of reality. They also make us ponder on how believing in your dreams and never giving up is an essential part that you need to include in your life, your ethic.”

Alix Gerrier, Quatrième

BUILDING CHALLENGES FOR LEGO ROBOTICS

In all areas of life throughout the past year, we’ve been challenged to rethink how we do things. One of the biggest challenges has been moving a handson, collaborative activity online. The heart of our Lego Robotics Club consists of our three WeDo kits that let students work together to build and program small robots to do tasks from simulating earthquakes, to pulling other objects, to cooling us by moving a fan. But, with students Zooming in from their homes and no WeDo kits in sight, we have to get creative--and we sure have, this school year! Each Lego Robotics semimonthly meeting, students are presented with two or three building challenges. Some favorite challenges have been speed building a tower in one minute, a Lego zipline for a minifig, a Lego catapult, and a balance using a hanger and some string to see how many Legos an object, such as a shoe, weighs. We haven’t completely forgotten our coding--we are practicing with the binary alphabet using Lego pieces. While we miss meeting in person and using our WeDo kits, it’s great seeing the students’ smiling faces, seeing their happiness when they accomplish each challenge, and seeing them help each other problem solve. We are making the most of our time together and building some pretty amazing creations!

Caitlin Echasseriau, Lego Robotics Advisor NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION

For the first time since 2006, we were unable to welcome students from the Mahatma Gandhi International school to St. Germain. Covid-19 also prevented American Section students from traveling to Ahmedabad for the twoweek cultural and community service exchange. We were loathe, however, to put the program aside for an entire year, as many of our Upper School students have looked forward to participating in the exchange since their Lower School days. So we adapted. Faculty advisors put together presentations to teach the team’s fourteen participants about India, including a general presentation about the city of Ahmedabad, one about Hinduism and Indian culture, and one about Indian society. We also got in touch with Manav Sadhna, an NGO with which we have worked for a decade, to develop a mutually beneficial project. The members of the India team are now creating education videos to teach English to underprivileged children. Not only are they learning how to teach rudimentary English, they are developing their video making and editing skills as well. The resulting videos will have a lasting impact, as they will be used by the NGO in their classrooms all year long.

Victoire Genevois, Seconde, explains “Even though the most exciting part of the exchange has been canceled, I am still very grateful to be on the India Team and think these small meetings are a great opportunity to prepare for an eventual trip and to bond with peers. I have already learned a lot about Indian culture and feel more prepared to teach children in the future. It has been a great way to practice my teaching skills but also to share fun and convivial moments with other students and teachers.”

Margaret Jenkins, India Exchanger Advisor