Upper School: Global Citizenship & Student Leadership

UPPER SCHOOL

GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP & STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Mulgrave’s Global Citizenship education empowers our community to build empathy, make connections and take action for a better world for all.

Grade 10 Global Citizenship Course

Our responsibility to embrace the diversity of the human experience will be fulfilled through our commitment to:

• diversity, equity, and inclusion • sustainability • cultural competence • Indigenous knowledge systems • social justice

Global citizenship is closely tied to students’ understanding of their own emerging identity and the privileges and challenges they have, as well as those of others. Intercultural skills also enable students to connect with others through curiosity, open-mindedness, knowledge and understanding, dialogue, action, respect, empathy, and courage.

Our curriculum and co-curricular activities offer students opportunities to learn about, understand, and embrace the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which pair well with the transdisciplinary and global nature of the IB curriculum. Additional offerings such as Global Citizenship Experiential Learning and CAS (more on the following pages), as well as a wide variety of clubs and leadership opportunities, further enrich student engagement in the most pressing issues that face our world today.

In 2021-22, we introduced a multi-disciplinary humanities offering in Grade 10: Global Citizenship. Students explore a range of social science methodologies and further develop their critical thinking skills and understanding of complex societal issues across the globe. Each unit supports skill development needed for individuals to become active and informed citizens who can participate purposefully in civic affairs and influence public decision making.

The course covers social justice and human rights, peace and conflict, sustainability and poverty, and also includes a research project that fulfills the requirements of the IB Personal Project.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Leadership encompasses a broad spectrum of student engagement within our school community as well as with global and local issues which inspire action, advocacy, and allyship.

In 2021-22, we shifted our Upper School leadership model in response to student feedback. We now have a Student Board and a Senior School Student Advisory Council. These models recognise diverse voices and emphasise that leadership is not simply an innate quality of the most extroverted.

All students can be leaders and we nurture this potential through a student-centred and studentled experiential model, guided by mentorship, education, experience, and reflection.

The Student Advisory Council and Sub-Councils

Through the Senior School Student Advisory Council and its various Upper School Sub-Councils, students can add their voice to improve the Mulgrave education and the student experience. Students can dive into areas of interest such as DEIJ, athletics, and wellbeing, and also discuss important issues that affect their division. Half of the positions are appointed via representation of a Sub-Council and the remaining seats are by application.

The Student Board

Ten Grade 12 members are appointed via an interview process with the school’s leadership team. They form an ambassadorial group with a key role in building our student community across all grades. Student Board members support different grades in the school, make themselves known to the students and teachers, help out with grade-based events, and represent the Senior School with the younger grades.

Leadership at All Levels

Leadership is not reserved for senior students; the following teams give students opportunities to practice their skills and exercise their voice:

• Grade 3 Mini Leaders • Grade 5 Junior School Leaders • Middle School Ambassadors

MERT

The Mulgrave Emergency Response Team is a group of highly-trained Grade 11 and 12 students who take responsibility for first aid and care on campus. Under the supervision of adults with first response training, they are on call to attend to injuries and provide a unique service to our community while practicing skills that support their future interests.