Service Learning

St. Joseph’s Institution International

22

Service Learning is central in defining who we are and what we want our students to become. SJI International strives to nurture open-hearted and open-minded students who have a strong sense of purpose, belonging and social responsibility.

From Prep 1, students are encouraged to participate in whole school service events, which support our chosen Global Initiative Programme with our charity of choice, the Lasallian Community Education Services (LCES), in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The LCES supports the Henamulla preschool, which has 150 children and is supported by seven teachers. The Elementary School has also been collecting five and ten cent coins that will be used to support the lunches served at the Henamulla schools. Our Elementary Parents Support Group (EPSG) are key supporters of our Global Initiative Programme. They bring the community together and host an annual lapathon.

Once children reach the Upper Elementary School, they start working towards their CASS Awards. This stands for Community, Activity, Sport and Service and is used to encourage children to push themselves outside of their comfort zone and give up their time to help others both in our school community and beyond. For each badge at Bronze and Silver level, children have to carry out 3 acts of Service, such as a sponsored event or volunteer for a day. Those children who reach Gold level have to plan and carry out their own independent service project, making their own contacts with agencies and working out logistics of supplies.

In the High School, all students are involved in regular direct service activities from Grades 7 to 12. Service projects are supervised by tutors or service leaders and as students progress through High School, they are given more voice and choice in the projects they participate in but are encouraged to be actively engaged in each stage of service learning (investigation, preparation, action, reflection and demonstration) at all grade levels. Students move from working in tutor groups in partnership with Loola’s Safe Water Garden initiative in Grade 7 to organising their own service-centred trips abroad for Challenge Week, a key part of the school’s Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) programme for Grade 11s. These student-planned, teacher-mentored projects culminate in a week of independent activity, without teacher supervision, within Southeast Asia.

As the pandemic has taken a hold on the world, initial plans for service learning were no longer possible, new needs emerged, and restrictions put in place seemed like obstacles at first. However, it didn’t take long for students to show their resilience and adaptability.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, students continued to support various organisations and charities, both local and overseas. From raising funds for children with cancer and foreign workers in Singapore, organising virtual fundraising concerts and a debating tournament, delivering daily meals to the elderly, to developing a series of videos to help teachers in rural Cambodia use Google Suite tools, students actively engaged in community action despite the restrictions.

SERVICE LEARNING FUNDRAISING HIGHLIGHTS

Organisation

Funds raised

Lasallian Community Education Services in Sri Lanka $ 42,377.82 Children’s Cancer Foundation $ 10,336.00 Purple Community Fund (ES & HS) $ 14,243.59 MINDS $ 381.03 Willing Hearts Singapore Association for Mental Health S 715.92 $ 1,170.00