In this series of articles, we aim to discuss GIIS pedagogy, 9GEM and to share with you with some examples on how GIIS has ingrained each GEM into the students life across all campuses, worldwide.The 8th GEM is Community Care.
UAE
Trip to Al Wathba Park
A fun-filled trip was organised for the students of Class 1 and 2 to Al Wathba Park. They played on the swings, slides and also played outdoor games including Duck Duck Goose and football.
JAPAN
Bicycle & traffic drills workshop
GIIS Tokyo Campus in collaboration with the Tokyo Department of Traffic conducted a workshop on the awareness and importance of bicycle traffic rules. This workshop provided real life travel experiences to our students and addressed local road safety needs and concerns. The workshop presented the latest data about road accidents in the country, encouraging students to realise the importance of one’s precious life.
MALAYSIA
Celebrating festivities
Festivities always awaken a sense of thrill in all of us. The students performed an aerobics routine, alongside performances by different dance styles to foot-tapping music, they also enthralled us with costumes made from recycled material. Various attractions including bouncy castle, sand art and tattooing kept children entertained. The money collected through games was donated to charity.
Deepavali celebration
“Diwali” or “Deepavali” is known as the festival of lights. Students as well as teachers came dressed in traditional attire and the whole campus wore a festive look. A special assembly was organised to celebrate the spirit of Diwali. Students sang songs, danced and enacted a play depicting the spirit of Diwali.
Community outreach Children’s Day fundraiser
GIIS students had a session with SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). This gave the students an insight into the various ways they can support the cause against cruelty to animals. The students had raised over RM2000 towards this cause. The students were also educated about the Animal Welfare Act-2015 and had indeed an interesting session.
Meals on wheels
Meals on wheels is a programme run by The Interact Club and Give KL Club on our KL Campus. Their aim was to provide comfort and compassion to those who live with a terrible sense of abandonment and helplessness. Our students and teachers helped prepare meals, cooking and even distributed them out to the needy. As an add-on, haircut and clothes were also provided for by the team.
SINGAPORE
Green efforts
In a special assembly, students and teachers took a green pledge to conserve water, paper and electricity. Energy Monitor badges were distributed during a talk by the volunteers from WWF. Subsequently, there was a prize distribution ceremony that accredited students who participated in various competitions based on the themes of nature and Mother Earth. A walk for this cause was conducted by the WWF, involving flyer distribution and poster displays.
Food Bank initiative
GIIS East Coast partnered with a third-party organisation Food Bank Singapore for a new initiative called “Food Bank”. This is a charity that aims to fight hunger and reduce food wastage in Singapore by donating the excess food which would otherwise be wasted and make it available to those in need through a network of member beneficiaries. As a part of this project, the school placed Food Bank boxes at the main foyer throughout the month for students to donate items that are unopened and have a shelf life of at least 4 weeks on a rotational basis.
Clean, green & sustainability
GIIS East Coast was invited by The Public Hygiene Council of Singapore to participate in the “Clean and Green Carnival” as partners for a Clean and Green Singapore. Prime Minister Mr. Lee Hsien Loong launched this carnival at Khatib. The carnival aimed to create environmental consciousness as second nature to Singaporeans, and provided an opportunity to understand the importance of our role and our contributions to protect our environment.
Food Fiesta
Students organised a fundraising initiative called “Food Fiesta”. This initiative managed to raise an astonishing S$2,117 with the help of students, parents and teachers. The proceeds of the sale went to a charity that helps the less fortunate and elderly citizens. This inculcates strong values in our young children, such as being kind to the less fortunate, building a sense of belonging and giving back to their community.
World Water Week celebrations
The week long activities started with WWF representatives making a presentation on the Coral Triangle and the dangers to marine ecology. In order to create awareness amongst students on the importance of water, various activities were conducted throughout the week including a dress up day, art and craft, making comic strips, doing worksheets and making cartoon videos on saving water. The week culminated with a collective prayer on water saving.
Earth Day
This annual event is celebrated to demonstrate support for the environment. Classroom discussions about various practical aspects of conservation were held. Art and craft activities were conducted using recycled materials to create awareness about protecting our precious Mother Earth.
No to littering
A puppet show titled “Litterbug Leo” was put up by the kindergarten teachers with the intention to educate the students about the effects of littering the environment. The students enjoyed the show immensely and were able to understand the importance of a litter-free environment as it was presented in an interesting and appealing manner.
Clean & Green Singapore
The Clean and Green Singapore Carnival hosted by National Environment Agency aims to inspire every individual to care and protect for the environment by adopting clean, green and sustainable living. The students of GIIS presented the play “Trees for Life” to show the importance of trees and the use of paper certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an NGO which promotes responsible forest management worldwide through their certification. The message conveyed through the skit to the audience was to take ownership of making the right choices, and make a positive difference in helping to ensure the forests of the world stay healthy.
Toy buffet
A simple act of kindness can make a tremendous impact on a person’s life. An annual event was organised by “Food from the Heart”. This toy drive encouraged all parents to donate toys which their child may have outgrown to other needy children. As the saying goes: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Indian Heritage Centre
Students went to the Indian Heritage Centre and learnt the role played by the Indian immigrants in shaping the destiny of Singapore. They enjoyed this wholesome experience as they learnt about the history and culture of Indian community in Singapore.
INDIA
Save the girls
The students in a heart-wrenching skit showed our society’s biased attitude against young girls. Today our society has become more aware of the plummeting numbers in the birth of girls. There are villages in the remotest of places in our country where the birth of a girl is still considered a taboo, where hundreds of female foetuses are killed in the womb so that they never see the light of the day. This sorry state of our society shows how contradictory our way of living is. Our students aim to unite and empower girls, and educate our fellow citizens that girls can stand on par with boys today.
Spreading warmth & smiles
“Donate Warmth” was an initiative taken up by the school authorities to help the homeless and vulnerable across various slums of Indore. To make their Christmas special, parents, students, staff members and teachers were extremely generous, donating new clothes, toys, packed eateries and many more.
The school students along with teachers visited a slum area to distribute the Joy Boxes to its residents. Our students were an integral part of this initiative, voluntarily helping teachers collate and pack the boxes. The work behind becoming Santa for the less privileged made our students understand the duties towards the weaker sections of our society, and how small things like sharing books, clothes, food can help them in life.
Visit to Lal Bagh Palace
Lal Bagh is one of the most spectacular buildings in the history of Indore. To sensitise the students about the importance of cleanliness, faculty of the school took students to the palace of Holkars, also known as Lal Bagh. Students carried broomsticks, dusters and other cleaning materials for restoration of the place, along with beautiful hoardings made following the guidelines of Swacch Bharat Abhiyan. The students cleaned the palace premises including the main gate and palace passages and the students took an oath to maintain other historical places as well as their surroundings. The mission of Clean India proved successful and our students contributed towards it.