ISY Learning Story
The Community Library Project

We have three Learner Outcomes at ISY that we work towards with all of our students. ISY graduates will be Compassionate Global Citizens, Lifelong Learners and Agents for Positive Change. In order to achieve these outcomes, we nurture these ISY Learner Attributes in all of our students: Compassion, Collaboration, Communication, Courage, Creativity, Critical Thinking and Reflection.

To nurture the ISY Learner Attributes, we try to develop as many opportunities as we can for students to use them. Our After School Activities (ASA) program is designed to provide many of these opportunities. 

One service learning ASA providing such opportunities is the Kindness and Compassion Club supervised by Grade 3 teacher, Ms. Charlie Saunders. This is an ASA for Elementary School students and their goal is to spread kindness and compassion through the school. They do this by initiating compassion projects that make our school a better place. 

This year, the Kindness and Compassion Club decided our school community would benefit from a Community Library. Specifically, a library that has books in the different languages people in our community speak so everyone can have something to read. This Community Project links directly to our recently reviewed strategic themes of Belonging and Internationalism in that its goal is to create an inclusive environment for all by supporting the cultural diversity that is core to our ISY identity.

This learning story explores how the ISY Learner Attributes were nurtured in this project.

Compassion 

The project itself was a compassion project. Ms. Saunders asked the students what is something our school needs that we can do. Through brainstorming, the students came up with the idea of a community library. Their reasoning was that everyone likes to read but they may not read in English.

Collaboration

The planning for the library was a collaborative effort. Students paired up with a partner to come up with a design. They each made their own design and then they shared their design with a partner. From there, they identified the similarities and differences in their designs. They then worked together to make a streamlined joint design. 

The collaboration was extended to other members of the ISY community with Mr. Ye Thiha and Ms. Schubert being a big help in the designs and giving feedback during the reflection process.

Communication 

The students used and developed their communication skills to clearly communicate their ideas. The students understood that it was important for all ideas and students to be heard and they practiced reciprocal conversation to do this. Students with stronger communication skills were careful to listen and allow everyone to have a voice. The importance of using a friendly tone of voice and the skill to manage disagreements in a positive and constructive way was also learned by the students. The students understood that how you deliver an idea is sometimes just as important as the idea itself. For example, if you shout, other people and their ideas will be shut down. The students’ communication skills have improved a lot during the project. 

Critical Thinking and Creativity 

The students had many creative ideas and they used critical thinking to develop and refine them to meet the needs of the project. Students had to use reasoning. They had to think about what resources they had to make the library and whether they were suitable for what they had in mind. For example, if the library was kept outside, how do we protect it from the weather? What materials could it be made from that suit our environment? The students used logic and reasoning to address this questions and adapt their ideas accordingly.

Reflection

Students reflected throughout the project with a view to improvement. They reflected on their ideas and the quality of their library designs and made improvements as they were working. They also reflected on how they were working with others. What makes a good partner? Was I being a good listener, and contributor? These are important reflective questions that help improve the ideas and designs of the groups and develop skills that students can use when they work in different groups with different people.

Our new Community Library will be up and running soon. It will be a wonderful contribution to our school’s commitment to nurturing a sense of Belonging and Internationalism. It will also be a reminder of the positive change even our youngest students can make with our ISY Learner Attributes.