“There are three ways of trying to win the young. There is persuasion, there is compulsion and there is attraction. You can preach at them: that is a hook without a worm. You can say ‘you must volunteer’; that is the devil. And you can tell them ‘you are needed.’ That hardly ever fails.”
Kurt Hahn
Founder, UWC movement
Our Infant School students enjoy a variety of experiences as members of a vibrant community, within the school environment and beyond. They are encouraged and empowered to become aware, able and active and to contribute to the world around them in a positive way.
Service is at the heart of the UWC movement, and even our youngest students become involved in service activities at College, local and global level. At College level, where they offer a service to other members of the school community; in local service, where they connect with members of the Singapore community; and in global service which incorporates Global Concerns (GC) projects.
"UWCSEA believes in the transformative nature of the experience of serving others and in the responsibility we have to one another and the planet. The Service programme fosters empathy and helps students to recognise that part of being human is seeking opportunities to put yourself aside in the service of others."
Infant School students identify local problems they can solve and reflect on their ability to be agents of change. College Service might involve recycling materials, caring for plants or helping the Operations and Facilities team to clean up rubbish and leaf litter. College Service gives students an opportunity to put the UWCSEA values and mission into practice on a daily basis. GC projects reflect a range of global development challenges and associated environmental issues, allowing Infant students to begin to consider, and take action on these.
Recently a group of Infant School students celebrated the end of term with a party and local Service event at Sentosa. Class parent representatives Scott and Junko helped to facilitate this event with the support of the parents and students in K2SMH. (Thank you so much Scott and Junko!)
This event was not only Service focused but also a wonderful Outdoor Education opportunity! The children swam approximately 100 metres over to the small islet off Tanjung Beach where they spent more than 90 minutes on a rubbish hunt. Emily said, "first we splashed about and then we put all the rubbish to the side. I felt super happy and excited to clean the rubbish for the world."
Our K2 children managed to clean up more than 8 large bags of plastic, foam and other rubbish, plus a tarpaulin full of plastic bottles for recycling. Wow!
Drummond recalled, "we swam out to the island. We got gloves and we picked up bottles and rubbish. Viktor's dad held him by the legs so he could get lots of stuff out of the water!"
Lilah remembers, "we were taking care of the earth by climbing rocks and getting rubbish. I felt a bit worried that I couldn't get all of it cause some of it was stuck. I hope the earth still feels happy".
We all have a responsibility to protect the environment and the College is committed to ensuring environmental stewardship becomes a major part of every child’s education. Our Infant School students are embracing the college mission and doing their bit to take care of the environment, they are well on the way to creating a sustainable future.
Thank you to the parents of K2SMH, what a wonderful opportunity for our students to put their "ideals and values into action and grow as compassionate people and active agents of change."
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