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Introduction
Introduction
Welcome to the Community Engagement page for Dresden International School. At DIS students engage regularly in service, furthering their connections with the local and global community.
Community Engagement at DIS is integrated into the learning experience, rather than an addendum to the curriculum.
Documentation
Documentation
Students document their experiences on their personalised 'Learning Journey' websites, which is used to demonstrate a range of activities that students undertake at the school.
Documentation can take the form of photographic evidence, verbal or written reflections, artifacts or products that were created during the process.
In their end of semester reports, students also write an evaluation, connecting to the Service Learning Outcomes (discussed later) and evaluating whether they were able to meet their goals. Students can also discuss relevant progression of ATLs.
Here is an example of both a project and a means of video documentation:
Requirements
Requirements
Per semester students need to be able to demonstrate two service activities related to community engagement.
One of the service activities needs to be subject related, undertaken in the classroom as part of the curriculum. Students will have a number of service opportunities in their subjects and can be selective on which they wish to document on their website.
The second service action needs to be completed outside of the classroom. This could be connected to an extra-curricular club or the development of a project that was begun in the classroom. Students are also encouraged to show their own initiative and engage in projects that matter to them. The school or staff members might also have connections to external organisations, such as Two Wings that you can be a part of. Before contacting external organisations, students must have discussed the project with their Advisor and/or Mr. Kemp to ensure that proper and safe procedures are followed that meet with the school student protection protocols and local laws.
By the end of Grade 10, students must have undertaken a project of their own initiative, fulfilling the third Service Learning Outcome related to 'student-initiated activities'. This can be completed in Grades 9 or 10, or even before if students are capable and motivated.
Students can work alone or in groups of up to three individuals, but the work needs to be shared equally. One of the service learning outcomes is 'work collaboratively with others', so at least one group project needs to be undertaken during the MYP.
Different categories of service can include:
Different categories of service can include:
Direct Service: Students have interaction that involves people, the environment or animals. E.g. Event organisation
Indirect service: Though students do not see the recipients during indirect service, they have verified that their actions will benefit the community or environment E.g. Writing original picture books to teach a lesson
Advocacy: Students speak on behalf of a cause or concern to promote action on an issue of public interest. E.g. an awareness campaign
Research: Students collect information through varied sources, analyse data and report on a topic of importance to influence policy or practice. E.g. Write articles to inform and educate their peers on significant global topics.
Paid work is never service.
Service Learning Outcomes
Service Learning Outcomes
Each service needs to be connected to one of the Service Learning Outcomes and throughout the Middle Years Programme, students need to have developed and reflected in each of the areas:
Become more aware of your own strengths and areas for growth
What knowledge, skills and interests do I have that I can use to engage with and help others?
What knowledge, skills and interests could I develop in order to more meaningfully help others?
What resources do I have that can be used to help others?
Undertake challenges that develop new skills
What skills can I develop to help myself feel more comfortable with trying something new?
What familiar activities can I expand on in order to challenge myself to growth? How will this help me develop new skills?
What unfamiliar activities can I challenge myself to undertake? How will this help me develop new skills?
Discuss, evaluate and plan student-initiated activities
Who can I talk to about my service ideas?
How can I determine if my service idea will be possible and meaningful?
What details do I need to consider in order to make an effective plan for accomplishing my service idea?
Persevere in action
What longer-term service activities can I commit to?
What potential obstacles or challenges might I encounter?
What skills and strategies can I use to persevere if/when I encounter obstacles or it becomes challenging to continue in a service activity?
Work collaboratively with others
Who do I know who could help me help others?
How can I expand my network of contacts who could support my efforts to help others?
What collaborative skills and strategies can I use in order to work effectively with others involved in my service experiences?
Develop international mindedness through global engagement, multilingualism and intercultural understanding
How can I learn more about the needs that exist in other places around the world?
How can I use my language skills to engage with those I want to help?
How can I learn more about the culture of those I want to help so that my actions are respectful?
Consider the ethical implications of your actions
What consequences and impacts might this service experience have?
Might any of those impacts result in a negative outcome for anyone in the community?
What can I do to ensure that my actions are ethical?
Credit: Diane Smith
What do some real life projects look like?
What do some real life projects look like?
As a high school freshman, 14 year old Trisha Prabhu heard about a young girl’s suicide because of cyber bullying. As a result, she created an app called ReThink, which gives adolescents trying to post offensive messages on social media a second chance to reconsider their decisions.
When Kelvin was 11 years old, he began looking for ways to fix local problems in Sierra Leone. By 13, he was powering neighborhood houses with batteries made out of acid, soda and metal in a tin cup. He went on to build a community radio station out of recycled parts that he powered with a generator also made out of reused material.
Katie Stagliano’s service journey began in 3rd grade when she received and grew a cabbage seedling. She donated her 40 pound grown cabbage to a local soup kitchen and was invited to serve the soup to 275 guests at the kitchen. This experience inspired her to start 'Katie’s Krops' which guides kids in developing vegetable gardens and donating the harvest to help feed people in need.
17 year old Alissa Chavez heard about infants who passed away after being left in a hot car. She was inspired to create 'The Hot Seat', a safety device that can be used in any infant, toddler or booster seat to prevent children from being accidentally left unattended in a car.
When she was 14, Allyson Ahlstrom read a book which tells the stories of teenagers completing service projects around the country. She was so inspired to make a difference that she created Threads For Teens. Allyson’s first goal was to provide two new sets of clothes and shoes for 10 girls from extreme poverty or foster care. Threads for Teens has now grown to a nonprofit organization and has outfitted more than 1,600 girls.
14 year old Marley is the activist behind the Twitter hashtag #1000BlackGirlBooks. She was frustrated that she couldn't find any books in which the main characters looked like her. Her goal was to collect 1,000 with a black, female protagonist. The book drive resulted in more than 12,000 books catalogued so far. Marley also wrote the book Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You as a guide to positive change through activism.
When Ryan Hickman was 3, he visited the rePlanet recycling center in California. He was inspired! At 7, he started Ryan’s Recycling. What started out as collecting cans and bottles from his neighbors to recycle has risen to over 50 customers and over 200,000 bottles and cans.
Credit: Diane Smith
Where can students get help with their Community Engagement projects?
Where can students get help with their Community Engagement projects?
Please talk to Ms. Cozmatchi about it. The advisors are also valuable points of contact.
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