Community Project – Making the World A Better Place

The Community Project is an 8th grade MYP project that leads to the Grade 10 Personal Project and helps students to prepare for the CAS in the DP. MYP projects help students to develop the attributes of the IB learner profile, provide students with an essential opportunity to demonstrate ATL skills, and foster the development of independent, lifelong learners. As part of the project, we asked Ms. Kate Broger, Secondary School German teacher and Community Project Coordinator, for a short description and reflection on the work being completed by G8 students:

The Community Project focuses on community and service. Students get the opportunity to explore their right and responsibility to implement service-as-action in the community. By researching the needs of various communities, planning the service, fulfilling the action and reflecting after the service, students develop a deeper sense of empathy and understanding of their role in their own community-nationally and globally. One of the goals of the Community Project is for students to become more globally-minded and seek to make the world a better and more peaceful place.

Every Grade 8 student has to complete a service/ action project, which should be based on personal interest. They can do it individually or in a group of up to four students.

At BIS we start with the project in autumn and end in spring with an exhibition. Throughout this half-year, students meet with the coordinator twice a month and learn about project management including time planning, responsibilities, scheduling tasks and actions.

Three featured projects are:

Hongbao Run

Students created Chinese New Year cards, sold them at school and donated the money to street cleaners during the Wuxi Hongbao Run.

Our motto is “We see, we do. We care, we share.” For me as the coordinator it is amazing to see how groups exceeded their goals, improved their communication, social empathy, research, self- management and thinking skills and worked passionately towards making the world a better place.

The Community Project has, to me, become a poignant reminder of how young people can care about and effect change in their communities. I am already looking forward to beginning this cycle again with our grade 8 next school year!