BIS Community Service CCA – Helping Hands and Student Leadership

AGILITY [uh-jil-i-tee]
Noun - The power of moving quickly and easily; nimbleness.

An apt description for our BIS Community Service CCA. With the decision taken this term to limit interaction between organisations, many of the community service CCAs were impacted by not being able to visit or host our community children. It is a testament to the creativity and agility of both the BIS students and the staff, as they quickly and easily found ways to adjust the focus of these clubs, while still maintaining a strong community element.

The Thien Phuoc Helping Hands CCA had planned for Secondary students to join a group of Junior students in bi-weekly visits to Thien Phuoc Foster Home.  However, realising that this was no longer possible, they discussed ways in which they could make an authentic impact on the BIS school community as opposed to the local Vietnamese community.  Yesterday they did this by walking across to the Junior Campus and meeting their younger Year 3 – 6 counterparts for an afternoon of activities including colouring-in, board games, puzzles and UNO.  During their time together, playing and simply having fun, it was evident that friendships had already begun to develop, which will hopefully continue to strengthen over the remainder of the term.  The older students plan to become mentors, growing strong individual relationships as they coach and support their younger peers each week.

As role models, the Secondary students have an opportunity to develop their leadership skills, improve their communication and listening skills while giving back to our BIS school community – there is no doubt that this collaboration will make a tangible difference not only in the younger children’s lives but through this care and outward focus, contribute to greater school connectedness.

Tracey Brownrigg
Whole School Co-curricular Coordinator and
Community Service Project Manager