Year 2 students transform into Sustainable Superheroes with Sustaina-Squad Initiative

During the last term, our Year 2 students embarked on a journey through the theme of Superheroes, delving into "Sustainable Superhero Characteristics" aligned with the Nord Anglia Learner Attributes: Curiosity, Compassion, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Commitment. Each week commenced on Monday morning with an assembly that introduced a Superhero Characteristic, which was then woven into our Topic and English studies throughout the week. 

The term kicked off with an assembly where we unveiled our Superhero Team of teachers, dubbed the "Sustaina-Squad." This initiative linked with our focus on sustainability, culminating in a special week dedicated to the United Nations Sustainability Goals. With six teachers on the Year 2 team, each of us adopted a superhero persona and role; for instance, I became "Captain Curiosity."

We told a story about how the Sustaina-Squad collaborated to overcome the villain "Fast Fashion Freddy," who encouraged excessive clothing consumption.   

The first week, themed around Curiosity, set the stage for the term's inquiries into sustainability. This initial exploration sparked questions that guided our learning journey.

In the second week, under the theme of Compassion, we invited the Bangkok Community Help charity to educate our students on supporting the broader community through donations of unused clothing and household items. The children also wrote letters to their families, discussing the necessity of aiding those in less fortunate circumstances.

The third week focused on Collaboration, where students teamed up for sustainability projects. Activities across Maths, Topic, and English lessons bolstered collaborative skills, including the creation of an art piece to advocate for sustainable living.

Creative Week, our fourth week, saw students devising their own superheroes, contemplating necessary attributes (and imaginative superpowers), and designing corresponding outfits and logos.

During the Critical Learning week, we honed our critical thinking by evaluating our designs and narratives. This week also emphasized the significance of sustainable living practices, including an upcycling project that transformed old T-shirts into superhero capes adorned with unique logos. 

The final week, themed around Commitment, brought everything full circle. We delved into the clothing industry's impact on environmental pollution and explored actionable steps to mitigate the effects of fast fashion. Highlighting this commitment, we encouraged every student to contribute clothing to the Bangkok Community Help, resulting in a significant donation. This week also included learning about clothing production, the cultivation of cotton, the water footprint of manufacturing a single T-shirt, and the pollution caused by fabric dyes.

Our culmination was a Superhero Day, where students donned their homemade capes and engaged in a superhero training camp, developing skills like leaping, pursuing villains, and even "jumping through fire."

Throughout the term, students began to incorporate the learner attribute terminology into their daily conversations, recognizing and celebrating these qualities in themselves and their peers. Recognition of these attributes was celebrated with praise and stickers from the Metacognition resources, fostering a supportive and motivational environment.