| Every spring, Service Learning Week and the Student Leadership Retreat mark the time when student leaders pass the torch to a new generation of changemakers as they get ready to graduate from YIS. This year, they are joined by Sina Krickhahn, Virginia Zamora, and Jérémie Rostan, who will also be moving on to new adventures next year, and entrust their cherished responsibilities to our new PTSA Service Liaison, Elementary School Service Learning Coordinator, and School-wide Service Learning Coach: Marlene Pinto, Larissa Sears, and Kyle Quint, respectively. We wish them all the best, confident that, as is evident from the testimonials below, that service learning will always be in season at YIS.
| | | | Virginia Zamora, Elementary School Service Learning Coordinator
Last month, I was delighted to lead the ES leadership retreat where Grade 5 student leaders had an opportunity to develop their thinking around leadership. Students explored different ideas through videos, conversations and practical scenarios of student leadership. They were able to identify knowledge, skills and dispositions that leaders develop in order to lead others effectively. Below are some of the new understandings that students gained through this time learning together:
| | | | “I used to think that leaders do things by themselves and followers follow. Now I think that leaders listen to others before making decisions”.
“I used to think that leadership was a different word for boss. Now I think that leadership is more about caring for the whole community”.
“I used to think that being a leader was something that just needs something that is fun, but now I think that I need a big goal and a lot of responsibility, and learning skills to keep my promise”.
As my time has come to move on and leave YIS at the end of this school year, I feel a great sense of pride for the ways in which our community engages with service learning as an opportunity to develop the dispositions our young learners need in order to affect positive change in the world. I am thankful for the support and enthusiasm that teachers, parents and students have shown towards the Service Learning Program in the Elementary school, and I trust that it will continue to grow and enhance these experiences and their impact in the community moving forward.
| | |  | | | | Hong Pin, Grade 12 Student and Founder of the Service Learning Team Ryunite
Service at YIS truly means so much more than simply showing up to weekly meetings. As a team member, and subsequently a leader and founder of different service teams, I have witnessed first hand the varying key contributions each and every student makes to the service learning cycle. As a new student in Grade 9, stepping into the Chiku service team as a member allowed me to build meaningful relationships with those around me. Service at YIS allows for a diverse group of students passionate about the same issue to work together towards a common goal, forging meaningful relationships that transcend different grade levels. Furthermore, It imparted on me the privilege that international students possess and transformed my outlook on what service truly meant.
Starting a new service learning team (Ryunite) at YIS has also been a highlight of my service experience. The excellent and well-detailed framework at YIS provides aspiring leaders with all the tools necessary to thrive and truly sculpt a meaningful new service team. Service Learning retreats have also galvanized me, bestowing the necessary skills to maintain and create sustained interest in my service team. Furthermore, these retreats have also fascinated me as it provided the chance to peer into the inner workings of other service teams which has been crucial to the improvement of service in general at YIS. New ideas are constantly being discussed during these retreats and I have benefited tremendously from these unique sessions.
Overall, I will always regard service as a crucial aspect of my life at YIS. It has permanently adapted my view of the world and widened my horizons, allowing me to delve deeper into our privilege and work towards effecting genuine change in the world.
| | | Marlene Pinto, PTSA Service Learning Liaison Coordinator.
Hello, My name is Marlene Pinto. I’m a parent of two students in Gr. 10, and in January 2023 I took over the role of PTSA Service Learning Liaison Coordinator. Now that COVID restrictions have been eased, it has been inspiring to see a lot of the service teams “come back to life,” and resume their activities. I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the number of service teams at YIS, and I’ve been able to gain a broader perspective of the ways in which students are being impactful in the community, both locally and on a global scale. My goal for this year and going into next school year is to increase parent engagement and awareness of service team activities. Parents understand that this is primarily student-led but are always eager to lend a hand in any form. So far it has been a wonderful experience and I look forward to continuing on in this role!
| | | Kyle Quint, Incoming Service Learning Coach
Hi YIS Community! Many of you may know me from MS and HS Visual Art & Design classes or from the MYP Personal Project, but for those of you whom I have not met yet, my name is Mr. Quint, and next year I get the opportunity to take on the role of YIS Service Learning Coach.
Throughout my life I have had the privilege to be part of communities throughout the world and this has taught me that service is an integral aspect of being a global citizen. From building positive social and environmental relationships, we learn from each other and move towards defining and aligning with our values and sense of purpose.What I am looking forward to next year is engaging with the whole school, contributing to projects that extend outside of the YIS walls and working with all of you wonderful people!I am looking forward to connecting with you and contributing towards our culture of service learning at YIS.
| | | New partnership with a local senior home
Inspired by an Individual and Societies unit during which they chose to learn about and support senior citizens, Kae and Jingyi have initiated a new partnership with a local seniors home. Their plan is to turn this opportunity into a new service learning team next year. Thank you to Mrs. Asako Clark,
Japanese Program Coordinator, for helping them.
| | | Serving and learning from children with cancer
Following their fundraiser earlier this year, all Grade 7 students had the opportunity to learn more about the Shine on Kids organization and the needs and experience of children with cancer. Yuria, a survivor, pediatric nurse, and program manager for Shine on Kids, helped them better understand the issue and the role they can play as they get ready to plan and host an interactive session with hospitalized children later this month.
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