(P) A season of caring at AISB
Compiled by Catalina Gardescu, Manager of Admissions & External Relations with the support of Margritha Hofman, AISB Service Learning & IBDP CAS coordinator and Janice Myles, AISB Service Learning Coordinator, Primary Years Program The…
Irina Chirileasa · Journalist
· Updated · 4 min read
Compiled by Catalina Gardescu, Manager of Admissions & External Relations with the support of Margritha Hofman, AISB Service Learning & IBDP CAS coordinator and Janice Myles, AISB Service Learning Coordinator, Primary Years Program The Service Learning programs and the school curriculum at the American International School of Bucharest complement each other. They are further evidence of the school’s commitment to the ideal of service and to the deepening of our understanding of service through the process of learning. November and December are months in which reaching out to others in need, sharing from our wealth of opportunities and showing that we care, are at their foremost. “Students who have been taught to share with others and who have learned through these acts of Service will be “better” adults, will be supportive to those in need when they are adults, and will recognize that they are or might be in a unique position to help those that need help, short term and long term.” Margritha Hofman, AISB Service Learning & IBDP CAS coordinator. “Caring for others promotes resilience, determination, positive social behaviors and attitudes, motivation for learning, and increased engagement which are all catalysts for academic success. Fostering and developing a culture of caring and servicenot only benefits students, but it also helps create a healthy school community and environment.” Janice Myles, AISB Service Learning Coordinator, Primary Years Program. AISB students respond to the needs of the villagers of Berceni by stuffing a bus full of basic foods that help them get through. This is now an institutionalized tradition that has taken place for the past 8 years. Every class carefully monitors and tracks the number of food items they collect, recording this information on a class thermometer. Last year around 450 food bags were collected in the end with over 6,000 food items! Teachers turned the experience into an opportunity to study the math behind the numbers. One of the AISB grade 5 classes studied their purchase receipts and analyzed if they made good selections and choices for the value of their purchases. Students were asking questions like, "How many people can you feed with this pasta?" and "Is it better to buy peanut butter or a can of kidney beans?" (from the Service Learning
