Our school community’s recent Global Citizenship Week served as an important reminder of how we can live ISA values and embrace this year’s “feel good, do good” theme in non-academic ways writes Sarah Cusworth, Middle and High School Assistant Principal.

In our recently revamped values, “risk takers” encourages our learners to approach uncertainty with forethought and determination, working independently and co-operatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We want our young people to be resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change – so what better opportunity than to look at the world around them and their place in it?

Whether it be outdoor learning or immersion programmes that involve staying with a host family overseas, having the whole school out at the same time gives kids shared experiences they remember life-long and provides a unique platform to make deeper connections with each other and their educators against an out-of-school backdrop.

By working ahead to set goals on where they’re at in terms of the ISA values (and being gently reminded that this is no vacation!), students can identify their strengths and growth areas for the week then come back and reflect on what they achieved – and, crucially, acknowledge their progress in that week.

It’s important to remember too that it’s not just overseas trips that tick the Global Citizenship Week box: it’s also about the skills young people will take from all the experiences they are exposed to, and the things they can add to their personal toolkit moving towards being a global citizen.

Every trip helps foster confidence in communicating (sometimes but not always in another language) and maximises open mindedness as well as the ability for more confident and creative expression. That was true, for example, for some of our grade nines who wrote a letter to a local MP ahead of their visit to the Palace of Westminster in London.

Each trip also has a unique way of developing global citizenship – our Northern Ireland trip focuses on experiential learning about conflict and peace, exploring areas of Belfast that were at the heart of the conflict and how peace resolutions have developed. With grade six and seven immersed in outdoor education, some of our older students undertook an expedition from Skye to Inverness, canoeing and canyoning along the way, and learning about everything from ecological conservation to Highland history – after all, to be strong global citizens they need to be strong local citizens.

ISA’s Global Citizenship Week is a unique way of exciting young people about the world around them and opening their eyes to some of the incredible opportunities that await them, so we are hugely grateful to everyone who worked so hard to make this year’s week such a success for all involved.