Real learning happens all the time, inside and outside of the classroom. Thus, what a school offers in terms of co-curricular activities or extra curricular activities after the school bell rings for the last time in a day, should be taken into consideration as much as its curriculum. But with such a plethora of after school activities available these days, which ones should we pick? Two international schools choose one of their after-school programs to talk about at length, to elucidate us on its benefits.
Director of Activities Simon Parker and Aquatics Director Nic Wilson at the International School of Beijing (ISB) spill the deal on their Swim program.
Tell us about the Swim program and what makes it attractive for students to join.
The ISB Swim program offers each student an opportunity to learn swimming, water safety and other aquatics disciplines in physical education classes.
As well as our curriculum offerings, the after-school swimming program provides opportunities for swimmers to develop further, with early years ‘Learn to Swim’ offerings as part of the ASA program, as well as development and competitive offerings, both regionally and internationally, in our year-round ISB Swim Academy. There are also seasonal swim opportunities for Elementary School (Season 1), Middle School (Season 3) and High School (Season 2), with the jewel in the crown for the High School swim team being the APAC Championships each year.
The swimming program fosters a caring and supportive environment. Students feel comfortable in specially designed programs that are differentiated, not only to motivate excellence, but also to allow all students to reach goals and their full unique potential.
How would you describe and rate ISB’s facilities and teaching support for swimming?
ISB has a world class swimming facility, which has been designed to allow for its diverse aquatic offerings, and fully supports all aspects of the program, from early years swimming to the hosting of major international swim meets.
Our dedicated Aquatics department, consisting of our Aquatics Director and 4 full-time swimming instructors, offers professional coaching and instruction to our ISB community. The collective international teaching and coaching experience of this group allows us to support and guide our swimmers in all areas of their swimming experience, whether a beginner or an elite performer.
What awards or certifications has this program and its students received over the years?
It is important to emphasize that accolades and awards are not the focus of any of the sporting programs at the school, and all participation at any level is centered around the core ideals of “Commitment, Respect and Fun.” We strongly believe that when we do these things well, all our Dragons will experience success, in one way or another.
Over recent years, our ISB swimmers have shared some very special achievements, either individually, or as part of the larger team group:
• In the 2018-19 academic year, based on meet results and times across the year, ISB was declared the #1 International School Swim Team in the world, by the International School Aquatics association.
• Over the COVID Pandemic period ISB was instrumental in developing a unique virtual swimming competition opportunity (Global Virtual All Stars), where swim programs from around the world competed in their own pools, with results being combined to achieve overall standings. ISB ended up as the winners in this global showpiece, that brought together more than 30 schools from around the world.
• The ISB HS Swim Team has won an unprecedented 18 APAC (Asia Pacific Athletic Conference) titles since the competition began.
British School of Beijing (BSB) Shunyi has chosen the Eco-Committee Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) which is overseen by Assistant Head of Primary Emma Brown and Year 6 teacher Anna Warman.
Tell us about the Eco-Committee co-curricular program and what makes it attractive for students to join.
The British School of Beijing (BSB) Shunyi’s Eco-Committee is made up of a group of dedicated students that work on making our school more environmentally friendly. Each year students complete a rigorous application, showing their passion and dedication to the environment. These students then work incredibly hard putting changes in place, running events and educating students (and staff!) about important issues. Students love being part of the Eco-Committee because they can make a real difference – both to our school, our community and the environment. As the future leaders of our planet, it is important that students are well-educated on these issues so they can work hard to make our planet a better place.
How would you describe BSB Shunyi’s facilities and teaching support for the Eco-Committee?
The Eco-Committee has been running for many years and is a strong force for change in our school. The student leaders play a huge role in making changes at BSB, for example they installed bird feeders around campus after conducting an audit on our biodiversity. They also ran many fund-raising days using the proceeds to support charities, and recently also purchased plants for our classrooms to ensure our facilities are as environmentally friendly as possible.
Our teachers are also very supportive, running other co-curricular programmes such as ‘Roots and Shoots’ and ‘Green-fingers Club’ that support and continue the work of the Eco-Committee. Our Chef and Food Committee are also highly supportive, implementing ‘Meat-free Mondays’ and reducing single-use plastic in our canteen. One of our popular Eco-Committee events in the canteen is the House Food Waste Competitions with all Houses competing to see who can waste the least food and what we can do to reduce food waste – an important lesson for everyone about how much food is thrown away each day.
What accomplishments has the Eco-Committee achieved?
BSB wants our students to be empowered to make a difference in their local communities and globally. Our partnership with UNICEF helps us do this by developing learning materials based on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that allow students to think practically about how to effect real change in ongoing projects.
We are proud to support CNN’s Call to Earth Day, a global event that joins forces with schools and organisations across the world to raise awareness of environmental issues and conservation education. The biggest event in our calendar is Earth Week, with the whole school spending the week celebrating our planet and learning about important environmental issues. The Eco-Committee ran assemblies for every year group that were fun and interactive. They also led activities and workshops throughout the week, such as planting new trees and plants in our garden, making recycled art and carrying out environmental audits. Other fun activities included dressing in green to raise money for environmental charities, having lessons outdoors and having parts of the week that were completely electricity free. We’re already excited about Earth Week 2023!
This article appeared in the jingkids 2023 School Choice Guide
