Josephian Annual 2024_website | Page 47

CHAPTER 3

DIARY OF EVENTS

The SJI community came together in support of a cause that touches the very heart of our wider community - the fight against childhood cancer and the incredible initiative , Hair for Hope .

Organised by a group of Year 4 Student Leaders , in partnership with the Children ’ s Cancer Foundation , Josephians chose to shave their heads to stand in solidarity with children battling cancer , many of whom lose their hair during treatment . This act of empathy and courage sent a powerful message : you

are never alone on this journey , and together , we can face any obstacle .

This year , we saw about 135 staff and students shave their heads . We celebrated each participant , volunteer , donor , and supporter at the SJI satellite event ; it was a testament to the strength of our community . To date , SJI raised $ 125,286.18 , the third highest fundraiser for Hair for Hope and the top fundraiser among all schools .

The SJI Learning Festival is a key professional learning initiative by our school to provide educators with an avenue to share innovative ideas and effective practices with the broader community , and to deepen collaboration across schools . More than 340 local and overseas participants from over 50 schools attended this year ’ s edition .

The theme for this year ’ s Learning Festival was “ Celebrating Innovative Practices to Nurture Future-ready Learners ”. In his opening remarks , our Principal , Mr Justin Arul Pierre , highlighted the need for educators to re-examine the way we facilitate teaching and learning , so that our students can thrive and be hopeful in this rapidly changing world .

At the festival , educators had the opportunity to reflect on what it meant to be future-ready as schools and educators . As part of the Learning Festival , selected SJI teachers also opened up their classrooms to fellow educators , focusing on pedagogical practices and approaches to equip students with question formulation skills to develop adaptive and inventive thinking .

During the event , presenters from 16 schools , through 20 concurrent sessions , shared their innovative ideas and practices on equipping students with future-ready dispositions and skills . Participants were energised and enriched by the rich sharing of experiences and discussions , which featured diverse topics such as the use of artificial intelligence for learning , building school cultures of sustainability , leveraging computational thinking and many more .