One thing we always try to instil in students is the need to avoid “ washing machine ” service , so-called because of a story about a school that visited an orphanage in Ukraine . The school had heard that the residents of this orphanage were washing all of the clothes by hand . They decided to raise money to purchase and donate a washing machine and a dryer . The problem was that no one spoke to the orphanage about their actual needs . Buying these appliances ( while well-intended ) meant the need for additional money to run the appliances with electricity and the specific ( and rather expensive ) soap required . With some research , the school discovered that the genuine need was for books for the children to read . After realising their mistake , they sold the appliances and used the money to start a “ book swap ” programme that still exists at the orphanage today .
Our students at LCIS are learning the importance of research and identifying a genuine need before taking action . In our service groups and within the curriculum , students follow the Serve Learn Continuum , which leads them through research methods , action planning , proposals and action , with continuous reflection throughout .
We have seen the benefits of this continuum in a Grade 8 Service Learning Unit on Global Waste , where students used research in the form of media , interviews , surveys and observations both at LCIS and the Island School in Eleuthera to address needs within the LCIS community . What resulted were wellsupported proposals ranging from the development of a recycling programme at LCIS to the possible use of biodiesel at the new Upper School campus !
Our service programme , outside of the curriculum , shows immense potential , and this is largely due to the conscientious students we have in our community . Our students have shown their ability to respond to and adapt to change in so many ways . The 2019-20 school year was certainly a time of adversity for the world , but for The Bahamas , COVID-19 was not the only challenge . After Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamian islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama in September , the LCIS community was eager to help
18 those affected , and a group of students immediately formed the “ Dragon Relief Committee .” During their research , this group realised that while Hurricane Dorian was a catastrophic event , there would always be a need for relief . As such , while their efforts initially focused on the storm ’ s aftermath , they wanted to leave room for other projects in the years to come .
The LCIS community stood together to face the threat of COVID-19 in ensuring learning continued . Our students faced many challenges , but with resilience , took up the challenge of “ thinking outside the box ” in terms of what service could look like without leaving their homes .
One of our teachers , Ms Gillian Watson , baked cinnamon rolls and left them on her porch with a note on social media inviting people to “ Take what you need , leave what you can ”. The idea sparked the “ Acts of Kindness ” challenge that was taken up by LCIS students as part of their Service as Action and Creativity , Activity , Service ( CAS ) programmes .
Students were challenged to do one or two random acts of kindness each week - whether it be learning something new by helping out with cooking or learning about maintaining relationships by calling someone they hadn ’ t spoken to in a while .
Grade 8 student Jessica Proffitt decided she would learn to make spaghetti on her own for her family . She had never made it by herself and thought it would be good to challenge herself . Discussing the experience , she said , “ I think it was ok . I ’ d never done it on my own , so I went