ISKL’s Grade 1 students have been working hard at writing real stories about their lives. In a newly conceived celebration marking the end of their first Personal Narrative Writing Unit, these young authors decided they wanted to invite all faculty and staff to view their writing gallery.
At ISKL’s Melawati Campus, for the very first time, our entire Melawati staff was recently invited to join in all the buzz and learning that is happening in Grade 1. Students felt happy to be recognized and proud of the strong sense of community surrounding their gallery. Students and teachers alike are grateful for all these people, our cleaners, our maintenance team, and other behind the scenes community members that came to offer their support and good cheer to our inspiring young authors.
One staff member told me,“This is the first time we’ve been invited to an event like this, I’m just so proud.” The idea to include everyone in our celebration stemmed from our Social Studies unit Welcome to Grade 1 which is about building community. Our first graders interviewed cleaners, technology team members, the Melawati campus maintenance team, and school guards to have a better idea of who they are and how much they do to keep us safe and happy.
Students even wrote a letter of gratitude to all of them, and now our little guys can greet some of them by name. This was a fantastic event that only came to be as a result of teaching students that everyone counts and everyone wants to feel a part of a community.
Contributing Author: Araceli Arismendi, Grade 1 Teacher
Contributing Photographer: Max Wright, Information Literacy Teacher
