Georgina Vilanova believes your daily choices can make change happen. Her middle school student leadership class is an intersection of KIS core values – and a perfect fit for her own desire to create more service learning opportunities for students. “I want to give voice to our students,” Georgina says. “I want them to think about what they can do with a good idea.”

The multigrade class chooses meaningful projects to build community in the middle school, like cultural events and holiday socials. Georgina learns alongside the students. She recalls organizing their first pep rally. “It was not so great,” she says. “But the second was much better.” Accepting a challenging process and trusting that you can accomplish a goal is important so Georgina coaches students to listen to one another and collaborate through problem-solving. She views the class as an introduction to service that gives students confidence in their capacity to contribute and equips them with problem solving skills to influence positive change.

Georgina’s own commitment to human rights issues informs how she speaks with students about their leadership and service. “Leaders can be anonymous. Most are,” she says. She wants students to understand that you can lead with compassion and humility, be largely unknown while effecting important change, including through everyday decisions. How do you lead and serve where you are?

When Nico started grade six at KIS, he wasn’t sure what to expect. His family had just arrived from a year in Beijing and before that, he’d attended school in Washington, D.C. Nico was nervous about finding his way around campus. “But then two students said hello,” he remembers and that connection helped him feel welcome. 

As a middle school student, Nico enjoys making academic and co-curricular choices that match his interests. He also appreciates that each class has its own dynamic allowing him to get to know different students as they learn together. Two of his favorite classes – math and science – are interesting to him because they help explain how the world works. Another favorite class is PE which gives him a chance to try games from around the world, like Gaelic football.

Nico now continues to build the community that first welcomed him! At lunch he feels comfortable sitting with people he may not know well. “Everyone is nice and will talk with you,” he says. That sense of belonging is essential in middle school as all students develop friendships that nourish their social-emotional well-being.