What's in Another (Green) Flag?

Last Friday morning, as the the children of ISKL sat in their first block of the day, Mr. Myers was on his way west. His drive took him to Shah Alam and, specifically, to the closing events of the Eco-Schools International Conference. His role there was as a "filler" for the students but given that our high schoolers were well into "exams" mode it made more sense for him to be there in their stead. He represented ISKL proudly as the recipient of a 2nd Eco-Schools Green Flag award, the only school in Malaysia to be honored in this way. 

But though Mr. Myers stood there on his own in a sea of other recipients of different awards, he was fully aware that this was incidental. Because he was representing an able body of students - the Green Council - who have handled researched the evidence, gathered the data, communicated the results, completed the application, ran the tour and made a fine presentation to the visiting team of university professors. Certainly, there are accolades to be given to the Green Council. But it still wouldn't be enough. 

That's because the Green Council is merely a representative of our entire school's body. Their task, among other things, is to document the successes of ISKL clubs, students and classes in sustainable and service learning related projects. Though they did their job impeccably their task only revealed a small glimpse of what ISKL does on a daily basis.  It is often small things that make a community what it is. They are an often anecdotal - but no less meaningful - measure of the cumulative commitment to making positive change to the world around them. 

And so, though one man stood on the podium representing a small group of 25 students, who in turn represented several clubs and classrooms, it was all about the entire ISKL community coming together in the hallways, in the gardens, in the classrooms, in the meeting rooms and in the theatres. They come together to have conversations that are meaningful and purposeful, that are ongoing and never ending. They touch sensitivities and thoughts and empathy and attitudes. They touch teaching and learning and behaviors. And, in the end, they are transformational in that they touch our lives in millions of ways that, through collective capacity, make a lasting and important difference. 

Congratulations to all of us, young and younger, for doing the things that matter. The award is merely a recognition for all the cumulative wonderful things that you think, you say and you do to make the world a better place each and every day.

Hoping for a 2nd Green Flag Award

In August 2013 ISKL was the proud recipient of Malaysia's very first Eco-Schools Green Flag award. We were proud at the time and excited all at once. In the acceptance speech, Deana Anuar ('14) and Tunku Alysha Alizan ('14) spoke of the honor and responsibility that this would bring, of the leadership that ISKL needed to show moving forward and of the need for collaboration outside of our school walls. 

Fast forward two and a bit years and our Green Council, responsible for documenting environmentally and sustainability based experiences under the Eco-Schools platform, are a completely different group. This year's team is led by Anne Wilson ('16) and Tiffany Tung ('17) and a very able group of 25 students. The team has been working diligently for the past two months to ensure that our application for a second Green Flag award is completed, evidence provided, and attention is paid to the proverbial dotting of our "i's" and crossing of our "t's". 

We now stand ready (with a few minor adjustments and practice-runs to go) to host the Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation visiting team once again. On Wednesday, November 25, between 3:00 and 5:00 pm members of WWF Malaysia and university professors representing Eco-Schools Malaysia will be visiting our Ampang campus to see what we've been to for the past two years. The visit, of course, will include a tour of the campus (with requisite stops for "eco" highlights) as well as a formal presentation by members of the Green Council, HS Earth Club, Global Issues, Local Solutions class and Global Issues Club. 

The power of this experience is hard to explain. It is as authentic as authentic can get as the students themselves become the representatives of our entire institution and success and failure is defined not by their teachers but by external assessors. How they present, how they respond, their knowledge and skills related to sustainability in general and ISKL's ESD platform are critical in how we, as a school, are assessed. 

​In our constant striving to provide an education to our students capable of building global citizens, this is a big test and one that we are sure our students will shine in. Of course, there is no way of knowing whether we will be awarded the Green Flag award again, but that doesn't stop us from moving toward a sustainable future behind the leadership of some pretty terrific kids.

Eco-Schools Green Flag Accreditation

Last week HS students were given the chance to sign up for clubs and organizations. There was lots of commotion and, in the end, it seemed anecdotally that all groups were "ready go to". One such group is the ISKL Green Council, which started up the year with its first meeting just this past Wednesday, getting to work right away. It's first big agenda item?  Ensuring that the evidence is collected and compiled for the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award, that the award application is completed and submitted.  

Two years ago ISKL was the first school in Malaysia to receive the prestigious international award, the Green Flag. It's an award that lasts for two years before a school goes through it's re-assessment process. But unlike other accreditation programs, this one is conducted by our student leaders entirely. Though it's difficult to know if we will be granted the prestigious award for a second time, the Green Council is primed to ensure that all our Education for Sustainable Development and service learning opportunities are well-documented, with obvious connections to our curriculum. 

What comes next is a rather stressful visit by the accreditation committee, often university professors and/or community leaders. To prepare our Green Council presenters train and practice and practice some more. Presentations and video are put together. Tours are planned. Practice question and answer sessions are put simulated. Then, finally, the visiting delegation arrives for a tour and presentation - ISKL's Green Council - inviting the Eco-Schools program to consider us for a subsequent Green Flag Award.

It's a stressful task, to be sure. But it's authentic and builds skills for students that are "real world". Public speaking, organizing, communication, creativity, critical thinking, all combined to make for a true authentic learning experience. It's what ISKL is all about!

Starting off with New Programs!

Hello to one and all from the Sustainability & Service Learning Office. By now, hopefully, a semblance of routine has found its way to your home. The new year brings a great many new initiatives/events on the sustainability and service learning front and, as is not customary, this article will do it's part to communicate what our students and community are up to in this regard. 

The second day back for our teachers was taken, in part, by training in service learning modalities and concepts. Cathy Berger Kaye spent four days with us providing training to all our faculty and a select group of student service leaders. It was a great initiation to what we hope will be an action-packed year of sustainability and service learning. 

The year also brings with it a new Middle School program in which we hope to engage our students in independent community involvement through the use of the service learning process. The program, nameless until our students find an appropriate name, will focus on documenting and highlighting things our MS students are doing outside the realm of their classrooms but that are none-the-less learning experiences in their community. 

At High School we are welcoming a new course: Global Issues, Local Solutions. The course is intended as a venue for students to pursue action-based learning to address sustainability issues. The course, coupled with the re-introduction of a Global Issues Network club should pave the way to a greater opportunity to address authentic learning. 

We are also taking our first baby steps to creating a Global Issues Network (GIN) program in the MS too. Though in the past we've participated in such events at other schools we are planning to host our first Global Issues conference (on a small scale) in February, largely based on our Global Issues classes. 

On a sustainability front we have created an Operational Sustainability Committee this year which will include all sorts of stakeholders, from our finance department to our facilities to cleaning staff, cafeteria vendors and transport office.  The idea, of course, is to bring everyone "to the table" so to speak, and identify ways that efficiency can be increased while ensuring operational sustainability.  

Our elementary school too won't be left behind. Typically service learning is alive and well at Melawati, but this year there are higher expectations of service learning in all grade levels. 3KD, in particular, will be using "water" as a consistent theme and participating quite extensively in the Eco-Schools programs, of which ISKL is a Green Flag school. 

Wow. That's a lot of new things starting up. Add them to an already extensive list of happenings, and you've got yourself a busy place. More to come as the year continues!

The Future is Now

Last week this column noted the collaboration between our school - in this case the Green Council and HS Earth Club - and delegations of other schools locally. Now that the 2nd ISKL Eco-Schools Mini-Conference is over it's important to take a moment to note the multitude of benefits that exist in local collaborative projects like this one. 

Research on service learning and community development will indicate time and time again that both service and learning benefit from on-going relationships that are aimed to a common goal. Similar to students in a classroom, these "eco" clubs and organizations often work within a larger setting (their school) but somewhat independently of the larger population that they serve. Events such as the Mini-Conference allow schools to engage here, now, on issues that are important to them with the necessary support of like-minded, but divergent thinking, students. 

Case in point, this year's conference participants identified "waste" as their central challenge. In student-led break-out sessions they "greenstormed" ideas to move forward, to increase awareness and to try to reach those outside the proverbial "choir" that participated in the conference. This "here and now" approach to making a positive change is what is crucial to the collaboration taking place between and within our schools. It is also a hugely beneficial for mutual action and reflection.  

The decision was a social-media based awareness campaign based on the Two Hands Project, which is founded on the principle that anyone can change the place they're in with their own two hands. By piecing together the KL version of the Two Hands Project, and utilizing Facebook and Instagram to tag and challenge others to do the same, they are hoping to make small differences everywhere, in the schools that participated and the world at large. 

Such collaborative experiences on the local level open doors to on-going relationships between children that would not normally interact much, but on whom the future of the world relies collectively. Thankfully for these students the future is already here, and in good hands. 

Real Life Collaboration

Ever since ISKL became Malaysia's first green flag school we have been in a bit of limelight, so to speak in the world of sustainability and environmental education. Certainly it has thrust us into the view of many schools - both internationally and locally - who are paying close attention to what we do. It's a great feeling that we can be proud of all we have accomplished to date. But there is little time to sit on one's laurels. There's work to be done. Collaborative action planning, to be exact. 

This past Wednesday our Green Council played host to the Green Club from SriKDU. It was a very productive few hours with a variety of activities facilitiated by our Green Council members and Sustainability Coordinator. Our visitors received an "eco highlight tour" of our Ampang campus and were duly impressed. They also had time to work closely with our Green Council members addressing issues in our schools and brainstorming ideas on how to address them. Leverage points were identified and action plans were initiated.

On Saturday this type of collaboration will extend even further. Our Green Council will host it's 2nd Eco-Schools Mini Conference. The event will include the participation of SK TUDM Subang, Sri KDU, Alice Smith, SMK Damansara Damai, SMK Bukit Indah Ampang, a few independent members of our community and a local community organization called EcoCentric Transitions. It is poised to be a powerful, authentic, collaborative experience for all and we hope to challenge the global issues that are faced by our schools on the local level. 

It is such authentic and real collaboration that allow our students to truly become global citizens. There is power in such out-of-school collaboration across cultures, educational systems and perceptions. It's just another glimpse of the exceptional education that we provide at ISKL and a true testament to all the students and adults - in all the schools - who are involved in building a bright future.

Putting the "Eco" in School

It's not often the breeze picks up so it's perhaps a bit hard to recognize the green flag that sits along side our school flag on each campus. It's our "Eco-Schools" green flag. When it waves it's a clear sign that we do much at ISKL to study, appreciate and support local efforts at sustainable development. 

Thankfully our campus involvement and learning is much more steady than the wind so it's only a matter of looking around to see learning taking place. This week alone a number of classes participated in various activities intended to foster the understanding of sustainability in a local context. 

The grade 6 service learning classes are busily working on action related to global issues. One class has identified the issues or water and health in the context of the flooding on Malaysia's east coast. Their goal is to engage the MS community in supporting the flood victims, and especially children. The other class is focusing on the health issues related to mosquito borne illness, namely dengue. 

Grade 7 had a number of visiting experts on Wednesday in what will hopefully become an annual affair: The grade 7 Ecology Symposium. Speakers will be visiting (and on Skype) and not only presenting what they and their organization do but also asking students to participate in role playing as if they are the speaker in action. Analysis of appropriate decisions is a powerful result of this, increasing learning a good deal. 

Finally, our grade 3 classes completed their "tree planting" project. Since November they have measured the space left open by the reconstruction of a new wall and studied plant species appropriate for the space. On Monday they planted 24 plants which, with some on-going love, attention and water, we hope will adorn the campus for many years to come. 

It's wonderful to see children understanding, connecting dots and growing in such meaningful ways. Whether the wind has picked up or not, whether the flag is waving or still, our students are true Eco-Schools exemplars in action!

Tying ESD, Service Learning & Eco-Schools Together

Often in chats and meetings the concepts of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Service Learning seem to get blurred. Also confusing is the Eco Schools program which we are proud members of. Consider this article it an eco-education 101 for new and returning families.

Our ESD curricular framework was the first to be established at ISKL, four years ago. The idea behind it is that students who complete their studies at ISKL have a solid understanding of sustainable development, its dimensions and interconnections. To complement that, of course, are a host of skills that are essential for 21st century learning: Collaboration, multiple perspectives (what we call "lenses") systemic thinking, etc.  

Two years ago we took the extra step in making ESD more meaningful with the introduction of service learning. Service learning is a teaching approach that we utilize both in classroom and out-of-class learning. It complements ESD very well in terms of skills developed and understandings generated but can also be utilized independently, making it particularly effective. 

The use of service learning works very well in any capacity. Case in point: The Green Council which is largely the school-wide leadership group with regard to Eco-Schools initiatives. The Eco-Schools program has fit us "like a glove" in that it allows our students to work with local organizations, to form authentic links with the community and ensure that our internal programs go hand-in-hand with external ones. But it is also about focusing on community needs and addressing them in an authentic manner: Authentic learning by doing.  

For example, numerous IB CAS projects (which are sometimes counted as Eco-Schools projects) utilize the service learning approach. More times than not such projects also relate to the ESD curriculum either directly or indirectly, More importantly, they also increase the capacity for change making and community building, both pillars of molding global citizens. 

The versatility of these three elements - ESD, service learning and Eco-Schools - has created a win-win situation for student learning at ISKL. From gaining the knowledge of ESD to practicing authentic learning through service strategies, and extending themselves to out-of-school authentic collaboration the learning is quite exceptional.

What Guides Us

On the Sustainable ISKL website (https://sites.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/sustainable-iskl/) one can click on a link to "What Guides Us". It was originally simply a vision statement, but it has grown along side our school's sustainable ethic. Part and parcel with sustainability education - what we call Education for Sustainable Development (or ESD) - is a recognition of the interconnectedness of different dimensions of sustainability and a realization that a sustainable present and, indeed, a future, is something that provides many opportunities for our community. 

The beginning of the year - right now - is perhaps the perfect time to share our new Green Vision Statement with our community:

“At ISKL educating for sustainability, nurturing nature and helping others are essential in the construction of a sustainable future; one that involves a balanced interaction with nature, engagement in stewardship for the Earth and it’s people, adapting to ecological limits and embracing the opportunities offered by a sustainable world.”

The statement itself took a good deal of time to develop, largely because it required the input of teachers, administrators and, most importantly, students. If one looks closely he/she can see a smidgeon of ISKL's Eco Code (Eco Schools), a style of our school's vision statement and a few statements that highlight what we hope our students to imbibe. Though often not written in standards and benchmarks, three key points shine through:

1. Balanced interaction with nature is essential,
2. Engaging in making positive change for both the Earth and the people who call it home is part of an exceptional community, and
3. Tomorrow holds a world of opportunities

The statement will guide us as we move forward through this year and those to follow. It whispers of tall orders and difficult challenges but, perhaps more importantly, it confidently speaks of exceptional people doing exceptional things on an exceptional planet. That is some education, don't you think?

...And We're Back!

Welcome to 2014-15!  Whether new or returning, there is something warm and wonderful about ISKL. As ISKL's Sustainability & Service Learning Coordinator it comes to me to ensure that the word is out about things "green" on our campuses and programs. This academic year is not about building new sustainable campuses just yet. It's about ensuring that sustainability are part of the vocabulary, part of the manner by which things are done here. In some cases the conversations are difficult and in some cases they just pour out but the need is there to move ahead with creating opportunities for our students and community. 

This year is about putting the leadership in the hands of students and making students leaders of their own circumstance and community. It'a about empowerment and engagement. It's about making difficult decisions. It's about  recognizing both the limitations and the opportunities of a green economy, thinking and future. The sky is the limit, and we intend to use the opportunity that provides us to move in a sustainable direction. 

Apart from an increased presence and hard work, we hope to focus on the following things this year:

• Increasing leadership capacity in our students and organizations such as service teams and clubs, the Green Council and Student Council including 
• leading in collaborative projects with other schools and local organizations
• generating a connection between sustainability and learning spaces on both campuses
• Increasing leadership capacity in our teaching and administrative staff by providing professional development opportunities
• Working on projects that support our efforts to maintain the Eco-Schools Green Flag (this is an assessment year, after all!)
• The continued development of ESD benchmarks in our curriculum
• Minimizing landfill waste and maximizing recycling, composting and appropriate disposal of chemical and toxic waste
• Infusing the service learning process at all divisions 
• Continue efforts to reduce energy, water and air miles
• Continue assisting in the design and building of a new sustainable campus
• Creating a five-year strategic plan for Sustainability & Service Learning

So what are you waiting for?  We might as well start now?  Join the composting program! Bring in your recyclables at the first monthly Community Recycling tomorrow!  Have your child eat a home-made, nutritious lunch. Car pool. Every decision is an opportunity!  Have a wonderful year, all of you!

2013-14 Sustainability & Service Learning Roundup

By the time you read this article you might already be en route to your perfect summer hideaway. Time perhaps to recharge, relax, see family and friends. As it should be. For every busy year needs a less busy time off and we all deserve it! This note serves as a quick review of sustainability and service learning initiatives/projects that have added a good deal to the culture of our school and the learning of our students. Here's a quick look of some of the highlights of 2013-14:

•       The presentation of the first Eco-Schools Green Flag award in Malaysia by WWF-Malaysia’s Executive Director/CEO, Dato’ Dr. Dionysius Sharma to our Green Council co-coordinators, Alysha Azizan (’14) and Deanna Anuar (’14)
•        Development of a new "Green Vision Statement" to be introduced next year
•        Development of new ESD standards
•        Creation of a new ESD diagram (based on UNESCO's dimensions of sustainable development
•        An Eco-friendly International Fest with use of bussing and without single-use plates/cutlery.
•        Year round Trash Free Fridays at Melawati (and almost every day in the Preps).
•        GAP service programs to 29 destinations across Asia.
•        Creation of an interactive garden at Melawati.
•        Earth Week (including a very successful Earth Hour).
•        MS Malaysia Week teams utilized new Sustainability Site Assessment Report forms.
•        River Rangers programs developed in grades 3, 7 and HS Environmental Studies supporting local water testing and data collection on behalf of the Global Environment Centre and Department of Irrigation.
•        Weekly visits by Ecocentric Transitions to our Prep classes focusing on positive interactions with nature (e.g. planting, vermicomposting).
•        The first Ampang community tree-planting event with the support of the local government (MPAJ) Youth and Community department.
•        The inaugural Eco-Schools Mini-Conference organized by the Green Council.
•        Initiation of a “Service for the Better” service learning program in grade 4.
•        Visit by the new campus architects to grade 5 and sharing ideas on energy use.
•        Continued collaboration with WWF Malaysia and Ecocentric Transitions to identify a site for use as a Nature Education Centre (for HS outdoor education and Environmental Studies classes).
•        HS & MS Student proposals for vermicomposting (grade 7 Global Issues) and solar charging stations (grade 9 EAL) have been received and followed up next academic year.
•        Integrated sustainability best practices for on-campus events, flights, etc.

It's been busy, no? Things are happening and the kids are growing. But then again, it's about to come to a screeching half with the coming of summer. We wish you all a friendly, happy, family and friend filled, green-as-can-be summer break!

Snippets of Sustainability & Service

As the year winds down from a sustainability and service learning standpoint we it gives a chance for respite - though there is still much happening - to recognize that the statement "less is more" is sometimes fitting at ISKL. In the past couple weeks a number of small activities and events have taken shape and are shared below:

• Grade 2 conducted some research on water use during tooth brushing by measuring water running continuously and only for rinsing. They found that by keeping the tap off until rinsing saved, on average, 85% of water!
• Grade 5 did some research of their own, focusing on ISKL's environmental indictor data (found here). Their responses revealed in-depth analysis of our school's energy, water, waste and air miles usage.
• A HS EAL asked the Sustainability Coordinator to come in and discussed a possible solar lap top charging station, its logistics, funding, etc. They will soon be writing a proposal for next year's Annual Fund. 
• The MS has just added a Grade 6 elective on Service Learning, which will be offered for the 2014-15 academic year. 
• A small group of grade 4 students decided to focus on hunger and reforestation, combining the two in a food drive and sapling/plant give away. The food goes to a local soup kitchen while saplings and plants are planted in our gardens and terraces!
• The Interactive Garden at Melawati is receiving lots of little visitors! During breaks students are seen there engaged in the sand pit, the tic-tac-toe area and looking at the flowers that are now in full bloom. 
• The HS Environmental Science class conducted water testing at several spots on the Ampang campus. 
• PJCC has undertaken planting of carrot, tomato and watermellon in the past few weeks. Largely the little sprouts are growing very well and we intend to transplant the watermellon into the Prep garden beds next week!

There are many more of these little snippets one could share, but often they take place inside classroom or in short walks into gardens. They are, as they should be, authentic moments of learning away from the limelight and off the scripts of articles. They are where learning really takes place: In the minds of children (and adults).

Sustainability and Service Learning Growing in the Region

For some select few the past Spring Break brought with it an opportunity to attend the EARCOS Teachers Conference in Bangkok. There were a number of ISKL representatives both attending and presenting. I had the chance to present ISKL's direction as a sustainable school and highlight some of the many things we do on our campuses. Among other things that were covered were the ISKL ESD standards and benchmarks current under review and development. 

What struck me about the conference was the plethora of workshops focusing on sustainability and service, and the level of participation in them. In a conference packed with so many topics, these workshops were often overflowing. There is obviously a trend toward sustainability in education, and ISKL is sitting right at the forefront of it. In such a light we participated in the Sustainable, Environment and Service Learning Job-Alike that took place there and were invited to attend a Sustainability and Service summit in September aimed at determining the educational direction and opportunities collaboratively with other schools across the region.

The second thing that jumped out is just how far ISKL has come in the past 14 years. From our humble beginnings of our Green Team, ISKL is well positioned in terms of what we offer our students. Perhaps the most important element of that is the connection between sustainable future, powerful learning and making a difference to the world here and now through service learning. We have already been contacted by several schools to offer our know-how, our experience and to provide exemplars for moving forward. We are proud to be an important player in this regard and so support and assist both students and communities in the region and beyond. 

Though ISKL is still developing its sustainability education programming and service learning opportunities it is heartwarming to know that we are moving in the right direction and we're walking hand in hand with an ever increasing number of schools. There is power in holding firm to our direction, but being flexible enough to bend with the circumstances, and we are doing this quite nicely. 

ISKL Eco-Schools Mini Conference a Success!

Last week my article focused on the ISKL Eco-Schools Mini Conference, and especially about the power of collaboration. Now that the conference has come and gone I wanted to make sure that it's success did not go unnoticed. 

Overall there were 54 participants from nine different schools, WWF Malaysia and MESYM attending. The event was very well received by all and Mr. Thiaga Nadeson from WWF Malaysia was impressed by our use of the Pyramid 2030 as a decision-making and action planning tool. 

A number of schools shared their environmental projects and our Green Council members then led them through a process to determine an Eco-Schools theme to focus on. After some deliberation and discussion the students determined that waste was an appropriate topic.  The Pyramid 2030 structure allows the students to ask successive "why?" questions to address to global issues reaching deeper and deeper into the real issues behind current problems. Once they managed a solid understanding of the issues, students were split up into four groups, each being facilitated by three ISKL Green Council members, for the action planning portion of the morning. 

Utilizing our Google Drive documents the four groups were able to create action plans through discussion and further deliberation. During this time the teachers also had some time to talk about the Eco-Schools program and issues of organizational and administrative support for their students. 

The final portion was the return of the delegations, the sharing of their action plan proposals and the final decision to focus on recycling programs. The specific plan includes internal recycling efforts (perhaps with a competitive class-based format) and the creation of videos to document each school's initiative. 

The Mini-Conference took just four hours. It included a good deal of networking, "greenstorming", a short campus tour and a promise to continue to work together. Nine schools with one purpose: To bring sustainability into the forefront of our awareness and to share information through a collaborative platform.

Now comes the harder part. Keeping together and moving through the labyrinth of real-life circumstances to involve people in recycling and increase awareness independently and collectively. Our students have a wonderful way of impressing. This was no exception. Global Citizen Leaders in action.

ISKL Eco-Schools Mini Conference: Collaborating & Future Shaping

Collaboration is a big word at ISKL. We talk about it all the time. Student projects require it and teachers are often utilizing it to engage their students in an exceptional education. But though collaboration is essential to our educational being, it has been challenging to walk outside that font gate of apply it externally. 

This coming weekend our school's Green Council executive - which has grown in size lately from eight to 15 members - will be organizing it's first true outreach program. The ISKL Eco-Schools Mini Conference is a bit of a two-in-one idea with both teachers and students engaged in workshops, collaborative activities and "greenstorming" sessions. 

The idea is simple. Bring in delegations from around the city and ask them to share what they're doing. Then, walking them through a process called Pyramid 2030 (www.pyramid2030.net), our Green Council executive members will facilitiate a number of sessions of brainstorming (a.k.a. "greenstorming") that will focus on true collaboration between the schools. At the same time, the teachers will be involved in their own professional development of sorts, by participating in a teachers-facilitating-teachers session dealing with issues of administrative and organizational matters. 

By and large we hope that the half-day event will be powerful enough for the nine participating schools that we can make it an annual (or semi-annual) event. The idea is that students can do more when they are united. Can you envision our youth greening the Ampang and making it the "greenest" suburb of the Klang Valley?  How about students leading a movement to eliminate plastic bags from KL?  Or perhaps they can work with architects and planners to increase "green" building practices in schools around the country? The students can envision so much more than our adult minds can muster.

Students can truly shine if given that tools and opportunity to do so. We see it every day on our two campuses. Now it's time to let them shine in the community as well. If our future is to be a great one, let us give them the chances to exhibit decision-making and leadership here, now. 

Go on. Make the world a better place.

MS Eco Challenge Week Starts Up

In an earlier article we have a number of new eco clubs across the school. The clubs, by nature of their sustainability-related mission - are all automatically part of the Green Council and, by extension, part of our Eco-Schools program efforts. The MS Roots & Shoots Club, newly created, is moving forward with an Eco Challenge Week next week. Their slogan "Dare to Care" is apt as they hope to involve middle school students in a number of awareness-raising events:

• Monday is Paperless Monday
• One day without paper (better bring the laptops!)
• Tuesday is Carbon Footprint Awareness Day
• In their home groups students will participate in doing personal carbon footprint analysis of their lifestyle choices
• If you want to take a look feel free to visit www.cooltheworld.com
• Wednesday is Make A Pledge Day
• Using www.padlet.com home groups will participate in making pledges for the environment/health
• Thursday is Swap Day 
• MS students are encouraged to bring a gently-used item to swap for something different!)
• Friday is "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and... Refuse Plastic!" Day. 
• Drink things that don't come in that plastic bottle!

Apart from the obvious benefits of the day's reduction in waste related behaviors, we are hopeful that the MS will use the week to participate in important conversations regarding not just the world's resources but perhaps more importantly, discussions about the impact of personal choice in creating solutions for a sustainable future. Nicely done MS Roots & Shoots!

PS. Two seniors just made a great PSA video a week or so ago regarding recycling, specifically to address the issue of proper separation of recyclables at source. If you're interested take a look HERE.

"Green" Community Connections

As the new year steadily builds its identity and we move into the second semester at ISKL it's a good time to check in with those things that often get unnoticed. The "behind the scenes" stuff, so to speak.  Way back in August, when we were still high on the Green Flag award and the adrenaline was pumping, we promised to move forward in our goal to reach out to the community. Things have moved gently since then and this is our chance to let you in on some of the plans. 

Four key things that we're working on regarding community connections:

1. We are working with YAWA (the Malaysian association for environmental education) and WWF Malaysia to identify a plot of land that we can utilize as a Nature Education Center. The idea here is to work with local organizations and/or schools collaboratively to participate in conservation, outdoor education and rehabilitation projects. There is a possibility of assisting with the establishment of a Sun Bear conservation program in one of these locations. Things here are still "in flux" and we have a very long way to go, but it's a dream inching ever closer to reality. More info can be found at this Green Council link: https://sites.google.com/a/iskl.edu.my/greencouncil/ongoing-projects/nature-education-center-project
2. We have requested from the local city council (MPAJ) to help us coordinate a tree planting event sometime in March. Involving our varsity teams in third IASAS season this will function as a team bonding experience as well as a carbon offsetting service project for our participants. 
3. Our 3rd grade, 7th grade and HS environmental education classes are looking into collaborative programs with the Global Environment Centre to essentially "adopt a stream" and provide water quality data to be added to a Klang Valley database used by the Malaysian Government to instruct decisions regarding needs along the Klang River. 
4. Our Green Council is working with WWF Malaysia regarding organizing a half-day Eco-Schools conference at ISKL. The hope is that both teachers and students participate concurrently in the mini-conference. 

None of these initiatives has been yet been finalized. But as I write this I am excited about the possibilities. There is much to be gained from authentic and meaningful collaboration with local partners, NGOs, schools and community government. This is the way ISKL can slowly become a leader in the local community as well as we have done with our extended international community. "Think globally, act locally" they say. We're well on our way.