GCD Newsletter
Read the latest news from the GCD SSC at NIST!
Class of 2025 GCD Awards
I could tell you about how the Class of 2025 had the highest number of Global Citizen Diplomas (6) and Global Citizen Diplomas with Distinction (15) awarded at NIST in a year. Or I could tell you about how, after a long and challenging journey, the class of 2025 successfully balanced their school work along with the GCD and other curricula. Since starting their GCD journeys in Year 10, they have reflected on and accomplished numerous achievements. Their dedication to enhancing their metacognitive skills through reflection has fostered deeper thinking, whether it was through learning a new skill, such as playing a sport or an instrument, overcoming fears like public speaking or becoming more resilient through challenging situations. To celebrate their achievements in the Global Citizen Diploma (GCD) programme, students received their certificates and wore special GCD cords during the graduation ceremony. With orange cords for the Global Citizen Diplomas and yellow and red cords for the Global Citizen Diplomas with Distinction. As they continue their educational journeys at universities around the world, we wish them the best of luck and are confident that they will remain not only members of the NIST community but also global citizens committed to making a positive impact in the world. Congratulations to the Class of 2025, your story is more than numbers! For help on your GCD journey, please reach out to Ms. Jess, or any member of the GCD SSC team, or visit NIST’s GCD website. To keep up with the latest NIST GCD news, follow us on Instagram!
Personal Accomplishment
The Personal Accomplishment element in your GCD journey focuses on achieving something significant at a paraprofessional level, comparable to the accomplishments of adults, and using that achievement to make a positive impact beyond yourself. It’s easy to confuse this element with simply setting a personal aspiration and then achieving it, such as participating in SEASAC, being part of a school band or joining a Service Group. However, it goes beyond typical student activities to something extraordinary and not commonly expected at your age range, which can be challenging to achieve. Watch the presentation (http://bit.ly/3Ha7jUf) to learn more about how you can achieve this element or how to get started as a younger student to work towards it in your later school years. Share Your Story! For help with your own Personal Accomplishment post, reach out to Ms. Jess, or any member of the GCD SSC team, or visit NIST’s GCD website. To keep up with the latest NIST GCD news, follow us on Instagram! Post by Laura T & Alizee G (Y11)
NIST Good Cause Market
Hi everyone, Be sure to visit the NIST Good Cause Market to support NIST Service Groups and local social enterprises, as well as learn about PYPx projects. There will be a diverse range of products available, with proceeds being dedicated to supporting the local community initiatives and charitable organisations. Date: Friday, 16 May Time: 7:15 AM - 4:30 PM Location: Pocket Garden & CAB Walkway One of the booths featured at the market is our very own NIST Rooftop Garden: “As one of the leaders of the Rooftop Garden Service Group, I have helped prepare for the upcoming community market. Our Service Group is dedicated to promoting sustainability by maintaining a Rooftop Garden at our school and creating eco-friendly products. These products are made using ingredients harvested directly from our garden. At the upcoming community market, we will be selling homemade ICE CREAM!! Most of the ingredients used to make the ice cream come from fresh produce of the Rooftop Garden, such as rosemary and roselle.” To use your Service Group experience to write your own Community Engagement post, you will need to: - Have at least 1 year (2 consecutive terms) of sustained engagement in your Service Group - Identify an authentic need through research - Take meaningful action: - Direct - Indirect - Advocacy - Link your Service to a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), with clear targets and indicators Community Partnership: - Demonstrate your impact with evidence through engagement, analysing needs, celebrating and empowering community assets. This process should be carried out collaboratively with Community Partners on a regular basis (people or planet - depending on the context of your proposal, project or group) Reflect on your experience in your GCD post: - Demonstrate that you have made a connection with and provided meaningful action to some part of your community in a sustained way, and reflected on the value of having responsibility for your community and the world Share Your Story! For help with your own Community Engagement post, reach out to Ms. Jess, or any member of the GCD SSC team, or visit NIST’s GCD website. To keep up with the latest NIST GCD news, follow us on Instagram! Written by Yusei Y (Y12) Global Citizen [global citizen] : (noun) A person who conducts their daily life with a commitment to understanding others; who makes decisions with an awareness of how they affect communities locally and globally; and who advocates and holds themselves accountable for social and environmental sustainability.
NIST Middle School Theatre Performance of Rotten Apples
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The play Rotten Apples by Tracy Wells has been adapted by NIST’s middle school students. It follows a group of famous storybook characters, such as the Evil Queen, the Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood. They’re trapped in a mysterious mansion on a dark and stormy night, so in order to escape, they now need to solve a challenging riddle before the clock strikes twelve. As the storm continues, strange things begin happening, someone doesn’t want them to succeed… Will they be able to figure out the solution in time? In order to create this production, students dedicated hours of their own time after school. Working towards perfecting their individual lines and movements. Although students were given specific roles, they had the artistic freedom to change certain aspects of their character if they felt as though certain areas, such as their movement or mannerisms, could be communicated better. Make sure to buy tickets to watch the performance from 20 - 22 May in the Black Box Theatre! How has learning about another character changed the way that you see yourself or others? “It made me more knowledgeable about the lengths people would go to in order to keep their secrets to themselves, as well as sustain their reputation” - Isabel S (28) Did you discover how important the stage or costumes were to suspending disbelief in order to make a character authentic? “Acting with props and sets really helps bring things to life. Especially when it’s something so unrealistic of a theme, it helps to make people invested. Sets, lighting and things also just let people know before anything happens, what kind of world to expect.” To use this experience to write your own Artistic Expression post, you will need to: Show significant and sustained participation in this performance Share evidence of the skills and understandings you have developed Reflect on the overall habits and practices you have developed as an artist through this experience Share how this experience will continue to be an important part of who you are and what you do as an artist Reflect on how the skills/understandings you’ve developed transfer to your role as a global citizen Share Your Story! For help with your own Artistic Expression post, reach out to Ms. Jess, or any member of the GCD SSC team, or visit NIST’s GCD website. To keep up with the latest NIST GCD news, follow us on Instagram! By Laura T (Y11) & Alizee G (Y11)
Year 11 Personal Project x Personal Goal
Hello everyone, This week, NIST is showcasing the Year 11 Personal Project, where students take on a passion project and work towards a desired product over the course of a few months. At the Personal Project Exhibition on Monday, 28 April, students passionately shared their journeys with their fellow students, parents, and teachers. As part of the Personal Project, students were asked to reflect on their experience, which could count towards the GCD post: ‘Personal Goal’. Many students met the requirements for the Personal Goal post and wrote insightful reflections. However, for those students who had only partially completed the post, many of you don’t have much more to add. It requires one of two things: 1) An exploration into how your project would influence your future endeavours: Gunn T (Y11): “I have developed skills like drawing, planning, cutting, glueing, and even measuring, while also appreciating the amount of precision needed during each of those stages. I am still, however, encouraged to study this at University and become an architect in the future, since I enjoy being creative, but I am also ready to face challenges that may arise, since dealing with those only makes me stronger.” 2) An insight into how the project impacts you as learners or global citizens: “Evidently, I reached the sustainability aim, and although I couldn’t accomplish my original idea and charging a battery is less useful than feeding a phone, I can for sure reuse the knowledge I acquired during my Personal Project. For example, we are doing a unit in physics that talks about circuits. I feel like I have benefited especially in the practical part, and these benefits will continue to show as I go on with learning about electronics. Learning how to use the oscilloscope, even though it took me a lot of time, helped me analyse the data in a more efficient way, and understand specific concepts that with a normal voltmeter would not be measurable.” To resubmit, follow these steps: 1) Open your GCD Personal Goal template. 2) Hyperlink your personal project to the template 3) Briefly (3-5 sentences) introduce what your project was 4) Share what impact this personal project has on you as a learner or a global citizen. (There are more questions that may help in this poster: bit.ly/3GxvUlv) 5)Resubmit the template on the Google Form (found here: https://bit.ly/3YrmNJf or on Veracross).
Earth Week 🌎
Hello everyone, This week, NIST is celebrating Earth Week, which marks its 56th anniversary. It serves as a timely reminder that environmental sustainability and social responsibility go hand in hand. Each year, approximately one billion people around the world take action for the planet during this week. As Global Citizens, Earth Week is an excellent opportunity to reflect on how our actions impact our planet and celebrate our progress in achieving sustainability as a community. Global Citizen [global citizen] : (noun) A person who conducts their daily life with a commitment to understanding others; who makes decisions with an awareness of how they affect communities locally and globally; and who advocates and holds themselves accountable for social and environmental sustainability. Here at NIST, our dedicated Service Groups are leading the charge in raising awareness and driving positive change. From tackling paper waste to protecting wildlife, NIST is marking Earth Week with informative sessions, Service Group interactions, and a green dress day. E Co - Paper waste/up-cycling, sustainability Forest Rangers - Forest protection NEST - Wildlife conservation Rooftop Garden - Urban farming and sustainable infrastructure Plastic Free NIST - No single-use disposable plastics, up-cycling & sustainability MushieMushie - Wildlife conservation and anti-poaching TUSK - Elephant conservation CURED - E-waste Are you a member of any of these Service Groups? Being a part of a Service Group is a great way to start a Community Engagement post. For GCD approval, you’ll need to demonstrate a committed impact in your Service Group over at least one year (two semesters), and reflect on the positive impact you've helped create for your community partner. For help writing your own GCD post, reach out to Ms. Jess or Khun El, any member of the GCD SSC team, or visit NIST’s GCD website. To keep up with the latest NIST GCD news, follow us on Instagram! Don’t forget to wear green this Friday! “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone will save it” - Robert Swan, OBE
Happy Songkran
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Wishing everyone a joyful Songkran!💦 This week, we had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Thai New Year, a vibrant and fun cultural experience for our community. The term ‘Songkran’ comes from Sanskrit, meaning ‘astrological passage.’ The water festivities symbolise purification, the washing away of misfortunes and also honouring family. Songkran is a wonderful opportunity to deeply engage with the rich cultural traditions of Thailand. What was your first experience of Songkran? How will you be celebrating this cultural holiday? Learn more about the Intercultural Communication GCD Element to start your post: • Engage with people in another language and culture and communicate thoughtfully and appropriately • Engage with people in another language or culture and do so thoughtfully. • Compare/contrast cultural norms and expectations (for example: dress code) with the intention of discovering how to communicate across linguistic and cultural barriers. • Consider situations in which you felt cultural and/or linguistic discomfort and strategies you've used in those situations (potentially using the language being studied at school). For help writing your own GCD post, reach out to Ms. Jess or Khun El, any member of the GCD SSC team, or visit NIST’s GCD website. To keep up with the latest NIST GCD news, follow us on Instagram!