Putting a spin on old traditions, SISC relaunches International Week online. Spanning from October 18th to 22nd, the week-long celebration was filled with events planned and executed by SISC’s very own student-led organizations.
International Week is a celebration that strives to encourage cultural diversity among students and explore themes of cultural appreciation within the school community. The efforts of the student organizations, combined with the enthusiastic participation of the student body, made for a very enjoyable week that promoted the message “Mending the Broken Bridges and Healing Connections through Cultural Diversity”.
The event was launched last October 18th and 19th during the assemblies of grade school, high school, and IB. The launch was hosted by Park Si Hyun, Cho Woo Sung, Park Hyuk Jin, and Jaeda Johnson; all representatives from the various clubs who pitched in on the event.
The SISC MUN Club, Kindness Project, Debate Club, HUMSS Psychology Majors, and The Mover collaborated this year to provide students with an interactive and well-rounded experience for this virtual celebration. To set the tone for the week, a video about culture and diversity was prepared by students from around the world to share their pride in their culture.
At the launching, a tenth-grader says, “I feel very excited about this year's International Week. I've seen what the clubs such as [The Mover] and Kindness Project have posted for the activities. I am interested in participating and learning more about the cultures around the world.”
On Monday afternoon, the SISC Debate Club held a mini-workshop open to all students on “Holding Friendly Conversation; Open-Mindedness and Respect when talking about more sensitive topics”. They started with the question, “Do you listen to reply or to understand?”
After giving the participants time to reflect and share their answers, the program transitioned to its main agenda: an interactive discussion using a series of dilemmas. These prompts, among them being well-known moral thought experiments such as the Trolley Problem, allowed students to communicate and defend their own opinions while also learning to respect those of others.
When asked about how the lessons of the workshop could be related to International Week as a whole, Club President Jaeda Johnson said “Understanding others perspectives while respecting them is extremely important when learning about [other] cultures, or even when just talking to people from a different culture than your own. Our personal beliefs tend to reflect on the way we were raised, and since people come from all different walks of life, it is important to be able to approach conversations with open-mindedness and [to] learn from one [another].”
On Thursday, SISC Model United Nations hosted a showcase that brought both fun and insight to the minds of the participants through collaborative games in Kahoot and Zoom. The event kicked off with a message from Southville’s principal, Ms. Marie Vic Suarez, who encouraged everyone to “connect and build bridges” with other individuals to promote the theme of International Week and the role of MUN.
However, there was more to International Week than workshops. The student-led organizations spearheading this week’s events also prepared Instagram posts and interactives that were posted throughout the week.
As October is Mental Health Awareness Month, the HUMSS Psychology Majors took to the chance to advocate for self-realization, showing off what one's life should be filled with using an illustrated short story backed by psychological research.
“[W]hat the psych majors did not only inspired me to make the most of the short life I have but also reemphasized the fact that we still encounter individual problems even as we age and become wiser,” said Matthew Cabiles of 10-Commitment.
For grade school, students commemorated International Week by having trivia days during their homeroom classes and Mufti Days throughout the week. They plan to meet parents and high school students in their classes next week to further learn about the different cultures in our international community.
In the COVID era, the school has consistently led community events virtually; overcoming the challenges presented by the online setting was no easy task. However, the spirit of the week far outweighed the difficulties.
Jaeda Johnson once again states “I think it is always important to promote cultural awareness and diversity. Not just because we are in an international school, but also because we live in a global society where we need to learn to look out for one [another]! Especially with our current setup, it is important to support each other during these trying times.”
Celebrating our diversity helps us become more united and educated. Understanding others’ perspectives helps us broaden our own and educate ourselves. As we are in an academic environment, it is essential to understand people and their backgrounds to thrive as individuals and as a school community.
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