Today was UN day and GCS partook.
The grade 3s are currently doing a unit of inquiry on mass migration, and as part of UN day, had a chance to see what it would be like to be a refugee. Yesterday Edwin had to choose 5 items that he would take from the house if he had to leave immediately. He took his wallet, water bottle, passport, bible and last but not least, his rugby ball!! He still wanted to take a photo album but, unfortunately, he could only take 5 items :-(
Today, without warning, they were taken from the classroom (with only their 5 items in a backpack) and given directions in various languages as to where to go next. The entire class eventually made it to the meeting point where they were all given fresh water and bread :-)
According to Edwin's teacher, they wanted to create an understanding of what it would be like to be a migrant in a foreign country. The teachers most certainly managed to create empathy towards migrants!!
It is so nice that the kids appreciate what they have.
The grade 8s had a mock UN conference and groups were formed to represent different countries. They had to convince the 'delegates of the UN' as to why a portion of the virtual 100 million USD should be awarded to their countries. The delegates were, however, only allowed to allocate money towards a country on what was actually presented to them. The delegates had 8 categories, being the 8 Millennium Development Goals of the UN:
- Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty.
- Achieve universal primary education .
- Promote gender equality and empower women.
- Reduce child mortality.
- Improve maternal health.
- Combat HIV/AIDS and other deceases.
- Ensure environmental sustainability.
- Develop a global partnership for development.
They devided the money into these categories and then after the presentations gave money to those countries who needed it the most (every country received money). This was truly a fun day for all the students of GCS and it was a great learning opportunity.
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