Centro Educacional Leonardo Da Vinci

by Kieron Jones September 2018

Each year the Middle School Global Leaders’ Course develops the theme of “Ubuntu”. This is an African phrase which means “I am because we are”.  Here is a short summary covering some of my experiences so far (!) with my Grade 6,7 and 8 students and some photos of our classwork and activities too!

Grade 6

We have been discovering together what it means to be a “leader” and work as part of a team. Also, how to share our experiences with each other and communicate ideas and emotions. We finished the first semester with the launch and presentation of our eBook called “Memories!”. Each student wrote a story about something that happened to them and shared it with their families. It was a great event as we heard about dreams coming true in Disneyland and the trauma of getting your braces fitted to your teeth! Grade 6 are currently learning about how to create positive changes in the world through writing letters to important people and we will finish this semester by creating our own blog, where they will further develop their skills for communicating their opinions to a wider audience!

Grade 7

In Grade 7 there has been a strong focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics as we have studied together the impact we have as individuals on the environment. This culminated in a presentation for friends and families of their STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) Mural.  Students explained the importance of water in our lives through practical experiments, songs, interactive games and theatre!  Grade 7 have just completed their “Recycled Art Gallery”, which caused quite a storm in the school corridor!  Their artistic talents are being stretched further this term as we explore further how best to educate people about the causes of climate change and create together our own children’s story book about saving the earth!

Grade 8

Grade 8 students have been investigating how the world works together through local and global communities. They have created their own human rights declarations and produced PowerPoint presentations to show their understanding of the “Glocal” concept (local + global = connected community).  They have interviewed local and international experts as well as developing TV adverts and designing their own educational flyers on topics such as health, slavery, abortion and hunger! So far this term we have created our own “Positive Change Movement” to educate people at school about Down syndrome and now we are studying the United Nations and concentrating our efforts on producing powerful art work to illustrate what it means to live in a connected world!