Community Service @ CAISL
Creating, Achieving, Inspiring, SERVING and Leading
Service - done by students, modeled by adults, it is central to the growth at CAISL. There is always something happening in Community Service.
SECONDARY COMMUNITY SERVICE CLUB
The Secondary Community Service Club was split into three sections: Middle School (Grades 6, 7 and 8), Grades 9 and 10, and Grades 11 and 12. They meet regularly and organize activities based on the organizations (IPSS and other community-based organizations) they support. Activities include bake sales, fundraising activities such as Season/ Celebration Grams (Halloween, Winter Holidays...), and participation in activities such as Banco Alimentar drives and house rebuilding projects with Associação DOMUS (Grades 11 & 12).
HIGH SCHOOL HONOR SOCIETIES
National Honor Society, Tri-M, the Thespian Troupe, and the Honorable Art Society are clubs organized by High School students and each one has a service component, so it is not uncommon to see them engaged in fundraising events or service activities as part of their club actions.
INDEPENDENT SERVICE PROJECTS
In addition, IB students may choose to organize their collaborative and independent CAS Project focusing on the Service strand of the CAS Program and support either an organization that CAISL works with and supports or students may choose to advocate for and support a different organization (in previous year there have been CAS Projects that supported Aldeia SOS Bicesse with school supplies; Comunidade Vida e Paz with winter coats and shoes' drive; Ronald McDonald Lisbon with higiene products drive).
SERVICE LEARNING
Students and teachers may choose to organize Service Learning Projects, in which subjects' goals, performance indicators or content are aligned with needs identified in the community - so students plan Service Learning initiatives such Grade 8 Migration Symposium with the Lisbon Project; Grade 6 Fundraising Initiatives for Water in South Sudan after reading A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park.
PARENT PARTICIPATION
The Parent Support Group has also created a Community Service Club and they meet monthly to provide CAISL parents with opportunities to become active members in the community, creating positive impact for society and modeling behavior for the students.
Activities include participating in Banco Alimentar with students, organizing fundraising events to benefit different charities, and knitting beanies and booties for XXS Prematuros (an association supporting families with premature babies).
Community Service News
Last weekend, a national campaign took place, and CAISL volunteers helped collect 2,029 kg of non-perishable goods.
The monthly visit to Residência Sénior das Fisgas occurred last Tuesday, providing a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the existing friendships.
Between 10 and 13 of April, a group of High School students embarked on a transformative journey to Braga to participate in the DOMUS rebuilding project.
Our Marimba Band spread joy at Lar das Fisgas nursing home on January 23rd with a heartwarming handbell performance by our talented 5th-grade stars and Community Adult Percussion Group.
Elementary Community Service launched a holiday campaign to support Academia do Johnson by creating a Wish Tree adorned with Christmas wishes from the children at Academia. Our community warmly embraced this very noble cause.
Grades 9 and 10's Community Service Club crafted unique sustainable ornaments for sale this month. All proceeds support the Lisbon Project Association's efforts to empower migrants and refugees.
CAISL brave volunteers were able to collect over 2 tons of food for families with financial difficulties.
High School Community Service organized an Ice Cream sale to support a very noble cause.
For the past month and a half, a skillful number of the CAISL Parent Support Group parents have been working together to meet the “XXS Association” challenge, and participate in the fourth edition of the “XXS-XXL, Pequeno em tamanho, Grande no Coração” campaign.
8th graders learned about immigration in their social studies class, and within this context they attended an Immigration Symposium at the CAISL theater.
CAISL is a student-centered educational community in which we challenge ourselves and each other to do our best and to make positive contributions to our diverse and ever-changing world.