The After School Care Programme at ISA recently had a unique theme of the week: the “ASC Winter Olympics 2022.”

With the Winter Olympics taking place in Beijing, Programme Coordinator Rosa Middendorf and her fellow educators wanted to create an opportunity for the students to experience their very own Winter Olympics here at ISA.

The After School Care Programme is offered to our Lower School students, ranging from 4 to 11 years old. Rosa said that “as an IB school, our approach to the Programme is to support student agency. The relationship between the students and educators is viewed as a partnership. The Programme gives our students voice, choice and ownership.”

With this in mind, they decided to involve the students in developing the event. As a result, the children were actively engaged in the decision-making process from the get-go. They took the initiative, expressed their own ideas, made choices and used their creative thinking skills. Together, they came up with an exciting programme!

Some of the older children made name tags for the younger participants. They also helped decorate the area using recycled materials. In addition, some made their medals out of clay. One of our students offered to make a video about the “Winter Olympics”. The video was used during the opening ceremony, followed by a ‘dragon dance’ performance, complete with a dragon mask that students painted themselves!

The After School Care Team used their ingenuity and incorporated Winter Olympics sports into our school facilities. As a result, the children could participate in curling, figure skating, speed skating, biathlon, ice hockey and sledging. The team was delighted to see students enjoy taking ownership of the event, embracing the challenge, and showing what incredible human beings they are!