Community relationships and student service learning

Molly Fassbender, Communications Manager, UWCSEA Foundation
17 August 2021

 

As we look ahead to the College’s 50th anniversary in 2021/2022, we celebrate the important role Service has played in our history. At the heart of the UWC mission, Service enables students to actively contribute to resolving social and environmental problems, both locally and globally. When students deepen their understanding of why these problems exist, they realise that everyone can play a part in taking informed, purposeful action. All students, from Kindergarten to Grade 12, are involved in our Service Learning programme every year.

UWCSEA has partnerships with over 50 local Singapore service organisations, some of whom we have worked with for over 30 years. These long-term relationships have allowed the UWCSEA community to connect with Singapore, creating pathways for intercultural learning and mutual understanding. For many students some of their most memorable experiences come through their Service commitments during their time at the College.

The social distancing requirements necessitated by the global pandemic have presented a challenge to our Service programme. But because community relationships are at the heart of UWCSEA, the College and our students were determined to find ways to continue to connect and to be of service to our partners.
 

Phase One

When Singapore’s circuit breaker commenced in March 2020, students were challenged to think critically and creatively about how they could continue to serve their partner organisations. Students chose to use this time to extend their learning; they conducted in-depth research and reflected about how they truly could be of use to the local community.

“Through my research I realised that I knew a lot less than I thought I did about people with intellectual disabilities and I really wanted to improve the activities we offer every week so the clients can enjoy themselves and we can be as helpful as possible,” said Blanca ’21, an East Campus student who was challenged to reimagine her local service contribution at the midpoint of her year-long Grade 11 service commitment.

Phase Two and Three

As safe distancing measures continued throughout 2020 and, at the time of writing, well into 2021, many student groups pivoted to delivering online Service via video conferencing tools. They rethought their weekly activities and figured out ways to engage clients online; not a straightforward task, when dealing with differing physical, mental and learning abilities. In many cases, students relied on the staff at the partner organisations to assist with the set-up of iPads and laptops and for feedback about how the new activities were received and what could be improved. Although the loss of in-person interaction was disappointing, students rose to the challenge, and have become comfortable with running online sessions for their partners.

Arshiya, a Grade 10 student on East Campus reflects, “Initially, with the sudden transition to online Service, our service group were challenged to come up with engaging activities for our clients (SUN-DAC). Devising in-person sessions that were all-inclusive and fun for all was already challenging. Grabbing our client’s attention online was even harder, and we had to bring a great deal of enthusiasm and work through all the technical challenges. We were challenged to become innovative, creative and better critical thinkers.”

Kate Levy, Head of High School English and SUN-DAC Service supervisor, says,“It has been quite remarkable to hear students independently critiquing and adjusting what they do in the sessions, as they observe the reactions of our buddies and constantly assess whether they are engaged, happy, and learning with us. A steep, deep and powerful learning curve for our students.”

During periods of safe distancing, many of the residential homes that our students visit regularly were closed to visitors, leaving the clients without in-person visits from family members or friends. As a result, making weekly connections with the seniors online has become even more vital to support well-being in these challenging times, and the clients looked forward to these sessions, perhaps even more so than before.

As Nikki Goh, Associate Psychologist at APEX Harmony Lodge, notes, “In this time of safe-distancing, residents have really appreciated and looked forward to the online sessions run by the UWCSEA students. When we are able to have sessions in person again, we would like to have both physical and virtual sessions, so we can include more residents, and continue to put to use everything we have learned about technology.”

Although offering an online Service programme was initially daunting for students, their perseverance has helped to deepen the College’s relationships with our Singaporean partner organisations. Community engagement has never been more important and students have shown that it is still possible to be of service to others, despite being far apart.

As part of UWCSEA’s 50th anniversary celebrations, in recognition of the powerful role of Service in our community, the College will launch a new podcast series, UWCSEA Stories. Hosts Nisha Farah, Rick Hannah and Frankie Meehan will explore our partnerships with local organisations through interviews with students, alumni, teachers and partners. It will be available on all podcast platforms in the 2021/2022 school year. Stay tuned!
 
“In this time of safe-distancing, residents have really appreciated and looked forward to the online sessions run by the UWCSEA students. When we are able to have sessions in person again, we would like to have both physical and virtual sessions, so we can include more residents, and continue to put to use everything we have learned about technology.”

– Nikki Goh, Associate Psychologist, APEX Harmony Lodge, East Campus partner