A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to attend the Deep Dive Workshop, which was conducted as part of OSC’s accreditation process by CIS or the Council of International Schools. For some brief context, CIS is a non-profit membership organization that accredits international schools depending on whether they fit their mission statement and judge their overall performance as an international school. This year, a representative from the organisation visited our school for the Preparatory Visit to evaluate and advise the school about how we can take OSC to the next level. From what I gathered, OSC has already achieved the criteria to be considered a strong international school and is now in line to progress further, specifically in the area of ‘Wellness’.

I was invited as one of three students to represent the student voice in our school during one segment of the workshop, which lasted the whole day. In conversation, teachers and other authoritative members of the community have expressed how it is essential to take the student voice and perspective into consideration. This is especially important since the developments we hope to make directly impact the students as they are made with us in mind. Including select students in this workshop is one of the first steps in fulfilling this agenda and hopefully moving OSC in a holistic and adaptive direction to all perspectives.

It was an honour to be invited to something like this workshop due to its relevance to how we operate as a school and grow as an institution. Being one of the older students, I was meant to sit in on the ideas being put forward by all those in attendance and share my opinions in a way that would display the secondary student mindset to ensure the suggested developments assessed situations from various lenses. Although all this sounds very serious, most of my job in the workshop was thinking as myself and what I, as a student, would think of specific changes in how the school operates.

As a small example, we talked about transitions in schools and how we approach moving or change in international schools, as it is an uncharted issue that significantly impacts the community we have built. The teachers had proposed several ideas about approaching this issue to make things easier for teachers, students, parents, etc. Still, I noticed that the solutions put forward did not consider a vital student opinion that I know is shared by many. When they were discussing, I brought it to their attention and feel that this instance perfectly illustrates the importance of involving young people/students in these conversations. It allowed everyone to consider how their ideas are perceived and how the impact could possibly differ from intention, something that could have gone unnoticed had they not included students in the workshop.

This workshop was not only an achievement for me but also an excellent opportunity for me to be exposed to the actual inner workings of the school. As students, we hardly see behind the scenes of school operations or how initiatives are brought about/implemented. However, sitting in that workshop gave me insight into this otherwise foreign idea of development as a school, something I can see myself utilising in the future. I learned the importance of patience, planning, and organisation in a work setting, specifically when talking about creating substantial change. Identifying and looking at an issue through all the possible perspectives was significant in a seminar such as this, something I had not mainly considered in depth in the past.

I am excited to see what the Deep Dive workshop will lead to and how students like myself can contribute to the growth of our school. It was a very educational, new experience for me, and I am glad I had a chance to witness and learn from it.

To learn more about CIS and the work they do, you can visit their website at https://www.cois.org/

To learn more about their accreditation process and criteria, visit https://www.cois.org/for-schools/international-accreditation

A more in-depth overview of the Deep Dive Wellbeing Workshop: https://www.cois.org/about-cis/child-protection/mental-health-well-being-workshop/deep-dive-nov-2023