At the Australian Independent School, they believe that education should be about more than exam grades.
The curriculum at Australian Independent School focuses on developing the whole person, providing opportunities for students to explore areas of interest, try new activities, and understand and appreciate their community through service. Most of all, residential field trips give students the chance to make lasting memories and grow as individuals.
They were therefore very pleased to restart their residential field trips programme following the relaxation of Covid restrictions in recent years. This year has seen a full revival of their opportunities for students to learn outside the classroom, with residential trips being offered for all year groups from Years 3 to 12.
This year, they have made their commitment to encouraging the development of creativity, activity, and service explicit by making their camps into CAS field trips. CAS (Creativity, Activity, and Service) is at the heart of the IB programme and forms an essential part of an AIS education. They offer an extensive range of co-curricular activities during lunchtimes and after school, and they encourage their students to try new things, manage their activities to cover creative, active, and service options, and reflect on their CAS activities to ensure they are making the most of the opportunities available to them. Their CAS field trips included exciting activities, the opportunity to learn something new, and the chance to find out more about the lives of people in the areas the students visited.
Camps, or residential field trips, have always been a significant part of the education provided by a good international school. They promote community, expose students to experiences and activities they may not otherwise have on regular family holidays, and, most importantly for their students from more than 25 different countries, allow them to learn more about the amazing country they are living in. Students from AIS Jakarta joined forces with students from AIS Bali for their field trips, fostering a greater level of school spirit.
This year, Year 7 students travelled to Yogyakarta, exploring the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan, but also visiting a traditional village to experience life in a small farming community.
Year 8 students travelled to Lombok, where they enjoyed the sunset and played on the beach, but also visited communities displaced by the construction of the MotoGP circuit to explore the impact of large-scale building and tourism projects on local people. Their students spent time in a village school, working with the pupils and discovering what life is like in a very different school community.
East Java, more specifically Mount Bromo, was the destination for Years 9 and 10. Watching the sunrise over the mountain, going white water rafting, and spending a day on a community farm were just some of the activities the students participated in.
Year 11 kicked off the school year in February with a CAS (Creativity, Activity, and Service) trip to Cikananga, working with the animals and living in dormitories while learning more about the expectations of the IB CAS programme and beginning their study of Theory of Knowledge. Though they returned significantly dirtier than when they left, the students all benefited greatly from the experience and have formed a good working relationship with the animal sanctuary, which they hope to grow in the years to come.
It was Year 11 who travelled the furthest in June for their residential week, visiting Siem Reap in Cambodia. They did visit the temples, but also the landmine museum, and they even had the chance to develop their circus skills in a workshop with Phare Circus performers.
Traditionally, Year 12 have been the year group to miss out on residential fun, instead spending the year working towards their final exams and preparing for life after school. However, fieldwork is an important component of the Biology and Environmental Systems and Societies courses, and they decided to plan fieldwork that the whole year group could participate in, giving them the chance to experience a residential week in Lombok. Their week involved river studies and white water rafting, visiting the Moto GP track, and surfing.
Ask any of the students who went to the camps, and they will be able to tell you in great detail about their experiences, whether it was freezing before sunrise on a mountainside or making new friends with students from their Bali campus. They are looking forward to continuing to offer such a varied programme of experiences and opportunities for their students. Their Years 3 to 6 students will be heading out on their camps in just a couple of weeks and will no doubt experience as much learning outside the classroom as the high school students did.