This was the 15th consecutive year that Grade 11- ACS Athens students visited the Northern Peloponnese with the aim to give to the society, to those in need and to learn from giving. For a third year in a row, ACS Athens is joined by the respective grade of ISA serving thus as an exemplary model of collaboration among International schools.
Seventy one ACS Athens students and 34 ISA students, joined forces to outreach to the local communities of Ancient Olympia, Pyrgos, and Lechaina. From October 16th – 19th, the students engaged in social activities with the patients of the Home for the Elderly at Pyrgos and the Therepeutic Center (KEPEP) at Lechaina, as well as, enhanced student learning through rich experiential learning activities and out-of-the-classroom workshops.
The trip aimed to achieve specific academic and social learning goals through visits, workshops, and on-site experiments. The above goals were supported through 3 strands of activities:
- The Botanical Garden of Ancient Olympia project.
- KEPEP Therapeftirion at Lehaina and the Home of the Elderly project
- The Experiential Learning Activities at Lake Kaifa and River Alfeios, Museum visits and the Archaeological Sites as well as Scientific Workshops, reflective discussion sessions, and writing seminars aiming to connect social and academic learning to students' experiences from the trip.
We expect that the variety of activities and planned student engagement will provide an effective vehicle for developing learners who are engaged, knowledgeable, caring, thinkers, open-minded, accepting of diverse situations, good communicators and ambassadors of their classmates and their school in the public events they intend to participate in. The group debriefing sessions and the written reflections on the activities focus on the manifestation of experiential learning as another way of knowing.
A big thank you to the local community of Ancient Olympia for their distinguished hospitality also this year, and to our ACS Athens community, the parents and the students for their food and clothing contributions and their readiness to help whenever there is a call to give. Looking forward to similar initiatives in the future and educational collaborations aimed to promote long-term community service initiatives.
