Empathy, creativity and chalk: 3 words to describe Bahay MaD Week 2019

Under the theme of sustainability, Bahay MaD Week was certainly a handful: empathy, creativity…. and chalk.

The week started off with a sprawling chalk drawing activity at the lower playground on Monday snack. Students were encouraged to draw for their house what sustainability meant to them: slogans, art, even murals.

Wednesday snack time at the lower playground was the place to be for trick shot enthusiasts. Students had to try and hit plastic bottles into recycling bins – in 3 shots or less. The prize? An exclusive SIS Sustainability Council badge and candy.

Friday was a day of empathy. Whether it was dressing sustainably to encourage a consideration of sustainability in the quotidian morning routine of choosing an outfit, or thrashing the other houses in a feisty game of waterpolo amongst a pool of plastic bottles, students were encouraged not just to think of themselves, but for what their actions meant in the wider world around them.

All proceeds (HK$8,191 in all) are going to the Kadoorie Farm and Botanical Garden, an NGO dedicated to conservation and sustainability. But more importantly, it was a chance to encourage sustainability in a way that was both relevant and engaging in their lives – a potential blueprint for how the centuries-long issue of sustainability could sow the seeds of change in the generations of students to come.

(Photo credit: Chrystal Kim)