Service
Service is a foundation principle at Island Pacific School. We believe that service starts at home and school and spreads to the world around us.
The aim of the program is to instil a sense of citizenship and civic engagement in Island Pacific School students and, by extension, their families to act in response to the needs of a ‘community’. The community and service program at IPS is designed to focus on local, provincial, and global initiatives.
In order to make the experience meaningful for students, the community service program at Island Pacific School is partly guided by Community Service Learning, which is a teaching model that combines volunteer service with classroom learning.
IN THE SCHOOL
Students build community within the school by engaging in school clean-up, grounds enhancement (pollinator garden, veggies garden bulb planting), mentor program and our grade 9 assembly leadership.
IN THE BOWEN ISLAND COMMUNITY: STUDENT COMMUNITY SERVICE
2022-23 School Year
- building a climbing wall at our school
- collecting and donating books to another country
- raising money for Ducks Unlimited Canada
- educating people about drug toxicity and overdoses
- raising money for the playscape at our school
- volunteering at an animal shelter
- creating a welcoming art piece for indigenous people at the school
- starting a drone racing club
- beach cleanups
2021-22 School Year
Our Grade 6 and 7s work in Grafton Gardens, a community garden on the Grafton lands doing numerous jobs such as gardening, planting trees and other plants, helping to build an ‘insect hotel’, weeding, moving wood chips, and much more.
The Bowen Island Museum and Archives engages our students to help take down and put up new exhibits. They created an exhibit for Remembrance Day, conducting an oral history interview with Alex Jurgensen, a Bowen Island resident who runs camps for the visually impaired.
BIHORA (Bowen Island Horse Owners and Riders Association) – at BIHORA they get into the muck, shovelling manure and helping to clear paths for therapeutic riding lessons. Evergreen Stables appreciates the work our students do when they come to help clear debris and rake leaves around their pond. Evergreen stables is a location for equine therapy where many patients will visit the pond during their sessions and really appreciate this endeavour.
At the Cat’s Pyjamas, a cat boarding kennel on Bowen, they shovel more manure and groom horses.
Service in Action: Read About How Our Students Raise Awareness About The Benefits Of A Plant Based Diet On Climate
They also perform a full community service day which involves helping injured and elderly Bowen Islanders to put up their holiday lights, move heavy furniture in their houses, as well as walking dogs, and making soup and cookies for the Bowen Food Bank. Students did a shoreline cleanup, cleaning up plastics and garbage at Bowen Island beaches.
The Grade 8’s work on personal community service projects, where they choose a project that suits their interests, and they work to implement it throughout the year. Last year some students raised money about mental health topics for the Bowen Island Library, others raised money for an animal shelter, and still another group wrote articles about CAWES helping to educate people about what that organization does and asking for donations. Another student built a bench for the school yard using recycled wood palettes.
The Grade 9’s primary focus is on the Covenant House Sleep Out: Student Edition (read more here). They also work with Quest Food Exchange in Vancouver and Riley’s Cidery and Collensia Farm on Bowen Island at different times during the year. Global initiatives include the Royal Seed Home Orphanage.