Simon Camby, our Chief Education Officer, recently visited the International School Saigon Pearl in Vietnam. Engaging in a heartfelt discussion with Grade 4 students, Simon explored the profound impact of the school’s core values.
In most schools, you will see guiding statements in the entrance hall. People use different words to describe these… mission, vision, values etc. Without any doubt, we know that effective schools have a clarity of purpose and use their guiding statements to intentionally impact the culture in school.
Today, I was visiting the International School Saigon Pearl in Ho Chi Minh City and got curious. My curiosity was sparked by the school’s values.
At ISSP they talked about the Sunbirds SOAR, the snappy way to refer to the school’s values:
I wanted to test out how this was lived and understood by students in the school. I met with Aurora, Na, Jasmine, Julie, Juline, and Minh Nhi from Grade 4. For context, this was an unplanned conversation. We spoke about what the values mean in reality for them.
Show responsibility
“This is about taking responsibility for yourself and not relying on others. For example, knowing what homework you have and completing it.”
“If you are responsible, you do things on time and without being reminded.”
“In school we take responsibility by using equipment well and clearing things away. If we don’t do this, it is not fair on others.”
Obtain wisdom
“We can use wisdom by learning from others. If we do this, we there is so much we can learn.”
“Listening to others helps us to make good choices.”
“There is so much that others have that we can learn from.”
Always be honest and caring
“We can care for others in lots of ways in school. If someone hurts themselves, we can look after them or even take them to the nurse.”
“When new students join our school, we sow care in the way that we include them into our school community.”
Respect others
“Sometimes when we are learning something new, we don’t want to ask for help. We can be respectful of others by accepting their help.”
“Sometimes people are different from you. You show respect by listening carefully to understand them.”
This was a short conversation that helped to show that these children understand the school’s values in a way that is meaningful for them.
Values can be on the wall of the entrance hall and displayed in classrooms but are only impactful if understood. Thank you to these six students for helping me understand what Sunbirds SOAR means to them.
