Global Citizenship Week at ISA
At ISA, we believe that learning should inspire meaningful action. This belief is at the heart of the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), which encourages children to not only inquire into the world around them but also to take action that makes a difference. Our upcoming Global Citizenship Week is designed to do just that: to help children explore what it means to be a global citizen and provide opportunities to practice it in ways that are personal, local, and global.
What does it mean to be a Global Citizen?
We are helping children develop their understanding of global citizenship around a simple but powerful idea: Global Citizens are people who choose to act in caring ways to improve their communities and the wider world. The week will provide space for children to reflect on choices they can make to care for themselves and others, whether that's through kindness, friendship, or small acts of support. It will also invite them to think about their role in strengthening our school community, such as the Grade 2 initiative to help keep our school grounds clean by collecting litter.
From the school grounds to the Scottish coast
Global citizenship also means extending our vision beyond the school building, play areas and grounds. This year, we are turning our attention to our regional coastal ecosystems and the ways human activity affects marine life. This focus was inspired by last year’s Grade 3 students (now in Grade 4) who, after attending a TechFest presentation on coastal ecosystem health in May, wrote a heartfelt letter asking if they could organise a beach clean-up. Their initiative has sparked a wider movement within ISA, reminding us that children’s voices and choices can lead to meaningful action.
During Global Citizenship Week, some classes will participate in workshops run by Marine Scotland, while all children will take part in an ongoing awareness-raising quiz, learning to identify North Sea marine wildlife whose habitats are threatened by pollution. These activities will build toward the ISA Family Beach Clean, taking place on Saturday, 4 October, 3:00–4:30pm (meeting point: “The Windows By the Sea”). This event is voluntary, but we hope to see many ISA families out there. Although it has been organised by members of the ISA team, this is not a supervised field trip; children will need to be supervised for the duration of the beach clean by their own families. Families should arrive wearing sensible footwear and clothing appropriate for the weather. Lauren Smith from the East Grampian Coastal Partnership will supply all gloves, pickers, hoops and bags; she will also have a sharps box with her, too. Please use the RSVP link to complete and submit a form to help us get a sense of how many families to expect.
Poster: Beach Clean Information
RSVP: Family Beach Clean Sign-Up
Learning that leads to action
By participating in Global Citizenship Week, ISA students will be embodying the attributes of the IB Learner Profile: being caring, principled, reflective, knowledgeable, and balanced. They will experience firsthand that being a global citizen is not an abstract concept, but something lived out in daily choices and actions.
And importantly, this is only the beginning. We do not see Global Citizenship Week as an end in itself, but rather as a springboard for future learning and action. Whether it’s showing kindness to a classmate, improving our school environment, or protecting coastal habitats, our students are beginning a journey of responsible action that will extend far beyond this week: across the rest of the year and over the course of their lives beyond ISA.
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