DESIGN TO SERVE
Through our CAS initiative, we collaborate to meet the needs of others in our community.
Sadly, due to Covid-19 we were only able to complete two small projects last year. So far this year, we have two projects underway - a clothing exchange system to avoid textile waste (a finalist in the IB MYP Student Innovators Awards) and an outdoor sheltered seating project made from plastics recycled in-house.
Though in its infant stage, our hope is to begin serving the needs of our immediate and wider school community and eventually serve the needs of the wider communities of Vietnam.
I am proud of the success made so far as this is all largely led, initiated and driven by students.
FUTURE AIMS & GOALS
We are already making a difference through our Design to Serve CAS group but a lot of this is localised to the school and immediate surroundings. I hope to take on larger, more meaning full projects that benefit others and put student learning into practice through the practical application and transfer of skills by working together with a purpose.
For this to happen, we need further institutional support and student engagement, something I can constant working towards achieving through teaching and shared experience.
Sanitary Box Program
As part of two CAS groups that I led and supported (Area 320 & Design to Serve), a group of students created an initiative to combat the often stigma associated with female sanitary products. They identified that within some Asian cultures, it is uncommon to speak about the need for these products and that often, younger females are afraid to seek these products. They also identified the need for ‘emergency’ pads where girls did not have one with them but then needed one.
To combat this, an exchange system was created whereby the school supplies the initial stock of sanitary pads and students are asked to replace them from time to time to help keep the supply going. A wall-mounted, refillable dispenser was designed and 3D printed and then hung in each female bathroom in the school.
CAD Design
The Implemented System
After implementing and monitorng the system, colleting data for two months, the group met with all of the high school girls to update them on how well the system had been working.
You can view the 2 month report here.
Clothing Exchange
A recent initiative that we are working on is a community clothing exchange system whereby students and parents are able to bring in unwanted clothes for donation and at the same time, choose something to take with them, should they find anything suitable. The students that came up with this idea were finalists in the IB MYP Student Innovators Awards and received funding from the IB to complete the project on a larger scale, outside of the school, based on their proposal. I hope to share not only our products but our problem solving skills and knowledge at the same time.
IB MYP Student Innovators Awards
Recycled Sheltered Seating
We are currently working on creating a large sheltered seating area that uses tiles made from recycled plastics that were gathered by the ‘Go Green, Go Clean’ CAS initiative and then ground, formed and shaped by our Design to Serve CAS initiative. This is still in the process of being constructed - images to follow soon.
Stage Production Props
The Design to Serve CAS initiative supported the school production of Ash Girl by creating staging and stage props. Students were able to use their design skills beyond the classroom to serve the needs of others whilst working collaboratively with the production team in order to meet their requirements.
