~ Zachary Warmke
Curriculum Coordinator
KCIS aims to empower our students with the knowledge, skills, and belief in themselves that will lead them to a great future. One way we do that is through our projects which involve real-world actions and ideas. When planning a project, we need to identify the ideas that matter most, then figure out ways to make action and learning possible. Luckily, we have an excellent starting point: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs.
What Are the Sustainable Development Goals?
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 “big ideas” identified by the United Nations. These are long-term goals for the everyone in the world to work toward. These include equal education, clean air and water, and ending unfair laws.
These ideas might sound challenging for children to understand, but actually the opposite is true. When we explain SDGs to students, they get excited. They want to help others, and learning that people around the world are working together gives students even more motivation to study, communicate, and take action.
By implementing SDGs in our work, we are making our students into global citizens. We empower them to believe they can improve the world. Let’s take a quick look at how we have used SDGs to guide our projects.
In this project, students become true authors. They draft and edit a complete storybook, including a plot, characters, and theme. To help decide on a theme, students “decoded” SDGs and turned them into positive messages to include in their book. Now their stories carry messages like “everyone should be treated equally” and “protecting nature is everyone’s responsibility.”
Grade 2 Achieve Writing: Should We Use Plastic Bags?In this AW, second graders debated the use of plastic. They learn why plastic bags are so useful and common, but also that they are bad for the environment. By using SDGs, such as SDG12, which encourages us to reduce waste, students consider all sides of the issue. Finally, each student articulates their scientifically-supported opinion on how we should use plastic responsibly.
KCFS Projects
In KCFS, our students learn about real scientific concepts and problems in the world, then create something to help solve the problem. Here are just a few KCFS projects that involve SDGs:
Grade 2 Seed Dispersal: Students create an efficient way to plant seeds without harming the environment, which aligns with SDG15: Protect life on land.
Grade 3 Green Battery: Students make a battery using natural materials, which aligns with SDG7: Ensure access to clean energy for all.
Grade 5 Pollution Problem: Students learn about oil spills in the ocean, then create a way to clean them. This aligns with SDG6: Protect and conserve water, and SDG14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans.
Looking Ahead
Our curriculum is always evolving. As the International Department continues to develop, we incorporate current, relevant issues like the SDGs so our students gain the skills and broad perspective they will need as adults. On the next page of this issue, we go into depth into the Innovation Expo Achieve Writing. Turn the page to learn more about how SDGs guided the research, drafting, and publishing process that has led our sixth graders to become capable innovators for a brighter future.
From the Editor
The Future We Want
國際處主任 賴國宜
“Development that meets present needs without compromising future generations” — a vision from the 1987 UN report Our Common Future that continues to shape how we understand sustainability today.
At KCIS, we see sustainability not as a single lesson, but a way of thinking woven into everyday learning. Through engaging themes, students explore ideas like energy use, responsible consumption, gender equality, and caring for others. These complex topics have no simple answers, making them ideal for developing critical thinking. Through discussion and reflection, students begin to form their own perspectives and imagine the future they want.
In this issue, our curriculum coordinator, Mr. Warmke, shares how sustainability is integrated into our curriculum, and how we support students in building awareness and taking small but meaningful steps to make a difference.
「既能滿足當代的需求，同時又不損及後代子孫需求的發展模式。」這段來自聯合國於1987年發布的Our Common Future宣言，為永續發展揭開了清晰而深刻的起點。當全世界都在探討永續發展之際，我們相信身為未來主人的孩子們，也應有機會了解並關心攸關自身未來的議題。
在學校中，永續發展不應只停留在單一課程或一次活動，而應融入日常教學之中，成為一種理解與思考世界的方式。透過主題式學習，我們引導學生關注多元議題，如全球化與能源運用、責任消費、性別平等，以及對差異的包容與對所有人的關懷。這些議題沒有標準答案，卻也因此更能培養孩子以系統性思維理解問題的複雜性，並發展批判性思考的能力。在探索與對話中，孩子逐漸建構屬於自己的價值判斷，想像並實踐「我們想要的未來」。
本期以「永續發展」為主題，精選數個融入永續概念的專題課程，讓家長更了解我們如何透過教育提升孩子的永續發展意識，並鼓勵他們採取行動，為世界帶來改變。