Community Service

Becoming a contributing citizen is a central goal of education. At Sunnybrook, action and community service is an integral part of school life and is supported by the IB philosophy. Student action is integrated into the Programme of Inquiry and classroom work wherever possible. At Sunnybrook School we view action as service that arises from the studentsʼ learning.

Student initiated action and community service both in the classroom and throughout the school develops:

In the Classroom

Children are moved by the need of others, and have the desire to make a difference. For elementary students, action takes on an immediate personal meaning when they are engaged in a group in which they can learn about needs in the community and the world, and participate in discussions and planning for their own personal action. We encourage students to take action independently.

Various classroom-related projects, initiated by the students, are proposed throughout the year. We also promote ideas that do not involve raising money. We are very proud of individual students who have taken on a wide range of initiatives, including a food drive, making cards as a fund-raiser, and sponsoring a book drive.

Whole School Action

We also have several events each year that involve the entire school. Examples of Whole School Action at Sunnybrook include:

Kids Can Too

Our Kids Can Too group provides service opportunities for our older students. Meeting regularly, all students in grades 4 - 6 are welcome to participate and suggest and carry out projects. An important part of student action is awareness, which is a large part of Kids Can Too. It fosters the IB Learner Profile and the philosophy of our school in an active, ongoing way.

Terry Fox Run

SBS holds an annual Terry Fox Run, in which all students participate. Parent involvement is key to the success of this event.

Care & Share

SBS has had a relationship with the Red Cross for over 15 years, including this annual school wide event, which provides food for their Mobile Food Bank during the holiday season.

Disaster Relief

SBS has a tradition of responding to the great need following natural disasters around the world by raising money to send to the Red Cross.

The Abhayadana School

Sunnybrook School raised funds in 2005/2006 to send two SBS teachers as well as funds to purchase supplies locally to a school in Sri Lanka. This project was established in response to the devastation caused by the Tsunami in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Work with this school carried on for five years, and currently we are supporting the Step Up School in Abhayadana, an initiative that grew out of our work with the School. This is a programme offering learning support to students of all ages in Abhayadana.