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On Monday morning, March 6, we will start the first challenge.
Each group has 4 weeks to finish this challenge
and to postinspiringcontributions on their school page.
All pages of this wiki are visible for everyone.
Please take a look at the pages of the other participants too!
'Actions speak louder than words'
Wonder, explore and plan:
'Take care of yourself and one another’
In the introduction phase, you mainly thought about your own strengths and limitations and you shared what brings you energy and happiness.
There are a lot of ways to get to know yourself better: by having different kind of experiences, by taking a good look around, by trying to understand things around you and to stumble and get up again. More or less, you focused on how you are 'taking care of yourself'.
Now it's time to take a good look at 'taking care of one another'. We can enrich our lives and the lives of people we care about by occasionally standing still and thinking about our possibilities.
'Happiness studies?'
So far, 'Happiness' is not a common course at most schools. That's pretty strange; if you ask people what they want to be, the answer often is 'to be happy'. Can school help you to figure out how to be happy?
Surprising things may happen when you learn together, in finding your way to happiness and in finding answers to important questions. Many people are convinced that our lives will be more meaningful if we pay daily attention to the happiness of others and not only ourselves. Let's start thinking about such significant things to do together!
What are we going to do?
In this challenge, we will explore how your talents and commitment can make a difference in your community.
When we talk about 'community' in this Learning Circle, we are talking about your school, your neighborhood, your town or city and perhaps a little further than that.
Can you bring about a change?
Can you learn 2 change?
Of course!
In the assignments of this challenge, we will explore how we can 'join forces' and help people around us. You will think about what you can do and prepare your activities in challenge 1, which you will carry out in challenge 2.
Your schoolpage is the right place to share reports of your progress and learning process.
We're looking forward to see what you come up with!
Please take a look at this video:
Reflective questions to start a conversation:
To help you get started, we added a few questions you can reflect on and use in a debat in your class or group. You can easily download and print them. The reflective questions can help you find out what talents you are using to help others. Sharing the 'outcome' of your conversations will give you more insight in different perspectives. Your thoughts and opinions are interesting for the other participants.You can add a text, pictures, a poster, a mind map or come up with your own creative way!
These are the assignments for challenge 1:
You can choose to do one or more of the assignments in your group OR you can divide the assignments among smaller groups. You can use the challenges we describe below, or find other ways to contribute to the well-being of someone else, that's fine too!
This assignment calls upon your joint responsibility for the school, by making a plan to help out the people that take care of your school and make it a nice place to be.
How do you proceed?
Start a conversation in class about the tasks and responsibilities in you school. Who does what? What is well organized and what could be done better?
Is your school seen good place to learn and be together? What are the pros and cons of the building your school is in?
Find out together who are the people in your school that make sure this is a pleasant learning environment for you. We are thinking of caretakers, concierges and people that are cleaning your school. So: other than teachers and management!
Make a list of questions you can ask these people and invite them for a conversation in your class.
Find out how you can help them by asking your questions. Especially ask them about their ideas on how you can give a hand. What kind of help would be meaningful for the school?
For instance: Can you help cleaning the the square or playground? Or give a hand in reorganizing the school library?
Get started with this information and come up with an activity plan to contribute to the improvement of your school.
2. Be a buddy.
This assignment calls upon your responsibilities for the younger children in your school, or in your primary school, by making the plans to give a lesson, or help and support in the long term.
How do you proceed?
Discuss in your group what you can do for the younger children in your school, or in your primary school. In other words, how can you be a buddy for a younger student?
Consider the possibility to create a lesson for younger students. What would be an interesting subject for them and what would be helpful?
Consider the possibility to help younger students with their school work or read books together.
Make up you mind and write down your plans.
Talk about your ideas with the teachers.
Plan your lesson or activities with the younger students.
Make sure all members of your group are involved in the process; in the conversations and debates, the dividing of tasks. Try to use all your various talents. Make sure your plan is doable in the short and in the long-term.
Don't forget to post a report of the process and your plans on the school page. During challenge 2 you will carry out your plans!
B. In your neighborhood:
1. You make my day!
This assignment calls upon your commitment in your neighborhood, by making plans for an activity.
June 2016: 'Happiness is being spread across the city of Bristol today. Children from eight schools are sharing random acts of kindness that they hope will not only bring happiness but create a new record for the most kindly acts in one day':
How do you proceed?
Discuss in your group how friendly gestures can make someone happy.
Can think of making a small but beautiful gift for people in your neighborhood?
Or is there something you can do for people in your neighborhood? For example:
Fill a backpack with supplies for a person who needs it
Organize a food bank drive
Start a library: Collect books from all of your friends and family and start a library in a place where it's really welcomed.
Consider how you can make your gift or how to plan your friendly gesture or social actions.
Make a time schedule for your activities.
Don't forget to post a report of the process and your plans on the school page.
During challenge 2 you will carry out your plans!
C. Local Community
Your school is a part of the community and the society. This also applies to the elderly in your neighborhood.
There are a lot of opportunities for younger and older people to connect in a meaningful way.
This assignment calls upon finding ways to improve contact with older people in your neighborhood.
What activities can you think of as a group?
How can you make a connection between your world and theirs?
Below you'll find some suggestions to bring happiness to the elderly. You can organize a wonderful afternoon, think of ways to have good conversations, to read stories or books together... There are many possibilities and options you can discuss together.
1. A musical afternoon or performance for the elderly
How do you proceed?
Discuss in your group who of you would like to prepare a musical afternoon or other performance (dance?) for the elderly in your community.
Consider ways how to 'shape' this afternoon.
Plan and organize this activity.
Don't forget to post a report of the process and your plans on the school page.
During challenge 2 you will carry out your plans!
2. Stories from the past and the present
How do you proceed?
Discuss in your group how to get in touch with a number of elderly people in your neighborhood.
Make a list of possibilities for interesting encounters between 'young and old':
Maybe they would like to share stories with you, about their childhood and lives? Think of good questions to ask in conversations like that.
Maybe they would love to read stories or books together!
Think of ways to organize these 'meetings'. Make plans that are clear about time and place.
Involve people that need to know about your plans.
D. Wider Community
In this assignment you explore how you can contribute to a local aid organization.
How do you proceed?
Collect information about organizations or institutions that help people in your area.
Invite a guest speaker who works for this organization, to present the aims and the issues they are dealing with.
Consider how to introduce your guest and which questions to ask during this presentation.
Discuss in advance whether it is possible to visit this institution.
Make an inventory how you could help in this organization in a meaningful way (with a number of students)
Involve all stakeholders and plan your activities.
Consider these options:
Invite a guest speaker to present on an issue. People that work for NGO’s, parents, politicians or individuals associated with a cause to personalize the events and issues.
Use newspaper articles, news clips or films.
Bring in a newspaper article that directly relates to the subject or come up with a good informative video about what this organization is doing.
Share examples of action projects in which you have participated through school, clubs, community groups, churches, NGO’s or share stories of successful action projects undertaken by people in your community.
Phase 1 
Phase 2 
Phase 3 
Phase 4 
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