Originally from the UK, Jasween joined OWIS when the school had only 120 students. What drove Jasween to OWIS was seeing the school place children first, championing open communication and having such strong core values – all of which remain true to this day.
To be principled, we must have integrity. We must be honest and fair. We must actively work to right wrongs when we see them occur. Principles play significant roles in what defines us and in who we are. Our principles determine the type of people we attract as friends and whether we're loved and respected or feared and disliked.
The International Baccalaureate defines a principled student as one who possesses a strong sense of fairness. It's someone who respects the dignity and feelings of others, is honest and accountable, and accepts both responsibility for their decisions and the consequences that accompany them. In fact, being principled is part of the IB Learner Profile, along with other attributes such as being caring and open-minded.
On any given day, a principled student might:
Adopting principles while in primary and secondary school helps children become moral adults. But it's not always easy to stand on your principles. In fact, it's often quite tricky. Many principled people in history have suffered great hardships because they refused to compromise their principles. People such as Malala Yousafzai, Raif Badawi, and Nelson Mandela are prime examples. All suffered physical injury, separation from their families, or imprisonment for standing up for their beliefs. As a result, the world as a whole became a better place to live, attend school, and speak freely.
At OWIS, a leading international school in Singapore, we begin emphasising the importance of kindness, sharing, helping others and helping our communities in our IB Primary Years Programme. Our faculty models these traits in and out of the classroom, and they reward students who defend their principles, even the very earliest learners. Whether it comes in the form of a second-grade child sharing crayons with a classmate or a Secondary student modelling academic honesty in the classroom, acts such as these are acknowledged and recognised as part of being principled.
And while it's challenging to create a course entitled "Principles", it's not at all difficult to work these expectations into recurring themes from grade level to grade level. At OWIS, we do this in several ways:
At One World International School, we promote academic exploration. We encourage students to take charge of their own learning. In this way, students learn how to conduct their research into the problems and issues about which they feel most passionate. We allow them time to find solutions and then prompt them to try out their ideas in real-world scenarios. In the past, this has culminated in food and clothing drives, beach cleanups, recycling drives and wildlife fundraisers. As students realise they have a voice, they also realise they can make a difference.
OWIS encourages a growth mindset. In other words, if a student doesn't understand a concept, this only means they don't understand it yet. However, if they work hard, study hard and do their best to learn more about the unknown concept, their efforts will eventually pay off. This isn't a possibility. Instead, it's a given.
If you're interested in learning more about One World International School and why it's counted among the popular international schools in Singapore, we invite you to schedule a tour of our engaging campuses: OWIS Nanyang and OWIS Suntec. You can also contact the Admissions Team for more information.
Visit us from the comfort of your home and find out everything you need to know to make a well-informed decision about your child’s education.
*Proposed site for an international school that will open in 2023 subject to regulatory approvals
