Student Activities
Developing the activities program at my school has been an absolute whirlwind of change and innovation! When I was asked to take on a part time role as Activities Coordinator in 2017, my school had just experienced a rapid period of growth and was struggling to organize both the programming and the staff for co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. We took a hard look at the existing programming, procedures, and records, and realized there was a need to set up clear and consistent systems in the middle and high school so that staff knew what was required in building activities, administrators had a better idea of what was going on, and the students could be provided with a wider variety of higher quality programming.
With that in mind, we:
As time went on, we also realized that more time was needed to develop activities and trips to their full potential, so I moved in the the Activities Coordinator as a full time position. These investments allowed us to more than double extracurricular participation rates in grades 6-12, expand the breadth and quality of programming, quadruple the number of international trips offered, and include more businesses, community members, and parents in our programming. Most importantly, the atmosphere of our school shifted to one of bustling activity where students and staff have a variety of interesting events and programs to look forward to. Following those successes, we adapted the same strategies for use in the lower levels and implemented them in kindergarten through fifth grade. This realm is still a work in progress, but we have seen significant gains and are looking forward to even more growth. This year, with the difficulties imposed by the pandemic, we have taken to virtual activities to ensure students still have opportunities to engage with each other outside of class time for socialization and extracurricular programming. Check out some of the video projects and photos below! |
Creativity is as important in education as literacy. ~Sir Ken Robinson |
Activities & Student Council
As the High School Student Council advisor, I have been delighted to work with an amazing batch of elected students who work to advocate for their peers and provide extracurricular opportunities. The role of the council has changed dramatically during the pandemic, and we have had to be extremely creative to provide engaging programs this year. Student council members have initiated partnerships with all kinds of of stakeholders, including students, staff, admin, governmental authorities, parents, universities, and businesses. Despite the long-term hold on in-person activities due to the pandemic, we have still been able to provide innovative and interactive programs for students to support their development and explore their interests.
Student Council Activities:
Other Independent Projects:
I like to joke that my unofficial title is the "Director of Fun" because so many students come to me with their fun ideas and just need a little guidance to get their creativity going. This also means I have the great privilege of watching amazing ideas blossom every year! A few special projects that I have been able to assist in leading are shared here:
Student Council Activities:
- Virtual National Day events
- Partnership with Amazon Web Services for AWS Tech Weeks
- The annual MKS Doodle for students to be creative in redesigning the MKS logo
- A range of workshops for ES/MS students, including crafting, painting, slime, nail-polish, mask decorating, baking, rock painting, and more
- A year-long series of student competitions, including photography, 2021 vision boards, mural design, and photography
- Spirit Days through the fall to encourage positivity and creativity
- INJAZ Entrepreneurial training programs
- Teacher Appreciation initiatives
- Grade level hoodie orders
- Think Pink activities toward breast cancer awareness and prevention
- "Help a Reader Out" and "Help an Artist Out" programs to partner HS students with elementary students to teach reading and art
- Make a Difference Month during Ramadan to support food banks, clothing banks, and other charities in Bahrain
Other Independent Projects:
I like to joke that my unofficial title is the "Director of Fun" because so many students come to me with their fun ideas and just need a little guidance to get their creativity going. This also means I have the great privilege of watching amazing ideas blossom every year! A few special projects that I have been able to assist in leading are shared here:
Mural painting for the Mission Awareness Campaign:
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Sting Art Installation for the HS Commissioning Ceremony:
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Teacher Appreciation programming:
The Terrific Teachers project is a student-led initiative that seeks to reward teachers who go above and beyond the call of duty. Students and parents fund the program and provide teachers with small gifts, certificates, and letters of appreciation.
2020 MKS K-12 Yearbook - This Is Us - Editor
The MKS Yearbook is an annual K-12 publication consisting of 360 full color pages. The 2020 yearbook featured nearly 7,000 photos of student events and activities and was the first yearbook designed completely in-house. We are hard at work on the 2021 edition!
MKS Commencement Master of Ceremonies – 2015 thru 2021
Serving as Master of Ceremonies for the school commencement ceremonies for the last six years has been one of the greatest honors of my career. Being present with seniors to witness such an important milestone is thrilling, and facilitating the program is an even greater wonder. In this role, I am responsible for the program order, the organization and preparation of student speakers, selection of the Citizenship Award winner, and the preparation of graduates for their ceremony roles. In 2020, I took on the lead organizer role to plan, script, film, edit, and produce the entire virtual graduation ceremony. What a joy to be involved in so many years of good memories and milestones!
Serving as Master of Ceremonies for the school commencement ceremonies for the last six years has been one of the greatest honors of my career. Being present with seniors to witness such an important milestone is thrilling, and facilitating the program is an even greater wonder. In this role, I am responsible for the program order, the organization and preparation of student speakers, selection of the Citizenship Award winner, and the preparation of graduates for their ceremony roles. In 2020, I took on the lead organizer role to plan, script, film, edit, and produce the entire virtual graduation ceremony. What a joy to be involved in so many years of good memories and milestones!
Video Projects
As the occasion permits and the need arises, I have been happy to produce several video projects for MKS students and administration.
We are Bahrain: Message from the MKS Administration, December 2020
We are Bahrain: Message from the MKS Administration, December 2020
Virtual Bahrain National Day Program:
On the occasion of Bahrain National Day in December 2020, we organized a school-wide video program followed by interactive programming in each division. |
MKS Family Video:
This video was created for the MKS 20th Anniversary Celebration and was actually the first video I ever made. Thankfully, my skills have improved since then! The message remains delightful to today. |
2020 Virtual Commencement Ceremony:
Due to the pandemic, we were not able to hold an in-person ceremony. However, we still celebrated our seniors with a virtual ceremony viewed over 10,000 times. The embedded video below may not work in some countries, you can watch it from YouTube here.
Due to the pandemic, we were not able to hold an in-person ceremony. However, we still celebrated our seniors with a virtual ceremony viewed over 10,000 times. The embedded video below may not work in some countries, you can watch it from YouTube here.
International Trips
When I came on as the Student Activities Coordinator, we were running one international trip per year for the IB Diploma Program. We surveyed students and parents and consulted with teachers to examine how we could meet the unique needs of students in each grade level. Then we devised locations and developed itineraries and trips to the following locations:
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Paris 2018
Student Memories Video |
Student Events
Student Clubs & Organizations: We have seen an almost four fold increase in the number of student clubs and organizations in the last three years, from only six to more than twenty. Some of our most active clubs include the Model United Nations Program, Student Council, Musical Theatre, AIM for Change Volunteering, Arabic Clubs, Drama Club, K-Pop Club, Strategic Gaming Club, and others. We have further equipped our clubs and empowered our leaders with the resources and tools they need to create programs of sufficient depth for the students. There is still much room for growth, but we have set an excellent precedent for future development. A program I am immensely proud of is our Musical Theatre troupe- so much so that I've given it a dedicated page on this site. Check it out!
Events and Activities: Over the course of this school year, we have over 200 scheduled activities just for students in grades six through twelve! In order to be approved, each activity should be safe, engaging, and student centered. While most activities are academic in nature (think science fairs, guest speakers, book fairs, math exhibitions, etc.), we also offer a variety of charitable, social, and family-oriented events. Our school-wide activities include an exciting National Day program, a family Carnival day, the Musical Theatre presentation, and Sports Day. For each of these programs, we select a strong committee of staff and students to organize the details. None of these programs would be possible without the incredible support of our entire school community!
Check out some photos of a few of our events from the past couple of years:
Events and Activities: Over the course of this school year, we have over 200 scheduled activities just for students in grades six through twelve! In order to be approved, each activity should be safe, engaging, and student centered. While most activities are academic in nature (think science fairs, guest speakers, book fairs, math exhibitions, etc.), we also offer a variety of charitable, social, and family-oriented events. Our school-wide activities include an exciting National Day program, a family Carnival day, the Musical Theatre presentation, and Sports Day. For each of these programs, we select a strong committee of staff and students to organize the details. None of these programs would be possible without the incredible support of our entire school community!
Check out some photos of a few of our events from the past couple of years: