Service Learning (SEVAI)

Our Service Learning Philosophy

The service-learning program at AISC is called SEVAI, which means “service” in Tamil.

At the American International School Chennai, SEVAI consists of three section-level programs; within each program is a structure where choice and autonomy are appropriately balanced to suit the developmental needs of students across all grades and provides students with opportunities for learning, acting, connecting and reflecting.

 

Our SEVAI Program

  • Empowers our students to apply what they learn and know in authentic situations within Chennai and beyond
  • Strengthens our school’s commitment to service by providing members opportunities to contribute and make a difference in the rich cultural context of Chennai and India
  • Assesses genuine needs, developing and implementing sustainable solutions, and reflecting on personal growth and the impact of contributions are key steps of the process
  • Links teaching and learning to an increasingly interconnected world

 

The aims of SEVAI are to develop

  • Socially aware, empathetic individuals
  • Collaborative problem solvers who actively choose to embrace real world challenges
  • Reciprocal relationships of mutual respect between AISC and the greater community

Signature projects

Elementary School

Grade 2 students have multiple interaction sessions with elementary students of Seva Samajam, an orphanage in the neighborhood, as part of their social studies units. AISC students visit Seva Samajam twice during the year and vice versa. During these interactions, the students learn and teach traditional games, learn about identity and culture together and create craft items together that are sold during the Grade 2 Crafts Mela end of the year. The proceeds of the Mela go towards buying desks and other necessary items at the orphanage.

Middle School

Every month, our middle school students visit the Blue Cross of India, an animal welfare shelter where they help clean, wash, and feed puppies and kittens. They also spend time with the animals to help them get used to human contact. They also create educational videos as part of their SEVAI module in class. These videos are shared with neighborhood schools and orphanages to help their students supplement their classroom learning.

High School
 

Service clubs in the High school partner with an NGO through the year supporting them with their needs, while focusing on student learning. These clubs are involved in a wide variety of service activities that range from teaching community children to volunteering time for the elderly to cleaning up neighborhood lakes.

MUN Impact is a club that aims to translate the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into action by locally implementing them on the ground. They partner with Teach For India to engage with the students on weekends and teach them art projects, origami, language skills etc. 

The Design Engineering Physics club partners with Hope Foundation, a neighborhood school and they build an educational website based on the Tamil Nadu curriculum for the students. The website is filled with fun learning activities and supplements the local school children’s classroom learning. 

The Evergreen club partners with Aathmaalayam Senior Citizens Home. The members of the club engage with the elderly folks twice a month and volunteer their time to give them company, play board games, listen to music together etc. 

Math Matters is a student club devoted towards improving math education in India, by introducing underprivileged children to a diverse group of students and organizing competitions for underprivileged children around the city of Chennai. They strive to make math fun and interesting to kids from the community. 

The service clubs are entirely student run with the guidance of a faculty member. The students plan, schedule the activities, prepare, and execute the projects giving them rich experience in application of classroom learning to real world problems. The service clubs aid in team building, group participation, leadership and communication skills as they become empathetic socially aware.