As one of the pillars of the SABIS^® Educational System, the SABIS Student Life Organization^® plays an important role in contributing to a positive educational environment in every SABIS^® Network school.  SLO^® actively engages students in their life at school and encourages them to share their SLO^® experiences with others. 

Every year, the SABIS Student Life Organization^® (SLO^®) has a theme which becomes the focus for student activities in all SABIS^® Network schools worldwide.  With the aim of raising awareness of SLO^® and its valuable position at the heart of every SABIS^® Network school, the theme for the 2014-15 academic year was "The Year of Visibility."

Many new activities were rolled out in schools across the global SABIS^® Network to reinforce the year’s theme.  At the International School of Choueifat – Damascus (ISC-Damascus) in Syria, the older SLO^® students staged an impromptu dance which got all the younger students involved.  At the International School of Choueifat – City of 6 October (ISC-City of 6 October) in Egypt, the SLO^® team worked over the summer to make several short videos highlighting what each of the eight SLO^® departments does.  The video clips were posted on WebSchool for all to see and were shown to students in grades 2-12, ultimately giving them a more visible idea about how each SLO^® department operates.  “We highlighted every activity that was organized by SLO^®,” said Nora Abdelaziz, Student Life Coordinator for ISC-City of 6 October.  To keep the message fresh throughout the year, each week the SLO^® team uploaded photos of the week’s SLO^® activities.  

In the U.S. at the International Academy of Flint (IAF) in Flint, Michigan, SLO^® held a canned food drive inspired by the theme  During the month of January, the SLO^® Social Responsibility Department encouraged students, teachers, and staff members to donate canned foods which were later given to a local food bank. By the month’s end, IAF was ranked number five in the county for the most canned food collected. The students were even featured on the local news, making the SLO^®’s charitable efforts more visible to the community.

“Several prefects were interviewed on the local news that morning, which truly proved that not only is our SABIS Student Life Organization^® beneficial for the school, but for the community as well,” Angela Nichols, Student Life Coordinator at IAF said.

At Ruwais Private School in Abu Dhabi, new SLO^® events were introduced to students such as Thursday…Smile Day.  Each Thursday morning, SLO^® prefects would stand at the doors of the school and greet all the teachers and staff with a smile. In addition, they offered them smiley face badges to wear. The objectives of this initiative were to remind everyone of the power of smiling and to make the SLO^® more visible throughout the school. “Our aim was to have anyone who walked into the school take notice SLO^® within the first five minutes, be it through display boards, announcements, or greeting prefects,” Sam Horness, Student Life Coordinator at the school said.  Thanks to the SLO^® at Ruwais Private School, Thursdays were filled with big smiles.

In the U.A.E., the International School of Choueifat – Sharjah (ISC-Sharjah) maximized its visibility by organizing numerous events involving large numbers of students. During the events, the students were encouraged to join SLO^®. “I am proud to announce that this year participation in SLO^® has almost doubled,” said ISC-Sharjah Student Life Coordinator, Imad Abou Ghannam.  “More students have been actively involved in the SLO^® than ever.”

The Year of Visibility has made a lasting impression on students and staff members in SABIS^® Network schools. The school communities have learned more about SLO^® and the organization’s objectives. More parents and students have come to realize that SLO^® activities promote a healthy environment for student personal development and growth. “It is not just about the clubs, activities and spirit days, it is also about what the students do for the other students – in the Academic Department by being a Shadow Teacher^®, in the Discipline Department by helping others, or in numerous other ways every day,”  said Riham Ismail, Student Life Coordinator  of the International School of Choueifat – Cairo.

To learn more about the enriching programs, events, and opportunities that are available to students through SLO^®, click here.