As an IB school, we are constantly striving to create opportunities for our students to take risks by exploring leadership roles. At CIS, secondary school students can participate in a variety of groups and after school activities in order to step into leadership roles. On this page, we highlight several of these student groups.

Student Council

Student Council at CIS is committed to representing the diverse voices within our student body, advocating for positive change, and organizing events and assemblies that enrich the overall school experience. Some cool things they’ve worked on recently:

Speaking up about Curriculum: Students met with DP teachers to discuss how they could make their teaching and learning more inclusive and more diverse.

Speaking at IB’s Global Conference: Five of CIS’s Grade 11 and 12 students were part of a panel discussion, focusing on “Systemic Student Agency: Activating Student Voice in School Improvement.” These students spoke passionately about the work they have been doing, as part of the Racial and Social Justice Union, to make CIS a safe and inclusive environment for everybody. They also explained their work with the Diploma teachers, where they have been co-creating the curriculum, working to ensure that what is covered in the classroom represents all of our students, their voices and their experiences.

Racial and Social Justice Union

The Racial Social Justice Union is a student-founded and student-run extracurricular club at CIS. Formed in 2021 by Secondary School students following George Floyd’s death in 2020, the club’s objectives include ongoing efforts to address racial and social issues in our school community and the outside world. Meetings run every Friday in the A Tower, primarily amongst the upper secondary students, where we have active, inclusive and respectful discussions surrounding relevant topics.

Throughout the running years of the club, there have been considerable achievements such as several initiatives around Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a revising of the syllabus to be more inclusive and diverse as well as engagement with the younger grades and teachers through presentations and PD day. The current RSJU leadership has more to get done, continuing what has already been implemented and working to bring awareness and change to these issues for the rest of the school. This can be achieved through our commitment to our mission statement of, “Empower allies to take action for racial & social justice and establish a safe forum for the CIS community to take initiative’’.

GSA & YANA

CIS currently has a number of groups to support students and staff who identify as part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. The YANA (You Are Not Alone) club is an open invitation club for Primary School students in grades 3-5 during lunch/recess time. The club was created by two students who wanted a friendly, safe, and welcoming place for anyone to come and feel a sense of belonging.

Their focus is on projects to spread kindness and positivity throughout our primary school. Entirely student led, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) offers a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, and is open to allies who want to learn and be supportive. The GSA meets in the Secondary School each week during the respective MYP and DP lunch/recess times, and is fledgling in the Primary School. On May 2nd, we look forward to the first meeting of the staff and faculty affinity group (2SLGBTQIA+).

Model United Nations

Model United Nations (or MUN) is a simulation of the United Nations, where students take on the role of an ambassador from a member state. They then debate topics such as gender equality, global health, climate change, security issues and much more from the perspective of that country. CIS’s MUN club currently has more than 50 members from grade 9 to 12. They meet weekly after school to debate topics and prepare for conferences, attend at least two major conferences each, and also attend and host smaller, local events, such as “cake and debate'”sessions with other schools. Model UN is a fun and rewarding occupation, which can help to raise young people’s confidence in debate and public speaking and also helps to develop their awareness of international relations and global perspectives.