Houses at IA
By: Pavithra Krishnan
Edited By: Tawseef Rahman
Recently the International Academy has joined the ranks of one of the most outstanding schools of all time, Hogwarts. Though we don’t have Quidditch or a Potions class yet, we recently implemented houses into our school arrangement. Based on rough Latin translations of the IB learner profile traits, the houses go as follows: Scimus (we know: knowledgeable), Somnamus (we dream: thinker), Valemus (we are strong: principled), Miramur (we wonder: open-Minded), Curamus (we care: caring), Audemus (we dare: risk-taker). For those of you who don’t know, the house system groups students and establishes smaller communities inside the larger community so that each student feels a feeling of belonging, pride, and personal growth with their house and the school. We will establish a sound, inclusive school community and culture that encourages internal motivation by fostering friendships, leadership, enthusiasm, and school spirit.
This year, the Olympics will also be a competition between the houses, rather than the grades, so students can now connect with individuals from all grade levels. Students of all ages have the chance to work together in the House system, establishing a unified community and assuring that age is not a barrier to camaraderie and engagement. The House system promotes student responsibility and offers students the opportunity to learn and develop leadership abilities. House elections were recently held, and one freshman, sophomore, junior, and two seniors were selected to represent each house and are now members of the house council. To hear what students have to say about the new house system, we conducted a survey and received almost 100 responses from students of all grade levels. We asked what students were most excited about the new house system, and the top three things responses were, meeting new people (71.4%), bonding with different grades (60.2%), and new activities within the houses (55.1%). Here are some additional responses we got on our survey, both excitement and concerns: |
“As a senior, I am just worried that a lot of the activities we do as classes as seniors will not be happening this year. Although I understand the value of the houses, I think it would be a great idea if we had different activities just for seniors (example: hallway decorating not as an Olympics activity with houses but with classes without competition.” - Senior
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"I am looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for the houses including events, meeting new people, and being a representative for the Audemus house." - Freshman
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"In what I have observed from my house, even with ice breakers, I only saw people of their own grade group interacting. When I was a freshman, partly the reason that I got close with some of the then sophomores was due to Olympics and just interacting with them and the competitiveness that proceeded. Although I do believe that the house has the right intention and I do think in theory it is a great idea. I don’t believe it is very effective in what it wants to achieve." - Junior
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"I am looking forward to getting to know kids that are not just in my grade. It is hard to get to know the younger/older kids that are not in your grade and now that we are sorted into houses together, it is going to be great to bond and get to know each other." - Sophomore
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With the old Olympics, there were concerns that the seniors always won and different grades became too separated. With the new system, there are concerns not all the seniors will get a chance to win and different grades won’t interact with each other. No matter which system we follow there will inevitably be problems. However, with last year being online and many of the grades not being able to experience in-person school at IA, the new house system may be a way to help them adjust to the new school and make new friends. As a senior myself I understand the frustration my grade feels, but I hope that we can encourage each other as well as our underclassmen to create a connection to the new house system and enjoy the Olympics to the fullest.