As our Grade 2 students walked across campus wearing their new house T-shirts, Middle School students began calling out to them: “That’s my house too!” Students from Grades 6, 7 and 8 came over to exchange high fives and welcome the younger students into their houses. Only moments after receiving their T-shirts, our Junior School students were already discovering new connections across MIS.
How do we help every child feel that they belong at MIS? This week, we took an exciting new step with the launch of the MIS House System in Grades 1–4.
The House System has been part of Middle School life at MIS for several years. A school house is a community of students from different classes and grade levels. This year, we are bringing the same six houses into Junior School: Griffin, Phoenix, Sphinx, Enfield, Shenlong and Pegasus. Each house is named after a mythical creature with its own story, meaning and special attributes.
This week, while parents and teachers took part in Hopes and Dreams meetings, students engaged in a special grade-level sorting ceremony. Each student discovered their house and received their own house T-shirt from our MIS Wildcat mascot, along with plenty of celebratory high fives. Students also heard the stories behind the six houses and learned about the qualities represented by their new house community.
House membership will become a lasting part of each student’s journey at MIS. Siblings are placed in the same house, and students will remain in their house as they move through Junior School and into Middle School. Their house will therefore provide another sense of familiarity and connection as they grow and move into new classes and grade levels.
Following the ceremonies, students began building their new house communities through a range of shared activities. They played games to learn the names of other students in their house and took part in cooperative parachute challenges that required communication, teamwork and problem-solving. In our Outdoor Makerspace, students explored how to collaborate and build safely together. They also created house posters that will be displayed near their grade levels, making their new house identities visible throughout Junior School.
Our Junior School House System is centered on community, belonging and togetherness. Its focus is not primarily on points or competition, but on creating opportunities for children to gather, collaborate and develop new friendships. It will help students form connections beyond their own classrooms, both with children in their grade and, increasingly, with students across Junior School and Middle School.
We have a variety of house gatherings and activities planned throughout the year. These will give students regular opportunities to reconnect with their houses, meet new people and contribute to their wider school community.
The Junior School House System may only just have begun, but the spontaneous greetings and high fives across campus showed us that these new bonds are already being built.
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