The character with an invisible hand in this M Story is a pet chameleon named Jemi (pronounced Yemi). MIS 3rd-grader Emanuel and his family adopted Jemi from the Reptile Rescue Center, Munich e.V. when Jemi was still a baby. On the first day of the school year, Emanuel introduced himself to the class with the fun fact that he was the proud owner of Jemi, a Yemen chameleon. He drew a picture of Jemi on the name tag of his locker, and thus began this inspirational tale of a chameleon, with the power to inspire many MIS Junior School changemakers and their moms to swing into action.
As fate would have it, Miao, an MIS 3rd-grade parent was also working behind the scenes at the beginning of the school year to facilitate the Junior School changemaker movement. Miao started the first official chapter of Roots & Shoots at MIS, a global youth program founded by Dr. Jane Goodall to encourage respect and compassion for all living things.
Miao established the MIS chapter with the conviction that “Roots & Shoots is deeply valuable for MIS students because it gives them the chance to grow as compassionate leaders, working together in teams to care for people, animals, and the environment within our community. By taking action, children begin to see themselves as changemakers and experience MIS's long tradition of philanthropy in a very real and age-appropriate way, discovering that their ideas and efforts can genuinely make a difference."
During the school year, the chapter used our new Parent App Classlist to recruit 3rd-grade families. Student members participated in multiple organizational meetings, an Isar river clean-up, and a meeting with Dr. Hanspeter Steinmetz, the Deputy Head of Zoology to tour Munich’s Hellabrunn Zoo from the perspective of animal welfare and conservation. To cap off the year, the group had the opportunity to visit the Reptile Rescue Center, the place where Jemi, Emanuel’s chameleon was adopted from
Miao remarked that while “only 3 kids were real reptile fans before we visited, seeing the animals up close and hearing their rescue stories really changed their perspectives". Alina, a 3rd-grade member of Roots & Shoots, was moved by the cramped conditions, observing that "everything was really close together and all the rooms were super tiny and old". They learned about a tiny turtle recently confiscated by airport customs, which was originally purchased from a market in Tunisia by a tourist for 5 euros and smuggled onto a plane. These stories served as strong reminders of the harms of animal trafficking and the plight of animals in unsuitable captivity. Alina noted that this firsthand experience "inspired us to make a booth at Frühlingsfest and help the reptiles".
Frühlingsfest is the much-loved “Spring Festival” at MIS. The massive annual carnival and cornerstone tradition for the entire MIS community is actually held in summer and organized by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTV). This vibrant event brings students, parents, and alumni together for a day of food, fun, musical performances, and a raffle. Amidst the festive atmosphere is a dedicated Charity Zone, a platform for student-led philanthropy projects. Emanuel and his brother Theodor had been working for months on their booth, printing 3D-printed reptiles and other animals and toys to raise money for the school. After the Roots & Shoots group visited the Reptile Rescue Center the Friday before Frühlingsfest, Alina’s mother sent out the call-to-action on the group’s chat, explaining that “for those members of the group who weren’t able to make it, we’ve spontaneously decided to take part in the Charity Zone at Frühlingsfest this Sunday to raise funds for the shelter.”
What followed was a 36-hour frenzy of communal activity, with the children taking the lead and receiving only "light guidance from adults". 3rd-grader Alina described their systematic approach: "Our first step was getting the idea and deciding what to make. The second one was to bake, craft, or create all the beautiful things that were on sale”. Drawing on all their making skills, they furiously crafted, baked reptile-themed cupcakes, made posters and infographics, and created a snake's mouth beanbag toss game. On the day of the festival, Alina and her peers engaged the crowds, recalling how "we tried our best to be good salespeople. We are cute kids, so we had an advantage".
The result was "legendary," with the group raising a total of €1,880 after the PTV doubled the proceeds from the charity tables. The shelter will use the funding to improve quarantine conditions and revamp the reptile adoption process. For Alina and her peers, this philanthropy project was transformative: "I learned that when you work together, even Junior School students can make a change. It takes a lot of hard work and activity, but we did it". . . or; shall we say, Jemi did it?