AISG has debuted an exciting new Signature Program, the AISG Explorer’s Program! Over the winter holiday, students from Grades 2 to 5, along with their caregivers, embarked on its first international camp with an exciting week in Thailand filled with cultural exploration, service projects, adventure, and fun! 

Cultural Immersion and Exploration

At AISG, we are privileged to have a vibrant and diverse group of families and we value our multicultural community. This camp was a great opportunity for our students to take a deep dive into Thailand’s rich cultural heritage and explore a new culture and country.

Some highlights included:

• Visiting historical landmarks like the majestic Wat Pho Temple and the awe-inspiring Grand Palace, where they marveled at the beauty of Thai architecture and art.
• Exploring vibrant markets, such as the Chiang Mai Sunday Market, where students and their caregivers interacted with local artisans, sampled delicious Thai street food, and learned about traditional crafts.
• Immersing themselves in the spirit of Thailand from picking tea leaves with our guide, learning how to basket weave from a local villager, to learning Thai animal names in a Thai classroom.

Service with a Purpose: Giving Back to the Community

At AISG, we empower our community to take action locally and globally to bring about positive change. AISG's service program offers students a chance to learn and grow by contributing their time and talents to a variety of service projects.

The AISG Explorers Program adheres to the same principles and during their time in Thailand, students worked together on service projects at a local school that is also an orphanage. Acts of service included:

• Painting benches in a play area and a hair-cutting station inside of the school.
• Donating and planting 6 limes trees and several local plants in the school’s garden so that the students could have more nutritious meals.
• Passing out ice cream to students and staff who worked at the school.
• Engaging in cultural exchange activities and building friendships through games and shared experiences with the Thai students.

 

Nature Adventures: Exploring Thailand’s Beauty

At AISG, we provide students with creative and differentiated learning experiences to ensure our students achieve personal growth through a variety of thoughtfully planned experiential opportunities.

This week in Thailand featured plenty of outdoor exploration and opportunities for personal growth, including: 

• Going white water rafting down a river in Chiang Mai, where students learned about the role the local monsoons played in the weather cycle and saw first-hand the destruction of the latest flood season.

• Swimming in Erawan Falls, where our students had the chance to play in one of Thailand’s most famous waterfalls and experience a traditional Thai fish foot massage!

• Visiting elephant sanctuaries, where our students had the rare opportunity to interact with these gentle giants and learn about the ethical treatment and conservation of elephants in Thailand.

Fun and Adventure: Bonding Through Activities

At AISG, we value our sense of community, and the camp was a wonderful opportunity for our students and caregivers to bond while participating in cultural activities.

There was plenty of fun to be had like:

• Learning how to prepare traditional Thai dishes such as pad thai and mango sticky rice on a farm where students helped to pick ingredients.
• Riding a boat down the Chao Praya River and watching the local monitor lizards playing in the water outside of the Grand Palace.
• Taking a Muay Thai class with local instructors, who gave a demonstration of their amazing skills.

Lasting Memories and Lifelong Friendships

What made this camp truly special was the strong sense of community that developed over the course of the week. Students and caregivers alike formed lasting bonds, and we witnessed the growth of new friendships, both between students and caregivers, and across different grade levels.

Throughout the week, the focus was not only on learning about Thailand’s culture but also on building resilience, teamwork, and empathy. It was a heartwarming experience to watch the students interact with local children and witness their personal growth through service, exploration, and adventure.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the families who joined us on this journey, as well as to our amazing staff who made this experience possible. Your energy, enthusiasm, and support helped make this winter camp a success.

We’re already looking forward to the next adventure with AISG’s Explorer’s Program. Stay tuned for more exciting international camp opportunities coming soon!

The AISG Explorers Program offers students the chance to embark on transformative journeys designed to foster their personal growth. Whether it be through international travel, or through deeper exploration of cultures and adventure in camps at home, we will help our students to look outward as they grow into empathetic and creative world citizens. Click here to learn more about the AISG Signature Programs.