The Students in Action (SIA) group at the International School of Belgrade is a group of students from Grades 1 to 5 who volunteer to promote spirit and activism among their peers. With the support of sponsoring teachers, the students choose several initiatives throughout the year to support. One of the events the SIA chose to focus on this year was how we use water in our daily lives at school. In honor of the World Water Day on March 22, the SIA organized an action called a Bucket a Day Challenge to raise awareness that water is a precious resource for all.

Students used their learned knowledge about how water is used both in our local community and globally to create a movie which was shared with all students in the Lower School. Examples of local and global water usage were highlighted in the movie, including comparisons of the average number of buckets of water used per day by people in different counties. The movie also showed ways to help conserve water in our daily lives.

SIA then presented the challenge to each grade level to use just one bucket of water for the needs of all students in the grade for an entire day. The rules were explained and on March 22, every grade level presented themselves at the water source at the far end of the school playground to collect their bucket of water to carry back to their classrooms. Students worked collaboratively to prioritize how they would share the water between up to 30 people for an entire day, including hand washing, cleaning tables, washing paint brushes, and drinking water.

The goal of the challenge was multi-faceted. The SIA wanted to raise awareness of shortages of clean, safe water in many parts of the world, build empathy and understanding of water as a precious resource, and challenge students to think of how they use water in their own daily lives. 

By Christine Ishii, Classroom Teacher
The International School of Belgrade