Impact Program

Morrison Academy Kaohsiung (MAK) is a school that prides itself on developing both the minds and hearts of students. The Impact Program’s goal is to connect middle and high school students at MAK with educational experiences that train and inspire them to have a greater impact on the world.

While MAK strives to integrate experiential learning methods into all of its classes, the Impact Program allows secondary students to participate in supervised off-campus learning experiences once each year. The duration and theme of these experiences varies as students advance through the MAK secondary program each year. Middle school programs last three or four days, while high school programs last five days or longer.

In order to provide curricular space and logistical support for these experiences, students’ regular classes are cancelled at MAK while students are off-campus. During this time, secondary teaching staff at MAK are expected to either assist in leading programs or to assist in covering classes and other responsibilities for staff that are participating in programs.

6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade 9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade

6th Grade

Theme: Cross Over

Students are encouraged to grow in maturity as they cross over and begin middle school, which marks a significant transition in student and academic life at MAK.

Students reflect on the struggles that they have faced entering middle school — emotional, academic, organizational, or relational. Activities are designed to encourage students to gain confidence, build communication skills, self-control, and class unity as well as to consider how God can be present in struggles. As they face challenges through engaging in various activities (which vary from year to year), they face these struggles and have an opportunity to mature. Small group time and personal devotions give them a chance to hear how God is present through times of difficulty.

Purposes: reflect on life transition; communicate with a team when doing hard things; build confidence; embrace freedom with responsibility; trust God

7th Grade

Theme: Build Bridges

As students gain confidence during their second year of middle school, they are encouraged to reach outside of their own cultural heritage to learn about other ones, considering similarities and differences as they connect with others.

As a part of the 7th grade geography curriculum, students learn more about the history and cultures of different people groups who compose contemporary Taiwanese society. The 7th grade impact theme, build bridges, is connected to the classroom knowledge that students are gaining and allows them first-hand experience as they spend time as guests of the Paiwan aboriginal group. Students get to know the members of the village, learn customs, and participate in aspects of Paiwan culture during their visit. In spending time living with the Paiwan, students learn to appreciate differences and similarities as they seek to make connections with others whose lifestyle and cultural practices may be different than their own.

Students not only learn Taiwan’s rich history, but they see how even as there are challenges and conflicts between groups of people, there are valuable perspectives to be learned, and that by understanding those perspectives, bridges can be built. We anticipate expanding this program to include more time for students to connect this with their own lives and to see how they can build bridges with others.

Purposes: understand and experience Paiwan culture; connect with others from a different cultural background; appreciate differences in cultural values and norms; reflect on own cultural practices; learn to build bridges via cultural similarities

8th Grade

Theme: Do Hard Things

Students are capable of doing amazing things for God if they are willing to take the challenge and plan carefully. In order to stretch themselves to do hard things, the 8th grade class visits a camp in Taiwan that focuses on team-building and outdoor challenges. Students grow in their willingness to take calculated risks through participating in activities such as river tracing and ropes course obstacles that challenge both their problem-solving skills and their physical abilities. Students reflect on what other opportunities God is offering them to accept, and are encouraged to step out and undertake new difficult challenges in life.

Purposes: understand self & personal limits; challenge self mentally & physically; develop humility; work cooperatively toward a goal; overcome challenges

9th Grade

Theme: Grow with Purpose

Similar to the 6th grade, students’ 9th grade year is a time of transition. As students begin their high school experience, they are encouraged to consider their role in the various communities that they are a part of as well as to choose responsibility as they consider the effect that their lives can have in each of those respective places.

The ninth grade class travels to Green Island, Taiwan. Students are challenged to consider how their lives are connected to the other members of their community (both ecological and social) at a variety of scales (i.e. family, school, city, country, world, etc.). Using Green Island as a case study, students learn how an island ecosystem initially develops, how socio-ecological systems work - considering how humans impact their own habitats/environments, and to mull over how choosing responsibility in both individual and corporate action can affect both positive and negative change in the world around them. This trip complements themes that students are introduced to in the 9th grade biology curriculum’s ecology unit as students learn about how people are connected to environmental systems.

Purposes: understand positionality in family, school, world, ecosystem; consider both individual and community responsibility; make good decisions; overcome challenges as a part of a group & system

10th Grade

Theme: Lead with Character

As students come into a clearer understanding of their own personal identity, community responsibilities, and leadership capabilities, the sophomore class will undertake a week-long backpacking trip. Students spend 5 days climbing one of the tallest mountains in Taiwan. The outdoor education company Outward Bound facilitates this experience as students are encouraged to grow in courage and leadership, and take on more significant leadership roles in high school.

Students carry their own gear, cook, and take turns leading each day’s activities. Reflection times on the mountain will focus on challenges and strategies for leadership and on establishing a clear purpose in life that will connect to current opportunities at MAK.

Purpose: gain practical leadership skills; consider identity and purpose in life; build character through physical and emotional challenges; rely on other in difficulty; experience the beauty of Taiwan

11th Grade

Theme: Serve Others

As students develop a more established understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses as leaders, the 11th grade impact experience allows students curricular space to design and develop service-learning projects as a part of their Bible class under the direction of their teacher. Students consider the importance of understanding community cultural context and designing projects based on community felt needs. During Impact Week, juniors travel to predetermined locations to deliver their service-learning projects to local communities, and then reflect on the successes and challenges that they encountered during this experience.

Purpose: examine issues of social justice; foster problem-solving skills; sacrifice personal comfort for communal good; develop a vision for real solutions to complex global problems; build the kingdom of God

12th Grade

Theme: Leave a Legacy

While senior students are preparing for the next stage of life as high school comes to a close, they also focus on leaving a legacy for the other students who are following along behind them. Seniors take on leadership roles in clubs, sports, and other scholastic activities and are working to further improve their own skills in these areas.

As a part of the Impact Program, seniors have the option to either (1) take on assistant-leadership roles in the 6th-11th grade Impact Program experiences or (2) complete a weeklong externship where they explore potential future career fields.

Assistant Trip-Leader: Students will connect with younger students in ways that would not otherwise be possible. Seniors participate in the logistics and planning of their respective experiences and work with each trip’s leaders to determine the role that will be most helpful. Roles are defined by the trip leaders and may include (but are not limited to): leading games and activities; acting as small group discussion leaders; crowd control; one-on-one student advising; translators; arranging logistics; etc.
Externship: Seniors will spend 4 days observing and studying a company. In this way, an externship is different from an internship. Typically high school seniors do not have the skill sets necessary to significantly contribute to the work of an organization. Instead seniors will improve their “soft skills” needed for working, networking, and applying to jobs in the future while studying the work environment and purpose of an organization or career that they are interested in, giving students a better feel for possible career choices.

Purpose: begin transition from high school to the next stage of life; continue to develop and explore leadership skills; invest in others; demonstrate servant-leadership; set a good example.