Anyone who has been at GIST for a while will remember: from 2020 to 2023, our students had no outdoor area at all. That changed thanks to an initiative by the newly appointed principal Mr. Hollmann together with our landlord, the IUC, which opened up the chapel parking lot as a space for the children to spend their breaks outside. It was a real improvement - but not the end of the story.

The students themselves were the ones who kept pointing out its limits. Because of the proximity to Burnhamthorpe Road, the space offered only limited opportunities for play. The topic came up again and again in the SMV (Schüler mit Verantwortung), GIST's student council.

Rather than leaving it there, the SMV took the next step. Last year, the students met with the IUC directly to present their concerns in person. Out of that conversation came a proposal from the IUC: what if the two parking lots were switched? The front lot, set back from the road, could offer more room to play.

The idea then went to the Church Council, where it was discussed in multiple meetings. The Council has now approved a four-week trial, so that everyone involved can see in practice which arrangement works better.

We are well aware that moving the parking area affects daily routines — drop-off, pick-up, and the walk to the entrance. We still want to try it, because probieren geht über studieren. Four weeks will tell us more than another year of theorizing.

For us, this process is a good example of demokratische Teilhabe (democratic participation) at GIST, a core value of German education. Our students identified a problem, raised it in their student council, sat down with the decision-makers themselves, and followed the whole process through from first idea to concrete change.

After the trial, we will evaluate together which solution serves our school best. Feedback from parents is an important part of that: info@gistonline.ca.