Ethical Leadership Projects

This Junior Kindergarten Ethical Leadership Project connected to a unit of study on ocean ecosystems and the pioneering work of Jacques Cousteau, whose underwater explorations advanced public understanding of marine life and its conservation. As part of this unit, students research a range of ocean animals, examining their distinct physical characteristics and adaptations. The unit culminates in a gallery display of the students’ research.

As a companion to this course of study, Junior Kindergarten devised an amazing Ethical Leadership Project: they designed original ocean animal trading cards, modeled after Pokemon cards, which are beloved in their class. Each card illustrated an animal’s defining traits and each pack contained a random assortment of species to reflect the ocean’s biodiversity (and to encourage their consumers to catch ’em all!). For example, the “walrus” card teaches that their diet consists of mollusks, clams, and worms and they have anywhere from 400-700 whiskers.

The JK class sold their trading card packs to the Seven Arrows community at Kuyam, donating all proceeds to the Coral Restoration Foundation, an organization dedicated to restoring coral reefs and protecting the marine life that depends on them. Through this project, students learned to translate academic research into a tangible act of conservation in a format that got them all excited. 

Our kindergartners are our “Pint Sized Heroes” who support a school-wide Food Drive each fall. By turning it into a competition, they get the whole school involved and eager to participate. This year, our small school donated over 17,000 items to the Westside Food Bank.

The feedback we received from the Westside Food Bank is a testament to our community’s generosity and desire to help others; ideals at the core of our values, curriculum, and programming. Our families go beyond pulling out cans from the back of the pantry. Instead, it has become customary for us to view our donations as important gestures to spread love and kindness. Therefore, our families provide healthy, premium, and name-brand products. For a food-insecure child, having access to the same, high-quality foods as their peers means so much, according to staff at the Westside Food Bank. 

Big thank you to our sixth graders who support by counting and packing up the items for delivery!

The first-grade class carried out an Ethical Leadership Project closely linked to their science curriculum, centered on monarch butterflies and developed in collaboration with the educational group Journey North.

The annual migration of millions of monarch butterflies across North America is among the world’s most spectacular natural events. Facing declines in monarchs’ eastern and western populations, governments, non-profit organizations, community groups, and countless individuals throughout Mexico, the United States, and Canada are cooperating to protect the monarch butterfly.

Through the Symbolic Migration Project, our students participate in monarch conservation and protection. They decorate paper symbolic ambassador monarch butterflies that are mailed and distributed to schools near the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Central Mexico. These symbolic butterflies build bridges of communication among participants in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. United by the monarch butterfly, children celebrate and pledge to protect monarchs and their extraordinary migration.

Second-graders are our school’s “Keepers of the Earth,” a theme derived from their Global Cultural History curriculum, which focuses on Native Americans, Incas, and Mayans. They work with Heal the Bay and complete beach clean ups, integrating Ethical Leadership with language arts and their science curriculum, which is based on ocean and marine animals.

Following the devastating Palisades fires, third-graders channeled their Fire Recovery & Resilience Week into direct community action — launching fundraising efforts to help rebuild both the Palisades branch library and Palisades Park, two beloved neighborhood landmarks lost in the fires.

Their effort didn’t go unnoticed. Mayor Bass came to hear our students’ idea to hold a Fire Recovery & Resilience Week every January, on the anniversary of the Palisades Fire and during the height of the Santa Ana winds.

They were even given a certificate of recognition for Resilience and Civic Engagement in the Aftermath of the January 2025 Wildfires, which reads:  “As Mayor of Los Angeles and on behalf of its residents, l commend you for your resilience, your work to raise money to help rebuild the Palisades Branch Library, and your dedication to finishing the school year strong despite the loss you experienced in the devastating Palisades Fire. Your commitment to learning and supporting the community in the face of such hardship is a testament to what it means to be a Seven Arrows Seahawk and embodies the very best of our great city. You are L.A. Strong.”

Fourth-graders integrate language arts, drama, and music with a project working with disabled children.

In the fifth grade, students practice their written and spoken Spanish as they write to pen pals in Colombia and work with young Spanish-speaking learners at a Westside elementary school.