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what is round square
What, exactly, is a round square?
Traditionally, in Scotland, a “square” is the administrative center of an estate. If one was to build a perfectly round building to serve as this administrative center, it could be known as the “round square”. This is exactly how the Round Square organization got its name, a seemingly oxymoronic title that often leaves people wondering about its origin. In 1966, the heads of six founding schools met at Gordonstoun, a school in Scotland, to create an association based on the educational principles of Kurt Hahn. Dr. Hahn’s ideals are centered on the philosophy that young people’s character develops best through challenge and direct experience. The first Round Square conference was held in 1967 in the two-story perfectly round “square” at Gordonstoun, giving birth to the organization that now includes over 200 schools in 50 countries. Each of these Round Square schools embodies the six Round Square IDEALS, The Spirit of Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership, and Service
Since joining the Round Square network, Hebron students have traveled to Peru, India, and Canada. They have celebrated cultural diversity through international film festivals, they have given of themselves through service in the local community, they have welcomed Round Square exchange students to Hebron’s campus, and they have adventured together by hiking, cliff
jumping, and camping. While many of the Round Square IDEALS have been part of the Hebron ethos since its beginning, being part of this network has given us a common language and framework to bring them to the forefront in our community. For instance, service has always been an integral part of being a Hebron student, but with the help of the Round Square student committee, students are now able to participate in service opportunities each weekend. This fall, Hebron partnered with Growing To Give, a non-profit farm in Brunswick that grows food for soup kitchens and food pantries. This winter, students are volunteering each Saturday at Trinity Jubilee Center, preparing and serving meals to men, women, and children who are hungry, often as a result of homelessness or disability. These regular and consistent challenging opportunities have a palpable impact not only on the students who participate but on the mindsets of the community as a whole.
The following pieces were written by Hebron students who have been directly and profoundly impacted by participating in a Round Square activity. By focusing on the student perspective, we can better understand not only how students are processing and growing through these challenging experiences, but also how they are bringing these lessons back to the larger community and enhancing the feeling of connectedness throughout Hebron.
Calvin Grover ’22: Round Square Student Committee Coordinator H ebron is a truly unique place. A small international community in rural Maine, seemingly disconnected from the outside world. We are the lucky few, getting to experience the best parts of what Maine can be. However, this privilege is why we have a responsibility to help those who are not as fortunate as ourselves. The Hebron Academy Round Square Student Committee helps students reach out to the larger Maine community. By organizing and facilitating service trips, we allow students who may not see much of the Maine community outside of Hebron to engage directly in meaningful service work.
Just as Round Square connects the Hebron community with the larger Maine area, it also connects Hebron students with international learning opportunities. Last year I was lucky enough to be selected as a delegate to the Round Square Regional Conference in Lima, Peru. With my rudimentary firstyear Spanish knowledge, a very small suitcase, and a very large backpack, I set out on this trip unaware of how big of an impact Round Square would impart on me. I returned with a sense of purpose, determined to be a positive force for change. When the senior student committee leader graduated at the end of last year, there was a need for leadership and a path forward, and I was happy to step up to the challenge.
Hebron Academy Round Square Student Committee is a fancy name that hides a simple concept: learning character education by getting things done. Officially, our duties are “Combining the adventurous lumberjack spirit with the Round Square
Hebron
Academy Round Square
IDEALS to develop motivated and capable student leaders through student-led projects.” Students lead meetings and have the majority of the input into projects. This year, we have been focusing on service projects, and we have participated in the 2019 International Coastal Cleanup, done charity work nearly every week in the fall at Scatter Good Farms, a farm that grows fresh goods for food banks in the area, raising $1450 worth of goods and donations for the Oxford Helping Hands Food Pantry, and we will be sending students every weekend to the Trinity Jubilee Center, a soup kitchen in the Lewiston-Auburn area.
The IDEALS are international concepts that are hard to reach as a small, rural school, and we certainly have a long way to go. Our student committee incorporates these ideas into Hebron life, by promoting connections between students and the larger Maine community. But at the end of the day, our goal is just to get out into the world and do some good.
Lindsey Beiche ‘20: Round Square International Conference Delegate, Indore, India E verybody always says that great things never come from comfort zones. Well, when you attend a small boarding school in Maine, this can seem somewhat challenging. Sure, you can push yourself in school, athletics, and the arts, but those are
Coming from Hebron, I am fortunate enough to know people from all over the world. But, never in my life did I ever think I would experience so much culture in such a short amount of time.
all small parts of a whole. We live in a world where it is easy to get swept into a routine. So, three other students and I took it upon ourselves to take the leap and put ourselves not only in a country but an entirely new continent: India.
For most of us, this was the first time going to India so we didn’t have much to expect except for what we googled. As it turned out, this was the same for almost all the other students that attended the conference. Everyone was going in openminded and ready to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity. Coming from Hebron, I am already fortunate enough to know a lot of people from all over the world. But, never in my life did I ever think I would get the opportunity to experience so much culture in such a short amount of time. It’s easy to say you’ve traveled the world and seen new places. But, to say that you did it with people you have never met before brings the experience to a whole new level. This might seem daunting to some people, but the friendships that are formed are unmatched. Not a lot of people can say that they are friends with people from six different continents, but that’s just what happens when you bring like-minded individuals from across the world into one destination. So, to say that the Round Square Conference was unforgettable and led me to be a part of an internationally connected community is an understatement. came together in Lima, Peru for a regional Round Square conference, by the end of a single week, we felt like an inseparable community. So many things about the conference in Peru stuck with me, whether it was something big and life-changing like spending two days with a family in Chincha and building them a new home, or something silly and inexplicable, like taking a tour of a wildlife reserve in the middle of the mountains in the pitch-black night.
Everywhere I went in Peru, I was surrounded by the kindest of people and the warmest of smiles, and I learned so much. I learned about what it meant to be a leader, through countless discussions with people from all over the Americas, I learned what it meant to be selfless, from the leaders of the house building project. I learned what it meant to be open and adventurous while climbing across seemingly treacherous mountain faces and white water rafting for the first time. I found friendship in my host sister and all the wonderful people in my barazza group and got the incredible experience of living in and being truly immersed in a country that was so different from mine in almost every way.
As a whole, the conference was hugely influential, and I will always remember the lessons it taught me and I will think of the big picture. However, it was the little things that had the most
Alaina Bonis ‘21: Round Square Regional Conference delegate, Lima, Peru W hen we think about a connected community, many of us think of a tight-knit group such as a friendly neighborhood, or a class at a small school. We usually think of people who have a history together, but when hundreds of strangers
lasting impact, small moments with inspiring people in inspiring places that made the trip whole, such as playing with a small kitten with the children in Chincha, drinking Chicha Morada on a dare and a countdown one night at dinner, strolling through Kennedy Park and admiring what seemed like hundreds of cats napping in the flower beds, sitting with my new friends at the edge of a pool looking up at the towering mountains and being thankful, giving and receiving signatures on our shirts, and the final goodbyes. These all meant so much to me, and I’m so grateful for the experience and the knowledge this trip gave me. I will never forget it. I came back to Hebron feeling empowered to be my best, to step out of my comfort zone and take risks. The biggest thing that I took away from the conference was the knowledge that we are all capable of so much more than we think.
Xin “Rica” Wong ‘22: Round Square student committee service participant C ommunity service and helping people has always been a big part of my life. Being raised in an environment that considered service a virtue, having the privilege of having many service opportunities to partake in, I developed a massive interest in volunteer work. Service became a hobby to me, whether it be something as simple and small as going to a beach clean-up or something more complicated and time consuming like teaching a community art class for children, I have always enjoyed lending a helping hand.
Coming to Hebron Academy, a school in rural Maine, isolated from the city, I was afraid that I would not be able to take part in as many service opportunities as I had back home. The Round Square committee soon proved me wrong. Growing up in a fast-paced metropolitan city like Hong Kong, service opportunities were quite different than the opportunities that the Round Square committee was able to offer. In the fall term, the Round Square student-led committee arranged a weekly trip to Scatter Good Farm, a non-profit organization that grows healthy fresh produce with the assistance of the community. Their work helps alleviate the issue of food insecurity for families in need. The fresh produce that they grow is donated to food pantries, soup kitchens, or similar organizations. This was unlike anything I had ever done before, where back home in Hong Kong opportunities regarding food insecurity would be more of an indirect transaction like raising money; but at Scatter Good Farm, I was able to get hands-on experience and an insight into the issues that concern many in Maine. Food insecurity is a big problem in Maine; many families don’t have the financial stability to provide meals for their families. Scatter Good Farm combats this greatly with help from people like Hebron Academy’s Round Square volunteers and their dedicated staff on the farm.
In the winter term, the student-led committee arranged trips to the soup kitchen at Trinity Jubilee Center. Similarly to Scatter Good Farm, Trinity Jubilee is also a non-profit organization that works to combat the cause of food insecurity. The Trinity Jubi
Food insecurity is a big problem in Maine... Scatter Good Farm combats this greatly with help from people like Hebron
lee Center is a place where people who seek shelter during the day can rest and receive a warm meal prepared by volunteers. Even though I have only been to the soup kitchen for one weekend so far, I already felt the familiarity and kindness from the interactions of fellow volunteers, staff, and people for whom we prepared the food.
The service opportunities the student-led Round Square committee organized helped me generate a greater understanding of the local concerns and a bridge to a completely different community to what I was accustomed. I look forward to the future experiences and interactions I will gain from not only the local but larger global community through Round Square. n
