round_square_news-march_2012

Round Square News March 2012 - Issue 10

RSIC 2012 AFRICA “No existence without coexistence”

International Round Square Conference at Brookhouse School, Kenya Greetings from Nairobi and a very busy Brookhouse School; with only a few days remaining before the start of the first African RS International Conference.

They are focused on final preparations for what will be a memorable and thought‐provoking programme for all attendees.

Service Day One day will be devoted to a challenging service project in Kibera which is one of the largest informal settlements or slums in the world.

Most of the population here earns less than $1 a day.

Adventure Day To give you a real sense of adventure they have planned to take you away from the modern city environment of Nairobi for 1 day and night so you can experience first hand the excitement of the African bush!

INSIDE •

RSIS Project News

Executive Director ‐ Jocelin Winthrop Young ‐ Round Square Global Forum ‐ Thoughts on the Future •

• The conference website is being constantly updated so visit www.rsc.brookhouse2012.ac.ke

Regional News

‐ Americas

‐ Australasia

‐ South Asia & Gulf

‐ Europe

‐ Africa

•

General News

‐ Governance Matters

‐ Boronka

RSIS PROJECT NEWS

December 2011 Projects Update Well where do I start? What an outstanding December our teams had in Cambodia (2 teams), Thailand, Honduras, Kenya and India.

It’s still fantastic to look back on these trips and see what an incredible effort our six RSIS teams made while they were away. There’s a great overview of all the work they did in the main RSIS newsletter that’s just gone out, but if you haven’t had a chance to read it yet – perhaps we can tantalise you with stories of how...

Projects in July & August

Plans are going well for our trips in July and August this year. We have four Projects, and all the information is on the RS website http://www.roundsquare.org/index.php? id=79

The Ladakh and Canada trips still have places remaining, so don’t delay and get your applications in soon! Both of these destinations are AMAZING and offer real once‐in‐a‐lifetime opportunities for students.

Peru and South Africa If you have team members interested in Peru or South Africa, then please let the RSIS office know as there are only a few vacancies left for students from particular Regions!

...our team in India built a huge foundation for new classrooms (now completed) for a poor rural community in Uttarakhand ...our student team in Cambodia built an entire school in just 10 days

Other news

...our team in Kenya built a big new classroom for Grade 7 at Riandira Primary School

RSIS Projects is going to get its own website!

This will act as a ring‐fenced area where all the Project information will be stored, and will give clearer access to students, Reps, parents and corporate sponsors. It will be its own site, but will obviously retain close bonds with the main Round Square website.

Once we have something up and running we will let you know and would welcome feedback and comments to make it as user‐ friendly as possible!

...our group in Honduras built a huge food storage room for our partner organisation for orphaned boys ...our amazing parent/student team in Thailand built a clean water storage system for a remote Karen hill‐tribe ...our fantastic Leader Training team built a new school in southern Cambodia in just 10 days?

In December 2011, we sent filmmaker Sarel Snyman to the RSIS Cambodia trip to make a series of films for us. He was tasked with making three films – a half‐hour documentary of a how a Project works; and two five‐minute films ‐ one for schools/ students and one for corporate sponsors.

These are nearly done, and will be put on the Round Square website, and YouTube once they’re all finished!

All our groups in December were truly inspirational in how much effort, passion and hard work they put into their tasks. Well done all – let’s see if this July’s teams can do as well!

If you’re interested, there are movies on YouTube showing:

The student Cambodia Project (the new school and library) on: http://youtu.be/oj94FAU7r94

The Leader Training Project slide‐ show on YouTube: http://youtu.be/wEM‐ptFmIv8

This July, we will be sending around £17,000 of PAPF money out to our four Projects to ensure that the classroom is built for disabled children in Masoyi, South Africa; that the Boulder Creek Trail is built up to the glacier in Seven Sisters Provincial Park, and the First Nations youth get their salmon‐ smoking house in Canada; that the Lamdom School in Thiksey get their new dormitory rooms in Ladakh and that the Quechua Andean people of Quishuarani get their new greenhouses in Peru.

Liz Gray

RSIS Projects Manager

Round Square Bath, U.K.

2 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

THANK YOU for your contributions to the PAPF! They really do make a world of difference!

From the Executive Director Jocelin Winthrop Young

RSIS

I begin this message on a note of sadness and acknowledge the passing of the founder director Jocelin Winthrop Young. Jocelin’s passing closes a long and memorable chapter in the annuals of the organisation.

Despite the Christmas holidays for many, the last five months have been busy. All the December projects were completed successfully and I would like to extend our thanks to the Project Leaders, Deputy Leaders, Accompanying Adults, Project Managers and Student teams for their contributions.

We are in the final stages of completing a project DVD and will soon be able to forward this to all schools. I was my privilege to take part the project leaders training that was run by Liz Gray and Rod Summerton in Takeo, Cambodia and to witness the high level of professionalism with which our RSIS projects are run.

RS2012 Conferences

Jocelin was a visionary, a man with a purpose and the capacity to inspire others. He was not one to follow a path made by others but chose rather to make the path for others to follow. His lasting legacy will live on in the organisation that he played such a major part in creating.

On behalf of the Round Square family, I would like to offer our sincere condolences to his daughter, Sophie Weidlich and her family. I have posted messages of condolences on the web site at http://www.roundsquare.org/ index.php?id=740

Rod Summerton, former Rep on the Board, recent diagnosis of a serious illness has come as a shock to all of us.

Rod appears to be in good spirits and is about to begin a very rigorous treatment regime. I am sure you will join us in wishing him a speedy and full recovery.

On a much happier note, I have heard from Sarah Pollitt at St Philips School in Alice Springs that she is in good health, back at work and enthusiastically looking forward to the year ahead.

Preparations for the RS2012 Conference hosted by Brookhouse in Nairobi are in the final stages of completion. John O’Connor, Willie Nyganga and the conference team have pulled out all the stops to make this a memorable event.

Alison Hay and her team at Penryn College in South Africa are in the advanced stage of their planning and preparations. This too promises to be memorable.

On a negative note, it is of concern that a few schools have withdrawn from the April conference at the last minute and as there is no option of attending the October conference it means that they will not be attending any conference this year. Schools are reminded that attendance of the International Conference is mandatory in order to retain membership. However each case will be considered on the respective circumstances.

Regions Besides the RSIS projects and the build up to the RS2012 conferences, much other activity has been taking place particularly at a regional level. The Americas, the Australasia, The European and the South Asia and Gulf Region have all held very successful Head’s and Reps Conferences. These gatherings have been valued opportunities to celebrate the success of the organisation and to discuss matters of importance. The

3 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

regions continue to pursue Round Square activities in many areas and regional projects, conferences and exchanges are being presented or offered more now than ever before.

The Round Square Global Forum The network that makes up Round Square has made, and continues to make, significant impacts on the lives its students through the opportunities provided by exchanges, conference, and service projects. However, developing information and communication technologies presents RS with new opportunities to transcend the inherent time‐and‐space limitations of these traditional programs. Round Square represents a largely untapped resource for collaborative global learning. We are exploring an exciting new initiative for the organisation. Currently in the capable hands of John Nordquist, the Round Square Global forum has been work shopped at the America’s Heads and Reps meeting and this workshop will form part of the Brookhouse Conference program.

Continued over on page 4

From the Executive Director Thoughts on the future Today, Round Square is in good shape. It is evolving from a small to a medium sized organisation, it is undeniably robust, and surviving without impairment, the global credit crunch, the brand is becoming more recognised as is evident in the accelerated interest in membership. It currently has a defined growth strategy, it is financially sound, and is actively pursuing demographic and geographic diversity.

It has operational capacity and is putting in place governance structures that will carry it forward into a secured future and it is meeting the needs of its members.

However, the future is not without challenges. We need to reflect on how we measure our current success and how this will change as we move ahead and what indicators would signify this.

We have to consider that it is not if, but when, we have a membership of 200 schools or more, how will we be managing the organisation? Certainly we will have to change the way we have operated in the past and such changes

need very careful consideration.

Questions that will emerge are likely to focus on number and type of future RSIS projects, conferences and conference models and management of risk, funding/sponsorship, regionalism, human and other resources, Young Round Square, and governance to mention a few.

in making this trip such a successful visit and Angela I would like to thank you all for your generosity and hospitality.

I look forward to the possibility of meeting many of you at the 2012 conferences.

Brian Dawson

These are issues that will challenge us and require careful consideration and clear strategy. I have every confidence that we will rise to this test and though the work of the Executive, the Board, the Board Sub Committees and with support from the membership, we will move confidently into a new and stimulating future.

Thanks I have recently returned from attending the Head’s and Reps meeting in the South Asia and Gulf Region held at the Daly College in India. While there I was able to visit a number of schools in India and was able to attend the Regional Conference hosted by the Chittagong Grammar School in Bangladesh. Many people were involved

REGIONAL NEWS - AMERICAS

Americas Regional Conference held in Boca Raton, Florida The Americas Regional Conference was held at St. Andrew's School. Due to the impact on school calendars of the split 2012 international conferences, the region decided to have an unprecedented conference sans elevés.

The Regional Director, Simon Bruce‐ Lockhart, supported the idea of providing regional RS Reps with a dedicated day of professional development on Friday, resulting in a productive day of discussion of regional issues. Heads' and Reps' continued to meet on Saturday and Sunday.

The conference keynote speaker was John Nordquist, from Chadwick School in California. HIs topic was: What should the Round Square Ideal of Internationalism look like in the 21st Century? John challenged schools to consider how we prepare our student to be global citizens. He characterized

global citizens as curious and knowledgeable about the world, skilled in thinking and communicating about contemporary global issues, possessed of perspective consciousness, and acting appropriately and effectively to improve the world we live in. Preparing global citizens requires curricula that are knowledge rich, skill based, perspective conscious, and action oriented. Teacher, therefore, must develop and employ best practices in global education and facilitate student development of affective skills, such as identity development, empathy, and cross‐cultural communication.

John then led the delegates through a World Café format discussion of how Round Square might add value to member schools' academic programs to develop global citizens. A lively discussion ensued that focused on three questions:

4 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

1) How is your school currently developing global citizens?

2) How are you planing to add value to these programs?

3) How can we use the connections of Round Square to move forward?

John then demonstrated the power of communication technology to support collaboration with a real‐time presentation by Jennifer Klein, of TIGed (Taking IT Global for Educators), a collaboration platform. Subsequently, the Americas Region has set up a virtual schoolhouse on the TIGed platform to explore the possibilities of future academic collaboration among Round Square schools.

John will be presenting a further exploration of creating a Round Square Global Forum at the Brookhouse RSIC12 in April.

REGIONAL NEWS - AMERICAS

Canada College Junior Hungry for Change school students take to (written by Chaerji Lee, Round Square steward, Grade 11, Collingwood School) the Cat Walk On January 27 , 91 senior students th

Students from Kindergarten to grade 6 took to the catwalk in their innovative creations, combining fashion with passion for the environment, in the second annual green‐themed Refashionista Show.

and various members of faculty from Collingwood School participated in a collective effort to protest against world famine, by taking part in a 30 hour famine challenge.

The event, called Hungry for Change, is organized and run by senior school students every year, and this year students successfully concluded the event by raising $4978.75 in pledges.

Keynote speakers Left to Right: Leili Ghaemi, Lexi Macdonald, Jenna Macdonald & Anne Park‐MacLachlan.

The show was held in support of Power Trips Inc. Brick and Mortar Campaign, a community service initiative in the Dominican Republic.

Using only recycled materials, students created their own fashion garments and participated in their independently‐ produced fashion show. Art teacher Sylvia Tracy hoped that, by tapping into students’ creativity, the project would encourage them to think outside the box and bring awareness of consumption and disposal choices in a playful way.

World Round Square Day

Students of St. Clement's School have come up with their idea for celebration of World Round Square Day. They would like to see if they can show a short video clip of other Round Square schools from around the world, stating the name of the school and location and simply hello, or a very brief message on what Round Square means to them, or on one of the IDEALS. They are literally looking for no more than 10 ‐15 seconds. If you have smart phone (or the students do!) you can record on there, and then email the clips to Louise Melville, Coordinator of Experimental Education & Round Square.

E‐mail: louise.melville@scs.on.ca

On the night of the event, students gathered at school to listen to presentations from fellow students on the charities the funds were to be donated to, and had an enjoyable time taking part in various activities, such as a scavenger hunt, painting, and playing sports.

communities and commits to making long‐term change. It has four pillars of sustainability: alternative income, clean water and sanitation, health care, and education. The organization helps the local community to aid itself, and eventually to become independent of external support.

This year, students fundraised for the Prince Alexander Fund and two charities: La Chaine de l’Espoir, and Free the Children. The main goal of La Chaine de l’Espoir is to provide underprivileged children in developing countries who have orthopedic and cardiac problems with medical treatment and surgeries, as well as to provide plastic and reconstructive surgeries for those in need. The funds raised will go towards providing medical equipment for the children, as well subsidizing the cost of their treatments. Free the Children’s “Adopt A Village” program works with

Through the famine, students stepped up to the challenge and proved in action that with awareness and determination, changes can be made.

They were indeed “hungry for change,” and it was amazing to witness such a great group of youth cooperating to make change happen. With their support and enthusiasm, Hungry for Change was able to contribute to making positive steps towards ameliorating famine of both the body and soul.

A Day of Sharing Students from Chadwick and Cate Schools in California, met for a day of sharing. They began the day with a discussion of how each school worked to realize the IDEALS on their campuses and how the Round Square Student Committees fit into the culture of their respective schools.

They then visited the Point Vicente Interpretive Center, a beautiful park, located adjacent to the Pt. Vicente Lighthouse, that offers recreational and educational opportunities to the public. The Interpretive Center opened in 1984 with a mission to present and interpret the unique features and history of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The students then explored the tide pools and sea caves at the Abalone Cove Shoreline Park. Next, the group spent part of the afternoon pulling "non‐native plants" (aka "weeds") at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy center White Point. Pizza and a view across the channel to Catalina Island ended the day. It was a great opportunity for a little leadership, service, and adventure.

5 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

REGIONAL NEWS - AUSTRALASIA

Inaugrual Round Square Australasian & East Asian Heads & Reps Meeting On Friday 17th and Saturday 18th February 42 principals and teachers from 23 schools met to discuss the future of Round Square in our region.

These included schools from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Korea, and Indonesia. Only two schools were unable to attend.

All delegates were pleased to see MLC in action and were impressed with presentations given by senior girls regarding recent overseas service projects. There was information on the MLC Enlightenment program and students spoke confidently about their research and development for the design of their award winning relocatable classroom.

On Friday the Reps discussed the role of school based service projects within the region and also how service learning is integrated into the different school curriculums. These will be posted on the regional section of the website in the near future. Other sessions included fund raising ideas, regional and international exchange programmes and an informative presentation and discussion about the organisation of

Round Square by the students within individual schools, especially regarding constitutional elections and leadership positions.

On Saturday Heads and Reps covered a wide ranging agenda on Round Square developments and the opportunities and challenges ahead for our region.

There was much planning for our region over the next twelve months and

Relaying for life!

On April 28th this year a group of Round Square Alumni, staff and friends are going to embark on a 24 hour‐team event: The Relay for Life. By committing to keeping one baton moving around Albert Park Lake in Melbourne from 10.30am Saturday to 10.30am Sunday this group of passionate volunteers are raising money for the Australian Cancer Council.

How did this all come about? The Friends of Round Square Alumni is a group of past students from Round Square schools who are still passionate about the philosophies of Round Square. “We had wonderful experiences as school students; going to the Junior and International Annual Round Square Conference, volunteering on a project or going on exchange to

Friends

another school. For us these were eye‐opening experiences, ones that have led us to seize similar opportunities in out now adult lives.” says Kerryn Boyle, Billanook College Captain of 2004.

decisions made on conferences for the next 3 years. Ideas relevant to the wider Round Square family will be taken

by Mike Walton to the next Board meeting in Nairobi.

The meeting was deemed by all to be a great success, with the bonus of a strengthening of relationships between member schools.

of Roun d Squar e

If you would like to support the Friends of Round Square (Australia) Alumni in this event or if you would like to join us, visit Friends of Round Square Australia Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/groups/208029729222609

6 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

(Austra

lia) Even t

REGIONAL NEWS - AUSTRALASIA

Annual Nepal Day at Mowbray College

RIC O’BARRY & THE COVE Presentation at the Regent’s Schools by Emily Kay It is no secret that compassion for the environment has always been heavily integrated within the Regent’s School community and a visit from Ric O’Barry, the trainer of Flipper the dolphin and the star of movie‐documentary, ‘The Cove’, only reaffirmed this further.

Love Wildlife, ACRES of Singapore, Goldfish PLC and The Regent’s School of Pattaya’s student enterprise displayed their wide array of merchandise as dozens strolled into the Globe Theatre for an evening of excitement, heartache and activism.

Ric O’Barry, through the combined organisation of the Love Wildlife Foundation and Earth Island Institute, was to give staff, students and the public of Pattaya an evening they would not forget for a very long time.

The presentation began with a harrowing showing of ‘The Cove’, a movie that has the power to move the coldest of hearts. Many tears were shed but the beauty of the movie is that it is not all about sadness. Through the efforts of Ric O’Barry and his activist team they brought to light a darkened corner of a tiny fishing village in Japan, Taiji. It was an eye‐opening experience for most after seeing what happens in ‘The Cove’, which was confirmed by the proactive responses of numerous people who stood up and spoke out.

what Ric stated to be his favourite question of the evening, ‘What can I do to help?’ Reassuringly, it was a question that was asked by many members of the audience.

After presenting the School with his book and Nancy from Love Wildlife giving the school a copy of ‘The Cove’, Ric spent the next forty‐five minutes signing autographs and taking his time to answer individual’s more in‐depth, personal questions. Each person in that theatre left having learnt something new, sad and yet they were explicably left with a desire to make a difference and spread the word.

We are establishing a calendar of events for 2012 and raise funds with our Annual Nepal Day.

All staff and students from Prep – Yr 12 will wear casual clothes and bring a gold coin donation. There will also be Nepalese rice for sale and Mrs Dorothy Volk (a past staff member) will speak to the Junior School about her involve‐ ment with Nepal. We will take part in a ‘walk for water’ (demonstrating to our students how far Nepalese children have to walk for their daily water).

Dorothy has visited Nepal 24 times and has been travelling to the village where our sister school is, since 1989.

For me, having asked Ric, ‘Do you ever feel like you are fighting a losing battle?’ his answer was the simplest and most obvious of all, and one of which I had not yet thought about. ‘It isn’t about winning.’

The village school Sri Sasawati Saranguan was established in 1996 and Mowbray has supported its development. The funds we raise have helped pay for female teachers wages at the school. One day of fundraising pays for a female teacher for one year.

The school now boasts 10 blind students who are taught by a blind teacher. The blind teacher teaches the sighted children English. Our fundraising helps with the education of these children who would otherwise be outcasts. Most adults in the village are illiterate, relying only on spoken language. They are therefore very grateful to have a school that teaches their children the fundamentals in Literacy and Numeracy.

As the movie drew to its dramatic end with the climactic score echoing in the background of the theatre, Ric was welcomed to an extremely well‐ deserved standing ovation. Students, ranging from primary school to the sixth formers, staff and parents threw an abundance of questions his way – all of which he answered with clarity.

Questions such as, ‘Do you agree with dolphin breeding for captivity?’ ‘What were Seaworld’s reactions to ‘The Cove’?’ and, ‘Why did you spend ten years training dolphins to now be dedicating your life to saving them?’ Ric was unfettered and detailed in his answers. The Q&A session ended on

7 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

Other projects we have for 2012 are a cultural trip to China and a service project to Vanuatu. Our emphasis during the first half of the year will be to gather materials, equipment and funds to assist with our service project.

A group of students and teachers will work at two schools in Vanuatu, Matevulu College on the island of Espiritu Santo and Rensarie School on the island of Malekula. We have also been invited by a past student to be part of an environmental project on Pele/Nguna.

Written By Christa Botsman Mowbray College – Round Square Junior School Representative

REGIONAL NEWS - SOUTH ASIA & GULF

DAIMUN Conference 2011 The Dhirubhai Ambani International Model United Nations Conference (DAIMUN) started in 2004 with less than 100 students from DAIS and has grown over the years with participation from schools across Mumbai and all over India. The 3‐day conference in 2011 held at Dhirubhai Ambani International School was attended by over 600 students including, for the first time, children from two international schools from abroad.

Chairperson of the School remarked, “The DAIMUN conference provides an excellent platform to students to engage themselves with the many issues that the world faces. We feel encouraged to see how keen children are to learn about the causes and consequences of the issue of religious divide and to take an enlightened approach in addressing it through the framework of democratic and diplomatic institutions.”

The Conference theme was ‘Religious Divide’, giving students the opportunity to deliberate on this sensitive subject and explore solutions to create a new world order that celebrates tolerance to diverse cultures and religious beliefs.

Smt Nita M. Ambani, Founder &

At the opening ceremony the panel members expressed their views on the pervasive issue of religious divide and how to deal with it.

Round Square Carnival The annual Carnival (a charity event) was organised at Indian School Al-Ghubra in Oman. As the evening approached, a good turnout of students and guests was noticed at various stalls, set up by the class 12 students.

There were games, food stalls and a stage where many students entertained the crowd with music and dance. Children enjoyed an exciting evening packed with games, music, pop- corn, goodies and magic. There was also face painting, fortune telling, archery, mini-golf, slow-cycling and much more. The highlight of the evening was the Fashion Show with a jam packed auditorium with students, visitors and parents who cheered as students walked the ramp. The students of ISG mesmerized the crowd with their talent.

against the indoctrination of the public by divisive forces. Dr Zahir Kazi stressed that the purpose of education is to promote acceptance of diverse faiths and beliefs. Dr. Fr. Mascarenhas spoke of the inherent paradox involved in what we term as a ‘religious divide’. He reiterated that religion should serve to unite, and not divide.

Ms. Shobhaa De appealed to the forward‐thinking youth to speak up

Service Sunday at the Children’s Home 9 students from the Lawrence School, Sanawar spent a Sunday at the Childrens Home in Subathu which houses about 100 children aged between 4-20 years. The children come from poor homes, or are orphans.

The students spent a bright Sunday helping these children out with their activities, sharing their happiness and joy, singing and playing with them.

They also carried some sweets and chocolates for them and left them smiling with some clothes.

Students also spent some time at the Leprosarium, Mangoti Mod, Dharampur.

8 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

REGIONAL NEWS - SOUTH ASIA & GULF

Round Square Junior Regional Conference at Pathways Pathways World School, Gurgaon, India held a Round Square Junior Regional Conference in November 2011.

The conference statement: “Individual action and collective responsibility. Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Participants were: Pathways Noida, Pathways Gurgaon, Punjab Public School Nabha, The Doon School (Dehradun),Vidya Devi Jindal school (Hisar), The Sanskaar Valley School (Bhopal), Maharani Gayatri Devi School (Jaipur), The Millenium School (Dubai),The Daly College (Indore), Chittagong Grammer School (Bangladesh), Bangalore international school (Bangalore), Genesis Global school (Noida), Motilal Nehru School of Sports (Rai), Pathways World School Aravali.

Dhirubhai Ambani International School host RS Service Project Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai hosted a service project in December 2011 in the villages of Hassachipatti & Kumbhargarh.

These villages are on the threshold of assimilation with the ‘outside/modern’ world. They don’t have the basic living amenities like ‘pucca’ houses, roads, toilets, lighting, schools etc. Therefore the objective of the project was to help in providing infrastructure, education for all, and economical empowerment for each household.

A total of 69 delegate students from 9 schools participated: Daly College,

Indore, Sanskaar Valley School, Bhopal, Mayo College, Ajmer, British School, Delhi, Scindia School, Millinium School, Dubai, Indian School, Oman, MGD, Jaipur, DAIS.

Hassachipatti village is at the foothill of Matheran and comprises of 61 households. The village has no access road to the nearest town. Villagers have to climb up and down an uneven path of around 1000 feet and then walk 3 kms. to access the basic amenities.

Kumbhargarh village has a population of 211 and was in need of basic amenities e.g. toilets.

9 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

The delegates were divided into 2 team and each team spent just over 2 days working at each village. They helped enhance the education facilities, initiate better housing and roads.

REGIONAL NEWS - SOUTH ASIA & GULF

Chittagong Grammar School (CGS) hold Regional Conference The four day conference was organized entirely by the students of CGS and was an overwhelming experience.

This event involved about 80 schools and it allowed students not only to visit another country but also get involved in community service and discover cultures along the way.

“We have visited many countries and were thus drawn to negotiations and activities that are challenging to the recent world. This was our fourth conference involving the in-house conferences where we involved schools from all over Bangladesh to make them understand the concept and need of such conferences.

These in-house conferences gained great prosperity and the one this year was followed by, for the first time, by an International conference.

It was probably the biggest event in CGS's history.” said a student of Class 11.

Schools from countries like India, Pakistan, Oman, Thailand and Germany were involved.

Notable among these are the Daly College, Vivek High School, Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya and DAIS from India, Indian School from Oman Landheim Schondorf of Germany, Lyceum from Pakistan and Regent's School from Pattaya, Thailand.

Bringing in international people requires a lot of hard work. The students had to make sure that every little thing was perfect before they welcomed them in.

The steering committee was formed by students and it had many subgroups. The groups comprised of the logistic team, media team, press team, website team, international student guides team, food team etc.

“I was the head of the press team handling the newsletter, featuring the highlights of the day. Students of class 11 & 12 and the alumni group participated in designing the conference.” said student from Class 11 of CGS. The theme for the conference was “Technology for a Sustainable World”. The students explored the

theme “Earth, Wind, Water, Fire” as well. They were made aware of sustainability and ideas were shared concerning the use of technology to achieve a sustainable goal.

The conference logo was chosen from various entries of the Annual International Art Competition that CGS structured beforehand.

Yashmini Sodhani of Dhirubhai Ambani School India won the competition.

The steering committee member had been working day and night for the past four months trying to pull together this conference. They had to handle the arrival of guests, their registration and stay at Avenue Hotel, plan the schedule and so on.

It was a great learning process for all of the students. They planned some traditional games that were held during the ice-breaking sessions. “I must add that these games instantly brought all of us together. We all befriended many people in the opening ceremony. After the icebreaking, we took them to the school auditorium where a cultural programme was held. Next, we had to get divided into teams. The names of the teams were given according to the names of tribal communities in Bangladesh. That way the guests got to know about the various indigenous cultures of our country.” said a student from Class 11.

The next day began with Taimur Siddique's key-note presentation on paradoxes in the world economy and need of sustainability. Taimur Siddique is a key-note speaker from Australia who has devoted his life in creating awareness among the mass people, especially the students of the world. He has been involved with CGS conferences for a long time.

After the presentation they all gathered on the basketball field for the different fun games such as runaway thieves, seed mosaic,

10 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

painting totem poles, making posters and making rickshaws.

The next morning there was a trek in the Bhatiyari Golf Club, Climbing steep-sided hills. From the top of the hills, about a hundred delegates appeared to be ants marching simultaneously.

In the evening they had a Timothy Mann's Space show scheduled. As a performer, Timothy is a member of arts company Nose2Nose, and very well known for his multi-character comedy-drama creation 'space', which is currently touring schools and festivals around the world. He has also been to Dhaka for staging one of his greatest acts. The evening was trailed by a barbeque dinner and live concert by the students of CGS. The last day of the conference was named the “Red T-shirt” day. They wore red t-shirt in order to make the official RS logo and take a picture.

Quite clearly, this entire experience, where students learned to organise such an important event from scratch was very overwhelming.

REGIONAL NEWS - EUROPE

Young Carers Holiday Cathy Brett works with Box Hill School students

For the third year running, Windermere School welcomed a group of South Lakes Young Carers for a 4 day residential holiday. This was part of the School’s Round Square Service programme. These local children, aged between 6 and 11, all care for family members on a daily basis so this break is a special time for them.

On Saturday 21st January the English department at Box Hill School in Dorking, Surrey provided students with an amazing chance to meet and work with author, Cathy Brett, a renowned author and illustrator of books for teenagers.

Students were inspired by Cathy’s stories of how she became involved in writing and worked with her to create their own characters and tales. With a theme of ‘Heroes’, the students came up with some amazing work in both written and illustrated form.

The workshop is one of a series of Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO)

workshops being run at Box Hill School.

The workshops are an extra resource for our students, designed to complement the regular timetable and broaden their thinking, and runs across a range of departments throughout the year.

Box Hill School students win Dorking Rotary ‘Youth Speaks’ and 'Young Writer' Competitions!

This year’s holiday had a “Wild West” theme and the programme was packed with a huge range of activities from making dream‐catchers and Native American headdresses, kayaking at the School’s water sports centre, a treasure hunt in the grounds, tepee building on the edge of Windermere Lake and even a bucking bronco competition.

Box Hill School's public speaking teams wowed the judges of the Dorking Rotary 'Youth Speaks' competition on Monday 30th January, with their oratory skills, excellent team work and poise.

Pronounced winners of the competition, Ellie Thorn (Chairperson); Rosie Eagers (Speaker) and Anna Gibbs (Vote of Thanks) were presented with the trophy by one of the judges ;Virginia McKenna OBE ‐ BAFTA & Olivier award‐winning screen & stage actress, author and founder of the Born Free Foundation.

Box Hill School students were also the recent winners of the Dorking Rotary 'Young Writer' competition, beating almost 50 entrants to the prize. Their winning entries will now go on to compete at District level with other winners from the 60 other rotary clubs in Surrey and Sussex.

The holiday was organised by the School’s Round Square Co‐ordinator (Anna Lord) and many of the School’s students gave up 4 days of their summer holiday to help out.

Winners 2012

Runners Up and Virginia McKenna

Pre-Conference Tour 2011 hosted by Windermere School

Round Square is a very important part of our school and its ethos; therefore, to be given the chance to host a pre‐conference tour at Windermere School was an honour. Windermere School hosted a Pre‐Conference tour for the Round Square International Conference 2011 in Wellington from Friday 14 October until Monday 17 October. Two schools from Australia, Ballarat Grammar School and Radford College, The Lawrence School from India and King’s Academy from Jordan arrived Friday afternoon to spend three days with us. Six students were involved with the weekend and organised lots of activities for the guests.

11 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

REGIONAL NEWS - EUROPE

425 students, staff and dog climb snowy Box Hill The whole of the staff and student body at Box Hill School set out to climb Box Hill on the 8th February in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the school trust and raise money for charity.

The route of the four mile sponsored walk had to be altered slightly at the last minute to account for icy paths, but after a lengthy (and steep!) climb, the summit was reached.

In a display of typical school spirit, a number of Year 13 students helped one motorist get her car out of the icy car park. Several students wore fancy dress to assist with their fundraising efforts, and a number of snowball fights were inevitably seen as the students relaxed before the descent back to school for hot chocolate and cookies.

Box Hill School is located directly on the route of the Olympic cycle race and this event, which takes place every year, had special significance in 2012 because it covered one of the major parts of the forthcoming Olympic cycle route.

“It was good to get to walk up the hill in the snow and chat to your friends, but know you were helping people at the same time” Rory Edwards, aged 14

“The best part was that we were doing something as a community, the whole school was coming together to achieve something” Lena Kefer, aged 15 variety show, which was a huge success and drew praise from all who attended. The show was orchestrated by our school Guardians Melanie Thorn and Matthew Eagers in aid of the School Round Square projects.

Mark Eagers, the Headmaster said “Our annual ascent of the hill is a great celebration, and something we’ve been doing for nearly 50 years as a school.

It’s wonderful to have the chance to do something like this in the snow, and it’s something the children will remember for the rest of their lives”

The walk was raising money for a variety of charities chosen by the students; including the Rainbow Trust, Barnados and Happy Child International. The total raised from the walk will be available after half term.

In the evening, the students went on to celebrate by taking part in a charity

‘Amanda Russell’ (Vocal coach on X Factor); 6 Rock Bands including the school Funk, Jazz and staff band ‘Station Road’ who brought the house down (Arren, Adam, Jonathan and Fred)– with everyone on their feet dancing; a girl band.

There were 22 acts including: Comedy sketches featuring the Headmaster and Head of Art Mike Coleman; Street dancing and street magic plus a magic show. Soloists/ vocalists including a special guest

12 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

Melanie and Matthew presented the show. The two of them and EuanTilling, who has just come back from his trip to Cambodia gave a run‐down of the projects. 300 people attended the 3hr show, and over £900 was raised for Round Square Association projects.

“What an AMAZING night. It was fabulous – and WAY BEYOND ANYTHING WE HAD IMAGINED” Sandy Rudd, Chairman of the Box Hill School Parents Association (BHSA)

“Everyone in the variety show was really amazing, even people I didn’t know could do things and then they did!”

Mia Bertin, aged 13

REGIONAL NEWS - AFRICA

Young Round Square (YRS) Conference ‐ Cape Town St Cyprian’s School hosted the first ever YRS Conference of the African Region in Cape Town

The theme of the conference was LEAD the IDEALS. They introduced Grade 6 and 7 students to the philosophy of Round Square through a fun and imaginative programme of different events following the format of regional conferences.

The pillars of Round Square were explored from a number of aspects, and

environment, adventure, leadership and service was the focus of our of site activities.

Dave Carr, Director of Round Square St Cyprian’s School said “We are confident that all delegates attending the conference will find their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!”

St Stithians College welcomes Roedean School to Round Square An excited delegation from St Stithians College was invited to join the Roedean School at the launch of their Africa regional membership to Round Square.

The College shared the benefits of being a Round Square school at an official assembly where the Round Square flag was handed to the Head Prefect from Roedean School.

The vibrant interaction between the students from the three schools was palatable.

We look forward to sharing many exciting opportunities and experiences.

The History of Round Square in Africa (written by Courtney Jones (Head of Round Square, Dainfern College) On the continent where life began, where landscapes are vast and where legends have been born is one of the many homes of Round Square. This mighty organisation first reached African soil in 1989 with the pioneering school being Starehe Boys School in Kenya.

In 1998, under the pioneering guidance of Anne van Zyl, David Wylde and Tessa Fairburn, St. Stithians Boys College and St. Cyprians School became the first South African members at the Athenian School Conference in California (1998).

Saints Girls followed in 1999, with Tigerkloof Educational Institution in 2000 and Stanford Lake College in 2003.

This resulted in a rise of awareness of Round Square in Africa leading to its eventual expansion to other schools in South Africa, Kenya and Namibia.

Round Square has produced many unforgettable conferences under the African sun, promoting the youth to come together to work towards a better world. As an organisation, it has allowed the world to unite in a way that is totally unique. Africa has made Round Square proud in many ways, from having a Kurt Hahn Prize winner to many people who have selflessly contributed to Round Square as an International Organisation: • Nqobani Mkhwanazi from St Cyprians School received the Kurt Hahn Prize in 2002 for her pioneering work in the “Girl‐child in Africa” project.

• Jenn Wallace and Sonia Christian and have both served as project leaders on RS International Service Projects.

• David Wylde, Jenn Wallace, Tessa

13 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

Fairburn, Peter Habberton and John O’Connor have all been the Africa representatives s on the Round Square board.

• Anthony Haggi and Steven Lowrie are the chairpersons of friends of RS.

• In 2003 St Cyprian’s and St Stithian’s jointly hosted the international conference.

In 2012 we celebrate another step forward as Young Round Square is launched in Africa, with two mini‐ conferences hosted by St Cyprian’s and Cornwall Hill College.

Round Square in Africa has come a long way, and we are so proud. It is a tool that has given us the power of change: Power to change ourselves, power to change the circumstances of those less fortunate and ultimately the power to change the world around us.

GENERAL NEWS

Governance Matters Over the past 2 months a number of Regional Meetings have been held involving Heads and RS Representatives from Member Schools – Global and Regional – in various parts of the globe.

Regional Meetings have been held in India and South Asia, Europe and Australasia and East Asia, with the Americas and Africa to meet later in the year.

These meetings, which bring together the key adults in our Member Schools that help ensure that the mission of Round Square thrives amongst the Student body within each School, have now become an annual occurrence and provide a wonderful opportunity for exchange of ideas and the provision of support and encouragement to each Member School.

Where possible they are attended by a Member of the Secretariat in order to ensure the effective link between the Regions and their Members and ‘Round Square Central’.

Square Business Manager, Jane Howison, who is undertaking much of the detailed work, following the adoption of the Governance Principles at the AGM at the Wellington Conference, is being supported by Noble Hanlon and our Legal Advisors in the UK.

Whilst the Board of Directors of Round Square will hold their next meeting just prior to the Conference in Kenya, the Round Square Board Executive Committee held a teleconference recently to ensure that appropriate support is provided to the Executive Director and his Team between Full Board Meetings.

I look forward to seeing many of you in Nairobi in April at the Brookhouse Conference and the remainder in South Africa later in the year.

Rod Fraser Chairman Round Square Board of Directors

Progress continues to be made on the matter of the Round Square Governance Review with work currently being done on the Memorandum of Understanding and the Articles of Association. The Round

Boronka 2012—Environmental Project in Hungary Boronka, this somewhat exotic‐ sounding name, is a nature conservation project in the county of Hungary.

Boronka actually is the name of a little creek that runs through and feeds a woodpond area south of Lake Balaton.

It was state owned and ´commercially´ run in the past up to about 1990 and then taken over by an NGO (Non‐ Government Organization) called ´Somogy Nature Conservation Association´.

This organization had no money of its own for the purchase and so needed the help of NGOs. Karl Roth, a Salem biology teacher and ornithologist , knew the representatives of this Hungarian organization and had the idea to offer working camps. So we started inviting pupils and staff from Round Square Schools in ‘91 for a fortnight´s camp at the beginning of July. The first project turned out to be such a success that we have been repeating these camps every July since then.

How many participants can take part?

The size of group has been 25 to 30.

Which schools have sent pupils so far?

Aiglon, Abbotsholme, Appleby, Athenian, Bayview Glen, Birklehof,

Bishops College, Boxhill, Gordonstoun, Lakefield, Louisenlund, Rannoch, Salem, Starehe, Wellington, Indian School, Boxhill, Cobham Hall

What is the objective of the project?

Pupils and staff have the opportunity of experiencing a variety of wildlife in its natural surroundings. At the same time they can actively help to preserve this biodiversity. They restore habitats for endangered animals like the otter, ferruginous duck, turtles etc. For example they help to repair dams, create new swamps, clear paths and build little bridges, restore observation huts, clear ponds. At the same time we offer excursions in the vicinity to other wildlife areas but also to cultural sites. We visit the city of Pecs and see its historic centre. At the end of the project we spend two and a half days in the imposing capital of Budapest where we get to know Hungary with its urban and cultural life.

How is the camp organized?

We live in tents on a beautiful site in the middle of a forest not far from the ponds. The infrastructure has improved considerably since we first started the project. We have WCs and warm showers. Additionally of course

14 | Round Square News | Issue 10 | March 2012

one can (and does) still use the original showers consisting of an elevated water tank which is heated (depending on weather conditions) by the sun. The kitchen is well equipped and the food is prepared by our own staff. We stay at the camp for 10 days and then all together move to Budapest, where we stay for two and a half days in a youth‐ hostel.

How do participants get there?

Salem and Birklehof so far have provided minibuses. People from overseas are usually picked up in Budapest on Monday and taken to Boronka and back again.

How much does it cost to take part in the project? €530. On top of that you would need money for the two and a half days in Budapest and for excursions to the vicinity at the weekend, approx. €200— 250. Accom. in Budapest is included in the price above.

When does the next project take place?

2nd– 15th July 2012. Of course you can extend your stay in Budapest to see more of the country

How can you apply?

Please write to: Rainer.Bueb@mac.com