17 04 13 Rampage web

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The Rampage 2270 Highway 133 Carbondale , CO 81623

April 2017 Volume 10 Issue 7

RFHS Model UN Goes to the Big Apple -Rex Hamilton

On Tuesday March 14th, an exhausted group of 24 Roaring Fork High School (RFHS) students returned from the National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN) conference in New York City. NHSMUN is an annual conference attracting over 5,000 high school students from around the world. The goal of the conference is to solve a variety of pressing issues facing our world today. Just like the real United Nations would do. In fact, NHSMUN includes a trip to the real UN General Assembly chamber for the opening ceremonies of the conference. RFHS students participated in 19 committees, ranging from the Economic and Financial Committee (ECOFIN) to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC.) The different councils varied in size, ranging from 15 to 250 delegates. Overall, the trip has received rave reviews both from the students who attended and the teachers who facilitate Model UN (MUN). The idea of MUN is that the students to learn about international diplomacy by participating in it. RFHS was assigned the country of Botswana for the conference. Students had to learn about Botswana’s international policy and demonstrate it in their committees by working with other countries to create solutions to problems they were assigned. A handful of RFHS’ participants

were assigned to committees on which they represented other countries, such as Kuwait and Egypt. One of the skills RHFS’ students had the chance to improve on in New York was teamwork. In order to both be cooperative with other countries and stay true to Botswana’s policies, students had to learn about effective compromise. Social Studies teacher Matt Wells, who is the leader of MUN at RFHS says that he really enjoys watching students learn and develop important skills. He explains, “To be able to help students get exposed to international affairs, diplomacy skills, research skills, and public speaking skills is rewarding of itself. That’s what makes it fun for me.” Throughout the school year, the club meets every Wednesday before school to research issues and craft position papers, which explain their assigned country’s position on the topic. The NHSMUN conference is a one of a kind opportunity for the RFHS students to meet new people, especially from other countries. This year, there were schools from all over the world, including Brazil, Egypt, South Korea and Italy, and many others. Junior Bella Ulrych, who was a delegate on ECOFIN says, “It’s so cool to meet new people from other countries and get to work with them on real world problems.”

Another highlight of the trip to NYC for RFHS was the opportunity to meet some of Botswana’s real UN delegates. RFHS students participated in a meeting called a mission briefing, which enabled them to meet the actual Botswana ambassador to the UN. The purpose of this meeting was for students to get a firsthand idea of what Botswana is trying to accomplish in the UN, and a general idea of Botswana’s international policies. The ambassador gave a presentation, and then opened up the meeting to a Q&A session. Senior Tavia Teitler says “It was a great way to connect what we were doing in the confrence to the real world of the UN.” One of the monumental challenges of taking a group of two dozen high school students to New York is funding. Over the course of the year leading up to the trip, the RFHS students fundraise as best they can, but oftentimes, it is not enough. Financial aid from the community is a great help. If you would like to donate to MUN please contact Matt Wells at mattwells@rfschools.com Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have any experience in international diplomacy, either in an Non-Governmental Organization or even at the UN level, please contact Mr. Wells as well, the club would love to have your help with future conference preparation.

What’s Inside

AP Computer Science at RFHS Page 3

Prom Page 2

New school in Glenwood Page 6 Group of girls pose with the fearless girl statue in NYC.

Girls Soccer Page 7 Matt Wells, Lynn Williams, and Kelsie Goodman pose in the UN building.

The Model UN students hold their placards in their hotel in NYC.

Contact us at rframpage@gmail.com


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17 04 13 Rampage web by The Sopris Sun - Issuu