Autumn Term 2020
Dear Parents and Guardians The start of the Autumn Term 2020 was always going to be a memorable one in many ways. After two months I am very proud to say that we have not only successfully coped with the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic but we have also managed to bring back a lot of the 'old normal' to the 'new normal' of our everyday College life at UWC Atlantic. It has been heartwarming and encouraging to see how engaged our community has been during the orientation weeks, then in our cocurricular sessions, including the new Changemaker units and, more recently, in the October Long Weekend activities. After the period of isolation students are quickly catching up and trying to establish all those incredible friendships that make UWC so special. Our five student councils (Student Council, Sustainability Council, Peace Council, Wellbeing Council and Student Life at Atlantic College Council) are as busy as ever. The preparation for our first conference of the year is well under way: we look forward to experiencing TAN (Two Arabian Nights), a conference concentrating on the Middle East and North Africa region on 27-28 November. This student-led and student-organised conference is the first of three this academic year. We thought it would be a nice idea to show some of the great things that have happened this term so far. We hope you enjoy the gallery. Kate Vincze - Vice Principal, Education
The safe arrival of students
In no time at all, everyone adapted to a new way of (socially distanced) teaching, learning...
...and wellbeing
September Early in September, there was a chance for students to come out of their houses (from isolation) and enjoy some activities, including rock climbing , pool swimming and archery - to improve their health and wellbeing - and to forge strong bonds. This was also the time for first years to get to know the campus and choose their subjects and co-curricular activities.
Changemaker Curriculum Here at UWC Atlantic we are going back to our roots as educational innovators with a trial-run of seven Changemaker Curriculum units this year. The Changemaker Curriculum aims to be inter-disciplinary, characteroriented, experiential and relevant to the challenges of the 21st century. Our students can build transferable skills in varied fields such as project management, communication, field science, design and engineering, conflict resolution, public speaking and argumentation, data science and coding. With a vision to embed these new courses firmly into our academic offering and increasing collaboration across the UWC network, we have received keen interest from the International Baccalaureate. Sylvi Wirtjes, Changemaker Curriculum Team Leader, is developing a course in Dialogue and Peacemaking in its second iteration this year. She is an alumna herself and graduated from Waterford KaMhlaba UWCSA in 2005. "We are very fortunate to be able to use this year as an opportunity to look inward and create something genuinely exciting," she says. " I know I would have loved to be part of something like this as a student. Our students take centre stage in this curriculum development project and it is a privilege to work with such committed and passionate young people on this."
In action...
Students learning about receding coastlines.
Studying the damaged seawall as part of research into human made coastal defences.
Taking samples from the rockpools to study back in the laboratory.
UWC Day On 21st September, to coincide with the International Day of Peace, we celebrate UWC Day which is the annual global celebration of the organisation's mission, diversity and values. The theme has been changing throughout the history of the celebration and this year it was: United We Can. The motto aimed to unite our community in times of isolation, divisiveness and walls. At UWC Atlantic, UWC Day was the first whole-school event and it was celebrated on the 25th October (postponed due to isolation requirements in September). After the Opening Ceremony, the campus was transformed into a route with National Group Stations. Each national group prepared a wide range of performances and activities to exhibit the culture of these nations. The festivity concluded with the Closing Ceremony in which the National Groups prepared videos of traditional (and some modern!) dances. Overall, it was a memorable opportunity for us as UWC students to celebrate difference and multiculturalism as a community. UWC Day Main Organisers: Shuqian Liu (China), Francesc Torres Mana (Spain) and Sofia Pangher (Italy)
PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINKS ABOVE TO VIEW FILMS!
Natural Fitness Natural fitness is one of our new physical activities. We offer a large number of physical sessions ranging from the more traditional activities of football, basketball and swimming to the less traditional zumba, floorball, Tai Chi and many others. These are part of our cocurricular programme, which also includes the creative activity sessions (for example ceramics and choir) and our service sessions. Each student takes part in weekly service, physical and creative sessions. Our Co-curricular Student Board decides every year which sessions we run and they also help our Co-curricular Coordinator in managing the sign-up process.
Spotlight on Ceramics
Ceramics is a ‘creative session’ in our Co-curricular programme. Our ceramics department and kiln room have recently been refurbished, old equipment has been removed, new lighting has been added, the floors have been resealed and the walls decorated. The students are loving the bright and vibrant environment they have to be creative in. The activity enables students to develop knowledge and confidence in using ceramic processes and materials; encourages students to think and work creatively and gives them time to reflect as they talk freely together and/or sit quietly whilst side by side working on their own personal making project.
Service Sessions We have been running a highly popular and very successful SusTech (Sustainable Technology) Service in the last few years where small groups of students design and build their own projects. This year they include a wind turbine and a wave machine among others.
As part of the Growers and Harvesters service, the students are gathering in the last of the summer tomatoes, ready to make green tomato chutney and ketchup!
Look at this bridge built by our Forest Creative. It was created in just two sessions, allowing wheelchair access to our beautiful woodland paths.
International Open House Every year the student houses run an ‘International Open House’. The students share stories and performances from their cultures with each other, their house parents and tutors. Here are a few examples from Whitaker House including a song from Bangladesh; a poem in Polish; a singalong song from Israel; an Italian dance; a traditional Norwegian folk tale and a Dutch traditional dance.
Dress like your EE Day As in previous years, our second years dressed up like their EEs to celebrate the submission of their Extended Essays on the day of the deadline in October.
October Break Activities As the students were unable to return home for the usual week-long October Break, during the Long Weekend we made sure that everyone could get out and about on campus and enjoy a range of activities, try out new things and find out what to expect in the coming weeks and months (Covid permitting). Our Atlantic Experience team led activities including pool kayaking, climbing, high ropes and first aid. Our SLACC (Student Life at Atlantic College Council) also organised sessions like water polo and volleyball. Students had opportunities to learn more about our Ways of Life programme starting soon: Lifesaving, Paddlesports and the Kurth Hahn Core, the Atlantic Pacific Search and Rescue programme and also what is going to be involved in operating our new National Coastwatch Institution Station.
Sports Week November
Lighthouse Lighthouse is an open-door Creative Ideas Lab and Learning Innovation space, established in 2019 by students, for students, to incubate and accelerate inspirational student ideas and social impact projects beyond the curriculum. Lighthouse will help to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in students, focused on creating sustainable, social impact with their projects. The aim is that some, if not all of these initiatives will deliver tangible and measurable outcomes - with the potential to scale-up projects into small businesses or social enterprises that may generate future income. Fittingly located by the seafront, Lighthouse, is divided into three sections: The Ideas Hub, The Window to the World, and the Lighthouse Library. This term we recruited two Lighthouse Coordinator Interns, Ula Adamska from Poland (UWC Mahindra 2016) and Lochlann Atack from Ireland (UWC Maastricht 2016) to work directly with the students, especially our Lighthouse Keepers. Lighthouse is a beacon for students with brilliant ideas and it also shines a light on the UWC mission, guiding students through a personal and social entrepreneurial development journey as leaders and changemakers.
Diwali On November 14th, our students celebrated Diwali, the Festival of Light (and the end of isolation for all after a recent Covid case) it was a wonderful event with performances in true UWC spirit.
Student Residences Following Board approval for the design in 2017, the completion of the planning process and appointment of the main contractor, Knox and Wells, in March 2019, our new student houses have now been completed. The construction of our state-of-the-art student houses is now complete and finishing touches such as wall and floor decor, access systems and landscaping will mean that the residences will be ready to welcome students in early January. Each house is designed to accommodate 48 students and house parents, they feature a strong College and Welsh build heritage, with the design, look and feel based on a traditional ‘Welsh Long House’ contrasting with a modern and vibrant styled interior. Accommodation for students centres around dormitory style bedrooms, with four students to each ‘dorm’ with modern bathrooms and associated facilities. These are complimented by bright, attractive study areas and day rooms and kitchens. The development of the student residences demonstrates our aspirations for the College campus and our goal to create a world class learning environment and to enhance our environmental and sustainability credentials.
We look forward to sharing more very soon