Dunia - December 2011

December 2011

Connecting communities Building Bridges to Bali iLearn programme JUMP! builds community

Staying connected in times of change They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.

Confucius Over the past six years, our school has been through an extraordinary process of change. Much of my conversation since joining as Head of College in 2005 has been about recognising change, understanding change and managing change. As I reflect on the modifications, such as new course offerings for IB Diploma, the transformations, such as our new Admissions Policy, and the small revolutions, such as the opening of our East Campus in Tampines, I am astounded by the size and rate of change that our community has experienced.

And yet. As we analyse this complex and sometimes unpredictable change process, what we discover is a reassuring continuity. Like all human systems, our school is dependent on our path, and our path is clearly defined by our mission to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. More importantly, our path is forged by our students and

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they, above all, provide us with stability and constancy, as they embrace challenge and take responsibility for shaping a better world.

This edition of Dunia is focused on community. The stories show us how we connect to one another, to other cultures and to communities outside of our own; the stories that make our community special, providing us with continuity in times of great change. From service learning on East Campus, to UN Night on Dover, from the Grade 6 trip to Tioman to the visit from the Bali Bridges Foundation, from the holiday shopping fair on Dover to the Black & White Ball on East—these provide a small snapshot of the special activities that build community and, in so doing, make our community great.

This edition also includes a special focus on the iLearn programme, showcasing some of the uses of technology that are supporting teaching and learning in the College.

Don’t forget to go online to see the newly-launched eDunia www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia Julian Whiteley Head of College

Let the media

e multia begin

Top story

www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia

UWC Day

eDunia allows us to publish our stories through video, audio podcasts and photo imagery, as well as through the written word. Through eDunia, we can celebrate achievements and share stories in a timely way that reflects the vibrancy of the UWC South East Asia experience. Plus, it means our print Dunia can be smaller and focus on particular themes, reducing our paper usage and helping towards our goal of a sustainable future.

Here is a snapshot of some of the eDunia stories.

See highlights of this most special of days on Dover campus, which celebrates UWCSEA’s part in the wider UWC movement and is an opportunity for the whole College to focus on our values.

Primary School

Community

Grade 1

Scholars in East Boarding community

Watch three videos of the Grade 1 students on East Campus, focusing on the community Unit of Inquiry, the Outdoor Education programme and explorations in sound …

Middle School iLearn Read how the iLearn programme closes the digital divide by helping Global Concerns to build a school for students in Cambodia …

High School Toccata and Fugue Hear the concert performances from the intermediate and senior ensembles, including Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Concert Strings and High School Percussion ensemble …

Get to know one of our scholars, Kirkha from Aceh, who spoke at the Black & White Masquerade Ball about his experience so far at UWCSEA …

IB Heads Conference Read about the Centre for International Education on East Campus, its first conference, the IB Heads Conference, and exciting plans for the future …

Activities Sports Round-up Find the highlights of the sports seasons, including match results and photos in the Activities section …

Four to One View work from Dover Campus art students as part of a professional exhibition “Four to One” at One East Artspace …

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iLearn

Educate me for my future, not your past All of us are familiar with the idea that we are educating students for an unknown and unpredictable future.

Our current K1 class will graduate from the College in June 2026 and, if they attend a higher education institution, will likely join the workforce sometime in 2030. How can we ensure learning experiences that will prepare our students for success in 2030?

At the same time, we all recognise that our students are immersed in 21st century media culture; they are digital learners, spending on average more than six hours a day connected to electronic media (The Global Achievement Gap, Wagner, 2009). How can we ensure a learning experience that is relevant and familiar to them?

At UWCSEA, part of our answer to both of these questions is the iLearn initiative. iLearn, launched in August 2010, seeks to improve learning and develop skills, providing students with an enhanced learning experience and preparing them for success after school.

For parents, the most obvious evidence of the iLearn initiative is the laptop

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computers that many students now use in their daily work. However, while a central component of the initiative is to increase student access to computers and other digital devices, the main focus is to enhance key skills such as collaboration, critical thinking and innovation. The programme also allows for flexible progression, giving students the chance to review or extend their learning according to individual need. In fact, a measure of the success of iLearn will be that the programme is no longer visible in the school, either managed by teachers or experienced by students; the integration of technology and associated skills will be so complete, nobody will notice them anymore.

So, what does this mean in practice?

Digital literacy coaches have been working with teachers to support them in integrating technology into their daily practice. As Jeff Plaman, Digital Literacy Coach on East Campus says, “Teachers want to know how to use the technology for learning, not just learning the technology,” so a series of ‘Show Me the Learning’ training

sessions for teachers focus on which tools can move students further along the path towards the learning goal. It might be using video technology to ensure students can explain a complex idea in simple terms in IB Chemistry (see further article in this issue and video on eDunia). It might be using Brushes App on an iPad so that K1 students can create their own ‘Blackout Poetry’ (see further article in this issue).

It might be using blogging as a tool to support Middle School students in reflecting on their work. It might be helping students to research effectively using Google searches. It might be using iPads in PE to record students performing particular movements before and after skills training to enable individualised feedback on details of their performance. These are just some of the ways that the digital tools are enhancing learning outcomes for students.

Following are some examples of iLearn in action. Please visit eDunia on www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia for more.

iLearning across the whole community

By Jeff Plaman, Digital Literacy Coach As part of the iLearn initiative and Generation Safe, the UWCSEA East Digital Literacy Coaches (DLCs) have been taking a comprehensive approach to educating all members of the school community on digital learning, citizenship and safety topics.

They have engaged with teaching staff during a recent professional learning meeting focused on Generation Safe, and continue to develop curriculum across all divisions of the school to help students learn how to interact safely and appropriately with digital media.

Conversations with the parent community are particularly important as we move forward with iLearn. The DLCs have organised three parent

education events so far: a parent coffee session on social networks, a handson session for Facebook security and Twitter, and a parent coffee session on classroom blogs. Parents attending the social network session in particular found it useful to have students present, who could explain how they use social networks for personal communication as well as for learning. Students showed the parents how they actively manage their online digital tattoo by posting to different audiences, and how they deal with distraction by using apps to limit their own access to certain sites and software. Many parents commented that they were surprised at the level of maturity the students showed in managing their interactions online.

The DLCs, along with the school counsellors, are planning a session for early in the new year about screen time and maintaining an appropriate balance.

Please watch the eBrief for details and join in the conversation.

Exploring the use of technology in Writing Workshop Writing workshop as a model of writing instruction was launched in Term 1 across K–5 at Dover Primary. Based on current research, Writing Workshop aims to help students develop the capacity to write effectively with confidence and clarity.

During Workshop, teachers provide explicit instruction in a particular skill.

Independent, sustained writing time is the cornerstone of each lesson.

Conferring between writing partners and between teachers and students ensures all students get regular feedback and support to continually develop their craft as writers.

Recently, Grades 3–5 Literacy Coach, Helen Gamble explored the use of Google Docs to help students collaborate, comment on the work of

other students and receive feedback from teachers and peers. The children completed a rough paper draft, and then typed their draft into a Google Doc. This encouraged the students to make large scale revisions as they reconsidered their content during the transfer process. The use of Google Docs allowed conferring to take place through the comments feature. This tool facilitated effective teacher and peer feedback and motivated the students to read and respond to each others’ work.

We look forward to further integration of technology within Writing Workshop.

Please visit eDunia to see a video of Grade 4 students talking about using Google Docs for writing.

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“The K1 children were wrapping up a Unit of Inquiry called Splish Splash Splosh. I took 11 iPads with me to work with the children in small groups. This is what we did: The children opened Safari on the iPads.

In the search box, they typed “Rain Poems Children.” The fourth or fifth entry on the page was Mother Goose Caboose (after the first group, it came up instantly as soon as we opened Safari, making things a little easier).

I read a few poems to them and then I asked them to read through all the poems and find their favourite. It was interesting to see how favourites were chosen. Some were chosen by text colour. Some were chosen because they were at the top or the bottom of the page. Some were chosen because they were familiar.

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Poet and cartoonist Austin Kleon used newspaper and permanent marker to create a new artform: Newspaper Blackout poetry. By eliminating all but a few carefully chosen words from newspaper pages, he creates thoughtprovoking poems: www.austinkleon.com So how can our youngest students use this technique to create their own poems? And how can technology be used to make it happen? Louise Phinney, Digital Literacy Coach on East Campus, explains.

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• After finding a favourite, the children

took a screen shot of their poem.

Using the search function on the iPads, the children found and opened the Brushes App. After starting a new picture, we imported the screen shot into Brushes.

Children then chose their favourite colour, circled all their favourite words and blacked out the rest (which I think was the most fun of the whole project!)

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Here are some samples of what we did: With the K2s, we followed the same steps. Their Unit of Inquiry was Reduce, Reuse, Recycle so we used the website CanTeach for our inspirational poems.

Using technology to demonstrate understanding How do teachers know that students are learning, that they understand key concepts? One of the ways learning is assessed is by asking students to produce evidence of understanding.

Traditionally, students produce written evidence of their understanding, sometimes in the form of an essay on a particular topic, sometimes in writing answers to specific questions in an exam context. There are multiple approaches, and teachers are always seeking new ways to document evidence of understanding. In the Middle and High School on Dover, technology is being used by students to demonstrate their understanding.

In IB Chemistry, Simon Dean asked students to explain a complicated concept in simple terms, by producing a visual presentation that, crucially, contained oral narration. It is in the oral narration that student understanding is best demonstrated. Written reports are easily accessed through books and the Internet, and students can sometimes bypass true conceptual understanding through a written demonstration.

Requiring them to record an oral explanation of a concept, accompanied by visual cues they have generated

themselves, can help to assess if their understanding is complete. Through the process of creating the explanation and finding ways to present it visually and orally, the concept is reinforced.

Please go to eDunia to see a video demonstration of the class and a reflection on the technique.

In English classes, the introduction of graphic novels to the IB Literature course gave teacher Stuart MacAlpine the opportunity to use student produced audio-visual recordings for deep analysis. In one particular session, students explored motifs of caves and snow, in the acclaimed graphic novel Blankets by Craig Thompson, in order to understand his use of allusions to Plato’s allegory of the cave and offer interpretations of particular instances of these motifs. Laptop cameras and a simple programme called Skitch, enabled students to annotate and edit screenshots of the novel. Instead of putting ideas on paper and referring to the images from the novel, or perhaps using photocopies, students could annotate directly onto the screenshots.

They could also place disparate parts of the text next to each other on the same slide to draw out recurring tropes,

juxtaposing their use at different key moments of the narrative. This was then consolidated by students recording an oral commentary over the top of the visual presentation. The narration supported their oral presentation skills, which were being assessed separately at the end of the unit. Please refer to eDunia for some examples of student work in this class.

Technology connects UWCSEA students to Australia

By Jeff Plaman, Digital Literacy Coach As an international school, we are always keen to take opportunities to explore the perspective of students in other parts of the world. Grade 7 Humanities students in Mr. Beasley and Mr. Starzynski’s classes recently participated in a live Skype video chat with students from Mt Scopus College in Melbourne. The Australian students have been reaching out via Twitter, looking for partner schools around the globe who would be willing to answer their questions about life and culture in other parts of the world.

UWCSEA students were able to explain what life was like for them in Singapore. The Australian students were particularly interested in the social

status of domestic workers that live with many of our UWCSEA families, as this is not common for them. They were also keen to hear about the many foreign workers in Singapore and how this diversity makes Singapore unique.

“I thought doing a Skype session with an international school in Singapore was very interesting because they were close to our age, and they were able to answer all the questions we asked them. I loved it,” said Oliver from Melbourne. Our students capitalised on the opportunity as well, to get the insider’s perspective on Judaism, as part of their studies on the Middle East.

Being able to connect with other schools using live video chat makes the conversation more ‘real’ and engaging

because you can hear the accents and see the expressions and surroundings of the classroom. We are already thinking of more opportunities to add global perspectives to our lessons using Skype to connect students.

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Primary School

Bali Bridges

By Anu Singh, parent

Bali Bridges is probably one of the best-known Global Concerns at UWCSEA. Currently celebrating its fifth anniversary, it was set up as a College initiative to partner with the Widyah Asih Foundation in Bali. The group cares for a large number of orphans, with centres dotted around Bali.

I was fortunate to meet with one of Bali Bridge’s Founders, Craig Coutts, Principal of East Campus Primary School. Craig explained some of the projects that UWCSEA staff and students undertake in Bali, and highlighted the importance of the project to the College. Far from it being a one-sided experience, the benefits are mutual, if not tilted in favour of the College.

A key experience for UWCSEA families is the opportunity to travel to Bali, and working at the orphanages. A recent trip saw teachers and their families working to create murals that covered the walls of two buildings. When asked why murals, Craig explained that the murals had a visible impact on the children’s psyches, both with respect to their surroundings and their faith in the commitment of the UWCSEA volunteers. A similar trip over the Easter break for Grade 4 students, accompanied by a parent, also has them visiting one of the orphanages. Such trips act as great bonding experiences, and hopefully leave our children with a greater appreciation of how fortunate they are to have parents—even hopelessly out of date or otherwise embarrassing ones!

Subsequent to the October Bali trip is the biennial visit of some of the orphans to Singapore. The children are instructed in Balinese fine arts, such as the gamelan, and are invited to perform at numerous venues in Singapore. Craig described the learning these children go through on these trips—from taking

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their first plane ride to being in a high-rise building for the first time.

These children, when visited later in Bali, are clearly leaders in their community, and have had their horizons broadened in a way many of us cannot begin to imagine.

However, the College community also learns so much from these children that it is no wonder that Bali Bridges has captured the hearts of many students and parents. As Craig puts it, “Community spirit is natural to these children, and is not an ethos that is imposed from above.” He relates how much and how well these children look after each other.

We wish Bali Bridges a very happy fifth anniversary, and are confident that the partnership will continue to flourish, and be beloved of more UWCSEA community members. None of this would have been possible without the support from the College, and Craig notes that it is this generosity of spirit that has made all the good work done over the past five years possible.

For more on Bali Bridges, see eDunia at www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia

Building friendships on the Bali Bridges trip

By Denise Parker, Grade 1 teacher We arrived at the orphanage in Bali and were welcomed with a line of smiling faces and proper greetings. Somehow, with just a shake of a hand or maybe it was a glance into each other’s eyes followed by a mischievous grin, a connection was made and the two boys had instantly decided they’d make a good team. A friendship was formed.

No words were necessary. One of them runs, and the other follows, both smile and laugh. Sometimes they had a ball to kick, a toy to play with, or bubbles to blow, but most of the time that was not even necessary. “Just spending time with my new friend,” was all I heard.

Later in the day, a walk around the village, along narrow roads lined with banana and mango trees, was a treat for all. The new friends stuck close together and made the walk more of a game than a stroll, as little boys do.

They pointed out the different fruit and every once in a while, picked a nice juicy mango to nibble on while walking. They would sprint ahead or drop way behind, sometimes even walking sideways or in circles. When the pleasant drizzle turned into a proper rainstorm, the boys

kept going, not really bothered by the wet—just a quick pause to collect the largest banana leaf they could find and then gather up a group of more friends to huddle underneath.

As the week went on, more friendships grew. The Balinese kids and their teachers shared the music of the gamelan—showing us how to concentrate on using the hammer on the correct bars while at the same time silencing the notes that had already passed. We were treated to a concert with the boys creating the music and the girls dancing. The music followed us into the dining area, where each meal began with a song, with nothing more than rhythmic clapping to accompany the children’s voices.

easiest, most obvious moves, but rather strategic ones. It wasn’t so much a competition, but a group effort to keep the game going as long as possible.

It made me wonder if this was a reflection of how the children looked after each other in their everyday life.

But when the inevitable final piece caused the tower to crash, it was always accompanied by a chorus of “ahhhs” and a good laugh.

The goodbyes were difficult as is always the case. It took a long time to hug everyone, causing a human traffic jam on the way to the bus. But the little boys were lifted up and carried on the shoulders of the bigger boys, all the way to the door of the bus where we waved to each other until we drove out of sight.

There was a lot of time and hard work put into painting the murals on the walls outside the bedrooms. But before the children headed off in different directions to do their chores, there was time to play. We were always invited to join in the games—from badminton to beading—but some of us found the Jenga game the most interesting.

The players were thoughtful before making their moves, not taking the

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UN Day celebrations UN Day is an opportunity for the College community to celebrate our cultural diversity. Taking place over several days and in different ways throughout each campus, UN Day gives students the opportunity to learn more about each other’s culture through music and dance performances and international food fairs. From a parade of nations and singing in the Infant School to a full evening performance organised and choreographed by students in the High School, UN Day is an outpouring of energy and enthusiasm. Above all, it is a reminder that our diversity is one of the things that binds our community together.

Chris Fensom, Infant School Principal (Dover), had this to say about the celebration in November this year. “The Infant UN Day celebrations began with classroom-based activities, which saw parents and children working

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together to produce diverse creative products such as a Loy Krathong from Thailand and a psychedelic peace rock.

Participating in traditional folk dances was an option in the music room and the Grade 1 students and their parents also had the opportunity to take part in some collaborative games.

The event was a great success thanks to the support and hard work of parents, teachers, teacher assistants; Infant music specialist Susanne Khalek; the Facilities team led by Sebastian; Joseph and Alfred the photographers; and, last but by no means least, technical assistants Nicholas and Anuar.

The culmination of the morning was a parade of nations and a grand finale of songs from the massed voices of all 290 Infant students. It was particularly lovely to hear so many languages spoken by the children during the class

introductions and when they were singing the songs. I left the hall with Sasa Sayang going round and round in my head.�

For more perspectives on UN Night, including videos of the performances, see eDunia at www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia

Photos by Chris Fensom

Colours of Cambodia

By Marla, Grade 5 student

Day 2

An exchange trip for students and their parents, the Colours of Cambodia visits each of the East Campus linked NGOs in Cambodia that are supported via the Global Concerns programme. The week sees the students and their parents visiting children who work on the dumps in Phnom Penh, enjoying workshops with the physically disabled students at Epic Arts and building houses in the Cambodia province of Kep.

We arrived at BSDA where we dropped off boxes and then continued our short journey to a small village.

It is an unforgettable experience.

The following are some excerpts from Grade 5 student Marla’s diary.

I found this village the most emotional because we saw children with no clothing and barely enough food a day.

Every family (about seven members) lived in a teensy tiny wooden or leaf house. Mrs. Margot told me that we support those children and families.

I started playing a clapping game with the little boys and girls. After a short while we went back to BSDA which is a Buddhist Centre who set up a school, IT labs and arts centre which UWCSEA sponsors.

Day 3 We watched the graduation of the deaf and dumb students at Epic Arts who were found on the streets … they have studied really hard to learn how to use sign language and to communicate with

each other. I was crying when I saw all the handicapped little children being carried in or being in a wheelchair and wheeled into the hall, and that’s when I told my mom I am definitely coming back next year!

Day 5 The parents went house building while we had lots of fun with the Epic Arts students. Even though today was a bit more tiring than the day before, we still did lots of fun games. We split up into three groups mixed with deaf and dumb graduated students, handicapped students and ourselves. Our task was to make up a show in our group out of sign language and soft movement, maybe mime and jumping.

Read Marla’s full account of her experience in Cambodia by viewing eDunia at: www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia

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“My favourite part was kayaking because Chris did a few eskimo rolls and then failed on his last one, and that was pretty funny.” – Shubh

Middle School

Challenges and community building in Tioman “I really enjoyed the Tioman trip because it had a range of new activities such as sailing, snorkeling and canoeing.

My favourite activity was sailing …

What was really cool about sailing was the fact that we had one of the biggest winds Tioman has experienced in a few years so the sails really caught the wind and sped along. At first, I was very bad and couldn’t control the rudder, but after about half an hour I managed to keep control of the boat and keep in sync when the wind changed direction. It was really hilarious when we capsized the boat because it was so hard to get back up, and when Aidan and I managed to get the boat the right way up it would start moving, meaning we had to chase it.” – Lucas

Another very successful and enjoyable season of Grade 6 Tioman expeditions for 2011, with both students and staff enjoying a wide variety of fun and challenging outdoor activities.

“Tioman was an amazing experience and it taught you a lot of life skills. The best part of the Tioman experience was jetty jumping. The best skill I learnt was how to sail.” – Sohil

challenge and the coolness of the wet weather, and appreciating the sun when it came back out. Larger swells signaling the approaching monsoon hit the beach during the final weeks leading to some exciting sessions playing in the surf.

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The waterfall walk went particularly well this year with the introduction of rock based activities in the dry riverbed.

This would finish with a swim and an occasional ‘bit of fishing’ in the waterfall pool. The students thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of scrambling up and over and in between the large boulders, supporting one another in the process.

The weather played an important role this year with far more rain than usual. It didn’t dampen the spirits. Both students and staff ploughed on through activities, relishing the additional

“I think the trip was very successful because there were good activities and they were very thought out. I especially loved the sailing because I have been sailing for many years. I also liked the turtle hatchery because I got to make the food for the turtles. I was called the Turtle caterer!” – Hugo The Juara Turtle project has seen a lot of development over the last year. There are many new interactive information boards around the site and the garden is maturing nicely. There was a nice ‘buzz’ about the place with many volunteers staying and working at the project. All of these developments in turn benefitted this year’s Grade 6 students in providing them with an even more interesting and engaging visit.

“My favourite part of the trip was snorkeling because I overcame my fear of deep water. I saw lots of fish and coral and I also saw a sea cucumber and a sea star. I also liked sailing because it was so much fun and I actually liked falling into the water.” – Elliot

JUMP! Building community on East Campus It is never enough to open a building.

The real work begins with the building of community. This year, half of the Middle School and all of the High School students on East Campus were new to UWCSEA. In the third week of school, they all participated in JUMP! Community Enrichment Programme, a series of activities aimed at bringing students and staff together to help them to understand what it means to be an effective community. The day before the programme began, High School students from East and Dover campuses were given several hours of training by JUMP! trainers, so that they could facilitate sessions for other students over the following days. At the end of the programme, trainer Jacqueline Aldrovandi remarked “The caliber of facilitation of the High

School junior facilitators was beyond impressive; the dedication and interest they showed in their tasks set a wonderful example for their peers.”

The day’s activities included a session on trust, a session on personal discovery and a session on community building. By the end of the sessions, students had learned more about themselves and about each other.

One of the Grade 7 students said “I believe that many valuable skills were learned that will help us become strong, cooperative leaders, people that can make an impact,” while another said “I learnt what it is like to be part of a community who cares and looks out for each other, how important trust is, and how everyone is unique and valuable.

I can now use these experiences and incorporate them into other situations.”

Our students on East Campus will continue to learn these lessons as they grow together into an even more vibrant and united community.

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High School

Colourful UN Night

By Aditya Krishnan, Grade 9 student On Thursday, 13 October, the UWCSEA community was prepared to enjoy the cultural diversity presented by students in United Nations Night on Dover. A major part of UN night was the UN show; a group of performances presented by students representing many countries.

The shows were fantastic, and a great memory for everyone who watched them, but the real highlight of UN Night was what was going on outside the Main Hall. All over the rest of the campus, there were celebrations; celebrations to rejoice the coming together of all the cultures, in one place.

Stalls selling GC merchandise helping charities around the world mingled with stalls from many countries selling indigenous food. Although I had been watching the stalls set up over the preceding few days, the overall impact when I saw the completely set up stands was made by the colour.

Understanding that light travels faster

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than everything else, I was still shocked at the colours—broadcast through the various goods, traditional tools, flags and best of all: the food.

not only does it give you the product of generations of experience, it also gives insight into the history and the culture of the place.

The second most outstanding sense I processed—and being a hungry teenage boy, appreciated—were the fantastic fragrances. The smell of all the varied food blended together (literally) to form the true scent of internationalism. You would be surprised how much one can learn about a country just by the food;

UN Night was a fantastic experience for me, as I’m sure it was for everyone who was there, and I look forward to being a part of more in the future.

For more perspectives on UN Night, plus a video of the performances, see eDunia at: www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia

Instilling service on the East Campus

By Kathleen Guan, Grade 10 student Service connects our students to communities outside their own in a very particular way. As part of the introduction of the scope of Service programme to students new to UWCSEA on the East Campus, speakers from NGOs and student Service Leaders from the Dover Campus were invited to speak to, challenge, stimulate and inspire our students. By the end of the day, all students had a clearer understanding of why Service is emphasised at UWCSEA and how they can turn their ideals into action.

– Anthony Skillicorn

“Life’s most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

Martin Luther King, Jr. I remember being absolutely overwhelmed during the welcome assembly as the Vice Principal spoke

of the five elements of an UWCSEA education: Service, Outdoor Education, Academics, Pastoral and Activities.

Already struggling to be academically on top of everything and balance my social life, now so many other things were being thrown at me. My usual confident self suddenly felt a wave of fear and anxiety.

Whether it was due to my lack of experience, or simply the idea of unintentionally disappointing others, I didn’t truly understand what the meaning of service was until Service Day on Friday, 2 September. The day started with a presentation by Peter Dalglish, founder of Street Kids International, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping street kids. As I listened, I began to realise just how fortunate we are as not only students of a school like UWCSEA, but as residents in a country as safe as Singapore. As the personal testimony involving people whose lives he touched unfolded,

I realised how many people there are that could succeed if only they were given opportunities. Our second guest speaker was Emily Teng, founder of Blessings in a Bag, a project dedicated to supporting the underprivileged across Asia.

What really spoke to me was that they were busy and successful people and yet they gave up their own time to make a difference in other people’s lives. As my friend and I walked back to our classrooms after the presentation for a tutor group discussion, we spoke of our interest in dedicating a couple of weeks in our summer to go abroad and volunteer together—a conversation which I had never had, or thought of having, ever before.

The rest of Service Day included short sessions and discussion on different services and ways that UWCSEA students can get involved, and a presentation on our green campus. Inspired by the day, every student then wrote dedications and goals for the year ahead.

Hopefully we will be able to remember everything that we absorbed on Service Day and apply it to our own actions.

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Sport kicks off at East Campus It has been wonderful to see the rapid transformation from impressive but empty facilities to a vibrant, busy and often successful, sports programme.

Across the ACSIS league, 24 teams were run in Season 1, starting just one week after everyone walked into school for the first time. Eight weeks later, the first medals were being won—all four Junior School basketball teams medalled in their leagues as did Middle School girls badminton and High School girls Cross Country. However, the real success was that over 350 students played with passion and commitment—ACSIS certainly knows that we have arrived!

– Hugh Richards

Boys High School Football Twenty-one highly enthusiastic boys quickly gelled together to form one of the first competitive teams at the East Campus. They started the ACSIS league with two impresses draws with Nexus International School and UWCSEA Dover. With Captain Calvin Lobo establishing his dominance in the middle of the pitch, the team was shortly celebrating back-to-back wins against the German European School.

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After a few injuries and closely fought games, the boys eventually finished 4th in the ACSIS league, which was great effort.

Congratulations to all the boys for making this a highly enjoyable season— there is no doubt that this team will be back next year looking to improve on their results.

Coaches: Matthew Taylor and Lawrence Lee

High School Girls Volleyball We went from initially having four girls show up to try-outs to having twentytwo committed team members. For many, this was their first time playing in a volleyball team. From ace servers like Hannah He and Maddie Mak, to Alexis DeCampo and Katherine Kuncewicz helping to organise the team on-court, the girls pulled together. One of our season highlights was beating arch rival Tanglin Trust in their gym for our first victory. Through their hard work and dedication, the girls laid the foundation for a strong East volleyball programme for the years to come.

Coaches: Roxanne Walker and Philip Meehan

Trip

Cultural immersion in China This year, UWCSEA Dover’s Chinese Language Department brought a group of students to Cheng Du, the capital of Sichuan Province, otherwise known as the City of Hibiscus. Not only was this my first time on the China trip but also my first time ever in China!

While we were there, we visited many museums and temples such as the Wuhou Memorial Temple in order to learn more about China’s fascinating history. We also explored a wide variety of markets, giving us an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the ways of Cheng Du locals—and also practice our Chinese. Visiting local schools, where we played games and did arts and crafts with the students, also provided us a chance to practise the language.

to Cheng Du

We journeyed to the top of Mt. Emei by cable car where it was a refreshing 4°C at the summit, quite a change from Singapore. We also took a boat to see the mind blowing Giant Buddha statue in Leshan. Although I think almost everyone’s most memorable experience was seeing the pandas at the Panda Breeding and Research Centre.

I enjoyed the China trip immensely, and strongly recommend it to anyone interested in boosting their spoken Chinese. It’s a great trip, big thanks to Yan lao shi, and I can’t wait to go next year!

– Bailey McKittrick, Grade 9 student The Middle School students went to a local primary school for three days.

We got to watch the flag raise, sit in the classes, join in on the morning exercises, make dumplings and even learn some Kung Fu! The students were all very friendly—they waved when we passed in the hallways, gave us many gifts and were eager to exchange email addresses. Despite the fact that I knew little Chinese compared to them, language wasn’t a barrier as they were very patient and helpful. We also had special classes where we got to learn Chinese calligraphy and papermaking, which were both very interesting.

– Lilian Armstrong, Grade 8 student Photos supplied by Pei Yee Loh 17

Community

Black & White Masquerade Ball

By David Kainey, PYP Coordinator The Masquerade Ball on Saturday, 19 November was organised to commemorate the opening of the UWCSEA East Campus.

The Tent Plaza was transformed into a cocktail lounge before guests were ushered by Drama students to the elegantly decorated Main Hall. The attention to detail, in line with the theme of the evening, with “oohs,” “aahs” and “wows” as ball goers entered the ballroom. The ladies were dressed stunningly and the men resplendent— many of them maintaining anonymity behind their creative masks.

Hosted by UWCSEA East parent (and BBC journalist) Rico Hizon, guests were treated to a charming performance of gamelan and dance by our visitors from Bali Bridges and were entertained in the plaza and the Main Hall by ‘10. seconds’ while enjoying a gourmet three course meal.

The event was coordinated by Angela Coutts, with support from Anna Lord, Anna English, Viv Carter, Karen Morgan, Tracy Wegner, Tanya Kennedy, Gill Lulu and Petra Melka. Please take a bow for a job well done!

To the many UWCSEA families and staff that attended the 2011 Masquerade Ball, thank you for contributing to the success of this gala event. What a night!

Holiday Shopping Fair On Saturday, 26 November the Parents’ Association held its Annual Holiday Shopping Fair. Vendors were eager to sign up this year to take advantage of a keen pre-Christmas shopping crowd.

On the day, we had over 55 vendors in the Main Hall, charity vendors and Global Concerns in the Tent Plaza and the always popular Bookaburra Book Sale in the Junior Library to attract the shoppers. The beneficiary of our profits for the event is Initiative for Peace, a GC that focuses on post conflict development. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors Asian Tigers, Expat Living, AAM Advisory, Singapore Fairs 18

and to all who donated their time and efforts for this event, Initiative for Peace can expect around $8,000 to help fund their next conference. Special thanks to parent Grace Swallow for her fantastic work with this event.

SurfAid Ambassador

Jackson English is Head of Grade 2 on the East Campus. He is also a SurfAid International Ambassador. In early November, he travelled to the United States to continue to spread the word of SurfAid International and the work they do before competing in the Island to Island Waterman Relay—a 28 nautical mile paddleboard race between Santa Barbera Island and Catalina Island off the California coastline. While there, he also made time to speak to students at a number of schools about his work with SurfAid and UWCSEA. “To be able to share my stories about surfing and paddling to the students involved in SurfAid’s Schools Programme in California has been great.

Everyone needs to have a passion. I hope that some will develop the passion I have and take some kind of action that raises awareness of the importance of being a global citizen who is willing to help people that really need it.”

Since 2006, the UWCSEA community has raised over $400,000 for SurfAid International to support the people of the Mentawai Islands. Now that the paddling season is over, Jackson and Grade 2 students on the East Campus will continue to raise funds and awareness for SurfAid International. The recent Quicksilver Beach Clean Up was one such event; Jackson’s upcoming 24 Hour Swim in its new home on the East Campus will be another.

Lamdon Music Project update

By Adrian and Lisa Hill UWCSEA Dover has been supporting the Lamdon School in Ladakh for around 18 years. Numerous community members have been involved in supporting the school and its community through projects including the Ladakh GC (now on both campuses), ‘Trees for Travellers,’ Gap Year student placements and annual visits by students on the Upper School Ladakh trip. In addition, UWCSEA has helped them with both building projects and IT programmes as well as supporting dental health initiatives. Lisa Hill describes the Lamdon Music Project: During the summer break, the Hill family—Adrian (Head of Music, Dover), Lisa (Head of Junior Music) and their daughters Charlotte (Grade 6), Georgina (Grade 4) and Jessica (age 4)—travelled to Leh, in Ladakh, India to continue work they started last year in establishing a music programme at Lamdon School.

Dover Campus Music teachers Adrian and Lisa Hill were instrumental (pardon the pun) in establishing a brass band, as well as a recording facility and providing expertise and resources for general classroom music teaching.

This year, two UWCSEA Gap Year students, Ross Robertson and Tim Seeger, added guitar teaching to

the programme and also assisted in establishing the recording studio. They also taught music software to Lamdon School teachers and students.

Despite a difficult year in Ladakh following the floods of August 2010, all but one of the students that began playing brass instruments in July 2010 had continued to play and had made steady progress. The enthusiasm and support for the project from the Lamdon School Principal, Eshey Tundup, has provided the impetus for the students to keep practising.

During this visit, as well as preparing the ‘A’ Band for two performances, the UWCSEA volunteers established a ‘B’ Band comprising of 25 younger secondary-aged students. Much of the work with the ‘B’ Band involved teaching them the basics of brass playing and the essential rudiments of music. This was supplemented by training the ‘A’ Band students in methods of teaching brass to the younger students, with the aim of providing sustainability to the programme.

The ‘A’ Band made great progress and moved from playing largely unison pieces to more challenging pieces of music. The first performance during the visit was a multicultural event given

for the students on the Ladakh trip from UWCSEA Dover. This included traditional Ladakhi dances, solos by Georgina, Ross and Tim and five pieces by the Lamdon School Brass (‘A’ Band).

The second concert, held on the last day of the trip to the Lamdon School, saw the debut performance of the ‘B’ Band who played a number of simple tunes and our favourite beginner band piece (familiar to all UWCSEA Dover Grade 5 students) Rock Bottom. The Lamdon School Brass also played the new repertoire developed during the visit, which included Brass Tango and an arrangement of the Indian National Anthem by Adrian.

To get the project off the ground, the UWCSEA Music Department, UWCSEA Global Concerns and the Hill family have donated the majority of the musical equipment. We hope that the Lamdon Music Project will continue to develop and are keen to hear from any members of our school community who would like to contribute, either by visiting Ladakh to offer their musical expertise to the students at Lamdon School or by donations of equipment or financial support.

Please refer to eDunia for video of students performing.

19

Selamat malam dan apa kabar semuanya.

Good evening and how are you?

Scholars are a very important part of our College community. The following speech was given by our scholar from Aceh at the Black & White Ball on East Campus, describing what being a scholar at UWCSEA means to him.

I would like to introduce myself.

My name is Kirkha Kaharsyah, I’m a UWCSEA scholar from Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Right now I’m incredibly nervous. This is the first time I have ever spoken to such a large group of adults. It is also the first time that I’m wearing a suit. My heart is pounding so fast, I’m sweating but I’m very excited to be here.

I’m from a small village called Gampong Pande. Gampong Pande in English means smart village. Although I don’t live in my village of Gampong Pande anymore, I feel that UWCSEA is one big gampong pande which has helped me feel right at home.

For me be able to study at UWCSEA is a dream come true. Before coming to here, I always dreamt that someday I could study overseas. Last March, I was given the amazing news that I will become a UWC scholar. I could not believe it. I never thought I would be lucky enough to get a scholarship because I have many friends who also wanted to be scholars that smarter than me. Their English is better than mine and their grades were always amazing. That is why being chosen to come here over all the others is such an honour. I knew that by coming here, I would be able to find out about myself, explore the world, making friends with people from other countries and be a successful person into the future.

When I got the scholarship I was so grateful. My parents put big hopes into to me, so that I will become a successful person into future. I don’t want to let them down. Now that I’m at UWCSEA I don’t want to let my new family down, and most importantly I don’t want to let myself down.

When I finish with my study, I want to go home and make a change. Since 2004, after the tsunami hit Aceh, many people lost their families and homes.

I lost my Grandma, Uncle and many, many friends. The city and our lives were destroyed.

After tsunami, many things changed.

People began behaving differently. Their values of started to fade away. This is very sad. With everything that I will get from my study at UWCSEA, I want to make Aceh the place I remember as a young child. Being at UWCSEA and learning what it is like to be a global citizen who can help others.

I look forward to making that change to the people and the country I love.

Assalamualaikum, Thank you and good night.

Lion costume donated by Bali Bridges Foundation

Dunia is published by UWC South East Asia.

Reproduction in any manner in English or any other language is prohibited without written consent.

Please send feedback to dunia@uwcsea.edu.sg Editors: Sinead Collins and Kate Woodford Design: Gregory Parker 053COM-1112

Printed on 100% recycled paper with environmentally friendly inks.

UWCSEA Dover is registered by the CPE. CPE Registration No. 197000825H CPE Registration Period 18 July 2011–17 July 2017 Charity Registration No. 00142 UWCSEA East is registered by the CPE. CPE Registration No. 200801795N CPE Registration Period 10 March 2011–9 March 2017 Charity Registration No. 002104