Hahnian Connections
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earth world Dunia universe MICA (P) 169/03/2009 December 2009 Hahnian Connections Round Square is a world- wide association of more than 70 schools on five continents sharing a com- mitment to the educa- tional principles of Dr Kurt Hahn. Their fundamental objective is the full individual develop- ment of each student beyond academic excellence, to personal development and responsibility. It also embraces the im- portance of service to others, adventure and leadership training, responsibility and international understanding, within the supportive school community. All these are essential in preparing young people to meet the challenges of the future with The theme of the conference was based (From left to right) Duncan Young, Aliya Khan, upon an Indian mantra: ‘Lead me from Shaan Varia, Monica Sharma, Maharaja K.R. Rai confidence and compassion. Rajpal Singh, Jose Luis Gallegos, Silpa Reddy, Enzo the darkness of ignorance to the light of Vasquez Toral and Daniel O"Connor. Membership offers the opportunity for knowledge’. Many of the keynote speak- collaboration between schools in regional ers, who ranged from social activists conferences, student exchanges, scholar- to politicians to motivational speakers, ships and Gap Year programmes and, addressed a need for empowerment, importantly, international service projects. particularly in line with democracy and “The first thing that comes to mind when I The service projects follow Hahn’s belief leadership (two of the Round Square think of the Round Square Conference is that bringing young people from differ- IDEALS). In particular, Democracy was the immense diversity in the people I met, ent backgrounds and cultures together in a heated topic of debate, with many and no matter the differences, I was al- service work is a valuable step towards speakers voicing differing opinions on the ways able to outweigh those differences international understanding. Round process of India’s democratisation. with similarities” Square schools are also committed to working closely with “Partner Schools” Delegates often broke up into 32 smaller Shaan Varia (10NCo) that are economically disadvantaged. discussion groups, named ‘Barazas’, a Swahili word for meeting or forum, where “The Round Square Conference, through This year’s international Round Square much debate took place, giving partici- close contact with the impassioned Conference took place during the Octo- pants a forum to voice opinions on issues speakers such as Aruna Roy and Mallika ber break and was co-hosted by Mayo raised. Sarabha, their messages made me College and Mayo College Girls’ School, feel empowered. It is this unparalleled in Rajasthan, India. The conference was The conference served to diffuse a politi- sensation from which I have derived a attended by 650 delegates from over 70 cal conscience among the students and compulsion to one day instill the same schools in 28 different countries across allowed them to engage with others of feeling in other human beings” six continents. UWCSEA’s delegation various backgrounds and principles over Daniel O’Connor (12HSa) included eight High School students. pressing social issues, with a centralized focus on India’s existing problems. Music Junior School SEALinks Pages 4-5 Pages 26-29 Page 37 Drama Middle School Alumni Pages 9-10 Pages 30-31 Pages 38-39 Sports High School The Calendar Pages 14-21 Pages 32-35 Page 40 Content Infant School Parents Association Pages 22-25 Page 36 UNITED WORLD COLLEGES Dunia, December 2009 2 Letter from the head Round Square Gap Year Programme After spending time with Spanish teach- ers, witnessing their dedication, we came close to understanding what teaching a language is like; and the effort and patience teachers put forth to teach a lan- guage to children living in a non-Spanish speaking society. María and Benjamín The philosophy of Round Square is en- capsulated in the acronym, IDEALS: In- ternationalism, Democracy, Environment, As part of the Round Square organiza- Adventure, Leadership and Service. tion, several schools worldwide offer Gap Year programmes of varying lengths. Given the close alignment of the UWC Many students take this opportunity to and Round Square philosophies, it gain experience of a new culture and or only seemed natural for the College to a new language. The work involved de- become a member of the Round Square. pends on the school, but this may range Since joining three years ago, students from being a teacher assistant, assist- from Grade 7 upwards have attended ing in boarding house duties, providing both international and regional confer- individual support to students, working in ences and been on exchange visits to outdoor adventure programmes and in other Round Square schools. We have service projects. hosted a regional conference at the Muchas Gracias, Chicos! College and another is scheduled for Thank you very much María and Ben and Maria are our first incoming Gap next June. In addition, the two Gap Year Year students. They both completed their Benjamín! students who are helping with Spanish at IB Diploma last year at Colegio Anglo different levels within the College come Colombiano in Bogota, Colombia. After It was a pleasure to have a couple of from a Round Square school in Colombia this GAP experience, Ben plans to study extra hands to help us organize our - opportunities exist for our students to be at Boston University, USA and Maria will involved in a similar way in other Round Spanish classes, especially at the return to Colombia to study medicine at Square schools. beginning of the school year when Los Andes University. there is so much to do to get started. Looking to the future, like the UWC I am very sure both the children and As a reciprocal exchange programme, movement, the Round Square has plans us, teachers, will miss the “Latin Colegio Anglo Colombiano have extend- to expand its membership to include ed an invitation to our students to go on Blood” in our future lessons. We regions of the world in which it is under- a GAP programme at their school which hope you have found the experience represented, including large parts of teaches both in English and Spanish. useful and we wish you the best in Asia. Allied to this expansion to include your future careers. schools that share a similar philosophy is Working with the Spanish Department as an aspiration to develop ‘partner schools’. Good Luck! teacher assistants in the Junior School of Current members of the Round Square UWCSEA has been an astounding expe- Susana and Gloria are being encouraged to develop relation- rience in a variety of ways. We were able ships with schools from disadvantaged to view the learning process and perceive communities and support them in their how it takes place in a classroom, in ad- development and programmes, an area dition to learning about child psychology we are considering. They also intend to and the crucial components of teaching. extend the membership so that Junior School students can become involved, a Upon arrival, the high number of kids who move we wholeheartedly support. are learning Spanish was flabbergasting. Dunia is published by United World College of South East Asia. Reproduction in any manner Considering it’s not widely spoken in the Julian Whiteley in English or any other language is prohibited region and that minimal practice is avail- without written consent. Please send feedback able, the number of students surpassed to our expectations. We were impressed [email protected] by their willingness to learn and the love Editor Joy Stevenson Sub Editor they had towards learning a different Kate Woodford Layout Lenca Yew language. www.uwcsea.edu.sg Dunia, December 2009 3 Dover UN Food Festival - not just for Primary School “The best day of the year!” ….” It shows our true com- munity spirit”... These were comments made during our ninth Primary School Food Festival which was held in November. It has become an event that the whole community looks forward to, which was made clear as I stood at the door trying the hold back the wave of senior students who had raced from their lessons to make sure they did not miss out on the wonderful food that was on offer. This event only happens because of the goodwill and generosity of over 300 parents who come from all parts of the College. We also have a number of parents whose children have long since left the Primary School but they are still supporting this event. As well as the parent coordinators and helpers, there is also a large team of UWCSEA administra- tive and support staff who ensure that everything runs smoothly. In particular Margaret, assisted by Hani and Lousia, Sebastian and his estates team and Rafi’ee and his electricians, Boon Chye and Alan. A total of $3,612 was collected from staff and non-Pri- mary School students and this will be shared equally amongst the Primary School Global Concerns. Chris Fensom Photos by Joseph Tan and Chris Fensom UWCSEA hosts TeachIT 2009 On Saturday, 21 November UWCSEA Dover hosted over 300 teachers from 11 different international schools in Singapore for the biennial TeachIT training day. During the day the teachers attended over 60 workshops dedicated to improving their IT skills to support teaching and learning. Over 40 presenters, the majority teachers themselves, provided the sessions on a diverse range of topics. (Far right) Wendy Liao demonstrating use of iPods in the classroom. (Near right) Wayne Burnett (GESS) conducting a session on virtual Lego. Dunia, December 2009 4 November proved to be a busy month for our musicians.November Music he Chamber Concert in early Novem- (bass guitar). As followers of UWCSEA’s Tber featured many truly magnificent Jazz Band have come to expect, the performances.