Round Square

JULIE WATTS

Prep Round Square Coordinator

“The happiest people are not the ones who have the most, but the ones who are most happy with what they have got…”

HUGO MAYSON – CAPTAIN OF ROUND SQUARE, AND JAKE SCOTT – CHAIRPERSON OF PREP ROUND SQUARE

The winner of the Year 6 Public Speaking Competition finished his speech with this quote and it keeps ringing in my head. It is easy to become complacent about what we have in our lives, both our material wealth and our emotional and physical wellbeing. For those of us fortunate enough to have enough food and shelter, lucky enough to live in a country without war and persecution we can lose touch with the everyday challenges of others. A trip to Cambodia is the quickest way to remind ourselves of all that we have and help us gain perspective. Over the 2014 Christmas holidays, Paula Henry (Year 7/Senior School Round Square) and I visited Cambodia again and spent a week at the main organisation we support, Feeding Dreams. Australian Kerry Huntley, the founder of Feeding Dreams, was excited to have just moved into their new site while we were visiting. They had just completed building classrooms and we were happy to be able to supply funding to build our own TSS classroom, and supply all the classrooms with teachers’ desks and fans. We moved our classroom from the old site and it became ‘the stand’ for the football field. The football field was actually just a mud pit when we were there, so we arranged for loads of fill to help with the drainage issues. We didn’t have the money to lay the turf to turn it into a real football field so we set that as a priority.

During our annual ‘Crazy Hat Day’, a fundraiser for Epilepsy Queensland, in memory of our beloved Father Phil, we had a visit from Dr Soheil Abedian, founder of the Sunland Group. Mr Abedian was at the Prep School to talk to Year Six and share his story as a migrant to Australia. While he was there he noticed all the colourful and creative hats and asked a Year Six student what it was all about. The student he asked was Jake Scott, Chairperson of Prep Round Square, so Jake filled him in about what Round Square is and what we have achieved in Cambodia. When Mr Abedian heard about the unfinished playing field he offered the $5,000 to get it completed. Fantastic!

This year we ran a new initiative we called “Charity of Your Choice”. We asked every class to come up with a charity they would like to donate $500 to and then present their charity at

a Round Square meeting. The committee voted, and this year we chose 4P’s, SAHA – Save a Horse Australia, an organisation that tries to rehouse horses that were headed for the abattoir. This is a fantastic organisation that gets horses back into good health and then finds foster families for them.

Woolworths Earn and Learn was a success again this year and we will select resources that are suitable for Feeding Dreams.

The Year 6 Round Square boys did a fantastic job this year, teaching the class they were responsible for about Cambodia and inspiring the younger boys to help. A special thanks to Jordan Yoo, who made many iMovies to teach the classes about what we do in Cambodia. Thank you too, to Sharon Joss and Fergus Trevethan for taking a group of boys to the Regional Round Square Conference, hosted by Scotch Oakburn, in Tasmania. A great time was had by all, and the group came back inspired to take Prep Round Square in new directions in 2016.

Finally, once again, a huge thank you to the Prep community for your enormous support, and for the changes that you make possible in the lives of so many in Cambodia. Many of you give so much and ask for no recognition or acknowledgement. You know who you are, and from the bottom of her heart, Kerry, from Feeding Dreams, and her Cambodian staff and students thank you. You have given them a chance at a better life.

PAULA HENRY

Senior Round Square Coordinator

One in … all in

This year began with zest and enthusiasm under the leadership of Hugo Mayson. Hugo had been a student delegate on the 2014 Round Square International Conference in India, and he returned with a clear five-year vision to instil new life and enthusiasm for all things Round Square, and to achieve long-term tangible goals.

The first goal for 2015 was to rebrand our free dress days and this culminated in our current “TWO DOLLAR TUESDAYS”. Our first $2 Tuesday was in Term One, with the goal being to raise awareness of Prostate Cancer. “Prostate cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia in 2011. It is estimated that it will remain the most commonly diagnosed cancer in 2015.” (Cancer Australia 2015.) Students were encouraged to wear blue and we had our traditional sausage sizzle. Our much loved sausage sizzles, which are an integral part of our free dress days, are always well supported. A huge thank you must be given to Ms Dee Williams for her continued organisation of these sausage sizzles.

The annual Clean Up Australia Day was held early in March and students from both Prep and Senior Campuses gave up their time to rid The Spit of rubbish. The involvement of Prep boys was part of this year’s plan to foster stronger connections with our Round Square counterparts in the Prep School. Prep Round Square Coordinator Ms Julie Watts enabled this plan by accompanying the Prep Round Square Executive to each and every one of our meetings this year, where they gave a report on their own activities. The Prep boys’ involvement gave added meaning to our School motto: We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.

Term Two’s goal was to fundraise for Rosies Friends on the Street with a $2 Tuesday Wear Red day to be held in mid-May. However, two natural disasters occurred prior to this date and extra fundraisers were quickly put into action to assist those affected by Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu, and the people of Nepal following a devastating earthquake. Donations were collected for the Vanuatu relief, and in keeping with the $2 Dollar Tuesday theme, Round Square had a $5 Dollar Friday for the Nepal appeal. The Rosies Friends on the Street fundraiser, which was instigated by Ms Robyn Gibson, raised funds for people who are marginalised within our community – especially people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Shave for a Cure broke the mould this year, with Senior students not only offering to shave their heads to a number two, but also offering to wax their chests. Special thanks to Mr Phil Ward for shaving his mighty moustache, the beauticians from Calmer Therapies for their expert waxing, and Ms Kylie McAuley and Ms Kelly Baker for shaving heads. Shave for a Cure held

special significance this year with two staff members having being diagnosed with cancer at the start of 2015. Mr Virgoe Buckland (Atkinson Housemaster) took the cause on board and Atkinson House really rose to the occasion. Of the money raised, Atkinson House raised more than half. A hairless Mr Buckland presented our donation to the Leukaemia Foundation, and also gave a heartfelt speech on Assembly about the importance of helping those around us.

Term Three’s goal was to raise funds for the Centre for Children’s Happiness in Phnom Penh, through the Care for Cambodia fundraiser. This year our School organised a pre-conference tour to Cambodia prior to the Round Square International Conference in Singapore. Student delegates Callum Grimes, Lachlan Myatt, Jacob Paulson, Joel Gray, Michael Scaysbrook and Jack Scaysbrook travelled to Cambodia in September, where they were able to see at a grass roots level what a real difference we can make by giving. In Cambodia they taught English to children at Feeding Dreams. Feeding Dreams is a charity that has been supported by Prep Round Square for a number of years. Our Senior boys were able to teach in a classroom sponsored by our School, teach alongside a Khmer teacher sponsored by our School, play soccer on a soccer field sponsored by our School and even see a grandstand named after our School. Feeding Dreams has also named one of their soccer teams after our School!

“Rewarding and inspiring doesn’t even begin to explain the week I spent in Cambodia. The smiles on the children’s faces were priceless, and no matter how many times I say it, you will never fully understand until you see, hear and talk in person to these uplifting souls. They live their lives from a totally different perspective and it really emphasises the fortune we have to live in Australia, and all the things we take for granted such as food, shelter and education.” (Callum Grimes)

The end of 2015 crept up suddenly and the decision was made to make our final $2 Tuesday a fundraiser for Breast Cancer. Boys were asked to wear pink and this was an appropriate bookend to the beginning of the year, where they wore blue. We have concluded with a final fundraiser to donate goods and gifts to Anglicare Australia for their annual Christmas Appeal.

Mr Stephen Eardley organised a number of exchanges this year with Gus Connolly going to Glenalmond College, Scotland and Hugh Green travelling to Collingwood School, Canada. In return, we welcomed: Alec Coleman from Collingwood School, Canada; Robert Leader from Glenalmond, Scotland; and Tanmay Nautiyal from Doon School, India. Two exchanges for 2016 have already been confirmed; two of our students will be travelling to Canada and India.

Under Hugo’s dynamic leadership, and increased student involvement, Round Square has achieved more than planned this year, epitomising the Round Square motto…‘There’s more in you than you think’. Sincere gratitude must be given to Deputy Headmaster Mr Alan Parsons for his expert guidance. Without his stewardship much of what Round Square has achieved this year would not have been possible. In analogous terms, Hugo steered our Round Square “ship”, but Mr Parsons was the rudder.

There is a climate of change for Round Square in 2016, with an Executive Committee being elected, ensuring shared leadership by a democratically elected group.

We look forward to Phase Two of the Five Year Plan, and are confident that under the shared leadership of Callum Grimes, Lachlan Myatt and Joel Gray (student delegates at the 2015 Round Square International Conference) that Round Square can continue to underpin all that we do: Together we are one.