Connecting Penrhos to the wider world

Connecting Penrhos to the wider world

Paul McCarthy - Director of Operations and Co-Curricular

It seems the world we are now living in is beyond anything we could have imagined! Humans are social beings, nature intended us to be part of a community - but the COVID-19 pandemic has required us to reinvent the way we connect with one other. In these times of global instability and fragility, it’s crucial we confront these challenges together.

Take one of the Round Square IDEALS:

This IDEAL aims to support students in seeking out, discovering and embracing similarities and differences between cultures and nationalities, in ways that promote meaningful and lasting understanding and respect.

Over the last two years, whilst our state borders were closed, cutting off physical connections beyond small local groups, Penrhosians found ways to turn separation into strength. We have extended the reach of our College community across the globe via a range of national and international collaboration initiatives through the International Round Square Schools Network.

Students can participate in any of the opportunities that spark their interest, whilst connecting with eager, likeminded peers around the world. By embracing rapidly advancing technologies across varied time-zones, we are positively crushing the notion that learning only happens during daylight hours, inside the four walls of a classroom!

Some of the schools and bodies working together across the last two years include:

Renaissance International School – Saigon, Vietnam

Calgary French and International School – Canada

Chadwick School – Los Angeles, USA

St Philip’s College – Alice Springs, Australia

Round Square Wellbeing Collaboration – Canada

Round Square Environmental Conference – Canada

Our 2021 College Captain, Goly Tarom was recently a guest panellist amongst other female student leaders at the Rodean School Girls’ Leadership Summit in South Africa, where she spoke on the ‘leadership challenges of our time.’ This virtual event was a prime example of how easy it is to connect with likeminded youth and engage with different cultures and perspectives across the globe.

Our Year 10 and 11 students connected with Belgrano Day School in Argentina, engaging in exciting conversation around the topic of Artificial Intelligence; and some of our bright Year 5 and 6 students virtually joined forces with their counterparts at Newcastle Grammar School to discuss Our Responsible Legacy i.e. how we can make practical changes towards a better future for our planet.

Even when our face-to-face collaborations are once again possible, we will continue to grow international opportunities like these as regular offerings within our Round Square proposition.

Troubling times can sometimes lead us to fall into disconnect – but, as a community, we have turned recent unprecedented challenges into chances for us to learn, grow and further develop our international networks. Being unable to buy a ticket to fly abroad hasn’t hindered our opportunities – instead, it has prompted us to think more laterally, to broaden our horizons and to find ways to keep forging our global trails across new creative platforms.

"There is more to us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less."

Kurt Hahn, German Philosopher, Educator and Round Square Founder.