Dunia Term 1 2014/2015

December 2014

The Aceh Project UN Night and CultuRama Grade 12 and Grade 5 collaboration

Living the mission on a grand scale

By Chris Edwards Head of College UWC South East Asia “How many?”

It was as if all my friends had gone deaf.

At first, I would give my answer to that incredulous “How many?” sheepishly.

After all, you can’t possibly get to know all the staff, let alone the students in a school that size, and how can such a state of affairs possibly be a good thing? But now, as my first term at UWCSEA hurtles towards completion, I answer the “How many?” question with the quiet assuredness of Clint Eastwood. Not only do I look deep into people’s eyes when I tell them the UWCSEA enrollment, but I’m also perfecting a “You gotta problem with that?” stare to prevent further silliness about big schools being impersonal or unmanageable.

How wonderful, how worthy of celebration, how vital that we have so many students, so many staff, so many parents living and promoting the UWC mission in the heart of the world’s most dynamic region. UWCSEA is crackling and fizzing with the movement’s values, and just as Singapore and East Asia rush into the future with outstretched, welcoming arms, so we must go forward with our scale, location and passion helping to further 2

those values that brought most of us to UWCSEA in the first place. I’ll admit it’s not all fun and laughter amid the bright lights: how I sometimes envy the castle or cliff-top retreat of other UWC’s— especially when the traffic prevents me from getting from one campus to another in good time—but for every small wave of urban frustration there is a crashing sea of positive action, altruism and compassion that makes every day transformational.

Cheap rhetoric? On the contrary: my words undersell the reality. You might expect me to whip out the propaganda manual at this point and list a host of student achievements, but instead I’ll turn to the parents. I am writing this on a Sunday, and in the week just gone I attended three large events organised by and involving hundreds of UWCSEA parents, all of which raised money for UWCSEA Global Concerns in South East Asia. Significantly, though, I discovered many parents have established on the ground links with these charities. These are busy people not simply giving money—that’s the easy bit—but offering time, knowhow, compassion as well. And they are engaging others so that they too might get involved. That’s the community I am discovering beyond the campuses.

I am thrilled and, frankly, moved to discover the reality.

Inside the walls of Dover and East, the question has not been “How many?” but the more taxing “How are you finding it?” Well—and let’s keep that propaganda manual on the bookcase— I am finding it inspiring, unique, imperfect, mission-driven, occasionally believing its own hype, transformative, frenetic, outward-looking, often savvy, sometimes naïve, relevant, complex and, crucially, so intent on trying to do exactly what it says it does that I could cry with gratitude. I can see why lots of students and staff might not want to come here: I can see why everybody should.

It seems to me that you should steer clear of this place if you are a cynic, lazy, entrenched or out to change the world by preaching at people.

(Or maybe such people should be forced to come kicking and screaming). This is a doing place.

The mission describes impact rather than educational experience, and I am everyday meeting young people who are not afraid to change, to fail, to innovate. Resilience is thus bred alongside ambition. And because of that, ideals often become actions.

Nowhere have I met young people so engaged in the world beyond examinations and parties. Not that those two pillars don’t have their place of course—not all my teenage red-

Many articles in this edition have expanded content on eDunia (www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia)— look for the symbol as you read the magazine and visit eDunia for more photos, video and expanded content.

Other stories featured only on eDunia:

Primary School Infants days of sport A chance for our students to put their PE skills on display One minute squat The Grade 3 Water Warriors GC takes action on sanitation

Middle School eye mornings were due to revision— but here they know their place. The service initiatives—local, regional and international—are so varied I can barely credit their scope. There is a giddy, feverish whirl about the desire to get out and engage. And yet—this is the point that I still can’t quite fathom—there is a profoundly gentle and intimate quality to nearly all the human interactions I have witnessed around the College. It ought not to be like that in a College this big and this busy. But there are moments when UWCSEA can feel like a village school, and the bustle of Singapore becomes a rustle of leaves.

And if ever a College bore out Karl A. Menninger’s maxim “What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches”, it is UWCSEA. I have already been astonished by many colleagues’ selfless examples of living the mission. This applies to academic, administration and support staff.

What happens in UWCSEA classrooms is great; what happens afterwards and elsewhere is greater. A sadness is that no matter how hard I try to make it otherwise—and I will certainly try—my relationship with colleagues will inevitably be more like that of a University Vice Chancellor with his faculty (the comparison serves purely for scale): I will never get to know all

staff well, anymore than I will get to know all students well. What I do know is that there is talent, brain-power and commitment here that would impress on Wall Street, in governments, laboratories, sports fields, the media, the Arts and a host of other spheres.

I rejoice that such people chose UWCSEA. (And another thing: I suspect most colleagues don’t get ‘exciting’ confused with ‘boring’, which is a surprisingly frequent condition in many schools).

The Big Draw Dover Campus hosts a week-long draw-a-thon under the tent

Honeymoon over. The complaints have started rolling in. Disputes over matters of principle (and disputes over nothing at all) are peppering the in-box. In some corners, the end of term will doubtless witness stress, frustrations and panic. A few people will drive selfishly and make others angry.

Surveys will repeatedly demonstrate there is never one hundred per cent consensus even though people will sometimes talk as if there is. In all those respects and many more, this is a school like any other.

Senior sport Write ups across the region including Football, Volleyball, Touch Rugby, Rugby, Golf and more

But where it really counts, this is like no other school on earth. For all Singapore’s glass towers, the commerce, the getting and spending …

Kurt Hahn would know us in a moment.

I have surely come home.

Tiny Toones GC A story of student action Vote for soap Students partner with Hilton, DHL and soapcycling to save lives

High School

Community Alum Linda Steinbock (Class of 2006) Reflects on how her UWCSEA education has helped her thinking in her humanitarian work Cover: High School students performing a traditional Cambodian dance at CultuRama 2014 on East Campus

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The Aceh Project: ten years of helping

By Pat Meyer UWCSEA Parent and TEF volunteer Determined to make a difference in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in December 2004, the UWCSEA community offered immediate support, but also wished to make a positive, long-term impact.

Physics teacher Wayne Fozzard wanted to do something to help the victims and through discussions with Anthony Skillicorn (then the Global Concerns coordinator) and others, the Tsunami Education Fund (TEF) was established.

Its aim was to provide long-term financial support to children who had lost their parents in the tsunami.

The plan was to fund each tsunami yatim piatu (tsunami orphan) through their high school education, rather than provide short-term or one-off payments. Modest payments would be made directly to a bank account in the child’s name; a sum not meant to make students (or new family) dependent upon the funds, but to motivate the students.

The region around Banda Aceh,1 near the epicentre of the earthquake and tsunami, had been in conflict for 30

nearly years; it had not been safe for foreigners to travel there. So in the first few weeks after the tsunami, Uchu Riza, an Indonesian UWCSEA parent, travelled to Medan and then to Banda Aceh to assess the situation. She took photographs, looked into safe accommodation, estimated prices for food, fuel and transport, and delivered basic supplies of clothes, shoes and food.

Three months after the tsunami, as talks on a peace agreement were underway, the first of many UWCSEA teams—this one composed of teachers and an alumnus—travelled to Banda Aceh. There they saw the extent of the disaster, but also that schools had resumed operation—some holding their classes in tents, while other schools doubled up to share undamaged buildings. Led by Susan Edwards and Dave Allen, this group also began planning ways to help with the longterm recovery.

In March 2005, fundraising for the TEF started with a nine-day, 1,500km bike ride by UWCSEA teachers Wayne Fozzard, Douglas Wills, Phil Woolrich, Angelo Coskinas and Steve Webster and parent Graham Nyman, from Singapore

to Phuket, Thailand (pictured on page 5). The successful bicycle marathon was followed by a recordbreaking basketball marathon2 by students from UWCSEA and Singapore Polytechnic, including two students from Banda Aceh. The basketball marathon raised funds for rebuilding sports courts, so that young people could return to their games and play in Banda Aceh.

The Aceh Project, which encompasses all of the work by UWCSEA in Banda Aceh, commemorates its 10th year in 2015. Many people have supported this work—teachers, students, staff, scholars and scholars’ families, a Global Concerns group, Project Week groups, alumni, parents, as well as community members from Banda Aceh. The GC group began by raising awareness and fundraising, then helping with record keeping, and (in later years) maintaining a Facebook page. The projects have been learning experiences for everyone involved—a chance to learn about relief efforts, to witness the recovery of a community from a natural disaster and a 30-year conflict, and an opportunity to get to know a community through

At the tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, is the city of Banda Aceh and the neighbouring district, Aceh Besar. Together they occupy an area just over four times the size of Singapore. This area was closest to the epicentre of the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami. In this region alone nearly 23,000 students and 1,300 teachers lost their lives. Over 300 schools were damaged or destroyed. (From Education Master Plan, Post Earthquake and Tsunami in NAD and Nias, 13 April 2005, Ministry of National Education RI).

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Guinness Book of World Records for the Longest Continuous Game of Basketball (pictured on page 5)

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sustained involvement in long-term service projects.

For a while, members of the UWCSEA community travelled to Banda Aceh every six to eight weeks. There was much to do to determine whether it would be possible to work there: Would it be safe? Could we find a local partner who shared our goals? How best to help tsunami yatim piatu? How would children who needed help be identified?

How about identifying a school to rebuild? How could we make sure that the financial support went to the intended recipients?

Soon a partner was identified—a community leader in Banda Aceh with contacts throughout the area, who was interested in the long-term welfare of the region. Bapak Nazar and two of his children provided essential support: introductions, translations, knowledge of the area and of communities in need, advice, record keeping, report collection, and transportation. His son and daughter grew up, finished high school, and went to university, all the while keeping track of students and school reports in the TEF project database.

One of the UWCSEA students who helped lead student teams on visits to Banda Aceh, and later managed TEF financial accounts was Ikram Lailul (Class of 2008), “I feel most grateful to the many people who were involved

in the project. They used their time and energy, to rebuild Aceh. Their spirit inspired me to work towards the community. It was this experience that motivated me to continuously want to make positive change, such as by doing a peace project in Aceh funded by the Davis Peace Project Organization.”

Rossa Darni (Class of 2009), the first UWCSEA–Trafigura Foundation scholar from Banda Aceh, concurs, “I am so honoured to be able to see the project grow throughout the years. As one of the earliest Acehnese scholars involved in the TEF, I am so thankful to get to work with all of the people who have contributed to make it successful.

This project was a result of excellent collaboration between students, teachers, and parents, and I believe it gave a little something for all of us. In this project, I gained a family, people who until today are still guiding me towards goodness. Nevertheless, the TEF inspired me to work for something that can directly make a difference in other’s lives.”

Initially, the teams visiting from Singapore focused on identifying a school for rebuilding and locating tsunami yatim piatu. By May 2005, seven students, all from SMP4, were registered as the first TEF recipients.

SMP4, a middle school located in the downtown market area of Banda Aceh

(picture on page 4), had been destroyed.

With generous financial support from Trafigura Foundation, Global Energies and UWCSEA fundraising activities, SMP4 was rebuilt and reopened for students in March 2006.

Teams continued to visit schools in the region to identify and register students;

by June 2006, 159 students were receiving funds through TEF. Monthly payments were made to each child’s bank account. TEF supported students from kindergarten to high school, and, initially, the amount was just enough to cover transportation costs to school.

Funding continued through high school, as long as students submitted their school reports and remained in school.

Some students used the money for books, transportation or tuition; others used it for food for themselves and their elderly guardian; and a fortunate few had guardians who were able to provide for all their needs, enabling the student to save for their future.

Through our visits to the region, we came to understand that while financial help was appreciated, the encouragement and psychological support from the regular visits and contact were just as important. The TEF students saw themselves as part of a group; they knew that people in Banda Aceh and Singapore cared about their progress and would be visiting again.

Photos supplied by Pat Meyer and Susan Edwards

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Rahmat Ashari (Class of 2016), a UWCSEA–Trafigura Foundation scholar from Banda Aceh explains, “Instead of looking at it from an economic perspective, I have learnt that the values acted in the works of TEF are truly essential. It is not only about transferring money, it is also about building up the relationship between TEF, the TEF’s students, and TEF’s helpers in Aceh. I learnt that going from asking “How much money have we donated?” to “How have we impacted our recipients’ life?” is a great jump. In this context, UWCSEA, through TEF, has absolutely brought me beyond turning ideas into action to expanding the social connection through actions.”

On our early visits we saw many foreign organisations and NGOs involved in the rebuilding effort. But after three years, most were gone. Although the individuals involved in the Aceh Project have changed, the TEF project continues till today.

The Aceh Project has been successful in large part because it is a relatively small project with strong local links. Through regular visits, we have gotten to know the community and been able to closely follow its progress. Because UWCSEA students, staff and teachers make the visits, we have a clear understanding of the situation on the ground, and we have not had problems with “fabricated” students or missing funds.

Still, there were frustrating challenges.

There were differences in educational cultures and priorities. Keeping up to 6

date with the students and receiving their school reports on time was a huge challenge. Many students and their guardians were unfamiliar with bank operations; distances from the students’ homes to the bank or record collection point were formidable, older guardians were illiterate. Yet, people came together to find solutions.

Teachers, headmasters, security guards alerted us to tsunami yatim piatu. In one middle school, a biology teacher collected all the TEF reports and submitted them. In another remote community, the guardians of the elementary-age TEF students formed a network, and a grandfather collected and submitted all the reports. The headmaster and deputy from another distant elementary school brought their TEF students and reports to the open house by motorbikes. Singaporean university students developed an online programme to allow people in Singapore and Banda Aceh to share TEF student records and information. Teams from UWCSEA held long discussions with Bapak Nazar and school leaders, conducted teacher training, invited all TEF students to open house sessions, and visited tens of schools to track down students and their reports.

We visited TEF students at over 80 elementary, middle or high schools in the region. Over 700 students have received support. Currently we’re funding 70 students in middle or high school, and will continue funding until they all complete high school. We are heartened to meet TEF high school

graduates looking ahead to the future with confidence. Some students will continue further training in hospitality or nursing while others are studying at UNSYIAH, the branch of the national university in Banda Aceh.

Kirkha Kaharsyah (Class of 2014), a UWCSEA–Trafigura Foundation Acehenese scholar observes, “What I have learnt from TEF is that the smallest changes that we made, it could make a big impact. I have seen students who received the scholarship become quite successful on pursuing their education after high school. They received invitations and scholarships from some universities. I know that the scholarship provided by TEF is not the most prestigious scholarship, but the students made the best out of it which makes me think that UWC values are reflected not just in UWCSEA students, but also in the people who are helped by every existing global concern that we have.”

Rossa adds­, “The TEF project has shown me that you are never too young to bring positive change to a society.

I learned how education can really make a difference in people’s lives. Working with the Acehnese children throughout the years motivated me to study and work harder so I can find more ways in the future to give back to my people and develop my hometown. Listening to the children’s life-stories and future goals taught me that there is never a reason to give up. Despite of everything they have been through, they never stopped smiling.”

A SurfAid story

Congratulations SurfAid Humanitarian of the Year 2014, Jackson English

By Susan Edwards Head of Global Concerns Dover Campus In December of the year Jackson English arrived at UWCSEA, the world was rocked by the devastating impact of the Asian tsunami. Local communities all along the west and north Sumatran coasts were decimated and SurfAid, an NGO founded to support communities in the isolated Mentawai Islands and which Jackson was already involved with, began to respond to the disaster.

Soon after his arrival Jackson was involved in supporting two large marathon events to raise funds as part of UWCSEA’s tsunami relief initiatives.

First, a group of six community members rode bicycles from Singapore through Malaysia to Phuket, Thailand to raise funds for the Tsunami Education Fund and then a few months later, a group of UWCSEA and Singapore Polytechnic students broke the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous game of basketball.

However, very little tsunami relief had arrived to the communities on the remote Mentawai Islands that were supported by SurfAid. It was during a morning swim session that Jackson thought of organising the first 24 Hour

Swim Challenge. The concept was simple: open the pool for 24 hours and invite the College community to swim as many laps as possible.

The first 24 Hour Swim Challenge was held in 2006 at the Dover Campus pool.

Close to 500 staff, students and their families swam as many laps as they could in a carnival-like atmosphere.

Since that first event, the College has hosted eight ‘swims’—the last three at the East Campus, and now known as Swim4Life. At the 2014 event in May, over 1,500 swimmers participated over the 12-hour event.

Jackson recounts three significant memories around the swim events: After the first 24 Hour Swim Challenge participants were asked to return money raised to Jackson’s classroom by the end of term. On that last day of Term 1, a staggering $30,000 cash was submitted.

At the 2008 swim, 10 year old Grade 4 Dover Campus student Eleanor Diggle (now in Grade 10) swam 100 laps. Earlier in the day her father had committed to donating $100 per lap.

After the 2014 Swim4Life, East Campus student Jeremy Kemp (Grade 6) said, “The reason I never gave up swimming for the whole 12 hours was because I knew that every five laps, I was buying

one mosquito net for the people struggling with malaria. That is why I swam 23.5km (188 mosquito nets).”

Jackson has also combined his passion for the ocean and paddling with raising funds and awareness for SurfAid on his own time. In 2007, he paddled from Sentosa to Batam and back, over two days. Then, in 2010, as SurfAid celebrated their 10th birthday Jackson again competed in the grueling world paddle board championships; a 32 mile paddle between the islands of Molokai and Oahu in Hawaii, to raise funds for SurfAid programmes.

Since 2006, under Jackson’s guidance, UWCSEA has helped raise over $500,000 for SurfAid and their projects, specifically for the Malaria Sucks and Mother and Child programmes. Our contributions have made a positive impact on the lives of thousands of people. For this, Jackson was recently honoured with SurfAid’s ‘Humanitarian of the Year’ award. Jackson accepted the award not for himself, but for all those at UWCSEA who have helped contribute to SurfAid’s programmes over the last eight years.

Congratulations, Jackson and thank you.

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By Mireille Couture, Head of Environmental Systems and Societies, and Kath Lane and Andrea McDonald Grade 5 teachers East Campus

CULTIVATION OF COLLABORATION

With a shaky voice the lesson began … the teachers seemed younger than usual. They were in fact the Grade 12 students from the IB Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) diploma course at East Campus and today they faced a new kind of challenge. They were tasked with teaching Grade 5 students different sampling methods to collect biological and ecological scientific data. “It was hard for me to speak and explain well … However, they seemed curious about the things we taught,” said one ESS student. “To go out of our comfort zone and take the role of a teacher, being the one having to explain the method to someone else, adjusting to the right level of understanding, was a challenge.”

The Grade 5 students were in the midst of preparing to embark on their expedition to Taman Negara, the oldest rainforest in the world. What better place for students to observe, investigate and immerse themselves in the natural world? This expedition enables students to bond with their new class and also provides teachers with the ideal outdoor classroom. Here, lessons on biodiversity, adaptation, and interdependence spring to life.

Kath Lane explains, “It is imperative for students to experience the awe and wonder of the natural world, if we are hoping they will protect our planet in the future. With our busy urban environment, some children are not afforded opportunities to feel this affinity with nature. Watching students float down a tropical river, step cautiously along the canopy walkway, and hearing their excited whispers as they observe a wild tapir, snake or scorpion is pretty magical.”

In addition to studying biodiversity, part of the Grade 5 curriculum involves introducing students to fair testing and the scientific process. Grade 12 students modeled the fieldwork sampling techniques that they would use on their own field trip to Tioman Island for their younger peers to conduct in the

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Photos by Andrea McDonald and Mireille Couture

rainforest. Mireille Couture and Kath Lane thought this would be a perfect opportunity for a meaningful learning experience that would deepen the understanding of rainforest ecosystems and investigation skills for both grade levels. Reflecting on the success of this approach, one Grade 12 student said, “Teaching someone else skills that you have developed allows for your knowledge to expand and you are more likely to remember it.”

Essentially, the Grade 12 scientists were helping their Grade 5 buddies to understand that practical ecosystem investigations require a variety of methods, tools and technologies to collect reliable measurements and record observations. They were able to analyse and derive meaning from the connections that exist between living and non-living components of ecosystems such as: canopy cover, light intensity, plant population and tree circumference. One Grade 12 commented, “This type of team activity taught me how to work in a group in a more efficient way. It also taught me that we underestimated the Grade 5s and they knew more than we thought they knew. It helped me revise

and think about the ways we will be collecting data.”

The Grade 5 students, for their part, were impressed by the expertise of the older students and willingly undertook a scientific study for their buddies in the high school. Once they returned to the classroom, they set about analysing the data they had collected and reflecting on their initial hypothesis. They were able to use reasoning skills to determine the veracity of their results and to consider why the experiment did not reflect their original hypothesis. One Grade 5 student noted, “The guides from the rainforest gave us additional information and we understood that different tree species and ages have different requirements. This might have impacted our results.”

While on Tioman Island, the Grade 12 environmentalists independently designed investigations for data collection to measure and compare primary and secondary rainforest.

They collectively shared data from their seashore study on molluscs, sponges and padina algae species to increase sample sizes and reliability of the data. In the mangrove ecosystem

students quantified different types of pneumatophores, measured conductivity and salinity levels and crab holes as indicators of population density. A snorkeling trip had them identifying fish species from published keys and applying underwater line transect techniques.

In early October, after their trips, several groups of Grade 5 and Grade 12 students had the opportunity to meet again and share the results of their experiments. Both groups had new insights and a greater understanding of ecosystem dynamics.

With the overwhelming success of the collaborative work, the High School and Junior School teachers are looking forward to repeating this partnership again next year.

This Grade 5 student sums up the collaboration, “Thanks to the Grade 12s, we now have the experience and know how to do experiments. We can think about how we can find out the answers to our questions. We might even study ecosystems ourselves when we go to Middle and High School because it’s all so interesting.”

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Journey as destination:

evaluating the UWCSEA Outdoor Education programme Photos by Karen Niedermeyer

By Dr Michael Gassner Oregon State University During the 2013/2014 school year, the College made the decision to participate in a seven-year longitudinal study that will help to evaluate the Outdoor Education programme, and better understand the impact of the programme on overall student learning and development. The study is being conducted by faculty researchers at Oregon State University, Dr Michael Gassner and Dr Christopher Wolsko, who are experts in the fields of experiential education and social psychology. The study was launched this term. Here, Dr Gassner reflects on the study and the thinking behind it.

Last September, I went for a long walk in Pasir Ris near the East Campus. I needed some time to think, having recently returned from a Grade 7 expedition to Pulau Sibu. My colleague and fellow researcher at Oregon State University, Dr Christopher Wolsko, and I are starting a seven year, long-term project that 10

will be looking at the contributions the UWCSEA Outdoor Education programme makes to overall learning for students from Grade 6 to Grade 11.

This outdoor education project is attempting to answer some difficult and complicated questions. We want to know what exactly the students are learning on these expeditions. Does outdoor education make a difference in their academic and personal lives? What do students perceive outdoor education contributes to the their overall learning?

What are the specific knowledge, skills, and qualities that graduates of UWCSEA leave with that may be attributed to the Outdoor Education programme?

Which expeditions instill what qualities and skills? Great questions, but no easy answers.

As I continued to walk, I reflected back to 2006 when I was in Singapore working on a different project. At that time, I interviewed a number of Singapore Airlines pilots who, as cadets, had undertaken a three week

outdoor education course. For many of those I interviewed, the experience had taken place eight to 10 years before. A significant majority stated that they derived benefits from that experience that had transferred to their personal and professional lives, that they continued to draw from 10 years later.

Really? Airplane pilots got something out of an outdoor education experience that was so powerful it continued to be relevant to their lives, a decade later?

This may be difficult to believe, but it makes sense if you look at the history of outdoor education as an academic discipline. Just like law, music, medicine or other disciplines, practitioners can earn advanced degrees. It requires mastery of specific knowledge and skills through formal education and/ or practical experience. Extensive theories, research and evaluation support it as a practice and profession.

It is interesting to note that this research points to many human health benefits of positive experiences in

the natural world. Programmes and interventions in a variety of educational and health-related contexts have been designed with these benefits in mind.

In other words, the positive long term impact—physiological, emotional and psychological—of outdoor education is well documented.

The UWCSEA study involves students on both campuses, who participate on a purely voluntary basis. A short survey before they undertake their expedition, and another after they return home, provide us with some insight into their attitudes to the natural environment and their self-perception. As we build a view over time, we expect to see some trends in terms of changes in attitudes, skills or qualities that we can trace back to the students’ outdoor education experience.

Some preliminary data from our trial surveys in April 2014 shed inspiring light on what may lay ahead. In open-ended reflections, many students commented on building tremendous self-confidence after meeting the substantial challenges of their expeditions. Learning to work in a trusting and cooperative manner with one’s peers is also coming to the forefront as a core quality that is clearly being nurtured in these environments.

All of this work reminds me of a phrase Yvon Chouinard, founder of outdoor clothing company Patagonia and legendary mountaineer, has used on occasion: conquistadors of the useless.

He was referring to a long journey he and some friends took in the 1960s: from California in the USA to Patagonia in South America, to climb a mountain. At the time, many of his friends and family asked him why he was undertaking the expedition. He admits that he did not, at the time, have an answer to the question, but that was the point.

It was the journey that mattered, not the outcome. The process of going, trying, and reflectively seeking along

the way was what made the journey transformational.

Although our study is informed by prior outdoor education research and practice, in many ways it shares some characteristics with Chouinard’s South American journey. We are intentionally limiting our preconceived notions of what we may find and have fully committed to the idea that it is the journey that teaches. While in some ways this makes the project more challenging, we are confident that by continuing to ask the right questions, we will discover the answers.

We know that the study will have a positive impact on student learning by providing feedback that will help the UWCSEA outdoor education staff to adapt and develop the programme to further enhance the student experience.

For students, it will also be a way to safely and anonymously document their journey through a series of outdoor education expeditions from Grade 6 to Grade 11.

The outcomes for parents are less obvious. While any improvement in the student experience is a benefit to parents, I would also argue that the enormous trust in their children (and the school) that allows a parent to send their 13 year old kayaking in Chiang Mai for two weeks, is a growth experience that matches any mountain a student might climb during their time at UWCSEA! There is no doubt that though parents are not on the expedition, they too go on a journey as their children leave them for outdoor education experiences.

It is our hope that this longitudinal study will confirm what we know anecdotally and through experience: that outdoor education experiences have a positive, long term impact on students that stays with them and is transformational.

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Mother tongue and literacy at UWCSEA East

By Laurie Kraaijeveld Head of High School Languages East Campus Since the opening of the East Campus, the mother tongue programme in High School has been expanding, a development which will continue with the introduction of a school supported language and literature course in Grade 9 in August 2015. The campus is committed to catering for the needs of mother tongue students as part of embracing the growing diversity of the student body. School supported self-taught literature programmes play a demonstrable role in breathing life into the UWCSEA mission statement of “mak[ing] education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.” How is this achieved?

Through the academic study of their mother tongue through literature, students in Grades 10 to 12 expand their knowledge of the language

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and culture of their home country, which facilitates a smooth return, and ensures growth as balanced bilinguals.

The programme also contributes to preserving language diversity at a time when UNESCO estimates that half of the languages spoken around the world will have disappeared by the end of the 21st century. High School students at UWCSEA East have celebrated International Mother Language Day by sharing poems and songs with students and staff, learning about endangered languages, and reflecting on what it means to be part of a global, yet diverse world. Some IB students of School Supported Self-Taught (SSST) Literature have also participated in panel discussions with parents, outlining the challenges of growing up bilingually and building literacy skills in multiple languages. So, not only does the programme uphold the UWCSEA mission of peace and sustainability, but it also incorporates elements of service as well as personal and social development.

In more practical terms, the IB Diploma’s SSST Literature course gives students the opportunity to study over 57 languages at Standard Level. The course involves studying 10 literary works, including two in translation.

Through learning about literature, students not only develop analytical and writing skills which they can transfer to other disciplines, but they also learn about their cultural heritage and are able to relate better to their communities of origin. This definitely fosters the cultural and linguistic sustainability that the school aspires to develop in students.

The ambition of the programme is high; so is the level of commitment required from students to be successful in the SSST course. Besides being fully literate in their mother tongue, they need to show skills and qualities which they will further develop as they engage in the learning process. In the past I have had model students who were

exemplary in their study habits, level of self-awareness, drive, discipline and maturity, such as a student from Swaziland who got up every Saturday at 8am to skype with her Siswati tutor, herself a UWCSEA alumnus, who is based in the United States.

“If I couldn’t study my mother tongue, I wouldn’t be able to define who I am and what I should do to be Cambodian.”

Kimheang Chham, Grade 11 Whilst the course presents students a number of challenges, it also brings many rewards. Upon graduating, students often tell me how much they have learnt about their home culture and how much more confident they feel in relating to their relatives and home communities.

Schools that offer a strong mother tongue programme are places where diversity thrives as a fantastic educational opportunity. They are places where the voice of every single student is heard and valued, where students are welcomed as who they are, and develop an understanding of how multiple identities enrich personalities and communities. They are places where educators understand that students’ “cultural and linguistic experience in the home is the foundation of their future learning and we must build on that foundation rather than undermine it,” as Canadian professor, educator and linguist Jim Cummins puts it. This understanding lies at the heart of the UWCSEA learning principles, together with the need for learners to be supported and challenged, to interact and understand the purpose of their learning as well as to take ownership of it. All of these principles are embedded

Amu Muyanga (Class of 2014) reflects on her experience: My journey in taking a self-taught language has had moments of uncertainty and frustration, but also a tremendous amount of growth.

The first part of the programme was based on works in translation that all the self-taught students covered, so we actually got to interact as a class to discuss elements of plays and novels. Because the IB has very few Zulu past papers, I did all the IB Zulu exams ever set and it took me only a week to finish all of them. There was no IB prescribed list of authors, so I had to make my own list. It was challenging to find books that were at the level of the course that IB would approve and also that I could understand, given the fact that I had never studied Zulu literature as in depth. Zulu back in South Africa was very basic: grammar, language, some literature, some analysis of literature, but I had never done a course that is completely based on analysing motifs, themes and other elements. So the course in English has been challenging and even more so in Zulu.

However, I have not been alone in this journey. My grandma back in South Africa is a qualified Zulu teacher, and she was hired as my tutor. We worked over Skype on Saturday mornings. Working one on one with a tutor and not having another student as a reference can make it difficult to gain an objective assessment. I was the only IB student my grandmother has ever taught; everybody else she has taught has been within the South African system.

Taking Zulu has been much more taxing than if I had decided to take a language ab initio, because you have to manage your own time, resources, and set your own internal deadlines.

But you strive to do everything to the quality that you would like to present as your best work; that has a lot to do with managing your time and having standards for yourself and being responsible for that in yourself and not handing the responsibility to an external teacher. The experience has been incredibly demanding and incredibly frustrating at times, but I think the lessons I have learnt have been invaluable.

in the SSST literature programme at UWCSEA East.

Every year when the exam season starts I am in awe of what the students are able to do. While recording the students’ final orals, I am amazed by what students who have learnt to read and write with their parents and may never have received instruction in mother tongue prior to joining the programme achieve … Not that I could understand what the student from Zimbabwe was talking about in his individual oral commentary and presentation …

It was all in Shona, a language I know nothing about, but which encodes a worldview, knowledge and texts which I learned about while guiding the student through the course. However, despite my ignorance of the Shona language, I was witness to the passion that he radiated, manifesting itself through body language that I had never had a chance to observe before. The singing tone of his voice also communicated a love of the language that fascinated me and drove home the value and rewards of the programme.

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UN NIGHT 2014

Every year in Term 1, on opposite sides of Singapore, small groups of Middle and High School students gather in classrooms, halls, the canteen, the sports fields, corridors between buildings, Primary School playgrounds and even the Dover car park to rehearse complicated moves and dances from around the world. The goal? To perform in one of two events that showcase the

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joyful diversity of nationality and culture that makes UWCSEA so special: UN Night (Dover) and CultuRama (East).

How do students who have never been to South Africa or New Zealand give such meaningful renditions of the gumboot dance or the Haka? It seems that, with training from student experts, knowledge of these dances is

passed down from student to student and from year to year as they learn and perform dances from countries on the opposite side of the world to their own, with conviction, with commitment and above all, with heart. This extraordinary alchemy takes place on both Dover and East, and for two nights (five performances) the community can enjoy polished and authentic

CULTURAMA 2014 expressions of the cultures represented at the College.

a standard that teachers might hesitate to expect from them.

But there is more than heart at work.

Both productions are organised, produced and presented by the students themselves with minimal involvement from teachers, and the quality of the work is exceptionally high. Auditions are tough and students hold themselves to

At both events, the community comes together to provide food from around the world in the tent plazas, and an important part of the evening is wandering through the stalls, eating smoked salmon from Ireland, followed by kimchi from Korea and finishing it

all off with kanelbulle from Sweden. Or whatever (untraditional) combination you fancy.

Two exceptionally talented communities of students, two highlights of the year, one valuable purpose—the celebration of the wonderful diversity of our College community.

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UWC DAY

By Susan Edwards Head of Global Concerns and Cathy Elliott Head of Local Service Dover Campus Surely every day at UWCSEA is a UWC Day? However, it is not everyday that 3,000 students take the time to explicitly address the UWC mission through action and service. Every two years on UWC Day, the entire Dover community enjoys a day away from their timetabled classes to engage in a wide variety of activities.

Some activities were designed to enhance our campus environments, from gardening projects involving mulching, weeding, pruning and propagation, to tending worm farms, to painting walls and art projects, which included painting canvases of international leaders of peace, justice and environmental activism, to hang in the canteen. Students also smashed the last of Pete’s Smashing Pots, collecting the contents for the College’s service programme and using the shards to decorate plant pots.

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1 October 2014 Another unique project was the creation of three large scale panels honouring our late UWC President, Nelson Mandela. One Grade 12 tutor group worked in collaboration with a talented artist from the HIV Patient Care Centre to create the design prior to UWC Day and then painted the panels on the day—now we just need to find a wall big enough to house them!

Middle School students experienced dragon boating, learned the gumboot dance, walked the Green Corridor, tested their UWC knowledge in a quiz, learned about apartheid, and watched the film Girl Rising.

Visitors from Local Service partners included young children from Healthy Start, Child at Street 11 and Lee Kong Chian Gardens School who spent the day doing music, art, sport and drama sessions with K1 and a number of High School students. Elsewhere on campus, students hosted the workers at our new High School block to lunch, and welcomed senior citizens from a number of our Local Service clients to a Diwali celebration in the Main Hall.

On campus, some students became pen pals with the Manus Island detainees seeking asylum in Australia, or wrote letters of protest to politicians, leaders and policy makers. Others took part in the ‘We Can!’ campaign to break stereotypes, while another group documented the day as photojournalists. The Grade 4’s learned more about the people on their campus by interviewing those who help to make our campus clean, safe and efficient. The Grade 5’s updated their iconic jigsaw and tracked the campus’ biodiversity, while Grade 1 learned about their ACRES Global Concern, and created t-shirts promoting animal conservation with a little help from High School students.

Venturing off campus, groups of High School students hosted a number of outings including showing residents at H.O.M.E around the Marina Bay area, and escorting friends from MINDS to the Trick Eye Museum on Sentosa.

Other groups carried out maintenance at Riding for the Disabled, and mucked out animal enclosures at ACRES, while still others packed donations bound for Cambodia or planted trees with

National Parks. Others visited the Botanical Gardens with K2 and went on a materials treasure hunt, or helped Grade 3 clean up Pasir Ris Beach. On Pulau Ubin, High School students collected rubbish and recorded data as part of the International Coastal Clean-up co-ordinated by the National University of Singapore.

A lasting legacy of the day are the relationships between younger and the older students, forging community engagement, not only with our local service partners, but also within our own community. The High School students no longer see those light blue shirts as a moving mass, but know them by name and it was touching to see some students reconnecting over the following days. In a very large school, this was a welcome outcome.

It really was a day where the students on Dover Campus were “a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.�

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SINGING PLAYGROUNDS … ‘READY, STEADY, OFF WE GO! Photo by Joseph Tan

By Susanne Khalek Infant Music Teacher, Singing Playgrounds and G2 Singers Coordinator, Dover Campus Whilst walking through the playground at Dover Campus on at Friday lunchtime, you may find yourself transported back to your own childhood as you hear the laughter of children and the enchanting refrains of many different singing games.

Singing Playgrounds is an exciting addition to our playground environment in both the Infant and Junior Schools.

Developed in the UK by Ex Cathedra, the Singing Playgrounds concept fosters children’s personal and social skills across the grade levels, through a childled culture of singing games. The idea is not new, nor unique to the English speaking world.

Term 1 saw the launch of Singing Playgrounds into the Primary School.

At the beginning of the school year, a variety of singing games were taught in Music lessons. These games assisted classes to get to know one another whilst preparing a common repertoire, across the grade levels, to facilitate an easy transition into the playground.

When the idea was first presented to the children, the enthusiastic response of those wishing to become Song Leaders was overwhelming. So as to enable as many children as possible to embrace a leadership role, a new team of Song 18

Leaders will be formed each term.

Leadership training includes developing skills to lead singing games, and to encourage other children to become involved. The four golden rules are: 1. reach out to invite 2. make eye contact 3. smile 4. give a clear starting note … ‘Ready, Steady, Off We Go!’ After the initial training session, Infant Song Leaders travelled to Tanglin Trust School where they met with their counterparts and shared singing games in the Music room before venturing out into the playground to engage other students. We look forward to Term 2 when Tanglin will visit us.

UWC Day provided a great opportunity to share the Singing Playgrounds initiative with others in our school and in the local community. In the morning, K1 children, supported by Grade 11 and 12 students, hosted children from Child at Street 11. Each class visited the Music room and played singing games. Later, in the afternoon, K1 children with their new Grade 11 and 12 friends joined the Grade 1 students to form singing circles down the length of the Primary playground, a truly wonderful sight.

Since then, on Friday at both Infant and Junior School lunch breaks, the children, who wish to participate in Singing Playgrounds, meet at the Song Stop, in

the shade of the awnings in front of the Primary Clinic, where circles are formed and the fun begins.

Can you help us with new singing games?

At UWCSEA Dover, we are striving to develop a broad repertoire of singing games from around the world. One of our favourite call and response songs is ‘A Keelie,’ a call to play that originated in Ghana and is sung in the Twi language.

UWCSEA Dover Junior Music Teacher Luiza Pliszka is teaching us the Polish games Baloni (The Little Balloon) and Pingwin (Penguin). We have also had requests for Haida, a traditional Eastern European Chassidic that featured in last years UN celebration. This is a dance that gets faster and faster with each repetition. We are also looking at introducing an Indonesian version of Scissors, Paper, Stone.

Some of our English language favourites are: Jump Jim Joe (USA), Love Sombody (UK), Bungalow (USA), Double Double (UK) and Syncopated Cyril (Australia).

Should you recall any singing games from your childhood that you believe would be suitable to teach our children, please contact Susanne on skh@uwcsea.edu.sg to arrange a time to share.

socialisation around learning now that our face-to-face classrooms had evolved. Further, we recognised a need to provide ready access to curriculum content resources such as unit outlines, teacher instructions, or multimedia materials. Long term, it will also allow us to more effectively collect and give feedback on student work, which will help us to expand the ways we might use student assessment for authentic learning. Already habits are changing: our OLP has become a one-stop shop for learning and resources, resulting in a noticeable reduction in emails.

Collaborative online spaces Screenshot from Online Learning Platform

By Andrew McCarthy Assistant Director of Learning Technologies, UWCSEA and Adrienne Michetti Digital Literacy Coach East Campus Since its inception in 2011, UWCSEA’s iLearn initiative has broadened our scope of 21st century learning. While our early focus was on providing students with necessary digital tools and supporting teachers to use technology effectively, over time it became clear that our traditional classrooms were expanding to encompass a variety of online spaces.

One valuable effect of this is that our online spaces allow for continued discussions and learning long after the bell has rung. Over the last three years we have used Google sites, documents, presentations and a variety of other web-based tools to help classroom learning continue online.

As our face-to-face classrooms in Middle and High School evolved with the addition of laptop computers, it was inevitable that our online learning spaces would also evolve. During the 2012/2013 school year, we began to research and evaluate how online environments might naturally extend face-to-face learning. We established working groups to test and pilot various platforms that would support ‘blended learning’ (the seamless amalgamation of face-to-face and online learning).

Research suggests that blended learning environments can be beneficial to student learning under the right conditions; that is, when they combine the best of face-to-face learning and online learning. Blended learning environments need to have two key elements to be effective. First, the system must support asynchronous and constructive dialogues; ie, they must allow students to collaborate and provide one another with feedback, even when they are not online at the same time. Secondly, there must be opportunities for learners to digest important content and teacher explanations before a face-to-face lesson (Luckin et al, 2012). Our vision at UWCSEA is to provide online tools at an institutional level, accessible by all teachers and students, to support this emerging best practice.

The result of our working groups’ research and development has been this academic year’s soft-launch of our new UWCSEA Online Learning Platform (OLP). At the East Campus, the OLP replaces and expands the components of East Curriculum Online, and at Dover Campus, it supersedes StudyWiz and other Google Sites in the Middle and High School.

A primary reason for needing a new online learning environment was to increase opportunities for communication, collaboration, and

The OLP is currently living and breathing in a variety of ways across the College Middle and High Schools.

In Music, students are sharing example compositions with classmates, while some History classes are using it to encourage co-construction of meaning and collaboration. Science departments are developing units which allow students to progress flexibly with course material, or to review concepts ahead of class to activate prior learning.

All teachers using the platform are now posting homework tasks online; doing so allows the OLP to synchronise information from each student’s multiple courses into one personalised calendar. As such, our students now have access to a dashboard all of their individual homework, allowing them to prioritise tasks and manage their time to meet deadlines and other extracurricular commitments.

Over the last 12 months, UWCSEA’s Digital Literacy Team have worked closely with developers of ‘Teamie,’ the Singapore company behind the OLP framework. We continue to tweak and enhance the system so as to effectively support learning at the College. We look forward to the continual evolution of our learning spaces, mindful of best practices for student learning with digital technologies.

Sources Luckin, R., Bligh, B., Manches, A., Ainsworth, S., Crook, C., & Noss, R. (2012). Decoding learning: the proof, promise and potential of digital education. Retrieved from http:// eprints.lancs.ac.uk/66044/

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Don’t take it personally: thoughts on the holistic admissions process Johanna Fishbein University Advisor Dover Campus When students enter the IB Diploma programme and begin thinking ahead to life beyond UWCSEA, students (and their families) have some big decisions to consider. Universities around the world have very different admissions processes; some are very straightforward, like Australia, where students are admitted based on their IB Diploma points, and some are very complex, like the US, where a holistic admissions process is utilised.

As we guide our students through the holistic review process we are often struck by how personal it all feels for them. And it is true that the holistic admissions process is a 20

very individualised one for students.

However, since it is attached to what is probably one of their first major life decisions, what is sometimes forgotten is that actually, the holistic admissions process grew out of the desire of the university to match its student intake to its own goals and its own values. The process, when viewed through this lens, is a whole lot less personal.

What is holistic review, from a university’s perspective? As the University of Wisconsin explains, holistic review is: “An individualised, non-mechanical review of the applicant. To do that effectively, the admission decision should include an evaluation of the applicant as an entire person. The decision-making process should consider a broad range of factors that reflect the student’s readiness for college, potential for success, and contributions he/she can make to the student body. Such factors might include: • Academic factors • Demographic factors • Socioeconomic factors • Race/ethnicity • Work experience • Leadership and extracurricular factors • Accomplishments • Personal qualities • Skills and abilities • Other factors determined by the institution”

Why are we concerned about the mindset with which our students view this process? This past spring, Stanford University made the news for being the most selective US undergraduate institution in history, admitting just 5.1% of applicants for the Class of 2018.

With this trend of the highly selective universities becoming even more selective, we feel we need to help our students better understand how to go about deciding what type of university is right for them.

Recently, Brian Wright, formerly a University Advisor at UWC Costa Rica and currently an Advisor at the new UWC Dilijan in Armenia, gave a TEDx talk about applying to universities that use this holistic review. (You can find the link on eDunia or search for TEDxUWCCR on the TEDx Youtube channel). He argues that it is necessary to change the way students construct their understanding of the university application process at these universities.

Many students have the frame of mind that by being something or doing something they deserve a place.

However, as Wright explains, this is not the case. Many other factors play a part in a university’s holistic admissions decisions—and as a result, students should stop taking it all so personally.

The first step is examining how our students are deciding what their “dream university” really looks like. For many students, the dream university is the university they have heard about since

they were small. This may be the university their parents attended or the setting of a favourite movie, but as Wright explains, students need to make the university application process much more thoughtful and focused on their own needs.

Students should choose the universities to apply to with their personal goals in mind. This includes looking at which universities align with their academic interests, personal philosophies, and social priorities. Students need to do as much research about universities as the admissions officers do about them. Students should be scouring the university’s websites to see what are the ‘hot topics’ on campus. They should be talking to current students to get a feel for the philosophy of the university. They should be reading mission statements to make sure they really do believe in the core values of the university, not just the name!

Students should think about what skills they want to develop and what they care about in the world—and then find a university that has similar goals, regardless of if it is a university whose name is popular. If students really think about their own personal mission and where they can achieve their goals, Wright argues very convincingly that success and satisfaction at university is sure to follow.

The second step is to convince students (and sometimes their parents) that as much as the admissions process seems

personal, it is not. Students are asked to submit personal essays or personal statements and are told by universities around the world that universities want to get to know them. This is true and the process is as fair as a subjective process can be. But what is often not clear to the student, is that one of the very important factors in a holistic review are the institutional priorities of a university. And these institutional priorities, somewhat unfairly it may seem to our students, change constantly—because they are based on the priorities of the university in that particular admissions cycle. On one hand, they can benefit students based on gender, race, ethnicity, finances, major choice, legacy, or location. But on the other, they are not predictable and they are always changing.

Visiting university Admissions Officers often make the point to our students that what helped someone the year before will not necessarily weigh in favour of a student this year, and that there is no way to predict who will gain admission in any given year to a given university. Although the University Advisors use data from past years to guide the selection process, there are surprises every year. Students should therefore be prepared for the unexpected, and if they are not successful, recognise that it is not a personal decision.

universities whose institutional values and priorities align with their own, where they can develop their skills. If students take the time to ensure their university application list is thoughtful and well-researched then every university on their list will be a good fit for them. So, even when disappointing news may come from some universities where the institutional priorities did not align with the applicant’s in a given year, the student has plenty of other options to choose from—and will feel empowered to be the one selecting the university they will attend, rather than feeling that the university picked them!

Every student and their parents should take the 12 minutes to watch Wright’s TEDx talk. Regardless of where in the world students may be going to university, his message about self-examination to better define our own ‘personal missions’ and thinking carefully about what type of setting helps us attain our own goals is powerful. As Wright says, “students must figure out their personal mission and make it a world of their dreams, not just the college of their dreams.”

TEDx Talks “You don’t deserve to be in university.” https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=_3_7RuVI6Zc

The goal, therefore, of the University Advisors is to help students find a list of 21

Transition to Grade 11

Student empowerment and intrinsic motivation

By Danny O’Connor High School Principal Dover Campus The best way to improve performance and encourage excellence is to reward the good and punish the bad.

This statement reflects the ‘carrot and stick’ mentality that was prevalent in the 20th century (and unfortunately still in some areas today) when much work was algorithmic and people were required to repeat the same task day in day out.

The ability to follow a set of established instructions was valued and people were motivated by extrinsic factors in the form of a reward or punishment.

Advances in technology have largely negated the need for this type of algorithmic or routine work in many industries, and jobs of this nature now account for a much smaller percentage of the work force. The majority of our students at UWCSEA will move into careers that rely heavily on heuristic, or non-routine work, which is more conceptual. Heuristic work has a different set of challenges and our students will need to be able to demonstrate their ability to come up with solutions to complex problems.

The implications for education are significant as educational institutions across the world educate students today for an economy that will require

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them to be creative, critical thinkers that can communicate and collaborate effectively. Prominent author Daniel Pink (2009) uses 50 years of behaviour science to support his view that intrinsic motivation—the drive to do something because it is interesting, challenging, and absorbing—is essential for high levels of creativity. He goes on to state that the ingredients of genuine motivation are autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

His comments are supported by a cluster of recent behavioural scientific studies that indicate that “autonomous motivation promotes greater conceptual understanding, better grades, enhanced persistence at school and in sporting activities, higher productivity, less burnout, and greater levels of psychological wellbeing.”

If intrinsic motivation is conducive to creativity, and controlling extrinsic motivation is detrimental to creativity, it should be our goal to create an environment for learning that gives students more autonomy to make their own decisions throughout their adolescent years. By genuinely empowering students to make informed decisions about what they choose to do in the High School, we can ensure that they are engaged and intrinsically motivated to learn. In essence, this was the underlying rationale for the recent change in the transition process for Grade 10 students moving into Grade 11.

Historically, the ‘Statement of Eligibility’ (SoE) process determined the specific subjects that students were allowed to study at the IB Diploma level. The current transition process allows students to make informed choices about the subjects they wish to study as part of their IB Diploma package.

Teachers, parents, Heads of Grade and University Advisors provide students with advice and guidance, but it is up to the students themselves to choose the combination of subjects that they wish to pursue in the Senior School.

All students in Grade 10 who display a commitment to the values of the College are welcome to join Grade 11 and they no longer need to worry about not being offered a place in Grade 11.

The change in process has understandably alleviated a lot of the stress and anxiety associated with this process in the past. It is a positive step that gives students greater freedom and responsibility to make exciting decisions that will influence the pathways available to them when they leave the College. Above all, this new transition process connects to what we know is intrinsically motivating for students, which will lead to greater success and well-being through their High School years and beyond.

Sources Azzam, A. Motivated to Learn: A Conversation with Daniel Pink. Online: http://www.ascd. org/publications/educational-leadership/ sept14/vol72/num01/Motivated-to-Learn@A-Conversation-with-Daniel-Pink.aspx | Pink, Daniel H. Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2010. Print. | Pink, Daniel H. A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future. New York: Riverhead, 2006. Print. | Haesler, Dan. Still Trying to Find X. Online: http://danhaesler.com/2012/05/29/stilltrying-to-find-x/ | Dweck, Carol S. Mindset.

London: Robinson, 2012. Print. | Dan Pink - RSA animate (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc&gl=SG&hl=en-GB) (10 minutes)

Al Salamu Alaikum

‫السالم عليكم‬

A message from RSIC2014 in Jordan

By Hannah Giddins Teacher East Campus Before heading to the Round Square International Conference (RSIC) in Jordan, it is fair to say that for many of the UWCSEA delegation, our only interaction with the Middle East was the daily news bulletins and stories we read in newspapers. Stories inherently filled with fearful images of on-going conflict and suffering throughout the region. However, our remarkable 11-day trip, shared with over 600 delegates from 53 different countries, opened our eyes to the rich, diverse and gentle culture of Jordan.

The underlying theme of the conference hosted by King’s Academy, was ‘Al Salamu Alaikum’ (peace be with you). Delegates heard the stories of inspiring keynote speakers from Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, Yemen and Jordan, who are working towards establishing peace across the Middle East. The UWCSEA delegates took time to discuss the critical ideas and issues within our barazza groups (student led discussion groups), and to gain a

deeper insight into the issues that face the region.

said Shukura Babirye, Grade 10, Dover Campus.

The scope of the conference went far beyond the four walls of the venue.

Learning about Jordanian culture and participating in traditional activities was a vital part of the conference. This helped to further the message of peace and to dispel common misconceptions of a dangerous or hostile country, misconceptions unfairly bestowed by stereotyping in the media. Throughout the week we tasted delicious Jordanian food, tried our hands at mosaic making and even learned a few new dance moves. After driving a few hard bargains at our very own King’s Academy Souk, we completed our cultural education with a once in a lifetime Arabian night experience. Welcomed by a corridor of banging drums and cheering, the electrifying atmosphere continued with food, singing and so much dancing.

It is something neither our feet nor we will forget in a hurry. “My favourite part of the conference was the dance because you really get to bond when you’re dancing even though you’re not speaking, so it’s a lot of fun,”

One of the most rewarding aspects of the Round Square conference was the opportunity to connect with so many different delegates from all over the world. “Going to the RSIC2014 was an amazing experience, I learnt lots of new things by being pushed out of my comfort zone. But by doing so, I made friends that I will keep in contact with for a long while. Above all, I learnt that peace comes from understanding, and understanding comes from communication,” said Eleanor Chapman, a Grade 9 student on East Campus.

The connections and friendships made will surely be one of the best mementos from our time spent at RSIC2014.

As one speaker said, “Conferences are a chance to break outside our autonomous self, a place where the aesthetic values of jumbled ideas can come together,” and that feeling of unity and community was in abundance from the moment we arrived until the time we had to say goodbye.

Photo by Charmaine Lim

ACT TODAY. CHANGE TOMORROW. While we continue to share our knowledge and experiences from the Jordan and Bhopal RSIC2014 conferences, it is also time for us to embark on preparing for RSIC2015 that we are hosting with the theme, ‘Act Today, Change Tomorrow’. Our theme focuses on Sustainability and Action, a truly daunting, exciting and awe-inspiring opportunity for us all.

Visit www.uwcsea.ed.sg/rsic2015 to find out more, and to read the story from the UWCSEA delegation at the Bhopal RSIC2014 that also took place in October.

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Tech bootcamp trains Cambodian students to provide IT support for our GC partners

By Ruby Tan Service Officer East Campus In late August, 12 eager students from the Liger Charitable Foundation of Phnom Penh, Cambodia visited UWCSEA East for a three-day tech bootcamp. Accompanied by their Technology and Innovation Coordinator Maxwell Cady and Learning Coordinator Jeffrey Holte, the camp included computer classes, homestays with East Campus families, a tour of the Google office and time to explore Singapore.

For most, it was their first time on an airplane, and that experience was only the beginning.

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The Liger Charitable Foundation is a non-profit organisation taking a longterm approach to eradicating poverty by empowering impoverished children, so that they in turn can aid other children, whether through running a business or teaching.

to stay in an apartment that’s different to a Cambodian house, eat different food—and even the way I slept was different,” said Niroth. How so? “I slept in an air-conditioned room. Back in Cambodia, we only have fans. It ended up being too cold for me!”

In February 2013, Jeffrey visited UWCSEA East where he met Digital Literacy Coach Jeff Plaman. Jeff, who is the teacher facilitator for the Closing the Digital Divide College service, had discovered while on service trip to Cambodia earlier in the year, that our Global Concerns (GC) partners were not able to get training, support and maintenance for their existing computers. This meeting was the catalyst for the collaboration.

The Liger students unanimously said that the Google office tour was the highlight of their trip. And while we adults may marvel at the sleeping pods, complimentary food in the cafeteria and arcade games, the Liger students were most in awe of the video conferencing function they got to experience in a meeting room.

In this inaugural tech bootcamp, the Liger students were equipped with skills to enable them to become the pioneering tech support team to our Cambodian GC partners. During the three days, they studied the functions and parts of a computer—even learning how to take apart a CPU and reassemble it—gained troubleshooting skills and developed a plan for reaching out to organisations who need IT assistance. All of this was done together with East Campus students.

For 11-year-old Dalin Sao, the experience was nothing short of amazing. She enjoyed disassembling the CPU—a favourite activity too, of her friend Niroth Ly, also 11. “I am very thankful because I got to experience what it’s like living in Singapore. I got

Moving forward, the Liger Foundation hopes to continue to develop a collaboration with UWCSEA. “Liger is on-the-ground in Cambodia, and UWCSEA East has advanced resources.

So we can help identify the problem and the UWCSEA students can teach us how best to solve the issue—we are both learning from each other,” says Jeffrey.

After an extra few days exploring Singapore, the students returned to Phnom Penh to practise their newlygained skills. Hopefully, they will impart what they learned, little by little, to those for whom they provide tech support. The knowledge can then ripple through the community, which is exactly what the Liger Foundation is hoping for.

20 September 2014

PEACE ONE DAY

An extension of the Initiative for Peace

By Fiona Song Grade 12 student East Campus It is all around us, everywhere we go, everywhere we look. Discrimination.

So many negative connotations and images come alive, plaguing the mind.

Whether it is discrimination against ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or status, the controversy behind every discussion of this topic still seems inevitable.

In this year’s Peace One Day Conference, the theme was inner peace, and specifically how discrimination affects our inner peace. The premise was that only when we establish inner peace can we achieve greater peace in our community, in society, and eventually, in the world.

Planning for the conference began in early February 2014 when 17 Initiative for Peace (IfP) members from both campuses met to establish the theme of the conference. On Saturday, 20 September, 160 delegates from six international schools across Singapore gathered at UWCSEA Dover for the day-long conference led by IfP facilitators. Discrimination was explored in three separate groups: ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and class status.

Each group welcomed a guest speaker and undertook a series of activities, simulations, and discussions.

All three groups broke into teams to examine instances of discrimination, whether firsthand or secondhand.

In one workshop, delegates created a tableau vivant depicting ethnic discrimination. The rest of the group then tried to change the situation, either by moving people around or changing their facial expressions or body language, to remove the act of discrimination. The essential idea behind this activity was, not only in this activity but also in the real world, that

people work together to identify and prevent acts of discrimination.

Another two groups, Discrimination against Gender, enacted a simulation where people, representing female and male factory workers, had to create different types of goods. Each was rewarded with a different level of income. However, there was a twist: goods created by one group would receive a different amount of income and resources would be taken away from them midway through the simulation. In response to the injustice, delegates were enraged and even united together to go on strike.

The main purpose of the workshops was to create awareness of the issues, understand the way that discrimination may disrupt one’s inner peace, and learn to accept others despite their different backgrounds. Essentially, by fulfilling all of the above, peace will find its way through our communities, our countries, and our world.

There are many parallels between the Peace One Day conference, IfP and the UWC movement. The core aim of all three is to bring people together, educate, and to take action in order to make change in the world. At the end of the conference, we may not have put an end to discrimination in our community, but all 160 delegates gained a greater level of awareness that by being more understanding, aware, and accepting of others, inner peace can be achieved.

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CHANGING DIRECTION

Promoting conservation through film and personal action

By Brenda Whately Director of Alumni Relations Changing direction is not new to Patrick Rouxel (Class of 1984). Having achieved a BA in Humanities from the University of California at Berkeley, he decided to pursue a medical degree in Paris. However, after three years of medical school he knew it wasn’t right for him, so he went on to the Sorbonne to complete a BA in Comparative Literature. Since then, Patrick’s career has taken a couple of further changes in direction—and may be about to take another.

In 1993 Patrick began working in the film industry, specialising in the production of CGI (computer generated

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imagery) and special effects, eventually becoming a special effects supervisor for feature films. After 10 years he began to yearn for something else. He says, “I wanted to give more meaning to my life.” In 2003, on a trip back to Asia, he saw the extent of the deforestation in Sumatra and decided to use his filmmaking expertise to raise awareness about the plight of wildlife suffering from habitat destruction.

He has been actively supporting this goal for the past decade. In 2004 he produced Tears of Wood, a silent film about the Indonesian rainforest and the orangutans that inhabited it from a male orangutan’s point of view. In 2005 he created a documentary about forest

monitoring set in Cameroon, and Losing Tomorrow, a return to the Indonesian rainforest with an insight into the effects of the logging, pulp and paper, and palm oil industries on the forest. He then filmed the reactions of students, teachers and villagers who had watched the film and created an eight-minute open letter film to the President of Indonesia called Dear M. President.

In 2007 he was commissioned by WWF Gabon to produce The Cathedral Forest, a film about the trade in elephant tusks in the forest of Minkebe. In 2009 he travelled back to Indonesia where he produced a film called Green, which has won a number of global awards, including ‘Best of Festival’ at two

acclaimed wildlife film festivals in the USA and the UK. Green is a powerful story of a female orangutan, named Green, who has lost her home, her child and her will to live, told from her point of view.

In late 2009, Patrick moved to Brazil to create a number of documentaries on subjects such as forest firefighters in the Amazon, and the harsh impact of the cattle and soy industries on the rainforest in a film called Alma. Then it was back to Africa for a film about a patch of forest in the Congo, home to gorillas, chimpanzees and elephants, in an attempt to persuade authorities to prevent logging there. Back in Indonesia in 2011, he created a short film to help put an end to the use of ‘dancing macaques’ and in 2012 he moved on to films promoting awareness of the Indonesian sun bear.

After it recovered, he took some advice on how to release it back into the wild, living with the cub in the forest and staying close for three months until it felt comfortable enough to go off on its own. As the cub was not tagged, he doesn’t know what became of him.

However, when he heard of two more cubs that needed to be released, he felt he should try again. This time he used tracking implants. Within six weeks, the male was killed by another wild sun bear, but was more successful with the female cub, “We spent a whole year together in the forest until she began to get more independent and now after two years, she is still out there, living her life. She comes back to camp every so often, eats, sleeps under cover on rainy nights and then heads back off.”

Patrick was born in France and lived in Kuala Lumpur before moving to Singapore, He joined joining UWCSEA to do the IB Diploma. During Project Week he travelled to Sabah, Borneo, where he says he first fell in love with the Indonesian rainforest and its wildlife, “At UWCSEA I had opportunities for discovery that I wouldn’t have had in another school.

Even so, my deep understanding of the gravity of the environmental situation world-wide didn’t come until later.”

More recently, coming across three bears in cages at Orangutan Foundation International (OFI), he found that Desi, Kevin and Hilda were too old and habituated to be re-introduced to the wild. However, Patrick took what action he could, “Every day I got rotting logs from the nearby forest to give to the bears. They loved ripping through them to get to the termites and cockroaches.

They just wanted to play and be occupied. With approval from OFI, I added extensions to Kevin’s cage to make it more spacious and comfortable and I put all the bears together. They became friends right away.”

Patrick is now spending his time between Indonesia and France where he is working with, and producing a film about, sun bears. His interest in them began somewhat accidentally.

In 2011 while in Indonesia to film some orangutan rescues, he heard of a sun bear cub being held in a local government office. On arrival he found a tiny, sick cub in a box. He convinced the official to let him take it to a clinic and in the process of caring for the orphan, he became quite attached to it.

Patrick says, “Desi, Kevin and Hilda are victims of deforestation and human greed, and have done nothing to deserve life imprisonment. They were lucky to be handed over to OFI, and are lucky to be together, but they are in need of space and things to do.” He has created a one-hectare forest enclosure next to the Orangutan Care Centre where the three will be released, having also spent the last three years filming these and other sun bears. The resultant documentary is in post-production.

Patrick has created a non-profit organisation called Help the Bears and plans to do exactly that: help captive sun bears in dire need of better living conditions. He is also considering taking over the management of the only sanctuary that currently exists, or creating a new one. He says: “After university, I did 10 years of special effects, then 10 years of film making— it’s now time for me to give the next 10 years of my life to the sun bears. I feel so close to them, I just can’t move on to something else.”

Since this interview Kevin had sadly passed away. Desi and Hilda have been joined in their new enclosure by a newly rescued bear, Bonnie.

WATCH PATRICK’S FILMS To view the film Green, visit http://www.greenthefilm.com To view the film Alma, visit http://www.almathefilm.com Please note that these films contain some disturbing content and parent discretion is advised before viewing.

To learn more about Patrick’s sun bear enclosure, visit http://help3sunbears.blogspot.com

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Editors: Sinéad Collins and Kate Woodford Design: Nandita Gupta Photography: Sabrina Rech, Tom Soper and members of the UWCSEA community 053COM–1415

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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 MCI (P) 086/04/2014

Moving Beyond Space On Wednesday, 27 September, as part of the Kishore Mahbubani Speaker Series, the College hosted a conversation between Kumari Nahappan, renowned sculptor and artist, and Deepika Shetty, Arts correspondent for The Straits Times.

Guest of Honour was Kathy Lai, CEO of the National Arts Council, who told the story of her personal association with UWC, which began when she won a scholarship to UWC-USA in 1982. Kathy described how her appreciation for the arts and her understanding of the importance of their place in society was cultivated during her time at UWC. The event launched a three week exhibition of Kumari’s work in the RBT foyer on Dover Campus.