UWCSEA Dunia Term 1 2015/16 (Feb16)

December 2015 Term 1 edition

Round Square International Conference 2015 UN Night and CultuRama Articulating learning

Platonic ideals and Aristotelian imperatives: Being a UWC in Singapore

By Chris Edwards Head of College UWC South East Asia

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This year, as attendees at my breakfasts will know, I have used Raphael’s famous image of Aristotle and Plato to illustrate the competing pressures upon UWCSEA. The painting in question is called The School of Athens, and in it the two titans of ancient Greek thought stand at its architectural vanishing point.

Aristotle, his palm facing the ground, is saying we must understand our landscape before we set our goals. From him came analytic empiricism: the scientific method.

Plato, in the painting, is pointing upwards, ignoring the landscape and introducing the Western world to mystical idealism.

On the face of it, Singapore is more Aristotelian than Platonic. Great play is made here, for example, of Singapore’s amazing performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tables. The UWC mission, on the other hand, has a much stronger dose of Plato as it talks of education being a force to unite the world in peace. Many of you will know that as I write, we have in the College experts from Research Schools International, which is led by researchers from Harvard Graduate School of Education. They are exploring how they might best measure UWCSEA’s impact both on our students, and by extension, on society as a whole.

So, through essentially Aristotelian methodology they hope to better understand a Platonic ideal. We wish them well.

But let’s stick with Plato for a bit. Over the half-term break, I travelled, in my capacity as a UWC International Board member, to Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the town of Mostar. Ravaged by war just over 20 years ago, Mostar is now in a post conflict zone (though I wonder, is any corner of the Earth not a post conflict zone?). And there, in the centre of town on the top floor of an old building is one of our siblings: UWC in Mostar. It is less than one twentieth our size. It is surrounded by bombed buildings and is just metres from the old front line. No Olympic pools, no grand theatres, no giant underground car park—not even a lift to the top floor. Just bricks and mortar.

Teachers. Students.

The Head of UWC in Mostar, Valentina Mindoljevic, played a part in that terrible conflict of the early 90s. Not by firing a gun, but by dressing up as a clown and putting on shows by the front line. As well as making people laugh, she was pointing out the tragic absurdity of what was happening. Before the war, people worked together, ate together and fell in love across religious divides. Then everything changed. And now, there is a UWC—as Platonic a UWC as you will ever find—symbolically loaded and strikingly pure in its pursuit of the mission.

To share a service activity involving its students, as I did, is a piercing and salutary experience. And to hear the staff talk of days they lived through as children or young adults is moving yet invigorating. This school doesn’t need sympathy or a patronising pat on the head. It is no waif but a poster child. This is UWC in the raw: purposeful, authentic and therefore beautiful.

Comparisons with ourselves may at first seem strained, but once one is focused not on the craters and pock-marked buildings, but on the students, staff and their work, a refreshing sense of belonging will infuse anyone visiting from a UWC. I am sometimes asked whether UWCSEA has more in common with the giant international schools of Asia or the other UWCs around the world. In terms of the size of the roll, it’s the former of course; but beyond that there are moments when we seem to be Mostar’s doppelganger, stretched by a hall of geographic, economic and historical mirrors, surely, but otherwise entirely recognisable as a true and purposeful Hahnian foundation. Hearts of congruent passion and intent beat in both communities.

We are so very, very lucky to be here: in Singapore and in this incredible College.

Aristotle deserves our thanks. Without him, our glass towers would not stand, our money would not flow around the world and our technocrats would not be driving the nation forward to still greater things. But first world easy street is not strewn with flowers: if you want it all you will never be satisfied, and we must guard against being trained to be dissatisfied with what we have. Mostar, that small Platonic outpost, was a compelling and emotional reminder to UWCSEA that we must be careful not to consume life but to live it.

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 No-One’s An Island East Campus delegation attends YRSC2015 in Tasmania Grade 2’s Big Bake Sale for Tabitha Students fund six wells in Cambodia

Middle School Tennis in Brunei Dover and East students compete in FOBISIA Tennis Championships Grade 7 PSE Workshops develop skills and qualities in girls and boys

High School Super SEASAC Division II football and volleyball championships hosted by East Dragons Dover debaters take the lead Success at the APU National British Parliamentary Novice Debate tournament Jakarta Street Kids GC trip Students learn through hands-on work with NGOs

Community Ball for Nepal Community support following the earthquakes in Nepal Foundation Trustee Kirtida Mekani recognised with President’s Award Cover: Round Square International Conference 2015, see pages 14–15.

Cover photo by: Taylor Malligan

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The mission of History

By Alexander McGregor Head of High School History East Campus There’s a passage in Robert Graves’ classic novel I, Claudius where the would-be Roman emperor of the title meets the two most lauded historians of the day, Livy and Pollio. Playfully asked to critique the styles of the two, Claudius concludes that whilst he enjoys the flamboyant narratives of Livy, he much prefers Pollio’s greater commitment to research, accuracy and truth. Subsequently, Claudius spends much of his adulthood as a professional historian in the Pollio tradition, uncovering the corruption of his forebears and revealing the injustice of a system from which he benefits.

When he is unwillingly swept into the highest office by events beyond his control, Claudius becomes the wisest, best informed, most compassionate emperor ever enjoyed by Rome and one, moreover, committed to a return to the democracy of the fallen Republic. The novel openly claims that it was Claudius’ skills as a historian that enabled him to

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transcend the pettiness and avarice that had consumed his predecessors. History had made him reflective, analytical, humble and compassionate.

Of course, it’s just a novel and yet it is firmly within this context that the study of History should proceed. Often mistaken for the simple recording of the past, History today faces a question of relevance. But well-trained historians can write, edit, research, plan, debate, work both collaboratively and independently, orate, apply feedback, manage quantitative data, navigate qualitative sources and, moreover, they have acquired a degree of erudition that might just make them interesting and interested people to employ.

Perhaps more importantly, the study of History has the capacity to become an exploration of identities: the students’ own, the College community’s and of course the historical identities forming, clashing or competing in the period under investigation. A History classroom has the power to make us pose the question ‘who am I in relation to those

I study?’ and ‘what is my world in relation to theirs?’ This is why History is ultimately about human triumph and fallibility and not Great Men or Nation States, though they may well pepper the story.

It is vital for students to explore (amongst other topics) Apartheid, conflict in the Balkans, genocide in Rwanda and the second SinoJapanese war so that they come face to face with the horror of hate and humiliation, injustice and institutionalised murder. It is equally vital that those same students research (amongst other topics) the Cuban and Russian revolutions, the Vietnamese independence movement and the Meiji Restoration so as to examine what people do to improve their world and the successes and failures these attempts create, however well intentioned or misguided. This coming together of skills and understanding, of the past and the present, is empowering.

It allows us to make our own decisions with the benefit of precedent and collective experience. But, as with

Claudius, it also fosters empathy and compassion as it simultaneously slays hubris.

So how do we give the discipline a further nudge in this direction? Well, little is as powerful as allowing students to learn from each other’s diverse experiences. In an international school environment this is a relatively simple task. After all, it is fairly common to find Koreans sat side by side with Japanese and Ukrainians sat side by side with Russians. But if they broadly share the same ethos, as we do at UWCSEA, then this may in fact only be the illusion of great diversity. It may be mere preaching to the converted.

That’s why we should enable students to take that vital learning produced inside the classroom and contextualise it in other environments. We recently took our Grade 12 students to Ho Chi Minh City. There was a tangible power to be discovered when we crawled 100 metres of underground guerrilla tunnels. More impactful still was our visit to the War Remnants Museum and in particular the

Agent Orange room. I have never been so proud of our students as when I saw them process the indignities suffered by the Vietnamese people. Many held their heads in their hands. Many took themselves away for a moment of quiet reflection. All of them returned keen, not to utter declarative judgements, but to ask questions. They asked why did this happen? They asked how do we begin to repair this damage? They asked how do we prevent this from happening again? In that very moment, through History, our students were face to face with the urgency of our mission.

The sum of these elements, and others, is to help to make History an immersive experience for students. They also provide students with a toolkit with which to process the sheer depth of historical content. Indeed, this approach allows students to zoom in upon the most intimate details of one person’s past experience, and then to zoom out to see the awesome waves of a trend, movement or idea as they roll across History’s ocean. As such might we avoid the temptation to reduce History to

simple narratives. It’s an understandable urge. Like Quantum Physics, History is a lifetime’s pursuit: there’s so much of it, there are endless perspectives to explore and there’s rarely a definitive answer to be found. The solution is not to reduce History but to find ways for our students to make sense of its vastness and complexity. Doing so will enable them to participate in the shaping of their own complex identities This is the goal we strive towards.

This is History’s contribution to the UWC mission to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. In a sense, we’re looking to invert George Orwell’s famous axiom, wherein those who participate in the present understand the past; and those that understand the past may shape the future.

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UN NIGHT

On the road to intercultural understanding or cultural isolation?

By Frazer Cairns Head of Dover Campus Even though it is difficult not to smile when you come out of a Physics class and, tucked away in a corner of the campus, there are 30 young people dressed in wellington boots stamping out a South African gumboot dance in unison, it is important to question the basis of UN Night. Yes, all of the work is choreographed by the students; yes, the food is magnificent (though my usual ‘buffet breakfast’ approach of anythingthat-looks-nice led to a combination this year of satay, South African sausages, scones and kimchi); yes, the rehearsals are often carried out in the funniest of places; and yes, the final performances are an extraordinary explosion of student talent and enthusiasm. Yet one of the most well known thinkers in international education, George Walker, one time Director General of the International Baccalaureate

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Organisation, was critical of such things. He often made the point that international education was not just a question of ‘the four fs’ – food, festivals, fashion and flags.

In some ways the question we should ask about events like UN Night reflects the debate around the concepts of ‘multiculturalism’ and ‘interculturalism.’

Does UN Night, through the celebration of difference, merely emphasise that difference or does it go further and help people to understand each other’s cultures, share them and so find common ground?

The term multiculturalism emerged in the 1960s and 1970s in countries like Canada and Australia. It corresponds to the demand that cultural diversity be accepted and accommodated. Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, for example, put forward the idea in 1971 that ‘‘a policy of multiculturalism … is basically the conscious support of

individual freedom of choice. We are free to be ourselves.’’ Interculturalism, in the other hand, describes a situation where there is an explicit aim to facilitate dialogue, exchange and reciprocal understanding between people of different backgrounds. In general, being geared toward interaction and dialogue, interculturalism aims for something greater than coexistence. There is an emphasis on societal cohesion and citizenship and perhaps most challengingly, whereas multiculturalism may be relativistic (‘well that’s just how things are for people like them’) interculturalism is more likely to lead to an analysis (and possible critique) of cultural practices as part of the process of intercultural dialogue.

If UN Night happens once a year, if Indians dance Indian dances, Russians dance Russian dances and Nigerians dance Nigerian dances, and if there is

then little connection to the rest of our time (and each other) at school, then UN Night is an excellent example of multiculturalism in action. We are demonstrating a belief in tolerance between cultures and certainly tolerance is a good thing. But it is not always the case that multicultural places are open places. Different cultures can exist next to each other without much contact or participative interaction. In this way groups can become culturally isolated and isolation can lead to humiliation, or to being manipulated to feel humiliated. As Ian Hill (2006) has noted, with the right inducement, humiliated people retaliate.

But that is not what happens in UN Night. Norwegians, Singaporeans and Ukranians dance to bhangra, and South Americans dance the Waltz. Before and after the performances, UN Night acts as a springboard for discussion. And though UN Night is a very public display

of cross-cultural engagement it is only part of the establishment of friendships and the ‘living in and with’ rather than ‘living alongside’ other cultures through which young people are challenged to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their own cultures and ways of life.

What (hopefully) becomes clear is that, however rich it may be, no culture embodies all that is valuable in human life and develops the full range of human possibilities.

There are, of course, degrees of intercultural understanding that move from the cognitive to the affective domains: from knowledge about other cultures, including language, to skills in speaking other languages and critically analysing the reason behind certain behaviours, to empathy for those of another culture (which does not necessarily mean agreeing with all that the culture represents). During their time at UWCSEA our students

plot their own individual journeys along this path. However, the Lebanese writer Aamin Maalouf (2002) urged us to see a ‘multiplicity of allegiances’ each with valid points of view, and UN Night is a joyous and enjoyable step in this direction.

Whether considered an example of multi- or interculturalism, a combination of scones and kimchi will always be a bad idea, however.

Hill, I. (2006) “Do International Baccalaureate programs internationalise or globalise?,” International Education Journal, 2006, 7(1), pp. 98-108.

Maalouf, A. (2000). In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong. New York: Arcade Publishing.

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Articulating learning at UWCSEA For the last four years the curriculum articulation project has been a vital part of life at UWCSEA, an intensely focused effort that, when it is complete, will have involved nearly every educator in the College. In terms of impact on student learning, it is perhaps the most significant development in the College’s history and is arguably one of the most ambitious curriculum projects being undertaken in any educational institution worldwide. And yet, few members of the community beyond the teaching staff understand the project or what it means for the College and, most importantly, for our students. What exactly is the project? And what impact does it have on learning at UWCSEA? To answer these questions, we must go back to the project’s origins and understand both its purpose and how the current process is transforming learning at UWCSEA. In the context of curriculum, articulation refers to the logical progression of learning from grade level to grade level in order to create a seamless experience for students.

Curriculum at UWCSEA refers not just to the academic subjects, but to all five elements of the Learning Programme (activities, outdoor education, personal and social education and service, as well as academics). In each area of the Learning Programme, and from Kindergarten to the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP), our students develop age-appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding.

The articulation project was initiated by the Board of Governors in 2011, with a goal of developing a logically sequenced K1 to Grade 12 curriculum, that was firmly derived from the UWC mission and appropriate for UWCSEA and the Singapore context. Two staff members, Elizabeth Bray and Nancy Fairburn, were seconded to lead the collaborative effort that the project would require. As well as conducting wide research into best educational practice (research that continues today) and building from other curricula, they also looked inward to best practices in the College. Out of this work, through research, collaboration and consultation came the Learning Principles and the Qualities and Skills outlined in the UWCSEA Profile.

Nancy Fairburn remembers the early days of the project, “We are a school that sets high expectations for ourselves in the pursuit of improving student learning, so we were not beginning from a deficit model: we were trying to make what we did even better. Having said that, it became clear very quickly that the quality of the conversation stimulated by the work would force us to examine all aspects of our practice. We realised the reach of the project was far beyond a simple writing down of the curriculum we were already delivering.”

Working with key leaders in each area of the Learning Programme on each campus, teams collaborated to explore guiding questions. What are the big ideas in each area of learning that we want students to take with them for life? How can we craft 8

HOW IS THE UWCSEA CURRICULUM STRUCTURED? The curriculum is concept-based.

As a result, each curriculum area (or discipline) has standards, which are written as single statements that include the key concepts for that area. These standards run from K1 to Grade 12.

Each standard has essential understandings, which are developmentally appropriate statements of understanding, also expressed in concepts, that describe what a student should understand at each stage of their development. They build naturally in complexity from K1 to Grade 12.

Because the standards and essential understandings are conceptual in nature, ideas transfer across the world.

This supports our students who are coming from different countries and educational backgrounds. For example, while the content of the chosen text in English or the specific time period studied in history may vary, the concepts remain the same.

Benchmarks are attached to each essential understanding. The benchmarks describe what a student should know, understand or be able to do at each stage of their learning as the student works toward a deeper understanding that is outlined in the Essential Understanding.

“Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different …”

CS Lewis These benchmarks are what our teachers assess to ensure that students are reaching the essential understandings and are working towards the standards.

these big ideas into age-appropriate conceptual understandings? What knowledge is essential to access the age-appropriate learning? What skills are needed to apply this knowledge and understanding? What UWCSEA Profile qualities and skills are explicit in this learning? How can teachers plan so the students can access the intended learning?

Below is an example of a standard in English, and the essential understandings for that standard in Grades 1 and 7 and IB Diploma.

These are complex questions that gave educators on both campuses the opportunity to come together to discuss and reflect deeply on both their subject and their practice, as well as what these look like within the UWC context. The articulation process also allowed teachers to work in cross-campus teams, sharing best practice, learning from one another and deepening their understanding of how to support students in reaching their learning goals.

K1-Grade 12 Standard: Writing expresses selfhood, creativity and intellect in a medium shaped by audience and purpose.

Grade 1 Essential Understanding: We create real or imagined experiences when writing stories by using characters and setting.

Benchmark: Develop the story through character, focusing on specific actions.

Grade 7 Essential Understanding: All parts of a text work together to shape meaning.

Benchmark: Write narratives, using time and plot deliberately in order to influence mood and focus attention on the important moments in a story.

Grade 11 and 12 (IB Diploma) Essential Understanding: Writers manipulate structure to convey meaning effectively.

Benchmark: Sequence and sustain structure to strengthen and develop the logic and persuasive impact of a claim.

Out of these conversations, and supporting ongoing collaboration, came a common K-12 Unit Planner and resulting units that guide individualised teaching plans for students. A new IT system to underpin planning, teaching, assessing, recording and reporting to parents is being developed. This system also supports teachers in finding meaningful connections between all five elements of the programme in a more intentional way. For example, a Grade 8 student learns mapping skills in Humanities, which they then apply during orienteering on their trip to Chiang Mai, as they develop the skills of collaboration and self-management in a real world context.

But what does all this mean to students? In one way, they may not notice the difference. But now there is an improved continuity between grade levels; students have clarity about their learning goals; they find stronger connections within and between the elements of the learning programme; they see how new concepts fit with what they’ve learned before and therefore the current goals are clearer; they are more consciously working on developing the qualities and skills of the profile; they are receiving more timely and specific feedback that is connected to their learning goals, helping them move to the next stage of their learning. What may seem like small changes add up to something very significant.

So what’s next for curriculum articulation? In theory, the project will be complete at the end of the 2016/2017 school year. But the reality is that this process never ends. The drive to seek new and better ways to respond to both best practice in education and the changing needs of students in our context will always be the central pursuit of the College. The curriculum articulation project has consolidated and improved our student learning across the College immeasurably. Nothing is more important than that.

Details on the Learning Principles, Qualities and Skills and the UWCSEA Profile can be found at www.uwcsea.edu.sg/about/guiding-statements.

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THE K1 METAPROJECT

“WHAT IS YOUR WORLD?”

By Carla Marschall Assistant Head of Infant School Dover Campus At the beginning of the year, K1 students are asked a question: “What is your world?” This question, both broad and provocative, gives children the opportunity to describe what is meaningful to them as they start their first year of school at UWCSEA. They then reflect on this question at home and at school, collecting evidence of their understanding using photographs, drawings and words.

The question launches the Reggioinspired metaproject, a year-long study where children’s interests and questions guide the year’s learning programme.

Instead of organising the curriculum into units that all four K1 classes explore at the same time, the metaproject gives teachers the ability to be flexible and responsive to children’s inquiries. Big ideas emerge from play and tinkering, allowing students to build curiosity, research skills and a love of learning.

In the metaproject, the UWCSEA curriculum and student interests merge to create a unique study tailored to each class. Grade level benchmarks and essential understandings are taught using student questions as an entry point.

Why does K1 use a metaproject approach?

When young children encounter new materials and explore them with their peers, ideas start flowing. One child’s 10

thoughts about the world are rapidly expanded by other children in the class. Individual sharing soon becomes collective investigation; a group of friends decides to find out more and answer their questions.

The metaproject harnesses this natural curiosity to engage students in deep, meaningful learning. By being sensitive to the ideas children bring to the classroom, teachers can provide ‘just right’ teaching, identifying concepts and skills that are appropriate as next learning steps.

Because next steps emerge from student questions and comments, students are motivated and inspired to learn more.

This curricular approach values the experiences young children bring to the classroom, giving them an authentic space to share their voice. At the centre of this approach is validating each child as a capable and competent learner.

How do teachers tap into student ideas for the metaproject?

As Forman and Fyfe (2012) describe the Reggio Emilia approach, “The curriculum is child-originated and teacher-framed.”

Within the K1 metaproject, teachers play a vital role in constructing an environment that allows student interests and questions to emerge.

This environment allows teachers to act as researchers, looking for momentary learning encounters that can lead to long-term investigations.

Using children’s initial thoughts from their “What is your world?” mind maps,

teachers set up provocations and playbased activities to invite children to talk, create and think about particular concepts. At the beginning of the school year, children’s interests in maps and geographic features of the world are evident in Discovery Time activities.

As the year progresses, these learning engagements change frequently to reflect the growing thinking of each class.

In addition to listening to students as they work with others, teachers utilise student investigation notebooks to take class inquiries further. These notebooks document student thinking as well as develop metacognitive strategies. Each week, students add to their notebooks with drawings (and later words) to describe memorable experiences they had during Discovery Time. Teachers analyse these entries to identify areas to develop in future sessions.

The K1 metaproject puts students at the heart of the curriculum; their questions and thoughts drive each individual class investigation. By introducing children to the idea of school in this way, students recognise their ability to be self-directed learners and develop the qualities and mindset of a researcher.

Forman, G. and Fyfe, B. (2012) Negotiated learning through design, documentation and discourse. In C. Edwards, L. Gandini and G. Forman (Eds) The Hundred Languages of Children (Third edn). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

SHAPING A BETTER WORLD,

ONE WORLD AT A TIME

By Brian ÓMaoileoin Primary School Principal Dover Campus Some might call it naïve and unrealistic that UWCSEA’s educational goal is a lofty ambition that our students take responsibility for shaping a better world.

That it is a goal rendered meaningless by the very fact that it is unachievable.

If this is true, why is it there at all?

A child in Grade 4 some years ago went home in tears to her Mum, who came to see me the next day. “There is so much sadness and hardship in the world,” the little girl had said. “What is the point in trying—there is so much to solve and it never ends. It simply never ends.”

Having calmed her down a little, Mum managed to glean that her daughter had collected $49.50 at a bake sale that day, a sum she had sweated to earn; the result of a few lost playtimes, a few hours in the Plaza Tent and more than a few emails and calls in the lead up to remind her less enthusiastic helpers that they had promised to bring in items to sell. All of which she had been happy to do—it had been her idea after all. But in her eyes it ended up meaning nothing because the enormous extent and variety of the issues, the impossible number of needy cases, meant her earnings might remove a drop of water from what seemed to her an uncrossable, seething ocean of hurt. She felt utterly overwhelmed by it and despondent. “We can’t change

the world,” she said. “My stupid $49.50, my stupid bake sale, my stupid good intentions—if I do it a thousand more times, it won’t change the world.”

Indeed. We do worry about feeding into the children’s sense of doom and gloom—that our efforts to highlight the value of service to others might leave them with a feeling that the world is still headed to hell in a handbasket no matter what. We are especially sensitive to this with Primary School children.

There are two ways of looking at this. It is correct that there is ‘the world’ which exists whether we exist or not—mountains, rivers, cities. It existed before we were born and will continue when we are gone. One small Grade 4 person can do little to change that world.

box filled with toiletries, a pair of shoes, a backpack of supplies or even candy from Project Sweet Tooth, suddenly there is something new and unfamiliar for them—some generosity, some love, some brotherhood—that makes things seem somehow different when they look up and ponder the sky that day. A slightly brighter sun, a whiff of kindness in the breeze perhaps that wasn’t there yesterday—a better world seen through eyes made recently happier by a child.

So can we change the world? I tell the students we can. And more importantly, we do. One world at a time for one person at a time and many times over.

Not bad for $49.50.

There is also, however, the world that exists only in people’s experience of it—received uniquely and personally through each person’s eyes and defined by each person’s context. There are as many views of that world as there are people who peer out at it. A child who is born into abject poverty, whose daily life is defined by despair, loneliness, hunger and fear—the world, for that child, is a cruel, unfeeling one. And there is no other.

When that child goes one day to his weekly session, run perhaps by the Temple Garden Foundation in Cambodia or by Mumbai Mobile Creche or by CWIN in Nepal—and receives a 11

CultuRama’s learning focus

By Cathy Jones High School Vice Principal East Campus When two students approached us three years ago about initiating an East Campus festival celebrating our panorama of cultures, many ideas were floated as to what we might do, and what students might take from such a festival.

Through planning what became CultuRama, we recognised an opportunity for students to not only learn about one another and themselves, but also to learn and develop through the very process of organising and executing a large-scale community event. As CultuRama has grown over the past three years, so has our understanding of the many ways in which students learn through the experience.

Having a group of students from many different backgrounds join your dance, and learning the steps and hearing the music of your country, has given dance leaders an opportunity to talk about particular and specific traditions. For example, what is the meaning behind the use of a scarf, or the style of dress?

Sometimes dance leaders have had to learn about a culture other than their own to ensure that what the dance portrays on stage is both accurate and appropriate.

There are many hours of research through YouTube to check steps and routines, or appropriate gestures for men and women! Why is it that women cannot participate in a traditional haka, or men use certain steps? Cultural knowledge is built as students experience dances from cultures other than their own.

It is difficult to find a skill or quality of the UWCSEA profile that is not addressed through participating in CultuRama. There are the obvious ones—creativity, collaboration and communication seem to be intrinsic—but resilience, self awareness and self management are essential too, when you have many hours of rehearsal while juggling academics, other activities and service. Empathy and problem solving are also a part of leading and producing such an event, and dare we say the need to be principled when the tickets come out on sale!

As an audience member, CultuRama has been an invaluable reminder of the mosaic of our humanity. The expression of culture through dance often shows us something of the geography, history and beliefs of peoples across the world. Mauritius followed

by China, New Zealand preceding Georgia—contrasting dances indeed, showing contrasting cultures. But there were the connections too, showing how we have influenced each other through migration, colonisation, assimilation and proximity.

In the end, the most valuable aspect of CultuRama has been the learning that students gain through their efforts to build a unifying community event. With almost a third of our High School students involved in one way or another, with teachers, administrative and facilities staff supporting, and with parents participating by providing food to be shared, it has become a tradition that brings us together while learning to appreciate each other’s differences.

So what does CultuRama mean to the students who dedicate themselves to organising and performing it? It means learning new skills, often acquiring new knowledge, developing deeper understanding and connecting with our community.

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An afternoon with the Orchestra

By Lee Tisdall-McPhee Head of Middle School Music East Campus The lights go down. The cacophonous organised chaos of instruments being tuned fills the concert hall. As the stage lights come up, students wait in anticipation to see what will transpire in the next 40 minutes. So began ‘An Afternoon with the High School Orchestra’ at East Campus.

Making meaningful and real connections across the elements of the learning programme and between age groups has been central to the development of the Music Department on East Campus. On 24 November, Primary School students and parents were invited to a showcase featuring the High School Orchestra. This ‘meet the orchestra’ model was introduced as a new way to build connections while hopefully igniting a passion for music in the young audience.

The interactive performance introduced the instrument families in the orchestra.

The audience were also guided to listen for the intended representations and meaning in the music. The performance was followed by an animated question and answer session between the audience and the conductor and musicians.

The showcase opened with a rousing performance of the first movement from Vivaldi’s Spring. The audience was asked to listen for representations of the sounds of spring within the music: babbling brooks, birds singing, thunder crashing, lightning flashing, represented in a virtuosic display of musicianship. Members of the orchestra highlighted and demonstrated these sections of the music allowing audience members to ask questions and identify what they heard and felt.

The theme of representation through music continued with a haunting performance of Saint-Saën’s symphonic poem, Danse Macabre. The musicians introduced the main themes, tuning techniques and instrumental timbre in their demonstrations before the piece commenced. The audience was guided through a rollicking dance of skeletons and spirits in full flight on Halloween night.

Grade 11 student Judy Luo, the soloist in Danse Macabre, reflected on the experience, “Ever since I was little, sources of inspiration have been important to my musical endeavours. Recently at an afternoon with the orchestra for the Primary School, I had the chance to assume this position of role model as the solo violinist. While I was playing, I could feel the rows of curious eyes fixated upon me.

Immediately, I felt a strong sense of duty knowing that I was potentially kindling an interest for those children to pursue a life filled with music. It was an experience that not only affected them, but also helped redefine my own motivation and reasons for playing the violin.”

Musicians, parents and students alike enjoyed the interactive event and some even continued to discuss it at home. K1 parent and teacher, Cinders Thomas shared, “Thank you so much for putting on ‘Meet the Orchestra’ yesterday—it was a brilliant event! Tristan (in K1) really enjoyed it and came home talking excitedly about the different instruments ... A great experience for parents and children.”

The shared learning and community experience of this event is a model we hope will develop to include other ensembles and community members in the future.

Photos by Kazry Kas Kazan

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RSIC 2015: A significant step From October 2–8, the College hosted 656 student and 308 adult delegates from 128 schools worldwide for the Round Square International Conference 2015, with a theme of ‘Act Today, Change Tomorrow’. While there was much activity on both campuses, in the homes of host families, at student-led barazas, with our service partners on Service Day and throughout Singapore on Discover Singapore Adventure Day, it was the serious and thorough thinking about sustainability that will have a long-lasting effect on the UWCSEA community and the school communities around the world.

The haze certainly focused the conversation on environmental concerns, but also provided an introduction to the complexity of the issue. As Chris Edwards, Head of College, noted in his welcome speech,

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“We come together in a literal and metaphorical haze … Welcome to a very complex reality that feeds straight into the theme of this conference. We choke because of multi-layered global relationships that weave poverty and extreme wealth; power and desperation; convenience and challenge; excess and denial; corporates and individuals; clever, appeasing local rhetoric and heartbreaking global reality.”

Keynote speakers such as environmentalist Tim Jarvis, humanitarian worker Niddhi Kapur and human rights advocate Kavita Ramdas further expanded the delegates’ understanding of the complexity of sustainability by posing challenging questions that moved the conversations beyond the environmental.

One of the central characteristics of a Round Square conference is that it is

led by students. Over the following five days delegates discussed the complexity and challenge of sustainability in small group baraza sessions led by UWCSEA students, who had been trained to facilitate and lead discussions. Saniya Ramchandani in Grade 11 had this to say about the training: “We were taught not only how to be effective leaders, but also how to be good listeners, and how to, in our baraza groups, spark a discussion, and then incorporate all the fruitful ideas that came as a result, into one solution that tackled aspects of the issue at hand that would not have been considered had there not been such a diverse range of people to provide such interesting opinions.”

The UN Sustainable Development Goals were a focus for discussions and, in the words of Samay Bansal in Grade 12 “included thoroughly understanding

towards a sustainable future the nuances of each of the 17 goals, seeing not only their interdependence, but also how successfully achieving one may be detrimental to the success of others. A quote from one of the workshops was, ‘Never forget, when you point one finger at the people you feel are responsible, there are three pointing back at yourself.’ This captured the interdependence and our own responsibility perfectly.”

The baraza sessions were opportunities for student delegates to consider the issues and turn them into action plans, culminating in a pledge to promote change in their schools. Discover Singapore Adventure Day and Service Day further developed their thinking about their responsibility to their local context. The final stage was an action planning session for school groups, where they were asked to

apply their new understanding to their own situation and make a pledge to promote change in their schools. These pledges were appropriately varied, as they depended on individuals and their context. Elinor Walker, Grade 12, pledged the following: “I will not drink from or buy any plastic PET bottles; I will not throw away anything that can be donated; I will only buy vegan school food; I will get to know the names of five of the UWCSEA Facilities staff.

I am doing this because I realise that we consume too much and that at this rate, the world will not be able to sustain all of our lives forever. Furthermore, it is equally important to get to know and appreciate our local community as sustainability is not just about the green but about the overall welfare of humanity as well.”

The delegates finished the conference determined to make changes in their local context on their return home.

Vulthlari Shirindza from Penryn College in South Africa said, “The conference was an eyeopener to an unimaginable connection with international peers that I didn’t think was possible. It was an incredible conference that taught us to challenge the world by thinking of sustainable solutions to its problems and it reminded us that these solutions indeed lie in the hands of the youth.

The conference encouraged us to actively contribute our share in our own community and to simply do more. I am so thankful for having had the opportunity to be a part of it.”

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Personal notes from the Assistant Director The student who served as Assistant Director of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible reflects on the experience of moving from a performing to a directing role and the lessons he learned as a result.

By Liam Holohan Grade 11 IB Theatre student East Campus I’ve always had a passion for theatre.

As John Miles sings, “Theatre was my first love” (or at least he does in my head), and this year—when asked—I leapt ecstatically at the chance to assistant direct the High School Drama production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. I realised that my allegiances lay more within the director’s realm than the actor’s realm. When I approach works in class, I prefer to ‘work from the inside in’— first considering the overall narrative and having a set idea before starting with the performers. Hence I took the chance with great strides and spent the entire summer reading, watching, and eating The Crucible until I ran out of pages in my so-called ‘ideas book.’

Although I tried my best to prepare during the summer, the first few weeks of school flooded my to do list with tasks and the biggest concern of all,

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from the beginning, was time. From the outset, Director and High School Drama Teacher Anna Parr and I were conscious of the fact that we did not have as much time as we both agreed would do the play justice. The Crucible is a very intense play and we focused primarily on characterisation, because we both felt the actors could do with more time to understand their characters.

Therefore, this play was dependent on the performers working both efficiently inside and outside of rehearsals to understanding their characters as deeply as possible.

The only possible way for me to have known whether I liked directing was to step out of my comfort zone and attempt it.

The best way to describe my role as an assistant director is the ‘what-stillneeds-to-be-done’ guy. My tasks were split into two categories: ‘behind the scenes’ and ‘not-so-much behind the scenes.’ The major challenge I faced was the fact that more than anything I’ve ever done before, a lot of people depended on me in both these areas.

Furthermore, for the first time I needed to understand all the characters in the play well so that when cast members asked me about them I could answer and assist them in their characterisation journey. Moreover, I needed to know and assist with big picture areas such as the lighting states, the scenes, the music, and the behind the scenes tasks needed for the production.

I could not have asked for a better learning experience. I started knowing I’d always wanted to focus more on directing but was sceptical as to whether I would love it more than performing. Previously, I’d acted in nearly every production offered by the school and had always enjoyed it immensely. Now to remove myself from that world entirely? The idea scared me. However having embraced it for this production I can safely say that I will always love directing more than performing; that is my biggest learning curve. And the only possible way for me to have known whether I liked directing was to step out of my comfort zone and attempt it.

IB Theatre residential workshop

By Lynne Arrol Head of Drama and Theatre Dover Campus The IB organisation describes its Theatre subject as a “practical subject that encourages discovery through experimentation, the taking of risks and the presentation of ideas to others …

It emphasises the importance of working both individually and collaboratively as part of an ensemble. It offers the opportunity to engage actively in the creative process, transforming ideas into action as inquisitive and productive artists.”

A key aspect of the IB Theatre course is that students experience contrasting artistic perspectives, thereby developing an appreciation for and understanding of the diversity of theatre practices and traditions from around the world.

It was with goal this in mind, that over 70 Grade 11 and 12 Dover IB Theatre students, five Drama and Theatre teachers and two guest workshop leaders attended an intensive residential curriculum-based weekend in Desaru, Malaysia in early November.

The weekend gave the Grade 12 students an opportunity to focus on preparation and mock delivery of one of their assessment components, the Research Presentation. This requires students in both SL and HL to plan and deliver an individual, 15-minute presentation to their peers based on their research

into a theatre tradition they have not previously studied. The presentation requires students to physically demonstrate their chosen topic, and the weekend workshop was a perfect opportunity for students to focus on and refine their presentation ideas.

There were also intensive theatre workshops for students in both grades, hosted by visiting specialists: Australian Butoh and Suzuki practitioner, Mark Hill and Italian Commedia dell’arte practitioner, Marco Luly. Both have previously worked with students on Dover Campus, but this was their first experience of leading intensive weekend workshops, and they were impressed by the commitment and skill of the participants. “I thoroughly enjoyed my group. The students were intently focused on what they were doing. They did really well,” said Marco.

Marco has been visiting UWCSEA Dover for many years, sharing his expertise in Commedia dell’arte, a form of theatre characterised by masked ‘types’ and responsible for the advent of improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. This year he also leant his expertise to choreographing pieces for Truth and Lies, the IB Theatre Showcase performed on 25 November.

In addition to the workshops with visiting experts, students in the IB Theatre Showcase took the opportunity to rehearse scripted pieces with Karen

Balthazaar and Lynne Arrol or a devised piece with Neil Keating, who is new to the Drama and Theatre department this year. Two student-led workshops also ran—one based on a piece written and directed by Grade 12 Theatre student Nicolas Vandenborre and a musical theatre piece directed by Grade 11 Theatre student Sam Amestoy.

“I feel privileged to be part of this wonderfully rich and unique programme.

The students have been fantastic, throwing themselves into every activity with enthusiasm, courage and dedication. They certainly embraced the Japanese concept of IRIMI—to enter the challenge, with gusto and a smile. … Congratulations to Lynne and all the Theatre staff … the Theatre Department at UWCSEA Dover is one of the strongest I have had the pleasure of working with,” said Mark Hill.

The Desaru residential workshop was an excellent opportunity for the students to be completely immersed in a weekend of training and collaboration that prepared them solidly for their IB Theatre programme, regardless of their stage in the course. Both students and staff remarked on the enormous value that the weekend presented to all participants—both in terms of the learning achieved and in the building of ensemble and collaborative skills. These skills are vital both in Theatre, and in life.

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Putting Life Skills into practice

By Karen Cockburn Vice Principal Middle School Dover Campus

admired most in the world and to identify the character strengths they admired in these individuals.

Who am I? Who do I want to be? With these questions, our Grade 8 students started their Life Skills programme in August with a focus on understanding character strengths. The Values-inAction Classification of Strengths has been described as the ‘backbone’ of the science of positive psychology. Research

by Dr Martin Seligman and Dr Chris Peterson tells us that character strengths can be used to enhance relationships, overcome challenges and are associated with physical health.

We finished the unit by joining in the international celebration of Character Day on 18 September. Grade 8 students and staff came to school dressed as a character strength. Along with 6,700 classrooms, schools, and organisations in 41 countries we watched the premier of The Adaptable Mind, which explores the skills we need to flourish in the 21st century.

A great deal of research has examined these strengths and how they can benefit happiness and wellbeing.

Evidence suggests that when we use our strengths, we feel authentic and energised. Seligman suggests that we should identify our key strengths and use these regularly in our lives. His work tells us that it is important to celebrate all the things that go right instead of focusing on all of the things that can go wrong. When we focus on building our strengths, there is a lasting effect on happiness and wellbeing.

Part of this unit also helped students develop the important skill of noticing things about themselves and others.

Spotting strengths in others strengthens relationships and the Grade 8 students were asked to name the person they 18

On their return from their two-week expedition to Chiang Mai, Grade 8 students revisited their character strengths and spent time thinking about how these strengths enabled them to overcome adversity and flourish: Strength: Perseverance “I think perseverance is the most important strength of the trip because it was needed for everything. The hike, the rafting, caving, putting up the bivvies and much more.”

Strength: Curiosity “Throughout the entire trip, I demonstrated curiosity by learning about Northern Thailand’s culture and by exploring the caves filled with bats.”

Strength: Gratitude “I saw how others in rural areas lived and became a lot more grateful for the lifestyle I have in Singapore.”

Student Maya Lewis Hayre, sums up her experience: We learn values in a classroom everyday. We know that we have things that make us special and have strengths that make us who we are. When we began the Life Skills unit, we came in thinking it was going to be exactly what we always hear. The magnitude of this unit only hit us afterwards. When we went to Chiang Mai we trekked, caved, rafted, and spent three hours putting up tents only to find our things infested by ants in the morning. When we sat down to eat the pasta we had slaved over, or reached the end of the cave, our friends patted us on the back and we learned to be proud that we were resilient and that we had persevered. That was what the unit was all about. We will still be strong even if we don’t know it, and the most valuable lesson you can learn is to appreciate these strengths and work at them to make them even stronger, and that you need to appreciate others and they need to appreciate you. This is something you can’t learn in a classroom, to learn this you need to hike seven kilometres, or carry a bag of full water bottles through a onekilometre long cave.

Photos by Martin Samuelsson (left) and Mohit Arvind (right).

“House, please come to order” Over the past three years, Model United Nations (MUN) has quickly grown to be the largest High School club on East Campus, with approximately 180 students involved this year. The student-founded MUN@UWCSEA East conference has attracted growing numbers of school delegations and delegates each successive year. In addition, this year East students have participated in MUN conferences hosted by the Overseas Family School in Singapore and the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asia Schools in Bangkok. The following piece was written by MUN@UWCSEA East’s 2015 Secretary General in the style of an MUN committee dialogue.

By Varun Jain Grade 11 East Campus CHAIR: House, please come to order.

The floor is once again open for any speakers wishing to take the floor, are there any such at this time? *Delegate of UWCSEA East raises his placard*

CHAIR: Delegate of UWCSEA East you have been recognised. You have two minutes to deliver your speech. You may begin.

DELEGATE OF UWCSEA EAST: Fellow students, honourable teachers, beloved parents and esteemed guests and friends. UWCSEA and MUN have

a lot in common. UWC’s mission is to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future while the aim of MUN is to teach students about methods to solve the problems of today—and tomorrow. Both of which also recognise and agree on one major aspect of the 21st century.

Today, society is supposedly more connected than ever. Yet in every corner of our world, we are more disconnected than we allow ourselves to believe.

Divides are being created, and divides are being widened. Whether it be the divide between the rich and the poor in capitalist economies, or the divide between two belief systems of the same religion, we live in a less than united world, with less than united nations.

However, UWCSEA and MUN look to educate us, the people who will inherit positions of power in the world of tomorrow. UWC wants to bring us closer to the harsher realities, to allow us to empathise with others, and to close those gaps—regardless of age, status, or ability. MUN seeks to inspire students to execute constructive diplomacy, attempting to resolve issues on both macro and micro scales. So what happens when you combine the two?

the increasingly influential Southeast Asia together. You get a conference where today, the quality of debate is such that it can match some of the best regional conferences.

It was a seamless fit really. This year, the East Campus students welcomed over 300 students from 11 schools in the region—double the number of participants from the inaugural conference two years ago.

When you combine a UWCSEA student and MUN, you get some of the strongest delegates, most admirable chairs, and stellar leadership teams that are very often the envy of the country, and sometimes the region.

UWCSEA East delegates have picked up over 20 awards in the past year, and are becoming known for their excellent training, and their constructive and thoughtful attitudes.

Fellow students, honourable teachers, beloved parents, and esteemed guests and friends: when combined, UWCSEA and MUN can help to deliver our values and fulfil the UWC mission. *Delegates begin clapping* *Chair bangs gavel twice* CHAIR: House, please come to order.

You get MUN UWCSEA East. You get an annual commitment to bringing passionate young minds from all over 19

T2T ready to expand

By Seán McHugh Digital Literacy Coach Dover Campus As the College approached the final day of Term 3 last academic year, most teachers and students were anticipating the prospect of a few weeks of freedom and fun. However, the ‘Teacher to Teacher’ (T2T) team were instead anticipating an intense week of teacher training in Phnom Penh with teaching colleagues at the Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF). This was to be the group’s fifth visit in two years.

T2T is a unique service initiative, providing curricular and pedagogical support to teachers at CCF schools.

CCF operates six centres in Phnom Penh for students from preschool to university, many of whom used to work on the Phnom Penh dump site.

The T2T initiative sees UWCSEA teachers return to the same institutions and the same teachers every few months to build relationships, develop skills and move their practice forward.

Visiting during UWCSEA school holidays 20

in October, Chinese New Year, March and June, this ongoing relationship means that participants from both sides can work towards meaningful change over time. The commitment is considerable but all the UWCSEA volunteers feel anything less would be less than effective, resulting in support that is well-meaning but impractical.

During the visits the teams plan a syllabus that responds to evolving needs of three core groups: Early Childhood Education (ECE), English as an Additional Language (EAL), and Information and

Communications Technology (ICT) including digital literacy development and integration. The eventual goal is for ICT to be an integrated element of ECE and EAL. After each visit, the participants remain in regular contact, reflecting on the learning from past visits, planning and preparing for the next. This allows for an iterative, collaborative process of improvement.

A benefit of this initiative for the UWCSEA community has been the positive impacts on the practice of

UWCSEA teachers. This is summed up

by Head of Grade 7 and Mathematics Teacher on Dover Campus, Matt Singer who says, “The T2T programme has been one of the most significant professional development experiences in my teaching career … My teaching experience has been extended with every visit ... We have consistently modelled Assessment for Learning (AFL) techniques with the teachers.

For the CCF teachers, this has had a transformational effect on how they seek feedback from their students.

However, this focus on AFL in the T2T programme has forced me to consider each activity carefully and to improve my own practice. I have benefitted from ‘teaching’ the concept to other teachers, as there has been a similar transformation in my approach to seeking feedback which has tied in very well with the focus on AFL at UWCSEA.” This enhancement of classroom practice at UWCSEA is echoed by Aaron Kane, a Middle School English teacher on Dover Campus. “By putting myself

in the position of the teachers I was supporting, I was forced to really consider what the absolute essentials are for effective learning to occur in the classroom. I have relished the opportunity to work collaboratively with the teacher trainers … It has been challenging but it has allowed me to reflect on my own training and the Professional Development (PD) I have had throughout my career and my own practice. I have been extremely grateful to have been able to share my understanding of curriculum design,

action. In my seven years at the College I have helped students to raise money for GCs, but I have no experience in sales.

I have given students the opportunity to learn about the challenges faced by children all over Asia, and to raise awareness of the NGOs trying to help them, but I have limited experience in marketing and promotion. I have helped to build houses in Cambodia, although I am not a builder. However, the T2T programme has built on my professional skills and experience as a teacher, to give lasting benefit to the children at CCF.”

communication was helpful,” observed Alison Forrow, Digital Literacy Coach on Dover Campus. “When working through a translator you really have to refine everything.”

The programme has just been extended, and there are hopes to bring the expertise and experience of the T2T teachers to similar NGOs around the region. Matt explains, “The T2T programme has the potential to lead social change in poor communities around the world. Seán McHugh and Debbie Cook (UWCSEA Dover staff

Photos supplied by Seán McHugh

pedagogy and leadership with the teacher trainers. The project is certainly unique and I would have to say that it has easily been some of the best PD that I have had.”

Aside from the professional benefits, the programme reflects the nature of the values and commitment of our teachers to the UWC values. Matt explains, “Working at UWCSEA has reinforced the importance of my own values and this programme has given me the opportunity to put those values into

On a personal level, the T2T programme also links UWCSEA scholars back to the organisation which supported them at the start of their educational journey, allowing them an opportunity to give something back to their own community on a practical level. On the visit in July, three scholars (two from Dover, one from East) attended the workshops to act as translators.

“While many of the CCF teachers have a good understanding of English, having the translators to bridge the

who were instrumental in establishing the initiative) had a vision. I have been incredibly fortunate to have been involved. After starting with two projects, in Myanmar and Phnom Penh, we have the template upon which to grow the T2T programme to successfully bring together NGOs and schools, reducing the start-up costs of each project, but maintaining and amplifying the impact on organisational change within the NGO.” 21

Artists-in-residence teach the art of sustainability Could cleaning away dirt be a means of creating art? Or rescuing textiles from a landfill?

In September, Middle School students on East Campus had the opportunity to explore issues of sustainability through creative expression. Thanks to support from the UWCSEA Annual Fund, two artists-in-residence spent a week in the Art Department sharing their passion and flair for sustainable art forms.

Paul ‘Moose’ Curtis and Amanda Ericsson have formed a collaboration to both raise awareness of sustainability issues and create beauty through their distinctive artistic styles. Earlier in her career, Amanda worked as a model and in textile engineering. Through this work she witnessed the tremendous waste and pollution produced by the fashion industry as well as the global trade of secondhand clothing that it contributes to.

She began experimenting with creating new fashions from secondhand clothing.

These repurposed pieces proved popular and she founded her own fashion brand. As time went on she began to explore how she could share her methods of refashioning cast aside clothing with potential entrepreneurs in developing countries. In recent years she’s taught workshops in Mexico and Mozambique for this purpose.

At the end of her courses, participants put on fashion shows featuring their custom designs, and some have then started small businesses that design, produce and sell fashions created from secondhand clothing.

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Moose discovered his calling for creating ‘reverse graffiti’ somewhat accidentally while cleaning gravy off the wall in a restaurant kitchen where he was working. Today, his practice as a reverse graffiti artist takes him to dirty walls and surfaces around the world where he applies stencils and then, rather than adding paint, he uses a spray of highpressured water to remove the grime and uncover beauty beneath.

The two artists are spreading their creative processes and message of sustainability through what they’ve termed ‘upsidedowncycling’ and the related ‘180’ fashion brand. They seek to reverse perceptions and ‘turn things on their head’ (or 180 degrees). Whether it starts with their reversible logo designs or turning trousers into a jacket, the 180 project has the ability to disrupt, shift and even reverse one’s previously held thoughts or assumptions.

Moose explained that another part of what they help people do is to find value in things often seen to have none.

“There’s a value in everything if you look hard enough.”

The sessions Amanda and Moose led with students were part of the 180 project and included designing reversible 180 logos and applying them to either surfaces for reverse graffiti or repurposed textile creations. To ignite the creative process, students put clothes on inside out and backwards— and then walked backwards to help elicit a shift in perspective.

The students then worked to find ways to transform the ‘waste’ of secondhand clothing into a ‘cool and playful’ creation such as a handbag fashioned from used UWCSEA uniform shirts. While the visiting artists hoped to inspire the students and unleash their enthusiasm for sustainable art, the students also learned new skills in logo design and sewing along the way.

Amanda and Moose recognise the inherent value in teaching young people—especially with the aim of a sustainable future. “Giving people new skills empowers and inspires them.

When you inspire a young person you never know where it will go.”

Reverse graffiti of student-designed reversible 180 logo.

Photo by Amanda Ericsson

To learn more about Moose and Amanda’s 180 project and the sustainability issues they’re working to address, please visit eDunia.

Photos by Jensen Hjorth

World Peace Youth Leadership Forum examines the Korean conflict

By Jensen Hjorth Head of Grade 12 East Campus Our commitment to fulfil the UWC movement’s mission to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future impels us to offer opportunities that open students eyes and minds.

The College’s transformational Initiative for Peace programme teaches students conflict resolution skills and then sends them to geopolitical conflict regions to bring divided people together.

When we think of nations divided, we immediately call to mind Korea. The two nations, technically still at war, are separated by a 250km-long and 4kmwide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The land immediately beyond the DMZ on both sides is renowned for having the highest concentration of weaponry on the planet.

Through news reports we associate the two Koreas and the DMZ with intermittent exchange of small arms fire and the occasional, deeply emotional reunions of families separated for many years. It could be argued that the Korean peninsula offers the ideal case to justify the UWC mission—two countries whose starkly different ideologies have led to decades-long tension and conflict from which there appears no obvious, dignified resolution.

Earlier this year, the UWC Korea Naeun Foundation invited students from the UWC schools around the globe to attend the World Peace

Youth Leadership Forum to learn more about the Korean conflict. Ten Grade 11 students from East Campus took advantage of this unique opportunity and travelled to South Korea in May to spend a week with other UWC students from around the world.

Our hosts organised a busy programme of cultural exchanges, a K-pop show and a tour of the Joint Security Area, the regular meeting place for North and South Korean officials in the DMZ. Beyond these tourist activities were the three powerful public forums that our students participated in, alongside Korean students.

The forums discussed issues surrounding conflict resolution and the current state of relations between the two Koreas. These were significant events, held across South Korea: Forum 1 at the Inter-Korean Transit Office just near the DMZ, Forum 2 at Gukak National High School and Forum 3 at the National Assembly of South Korea. The events were chaired

by South Korean congressmen and famous personalities.

The topic for each forum was selected to educate the participants. Initially they focused on the factors that can cause conflict across the world, then moved on to the factors that led to the North and South Korea conflict while finishing with pathways to a peaceful relationship between the two Koreas.

After spending time in assigned teams researching each forum topic, the UWC students, in collaboration with

their Korean counterparts, discussed, explored, debated and were enlightened towards different perspectives and what peace may look like in the future. The forums were closely followed by local media, who were interested to learn the views of these young people from across the globe and how they imagined potential avenues to peace.

What became apparent through the week was just how many different and subtle angles there are to these issues for the Korean people; reunification may not be the simple answer. For example many young South Koreans are uncertain about reunification and the possible effect and influence that a large, cheap labour force may have on their economic reality. As one of our students put it, “The forums drove me to question and investigate beyond the realm of obvious solutions.”

It was fascinating to witness UWC students from across the globe come together and tease apart the nuances of such a significant modern-day conflict in a public forum. They did not once treat it with a simplistic, heavy-handed plan to resolve all issues; in fact, they demonstrated sensitivity, empathy and experience when trying to understand the many perspectives and issues involved. It demonstrated to those present in the forums the power of the UWC mission and its potential to enact positive change in the world.

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Davis scholarships open doors to better opportunities education in one of the 91 member institutions.

During his time with the scholars, Shelby also spoke about Davis Projects for Peace, which was established by his mother, Kathryn Davis, in honour of her 100th birthday. Each year, undergraduate students at universities that are part of the Davis UWC Scholars Program are invited to design grassroots projects that benefit communities in need. One hundred of the most promising ‘projects for peace’ proposals are awarded US$10,000 each toward implementation during the summer break. Kathryn Davis passed away in 2013 but her legacy lives on and the programme is now in its ninth year.

In October, American philanthropists Shelby and Gale Davis paid a visit to UWCSEA, on their way to the official opening of UWC Changshu China.

Shelby took the opportunity to meet our current Grade 12 scholars, on both campuses, to talk about his Davis UWC Scholars Program and why he believes so strongly in the mission and vision of UWC: “The reason I invest so heavily in this programme, year after year, is that I believe these students, both individually and as a group—with all their diverse beliefs and backgrounds—embody that unique combination of dreamer and doer. Young people like these are the human capital we need to build peace, justice and a sustainable future.”

His two-day visit was considered by scholars to be one of the highlights of their year to date. For many, his vital support of the Davis UWC Scholars Program will enable them to pursue educational paths that they could only dream of previously. Since the launch of this initiative in 2000, over 6,000 graduates of UWC schools have benefitted from a US university 24

The reason I invest so heavily in this programme, year after year, is that I believe these students, both individually and as a group—with all their diverse beliefs and backgrounds—embody that unique combination of dreamer and doer.

Of his support of UWC, Shelby Davis has said: “The world needs extraordinary leadership to navigate today’s complex challenges, tensions and conflicts, as well as to make the most of new opportunities. The UWC movement is ideally suited to provide such leaders and we are privileged to support it.”

Scholar awarded for social entrepreneurship full-time technician to help manage the lab and train the teachers. This gesture makes the project more sustainable,” says Kengthsagn, “and it inspired them to start brainstorming how they could provide science laboratories to other Haitian schools.”

This last point is key, as the project’s long-term goal is to increase science literacy among Haitian girls, giving them an opportunity to compete professionally in the sciences.

This summer’s project was her second opportunity to contribute to the positive development of Haiti, as Kengthsagn spent the summer of 2014 interning at an NGO in Haiti after winning a SEE-Beyond Award at Skidmore.

Photo supplied by Skidmore College

Alumna Kengthsagn Louis ’13 was recently honoured with an award for socialentrepreneurship, a result of her work in July 2015 on a Davis Project for Peace, which saw a science lab installed in her former high school, Lycée Marie-Jeanne, increasing access to science for girls.

Growing up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Kengthsagn Louis (UWCSEA Dover ’13, Skidmore ’17) remembers being wowed by science, especially physics, “But I never got to go to a science fair or even see a science laboratory. After a while, I just lost interest.”

But that didn’t mean she forgot.

Science labs are a rarity in Haiti, and the devastating earthquake in 2010 left Port-au-Prince as a tent city just before she was due to commence her IB scholarship at UWCSEA. And in the summer of 2015, Kengthsagn, a doublemajor in psychology and business at Skidmore College in the US thanks to a UWC Davis scholarship, returned to her all-girls high school to overhaul a classroom into a laboratory.

To fund her project, Kengthsagn and Samantha Bourdeau, another Marie-

Jeanne alumna who now attends Colby College in the US, earned a Davis Projects for Peace grant of US$10,000.

All undergraduates on a Davis UWC scholarship are eligible to apply for the annual grants. To bolster her project, Kengthsagn secured US$2,000 from the Saratoga Springs Rotary Club and another US$2,000 from Krackeler Scientific. The Science departments at both Skidmore and Colby also contributed a range of equipment.

Some initial stumbling blocks in shipping the equipment to Haiti ended up being fortuitous, since the visit to the Haitian Ministry of Education to seek help with customs resulted in a positive long-term outcome. “Once the ministry realised that this science lab was actually going to get built, they took it seriously. They offered to appoint a

Kengthsagn says her Practicing Science for a Peaceful Haiti project provided “a greater understanding of my strengths and weaknesses as a leader and agent of change. Now it will be easier to strategise for my next social project.” Which could be soon, thanks to her first-place socialentrepreneurship prize of US$5,000 in Skidmore’s 2015 Freirich Business Plan Competition, announced in September 2015. The prize will support her start-up non-profit, Syans Pou Anise Fondasyon, which hopes to fund more science labs in Haitian schools. She says every school should have a lab, because “you can use science to solve issues in your own community, your own country.”

Kengthsagn attended UWCSEA on a scholarship supported by the Class of ’78.

With thanks to Skidmore College for allowing UWCSEA to reproduce a version of this article and photograph.

A version was first published on 28 September 2015 via www.skidmore.edu/ news/2015/0928-dreamdeferred-not-forgotten.php

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ADDING TO DIVERSITY This year, thanks to the support of the UWCSEA community, there are 102 scholars receiving a UWC education.

93 of these scholars are studying at UWCSEA, while the other nine are attending other UWCs. The 45 new scholars that UWCSEA welcomed in August was the largest intake of new scholars to date.

Supporting the College’s mission to bring together different cultures, this year we have new scholars from 15 countries that are new to the scholarship programme. To further add to the diversity, there are also scholars who joined us in Grades 8, 9 and 10FIB, as well as Grade 11.

Welcoming scholars does not only benefit individuals with a world-class education and opportunities to access post-secondary education that would not otherwise be available to them.

It also benefits the whole community, as living and learning with students on a scholarship provides a deeper understanding of specific nations, cultures and global issues than can be gleaned from a textbook, an expedition or field trip.

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FUTURE GROWTH: ESTABLISHING THE DAVISUWCSEA COMMUNITY ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP Earlier this year, UWC International received an extraordinary matching gift challenge worth up to US$15 million from American philanthropist, Shelby Davis.

Through the Davis-UWC IMPACT Programme, each of the 15 UWC schools and colleges can receive up to US$1 million in matched donations if they increase the number of donations they receive over the previous year.

In practice this means any new donations will be matched dollar for dollar, thereby doubling the gift. Any renewed donations will be matched up to 50%.

In response UWCSEA has established the Davis-UWCSEA Community Endowed Scholarship. All matched funding will contribute to a new endowed scholarship named in honour of Shelby and Gale Davis. The endowment will fund a scholar at UWCSEA every two years in perpetuity.

Chris Edwards, Head of UWCSEA explained, “Shelby and Gale Davis have provided an exceptional opportunity for us to continue growing our donor base and ensure that more young people of promise and potential have the chance to experience a UWC education. We are truly thankful.”

Shelby Davis explains his commitment, “We believe in the potential of UWC students and we believe in the power of leading by example—thus our decision to step up for UWC at this time. We hope many others will join us to provide more UWC scholarships for aspiring youth from all parts of the world.”

To be part of this opportunity, make a gift to Annual Fund at www.uwcsea.edu.sg/supportus.

expanding the scholarship programme

93

scholars at UWCSEA this year

50

countries represented in the scholarship programme this year Number of countries per region:

11 Asia 12 Europe 11 Africa 7 South America 6 North and Central America 3 Oceania

15

additional countries represented

Costa Rica El Salvador Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Germany Ghana Guyana Honduras India Jamaica Marshall Islands Niger Nigeria Ukraine

102

scholars receiving a UWC education this year thanks to support from the UWCSEA community

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45

new scholars offered a 5-year scholarship in Grade 8 new scholar offered a 4-year scholarship in Grade 9 new scholars offered a 3-year scholarship in Grade 10/FIB new scholars offered a 2-year scholarship in Grade 11

new scholars were welcomed to UWCSEA in 2015 – the largest scholar intake to date

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Dunia is published by UWC South East Asia. Reproduction in any manner in English or any other language is prohibited without written consent. Please send feedback to dunia@uwcsea.edu.sg.

Editors: Sinéad Collins, Kate Woodford, Courtney Carlson and Molly Fassbender Design: Nandita Gupta Photography: Sabrina Lone and members of the UWCSEA community 053COM–1516

Printed on recycled paper with environmentally friendly inks.

UWCSEA Dover is registered by the CPE CPE Registration No. 197000825H | CPE Registration Period 18 July 2011–17 July 2017 | Charity Registration No. 00142 UWCSEA East is registered by the CPE CPE Registration No. 200801795N | CPE Registration Period 10 March 2011–9 March 2017 | Charity Registration No. 002104 MCI (P) 125/04/2015

New block completes Dover Campus redevelopment The fourth and final phase of the Dover Campus Redevelopment Plan was completed in December 2015 and incorporates the latest in ‘green’ technology. The new High School and Administration building has been awarded the BCA Greenmark Platinum status, the highest rating in Singapore for green building standards. From January 2016 onwards, students and staff will be making full use of the facilities, including the new library and study centre.