April 2018
TEDX
UWCSEADOVER
'BEYOND'
page 12
BENEFITS OF
BALANCED
SCREEN TIME
page 10
STUDENTS
ADVOCATING FOR
SOLAR ENERGY
page 21
Our scholars are young people with foibles, hopes and fears
common to all young people, but many bring experiences that
modify the thinking of others, redirect their gazes and thus
present new, challenging pathways. So, for all the quantifiable
scores and success of our scholars, we are, most importantly,
immeasurably the richer for their presence.”
Chris Edwards, Head of College
Read more on page 2
02
SCHOLARSHIPS:
MYTHS AND
REALITIES
Chris Edwards on
UWC's unique system
04
THE POWER
TO CHANGE
Graham Silverthorne
reflects on the value
of coaching
06
ARTS
HIGHLIGHTS
Term 2 Arts
across the College
07
AN ODYSSEY
LIKE NO OTHER
Reflections from the
Assistant Director
K2 DISCOVERY
TIME ON THE
GREEN SCREEN
Technology transforms
student storytelling
WALK FOR
TEMPLE GARDEN
FOUNDATION
Grade 5 unit culminates
with action for others
10
EXPLORING
HEALTHY DIGITAL
OPTIONS
Andrew McCarthy
explains the benefits of
balanced screen time
12
TEDX
UWCSEADOVER
Speakers address the
concept of ‘Beyond’
13
MORE THAN
JUST WRITING
Life takeaways from
Writers’ Fortnight
14
ANNUAL REPORT
Highlights from
the 2016/2017
academic year
16
THE NARRATIVE
OF WHAT
HAPPENS
Nick Alchin writes
on why the stories
we tell ourselves are
so important
18
INNOVATIVE
SPACES
Explore the Music
Recording Studio on
East Campus
20
SEAMC 18
Student
mathematicians put
to the test
21
STUDENTS
ADVOCATING
FOR SOLAR
ENERGY
Solar for East launches
22
COMMUNITY
FAIR AND FAMILY
FESTIVAL
Recaps of the two
Parents’ Association
flagship events
23
SPOTLIGHT ON …
Junior School:
Changemakers
Learning Share
24
SEASAC
ROUND UP
Sporting success
beyond results
26
EXTENDING THE
MISSION
Dzameer Dzulkifli ’03
shares his hopes for
Teach For Malaysia
28
MEET THE
DOVER HIGH
SCHOOL
PRINCIPAL
An interview with
Rebecca Butterworth
COVER IMAGES
Front: Dover Infant
Chinese New Year
Service lunch
Back: East Middle
School Art workshop
April 2018
Dunia is published three times a year 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: Courtney Carlson, Sinéad Collins, Molly Fassbender and Kate Woodford
Photography: Sabrina Lone and members of the UWCSEA community
Design: Nandita Gupta
UWCSEA Dover is registered by the Committee for Private Education (CPE), part of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)
CPE Registration No. 197000825H | CPE Registration Period 18 July 2017–17 July 2023 | Charity Registration No. 00142
UWCSEA East is registered by the Committee for Private Education (CPE), part of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)
CPE Registration No. 200801795N | CPE Registration Period 10 March 2017–9 March 2023 | Charity Registration No. 002104
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SCHOLARSHIPS:
MYTHS AND REALITIES
By Chris Edwards, Head of College
Back in the 1940s, the marketing
concept known as the USP appeared.
This, of course, is the Unique Selling
Proposition (or Point). The thinking
was not just to come up with a slogan
to sell your product, but to include in
that slogan a genuine differentiating
benefit of the product or service. So,
for example, instead of saying their
chocolate melted in your mouth (like
all chocolate), M&M’s took the plunge
in 1954 and said their product “Melts
in your mouth, not in your hand”.
Chocolate and clean hands: this was
everything we’d ever wanted, and
people were soon battering down
the doors of candy stores to get at
the colourful little miracles. Lots of
companies followed suit, culminating
in Domino’s Pizza’s bold “You got
30 minutes” slogan which promised
free pizza if that Margarita wasn’t
delivered in half an hour. (I assume the
geographical caveats were extensive.)
It is the unique scholarship system
that for many defines or at least
differentiates UWC schools and
colleges, but I would worry very much
if it became a United World College
USP. Yet sometimes it can feel that
way. It is all too easy to talk about UWC
scholars as show-ponies, and once that
happens, the young people concerned
can be burdened by false expectation
or even become the easy targets for
lazy and ill-informed criticism. In
UWCSEA, where the scholars form a
small percentage of the population
(because our mandate was to educate
the expatriate population of Singapore)
we need to be even more sensitive than
most to the issue of false expectation.
When talking about the input,
throughput and output of a school, the
UWC movement can often, it seems
to me, get bogged down on the first
issue. Hardly surprising as the process
of selection is far from intuitive. So, it
might be worth reminding ourselves of
a few salient points.
In 155 countries there are 3,000
volunteers working for UWC National
Committees. These volunteers,
themselves alumni of UWCs, promote
the movement, identify possible
scholars, interview them and help
place them in UWCs around the
world, including UWCSEA. Some
National Committees have successful
fundraising arms to help with this:
many do not. The difference between,
say, the resources of the German
National Committee and the Afghan
National Committee is marked. What is
undeniable is that many very busy, very
able and often distinguished people are
giving time and expertise to a cause in
which they passionately believe. I know
of nothing quite like it: engaged alumni
volunteers working to find not money
but the students themselves. Most
UWCs rely on the National Committees
for their survival, and most UWC staff
will not have met the new students who
are going to turn up at the start of the
year because the selection took place
elsewhere. Again, we are an outlier
as over 5,000 of our students came
through an internal selection process.
And who are these scholars? Are they
all operating at the extreme end of
academic brilliance and poverty?
Absolutely not. Some scholars arrive
speaking fluent English and knocking
exams out of the park from the word
go; others come with little English and
require time to adjust. Indeed some
find the academic challenges incredibly
demanding throughout their time here.
For the record, the average IB Diploma
score of a scholar is a little lower than
that for non-scholars. But that is to be
expected, and as I’ve said a thousand
times elsewhere, a hard earned IB score
of 24 points under such circumstances
deserves as much celebration as a less
painfully achieved 40. And with UWC,
an IB score is of course an element—not
the quintessence—of education.
There are then the myths about the
socio-economic status of scholars. First,
not all ‘scholarships’ within UWC are
fully-funded scholarships. There are
partial scholarships (these are means
tested of course) and sometimes a
‘scholar’ is actually paying full fees.
The problem here is nomenclature:
anyone who comes through a National
Committee is termed a ‘Scholar’ by
the movement, and so we immediately
have potential for confusion. But many
scholars are of course from backgrounds
that offer little hope for personal and
societal transformation, and the effects
of a UWC education upon such young
people are sometimes the stuff of
dreams: it is this that prompted Shelby
Davis, for example, to pour millions
into the UWC scholarship pot—an act
2 | Dunia April 2018
OPINION
of extraordinary generosity which is
changing young lives around the globe.
The inspirational stories that have
come from this are soaring examples
of what a genuinely transformative
education can do, and they are usually
enough to silence UWC’s most ardent
critics. At UWCSEA we set aside a
small percentage of our fee income
every year to fund such scholarships,
and this is enhanced by philanthropic
donations to and through the UWCSEA
Foundation. Many teaching colleagues
also contribute to a scholarship fund.
UWC is about impact. Throughput
(what we do with students when they
are here) and output (what they do
with their lives afterwards) are crucial.
But the factors that make our input
unique (on different scales according to
the college) are wonderful and cause
for celebration. If I were in another
industry I would suggest that at
UWCSEA we should talk about scholars
through positioning statements rather
than USPs. Happily for me, I work in
education and so I feel no compulsion
to adopt either method. What I would
rather say is that our scholars are
young people with foibles, hopes and
fears common to all young people, but
many bring experiences that modify
the thinking of others, redirect their
gazes and thus present new, challenging
pathways. So, for all the quantifiable
scores and success of our scholars, we
are, most importantly, immeasurably
the richer for their presence.
April 2018 Dunia | 3
By Graham Silverthorne, Head of UWCSEA East
I think it was probably sometime in 2001 when I sat chatting
about my annual performance review with the Chair of my
school board. It was a cold and dark early spring evening in
Cambridge and I was coming towards the end of the second
year of my first school headship.
For a young leader, things had gone tolerably well. I had made
some mistakes, scored some successes, learned to climb a
few of the necessary ropes and I was beginning to find my
feet. Jim, the Chair, was asking me what I wanted to do for
my professional development and I was a little stuck with
my response. I was reading the right books, attending the
conferences, becoming known in the Department of Education
in London—it all looked pretty comfortable, but Jim clearly had
something on his mind.
“Why don’t you get yourself a coach?” he asked, twirling his
RAF moustaches as he offered the suggestion. I wasn’t sure
what to say—truth be told, I didn’t really know what a coach
did or how that suggestion would help me. Did he, I wondered,
think I was doing something badly but not want to hurt my
feelings? Being wise enough to follow along an idea from
the man who had signed my contract, I agreed to investigate
coaching and to devote my professional development money
to that purpose for the year.
As the saying goes, you never hear the bullet that hits you. Had
I but known it, that conversation changed my life and set me
on a course that has left an indelible mark on virtually every
aspect of what I do, both professionally and personally. True
to my promise to Jim, I found three potential coaches and set
about meeting them all to assess whether I felt I could work
with them. The first one, I felt, would have been better suited
to selling second-hand cars, the second I found quite dull. The
third was Pippa Basan.
Pippa came to my office for our first meeting and told me
that she wanted me to talk about myself. I spoke for about
15 minutes and all the while she wrote. When she finally
interrupted me, I saw that what she had written were individual
words on a significant number of post-it notes. She leaned
forward and slapped each of the notes down on the coffee
table—there must have been at least 40. Leaning back in
her chair she said to me, “sort them out”. Nonplussed by the
instruction, I gave her my best nonplussed expression but she
held firm and offered me no more guidance. I looked again
at the words on the table and tried to follow the unhelpful
instruction.
The words she had written were all words that she had heard
me use—it was a clever variation on the coaching technique
of mirroring. All of the words were values or value judgements
about myself. Strong, ambitious, caring, sympathetic,
compassionate, helpful, driven, successful, anxious … I couldn’t
tell you exactly what the words were now but the magic
happened in the sorting process. I must have taken 20 minutes,
maybe more and pretty soon I was oblivious to anything or
anyone but the sorting game that she had set me. I found that
I could, indeed, ‘sort them out’ and that they fell, almost with
a clean sheering away from each other, into two distinct piles.
It was fascinating and it was the first deep insight that I had
ever been given into the workings of my own inner voice—or,
as it turned out to be, voices. One set of values and judgements
about myself was warm, generous and generally the definition
of laudable ‘goodness’. The other set, when I saw them all
together, I hardly recognised as me at all and yet the words had
all fallen from my mouth. These words were about toughness
and drive and ambition and success and generally ‘amounting
to something’.
When she eventually spoke again, Pippa asked, “Which one is
your voice?” It was immediately clear to me that it was the first
voice—I liked that person and wanted to be him. “Then whose
voice is the second voice?” came the next question … and
this was the beginning of my journey. The second voice, I soon
worked out, was primarily that of my father. There were other
contributors I could identify but what I was essentially carrying
around as a self-narrative, as the voice inside my head that told
THE POWER
TO CHANGE
On the value of coaching
4 | Dunia April 2018
me what I should be doing, was the voice of my father—or more
accurately, what I had interpreted as his expectations of me.
What I was learning about, in mind-churning slow motion, was
the coaching concept of self-limiting beliefs. The existence of
the narrative loop that we all carry within us which doesn’t exist
to help us but exists, primarily, to restrict us from being the
person that we really want to be. You will be familiar with the
words that this voice uses to introduce its judgements—
“I shouldn’t …”, “I need to …”, “I can’t …”, “I’ve never been
any good at …”, “I must …” And you can fill in the rest of the
phrases just as easily as I can: “eat so much chocolate”, “diet”,
“help buying shoes”, “do maths”, “be more organised”. The
stories that we tell ourselves are the driving forces of our lives.
If we are using the words and expectations of other people to
tell ourselves these powerful stories, then we are highly likely to
spend lives lacking in fulfilment and contentment. If we don’t
like the stories we tell, then a coach can help us change them.
There were many other revelations with Pippa, this was just
the first one but it was the moment that I gave myself the
imperative (using my own voice): “I must learn how to do this”.
Within 12 months, I had completed a coaching course with
Performance Coaching (now Culture at Work) in the UK. The
CEO of that company and my trainer, Carol Wilson, had been
on the Board at Virgin Records and remains a personal friend
of Richard Branson. The training that I received from her led
me into a world of pro bono coaching (of which Carol does
not approve, she thinks that financial commitment secures
buy-in but we agree to disagree on that) and into two extensive
teacher education programmes, first in Bristol and then in
Hong Kong.
There is no correct way to be a coach. At East Campus, I am
fascinated by the engagement with the Cognitive Coaching
Model. I will learn more about this over the months to come
but I can see the effect of that process on relationships within
the campus with absolute clarity. There is an emotional
intelligence, a respect and a commitment to allowing all voices
to surface in a conversation that is unique in my working
experiences. I have no doubt at all that this collegial and
supportive approach has been engendered by a quite conscious
process of defining collaborative norms and shaping positive
expectations of one another.
The large bulk of my work has been with the GROW Model
of coaching (created by Sir John Whitmore) but I have also
worked with a process known as the London Challenge Model
in the UK, supporting failing school leaders, the Instructional
Coaching Model of Jim Knight and Alan Sieler’s Ontological
Coaching Model. Instructional Coaching is also already
established on East Campus and works well in tandem with the
other approaches.
Sometimes I hear people question the value of an organisation
investing in coaching but to me that is rather like asking
what is the value of smiling at people. I couldn’t provide you
with any metrics on that but I am as sure as everyone else is
that doing it will improve my environment and my chances
of success tenfold. Actually, the impact of coaching can be
measured quite successfully in a number of ways, including
employee satisfaction ratings, attrition rates, the success
of performance management systems, succession capacity
building, professional development evaluation ratings, to name
but a few.
We don’t always recognise the moments when important
things happen in our lives until much later. The day we first
set eyes on a future spouse or partner, the application we
decide that we will or we won’t send, the person to whom we
once showed a kindness that is repaid many years later with
great interest. I had no idea, when I sat down for my fireside
chat with Jim, in 2001, that evening would set me off in a new
direction for the rest of my life. One great gift that we can give
to another person is the belief that they have control over their
own lives and the power to change things—or stories—that do
not serve them well. This is the power of the good coach.
The College welcomed Graham Silverthorne as Head of East Campus in January 2018. A History graduate from Cambridge
University, Graham spent several years working in banking, editing and the legal world before discovering his life’s passion
in teaching.
Originally from the West of England, Graham’s teaching career progressed through posts in Wales, Hampshire and West
Berkshire before he took up his first Headteacher appointment at Netherhall School in Cambridge. His second Headship in the
UK was at Gordano School, where he spent seven years, establishing the school as an independent Foundation School—and
has a building named after him.
In 2010, he set off on what he describes as life’s great adventure and became Principal at South Island School, in Hong Kong,
where he spent seven happy years developing a school vision based upon much of the philosophy which underpins the UWC
mission. Graham is a highly experienced leader with a particular focus on leading, developing and motivating high performing
teams. We are delighted to welcome Graham and his wife, Wendy, to Singapore and UWCSEA.
FEATURE
April 2018 Dunia | 5
Arts highlights
OPUS, Dover Campus
An evening of fantastic music making in the magnificent setting of
Singapore’s Esplanade Concert Hall.
Grade 12 Arts Showcase, East Campus
The annual showcase of work by Grade 12 IB Dance, Film, Music,
Theatre and Visual Arts students.
Epic Arts Dance Show, East Campus
A highlight of the year, the inclusive dance show features the talents of
Global Concerns NGO partner Epic Arts along with East students.
Primary School Arts Festival, Dover Campus
Students have been exploring a range of dramatic arts through
participation in their annual grade-level Arts Festival performances.
From All Corners Music Concert, East Campus
An evening of collaborative music making featuring the Middle and
High School ensembles and choirs.
Afterlife Dance Show, Dover Campus
A highlight of the Dover calendar featuring talented High School
dancers in a student-produced showcase.
Interrelated High School Art Show, Dover Campus
A diverse exhibition of original works by Art students in a variety of
media, including painting, drawing, photography and sculpture.
After Dark Dance Showcase, East Campus
A journey through the night, from sunset to sunrise, featuring hip hop,
Latin, House and Contemporary dance performed by High School students.
COMMUNITY NEWS
6 | Dunia April 2018
An ODYSSEY like no other
By Manu Moreau, Grade 12, East Campus
When I first started working on this
project I was full of excitement, with
not a clue of the journey that I would
eventually go on. Never had I imagined
just how much organisation as well as
leadership skills would be necessary.
When we first approached our script of
The Odyssey, adapted by Hattie Naylor,
it was hard to connect with many of the
contemporary aspects that Naylor had
incorporated into the epic Greek poem.
We were unable to conceptualise ideas
like having suitors playing football, but
at the same time we could not place
the piece in Greece and have the cast
wear togas. Instead we looked closer to
home for inspiration; living in Asia we
are surrounded by an amazing variety of
both contemporary and traditional Asian
theatres. Director and Drama teacher
Anna Parr was interested in looking at
Japanese theatre as inspiration. When
we looked at Japanese history, culture
and theatre, we were able to draw
parallels with The Odyssey. The grotesque
elements, like the suitors, we wanted to
physicalise with Japanese Butoh Theatre,
while the beautiful and gentler aspects
we explored through Kabuki.
From this we created our concept, our
intention. It is important to note that
our piece was not set in Japan. We took
these two styles of theatre, as well
as aspects of other Japanese theatre
conventions, and used them in our
design, acting and approach to devising.
This was also important to keep to a
constant theme and not to involve too
many different styles. Attempting to stay
true to Homer’s world of sea creatures,
mythological monsters, as well as Ithaca
and Troy.
One of my favourite scenes is Scene 7,
which we created very early on in the
rehearsal process. We knew we always
wanted to create a large ensemble
piece (one of the reasons we ended up
with such a large cast). Having a large
ensemble allowed us to give the students
the ability to create a piece which was
their own. I absolutely loved exploring
the ways in which a large group of
people can come together as one unit
to communicate something on a stage.
During the creation of Scene 7 the cast
split into groups, each responsible for
creating a movement piece that told a
part of the larger story. The reason that I
love the final product of this exploration,
is that it allowed the entire ensemble to
work together to physicalise what the
audience imagines in their heads.
The fact that the cast was able to
take such a big role and responsibility
in directing these movement pieces
themselves and constructing this scene,
is something that I really enjoyed as a
director. I believe theatre, much like ideas,
is created through the merging together
of opposing thoughts and opinions; it
is inherently an ensemble and group
activity. I believe now that the role of the
director should be to guide and challenge
and question, but also inspire and
motivate so as to encourage a thoughtful
and meaningful process.
Through this process I have learned what
it means to be a director; I have always
been passionate about theatre and about
telling people what to do. Working on
this production over the past year was
an incredible journey, I learned so much
about theatre, about productions, about
sound and lighting and directing and
most importantly about the people I
have worked with so closely.
One of the things I enjoyed most
was working backstage on the design
elements, including sitting down with
professional set designers, working out
costumes, and learning how sound and
lighting work. Being able to work with
these people, talk to them and observe
how they create and design, I gained
a small insight into how the world of
professional theatre operates. I now
believe theatre is something that will
always be a part of me and that I will
always be a part of.
COMMUNITY NEWS
April 2018 Dunia | 7
By Alison Forrow
Digital Literacy Coach
Dover Campus
Have you ever wanted to magically
change your current location to be
somewhere else? A snowy mountain? A
white sandy beach perhaps? Or maybe
somewhere with some history and
culture? Well the K2 students on Dover
Campus have been doing just that by
using the magic of technology as part of
their regular Discovery Time sessions.
Discovery Time is scheduled time within
the weekly Infant School timetable
in order to put students in control of
their learning. Activities offered during
the 90 minutes of Discovery Time are
structured to allow time for students
to develop conceptual understandings
through different experiences and using
a range of materials. Some activities
are led by teachers and others are more
student driven.
Technology integration is something
that happens from K1 and the Digital
Literacy team, together with classroom
teachers, refer to the most recent
research while thinking carefully about
how we do this using best practice.
Infant School classrooms have sets
of iPads available in order to support
and enhance learning and students use
them with increasing competency.
During Reading and Writing Workshop
in Term 2, K2 students moved on
from personal narrative to fictional
stories. As a result, they have had
to think about more complex ideas
including setting, character and plot.
How will the characters talk to each
other and how will they act? In the
Discovery Time area, students have
been given opportunities to put on
shows and perform for their friends
and classmates.
In order to extend their learning, and
integrate the use of technology within
an appropriate setting, small groups
of intrepid storytellers ventured over
to the IDEAS Hub towards the end of
Term 2. There they used the multimedia
studios to retell part of a traditional tale
in front of a green screen. With help
from our wonderful parent volunteers,
the Infant students chose a setting
from an album of images ranging
from forests and castles to farms and
villages and imported it into the Green
Screen app on the IDEAS Hub iPads.
A little bit of dressing up, maybe a
crown for the queen or an axe for the
woodcutter, helped the students to get
into character before they decided what
they would say as they performed a
few lines for the camera. The children
focused on how to deliver their lines
and how to use their bodies to match
their character. The final product
was a short video clip in which the
student was transported into a fictional
fairytale world.
Time spent in the multimedia studios
combined many skills and qualities
of our learner profile and provided
an exciting experience for our Infant
students. They came back to class
buzzing and recounting their experience
to friends. Teachers have begun sharing
the short videos with parents via the
Seesaw learning journal platform, and
feedback from parents and teachers
alike indicates they are impressed by
the children’s ability to make decisions,
be creative and perform on camera.
Bravo! More, more!
K2 Discovery Time on the Green Screen
COMMUNITY NEWS
8 | Dunia April 2018
By Hugh Pollard, Head of Grade 5, Dover Campus
UWCSEA believes in a holistic education and recognising
and embracing opportunities across the five elements of the
Learning Programme is the way that we as a College ‘make
education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for
peace and a sustainable future.’ One of the events that best
encapsulates the ethos of the College is the Grade 5 walk-a-
thon, an annual fundraising effort that is the culmination of
the What if I were you? Unit of Study.
Throughout the unit, students studied common human needs,
and how access to resources influences how we are able to
meet our basic needs. Students also began to differentiate
between physical and emotional needs, and to explore the
different ways in which needs are met within families around
the world including comparing the needs of others to their
own. We then examined the circumstances that affect
people’s ability to meet their needs, becoming familiar with
both local and global organisations that assist individuals and
communities when they are unable to meet their needs. The
walk-a-thon was the result of collective action undertaken
by students as they started to explore how they can make
a difference in the wider world, and help to support those
within our community.
Key questions that the unit addressed were:
• What can affect people’s ability to meet their needs?
• How can people and organisations take sustainable action
to support communities?
• What can people do to make a difference in their communities?
The unit, which sits squarely within the human geography
component of the Humanities curriculum, encouraged
students to look at how life experiences are in part a product
of where we live and introduced important concepts such as
responsibility and empathy.
Linking directly to the Service programme, students used
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to understand how poverty and
its associated difficulties result in not being able to meet basic
needs. Additionally, ideas about local and global action were
introduced, bringing the possibility of helping within practical
reach of our students in a sustainable way.
Students considered the communities that they are part of
and how these groups of people can help others, paying close
attention to the many service organisations that exist within
the College and one in particular: the Grade 5 Global Concern,
Temple Garden Foundation (TGF). Rob Biro from TGF presented
to the Grade 5 Assembly in the last week of Term 1, outlining
how the organisation supports communities in Cambodia.
Students then decided on the walk-a-thon, which involved a
strenuous 2½ hours of walking, and in many cases running,
around Medway Park. The idea behind the walk-a-thon was for
the students to experience a level of discomfort that enables
them to feel like they have worked hard for their sponsor
money, while encouraging empathy within the students for the
often difficult lives of the Cambodian communities that their
fundraising will help. The walk-a-thon is by no means the only
activity in support of TGF. Throughout the year Grade 5 help
to raise awareness through assembly presentations and other
classroom initiatives and activities.
So far, the Grade 5 community has collected $24,600 from
their activities and the next steps for the project will see the
Grade 5 team working closely with TGF staff to see how the
funds are used.
Fundraising for one of our service partners grew out of the
empathy generated by a clear curriculum focus and led to
the walk-a-thon. Students’ own commitment to care was
developed through this experience in an authentic way and
the event as a whole represents a well-articulated approach
to helping children fulfil the College’s mission.
Grade 5 walks for Temple Garden Foundation
COMMUNITY NEWS
Photo by Paul Benefield
April 2018 Dunia | 9
By Andrew McCarthy, Assistant Director of Learning
Technologies in collaboration with the UWCSEA Digital
Literacy teams
Screen time is a hot topic for parents, educators and
researchers alike with much conjecture and debate over
appropriate levels of screen time for children of all ages. In
a world where it is nearly impossible to avoid the ubiquitous
screen for creating, consuming and communicating this is
understandably an interesting area to explore.
This article brings together some of the evidence-based
research that exists in this field, with the aim of shifting the
focus of current discussion from producing a metric that
recommends ‘desired hours of screen time’ to a more nuanced
understanding of the context in which children view or engage
with different types of digital media. While the overwhelming
focus in mainstream journalism seems to be on highlighting
the risks and harms of screen time, we have collected research
and advice that highlights the benefits of balanced use through
building a positive connection with your child.
When exploring an issue such as screen time we try to look
for original contemporary research that is often highlighted
by journalists. Where possible we identify research-based
meta analysis studies or longitudinal projects where we
can look for trends. In this instance, research from the
collaborative ‘Parenting for a Digital Future’ at the London
School of Economics provides a grounded synthesis of the
research published to date. Alongside this we reference other
meta studies including the 2017 UNICEF Report: The State
of the World's Children and The Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) Report: Students,
Computers and Learning. The book The Art of Screen Time
by Anya Kamenetz, is one of many recent publications on
the topic of screen time. This particular book explores a
very practical set of strategies which resonated with our
ambition of empowering students and our view of seeing
parents and teachers as mentors. Our thinking is constantly
challenged and informed by our interactions and reflections
with students, parents and teachers in coffee mornings,
workshops or classes.
The broadest definition of screen time is spending time on
an electronic device, such as using the internet, watching
television or using a gaming console. As working professionals
this might begin by checking a news app in the morning,
logging into a work computer for the majority of the day,
messaging a friend about dinner, through to watching
Netflix in the evenings. For students, this could be using
an iPad or laptop in lessons throughout the school day,
messaging family, video calls with friends, playing video
games or watching YouTube in their free time. As parents
and educators, the biggest challenge we face is encouraging
the positive aspects of digital media such as creating or
connecting socially against more passive uses of devices
which we may like to moderate.
There are many studies which attempt to quantify screen
time for children. The most recent OECD data reported that
in 2015, teenagers spent 146 minutes online each weeknight
and on average, a sharp increase from the 103 minutes
reported three years earlier. In two separate studies in Canada
and Australia, data highlighted that an average 3–5 year old
will spend two hours on a screen each day. Statistics reporting
screen time for parents point to very high usage levels. Data
collected by Common Sense Media suggests that when work
and personal media are combined, 51% of parents spend eight
hours or more with screen media each day.
One of the largest cross sectional studies of 120,000 students
in the United Kingdom reported in the UNICEF analysis,
concluded that moderate use of 2–5 hours per day (depending
on the activity), seemed to have a small positive effect on
mental well-being. Whilst excessive use of digital media can
have a slight negative effect on overall well-being, parents
and educators need to be equally cognisant of other factors.
For children these include: sleep, eating breakfast regularly,
and considering social dynamics which can have stronger
impacts on their well-being than technology alone.
The most publicised yet debated recommendation on screen
time came from the American Association of Pediatrics
(AAP). In 2011, they recommended for no screen time for
infants under 2 and a very moderate one hour of use per
day for older children. However in 2016 AAP published new
guidance highlighting that a balanced use of digital media,
moderated by social interactions with friends and parents,
can be beneficial. For instance, when parents are mediating
screen time, watching together, asking questions and pointing
out examples, children will be more engaged and parents
more critical of the content. When consumption is passive
and solo, the same benefits of screen time are limited and the
risks more pronounced. This idea is extended to children with
specific learning and social emotional needs, where excessive
consumption of media has inherently higher risks.
Research highlighting the positive effects of screen time
gets less attention in the mainstream media. To borrow the
food metaphor from Anya Kamenetz and her book The Art of
EXPLORING HEALTHY DIGITAL OPTIONS
The benefits of balanced screen time
FEATURE
10 | Dunia April 2018
Screen Time, we should try encourage children to consume
a balanced diet of media. As with fruit and vegetables there
are lots of ‘healthy’ digital options that we can encourage
our children to explore. Examples include activities such as:
reading eBooks, educational games and television, creative
projects or connecting socially to friends and family. Every
week we see great examples of students pursuing their
passions: editing film footage of their holidays, publishing
soundtracks, educational games, creating stop motion videos
with LEGO or blogging and curating an audience. All of
these can be alternative ways to spend time on devices and
encouraged in moderation. On occasions such as stifling hot
afternoons we may let our children indulge in watching music
videos or something frivolous but overall we need them to
navigate a path to balanced use.
Whilst there have been few scientifically rigorous trials
analysing the impact of digital media, there are several
small studies that highlight potential risks of excessive use.
Excessive screen time of more than seven hours per day, in
one activity can impact children’s well-being, but the impacts
are seldomly attributable to digital technologies alone. For
instance, some research highlights links between watching
television for extended periods of time and obesity. Other
studies connect media use late in the evening to production of
the stress hormone cortisol and poor quality sleep. Literature
highlighted in the UNICEF report, suggested that labelling
excessive consumption as addiction, often conflates the issue.
More realistically, only a very tiny minority of children or even
adults are ever likely to experience such severe impairment
of a major area of their life achieving clinical significance. Our
best advice for any parent who is concerned is to look out for
changes in; eating and sleep patterns, child’s physical health,
willingness to connect socially with peers, engagement in
school and desire to pursue hobbies or interests. These issues
may manifest through the excessive use of digital media and
be triggered by other social and/or emotional issues.
We work closely with our students in various lessons to slowly
introduce the idea of screen time and finding balance. In
the Primary School this includes assemblies exploring what
effective communication looks like online and highlighting the
parallels to the face-to-face environment. In Middle School
we aim to equip students with self-regulation strategies,
for example by highlighting particular apps like Moment or
Focus to track usage and to support reflection. Through our
Personal and Social Education curriculum in the High School
we aim to help students make informed decisions to enhance
well-being and productivity, over time helping them navigate
the reality of growing up in a digital world.
Whilst you could probably attempt to raise your child in
a bubble and try to block many of the digital temptations
surrounding them, we believe that the presence of devices
in society will only grow. Thus we are obligated to act as
role models and to support our students in using devices
in moderation, and encourage parents to do the same,
by setting boundaries and initiating discussion when they
are overused. In some families this may mean restrictive
monitoring of younger children and setting guidelines. For
older children, you may mediate your child’s use through
discussions about their viewing of the latest Netflix series
or video game. In light of a constantly evolving landscape of
online media, negotiation and discussion of media use will be
an ongoing conversation for parents and educators alike.
References
• OECD (2015). Students, Computers and Learning: Making the Connection, PISA, OECD
Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264239555-en
• UNICEF (2017), The State of the World's Children.
• Brown, A. (2011). "Media use by children younger than 2 years." Pediatrics, 128(5),
1040-1045.
• Council, O. C. (2016). "Media and Young Minds." Pediatrics, 138(5).
• Anya Kamenetz (2018). The Art of Screen Time.
• Parenting for a Digital Future, London School of Economics:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2016/10/21/new-screen-time-rules-
from-the-american-academy-of-pediatrics/
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/66927/1/Policy%20Brief%2017-%20Families%20%20
Screen%20Time.pdf
• "Screen time and young children: Promoting health and development in a digital
world." Paediatrics & Child Health, Volume 23, Issue 1, 15 February 2018, Page 83.
https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/pxx197
• Maggie Yu and Jennifer Baxter, Australian Institute of Family Studies. "Australian
children’s screen time and participation in extracurricular activities."
http://data.growingupinaustralia.gov.au/pubs/asr/2015/asr2015e.pdf
• Why Parent Mediation Matters, London School of Economics. http://www.lse.ac.uk/
media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/EUKidsIV/PDF/Parentalmediation.pdf
April 2018 Dunia | 11
Going beyond—pushing the
boundaries of thinking and action—
is what it means to be part of a
UWC community. Sitting back
and letting things happen is not
typical of our students; when they
identify something that needs
to change (within our UWCSEA
community or globally) they seek
out opportunities for their voices to
be heard and ways they can be part
of the change.
This years TEDxUWCSEADover
was no exception. Guided by the
concept of ‘Beyond’ the students
leading this event drew together
speakers—including current staff
and students—who inspired the
audience to consider, among
other things, what it means to
have a meaningful life, how to
courageously share one’s own
mistakes and how to champion
innovative practices aimed at
protecting the environment. The
organisation of the event itself
was an example of going beyond—
Masud and the rest of the team
worked tirelessly to make this
happen because they believed in
the importance of the human voice
for inspiring change.
Rebecca Butterworth, High School
Principal, Dover Campus
By Masud Tyree Lewis, Grade 12, Executive Producer and Director of Operations
for TEDxUWCSEADover, Dover Campus
On Friday, 2 February, High School students at UWCSEA Dover treated the
community to an evening ‘Beyond’. An official TEDx event like no other,
TEDxUWCSEADover was crafted to show that while UWCSEA’s ambitious
community members tend to go far, we can still go further and even, beyond.
The event’s sigil, the bird, was selected to illustrate a simple concept: birds, from a very
young age, spread their wings and fly, usually, far away from their home. The organisers
challenged their audience to think like migratory birds: go beyond and go far in order to
grow. “There is nothing more beautiful than a determined bird exploring a new patch of
land or a new belt of sky” were the sentiments of the event’s leading team.
But the organisers did not challenge their excited audience by calling them birds,
rather, they invited them on journeys into the stories of their five speakers; into
what they would call ‘journeys beyond’. Julia Schetelig and Warren Su, students
at UWCSEA East and Dover, respectively, were amongst the evening’s lineup. The
organisers felt it was essential to challenge their predominantly student audience by
having their classmates on stage, a choice that not only moved fellow students but
also seasoned adults. While Schetelig explored the concept of giving a voice to the
voiceless rather than becoming their voice, a concept many of us as changemakers
tend to forget, Su dissected the faults of his leadership through a beautiful
metaphor, a satellite. Together, the two wove stories that appealed to the hearts
and minds of the audience and their classmates in particular.
Not neglecting their adult audience, the organisers curated talks from Dover
teacher and UWC Atlantic College alumna, Anisha Wilmink, architect and artist,
Christian Waldvogel and urban marine biologist, Eliza Heery. Wilmink evaluated our
role as members of the UWC community and simplified our mission into a simple
command: “Find a way to be useful and be good at it.” Waldvogel and Heery sought
to share their knowledge about the beauty of our magnificent planet and succeeded
gracefully. While Heery took the audience with her on the journey beyond the
water’s edge and into the urban seascape where fascinating creatures thrive—on
waste, Waldvogel beckoned the audience to think philosophically and artistically
about the shape, and the centre of the universe: us.
The five talks were complemented by two pre-recorded TEDx talks and a musical
performance by UWCSEA Dover student band, Take One. To commemorate
the spectacular evening, audience members were also offered complimentary
TEDxUWCSEADover merchandise.
It was, for many, an evening well spent and a journey worth taking. Thank you to
everyone who attended; thank you for going 'Beyond'. If you were not, we bid you,
never be afraid to go beyond what is normal; to challenge your everyday routine; to
explore the dark and mysterious; go beyond!
UWCSEADover
COMMUNITY NEWS
Photos provided by Masud Tyree Lewis
12 | Dunia April 2018
COMMUNITY NEWS
By Aryan Sahai, Grade 9, East Campus
English … one of the most dreaded subjects students must take. Every. Single. Book.
Must. Be. Analysed. Every essay, written to perfection. But a special experiential
learning programme engages students beyond reading and writing.
The annual Writers’ Fortnight at East Campus, held each January, brings speakers
from all over the world to campus to talk to Grade 9 and 10 FIB students about
various aspects of their lives—both personally and as a writer.
The main goals of Writers’ Fortnight are to: help students develop a better
understanding of what makes a story, better prepare them for how to look for a story,
and for them to be able to tell the story the way that they want to tell it, whilst also
considering the target audience.
Based on student feedback via a post-event survey, those goals were certainly
achieved. I've also identified the following top five life takeaways from the speakers:
Life takeaways from
Writers’ Fortnight
MORE
THAN JUST
WRITING
“S**t happens”
Danny Raven Tan’s
bluntness (as above),
was rather refreshing.
Students appreciated the
straight forwardness of this
Singaporean painter. Having
coped with the death of his
father, his own pancreatic
cancer, and caring for a
mother with dementia,
he provided students
with a real life example of
someone who has decided
to get on with life and
overcome each hurdle.
Kate Levy, Head of English,
described such encounters
as “interactions with adults
that treat students with
a frankness and a lack of
condescension that might
be quite refreshing.”
Danny’s message to
students was to “get on with
it”. Life isn’t going to wait for
you; you have to move on
and keep going.
“Anything is possible”
Spoken-word poet, Deborah
Emmanuel, talked about
her struggle to understand
her identity, as an Indian
who has lived all her life
in Singapore with little
connection to Indian
languages and culture. She
also spoke of being in prison
for a year and how it shaped
her poetry and art.
One student commented
that Deborah “went through
such hardships, took it as
a positive experience and
used it to improve herself”.
Through speakers like
Deborah, Writers’ Fortnight
showed students the
advantages of mastering
the UWCSEA skills and
qualities, particularly to see
setbacks as opportunities to
improve and build resilience,
motivating students to
overcome problems they
might face themselves.
“Disabled people don’t
need help all the time;
they are not disabled, they
are differently-abled”
Following a car accident that
left her paralysed from the
chest down, Christina Lau,
has become a successful
mouth painter and table
tennis player for Singapore.
After hearing her story,
some students’ mindsets
completely changed, as
they gained greater insight
into why people who are
differently-abled should be
valued for their unique skills
and contributions to society.
At UWCSEA, there is—of
course—a great emphasis
on service, and Writers’
Fortnight helped put
this commitment into
perspective as a reminder
that service aims to
embrace the differences
among individuals and unite
for prosperity.
“Be a cockroach”
A cockroach? Really? Yes,
Chetan Bhagat—author of
nine blockbuster novels,
four of which have been
adapted into successful
Bollywood films—told us to
be like a cockroach. Chetan
shared lessons learned
through a dramatic career
change, from investment
banker to author.
He explained that “the
strongest cockroaches don’t
survive; the ones who adapt
the best will”, citing the fact
that cockroaches survived
the dinosaurs—despite their
relative size and strength.
The idea that adaptation—
rather than dominance—is
critical to success, supports
the development of a
growth mindset. One
student wrote that “learning
about … being adaptive …
has provided inspiration
and hope.”
“My grandma was married
at 16, so I can relate”
“How many of you are
married?” This question
immediately got students’
attention around the issue of
child marriage. Social justice
photographer, Robyne
Hayes, uses photography
to empower people and
communities. She talked
about her experience
helping girls who are victims
of child marriage.
Many students who work
with Global Concerns aiming
to combat pressing global
issues, connected with
Robyne’s passion for her
work. One Grade 9 student
wrote, “I formed a greater
bond [with] … my GC,
Moving Mountains, as we
learned about child marriage
in Nepal.” Robyne inspired
him to continue working and
supporting his GC in order to
bring change in society.
These takeaways highlight the important role that experiential education plays in students’ learning. UWCSEA gives students
numerous real-life experiences such as Writers’ Fortnight through which to learn and build their skills. Writers’ Fortnight helps
students to expand their thinking and mindsets, which is intended to serve them far beyond the classroom.
Read more student writing inspired by Writers' Fortnight on UWCSEA Perspectives.
April 2018 Dunia | 13
Community 5,529
Students on
both campuses 3,781
Families on
both campuses 105 Nationalities
In her first Annual Report message as Chair of the Board of Governors,
Anna Lord wrote about the College’s successes, the strategic direction of
the UWC movement, and priorities achieved by the UWCSEA Board. In
conclusion, she wrote that, “Discussions and decisions by the Board always
have the needs of current and future students at their heart, and we are
continually reminded of what a privilege it is to be accountable not solely
to the bottom line but to this remarkable community of students, staff and
parents and to the mission that unites us.”
Included in the report are sections on student achievement in each element
of the learning programme; information about the College community,
including results of the annual parent survey; the business report
incorporating Human Resources, Admissions and the financial statements
for the College; and a summary of the activity in College Advancement.
The report includes a large number of statistics that describe the breadth
and depth of our activity. A selection of these statistics follows.
To read the full report on the College learning programme and operations
visit www.uwcsea.edu.sg/AnnualReport. To receive a printed copy,
please contact Denise Wan, Communications and Marketing Assistant
(denise.wan@uwcsea.edu.sg).
FEATURE
Tuition fees 75%
Financials
Boarding fees 4%
Other contributions 3%
Tuition fees 72%
Sundries and other fees 11%
Dover Campus
Income
Development levy 10%
Boarding fees 4%
Other contributions 3%
Sundries and other fees 8%
East Campus
Income
Development levy 10%
Educational support
salaries and benefits 9%
Administration and Boarding
salaries and benefits 6%
Depreciation 15%
Maintenance and operations 4%
52% Teacher
salaries and benefits
Educational resources and
other expenses 14%
Dover Campus
Expenditure
Educational support
salaries and benefits 10%
Administration and Boarding
salaries and benefits 5%
Depreciation 4%
Maintenance and
operations 8%
53% Teacher
salaries and benefits
Educational resources and
other expenses 20%
East Campus
Expenditure
14 | Dunia April 2018
572
Students
Class of 2017 IB Diploma results
Average IB Diploma score
29.9
Worldwide
36.7
UWCSEA
(I)GCSE results June 2017
Dover Campus
†ISC = Independent Schools Council
East Campus
Activities participation
The average number of activities that students in each grade took throughout the year.
K1
K2
G1
G2
10
G3
11
G4
G5
G6
G7
G8
G9
G10
FIB
G11
G12
Activities at East Campus
K1
K2
G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
G6
G7
G8
G9
G10
FIB
G11
G12
Activities at Dover Campus
Outdoor Education
747,312+
Student hours spent overseas
Service
90
Number of
Global Concerns
101
Number of
College Services
70
Number of Local
Service partners
$945,850
Money raised by students through the
UWCSEA Service programme
IB Diploma score comparison
UWCSEA
Worldwide (2016)
25.4%
27.8%
30–34
8.6%
29.6%
24–29
10.7%
43–45
1.9%
19.0%
35–39
36.2%
21.7%
40–42
5.3%
0.4%
16.4%
<24
45.0
74.0
97.0
34.5 (2016)
61.9 (2016)
90.8 (2016)
%A* UWCSEA
%A*–A UWCSEA
%A*–C UWCSEA
%A* ISC†
%A*–A ISC
%A*–C ISC
38.0
69.0
97.0
34.5 (2016)
61.9 (2016)
90.8 (2016)
%A* UWCSEA
%A*–A UWCSEA
%A*–C UWCSEA
%A* ISC†
%A*–A ISC
%A*–C ISC
Human Resources
5,910
Applications received
150
Posts advertised
Please note that this number represents the total
number of posts advertised for both teaching and
admin/support staff positions.
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
45%
from parents
April 2018 Dunia | 15
By Nick Alchin
High School Principal and
Deputy Head of East Campus
Anyone who follows anything about
education or popular culture will know
that student mental health, and the
flipside—mental illness—are big areas
of concern in systems across the world.
Fingers have been pointed to mobile
phones, technology in general, the
increasingly competitive pressure to get
into college, the shifting employment
outlook, the environmental outlook,
toxic political discourse or school
cultures which repress creativity and
demand conformity. All these are
worth addressing, of course, and are
the subject of debate as we increasingly
seek to promote student well-being.
That said, I think the truth is not likely
to be easily located in one specific area,
and there may be other things to do to
address the issue, as well as seeking to
remove stressors.
The all-knowing arbiter Google Trends
suggests that interest in well-being has
soared in recent years, with searches
on the keyword well-being increasing
fourfold in the past 10 years. This global
issue is, however, plagued the by lack
of clarity of what well-being actually
means. One definition that we have
found helpful is that from Dodge et al,
(2012) who define well-being as the
balance point between the challenges
we face, and the resources we have
to draw on. In seeking this balance,
we must often look to reduce the
challenges—especially, for example,
in a crisis. But perhaps the longer-
term solution is to build capacity in
individuals so we have more resources
to draw on; that is, to address the other
side of the balance. If we can do that
then meeting the challenges today and
in the future may not seem so daunting;
this seems to me to be the sustainable
thing to do, and what as educators, we
should be focusing on.
To understand the research, it helps
to think about stories. Telling stories
may seem a million miles from the
harsh realities of anxiety, stress and
depression, but in fact there is a
powerful link. To understand why, if
you aren’t familiar with it, do watch the
classic and famous video (Heider and
Simmell, 1944—refer to the QR code
in the 'References' list), which shows
a triangle, circle and square moving
around a box. Put like that, it sounds
rather dull, but in fact when we watch
the video, we find it almost impossible
not to tell ourselves a story. We all
make narratives of some sort—perhaps
not consciously—that likely stretch way
beyond the events we see in the short
clip; we add character, intention, ages,
family relations, and the likely events
leading up to and following this story.
Different people tell very different
narratives; there is no single, ‘true’ story
here. These are, after all just animated
shapes onto which we have projected
the narrative. That is, it is our narrative;
and the overall story can be happy or
sad, pessimistic or optimistic.
A moment’s reflection shows that we
behave the same way most of the time
in everyday life; we interpret our daily
events and place them in a broader
context, telling ourselves stories as we
do so. And it turns out that the specific
nature of the details that we add are
closely linked to our well-being—so
much so that psychologists now refer to
an optimistic or pessimistic explanatory
style as a key determinant of well-being.
This needs a moment to process as it
is so counter-intuitive: the style of story
we tell ourselves profoundly affects our
mood. In fact, so much so that a good
understanding here offers a tool with
which to address the mental health
issues that we are so concerned about.
The research on this topic comes from
positive psychology founder Martin
Seligman, who has found three ways
that we can nudge students to promote
their well-being; by avoiding personal,
pervasive and permanent narratives for
troubling events.
OPINION
THE NARRATIVE O
16 | Dunia April 2018
Why the stories we
tell ourselves are
so important
Avoid the personal
Students who blame themselves for
mishaps, without seeing context and
other factors place themselves under
a heavy burden. There is a world of
difference between I am awful at tests
and This was a very difficult test or
between I am just not a Maths person and
Trigonometry is difficult. In each pair, the
former is framed in terms of personal
identity, and can lead to nagging self-
doubt, whereas the latter opens up a
completely different conversation.
Optimists blame bad events on causes
outside of themselves, whereas
pessimists blame themselves for events
that just occur from time to time.
Avoid the pervasive
When a student frames an upsetting
social interaction as a limited Yesterday,
the situation with X was upsetting rather
than My friends always let me down, they
are seeing one narrow thing, rather than
a massive indication that something is
wrong. This means that no single event
needs to frame every single other thing
that happens, and allows students to
locate and contain difficult events.
Optimistic people compartmentalise
problems, whereas pessimistic people
assume that a problem in one area of
life means problems in life as a whole.
Avoid the permanent
This seems to me to be the most
profound of the three elements. When
a student can say This is tough, but it
will pass there is a world of difference
to This situation will never end; I can
see no escape. There’s some link to the
difference between a growth mindset
and a fixed mindset, and one of the
most moving breakthroughs I have
ever heard from a student was when
she described how she had come to
see her (dangerous) depression like the
weather—she said sometimes it’s pretty
bleak, but I know now that it’s like the
rain. It’ll go eventually; you just need to
hunker down and wait.
Optimists point to specific temporary
causes for negative events; pessimists
point to permanent causes.
The most encouraging part of this
research is that we can control what
types of stories we tell ourselves;
and for schools this may be a way
to address the rising tide of anxiety,
depression and self-harm that is being
seen around the world. We can actively
build these ideas into our conversations
and classes, actively teach students and
teachers about framing. These skills can
be learned over time; and we can use
them to prevent our challenges from
turning into our traumas.
These ideas are sufficiently well-
validated and robust that we can
actively draw on them as we consider
strategies and pedagogies to support
our students not just through school,
but through the challenges they will
face through the rest of their lives.
References
• Anderson, C. R. (1977). "Locus of control, coping
behaviors, and performance in a stress setting: A
longitudinal study." Journal of Applied Psychology,
62(4), 446-451.
• Dodge, R., Daly, A., Huyton, J., & Sanders, L. (2012).
"The challenge of defining wellbeing." International
Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 222-235
• Gilcrist, I. (2011) The Divided Brain. RSA Animate.
• Heider, F. and Simmel, M. (1944) "Experimental study
of apparent behavior." YouTube video:
• Konnikova, M. (2016) "How People Learn to Become
Resilient." The New Yorker.
• Seligman, M. (2006) Learned Optimism: How to Change
Your Mind and Your Life. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
• Seligman, M. (2011) The Optimistic Child: A Proven
Program to Safeguard Children Against Depression and
Build Lifelong Resilience. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
F WHAT HAPPENS
April 2018 Dunia | 17
When it comes to music making at UWCSEA, students have access to not only
outstanding teachers, instruments, and performance spaces, they also have the
opportunity to utilise industry-standard recording studio facilities, software,
and equipment. The recording studio at East Campus is a central feature of the
Music programme. It is well-used, accessible, messy, and fully connected to music
learning, practice and performance. Whether using one of the ‘live’ rooms to
practice with a band or ensemble, or to write and record original compositions,
Music students benefit from having access to professional recording facilities.
The studio runs industry-standard professional recording hardware and software,
including a TASCAM 32-channel mixer, Logic Pro X, a Moog synthesiser, a
Komplete Kontrol keyboard, amplifiers, and a variety of microphones for different
jobs (e.g., vocal, instrumental) and sound quality requirements. The two adjoining
'live' rooms as well as the 15 Instrumental Teaching Programme practice rooms
are all connected to the recording studio.
East Campus
MUSIC RECORDING
STUDIO
INNOVATIVE SPACES
Access supports collaboration
High School Music students are able to
learn how to use the recording studio
equipment and how best to utilise it for
various purposes (e.g., recording, mixing,
mastering). IB students in particular benefit
from regular access, which encourages
creative and generative collaboration
among students. They also benefit from
a very high standard of recording for their
compositions and assessments. Younger
students are also able to take advantage of
the studio space; Grade 5 students write an
original song each year for their Exhibition,
which is recorded and produced in the
studio. During school holidays, professional
songwriters and producers from Songwork
International have also offered courses and
recording opportunities to students.
18 | Dunia April 2018