December 2013
UWCSEA’s international technology award
Showcase: Initiative for Peace
Sports highlights in Season 1
Unity of purpose, diversity of practice:
a tale of two campuses
(which oversees all member schools
and college in the UWC movement and
approves any new members) mandated
that UWCSEA in Singapore should be a
single entity.
The Board also discussed other
possible structures, including splitting
the College into a Primary/Middle
School on one site and a High School
on the other. However, over time,
the decision became clear: we would
open a second campus, which would
offer K1 to Grade 12 in a new setting,
with the two campuses united by the
mission, educational goal and learning
programme, but diverse in their
practices and responding to the needs
of their individual communities.
The Board established a number of
guiding principles for the development
of the East Campus. The first and most
important principle was that the new
campus, like Dover, should further
the mission of the UWC movement
and should deliver a holistic learning
programme. The graphic below explains
how all the elements of the learning
programme fit together, clearly showing
that everything stems from and leads
back to the UWC mission. Other
principles were designed to ensure
that the UWC ethos remained in both
campuses, and that both benefitted
from the economies of scale provided
by the two-campus structure.
But while the principles focused on
how the two campuses should be the
same, there were other factors that
suggested how they might be different
from one another.
Firstly, the UWC movement expects
that all schools and colleges within
the movement respond to the UWC
mission statement within the context
of their individual locations; this creates
distinctive identities based upon local
resources and opportunities. The UWC
in Maastricht is very different to the
one in Swaziland. Thus, whilst both
campuses in Singapore are far more
like each other than they are like any
other school in the UWC movement
(or any other school in Singapore),
they nevertheless have differences
based on their individual contexts. We
are comfortable with this, since while
HOLISTIC
EDUCATION
To make education
a force to unite people,
nations and cultures
for peace and a
sustainable future
To educate
individuals to embrace
challenge and take
responsibility for
shaping a
better world
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LEARNING
PRINCIPLES
Because
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By Julian Whiteley
Head of College
For the past five years, UWCSEA
has been a two-campus College in
Singapore, and the East Campus
will reach a major milestone in May
2014, when the first Grade 12 class
graduates. As we reflect on the
growth of our second campus and
the impact it has had on us as a
College, it is worth remembering
the path to our current structure and
how our philosophy of ‘one College,
two campuses’ has worked.
In 2007, we reached a formal agreement
with the Singapore government to
open East Campus. Prior to that, the
Board of Governors had held extensive
discussions about how the College
would be structured should we expand.
Various options were considered,
including creating two separate schools,
with separate governing structures and
no central administration. This seemed
to miss the considerable benefits to be
gained from cooperation between the
two campuses and was finally rejected
when the UWC International Board
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 in eDunia:
Primary School
K1 self portraits
Students use iPads in
their unit on feelings to
create self portraits
Working on writing
Author Jacqueline
Harvey visits Grade 3
to extend Writing
Workshop
Middle School
Girl Rising
Grade 6 students host
fi lm screening following
their exhibition project
on girls education
High School
Environmental Systems and Society
A fascinating insight into land
reclamation was part of the Grade 12
fi eldtrip to Semakau
Twelfth Night
Enjoy student
perspectives and a
showcase of photos
from the production
Community
Epic Arts
The Epic Encounters
dance troupe spent
a week working with
students
Typhoon Tennis
Student initiative raises funds for
victims of Typhoon Haiyan
Adventurer of the Year
UWCSEA alumnus Tim
Jarvis honoured for his
re-creation of the 1916
Shackleton expedition
Front cover: SEASAC Division II Volleyball
Championships on East Campus
they have the same mission, ethos and
learning programme, and therefore
a goal to achieve similar outcomes
for students, we recognise that this
goal can be approached in a variety
of different ways. Unity of purpose,
diversity of practice.
Equally, one of the great strengths of
UWC is the degree to which individual
teachers and students take the initiative
and develop new ideas. It is worth
noting, for example, that 11 of the 19
school-based syllabi that have been
created for the IB Diploma Programme
since its foundation, have originated in
UWCs. We want our staff to experiment
and innovate, and if a new idea proves
successful on one campus, then the
other campus gives it due consideration
for adoption or not, as the case may be.
In this way, each campus is growing and
changing in the way that is best for its
unique context.
As the East Campus established itself
and the Dover Campus adjusted to
being part of a two-campus College,
it has been fascinating to observe the
impact of that ‘diversity of practice’
on the everyday experience of our
communities. The balance between
where we must be the same and where
we can be different has been the focus
of many conversations. Five years
on, while the learning programme is
the same in both campuses, and our
students are remarkable young people
whatever side of the island they travel
to for school each day, the learning
spaces and communities are different
enough for each campus to have its own
distinctive character, each refl ecting the
UWC ethos in its own way.
Over time, it is inevitable that we will
see more differences emerge; some
deliberate, such as the offering of
certain subjects on one campus and not
the other, others circumstantial, such
as the average length of stay of the
families in each community. However,
we know that the common mission
and belief in developing students with
particular skills and qualities, will
ensure that students experience the
same high-quality holistic education,
whatever campus they are on.
To make education
a force to unite people,
nations and cultures
for peace and a
sustainable future
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UWCSEA
PROFILE
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UWCSEA was named ‘School of the
Year’ in the 21st Century Learning
International awards, announced in
October 2013. The award recognises
excellence in the use of technologies to
support student learning.
According to the selection panel,
made up of leading educational and
industry experts, the UWCSEA entry
displayed a “focus on learning through
the intelligent use of technology.” The
panel was especially impressed with
“staff professional learning structures …
[that] help embed a culture of change
which we believe will reach well beyond
a single initiative, and even beyond
technological competence.”
Award fi nalists were selected on the
basis of their ability to meet criteria
that are widely recognised to indicate
the successful use of technology in
education. These include a shared vision
for learning, transformative leadership
and a culture of innovation. The panel
was also looking for broad access to
technology, the involvement of student
voice and the ability to build and sustain
capacity across the school. UWCSEA
scored highly in all criteria; learn more
by watching the award submission
video on our YouTube channel.
Graeme Deuchars, a Director of 21st
Century Learning International Ltd, said,
“The awards attracted entries from 15
UWCSEA’s international technology award
countries, and it has been an extremely
challenging and rewarding process to
arrive at the winners.”
Julian Whiteley, Head of College at
UWCSEA, recognises the commitment
by the whole College that resulted in
the achievement, “I am delighted and
extremely proud that UWCSEA has
won this prestigious award. It refl ects
upon the vision of the Board, the
professionalism and expertise of our
IT staff and the commitment of all our
teachers and support staff, who have
embraced the integration of technology
into teaching and learning at the
College. We have come a long way since
we launched the ‘iLearn’ initiative three
short years ago!”
At UWCSEA, students have wide access
to digital devices. In fact, we have
around 5,800 devises for our 5,220
students. Starting with iPads in the
Infant School and moving to laptop and
desktop usage in the Primary School,
all students in Grades 6 through 12
are then given a school laptop for
personal use. However, devices are not
as important as building skills among
teachers and students says Ben Morgan,
Director of IT, “Technology doesn’t
transform learning, but great pedagogy
can. The aim of the technology
programme at UWCSEA is to use digital
tools to support teaching and learning.
Technology is not an end in itself.”
The school also supports the
integration of technology with a
strong emphasis on educating the
wider school community around the
ideas of digital citizenship and e-safety.
UWCSEA is part of an international
accreditation system, Generation
Safe, which helps to ensure that
there is comprehensive support in
this important area. Many facets of
the Personal and Social Education
programme at UWCSEA focus on
instilling the ideas of good digital
citizenship and discussing personal
responsibility and good online practice.
A team of digital literacy coaches on
each campus are dedicated to working
with classroom teachers and students
to integrate the use of appropriate
technology tools, both hardware and
software. Last year, there were 84
professional development workshops
run by UWCSEA experts for their peers,
and 34 sessions for parents. The parent
workshops are part of a comprehensive
parent information programme that
provides workshops and training, guest
speakers and online resources such as
a dedicated website for parents with
regularly updated blogs.
Watch the award submission video
on our YouTube channel and visit the
technology information pages for more
details and links to further
reading: www.uwcsea.edu.sg/
learning/technology
By Jeff Plaman
Digital Literacy Coach
East Campus
“Most useful, and most forward thinking
conference I’ve been to.”
This is how one participant described
this year’s Learning 2.0 conference
held 10–12 October on East Campus.
The conference brought together
430 educators from 104 different
schools and organisations around the
world, including 40 from UWCSEA, to
focus on improving learning through the
use of technology. This year marked the
fi rst time the Learning 2.0 conference
was held outside of China, where it
began in 2007.
I had the privilege of chairing the
planning committee of this year’s
conference along with a talented
team of organisers and facilitators
from international schools across
Asia including teachers from both our
campuses and UWCSEA’s Centre for
International Education. The team
and facilitators behind Learning 2.0
are lifelong learners themselves who
are committed to using technology to
transform learning.
The conference’s theme, ‘Making
Change,’ was explored through a
variety of sessions. ‘What needs
to be transformed’ sparked a lot
of conversation about technology
integration initiatives while ‘cultivating
collaborative conversations’ struck a
strong chord for teachers, blending
great pedagogy with complementary
digital and physical spaces. ‘Maker
culture,’ ‘tinkering’ and technology play
were explored through game design,
coding, robotics and ‘maker-spaces,’
while others focused on story and
creativity with photography and video.
“Incredibly resourceful people attend
this conference. The participants are
the best part!” These words from
a participant illuminate the key
component of Learning 2.0’s success;
the level of enthusiasm, professionalism
and innovation brought by the
participants makes this conference
unique. Participants provided
more than 70 different one-hour
workshops and ‘unconference’
sessions. This was not a passive ‘sit
and get’ experience. Learning 2.0 is a
participant-driven conference.
Students played an even bigger role in
the conference this year. The student
TechXperts from UWCSEA East and
Singapore American School provided IT
support while students from Grade 1 all
the way through High School developed
and ran workshops to give insight
into what students think about,
and how they use, technology for
learning. Student ambassadors and
volunteers from Global Concerns
groups also played key support roles
from helping people register, to giving
tours of the campus.
As the host school, we also brought
UWCSEA’s commitment to service
into the conference by offering fair
trade goods as gifts to participants
with additional items for sale to raise
funds for Global Concerns. Participants
left with an overwhelmingly positive
impression of our campus, our teachers
and our students.
The benefi ts of hosting this type of
conference are tremendous, as teachers
are able to share best practices with
one another. I am excited to see
the learning applied in many of our
classrooms this year.
Making Change at Learning 2.013
“It is inspiring to be
surrounded by people
that are so passionate
about technology and
student learning.”
Nathan Hunt
Head of TOK, Teacher of
Environmental Systems and Societies,
Teacher of Geography
Dover Campus
organised by the UWCSEA Foundation,
and several opportunities still
remain for those that would like to
commemorate loved ones, celebrate
events or contribute to developing
a greener, more interesting campus.
Interested families and groups can
contact the UWCSEA Foundation.
Secondly, this term we have extended
our planting to partner with
neighbouring schools such as Dover
Court Prep and are making plans to
offer trees to as many schools as we can
in the area. We have also planted out in
the gardens of two parents and would
welcome more opportunities in private
gardens or institutions.
It has been extremely fulfilling to
be able to share our deep interest
in conservation with the wider
community; we have nurtured these
trees on a sometimes precarious
journey from seeds and to be able
to offer them as gifts and see them
flourish in the grounds and gardens
of others is especially rewarding. It
seems that getting sweaty and dirty
and very close to nature in the process
somehow adds to the enjoyment. To
date, we have planted out well over
50 of our trees, almost all of them
indigenous species. These include
species that demonstrate the value and
importance of conserving biodiversity
such as Callophyllum inophyllum whose
coumarin chemical compounds are
being tested in anti-retro viral drugs
for HIV. We have also recently teamed
up with the Grade 12 students who
run the Budden Initiative composting
project. Using the waste from the
Dover Campus canteens to fertilize the
trees on campus is a genuine mark of
progress in the College’s plans to live up
to its sustainability goals.
Our next project is an exciting venture
with the Singapore Botanic Gardens and
NParks, who are keen to get students
involved in reforestation research by
sharing the considerable workload of
raising seedlings for large plantings. We
are already raising highly endangered
Shorea timber species in the nursery
and intend to plant these and others
in a disused palm oil plantation in the
Central Catchment Reserve. If the
project proves successful, this trial
will be extended to return a large
area of Singapore’s degraded forest
back to the highly bio-diverse primary
rainforest it once was. It will be a
fascinating turnaround to see a palm
oil monoculture being replaced by
native forest!
We are also supported by a great
Facilities team on both campuses who
somehow always find time to help us
despite the huge demands on their
services. We are currently working with
them to extend the nursery at Dover
and to create a new facility at East so
we can scale up our work and get more
students involved.
East Campus parent David Neidel
(who is also a UWC alumnus) is a
reforestation specialist in this region.
David has given up considerable time
to develop our working partnership
with the Botanic Gardens and others,
and to help design our nursery
expansion plans.
We look forward to writing about
the progress of these plans in future
editions of Dunia. Regular updates
on these and other Environmental
initiatives can be found on our blog
at http://uwcseasustainablecampus.
blogspot.sg.
Planting partnerships
It is in the spirit of the College’s Global
Concerns programme to follow the old
adage ‘Think global, act local,’ and this
is certainly the case for the Rainforest
Nursery GC. With a mission to tackle
the global issue of rainforest loss, the
group raises indigenous trees (native to
Southeast Asia) from seed for planting
locally—on both our campuses and
elsewhere in Singapore. With only a tiny
fraction of its original primary rainforest
remaining, our aim is to play a part
in reversing the trend and reforesting
the nation. This may seem a tall order
given the country’s continued rapid
development, but our GC is committed
to working with its partners in the
government and NGOs to finding new
areas for afforestation and regenerating
the many degraded forest areas around
the island.
To this end, we have been working
hard on several projects. The first
is a continuation of planting our on
campuses (see April 2012 Dunia),
providing trees for sponsorship events
for alumni and parents. These are
Round Square is a worldwide
association of over 85 schools on
fi ve continents sharing unique and
ambitious goals. Students attending
Round Square schools make a strong
commitment, beyond academic
excellence, to personal development
and responsibility.
If this sounds very familiar, it is
because both the UWC movement
and Round Square have at their core
the same fundamental philosophy,
inspired by educationalist Kurt Hahn,
who was instrumental in establishing
both organisations.
The Round Square approach promotes
six IDEALS of learning: Internationalism,
Democracy, Environment, Adventure,
Leadership and Service. These are
incorporated into the curriculum
throughout all member schools.
UWCSEA’s commitment to Round
Square is a natural extension of our
membership of the UWC movement,
and we hope that our active involvement
will reinforce the links between the
two organisations—as well as raise
awareness of the UWC movement
in the broader community. Since the
majority of the 12 UWC schools and
colleges cater only for IB Diploma
students, UWCSEA’s membership of
UWCSEA’s commitment to Round Square
Round Square provides students in
Middle School and High School with the
opportunity to interact with others who
share similar values and aspirations. The
educational value of this is enormous,
whether it is through participation in
committees on campus, attending
international or regional conferences,
hosting students or undertaking student
exchanges, volunteering on joint service
projects or expeditions, or enjoying a
Gap Year experience in another Round
Square school.
There are weekly committee meetings
on both campuses and initiatives
such as the No Drive Day on Dover
Campus are supported by the High
School Round Square committee.
During the October break, a delegation
from both campuses attended the
Round Square International Conference
in Florida, USA. The experience
provided some valuable opportunities
for our students as they mixed with the
700 student delegates:
“Student delegates listened to the most
passion-fi lled, inspiring speakers …
I left each session tightly bound in my
thoughts and interpretations, which
I later debated with my peers in our
student-led discussion groups.”
Elinor Walker, Grade 10, Dover Campus
“We were able to get a good insight
of not only American culture but also
the culture of the diverse group of
international students who also joined
us at the conference for one universal
reason—to celebrate and understand
the Round Square IDEALS, making
connections with people from all over,
as well as learning about this year’s
conference theme: Waves of Change.”
Isabel Hope, Dover Campus
“The Round Square conference was a
fantastic experience enhanced by the
delegates … students from all corners
of the world gathered to discuss and
learn about issues facing our world but
more importantly how those issues can
be addressed.”
Karl Bocker, Dover Campus
“Saint Andrew’s took every care to ensure
that we felt welcome in their school.
They made us feel like family and made
every moment we spent in their school
heartfelt and memorable. Everything
from the people to the environment
made us feel right at home.”
Anushka, Grade 10, Dover Campus
UWCSEA is excited to be hosting the
2015 International Conference, and
looks forward to welcoming students
and staff from the Round Square
community to Singapore. The joint
campus effort will be supported by the
Centre for International Education, with
participants taking part in workshops,
conference sessions and activities on
both campuses and across Singapore.
UWCSEA Dover is a global member
of Round Square, and part of the
Australasian and East Asia region.
UWCSEA East is currently a Regional
member.
For more information, visit
www.uwcsea.edu.sg/roundsquare
Academics
By Chris Fensom
Infant School Principal
Dover Campus
“Play is often talked about as if it were
a relief from serious learning. But for
children, play is serious learning. Play is
really the work of childhood.”
Fred Rogers (1928–2003)
If you happen to walk through the K1
classrooms and shared play spaces on a
Tuesday or a Thursday morning, you will
be witness to a hive of joyful activity
as our 88 K1 students busily engage
in the serious ‘work’ of childhood.
Collaborating to build a volcano in
the sand, conversing in Chinese in the
role play area while drinking tea with
Lăo Shī, tending the chilli plants in
the garden, putting on a puppet show
or creating a model from recycled
materials are examples of the varied
play-based, child-initiated experiences
that happen during ‘investigation
time.’ These activities honour the
interests and autonomy of young
children and help to develop their
social and communication skills, their
emotional resilience, their creativity
and their ability to solve problems
collaboratively. Teachers are on hand
to facilitate and support the children’s
learning through skilful, provoking
questioning and guided interaction.
Of course, explorations like these
happen at other times during the week
but the unique aspect of these twice
weekly ‘investigation times’ is that
children are free to explore each other’s
classrooms, interact with students
from other classes and get to know
all of the K1 teachers and teacher
assistants. Many positive benefi ts are
gained by enabling students to interact
with children from other classes,
particularly the development of social
and communication skills. They also
have the opportunity to use resources
and explore centres and activities that
are set up in other classrooms.
In addition to the introduction of shared
‘investigation time,’ the development
of the K1 learning spaces has been a
focus over the last few years with the
aim to make them more welcoming
and homely. Wooden furniture and
comfortable settees help to create an
informal atmosphere that we believe
helps children transition more smoothly
from home or pre-school to ‘big school.’
However, the arrival of our new wooden
tables and chairs at the start of this
year left us with a quite a problem
as we needed to fi nd a home for 88
plastic chairs and 32 tables that were
still in good condition. As our mission
is to make education a force to unite
people, nations and cultures for peace
and a sustainable future, we could not
just quietly dispose of these valuable
resources. Therefore, Tiara Lesslar, Head
of K1, set out to fi nd an organisation
who could make use of our tables and
chairs through the local organisation
Pass it On. Shortly after posting on
their website, Tiara was contacted by
Evelyn from Viriya Community Services,
which is a charitable organisation that
provides community and social services
to low income families in Singapore,
regardless of their race and religion.
Very soon the tables and chairs
were on their way to a new
home in a local pre-school.
Investigation time in K1
10
By Carl Waugh, Head of Technology
and Luke Milburn, Teacher of Design
and Technology, Dover Campus
The Design Technology course intends
to challenge all students to apply
practical and creative thinking skills
to solve problems in technology and
to raise students’ awareness of their
responsibilities as world citizens when
making decisions and taking action on
technology issues.
The subject uses the design process
as the mode of thinking. This strategy
helps students investigate problems
and design, plan, manufacture and
evaluate the products and systems
that they operate. Combining practical
skills with an understanding of function,
aesthetics, social and sustainability
issues, the course also develops creative
and critical thinking strategies.
Students must look for needs, wants
and opportunities and respond to them
by designing and developing a range of
ideas. They then go on to manufacture
fully functioning products and systems
from a wide range of materials. In
order to develop an understanding
Design Technology in Middle School
of designing and making, students
investigate products and find out about
the work of professional designers and
design movements. As they do so, they
reflect on and evaluate present and
past design and technology, its uses and
effects. New graphical skills allow them
to clearly record and communicate
ideas and information. Students use
computers and computer-aided design
and manufacture (CAD-CAM) and
control software, as an integral part of
the design process. The basics of human
nutrition and the wise selection of
foods are also covered, helping students
understand the need for a balanced and
healthy diet.
Design and Technology is a very broad
subject covering both technical and
aesthetic disciplines. The separate
strands of the subject are covered
over the three years of Middle School
and include: Product Design, Textile
Technology, Food Technology,
Electronics, Communications and
Technology (ECT) and Graphic Products
and Engineering.
Product Design
Product Design introduces students to
a range of resistant materials such as
plastic, metal and wood. Students are
taught to manipulate these materials
in a variety of design contexts to create
challenging and fun products. Students
also complete Graphic Product and
Electronics units within the Product
Design curriculum.
Textiles Technology
Textiles Technology investigates the
manufacturing and use of textiles-
based products such as bags, protective
equipment and clothing. Students learn
a range of construction and decoration
techniques to create vibrant and
original products.
Food Technology
Students learn the principles of
nutrition and balance in order to design
and create new dishes. They are taught
to combine ingredients in innovative
ways to meet specific dietary needs.
The Engineering Design
Challenge
This is an opportunity for Grade 8
students to experiment and discover
the boundaries of physics in the
practical world. There are a set series
of group and individual challenges
that cross engineering disciplines and
introduce them to mechanisms, forces
and structures.
In Grade 6, students have a double weekly
lesson of Product Design. They have a
second discrete double lesson each week
of either Textiles or Food Technology,
spending six months on each subject.
In Grade 7, students have a double lesson
each week of Product Design. They have
a second discrete double lesson a week
of either Textiles or Food Technology,
and spend half a year on each.
In Grade 8, students have a double
lesson each week of Product Design.
They have a second discrete double
lesson every other week of Engineering
Design Challenge (which alternates with
their Life Skills lessons).
11
By Lynne Arrol
Head of Drama
Dover Campus
Founder of the Theatre Versus
Oppression organisation, Dr Jennifer
Hartley worked intensively with IB
students from both Dover and East in
a series of workshops exploring the
applied theatre practice of Theatre of
the Oppressed during Term 1. She first
came to UWCSEA three years ago to
work with Drama and TOK students and
returned to work on the Dover Campus
this year.
Grade 11 and 12 Theatre students from
both campuses and a number of Grade
11 TOK students discovered that theatre
is not just about stage performance but
is also a form of therapy that is being
successfully utilised to help people
who have experienced the trauma of
oppression in its various forms including
torture, prison and poverty.
This year, Dover Campus students
were able to participate in these
activities firsthand and learn more
about their application and potential
impact. The week of workshops
culminated in Grade 12 Theatre
students taking part in a Forum Theatre
session with women from the HOME
organisation, which gives shelter to
abused domestic helpers.
This opportunity to work closely
with Dr Hartley in a ‘real-life’ session
putting Theatre of Oppression theory
into practice had a significant impact
on the students who in the debrief
session after the workshop described
the experience as both “inspiring”
and “humbling.”
By Lynne Arrol
Head of Drama
Dover Campus
Grade 12 Theatre students staged their
Independent Project Performances
in the Small Hall in October 2013.
These devised pieces were the
culmination of several weeks of effort
where the students work completely
independently to create fully realised
pieces of theatre. Each presentation
is designed to convey a message
of social or political importance,
utilising a number of theatre traditions
and practices and thus fulfilling an
important aspect of the IB Theatre
course, the application of theory
into practice.
The four performances this year were:
Praise the Lord – an exploration of
religious extremism
Pawnography – a series of scenes
exploring the question of ‘are we
really free?’
What’s Worse Than Being A Woman – an
exploration of female stereotypes and
external pressures placed on women
based on societal judgment
Exile – an exploration of the reasons
why people are isolated and what
makes society shun individuals who are
considered different
Audiences of friends, staff and family
were engaged by these thought-
provoking pieces, and Grade 12
Theatre students learned the value and
satisfaction of working collaboratively
to take something from nothing to a
successful piece of theatre.
Artist in residence at Dover Campus,
Dr Jennifer Hartley
Independent Project Performances
12
By Cecilia Foxall and Kate Levy
High School English Department
East Campus
It’s not often that you get the chance
to plan a unit of teaching with input
from the author being studied, but this
was the case for the Grade 9 English
teachers at East Campus.
In October, the acclaimed Singaporean
poet, Kirpal Singh, took time out from
his job as Professor of English Literature
at the Singapore Management
University, to speak to members of
the English Department about the
political potency of literature. He was
able to talk from experience about the
challenges of writing poetry under the
threat of censorship.
His contributions gave shape and depth
to the teaching unit being planned by
the team of Grade 9 teachers. Professor
Singh even selected the poems to be
studied by the students, from his many
published works.
Even more powerful was the talk that
he gave to the Grade 9 students. He
shared with them his passion for poetry
and his experiences as a poet writing in
Singapore over the last 40 years.
Prior to his visit, students read the
poems he had handpicked, including
Mandai Kampong and They Say. During
the talk, Professor Singh entertained
students and staff with further gems
from his collections and others from
fellow Singaporean poets.
The talk was followed with an
interactive session where students
were able to ask questions, for example
about Professor Singh’s inspiration
and motivation for writing poetry, as
well as his experiences of writing and
publishing under the watchful eye of
the Singapore authorities.
Student responses to the session
included:
“His speech was pretty amazing—
literature can enlighten you and change
your perspective on the world.”
“I learnt about the value of being able to
recognise and speak out about problems
in your society.”
“Poetry is a viable form of political
expression.”
Some classes also had the opportunity
to speak via Skype with Singaporean
poet, Jee Leong Koh. He shared with
them the very different experiences he
has had as a writer in New York.
It was an honour for both teachers and
students to hear from these poets while
studying their work, particularly Kirpal
Singh’s views on the infl uence and
relevance of literature and hearing him
read his powerful poetry.
A poet with power
Mongolia may seem an unlikely place
to learn about Economics, but over the
October break, High School students
from both campuses travelled there
for just that purpose. The trip provided
important case studies through which
students could understand the fi nal
course topic, development economics.
As the curriculum requires real life
examples to be ascribed to the topics,
Mongolia was an ideal setting in which
to gain insights into the different facets
of a developing economy.
A variety of site visits and speakers
helped to bring the curriculum alive.
A talk with an industrialist in the
mining industry gave a valuable fi rst-
hand account into the workings of
the industry, by explaining how it is a
signifi cant component of Mongolia’s
national income. Since the majority of
the income comes from coal mining,
the students were able to evaluate
Mongolia trip offers case study in
development economics
the effect being too dependent
on one resource could have on a
developing economy. The fact that
China and Russia compose most of the
demand added a political element into
students’ analysis.
Measures to further develop
Mongolia were discussed with the
head of the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, as
well as one of the major commercial
banks, XAC Bank. The representative
from XAC Bank gave an overview of the
workings of microfi nance, an important
part of the solution to Mongolia’s
development. Students learned about
the different measures in place to
ensure accessibility to microfi nance,
as well as advantages of having a
commercial bank operate the country’s
largest microfi nance scheme.
Students were divided into cross-
campus focus groups to investigate a
specifi c research question applicable to
Mongolia, sharing their fi ndings with
their peers and further enhancing the
learning experience.
The students also had the opportunity
to visit a school set up by the
United Nations Development
Programme. There they had to
creatively interact with the children
since they shared no common
language. Charades and drawings were
used to try to communicate. Incredible
connections developed, despite the lack
of verbal communication.
For student perspectives on the trip,
please visit eDunia.
13
Activities
By Lynne Arrol
Head of Drama
UWCSEA Dover
Each year in October, preparations for
the annual United Nations evening
performance engenders enormous
excitement in the Dover Campus
community, and 2013 was no exception,
as student groups feverishly rehearsed
their items and fi nalised costumes.
This year, the performance included
a greater number of items than ever
before, all facilitated and choreographed
by High School students, refl ecting the
great cultural diversity that makes our
College such a special place. Also, this
year the performance utilised projection-
mapping technology, a relatively new
approach to projection in performance
that enhanced and supported the terrifi c
student work presented on stage.
The fi nal performance that played to
three sold out houses in the Main Hall
was vibrant, colourful and energised
in a manner that only the enthusiasm
and focus of the young can bring.
Close to 400 of our Middle and High
School students showed not only their
considerable talent in performance but
also their commitment to making each
United Nations evening performance
the absolute best it can be.
My thanks to the performers, backstage
and technical crew, and to the Drama
Department team for all their work
on an evening that for me, at least,
encapsulates all that UWCSEA strives
to achieve and something that I know
all remember fondly long after they
have left the College.
Watch the highlights on the
UWCSEA YouTube channel.
United Nations evening performance 2013
14
Initiative for Peace (IfP) was founded in
2001 by a group of students and staff
to promote peace in global, national
and regional confl icts. The annual
conference follows a year of preparation
by our students, who receive training
from specialists in the fi elds of public
administration, confl ict resolution and
negotiation and historical perspectives
in order to facilitate an event in the
target country for youth leaders from
both sides of a confl ict.
The IfP conferences aim to bring youth
leaders together to equip and empower
them to establish and lead their own
initiatives towards the prevention or
resolution of confl icts within their
communities. The success of each
conference is therefore determined not
by what happens at the event, but by
what happens afterwards. For example,
following the 2009 conference in
Timor-Leste, two participants, Leonardo
Rosa and Salles de Sousa, were inspired
to set up a project to reforest the hill
behind their community. In 2010,
the Timor-Leste Youth for Peace
organisation was created by Timorese
IfP participants. They disseminate what
they learn in the IfP conferences to the
rest of their community.
This year, for the fi rst time, two
conferences took place simultaneously
as UWCSEA East students joined the
IfP. The conference in Dili, Timor-
Leste continued in its sixth year and,
following a six-year absence, IfP
returned to Kandy, Sri Lanka. The focus
of both conferences was peace building,
but with priority given to issues relevant
to each country.
In another development this year, the
inaugural Peace Day was a student-led
initiative involving IfP participants,
and for the fi rst time, local Singapore
schools participated. We hope that
Peace Day will become an annual event
to support our students in developing
their skills and provide an opportunity
for student participants in the year-
long IfP programme, but who are not
selected to attend the conferences, to
use their skills.
IfP Timor-Leste
Dates: 19–24 June, following year-long
preparation
Who attended? 24 UWCSEA students
and 40 Timorese participants
What happened? Delegates were
involved in discussions and the
development of new skills, equipping
them to put their ideas for sustainable
peace into action. Also, tree planting.
Sebastian Jensen
Grade 12
East Campus
On arrival in Dili, we thought we
knew exactly what we were going to
do. All the activities were planned to
the minute and the schedule looked
great, including icebreakers, group
discussions, games, presentations
and other activities involving our
themes of environment, human rights,
reconciliation and education.
The next day, we met the local
delegates, who ranged in age from 16
to 21, with English skills from fl uent to
almost non-existent. All had one thing
in common: their love for East Timor,
and all were eager to make the country
a better place for everyone.
The fi rst activities ran smoothly,
but then in a small group exercise
one male participant shared that
he wanted to punch all the lesbians
in the world. This shocked all the
facilitators, and we realised we needed
to include an activity to share some
different opinions. However, in socially
conservative East Timor, homosexuality
is generally a taboo topic. For many
delegates it may have been the fi rst
time that they shared their thoughts on
it. However, to our surprise everyone
was very open, and in the end, the
participant that wanted to punch a
lesbian was very quiet, before suddenly
sharing his thoughts with us, “I don’t
think we should deny people the right
to love.”
It was not our intention to spread
our liberal UWC thoughts, and I
feel this is not what we did. But by
sharing thoughts and interpretations
about topics usually off limits, and
by listening to those of others, our
delegates were able to step out of their
comfort zone and get a glimpse of
what the UWC movement is all about:
sharing ideas and thoughts to create a
more peaceful world.
We may not have brought a large
change to East Timor, or even a small
one. But we did show our delegates that
by sharing ideas and opinions you can
achieve mutual understanding, respect
and, ultimately, peace.
IfP Sri Lanka
Dates: 21–26 June, following year-long
preparation
Who attended? 15 UWC South
East Asia students and 40 Sri Lankan
participants
Initiative for Peace (IfP) was founded in
In another development this year the
The fi
Showcase: Initiative for Peace
15
What happened? The programme
focused largely on reconciliation and
trust-building between groups of
young people from different ethnic
backgrounds.
Troels Boldt Rømer
Grade 12
Dover Campus
The ideas that sound the most
outrageously irrational are sometimes
the ideas that work best. That was
what I said, mainly to comfort myself,
when I spoke to my friend in Denmark a
week before IfP started. “So you tell me
that you and your peace-loving UWC
friends will go into a country that, just
a few years ago, was in total civil war
because of an old racial conflict, stuff
some youngsters together in the jungle
for a week and then believe you can
create peace?” he asked me. “Yes, that
is pretty much right,” I replied.
A week later, I stood in the Sri Lankan
rain waiting for a bus to collect the 40
delegates and 15 UWCSEA facilitators.
They were all there: the Tamils, who
had been travelling hours from Jaffna
in the North; the Sinhalese, arriving
from the capital of Colombo; and the
Muslims, talking about last Friday’s
prayer. Between the groups, the silence
was noisy.
As the bus stopped at the modest
venue, the delegates were welcomed
to a week-long conference. The aim:
when the week was over, they should
not just have made friendships across
the ethnic divides. They should be
empowered to bring their insights and
ideas back to their communities and
become ambassadors of peace and
social activism.
It only took a few hours before the ice
started breaking. At the dinner tables
in the evening, young Sri Lankans
exchanged stories, ideas, hopes and
fears. Over the next days, young
people who had been brought up as
enemies found themselves drawing out
the history of their country together.
They planned mobilization campaigns
for human rights, they discussed
current racial tensions, they talked
about education, homosexuality and
corruption, they taught each other
the languages and proverbs they were
brought up with, they met UWC’ers
from countries they had only read
about in textbooks, and they shared a
week of joy, ideas, tears and hope with
the boys and girls from parts of their
country they had never seen.
A week later, I sat in my friend’s flat in
Copenhagen and shared the story. He
still thought I was naïve. And he was
right in his scepticism—of course he
was. We had never intended to go to Sri
Lanka to create total peace. We never
believed that our small acts could undo
decades of violence and hatred. But if
we cannot undo the national conflict,
we can moderate the personal ones.
This was demonstrated when a Tamil
boy came up to me the last day and
hugged me while he, tears in his eyes,
told me no one had ever before asked
him how he felt about his country, his
future and the conflict. I was even more
uplifted when I received a text from
a Sinhala girl about a Tamil language
project that she has started in her
local neighbourhood.
There is true, human value in IfP. As
facilitators, we are forced to face the
reality of the country we are guests in.
Abstract words about peace are gone,
substituted with real stories of hatred
and revenge—real stories are harder
to deal with than textbook exercises.
But I hope the biggest impact was on
the delegates from Sri Lanka. I believe
that we, by showing how different
cultures can live together in the UWC
community, can inspire others to cross
the old borders of prejudice. And I
believe it matters when youth meet
youth to act on global problems. Even
though our actions are small, the
people I met in Sri Lanka will take
their story and ideas with them and
impact more people in the future.
I might not undo the conflict in Sri
Lanka, but it is definitely a significant
step in the right direction.
Peace Day
Singapore 2013
Date: 21 September
Who attended? Co-hosted by IfP
participants from both UWCSEA
campuses, around 100 youths
from international and local schools
across Singapore
What happened? The inaugural
Peace Day Singapore celebrated the
global Peace One day, including a
forum discussion on the lack of peace
in Singapore, and why peace within
ourselves and in our community is
important. The day also featured
student-led workshops on music,
physical theatre, a One Day One Goal
football match and a visual arts forum,
and ended with a concert.
If you are interested in learning
more about the Initiative for
Peace, please visit their website:
www.uwcsea.edu.sg/IfP.
16
By Roxanne Walker
Teacher and Volleyball Coach
East Campus
For a coach, there’s no greater moment
in a season than to see the penny drop
for a player. The moment when they
realise that they can play the sport—
that their hard work and perseverance
have paid off. The 2013 SEASAC
Division II Volleyball tournament was
one of those moments.
UWCSEA East, the newest member
of SEASAC, hosted the tournament in
which 7 schools, 12 teams and players
from 29 nationalities participated.
There was a great atmosphere from
the start with students of all ages
coming down to cheer on the teams on
Friday, 1 November. The round robin
tournament allowed teams to play all
the participating schools. Although
there were clear contenders for the
top spots, all matches gave the crowd
a good show. All three of the East
Campus teams represented UWCSEA
in outstanding fashion, demonstrating
skill, dedication and sportsmanship.
Both our boys A and B teams played
superbly. With high hopes after going
undefeated in their local league, the
boys A team played very well and made
it to the fi nals. Demonstrating great
heart and resilience, they played to fi ve
sets. The fi fth set was very exciting and
in the end KLASS prevailed, and our
team won the silver medal.
The boys B team enthusiastically faced
more experienced teams with a positive
attitude and willingness to learn. They
ended the tournament with a win
against Tanglin Trust School, earning
fi fth place.
The girls championship would go
to the team that made the least
unforced errors and with the strongest
desire to win. The East girls had
already lost a match to Mont’ Kiara
International School on the fi rst day,
but in the championship match, after
losing the fi rst set, they fought their
way back to a 3-1 win. This win earns
them a place in Division I next year.
Congratulations to the girls on their win
and thanks to the campus community
for the tremendous support of our
teams throughout the tournament.
For the full-length article and additional
sports photos and results,
please visit eDunia.
East hosts SEASAC Division II Volleyball
Championships; girls team wins
Sports highlights
Touch and
cross country
Asian All Schools Championships (AAS)
is organised by Touch Football Singapore,
and welcomed 44 teams and 6 countries
for a day of highly competitive play.
UWCSEA teams from both campuses
advanced to the fi nals in fi ve of the six
pools played—these rain-delayed fi nals
will be played in late November.
The SEASAC Cross-Country
Championships were hosted by Tanglin
Trust School in Singapore 22–23
November. Teams and individuals from
both Dover and East Campus competed
well with both campuses earning
team medals and four Dover students
achieving individual medals.
17
Senior Rugby tour
to Sri Lanka
The Dover Campus U19 and U16 Rugby
teams started this year’s season with
a week-long tour to Sri Lanka during
the October break, playing against
local teams in Colombo. Team Captain
Robbie Thomas recounts the teams
three matches, “We started the tour
with a light training session before our
first game against Hisham Abdeen
Rugby Academy, which although a fairly
one sided encounter, utilized both our
players strengths and teamwork. This
meant that we went into the next days
game confident, against the recently
successful Isapatana School. This was a
hard fought match for both teams and
the 19&U team ended up losing by just
one try. We pushed on to our last game
against the developing team from The
Science College. Going into the match
with a squad who were struggling with
illness gave us a testing game, which
we ended up pulling through with a
narrow win.”
At the final game, the UWCSEA visitors
also gave the club several boxes of
rugby kit which had been donated
by the UWCSEA community to help
support their developing players.
Season 1 results
Congratulations to all of our
SEASAC athletes!
Dover Campus
Girls football (Div II) – 1st
Boys football (Div I) – 2nd
Girls volleyball (Div I) – 4th
Boys volleyball (Div I) – 7th
Girls cross country – 1st (team),
1st and 3rd (individuals)
Boys cross country – 2nd (team),
1st and 3rd (individuals)
Girls golf – TBC
Boys golf – 1st
East Campus
Girls football (Div II) – 2nd
Boys football (Div I) – 6th
Girls volleyball (Div II) – 1st
Boys volleyball (Div II) – 2nd
Girls cross country – 2nd (team)
Boys cross country – 3rd (team)
Girls golf – 5th
Boys golf – 6th
9&U Football triumph
By Neil Allsop
Activities Coordinator and 9&U Coach
Dover Campus
The Dover Campus 9&U Boys Football
team won the ACSIS 9&U tournament
on Saturday, 9 November at UWCSEA
Dover, bringing a close to a very
successful season.
The boys went into the finals confident
that they could win the trophy for the
first time. The team topped their group
defeating SAS 2-0 and Marlborough
College 3-0. In the semi-finals they
scraped past holders TTS 1-0 to set up
a final against OFS. The crowd was not
disappointed and with nerves jangling
the game went to penalties after
neither team could break the deadlock.
UWCSEA Dover put all three of theirs
away whilst OFS failed to convert
their final penalty.
Deserving winners after not
conceding a goal all tournament,
the team played some of the most
entertaining football on the day and
displayed great sportsmanship.
18
The opportunity to host an
International Schools Theatre
Association (ISTA) Theatre Arts
Programme Symposium (TaPS) is
special indeed. For a short three days,
nearly 100 IB Theatre students from
10 international schools across Asia
celebrated the power and joy of theatre.
As ISTA states, “TaPS workshops
provide an opportunity for students
to authentically engage with the IB
Diploma Theatre programme. The
experience acts as a starting point
and resource for further work back in
schools. The young people work with
theatre professionals, examiners, IB/
ISTA trained workshop leaders and
master class practitioners drawn from
the world of professional theatre.” It is
more than that, and certainly proved
to be so for our students, in that this
experience is ultimately about sharing
and making connections. Our IB Theatre
students fi nished TAPS with many new
friends, many new experiences and,
importantly, an excitement to share
with those around them.
By Asya Sadnak
Grade 11
East Campus
Coming into TaPS, I wasn’t sure exactly
what to expect, but was fi lled with high
hopes due to all the great things I’d
heard. After experiencing the intensive
three-day course, I’m happy to say
that it met and exceeded all of those
expectations. We’ve been lucky enough
to attend several conferences and
workshops, but TaPS was completely
unique in its specifi city to our needs.
You don’t really realise how much the
IB shapes you as a person until you
fi nd yourself in a room with a hundred
other IB Theatre students and marvel
at the shared understanding—that was
exactly what the workshop offered.
The difference is unbelievable. You’re
in a safe environment designed to give
you exactly what you need to thrive in
IB Theatre, with international students
who have the same aim and background
knowledge as you. The result? A
learning experience that checks all the
right boxes and makes it substantially
easier to digest new information.
Of course, the qualities of TaPS weren’t
only limited to its environment. We
underwent a detailed and rigorous
exploration of theatre packed into
every minute of the weekend, sharing
knowledge with our new friends. We
experienced master classes taught by
esteemed professionals, ranging from
specifi cs like Japanese Noh Theatre to
basics like ‘Making Things Up.’
We were given expertise that will
extend out from IB Theatre and help us
in other aspects of life, such as audition
skills and managing space. But, more
than anything, we were taught how
to play with ideas and get hands-on
with devising—factors that are crucial
to theatre. All through IGCSE Drama,
I relied on my devising skills and told
myself to ‘get up and try things,’ but
it was only after TaPS that I reached
a higher understanding of how that’s
really meant to work. I’m truly grateful
for the experience.
To read an additional refl ection by
Saadhvika Jayanth, Grade 11 and
to see more photos from the
workshop, please visit eDunia.
IB Theatre
students play
with ideas
19
By Anushana Shukla,
Parth Chhabra and Hannah He
Grade 11, East Campus
The East Campus’ year-old Model
United Nations (MUN) club has had a
highly productive fi rst year, attending
three international MUN conferences
and hosting our own MUN UWCSEA
East conference in September. Our
achievements have exceeded our
highest expectations.
UWCSEA’s goal is to educate individuals
to embrace challenge and take
responsibility for shaping a better
world—a perfect alignment with the
United Nations’ aim. We believe that by
engaging high achieving and passionate
individuals in a constructive manner,
this goal can be met and will ensure
effective collaboration between the
future leaders of the world.
MUN simulates the UN conferences
and offers a platform to confront a
variety of international issues, urging
delegates to endeavour through
the complexities and intricacies of
establishing a solution. It strives to
stimulate both broad-minded and
creative thinking through practical
problem solving, and allows delegates
to consider affairs from perspectives
other than their own.
When our club’s ambitious executive
team proposed to host UWCSEA East’s
own conference, we were supported
by the High School administration and
Activities Department.
True to the UWC ethos, the planning
process was student-led with guidance
from our two valuable facilitators,
Martin Samuelsson and Melanie
Nightingale. The planning process—
albeit stressful at times—was one of
the most rewarding and educational
experiences we have ever undertaken.
The Executive Planning Committee and
volunteers for the Communications
and Marketing, Logistics and Finance
departments organised every aspect
of the conference from the budget
and logistics, to promoting the
conference and liaising with invited
schools, to arranging sponsorship
and guest speakers. They also
trained the chairs and delegates in
preparation for their conference duties.
These tasks were new to many of us and
required a degree of professionalism
and formality not usually required of
High School students.
More than 100 UWCSEA East High
School students were involved in the
conference in some capacity, with
most attending as delegates and many
experiencing an MUN conference for
the fi rst time.
In addition to a General Assembly
attended by all delegates, we offered
six committees covering a wide range of
global issues: Disarmament, Economic
and Social, Human Rights, Political,
WHO and Security Council.
These committees allowed delegates to
confront and challenge relevant aspects
of pressing international matters—from
attempting to break down today’s
largest and most complex geopolitical
issues in North Korea and Syria, to
addressing social and human issues
affecting society’s everyday lives such
as LGBT adoption and cyber privacy.
Debate in all committees was not only
in-depth and analytically considerate
of the affairs at hand, but also sought
to highlight the need for diplomacy and
innovation in international relations.
The 226 delegates from East, Dover
and six other participating schools
in the region, worked in tandem to
pass resolutions while also making
friendships and memories.
The conference weekend was a
huge success. We are grateful to
everyone that helped make this
conference a reality, including
our generous sponsor, Takeda
Pharmaceuticals. We look forward
to another fruitful year of MUN.
East MUN club hosts conference
20
Outdoor
education
From the sleepover in Grade 1 to
Project Week in Grade 11, UWCSEA’s
Outdoor Education programme offers
students experiences that stretch them
personally, physically and socially.
For students who join the College
in Grade 10, the Foundation IB (FIB)
programme includes a 10-day trip
to Northern Thailand that combines
outdoor education adventure activities
with service projects designed to build
community among the students, provide
opportunities to develop the qualities
and skills of the UWCSEA profi le, and
to help prepare them for the CAS
(Creativity, Action, Service) requirement
in the IB Diploma Programme.
From 2–11 October, the 23 FIB students
from East Campus spent 10 days in
Thailand. The fi rst half of the trip was
‘adventure’ which included trekking,
white water rafting and camping. The
physical activity, immersion in nature
and disconnecting from technology
helped students to recognise new
strengths and capacities they didn’t
know they had—a core philosophy of
outdoor education at UWCSEA.
The second half of the trip was spent
working on service projects with the
NGO Where There is No Doctor. The
projects included building latrines
and supporting other sanitation and
education projects in the Burmese
refugee hill villages outside Chiang Rai.
Because the relatively small cohort of
FIB students are new to the College,
the trip not only serves to build
community and help prepare them for
CAS in the IBDP, it also helps to ground
them in the UWC mission and ethos.
There are also links with the academic
curriculum, in particular the Integrated
Humanities course which explores
the UWC values and more specifi cally
with the Development unit in which
students learn about the Human
Development Index and economic
indicators they see fi rst hand while
working in the community. The unit
looks at how communities can develop
in a sustainable way—economically,
socially, environmentally and through
well being. This year, the students
were able to do hands-on research
earlier in the term in two communities
on Bintan, and then compare the
sustainable development model with
the communities in Northern Thailand.
The impact of the trip can best be
understood through the refl ections
of the students themselves. East FIB
students Bethany Blakemore and Arjun
Mehrotra share their experiences.
Bethany Blakemore
“The Thailand trip was an experience
I will never forget. I believe the whole
class was brought closer together by the
strengths and weaknesses each of us
have … We also learnt new skills, and
because of this we will look at
new tasks with a different perspective.
I think one thing I learnt was that if you
are not sure—ask, because for all you
know there could be an easier way of
doing it …
No matter what you chose to do, it
would affect the whole class in different
ways. By communicating, we were able
to help each other when troubled, learn
different ways of achieving the task,
work together and so much more.
This trip gave me a new perspective on
what I see everyday; I never thought
it would be possible to learn so much
in nine days. Even though it was hard,
I would do it again [in order] to learn
what I did on that trip.”
Arjun Mehrotra
“I realised that the UWC mission is not
just a hollow statement, but one that
the school consciously tries to inculcate
in its students. All our activities imbibed
elements of the [mission] … We met
children of farmers, toughened by life.
They were half our size but had double
the strength. The school genuinely tries
to educate its students about the world
around them, by exposing students to all
types of people, from all walks of life.
There was some degree of resilience
[needed] throughout the adventure
and service elements of the trip. During
[the adventure portion], it was the long
hikes, the long rafting trips and sleeping
in the wilderness. During [the service
portion], it was about giving our best
shot … as work of this nature (mixing
concrete, building latrines, etc.) was
quite new to us … However, through
commitment to care, we were able to
quickly adjust and do the job.
I learnt that I was more adaptable
than I would have expected … and
that I can live ‘unplugged’ from music,
the Internet or the world in general, and
not miss it too much. … I learnt that in
spite of being so different from all the
people I met, I am also, in some ways,
just like them (for example, deriving
joy from small things, being grateful for
what I have).”
FIB trip brings UWC values alive