Dunia June 2013

June 2013

Middle School in focus

Measuring what matters

Graduation 2013

As is traditional, this edition features

the Grade 12 graduation on Dover, a

proud day for all of us at the College,

but most particularly for the parents

and families of the Class of 2013. I was

moved to hear the guest speaker, Heron

Holloway (Class of 2000), speak of her

own experience at UWCSEA and tell

the graduating class to “make personal,

intentional, considered choices and

create those changes you wish to see

in the world.” It is excellent advice, and

I’m confident our graduates will take it.

Next year, we will have the pleasure

of a graduating class on each campus,

and look forward to two ceremonies

for a Class of 2014 that is more than

450 strong.

This edition also includes a series of

stories about the Middle Schools. These

serve to highlight the importance of the

middle years, when students are making

critical and complex choices that will

ultimately determine their character

and behaviour as adults. According

to the National Middle Schools

Association, “Young people undergo

more rapid and profound personal

changes between the ages 10 and 15

than at any other time in their lives.”1 It

is vital that they are properly supported

during this time, and that we tailor their

educational experience so that it is

both developmentally appropriate and

responsive to the particular needs of

this age group.

We are fortunate that all our

teachers and leaders in the Middle

Schools understand this well, and are

committed to helping students develop

the values and attitudes that will best

Welcome to the last Dunia for

the 2012/2013 academic year

By Richard Nies

Vice Principal

Middle School, East Campus

The middle years from ages 11 to 14

are a time of tremendous physical

and emotional development. During

these years, the brain undergoes

significant changes toward maturity

and efficiency.1 These changes and

developments in students make

the Middle School a unique place of

learning for students, teachers and

parents alike.

After attending last year’s regional

Middle School Principals Meeting, Mike

Johnston and Lisa Hewitt (Principals of

East and Dover Campus Middle Schools

respectively) returned ready not only

to host the 2013 meeting at UWCSEA’s

Centre for International Education (the

Centre) but also inspired to organise a

dedicated Middle School Conference for

educators immediately following—the

first conference of its kind in Asia.

Over the past year, Mike and Lisa

worked with Caroline Meek, Director

of the Centre, to design a conference

specifically for teachers of 11 to 14 year

olds to address the unique learning and

developmental needs and opportunities

for this age group. They also decided to

offer a parallel one-day mini-conference

for Middle School parents. Held over

19 and 20 April on East Campus, the

conferences were generously supported

by IB, EARCOS, MAGES Institute,

Far East Organization, V-campus

and our own Parents’ Association on

the East Campus.

Indicative of the strong interest in

learning more about teaching and

parenting Middle School students, the

conferences were attended by more

than 200 teachers from 12 countries,

including 6 international schools in

Singapore. The nearly 300 parent

participants were predominantly

from UWCSEA.

Meeting in

support them through these years

and beyond. There is no doubt that

the adolescent years are challenging

years for our students, but they

are also some of the most exciting,

creative and optimistic years in their

lives. We celebrate that each day in

the Middle Schools and hope these

articles give you some insight into the

experience of the Grade 6, 7 and 8

students at UWCSEA.

As another year comes to an end,

I am once again humbled by the

extraordinary achievements of

students, by the commitment of staff

and by the support of parents. It is

wonderful to be part of this community.

I wish you all a pleasant summer break.

Julian Whiteley

Head of College

1 National Middle School Association (2003) The Importance of Middle Level Education. In This We

Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents. pp 1-7, Westerville, OH.

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

Primary ISTA Festival

East students

participate in the

first Primary-level

regional drama festival

G3 Trip to Cambodia

Student perspectives

and a slideshow

feature on the

Green Umbrella trip

Middle School

Round Square Junior

Conference

Dover Middle School

students participate in

the international event

Basketball gold

East boys 14A

basketball team win

ACSIS gold medal

High School

No Drive Day

Leaf GC encourages

the Dover community

to go green

Mathematics success

East students shine in

mathematics

competitions

Community

Green Wave Day

Environmental service

students mark the day

with a tree planting

Swim 4 Life

The East community

dives in to support

SurfAid’s malaria

programmes

Front cover: East Middle School students

performing in The Love of Three Oranges

(see p17).

The learning objectives of the

conferences revolved around the

themes of ‘Middle School education’

and ‘Well-being for Middle Schoolers’

along with an additional third strand on

‘ICT (Information and Communications

Technology) for Middle Schoolers’ for

the teachers’ conference. Through a

combination of provocative keynote

speakers, engaging workshops and

a roundtable session facilitated by

UWCSEA Middle School students, the

conferences proved invaluable.

The three keynote speakers addressed

both conferences separately to provide

focused messages relevant to educators

and parents. Jack Berckemeyer, known

as ‘Mr Middle School,’ focused on

embracing the differences of all Middle

School students and offered strategies

for making positive social connections.

Jack reminded parents, teachers and

administrators how they can make a

difference in the lives of young people.

Under the theme of well-being, Michael

Carr-Gregg, a leading adolescent

psychologist, engaged his audiences

in informative and entertaining

sessions on what teachers and parents

of teens need to know about the

latest developments in adolescent

psychology. Dannielle Miller, an expert

in teenage girls’ self-esteem, led a

seminar exposing painful issues of the

‘teengirl’ world including body image

crises, low self esteem and constant

bombardment with toxic media

portrayals of women, and in response,

ways to support teen girls in being

happy and confident.

The teachers’ conference also included

22 separate workshops facilitated

by international school teachers and

administrators that focused on specific

strategies that improve student learning

and social well-being. The total focus

on ages 11–14 was extremely valuable

as participants were able to discuss

successes and challenges with fellow

Middle School colleagues from around

the world.

The culminating event of the teachers’

conference was particularly impressive

because our UWCSEA Middle School

students facilitated a comprehensive

session on digital citizenship. They

addressed how today’s young people

connect, collaborate and innovate

media. The session also fostered

discussion in response to the questions:

who helps Middle Schoolers reflect on

the implications of their actions, and who

empowers them to make responsible,

respectful and safe choices about how

they use the powerful digital tools at

their command? A strong point of

emphasis was the need for schools to

have a clearly articulated and well-

implemented digital citizenship plan.

Watching our students confidently

facilitate honest discussion about the

relationship between technology and

learning left a lasting impression and

further emphasised the importance of

parents and teachers supporting our

Middle School students through their

transition from childhood to adulthood.

the middle

1Judy A. Willis, M.D., M.Ed. Inspiring Middle School Minds: Gifted, Creative & Challenging. Great Potential

Press. 2009.

By Paul Brogden

Vice Principal – Curriculum

Middle School, Dover Campus

One of the things we know about young

adolescents is that the Middle School

age is a period of rapid physical, social

and emotional development, perhaps

the stage of most significant change

since infancy and toddlerhood. The end

of Grade 8 also marks an important

transition into High School. It is a time

when students are really beginning

to ‘find themselves’ and seek ways to

express this.

With this in mind, in 2012, the Middle

School curriculum team on Dover

Campus decided to launch a Film

Festival project and challenge for all

Grade 8 students at the end of the

school year. The project was designed

as a chance to celebrate and showcase

the skills and attributes that the

students had developed during their

time in Middle School.

Students were posed the challenge of

working in small groups to produce high

quality short films about the theme

of ‘Change.’ The students initially

worked with Tom Soper, a professional

photographer who shared his expertise

and insights into the craft and skills

needed for filmmaking. Students learnt

about how to storyboard, film and

edit creatively and about how lighting,

focus, camera angles and sound are

all important elements of effective

short films.

With a very challenging two-

week deadline, students worked

collaboratively, independently and

displayed tremendous organisational

and problem-solving skills to finish the

films before the culminating

Film Festival in the last week of

the school year.

Students filmed around the campus

and on location in Singapore. It was

common to see students and even

teachers in corridors and classrooms

around the school with cameras and

tripods (and sometimes in costume)

with directors shouting out ‘Action!’

The completed films demonstrated a

tremendous range of styles and genre,

from music videos to dramas and

documentaries. It was interesting to see

how the theme of ‘Change’ resonated

amongst the students and how they

effectively used the medium of film

to explore their thoughts, ideas and

emotions. The films gave a real insight

into what our Middle School students

are interested in and care about.

Grade 8 Film Festival

“I learnt that you really

need to manage your

time well and that high

quality work doesn’t just

appear, you need to work

extremely hard.”

In all, over 60 short films were created

and the very best examples were

shown in the final Film Festival. The

Film Festival itself had a wonderful

celebratory atmosphere as the entire

grade enjoyed seeing their peers’

creations. This was a positive way for

the students to showcase their talents

and be together one last time as Middle

School students.

We believe that Middle School students

thrive when their learning is holistic

and encourages them to make links

between different academic disciplines.

Last year, as students moved from class

to class in their English, Geography,

History and IT lessons, teachers

and tutors collaborated to support

them through the process. This year,

we expanded the project to include

the Visual Arts, Music and Drama

Department teachers and again invited

Tom Soper to work with student

groups to encourage a professional

approach to the process. The theme

for this year was ‘Connections,’ and it

was fascinating to see how the

students developed their ideas.

As part of the ongoing curriculum

articulation project, we have worked

to develop our definition of learning.

We believe that learning is a lifelong

process in which learners engage with

and reflect upon information and

experiences to construct new or modify

existing understanding as well as

develop and apply skills and qualities.

The Film Festival project illustrates this

well. Our learning principles state that

we know learning is effective when:

Learners feel secure and supported.

• Students were supported by teachers

and an expert and encouraged to

support and celebrate each other’s

achievements and learn from their

mistakes in making the films.

Learners understand the

purpose of the learning.

• Students were given a clear rationale

and guidelines for the criteria their

film needed to achieve.

Learners construct new understanding

by building upon prior knowledge.

• Students were encouraged to use

their prior knowledge and experiences

to explore the theme of ‘Change.’

Learners listen, talk and

interact with others.

• Students created their films in small

groups and actively engaged with

teachers, other students and the

community to create their films.

Learners construct meaning by

making connections between

knowledge and concepts.

• The films were based around the

concept of ‘Change,’ and students

were encouraged to apply their

existing knowledge and interests.

Learners are

appropriately challenged.

• The Film Festival project was

appropriately challenging for

students at the end of Middle School;

to be successful, students had to

collaborate, plan effectively, solve

problems creatively as they arose and

reflect on their progress.

Learners use timely and

goal-directed feedback.

• Students supported each other and

received ongoing feedback from a

variety of teachers and a professional

to help guide them in the process.

Learners have time for meaningful

and deliberate practice.

• Students were encouraged to

develop and improve their skills and

understanding in the creative process

of making a meaningful short film.

Learners have ownership

of their learning.

• The student groups were given

guidelines and were assisted by

teachers, but for most of the process

they worked independently and were

self-directed in their learning during

the filming process.

Learners think and act

upon their learning.

• The students were given

opportunities during the filming

process to develop strategies to

plan, monitor, reflect and make

adjustments to their learning

as needed.

“I also learnt more about

being cooperative in a group,

because everyone’s input

is required for the movie to

work out.”

Linking with the learning principles

By Karen Cockburn

Vice Principal – Pastoral

Middle School, Dover Campus

One of the core aims of our Personal

and Social Education (PSE) programme

in Middle School is to help students

identify, celebrate and manage the

many personal and social challenges

they face while at school and in

the future. Our developmental PSE

curriculum, delivered through weekly

Life Skills classes and tutor group

sessions, deals with real life issues

that affect students. It engages with

the values, experience, attitudes and

emotions which students bring to their

learning, together with their knowledge

and understanding. Because of this, it

is often said that PSE starts where the

children are. Young people need to be

emotionally and socially healthy if they

are to be able to learn.

In Term 2, we were fortunate to

have two of the leading experts on

adolescence from Australia work with

our Grade 7 students. Dannielle Miller

spent a morning with the Grade 7

girls, while Michael Carr-Gregg worked

with the Grade 7 boys. Their sessions

complemented the workshops they

delivered to Middle School teachers

and parents during the accompanying

Middle School Conference in mid-April

(see pages 2 and 3).

Has your Grade 7 son been asking for

blueberries after Michael’s talk? Michael

covered the Pieces of Life Advice You

Need to Get Through School with the

boys. In his very entertaining manner,

he explained how the brain works and

listed some key ‘brain foods.’ He also

looked at what happens when we sleep,

and parents will be pleased to hear that

one of the key take-away messages

reported by the boys was that the

average teenager needs 8¼ hours sleep.

The greatest impact, however, was

his message about resilience and

the importance of positive thinking.

Feedback from the boys reflects this:

• “I thought the most important advice

was about staying happy and thinking

about things the way you want. This

is because unfortunate events are

going to occur in your life so you need

to know how to deal with them.”

• “I think that the ‘if you can’t change

it, change the way you think about

it’ advice was the most important

because even if you experience a

devastating thing, carrying on is

really crucial.”

• “Look at the world as it is, but focus

on the good bits. I find this the most

important because you can choose

whether to be happy or not.”

Dannielle Miller covered three themes

with the Grade 7 girls:

Forever Friends—Research tells us that

friends are more important to teenagers

than their parents or teachers. How do

we make friends? Who should we make

friends with? How should friendships

be maintained? How do we decide if a

friendship is helping or harming us? This

workshop addressed these issues and

equipped the girls with the necessary

skills to make safe, important decisions

about their friendships.

Love the Skin You’re in—Negative

stereotyping, sexism, media images,

the fixation on being thin—these are

all issues today’s girls are facing. In this

workshop, the girls were encouraged

to consider and evaluate more critically

the messages that bombard them

every day and develop strategies

that help them respond intelligently

and objectively.

Chill Out—Relaxation, visualisation

techniques, massage and more.

Learning how to manage stress

effectively is essential for our modern

lives. Relying on crutches like alcohol,

drugs, cigarettes or other unhealthy

behaviours is destructive and wasteful.

In this workshop, the girls were

encouraged to seek balance in their

lives and learned some skills to achieve

it. They also explored skills to help

them cope with exam and assessment

pressure to help enhance performance.

Some of the girls responses afterwards:

• “Forever Friends was the best part

because it made me feel really good

and special. I learnt that we need to

trust each other, to be happy with

who we are and everyone is beautiful

inside and out.”

• “My favourite part of today was

exchanging comments because it was

a good way to tell someone to believe

in themselves. I learnt to respect

myself; we don’t need to be a model

to be pretty, we need to believe in

ourselves, and that real beauty is on

the inside.”

Powerful PSE in Middle School

• “Forever Friends was my favourite

part of today because I could see

what I mean to others. I learnt about

being myself, to love myself, to be

confident, be assertive not aggressive

and that a little insult can affect a

person very strongly.”

• “I liked Chill Out because it

really helped me to relax and get

‘unstressed’—thank you! I learnt that

models’ photos get Photoshopped

a lot, that there are a lot of ways to

relax and don’t be mean to yourself. It

was awesome and funny!”

• “I liked the part where we went into

more detail about how the media is

fake and how we should think better

of ourselves. I learnt to just be me,

not to get pressured to look perfect,

to be real and to stay true.”

Both Danni and Michael told the

students that it takes 21 days to

establish a new habit, and Danni

gave the girls a wristband to wear to

remind them of the key messages.

When 21 days had passed, we held a

special non-uniform day for Grade 7

and revisited the content and impact

of the workshops. Did they really

have an effect on the students? Had

they changed any of their habits? The

overwhelming feedback from both girls

and boys showed they had taken away

the core messages, and they were using

them on many occasions.

Powerful personal and social

education indeed!

By James Dalziel

Head of East Campus

In the early 1970s, Bhutan’s fourth

Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchick,

introduced the term ‘Gross National

Happiness’ to impress on the world the

need to expand our way of measuring a

country’s success. Decades later, many

other heads of state have initiated an

expansion of the traditional measure

of Gross Domestic Product per person,

toward a series of metrics that provide

a more accurate representation of how

a country, and its citizens, are doing as

a whole. The question of ‘how we are

doing,’ and the call for a shift in our

understanding of what matters and

what we should measure, are also being

played out within our schools.

Our understanding of what matters in

education has changed dramatically in

the last few decades. We have shifted

from a focus on exams and university

entrance towards a broader focus on

what knowledge, skills and qualities

our students need to develop in order

to be successful. Exams and university

entrance are now only part of the

whole picture of what a good education

should look like.

There is a common analogy used in

business schools that can be helpful

as we think about how to measure

the success of a particular learning

programme. When we purchase a

power drill from the hardware store

we are investing in more than a single

item, we are investing in the promise

of a hole. The drill is just a means to an

end, and the value of the drill resides

solely in its capacity to produce the

Measuring what matters

Sources

“Measuring what matters,” Economist, September 2009.

“How to Measure Anything, Finding the value of ‘intangibles’ in business” Hubbard, Douglas W, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2010.

“Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analysis relating to achievement” Hattie, John, Routledge Press, 2009.

hole. So it is with a school’s learning

programme. It is a means to an end,

the promise of an education. But the

value of the learning programme can

only be judged by the impact it has

on our students. So, if we say that

our learning programme will educate

individuals to embrace challenge and

take responsibility for shaping a better

world, how do we know that we are

achieving this objective? What data do

we use to measure it?

Throughout the course of an academic

year, schools collect an enormous

amount of data. In order to know how

our students are doing, we collect

evidence of their learning in a variety of

forms. This evidence can be organised

into three broad categories: academic

results, participation levels and

measurements of skills and qualities.

Data regarding academic results is

easily gathered: internal and external

assessments allow us to measure how

well a student is doing against agreed

standards and benchmarks. But this

data is limited, partly because academic

testing sometimes tells us more about

the child’s performance than it does

about the learning that is taking place

in the classroom, but mainly because

it is such a narrow measure of learning.

Academic results do not take into

account either the holistic nature of the

programme at UWCSEA or the breadth

of our ambition and objective.

Participation levels tell us something

about how involved a student is with

the learning programme as a whole

and are a useful guide to understanding

the experience an individual student

is having. However, they are only a

measure of success if participation

is the purpose of the programme.

At UWCSEA, becoming involved is

not enough; we must ensure that

participation is having an impact on

learning. If the objective of the sports

programme is to develop teamwork

and commitment in students, then

knowing how many of them participate

in sports does not tell us anything

about the success of the programme

(or the students).

But what of the third type of

measurement—the development of

skills and qualities as described in the

UWCSEA profile? Unfortunately, this

measurement, while arguably telling us

more about the impact of the education

we are offering, is more difficult than

measuring academic achievement or

levels of participation.

Looking at a skill such as critical

thinking, we can see that it can

easily be embedded within a learning

programme. But while we can measure

a student’s critical thinking in a

discipline such as mathematics,

in order for us to be sure that a child

was becoming a critical thinker,

we would need to see that skill

transferred into other areas, such as

scenarios in outdoor education or

service. Evidence of broad competence

as a critical thinker can only be

developed by monitoring students

over years of application and in a

wide variety of settings.

The qualities within the profile present a

different set of challenges. How can we

measure the development of ‘resilience’

in students? A common example has

been used to demonstrate this issue.

Two students walking across the school

grounds stop to pick up pieces of

litter (observable actions); both place

their litter in the trash bin (observable

results). To make a judgement based

on observable actions and results,

we could conclude that each has

demonstrated the quality of ‘principled,’

and put a check in that box on the

next report. In reality, each student in

the above scenario may be motivated

by very different things: one may be

picking up litter because they know

it is the right thing to do, the other

because their homework for the day is

to pick up a piece of litter. This means

we must invest in the cumbersome

and imperfect process of trying to

understand an individual student’s

motivation in order to know whether or

not students are really developing the

quality of ‘principled.’

All of these difficulties should not

prevent us from trying to measure the

immeasurable. At UWCSEA, we have

designed a programme that offers

multiple, age appropriate opportunities

for students to develop important

skills and qualities, and for teachers

and students to be able to assess the

outcomes. As the popular axiom states,

“If you want to create change, you need

to meet people where they are, and

take them where they need to be.” We

also need a series of measures so that

we know when they have arrived.

The College strategic plan includes

a major focus and review of our

assessment and reporting. This will

include the creation of a system that

will allow teachers to plan lessons,

record student activity and report on

student achievement against agreed

standards in all five elements of the

programme. While reporting may look

different in each of the five elements

(for example, assessment in service will

probably be different to assessment in

mathematics), it is important that we

are accountable for student learning in

all areas. The system should also allow

for student reflection, particularly on

those qualities in the UWCSEA profile

that students develop through their

whole time at the College. We are

about one third the way through this

review; it is a complex process, but

it will have a positive impact on

student learning.

“Not everything that can

be counted counts, and not

everything that counts can

be counted.”

Albert Einstein

Academics

UWCSEA students are expected to be

aware, able and active, and to inspire

others to work towards a common goal

for the greater good. This is embedded

in the curriculum of Global Perspectives

as we cover units of study including

ethics, poverty, wealth, conflict, human

rights, environmental sustainability and

religious belief. Students are expected

to learn more about what’s being done

to inspire positive change in the world

today, and they’re given assessment

tasks requiring them to make concrete

plans of action. These tasks also enable

them to develop skills necessary for

success in the IB Diploma, such as

taking part in debates, group work,

presentations and writing a formal

research paper modelled on the IB

Diploma’s Extended Essay.

One of the more creative assessment

tasks near the end of Grade 10 requires

students to explore the theme of

advocacy by creating a short film. This

allows them to reflect on the course

content and focus on an issue which is

of great interest to them personally, and

one for which they want to advocate a

solution. This year, we entered several

of these films in the THIMUN Qatar

Northwestern University Film Festival.

The judges were so impressed with

our entries that they invited one of

our film-making students, Madhulika

Murali, to attend the festival premier in

Doha, Qatar in the Term 2 break. She

produced a film advocating change in

the Singapore school system in order to

relieve student stress and anxiety.

Madhulika described the THIMUN

Qatar Film Festival as “an amazing

experience … meeting students from

all over the world was wonderful,

participating in the various workshops

held and touring the Al Jazeera

Network was amazing. Visiting Doha

itself was incredibly fun. We attended

workshops at Northwestern University

and talked about various media issues,

such as gender portrayal and racial

stereotyping. Such discussions were

extremely interesting not only because

of the topic itself, but because of the

different perspectives gained.”

Madhulika will mentor Global

Perspectives students next year when

they are creating films advocating

change, and we expect to have many

more thoughtful and creative entries in

the years to come.

On a wider academic stage, the Global

Perspectives course has been very

successful and has been adopted by

UWCSEA East and the English Schools

Foundation’s Island School in Hong

Kong with full approval of the

CIE examination board.

Developing Global Perspectives

By Jane Hirons

Head of Global Perspectives

Dover Campus

In Grade 9, all UWCSEA students

have the opportunity to take Global

Perspectives as part of their IGCSE

package. This two-year course was

developed at UWCSEA Dover in

conjunction with the Cambridge

Examination board, with the first cohort

going through the course in 2010.

A uniquely ‘UWCSEA’ course, Global

Perspectives embodies the learning

principles of the College whilst

preparing students with academic

skills needed in the IB Diploma. Our

educational goal is to enable students

to be global citizens, and in order

to do this we have to give them an

opportunity to explore world issues in

the classroom.

By Martin Spreckley

Middle School Science teacher

East Campus

Towards the end of May, Grade 3

students on East Campus began their

final Unit of Inquiry: It’s Shocking! in

which they were introduced to scientific

concepts relating to electricity. As

this Unit of Inquiry was taking place,

the Grade 7 students were also

studying electricity, providing the

perfect platform for some scientific

collaboration and an opportunity for

students to practise and develop skills

and qualities from the UWCSEA profile.

Middle School Science teachers Martin

Spreckley and Luke Haugen invited

the Grade 3 classes to come up to the

sixth floor science labs for a ‘hands-on’

and potentially shocking experience

with their Grade 7 peers. Each of these

sessions had two main areas of focus

for the visiting Junior School students:

static and current electricity.

The collaborative classes began with

an introduction to static electricity

by the science teacher and included a

simple introduction to electric charge.

Students then carried out simple

activities such as rubbing balloons on

their heads to build up a static charge

and then attracting little pieces of

paper to the balloon.

The highlight of the static electricity

session was the description and

Brainpop video of how lightning occurs,

and the subsequent demonstration

of the Van De Graaf generator. Here

students witnessed this scientific

equipment building up an electric

charge before the teacher was ‘zapped’

on the elbow as the dome discharged.

The students loved watching the

blue spark leap from the dome to the

teacher, and the brave ones lined up

to experience this for themselves. It

does not hurt and really did provide

authenticity for the It’s Shocking! unit.

After this, the younger students joined

Grade 7 students for a small group

peer-to-peer learning session on current

electricity. Using batteries, bulbs, wires

and switches, the Grade 3 students

were tasked with building basic electric

circuits under the close guidance and

supervision of their older peers. Starting

with the simplest of circuits and looking

at the basic requirements for an electric

current to flow, the Grade 3 students

were then instructed to systematically

add more components to their circuit—

additional bulbs and switches. By the

end of the session they had all seen the

difference between series and parallel

circuits and had built circuits in which

they could control the brightness of the

bulbs as well as which bulbs lit through

the placement of switches.

The whole experience was positive

for both ages and further developed

the students’ communication and

collaboration skills as well as building

stronger ties between the Junior and

Middle School curricula.

A shocking

collaboration

Outdoor

education

From the

classroom

to the jungle

Middle School outdoor

education on East

By Gareth Barlow

Head of Outdoor Education

East Campus

Meeting many Middle School parents

for the first time during parent-teacher

conferences, I am often asked what it is

that we do with Middle School students

at East during their Exploratory class,

Outdoor Education: Leadership and

Challenge. They are usually quite

familiar with the expedition programme

at UWCSEA, but are sometimes unsure

how outdoor education fits into a

classroom-based curriculum.

Theory-based learning

The course begins with looking at

how groups function together and the

importance of building and maintaining

trust, as well as the need to establish

effective working norms. We use a

variety of activities to support our

‘Challenge of Choice’ philosophy—the

participant’s responsibility to choose his

or her level of risk-taking in the learning

experience—that underpins our whole

Outdoor Education programme. A great

deal of emphasis is placed on problem

solving, cooperation and effective

communication. In a world where

‘teamwork’ has become a mantra, we

attempt to dissect what this entails and

how it can be improved.

Theories of leadership are discussed,

practised and reviewed. Classroom

sessions are interspersed with mental

and physical initiatives, and students

spend time analysing and reflecting

through discussion and debriefs. As

an example, students might be asked

to resolve a classic problem-solving

scenario, such as moving their group

from point A to point B using a set

amount of equipment, and trying not to

fall into the ubiquitous shark-infested

custard that lies beneath them! Such

an activity might be framed within the

context of studying leadership models,

such as Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s

Decision Making Continuum. Students

observe other groups attempting to

work through a problem together and

analyse how their roles as leaders may

change from democratic to autocratic,

depending on the situation in hand.

Practical skills development

Another major aspect to this module

is the development of practical skills

relevant not only to the expedition

programme, but also in life outside of

school. Orienteering plays a big part

within the outdoor education curriculum,

building on skills practised in the Junior

School PE curriculum. Grade 6 students

complete an exercise where they map a

part of the campus, before completing

an orienteering event around the school

grounds, following a campus map and

trying to locate control markers. These

skills are expanded upon when they

attend their trip to Pulau Tioman; part

of the week involves navigating their

way up a dry river bed, traversing across

granite boulders and following a map

in order to reach a jungle waterfall and

plunge pool.

Students also enjoy learning first

aid techniques, such as dealing with

common ailments and how they can

assist an unresponsive casualty. In

the pursuit of lifelong learning, it is

difficult to think of a more valuable and

altruistic skill than the ability to save a

life. Campcraft skills, such as learning

to pitch a tent, how to pack a rucksack

and cooking a nutritious meal on a

small stove, are useful on many of the

trips that students undertake during

their years at UWCSEA. In tandem with

the Leadership and Challenge course,

the three Middle School expeditions

are designed to encourage students to

develop independence and resilience,

before they head off on various

expeditions in the High School.

Integrating theory and practice

During April and May, 172 Grade

6 students visited Tioman Island,

Malaysia. Each mentor group was

supported by two outdoor education

specialists, one mentor and two gap

year students. The learning and skills

developed in class were put directly into

practice through activities including

kayaking, sailing, the waterfall walk,

snorkelling, beach art, problem solving

activities and more. Leadership and

teamwork were tested and developed

while the practical skills such as

orienteering were practised in an

unfamiliar outdoor context.

“We learnt about setting

goals and that really helped

in Tioman. While doing the

large hike to our cabins on the

first day, I set a goal to myself

to keep drinking water and to

keep going. It really helped.”

Akanksha Shukla

Grade 6, East Campus

When we combine the classroom-

based curriculum with the experiential

learning that takes place during

expeditions such as the Grade 6 trip to

Tioman, all of the skills and qualities

of the UWCSEA profile are developed.

This integration and focus on learning

distinguishes our Outdoor Education

programme—and to me, is the

true value of outdoor education

at UWCSEA.

The College was delighted to

welcome Heron Holloway (Class of

2000) back to Singapore as the guest

speaker at the graduation of the Class

of 2013 on Saturday, 25 May. Heron,

who has qualifications in Sociology,

Anthropology and International

Relations, currently works for

Habitat for Humanity, improving

communications across Asia Pacific.

She has also worked for British Red

Cross and been seconded to the

International Federation of the Red

Cross. Her advice to our largest and

most diverse graduating class to date

(the 324 new alumni represented

62 nationalities) was both reassuring

and inspirational:

In preparing for this, I thought back to

what had been said at my graduation,

and I couldn’t remember a single thing.

Thirteen years ago I sat where you are

now—not literally, as we graduated in

a convention centre, there were only

about 500 of us in the room, and Di

Smart was my English teacher not High

School Principal, but I am pretty sure

I was feeling the same things that you

are now.

There is happiness. Happiness that IB

exams are now behind you. Happiness

that you’ve made it through school and

are still alive.

There is also sadness. Sad to be saying

goodbye to great friends, teachers and

a school full of memories. Sadness that

your school days are behind you and

you’ll never have them again.

And there is an element of fear. The

overarching and looming fear of ‘what

am I going to do with my life?’

And that’s pretty much how I’m feeling

now, all over again. Happiness in the

pride of being the guest speaker at your

graduation. Sadness because I wish I

could relive my graduation celebrations

all over again. And fear. Fear that I

might say the wrong thing, put you off

and negatively influence the way you

decide to live your lives.

In preparing to talk to you, two things

came to mind.

The first being something that I

definitely didn’t know then and wish

I had. The second, something that I

actually did know 13 years ago, but

didn’t realise just how important it was.

The first thing I wish I’d had was

reassurance. Reassurance that

everything would be alright.

And it will be. You will make new friends

and you won’t lose your UWC friends.

You will get a job and you will travel.

You will love and be loved. And you’ll

accumulate many great memories. In

short, you will live an awesome life.

And the reason I can be so absolutely

sure of this is because you are

graduating from United World College.

You are already a fully paid-up global

citizen, stuffed full of intelligence and

drive, with a healthy dose of confidence

and morality.

Which leads me on to my second point.

In my last year at UWC, I wrote my

personal statement for UCAS—part

of the application process for entry to

a UK university—and I started with a

quote from Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the

change you wish to see in the world.”

Thirteen years ago, this was a lofty

ideal, an aspiration. Now it is a living

part of who I am. The pattern of

volunteering, nurtured at UWC, stuck

with me. And I am pretty sure that

those volunteering experiences helped

me determine and confirm my career

decision to work in the nonprofit sector.

Why do I bring my personal mission

statement up at your graduation?

Precisely because you are graduating

from a United World College.

You have a unique status. A unique

responsibility. You don’t need me to tell

you there are many, many people in the

world who are nowhere near as lucky as

you. Which organisations you choose

to work for, the way you influence how

they operate, the way you treat others,

what you choose to give attention to

and what you don’t, the way you vote

and the way you choose to spend your

spare time will all have a bearing on the

lives of many others across the world.

Your actions will change the world. So

make personal, intentional, considered

choices, and create those changes you

wish to see in the world.

Without getting too heavy on what

is a congratulatory occasion in this

triumphant educational setting, I’m not

expecting you to remember what I’ve

said tomorrow morning … but perhaps

on some long car journey, hopefully in

the not too distant future, you’ll think

back to these two points:

One, that everything will be okay, and

two, that you make the decision to not

just be a global citizen but an active

global citizen.

As one UWC graduate to another, don’t

be a passive bit-part character, be the

action hero.

Without further ado, and with absolutely

every ounce of my being, I wish

you all the very best for your

lives ahead.

Graduation 2013

Di Smart ‘graduates’

Di Smart, High School Principal,

‘graduated’ from Dover Campus this

year after 20 years at UWCSEA. She is

leaving UWCSEA to spend time with her

family and hopes to remain involved in

education.

Prior to

being named

Principal of

High School,

she was

Principal of the

Senior School

and prior to

that, Head of

English. She

has also been

a teacher

of GCSE and IB English Literature, a

mentor, a supervisor and a friend to

a huge number of past and current

students and staff. Di has this to say on

her time at UWCSEA: “I feel blessed and

privileged to have taught for the last 20

years here at UWCSEA and will always

remember and value the students I was

fortunate enough to get to know.”

Getting social at graduation

This year’s graduation ceremony

was live streamed and enjoyed by

more than 700 viewers in 59 countries

across 6 continents. We also went

social via #uwcsea2013grads on

Twitter and Instagram. Here are

a few of the tweets from around

the world:

@RekhaKumar59 - #uwcsea2013grads

Watching the event from India.

Congratulations to everyone. Looking

for Nitin Natrajan.

@Milne62 - Gordon Muir

Congratulations on your graduation

see you soon from all of us here in

sunny Scotland x

@rtulshyan - Congratulations

#uwcsea2013grads! @UWCSEA_Dover

will forever be with you … The quest

for a better world always remains

with you …

Activities

On 12 and 13 May, 30 students from

the Dover Campus Middle School

presented a bilingual dance and drama

performance of Victor Hugo’s Notre

Dame de Paris.

This was a highly ambitious production

that incorporated the dancing and

choreographic talents of the students

involved, as well as director, teacher

Sharon Tett. Many hours of intense

rehearsing of individual dances in

numerous different styles were woven

into a seamless retelling of the story.

Not only were the dancers extremely

proficient, they were supported by

the unsung heroes of sound, lighting

and backstage crew. Both nights had

large audiences who appreciated the

performance. Following the production,

students and parents commented:

“Thank you for all you’ve done this term

for the production. It was extremely

enjoyable and a fun way to end the

year. You have really opened my eyes to

dance, and I am now more comfortable

with a variety of dances.”

“Thank you for directing an excellent

performance with such a huge variety

of dances. To be honest, I wasn’t

expecting the production to be so

dynamic and professional! The

effort put in by all of you was

evident. I loved the simple yet

vibrant colours of the costumes.”

“We have been watching from afar all

the drama and were amazed with the

amount of work and long hours you all

logged in. But all your hard work paid

off! The show was amazing—setting,

costumes, music, acting, dance …

and the list goes on. We were very,

very impressed!”

Dance will be offered as a subject

option at IGCSE (for students

commencing in Grade 9) on Dover

Campus from August 2013. The annual

Middle School dance production will

continue to see the development of

skills and enthusiasm in students who

are looking to take the subject at IGCSE

and perform in the annual student-led

High School dance production which

takes place in Term 2 each year.

Notre Dame de Paris

By Aadit Gupta with Mathilde

Huybens, Shreya Jaggi

Forum facilitators, 2012/2013

After a year-long hiatus, Senior School

Forum has officially made a comeback.

Forum has come to symbolise what

UWCSEA means to me. At times we’ve

had very fierce (but always respectful!)

debate, and every time I’ve left it’s

been with the feeling that I’ve learnt

something new. The media is very good

at pushing a single point of view, and

sometimes it just takes students from

all around the world to put an event

into perspective.

This year’s Senior School Forum group

evolved from a weekly seminar run by

teacher Tim Davies called International

Forum. Building on the popular Upper

School Forum, the idea was to give

students in Grades 11 and 12 more

opportunity to discuss global and

current issues and greater responsibility

for identifying and presenting

international issues that fellow students

care about. With the vision that it could

be accessible to so many more students

than the handful who were part of the

International Forum, the team changed

the name, time and venue, and the

Senior School Forum was reborn!

We’ve had many globe-encompassing

debates—sometimes divisive but always

interesting. One which particularly

struck a chord in my mind was the

discussion over what Hugo Chàvez’s

death meant for Venezuela. We were

firmly divided into two camps. One

was sure that Chàvez was a man to

be looked up to—a man that stood

firm in the face of neo-colonialist US

influences—and the other took the

view that he single-handedly drove

Venezuela into the ground. Whilst

I certainly believed in the latter

argument (and continue to do so), the

hour-long discussion taught me that it

is rash to look at an issue without first

understanding it in context.

Forum’s power comes from how the

discussion it creates can bridge gaps and

create a mutual understanding—and for

that reason alone I came to UWCSEA.

I hope it lasts for decades to come,

because the force of debate is one to be

reckoned with.

Senior School Forum

The risk and optimism of comedy

From 30 May to 1 June, a group of

talented and dedicated East Middle

School students performed the comedy

The Love of Three Oranges by Hillary

Depiano. Following months of hard

work both onstage and behind the

scenes, they were rewarded with a

sellout season. Grade 8 students Kavya

Deshpande and Aditi Poovaiah share

their learning and experience.

A Middle School production is a perfect

example of positive risk. From the

moment you sign up for an audition

to closing night you are challenging

yourself and testing your own

boundaries. The performing arts are

a journey, an opportunity to explore

yourself through characterization, and

being part of an exaggerated Commedia

dell’arte play such as The Love of Three

Oranges is the perfect opportunity to

embrace the joys of colourful theatre

and help an audience understand the

merits of the lazzi, the group dance

number and other classic comedic

elements.

In the beginning, it was hard to conjure

the bare, black walls of the theatre into

a forest or courtroom. It was harder to

look at 420 vacant seats stretching

out before us, and imagine the empty

space brimming with the sound of

laughter. Soon, we realised that the

only way we could achieve this was

with hard work and all the energy we

could muster on weekday afternoons.

The cast plunged into the script and

dances until the dialogue was slick and

the side steps in sync. It took a great

deal of perseverance to produce a

performance that everyone knew we

could truly be proud of.

This year’s production motivated growth.

We were submerged in a professional

atmosphere, from theatre make-up

to custom-made costumes. As the

production evolved and matured, so did

we as performers. The cast went from

fumbling dance steps and delivering

monotone lines to helping each other

with cues and teaching all the mavericks

the proper way to do a shimmy. And

in the end, even when our nerves were

shot, we learnt that we could carry

through. Because, as Robin Williams

once said, “Comedy is simply a way

of acting out optimism.”

By Richard Forster

High School Science teacher

East Campus

This year, High School students on East

Campus have started a new activity

that blends experimental science with

the art of photography. The science

photography activity has allowed them

to conduct visually exciting experiments

and ponder what creates these stunning

effects. They have enjoyed combusting,

freezing, refracting and illuminating

a variety of substances. Aside from

fulfilling their innate curiosity, the aim

was to produce photographs offering an

interesting take on the scientific world.

Outside the normal constraints of

a syllabus, science photography has

created some marvellous photographs

that elicit a response from the viewer

evoke questions about how the

photo was achieved. Students spent

the past two seasons delicately

manipulating the chemistry of

luminescent compounds to achieve that

perfect shot or passing wavelengths

of light through prisms to capture the

classic textbook refraction image.

Students had the opportunity to

handle unique chemicals and perform

unusual experiments such as making

combustible bubbles or capturing the

sublimation of dry ice. A particular

favourite was the rainbow fire. In this

study, students explored various salts

and the colour they emitted when

ignited. This allowed them to set up

a rainbow made of flames. The latest

project included making square bubbles,

which, to much surprise, worked very

well. We hope to continue to improve

photography skills and test scientific

understanding for years to come.

The art of science

(Above left)

Timothy Mok

Light wavelengths passing through prisms to

create refraction.

(Above right and below middle)

Luminol is an organic compound which, when

oxidized, emits light—a phenomenon known as

chemiluminescence—similar to the reactions

that fireflies use to emit light and to those

used in ‘glow-sticks.’ In this reaction, a small

amount of luminol is dissolved in a basic aqueous

solution, which also contains a small amount of

copper(II) sulfate.

(Above right)

Timothy Mok

Here the fluorescent reaction is initiated when

two solutions are mixed together and allowed to

run through a tube into a round-bottomed flask.

(Below middle)

Ben Driver

Here the reaction is conducted in a petri dish and

shot from above.

(Below left)

Krishan Naik

Copper sulphate salt soaked in ethanol and ignited.

The green colour flame comes from copper.

(Below right)

Fumika Azuma

Dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) sublimates at

-78°C. Carbon dioxide gas molecules are cold

enough to cause the water vapour in the air to

condense into very small droplets, which we see

as a cloud. The blue colour is food dye.

By Andrew McCarthy

Digital Literacy Coach

Dover Campus

When technology is used well, it has

the ability to transform both the

types of learning activities that occur

and the content which we teach. At

the same time, the proliferation of

laptops and other devices provide a

constant temptation for our students

who are looking for a distraction. The

most recent research has highlighted

the risks of trying to multitask while

simultaneously trying to engage with

the learning of something new.

The temptations of technology

In research reported in the May

2013 issue of Computers in Human

Behaviour, researchers at California

State University, led by psychology

Professor Larry Rosen, observed

students studying over a 15-minute

period and recorded the different tasks

they were completing. Throughout

the observation, students’ on-task

behaviour began to decline at

around the two-minute mark when

the temptation of sending a text or

checking their Facebook feed became

too much. Over the 15-minute

experiment, roughly 65% of the time

was spent actually doing schoolwork.

If parents were to complete the same

timed experiment at home with their

children, it is likely that some of this

same behaviour would occur. Rosen

and others mention this trait as a

characteristic of the current generation

of students. Parallel research is

highlighting that successful students

develop the ability to the delay

gratification of posting an update or

reading a message, and remain focused

for longer periods of time.

UWCSEA provides the access to a

laptop or an iPad in a learning context

from a younger age than many public

European or American schools. We

are therefore grappling with the fore

mentioned issues of distraction and

multitasking ahead of most parts of

society. We are quickly realising that

our Personal and Social Education

programme needs to help students

develop their intuition to delay digital

gratification and try to maintain a focus

on learning by completing one task at

a time.

A changing skill set

As our students grow older and move

through school, they will slowly develop

the coping mechanism to ‘single task’

on learning. This trait develops in

different students at different times. A

key finding from research by Psychology

Professor David Mayer at the University

of Michigan is that “under most

conditions, the brain simply cannot do

two complex tasks at the same time.

It can happen only when the two tasks

are both very simple and when they

don’t compete with each other for the

same mental resources. An example

would be folding laundry and listening

to the weather report on the radio.

That’s fine. But listening to a lecture

while texting, or doing homework and

being on Facebook—each of these tasks

is very demanding and each of them

uses the same area of the brain, the

prefrontal cortex.”

An important task for our students is to

therefore make the distinction between

simple and complex tasks and to

realise when multitasking and juggling

is ineffective. It might seem perverse,

but our students can use technology

to manage digital distractions and the

temptation of multitasking. One new

product called Concentrate fits very

nicely with our philosophy around

students developing strategies to

remain focused. Concentrate allows

students to develop a list of actions

that they would like their computer

to perform. The application allows

students to block website access, stop

applications from opening, block emails

and set timers. Together, these tools

are a first step to help students develop

coping mechanisms and a single tasking

mentality. Over time, we anticipate that

parents and teachers can use tools such

as Concentrate as a discussion starter

around what they think is acceptable,

thereby encouraging students to buy in

to the process.

Concentrate is similar to other

applications such as the aptly named

SelfControl which is used to block

Why learning and multitasking don’t mix

Personal and

social education

websites or the time management tool

iProcrastinate, which are both very

popular with our students. Moving

forward, we hope that our Personal

and Social Education and orientation

programmes will help students

develop positive routines both

at home and in school.

Adapted from a post on the

Dover DLC blog: http://doverdlc.

blogspot.com.

References

Adapted to the UWCSEA context and based

on the following two articles recently written

by Annie Murphy Paul and published on the

Mindshift:

How does Multitasking Change the Way Kids

Learn?

With Tech Tools how should teachers tackle

multitasking in class