Upload
lamtruc
View
217
Download
2
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Volume 1, Issue 2
February—September 2011 S o u t h A s i a & G u l f R e g i o n
RS News Letter
Kurt Hahn’s birthday falls on 5th June every year. As a tribute to him, the students of Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai put together a 5 x 5 ft portrait of Kurt Hahn, using their palm and finger prints only.
This jute canvas mounted por-trait was then displayed in the school auditorium with informa-tion on Kurt Hahn and his phi-losophy. The portrait was later shipped to Round Square Head-quarters.
TO SIR WITH LOVE : KURT HAHN
Founder—Round Square
OBITUARY
We are extremely shocked to learn about the untimely demise of Mrs. Mira Singh, wife of Mr. Sumer
Singh, Head of Daly College and Regional Director—RS (SA & Gulf Region). Our thoughts and
prayers are with Mr Sumer Singh & his family in this difficult time of bereavement. May God give
them the strength and courage to cope with this great loss.
On behalf of the Round Square family, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Mr Singh and his
family.
Summer Enrichment Programme:
In the summer each year, an enrichment programme is
run at King‘s Academy. The aim of the project is to
enrich the lives of local government school children. As
a result, our lives are hugely enriched by a two week
summer camp of intense learning, constant fun and
making new friends.
This year too, boys and girls of grade 6, 7 and 8 from
all over the Kingdom participated in the camp. They
were trained and nourished by the volunteers from
King‘s Academy, the United States and the United
Kingdom. The project has been on since 2006 and is
one which many King‘s student aspire to lead.
PAGE 2
King’s Academy, Jordan
R S N EWS L ETTER
Round Square IDEALS were closely followed in
the two weeks time during which children were
introduced to the enormous challenge of being
a ―boarder‖, learning and speaking English
throughout the day and working together in
teams for athletics and adventures. Together
we visited Petra and other Jordanian sites.
Some 110 children arrived excited, nervous,
scared and had to be coaxed to leave – the
proctors, monitors and more senior King‘s Acad-
emy brothers and sisters are also sad to see
them leave. We are in the process of trying to
bring the SEP school children back for winter
weekends.
VO L UME 1, ISSUE 2 PAGE 3
The Doon School, Dehradun
The Doon School organised a Regional
Service Project from the 4th to the 14th
of June. This project catered to two vil-
lages—Fatehpur and Katapathar and
involved two groups of students working
simultaneously at both the places and
interacting with the villagers respec-
tively. The work at Fatehpur involved
making of blocks by using mortar, which
were supposed to be used for the build-
ing of another floor of the community
center. This project was planned in
such a way that along with an agenda of
making the students understand the
dignity of labour and open doors for so-
cial service it exposed them to all the
I.D.E.A.L.S of the Round Square
The group at Katapathar was as-
signed the job of clearing of the de-
bris collected from the demolition of
a building by disposing it off from a
cliff, it also had the digging of two
holes for the construction of toilets
and cleaning of an irrigation canal
which carried rain water to the fields
and was heavily silted. The entire
work was done during the due
course of ten days. Along with all the
hard work ,there also was a mid ser-
vice project break planned for the
students wherein they were taken to
Mussorrie to relax and enjoy .
Doon School Service Project ,Fatehpur and Katapathar — June 2011
The literary activities boosted leadership qualities, team spirit
and helped all the volunteers to understand themselves in a bet-
ter way. Overall, this service project instilled a sense of fulfill-
ment and made the participants realize the realities of the life.
Towards integrating schools world-wide, ongoing online
Art Competition was held in which 11 Round Square
schools and 4 local schools have participated with 123
fabulous art-work entries. One of these entries will be
chosen as the conference logo of forthcoming Senior
SA&G RS Conference scheduled in February 2012.
PAGE 4
Chittagaong Grammar School, Bangladesh
R S N EWS L ETTER
Consecutively 9 years in a row, CGS had Bengali New
Year Carnival and through this yet another successful
charity bazaar, raised an amount of BDT 2,68,365.00 in
support of an alternative school for street children.
CGS cares for the environment and is commit-
ted to help build a better world. This year CGS
has planted 1,000 saplings in the city raising
environmental awareness.
CGS had 3 students sent on Student Ex-
change programme in July-August 2011 :
Sharia (Grade-9) to St. Philip‘s College, Austra-
lia, Aishwarya (Grade-10) to The Daly College
and Rabib (Grade-11) to The Armidale School,
NSW, Australia. In this session, two GAP stu-
dents also joined
CGS, Maria Ale-
jandra Ochoa
from Colegio An-
glo Colombiano,
Colombia and
Richard Lachlan
Mulholland from
G o r d o n s t o u n
School, UK.
VO L UME 1, ISSUE 2 PAGE 5
The Sanskaar Valley School, Bhopal
The Sanskaar Valley School, Bhopal became a Global Member of the Round Square in March 2011. Re-
cently the school had a Round Square Week offering students plenty of ways to immerse themselves in
activities related to the IDEALS.
Students of the Round Square Com-
mittee made a presentation during
assembly in school on The Round
Square. The theme was. ―We are a
Round Square School....but are you
a Round Square person ??‖.
Further, a talk show was aired on
the local radio station – 94.3 My
FM where students carried forward
the message of experiential learn-
ing and informed listeners about
the various initiatives taken up by
the Sanskaar Valley School which
drew inspiration from the IDEALS of
the Round Square. They also spoke
about their experiences during par-
ticipation in conferences, ex-
changes and service projects.
It is said that ...Life is either a daring adventure or nothing......TSVS organized a special session of rappel-
ling to offer students not only thrill of adventure but also the experience of stretching beyond their com-
fort zone. Activities scheduled to subscribe to environmental responsibilities, students planted more than
300 trees on campus.
Promoting Internationalism, 8 stu-
dents left for Korea on invitation by
the Cheong Shim International
Academy to participate in the World
Youth Model Congress followed by
service at the Habitat for Humanity
site in Korea.
Service before Self is a calling in
life which exemplifies devotion and
commitment beyond personal
agendas. Students put their hands
and time together making Friend-
ship band and Rakhi (a decorative
item tied on the wrist by a sister to
a brother on the day of the festival)
and organized a sale in the local
mall. The proceeds were donated
to social causes supported by
school.
PAGE 6
The Daly College, Indore
R S N EWS L ETTER
Ideas and change are very closely related. There are changes that help evolve an idea and an
idea that brings about a change.
We needed a change, and we got an "idea" to bringing about it. The idea of "bargad"; a model that could
work as sustainably and organically as possible, evolved during our preparation for the national level
Green-I Contest, held in Chennai last year out of 130 schools. The school won the contest and was
awarded with an amount of 7.5 lacs,
to materialize our idea in the school. It
is interesting to know that the school
is now planning to convert our small
project into a demonstration center,
aiming to conduct eco-friendly proc-
esses in every way possible. The pro-
ject is bring taken down to a com-
pletely new level with the involvement
of Mr. Abhishek Jhaveri, an Old Dalian
and a renowned architect from Indore
and Mr. Dhruv Bhaskar, another Old
Dalian and a green architect from
Auroville. After long and umpteen dis-
cussions with the professionals and emotionally attached students, Bargad is now ready to become a
reality. The Green Centre is not only intended to stand out of its natural surrounding by using local ma-
terial and indigenous building concepts but to harmoniously blend in it and have essential unity with
the mother nature.
The Centre will be a single-storeyed building called “Bargad”, with a library, a heritage seed centre, a
laboratory, an interactive exhibition area, an audio-visual conference room and rooftop gardening. As
far as possible, only local or recycled building material will be used for construction. There will be an
enclosed ‗kund‘ for storing rain water in the courtyard. The ‗kund‘ will have steps running down to it,
shaped like an amphitheatre, which may be used as a sitting area.
Besides Bargad, the surrounding
area will be used for organic
farming, vermi-composting, a pa-
per recycling plant, mushroom
farming, solar and wind hybrid
energy generating unit and
polyhouses.
We are looking forward to a fo-
rum for disseminating knowledge
on sustainable and eco-friendly
practices. It will be a green centre
in true sense!
VO L UME 1, ISSUE 2 PAGE 7
Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai
Principal & Director planting sapling along with Eco
club students on 1st August, 2011 on the eve of
Tree plantation drive in the school in which around
1000 saplings were planted.
Students from MNSS,Rai along with the students of
Ousedale School, Milton Keynes, U.K.at Christ
College, Oxford in London, U.K. during Cultural
Exchange Programme in June 2011.
NCC Cadets of Naval Wing in the Annual Training
Camp held at MNSS, Rai organized by 1 Haryana
Naval NCC, Faridabad.
Students of MNSS, Rai spending time with the
children of Balgram (an Orphanage) on 17th
July, 2011.
PAGE 8
Indian School, Al Ghubra, Oman
R S N EWS L ETTER
The annual Round Square
Carnival (a charity event) was
organised at Indian School Al-
Ghubra in the month of Sep-
tember 2011. As the evening
approached, a good turnout
of students and guests was
noticed at various stalls, set
up by the class 12 students.
There were games, food
stalls and a stage where
many students entertained
the crowd with music and
dance. Thousands of children
enjoyed an exciting evening
packed with games, music, pop- corn, goodies and magic.
There were also events such
as face painting, fortune tell-
ing, archery, mini-golf, slow-cycling and much more. The highlight of the eve-
ning was the Fashion Show with a jam packed auditorium with students, visitors
and parents who cheered as students walked the ramp. The students of ISG mes-
merized the crowd with their talent.
A student delegation from ISG attended the Sr. Re-
gional round Square Conference (Austrlasia Region) at
Westminster School, Adelaide in the month of July.
Aashna Jayakumar, one of the delegates, was invited
as a Key-note speaker at one of the sessions.
― B a k e -
Sale‖ - is
one of
the most
p o p u l a r
fund rais-
ing activi-
ties at
I n d i a n
school, Al
Ghubra .
Around 200 boxes were do-
nated under a unique charity
campaign - The Box Appeal.
A small box was filled with a
list of essential everyday
items in the true spirit of giv-
ing, for the needy people in
the Middle East Region.
VO L UME 1, ISSUE 2 PAGE 9
Mayo College Girls’ School, Ajmer
In the month of April, Mayo College Girls‘
School was invited by ―NANHI CHHAAN‖, an
organization which promotes GIRL CHILD
and SAVE ENVIRONMENT to perform before
the Hon‘ble President of India for their Na-
tional launch at New Delhi.
Under Cultural Ex-
c h a n g e p r o -
gramme, this sum-
mer six students
and one staff mem-
ber visited Grund
Schule, Lorrach,
Germany and the
other six students
and a staff mem-
ber went to Grund
Haupt Schule,
Oehningen, Germany. The students learnt about their culture,
educational system, activities and sports.
Twenty students from Umang, Jaipur along with
four staff members came for an over-night visit to
our School. We thoroughly enjoyed their dance
performance choreographed by Shamak Davar.
Keeping in mind ―EACH ONE
TEACH ONE‖, we teach our sup-
port staff within the campus.
A ―Vocational Training‖ in
Jewellery making, Stain
Glass painting, flower
making, Poster and Card
making was given to the
students of School for
Hearing Impaired to en-
hance their skills and tal-
ent.
True to our motto ,we make a sincere
effort to spread the message of
“LET THERE BE LIGHT”
PAGE 10
Dhirubhai Ambani International School
R S N EWS L ETTER
This year as a combined celebration of the Earth Day and Kurt Hahn’s birthday a 40 Day long activity was
planned for the entire school.
The school initiated a 3R paper project
involving Reduction, Reuse and Recycling.
The Action points were:
Reduce Paper waste: A poster campaign
developed by students to build awareness
of the environmental impact of indiscrimi-
nate use of paper and how to save it.
Reuse Paper waste: Children painted recy-
cled cartons and placed them in each
classroom, lab, printer points and faculty
rooms. They briefed everyone that any
waste paper should be placed in these
boxes. This was then sorted further into
‗usable‘ to make stationery items, paper
mashie items etc and ‗non usable‘. The
latter was then picked up by an NGO
which supports the rag pickers families by
recycling paper and paper waste.
This activity is now an ongoing process in
the school with participation from all sec-
tions. The waste paper is regularly placed
in the collection bins, then sorted and
used to make useful paper products.
These items will later be sold during the
school fete to fund NGOs supported by the
school.
The gathering of the young and dynamic
from three nations (despite the Pakistani
delegates‘ inability to be physically pre-
sent, we still include them – for they
were with us in mind and spirit, and in
Skype video chats) spent a week packed
with activities and surprises, at our long-
established, well-beloved, home-grown
peace conference – PAIGAAM. And un-
derstanding could well be the most im-
portant quality that grew within us – after
all, peace is an individual‘s battle against
half-baked conceptions handed down to
us. It is a test of our tolerance and persis-
tence, and at PAIGAAM, we are fortifying
ourselves with information and aware-
ness, and a recognition of our biases.
VO L UME 1, ISSUE 2 PAGE 11
The Lawrence School, Sanawar
Mayo College, Ajmer
Mayo College has been a fore
runner in sending their students
on international student ex-
changes. This year a total of
44 boys went on exchanges
(both RS and Non-RS schools).
We also hosted 12 exchange
scholars from various RS mem-
ber schools.
Six students took part in Round
Square International Service
Projects at three different
places in Ladakh , Peru and
South Africa.
Dr Akhilesh Bhardwaj, M. D.,
Resident Medical Officer , Mayo
College , went as a Team Medic
on the Ladakh Service Project
during July 2011.
A ‗Service Sunday‘ at the Children‘s Home, Subathu:
Nine students spent a Sunday at The Children‘s Home,
Subathu which houses about 100 children aged be-
tween 4-20 years. The children come from poor homes,
or are orphans. The students spent a bright Sunday-
helping these children out with their activities, sharing
their happiness and joy, singing and playing with them.
They also carried some sweets and chocolates for them
and left them smiling with some clothes our students
had carried. Students also spent some time at the Lep-
rosarium, Mangoti Mod, Dharampur.
Sanawarians
raised Prince
Alexander fund
through music
and hand crafts.
PAGE 12
The Millennium School, Dubai
R S N EWS L ETTER
On June 5th, the Round Square Day , nine stu-
dents from The Millennium School accompanied
by the Headmaster, Dr. Salim Khan and 2 teach-
ers went to the GEMS Support Staff Accommoda-
tion at Sonapur in Dubai to distribute the provi-
sion collected by the students. The students col-
lected 1150 kgs of Rice, 540 kgs of Dal , 230
kgs of Sugar and 135 pkts of Tea.
After the distribution of the provision, the authori-
ties took them around the accommodation. It is
kept very clean, hygienic and fully equipped with
all the facilities such as a well maintained
kitchen, a laundry , a gym, a computer room and
a sick room.
For the first time, a Joint Exchange Program
(for girls) was organised from the 9th to
15th April, 2011. Four Schools participated
and they were The Vidya Devi Jindal School,
Haryana, The Assam Valley School, The
Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, Gwalior and The
Sanskar Valley School, Bhopal. The dele-
gates attended the opening assembly
where they presented their school flag to
the Principal, Mr. Michael Guzder and were
later formally introduced to the students of
The Millennium School. They started attend-
ing regular classes from day one itself. The
next morning the girls had a wonderful
morning at The Manzil Centre for Special
Needs Children, Dubai wherein they inter-
acted with intellectually challenged individuals and spent some quality time interacting with them. The after-
noon session was an interesting one, wherein the girls actively took part in group discussions on the IDE-
ALS of the Round Square. The next day they toured The Mall of the Emirates and went on to visit the indoor
snow park called ‗Ski Dubai‘. The Dubai Mall, the Oasis Centre and the Deira City Centre were the other
places the girls visited later in the evening. They splashed about at The Dreamland Aqua Park in Um Al Qu-
wain. The joint group dance performance ‗Tu hi Tu‘ was the highlight of the program and it was amazing to
see perfect harmony in mind and body as the girls gracefully danced away to the melodious tune. Later that
afternoon the girls experienced an adventurous desert safari which gave them a taste of the vast expanse
of sand dunes as they went about dune-bashing which literally rocked them in their seats. The four-wheel
drive in sturdy Land Cruisers across the rugged terrains of the Arabian desert brought out the true spirit of
adventure in each one of them. They gained a wonderful insight into the Arab culture at the hamlet right in
the heart of the desert where the girls got busy with henna designing, dressing themselves in the traditional
Abayyas, trying their hand at sand surfing and enjoying the rich taste of the traditional Arabic coffee and
‗Shawermas – the popular Arabic snack. The girls received their mementoes, a photograph of the group Ex-
change and a CD on their memorable dance moments from the Principal, Mr. Michael Guzder who spoke
very highly of the girls and expressed his appreciation for the wonderful learning environment being provided
by their respective school managements towards shaping such wonderful individuals of the future.
VO L UME 1, ISSUE 2 PAGE 13
The Rajkumar College, Rajkot
To inculcate the value of help and care of our aged parents and to take care of them.
To create environmental awareness in the minds of the young to help prevent global warming, and pro-
vide clean and safe surroundings.
To develop a sense of oneness, sharing and caring.
Students of the Pre-Senior School (Form 7 & 8) have been visiting the Railway Station for the past one year
to help the aged persons.
Social
Service
E
N
V
I
R
O
N
M
E
N
T
To promote healthy environment, students frequently visit the busy areas and trim the outgrowing shrubs
so that they don‘t cause any problem to the pedestrians. Students help in keeping the surroundings clean
and fresh by picking up litter and garbage.
Blood
Donation
The Rajkumar College also promotes donation of blood. Students above 18 years of age and all teachers
participate in this noble act. We have always believed in helping the aged and the needy, creating an eco-
friendly environment and making this world a better place to live in!
PAGE 14
The British School, Delhi
R S N EWS L ETTER
We, as members of The Round Square commu-
nity, believe strongly in its pillars and ensure that
our students become responsible global citizens.
The British School organised its first Round
Square South Asia and the Gulf Region Senior
Regional Conference - The Peace Summit, from
19th – 21st of January 2011. This summit focused
on engaging students in drama, dance, music, art
and debate on the theme of Peace.
The participants were guided by renowned ex-
perts such as the famous mural artist Tom Wood,
the acclaimed actor Neil Farelly and the illustri-
ous classical dancer Sharon Lowen. The students
were also addressed by prominent speakers and
media persons including Mr. Suhel Seth, Manag-
ing Partner of Counselage India and founder of Equus, Dr Waiel S.H. Awwad, South Asia based journalist,
Mr. Peter Leng, a journalist with the BBC, Mr. Sam Miller, Ms Suhasini Haidar, prime time anchor with news
channel CNN-IBN, Mr. Nigel Cassey, Deputy High Commissioner at the British High Commission in New
Delhi, Ms Montserrat Feixas Vihé, Chief of Mission in New Delhi for the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR) and Mr. Johannes Olivier, Secretary with the South African High Commission in New
Delhi. It was an enriching experience that brought together students from various Round Square schools
around the region to bask in the light of peace.
The students of our school are encouraged to be strong leaders and
move out of their comfort zones and be risk takers. In this regard, the
IAYP provided the students with challenging opportunities. As part of the
promotion of Internationalism in Round Square, we have initiated the
International Board in our school. The concept of the International Board
is to get citizens of countries around the world to celebrate their national
days by putting up a display in school. In this way we hope to spread cul-
tural awareness and appreciation for countries around the world and
truly assimilate an international culture into the school community.
The School community strongly believes in reaching out to the less privileged. Our service initiatives include
working in partnership with Deepalaya, a school for the under privileged. We have initiated a programme on
IT sustainability with them. The funding of Rs. 50,000 received from the FRS, was allocated for this pur-
pose. In addition, the school donated 50 desk tops and 5 printers along with the required furniture to set
this up. The IT dept. of the school trained the teachers of Deepalaya in June 2011. Students of our school
are now being selected to carry on this project and work with the students of Deepalaya. Our students have
been engaged actively with the CAN KIDS, an organization that works for children affected with Cancer. We
hope to continue to work with these organisations and inculcate the spirit of service among the students.
VO L UME 1, ISSUE 2 PAGE 15
Anania Shirakatsi Lyceum School, Armenia
Videoconferencing Brings Armenia to King's Academy (May 23, 2011):
Two Round Square schools were connected via video conference, as six King's students interacted with stu-
dents from the Anania Shirakatsy Lyceum (Armenia National Lyceum) - the most recent international school
to gain membership to Round Square. This was the first in what King's hopes to be a series of chats with the
Armenian school.
After asking basic questions about the structure and schedule of their respective schools, the dialogue pro-
gressed to tastes in food and music, as well as touristic hot spots in Armenia and Jordan. Students also of-
fered introductory language lessons, as each school explained how to say "Hello, how are you?" in Armenian
and Jordanian. Throughout the conference, students from both schools had to work together to overcome
language - and occasional sound - barriers, but they warmed up to one another quickly and learned quite a
bit by the end of the call. The videoconference concluded with the Armenian students proudly singing their
school song, and both schools expressing the desire to continue the dialogue in the future.
Technology Link:
On the evening of April 5, groups of Ivanhoe Grammar School Plenty Campus students spent a considerable
amount of time chatting to students from Anania Shirakatstsy Lyceum, Armenia – let‘s call it ―ice-breaking‖,
although the chat – about music, home, sport, pets, weather, Justin Beiber……was instantly warm and laugh-
ter-filled.
In April 2011,
Anania Shirakatsy
Lyceum students
Lia and Vardine
Sargsyan went to
Cobham Hall Col-
lege, Kent , UK for
a month‘s ex-
change. They had
an incredible time
and enjoyed every
minute of their
study and stay .
Anania Shirakatsy Lyceum
organized a charity project
named ―Aid to Somali chil-
dren‖ for the purpose of giv-
ing some small donation to
the thousands of children
who are dying in Somalia
from famine . Hundred kilos
waste paper was collected by
Anania Shirakatsy lyceum
students and staff . The do-
nation was made to the Brit-
ish Red Cross.
The Assam Valley School
PAGE 16 R S N EWS L ETTER
INTERNATIONALISM:
Two delegates attended the Round Square Group Exchange
programme hosted by The Millennium School, Dubai in the
second week of April 2011. Four girls and three boys accom-
panied by one teacher from Colegio Anglo Colombiano visited
us from May 4, 2011 to May 22, 201. Ms Katy Theobald from
Oxford worked here as a GAP student for three months from
May 2011 to July 2011.Ms Brenda Sandoval and Ms Joanna
Franco from Colegio Anglo Colombiano are currently in school
as GAP students.
DEMOCRACY:
A grand and exciting initiative was a pupil
owned three day AVS Summer Festival from
7th – 9th of June, from a youthful pool bash to
a dizzy Rock Concert. Apart from all the fun
and frolic of the Fest, one moving aspect of
this initiative was ‗Run for a Cause‘. Each pu-
pil, from class three onwards ran over a kilo-
meter to raise money for charity. The entire
school community solemnly prayed for the sur-
vivors in Japan. A ‗Candle Light March‘ was
organised with a pledge to enhance and enrich
ENVIRONMENT:
AVS continued its go green drive by participat-
ing in Go Green Campaign, Green I Project and
Grand Banyan Project of the British Council
Division. A paper recycling unit has also been
installed in the school.
ADVENTURE:
Parasailing was
offered in March
and ‗Ho l long
2011‘: an in
house adventure
camp with over-
night camping
experience was
organised in May.
SERVICE:
To commemorate the birthday of the versatile Kurt Hahn, the
Social Service League of The Assam Valley School organised a
‗Free Health Camp‘ for our very own support staff and their
families residing in ‗Lachit Ville‘ on the 5th of June, 2011. A
cleanliness drive was also initiated in ‗Lachit Ville‘ and a Com-
munity Centre with five computers was set up which in turn
brought many a smile to the not-so-privileged school going
children of ‗Lachit Ville‘.
LEADERSHIP:
‗In me‘: A Workshop on Leadership for the entire class of 12 in March. In September, AVS hosted Mr. Dilip
Mukerjea, owner and Managing Director of ‗Braindancing International‘ and ―Buzan Centre Singapore Pte Ltd,‖
an organisation specifically dedicated to advancing human performance across multiple domains. Mr. Mukerjea
addressed and interacted with the school community on Teaching-Learning Systems and Leadership.
Printed and published at : Indian school, Al Ghubra, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman