PHOTOS

A deprived South African township

 

A deprived South African township

Community Service: TJV's class

Community Service: G Guest with her class and their glitter bags!

Community Service: TJV's class

FINAL 24 HOURS (2nd - 3rd OCT)

Well, final 30 hours, actually – the amount of time it took to get back to Felsted. Of course, the missing Felsted flagpole turned up just in time for me to have to lug it all the way home as hand-luggage…

Over and out!

Tom Vignoles
Felsted School 
Deputy Head (Co-Curricular)

SEVENTH 24 HOURS (1st to 2nd OCT)

As the conference draws to its exhausted close, it’s time for a final day interview with our six lucky students.

SO, WHAT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE WHOLE CONFERENCE FOR YOU?

Gen: Realising how a little gift can make a child happy!

Chloe: The highlight was the Community Service Activity helping the children in the Primary School.

Izzy: Yes. Definitely going to the school in the townships. I found it a true eye-opener and really want to do something similar again.

Ben: Meeting different people from all over the world, especially the Australians and some of the British people. I’ve got most of their numbers and will definitely keep in touch.

Tim: Yes, meeting all the new people and sorting out some summer arrangements as quite a few people are coming to Britain in the summer. We are meeting in London!

Shona: Probably meeting new people also, because I know that I will have them as lifelong friends and I have improved my social skills and am more confident. One of my biggest highlights was also the community service day, working with the children and seeing how they reacted to all the different activities.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT THE ROUND SQUARE IDEALS ON THIS TRIP?

Shona: I’ve learnt that it is a lot more about making people come out of their comfort zone and trying something new. You suddenly meet loads of new people from different countries and learn about how they live. With the adventure activities, we learnt how to work as a team with the people around us. I also understood a lot about how nature has been damaged, such as the rhinos, and then using different activities to try and come up with solutions.

Chloe: I’ve learnt that the IDEALS apply to people all over the world, and are an important aspect of how one should behave in everyday life.

Gen: The IDEALS are more important in our lives than we realise, and already have a place in your life, even if not in the Round Square.

Izzy: Yes, the IDEALS can be referred to in everyday life, not just referred to at school.

Ben: I think you can use leadership skills on a daily basis, to organise things. I didn’t enjoy the barazza discussion groups on the IDEALS much, though I did make some contributions.

Tim: I have learnt that the Round Square IDEALS, if you live by them, give you a nice rounded life.

WHAT WAS THE MOST SURPRISING OR UNEXPECTED ASPECT OF THE TRIP?

Shona: It was as I expected mainly, but I thought there would be more community service activities and I didn’t realise how many talks there would be.

Chloe: The most surprising thing for me was how comfortable and confident I was when meeting new people and talking in a group.

Izzy: The most surprising thing for me was discovering more about myself. For example, going to the school has made me realise what I take for granted and how much I complain. Also I’ve grown more confident.

Gen: Yes, I have made so many lasting friends and become more confident, I found it much easier than expected to make friends.

Tim: Probably finding that I could deal with children who could not speak my language.

Ben: Probably the community service activity when we went to the schools. Tim and I had to be in a group and teach the kids and help them make their paper hangings.

SO THE SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ASPECTS ARE AGAIN COMING OUT AS MAJOR BENEFITS OF THE CONFERENCE. HAS THIS INSPIRED YOU TO DO MORE ROUND SQUARE ACTIVITIES IN THE FUTURE?

Izzy: I definitely plan to stay strongly connected with Round Square and want to help develop it more, so more people are involved. If possible I would like to do another conference or a Round Square International Service Project (RSIS), but will have to see if I can!

Chloe: I plan to either do a RSIS or hopefully attend another conference.

Gen: Same here! I also want to raise money for the schools we went to in the community service activity, to buy the children the things they need and if I get enough, some toys.

Ben: I will help out to organise the Felsted Conference in November, but probably won’t go to the conference because of exams.

Tim: Hopefully I will go on the next conference and will also help lead the Round Square Felsted conference.

Shona: I plan on doing an RSIS project and hopefully do the Florida conference. I might also consider doing a gap year with the Round Square.

SO FINALLY, WOULD YOU RECOMMEND A ROUND SQUARE CONFERENCE TO FELSTED STUDENTS AND WHY?

Gen: YES! They are life changing in a way that is hard to understand unless you experience it, and it helps you to understand others and your own opinions.

Chloe: I would certainly recommend a Round Square Conference to other pupils because it gives you the chance to make connections all over the world and forces you to come out of your comfort zone and experience new things.

Ben: Yes, because it would give students a chance to travel to somewhere in the world where they haven’t been before, and also a chance to meet new people and to help them change things in the world that they feel are important.

Izzy: I would definitely recommend a conference to other pupils, because of the great activities involved on the trip and the ways this helps and enables you to grow and develop in new ways.

Tim: Definitely, because it’s a great way to meet new new people, have a lot of fun and broaden your horizons.

Shona: I definitely would, because I found it was a really good experience, it gets you completely out of your comfort zone and you learn a lot of new things and you come back with a completely different view of the world.

Tom Vignoles
Felsted School 
Deputy Head (Co-Curricular)