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)
Felsted School
Deputy Head (Co-Curricular)
No comments:
Post a Comment