Girl in a classroom at Prep Class At St Mary's Colchester in Essex

Round Square International Conference 2017

13 October 2017

Round Square International Conference 2017

Our Principal Mrs Vipond, along with Mr Rassell and our Year 11 representatives Laura and Eve arrived back on Saturday morning from the Round Square International Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.  Laura and Eve represented St Mary’s with great enthusiasm and had a very mature approach and willingness to enjoy and gain from all that was on offer. There were 1,127 delegates in attendance at the conference. It was hosted by three RS Global Member Schools: St George’s Grammar School, St Cyprian’s School and Bridge House School who put on an outstanding and inspirational event over five days. The girls were given the opportunity to develop intercultural teamwork – they formed Baraza Groups (‘Baraza’ comes from an old African word meaning “the coming together of different people”) with each group having its own cultural symbol and name led by a student from one of the host schools. The girls experienced a combination of guest speakers including: Lorne Sulcas, former long-time game ranger and acclaimed photographer, Caleb Swanepoel, shark attack survivor and South African Adaptive Surfing Champion, and Dr William Fowlds, a renowned South African wildlife vet and rhino specialist. For the service days Laura and Eve worked within a township where they really immersed themselves into the community they were helping.  They also took part in several adventure activities including trekking in the Stellenbosch area, a trip up Table Mountain and a visit to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was held.

For more information about the event, see https://www.roundsquare.org/news/news/unite-to-ignite-the-fire-within-rsic2017/

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