INTERNATIONAL & ROUND SQUARE
students created a ‘Circle of Unity’ around the Quad. This showed that everyone had a part to play in raising awareness of racism and highlighted the importance of eliminating racial discrimination. The boys also sang the College waiata and performed the school haka. The Junior Round Square Committee organised several events over the year, including a GeoGuessr competition. Houses battled it out across the globe in this online geography game, with Julius taking the honours. Another activity was bubble tea-making (boba). BobaLab’s Hannah Chen guided the Years 9–10 boarders from both College and St Margaret’s College through the process of making tapioca bubbles before everyone created a personalised boba drink. The much-anticipated flagship International and Round Square Week took place in Term 3. Events included a multilingual Chapel service, karaoke competition, food fiesta, taco-making competition, Round Square Assembly and a quiz night. In a new initiative, Bead and Proceed’s Bridget Williams explained the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), using creativity as the catalyst for enacting sustainable change. The boys then painted a bead to represent their personal SDG while discussing why they had chosen that particular goal and how they planned to take action at College and in their personal lives. The woven bead mural was then presented to the school, symbolising College’s dedication to sustainability and diversity. The junior committee then held a Junior Round Square Week in Term 4, again showcasing the IDEALS through an international Chapel service, tuckshop takeover, Kahoots! quiz, Assembly, a fundraising non- uniform day, and a Round Square race modelled on the Amazing Race . As global citizens, College students attended several conferences. Seann Zhao, Raziel Zhao, Benson Geng- Wang and Jeffrey Jiang headed to a Service and Leadership conference
at Shenzhen Concord College of Sino-Canada in China. Year 11 students Luke Murney and Will Matheson explored the ideals of Adventure and Environmentalism during a conference at Rockhampton Grammar School in Queensland, Australia, while myself, Hugo Sudell, and Oscar Compton-Moen attended the Round Square International Conference in Colombia. This conference was attended by 113 schools from 27 countries, with more than 900 delegates. Next year’s conference will be held in Dubai. School exchanges were also popular in 2024, promoting the values of internationalisation and adventure. Through the long-standing exchange with Montgomery Bell Academy, Frank O’Gara and Euan McVicar spent a month in Nashville, Tennessee. Year 9 students Charlie Wilson and Ben Cuddihy visited Scotch Oakburn College in Tasmania, Mun Chi Jager and Dylan Jackson
participated in the inaugural three- week exchange to Dunn School in California, and Liam Mullinger travelled to Bunbury Cathedral College in Western Australia for three weeks. All these boys then hosted students in return. Te Reo Maˉori students Ihaka Cate, Lochie Horne, Hoani Ifopo-Togia, Thomas Visakan, Alfie McLean, and Jack Gorrie hosted three Language Lab sessions through the Round Square platform, with the second and third of these being collaborative efforts with Whanganui Collegiate School. This was a unique and exciting opportunity for students from all over the world to learn about tikanga and te reo Maˉori during a series of Zoom calls. Alex Fulton undertook a two-week service project to Thailand where he was part of a group from across the world making positive change in a local community through building a classroom.
With the goal of making Round Square more visible around the school, the International & Round Square Committees have had another successful year celebrating diversity, embracing differences, and promoting the Round Square IDEALS. In addition, we have supported international students to thrive at College, helping them to make the most of their time here. Kicking off the year we had the Chinese New Year Festival at Hagley Park. Volunteering as guides and support crew, we welcomed in the Year of the Dragon. In March, Christ’s College was the host venue for the Round Square Reps Forum for schools in the Australasia and East Asia Region, offering representatives an opportunity to network, share good practice, and plan. Later that month, Tate Aikawa, Charlie de Costobadie, Ollie Trollip, Louis Sharr, Yul Kwon, and Sebastian Wynn Thomas joined a Zoom postcode on the ‘House systems in our schools’ hosted by St Phillip’s College in Alice Springs, Australia. The call welcomed 90 students from 16 schools in six countries. In line with strengthening our connection with other Round Square schools, the Senior Committee met online with King’s College, and internationally with Tiger Kloof School in South Africa. In April, our international students joined St Margaret’s College (SMC) and St Andrew’s College for some multi-sport fun at Rangi Ruru Girls’ School. Other holiday events included bowling, Laser Strike and a cooking event hosted by SMC. A dinner at Korea House for our international students and Senior Round Square Committee members with students from Rangi Ruru Girls’ School was another opportunity to connect and develop social networks.
The highlights included: • A transportation survey –
a setback when the Wilding Pine Eradication Day was cancelled because of unforeseen circumstances. Despite this challenge, the committee remains determined to continue its efforts in the coming year. The CCEC aims to build on the successes of 2024 by: • Strengthening partnerships with the school’s executive team to implement further sustainability initiatives • Expanding the reach of Eco- Action to involve more students and community members, organising additional educational events and workshops to deepen understanding of environmental issues • Advocating for policies that promote sustainability within the school and wider community. By working together, the CCEC and the wider school community can create a more sustainable future for generations to come. Matthew Flint Head of Environment
conducted at the school gates, it encouraged students to choose environmentally friendly modes of transport by offering incentives • A Chapel sermon – a thought- provoking sermon emphasised the power of individual actions in addressing environmental issues • A ‘Guess the Leaf’ competition – a fun and educational lunchtime activity promoting knowledge of local flora • A bake sale – a successful event that raised more than $500 for the Eco-Action Nursery Trust • An Environment Assembly and quiz – an informative and engaging Assembly that tested students’ knowledge of environmental issues
• Pizza reward – a reward for students participating in the Friday tree planting event. Challenges and future plans While the CCEC made significant strides in 2024, we encountered
To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, more than 400
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