(Lakefield Ontario Young Round Square Conference: April 22-April 27 2012)

Last week, we had the privilege of attending the Young Round Square of the Americas’ annual conference, held at Lakefield College School in Lakefield, Ontario. Our French teacher, Monsieur Maurice, accompanied us. We both agree that this was by far the greatest experience we have ever had.

Nous ne savions pas à quoi nous attendre. Est-ce que nous allions écouter des conférenciers parler pendant une semaine? Nous étions excités de voir ce qui allait se passer.

We made long-lasting memories with our billeting families: Zack’s time consisted of activities such as bowling, while Holly enjoyed a succulent culinary experience every night, which was a great start to the week’s events. We were truly saddened when it was time to leave, yet happy to have had such a great time.

The conference was quite an adventure. People came from all over the world: From Canada and the United States to Bermuda and Peru! But the farthest travellers by far were from Tokyo, Japan. We met many people at the opening ceremonies, where we listened to what was to become our inspiration for the rest of the week. On the first day of the conference, it became clear to us that this experience would forever change our attitudes towards making a difference in this world. The first presentation was from a 15-year-old motivational speaker who impressed us to no end. Bilaal Rajan, UNICEF’s youngest ambassador, has raised over $5 million since he began his quest at the age of four, selling clementines. He is also in grade 11 at Lakefield College School, our conference’s host school. The main message he was trying to convey to us was: “When do we take action? NOW!” That was when it hit us, the eye opener to the potential we all had. It was at that point when we truly realized why we were, at that moment, sitting in that room, listening to Bilaal. The theme of the conference was immediately clear: “Find your passion, take action!” We too began to hope to make a difference in our world. But the question was how would we go about it in just one short week?

Puis, nous sommes allés au Camp Kawartha. Il a fallu affronter plusieurs défis qui nous ont appris à combattre nos peurs! On nous a dit qu’en essayant des choses qui nous font peur, cela élargirait notre zone de confort. Et nous pouvons vous dire que c’est complètement vrai.

Nous avons aussi visité le centre écologique de Kawartha où nous avons discuté d’enjeux et d’inquiétudes en relation avec l’environnement partout dans le monde. Nous avons surtout aimé le jeu de « Guess that Watt? ». Plusieurs appareils électroniques étaient branchés dans un appareil qui nous disait combien de watts étaient utilisés pour leur fonctionnement. Saviez-vous qu’un grille-pain consomme dix fois plus d’énergie qu’un ventilateur?

After an amazing two days in Lakefield, we departed for the Me to We Facility in Bethany, Ontario, where we spent the last three days of our trip. We were greeted after an hour’s drive by an amazing lunch for our famished stomachs. The food was fantastic! There was an ongoing competition in which we had to answer questions or partake in silly challenges before getting our food. Now, when do you think we ate?

Le groupe était séparé en quatre équipes aves lesquelles nous avons fait de nombreuses activités en rapport avec le travail en équipe et la communication. Souvent, nos yeux étaient bandés, et nous devions travailler ensemble sans parler! Nos solutions étaient toujours créatives. Nous avons aussi appris quel type de dirigeant nous sommes, et ce qu’on pouvait faire pour s’améliorer. Par exemple, nous devions créer une tour avec nos souliers qui étaient encore à nos pieds!

Of course, it wasn’t just all work and no play! We had our fair share of fun time, including many inside and outside games, campfires and two dances on the last night! First, some aboriginal dancers came in and had us certified in aboriginal singing and dancing 101. We competed for the title of best singers and made up our own dances. Then it was time for the “must have” social dance, where DJs mixed popular tunes to end the night.

On the last morning, we worked together with Monsieur Maurice on proving a formula that would lead us to make changes in our school. Passion + issue = change. We made a list of ideas and initiatives, which we intend to introduce at LCC.

Durant la cérémonie de fermeture, les directeurs nous ont demandé de réfléchir sur notre semaine. Plusieurs d’entres nous ont dit qu’elle était amusante. Ce n’était pas encore évident de voir comment nous pourrions faire une différence dans le monde. Mais, la réponse est venue comme un éclair : le travail en équipe et la communication. Il faudra surmonter tous les obstacles, prendre des décisions critiques, analyser nos problèmes et les résoudre. Avec tout ce que nous avons appris cette semaine, nous pourrons faire une différence. Nous avons seulement besoin de notre passion pour agir.

Over the course of the weeklong conference, we were given many tools and tips to help us figure out how to make a difference. We met new people and bettered our communication skills. This experience truly taught us how to communicate with others, and showed us what goes on outside of our little bubbles that we call our world. We made many new friends, and some were even teary-eyed as they waved goodbye to their friends’ buses.

This was a great opportunity for us and we are grateful to Monsieur Maurice for accompanying us, and to LCC for allowing us to participate in this eye opening experience. More than 25 schools and 85 delegates attended this conference, but LCC was the only school from Montreal. Round Square really had a great impact on us, and we are itching to put what we learned into action. We encourage anyone and everyone who has ever wanted to “be the change they wish to see” in their community to put Round Square philosophy in practice. – Holly Faria ’15 and Zachary Shine ’15