Round Square Conference in Singapore: Adventures and Opportunities

Posted on October 13, 2015 by admin

My host buddy from India, Arvind, and I woke up with a jolt from a crash of thunder! We really hoped that it wouldn’t rain during our outing with our host family that afternoon. We freshened up, changed into our Round Square Conference T-shirts and packed what we needed for the long day ahead.

A van ordered by the host families in our condo was to take the 14 of us, students from India, Canada, Columbia, Germany, Switzerland, Kenya, and Singapore, to United World College, where the conference was being held.  Upon our arrival, we separated ourselves into our Barazza groups, with whom we’d spend most of our time for the learning part of the Round Square Conference. With the help of my team leaders, Molly and Sid, we learned a logical way of breaking down an issue into four parts: 1) the mental model, 2) the systems and structure, 3) the patterns of behaviour and 4) the event itself. Once we understood how to look at a problem as a system, we focused on where in the system to intervene to find a long-term solution to the problem.

After we finished our Barazza session at around 11:00 am, all of us were dismissed to spend the rest of the day with our host families. My host family planned to take me and Arvind to the popular Sentosa Island resort at the southernmost tip of Singapore with its own universal studios, sky ride, luge, and beach. It was a 30-minute drive until we reached the island.

There, we met up with my friend Ameera and her host family. First, we all took two luge rides down the mountainous island. The Skyline Luge company has five international locations, one of which is in Quebec. But in my opinion, the short luge route on Sentosa Island didn’t compare to the lengthy and steep route on Mont Tremblant. Nevertheless, it was fun!

Next, we took a bus to a popular beach on the island. People were playing volleyball, swimming, and flying kites. I tried playing some basketball with Arvind’s brother, but within 10 minutes, we were completely out of breath and had to stop. I’ve never been asthmatic, but in Singapore’s hazy air conditions, I got a pretty good idea of how it would feel.

We ate a pleasant dinner at a pizza restaurant, adjacent to the serene harbour. Later that evening, we took a ride on a ski lift around the island. As we skimmed the treetops, the breathtaking skyline of Singapore became visible. We could also see the florescent domes of Marina Gardens. We almost came within arm’s reach of the iconic Tiger Sky Tower. A combination of its impressive height and hypnotic, pulsing, multicoloured lights decorated the dark night sky like a Christmas tree. It was an unforgettable sight indeed, which marked the end of our day at Sentosa.

On our way back to our luxurious condo, we passed by the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, and drove through the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE). The MCE is a 5 kilometre-long underground tunnel that travels under the seabed, connecting western parts of Singapore to the new downtown. They made the smart decision to construct this tunnel underwater instead of building a bridge over water to prevent the possibility of monsoons damaging the infrastructure.

In the car, Arvind and I talked to our host father about the haze in Singapore at this time of the year. Lately, PSI levels had risen to such dangerously high levels that school was cancelled. In Indonesia, they use the slash-and-burn farming technique. Big corporations cut down palm trees for palm oil, and then burn large amounts to clear land for farming other crops. They use the burnt plant matter as fertilizer, but the undesirable smoke bi-product makes its way up to Malaysia and Singapore. The Singapore government is working on solutions to this problem, but the truth is that there is no “them vs. us” scenario. In reality, many companies that contribute to this practice are based in Singapore.

On a lighter note, I’m glad that we got this opportunity to get to know our host family and really get the unique Singapore experience.

– Kameel Khan ’16

L’Honorable Juge Trahan parle aux élèves du cours de droit

Posted on September 28, 2015 by admin

Dans le cadre de la participation au concours d’écriture sur le droit des enfants, l’honorable Anne-Marie Trahan, c.r. a rendu visite à Lower Canada College pendant le cours de droit.

Madame Trahan a exercé le droit à Montréal de 1968 à 1979, au sein du cabinet maintenant connu sous le nom de Lavery, puis elle a poursuivi sa carrière comme juriste au service du droit commercial international du Bureau des affaires juridiques des Nations-Unies; elle travaillait à Vienne. Nommée par la suite commissaire à la Commission canadienne des transports (1981-1986), elle a été sous-ministre déléguée, droit civil et services législatifs, au Ministère fédéral de la Justice de 1986 à 1994. Elle a été juge de la Cour supérieure du Québec du 5 juillet 1994 au 30 juillet 2010. Elle se consacre maintenant à diverses activités au sein d’organismes à but non lucratif.

Voici les commentaires des élèves suite à la discussion :

La semaine dernière, Juge Trahan a visité notre école pour nous parler du droit des enfants au Québec et autour du monde. Elle nous a enseigné un peu sur nos droits en tant que mineurs et c’était un grand plaisir de l’écouter parler.
– Ryan Hawa ’16

L’autre jour, j’ai eu l’occasion de rencontrer et de parler avec la Juge Trahan, une femme qui a travaillé dans le système de justice du Québec pendant de nombreuses années. Nous avons parlé des droits de l’enfant, non seulement au Québec, mais partout dans le monde. C’est toujours un plaisir d’écouter ce qu’elle a à dire, et je suis chanceuse d’avoir eu la chance de l’entendre parler à nouveau.
– Christina Papageorgakopoulos ’16

J’ai beaucoup aimé quand la Juge Trahan est venue nous parler car elle est drôle quand elle parle et elle avait beaucoup à dire. Quand on posait une question elle allait en profondeur pour nous répondre le mieux possible. C’était très intéressant de rencontrer quelqu’un qui a déjà envoyé une personne en prison, mais aussi qui était une bonne avocate puisqu’elle a pu devenir juge.
– Madison Llano ’16

J’ai trouvé la visite de la juge dans notre classe de droit très intéressante et j’aimerais bien en savoir plus sur le droit criminel et le code civil. En effet, ça ma juste renforcé dans mes intentions de découvrir plus des choses sur le droit international, le code civil et le droit criminel.
– Giuliano Latella ’17

Lors de la visite de Mme Juge Trahan, j’ai appris plein de nouveaux faits et lois sur le Québec. La juge Trahan nous a enseigné le droit d’une façon intriguante et plaisante. Elle a répondu en détail à toutes mes questions sur le droit des enfants au Quebec, avec enthousiasme! Le fait le plus captivant que j’ai appris c’est que l’article 33 répond à la majorité des questions que j’ai sur le droit des enfants au Québec.
– Ryan Garber ’17

J’ai bien aimé la visite du Juge Trahan. Elle avait une très belle personnalité et elle m’a éduqué beaucoup sur le droit en nous disant son expérience passée dans la domaine du droit. Aussi, elle répondait à nos questions avec une telle facilité et ceci m’ impressionnait beaucoup.
– Adam Mahrouse ’17

Just Do It!

Posted on September 15, 2015 by admin

I congratulated our grade 7-11 students this morning on a fine start to the school year. There’s a palpable buzz on our campus. Teachers are impressed with students’ positive engagement in the classroom, and our athletic teams have been busy practicing, playing, and preparing for an exciting fall season of competition. For those students who are uncommitted, it’s not too late. If they’re shy and haven’t tried out for a team, I urged them to be brave, ask a friend what’s involved, or find the coach, and give a team/activity a try. Young people never regret being part of a team – and pulling on an LCC jersey. As Nike says, they need to “just do it”!

We are having a club and activities fair later this week (Thursday). The same message about involvement applies: students should dive in with both feet and try a new activity or build a new skill. They need to accept a challenge and see where it takes them. We’re lucky at LCC as there’s a lot of choice here – literally something for everyone.

On that front, I believe our greatest experts are actually in our Junior School. What high school students need is a healthy dose of “Grade 3 attitude.” Grade 3 kids will try anything. Generally speaking, they don’t doubt themselves, they want to try everything – and at that age, enthusiasm is a core skill. So we can all learn from the little ones.

One area of special focus this year at LCC is wellness. As such, I asked the students to also consider the right activity so they can balance their day and week. They shouldn’t sign up for five clubs that they cannot truly commit to. Balance matters. They should avoid stress that comes from over-commitment.

Regarding student wellness, a key person in every student’s life at LCC is the advisor. These teachers are not just available to supervise snack or lunch: they want to get to know the “whole student,” including special interests, preferences and idiosyncrasies. In an effort to strengthen that relationship, this year we are reserving one Tuesday Assembly period per month for advisory time. This should allow students to be less rushed and have time to connect in more meaningful ways with their advisors.

In addition to the grade 3s, students can also learn from our grade 7s. They all spent last week in an orientation where they learned about EF Skills. Executive Functioning skills include: organization, planning, self-control (the capacity to delay gratification), brain awareness, and the importance of possessing a positive mindset. The last one is perhaps most important. Research has shown that the development of a growth mindset is essentially a huge factor in all learning. It sounds simple – maintain a growth mindset. But in practice, too many teens listen to the self-doubt and negative thoughts swimming in their heads that limit their development.

So every student who declares “I’m no good at math,” or “I’m a terrible artist” or “I hate reading,” will likely make that a self-fulfilling prophesy by promoting the attitude that they lack ability or potential.

I urged our students to believe in themselves and their potential and in the sheer beauty of possibility. If they carry that growth mindset through the year, they will surely surpass their expectations.

I can’t wait to see it happen at all levels! – Chris Shannon, Headmaster

Kangaroos, Dolphins, and Skydiving: My Adventurous Exchange

Posted on June 29, 2015 by admin

I touched down in Sydney, Australia, on June 8, exhausted from a 15-hour flight from Vancouver. This probably contributed to me missing my connecting flight to Perth; which was my final destination. I was put on the next flight without any problems two hours later. At 3:45 pm, I walked into the Perth airport. I reclaimed my bags and waited at a coffee shop for my family to arrive. Kasper, my exchange student, Florence, his sister, and Laura, their mother, greeted me and we all drove back to my new home. Upon arrival, I was introduced to Kasper’s father, Torben, as well as their two dogs, Gonzo and Daisy. I ate dinner and went to bed early. Despite serious jet lag, I planned on going to school the next day.

My first day at Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School was a blast. I made many new friends during lunch and recess and I took part in my first field hockey practice on the school team. It was my first experience with this sport, which introduced a few problems. The main one was that we had a game the next day and I didn’t know any of the rules, positions, or how to play. I did fine, aside from accidentally slashing a player on the other team in an attempt to get the ball. I learned the important lesson that field hockey is not played quite like ice hockey.

I signed up to play on the school AFL (Footie) team in a tournament that Friday. I had three days to learn the sport, but with field hockey, I was forced to pick it up in one day. I learned the rules and basic gameplay of Footie by watching videos on YouTube, as well playing for two hours in gym class. I was as ready as I was going to be. It was awesome! We lost every game, but it was still awesome.

We woke up quite early (by my schedule) at 9:30 am on Saturday and we headed out to motorbike on dirt trails in the woods. I learned how to operate the gears and went off on the trails for a spin. I came back a tad late and in the distance, close to where I’d started, was a group of about 10 kangaroos bounding across the road into the woods. We got home around 2:00 pm and I ended the day with a run and some training. The next day, we went out kayaking in a bay near the house and dolphins swam around our kayaks.

I got back from the weekend relaxed and ready for the start of another week. Nothing new happened on Monday, but I had my first aquatics class on Tuesday. Aquatics is a class for surfing in the sea, which lasts two hours without breaks. I figured it was going to be a nice day relaxing in the sun. I didn’t think of bringing a wetsuit for the cold water and the wind. Those two hours were quite uncomfortable, to say the least.

After that, I practiced with the field hockey team after school. When I got home, Laura told me I had two opportunities to consider: I was invited to play for the school Footie team for a weeklong tournament, or I could work at the Dolphin Discovery Centre (I’m still trying to decide what to do).

The next day, I had a field hockey game. We lost, but it was still fun. On the car ride home from the field, Laura told me I had the opportunity to skydive over the weekend in Busselton. I signed up to skydive as soon as I got home.

We ended the week early and started our weekend on Thursday at 3:30 pm. I went to Busselton, or “Busso,” for the skydiving trip. Friday was a pretty chill day. We visited a few tourist shops and ended off the day relaxing at the hotel. I didn’t sleep too well that night because I was too excited for the next day.

The wake-up call for skydiving was around 8:00 am. While pulling into Southern Skydivers parking lot I got my first glimpse of the plane. It was a small plane that fit around five people. I got suited up and acquainted with Jake, the person I would be jumping with. Around 15 minutes later, I boarded the plane with three other skydivers and Jake. We took off. At 10,000 feet, the plane doors opened and two people in the plane jumped. We flew another 4,000 feet and then it was our turn. I inched my way toward the open door, with Jake close behind me. We waited a few seconds and, when ready, we began the free fall. The wind blocked out all noise as we plummeted toward the ground at around 200 kilometres per hour. Another skydiver flew with Jake and I for around a minute of the free fall, then separated as we deployed our parachutes.

I’m lost for words to describe the experience, but it felt like I was in a dream, flying high above the clouds. On the descent I had the view of my life, as I overlooked the whole town of Busselton and the jetty from a height of around 5,000 feet. After landing, I thanked Jake and left with my family for whale watching. It was an awesome day. The next day was spent buying souvenirs for my family and friends. We ended the day with a tour of an underground cave called Jewel Cave. It was about 40 metres underground, and when lit up, it looked like a huge, intricate jewel. The next day was dedicated to rest – and I slept.

– Garrett Doyle ’17

Civility?

Posted on June 3, 2015 by admin

I thought a lot about civility a few weeks ago when I was in Toronto for an LCC Alumni reunion. On a Thursday morning, all the newspaper boxes in the city screamed with headlines about the same story: a mid-30’s man had recently verbally assaulted a female TV reporter at an MLS Soccer game. The man had launched a raunchy string of suggestive comments that were aggressive and pornographic in nature. The woman reporter stopped videoing her story and calmly confronted the man and his gaggle of moronic friends who quietly supported him by their inaction. Meanwhile, of course, a passerby videoed the whole incident and sent it to the local media. Within hours, the male aggressor was identified and was publicly “outed”. He was embarrassed by the utter stupidity of his actions, and very swiftly fired by Hydro One, the Ontario Power utility where he worked, for violating ethical norms and expectations of the company – even though his acts of stupidity did not occur while he was at work. His face appeared on the cover of every major Toronto newspaper that Thursday morning. His life and reputation were completely shattered.

So what has happened to civility, accountability and empathy? The problem seems to be that people are prone to do silly or outrageous things when hiding in a group setting or behind the veil of the faceless Internet. Unfortunately, pressing send is impersonal; it never allows you to see the response of a recipient – and how a comment or image makes them feel as a person.

So an important reminder: whether part of a group activity or hiding behind the mask of the Internet, we are each still responsible for our own behaviour. No matter what, civility, respect, and accountability need to remain our foundations and never somehow disappear when you hide for a moment.

Being prepared to walk in the shoes of others helps us build a stronger sense of identity by learning from others and growing by being exposed to cultural or gender differences. That respect for difference helps build empathy and can lead to better judgment. Civility is the glue that is critical to the welfare of us all in society – no exceptions. I recently asked our high school students to talk about this issue together. I urged them to each to avoid being one of those unfortunate souls who helps chip away at civility. It’s neither funny nor cool; without defending civility we all lose. — Chris Shannon, Headmaster