Round Square News

The Year 11 Round Square Leaders introduced the Year 10 cohort to the IDEALs on Tuesday afternoon. It was impressive to hear from them, and their speeches follow:

Democracy

My name’s Alice, and I’m one of the Year 11 Round Square leaders in the Democracy ideal and also part of the Junior Committee.

 

I wanted to talk to you a bit about my experience leading the Junior Committee and some of the skills I’ve picked up along the way as a Round Square leader. It’s been a bit of a journey, and I’ve learned things I didn’t expect — like the amount of brownies needed to keep Year 7’s focussed in a meeting!

 

Over the last couple of terms, we received feedback from younger students — mostly Years 7-9 — saying they felt nervous about attending Round Square IDEAL meetings. We realised something needed to change, so the Junior Committee was created to give younger students a space where they could share their ideas and feel more comfortable.

 

Recently, in our Junior Committee meetings, we’ve been brainstorming topics for a Zoom Postcard session we’re planning to host next year. One of the main ideas is to discuss social media and its impact on our mental health and overall happiness — something I think most of us can relate to. If you’re not familiar with Zoom Postcards, they’re 60–90-minute Zoom calls where students lead discussions on a topic they care about, with participants from schools all over the world. It’s a good way to connect with people globally on issues that matter to us.

 

As for me, I plan to study paramedicine or midwifery after I finish school, and honestly, I feel like the skills I’ve gained as a Round Square leader are going to be really helpful. Leading younger students has taught me patience and empathy, especially when working with people who might be a bit nervous. I’ve also learned how to work effectively in teams, whether that’s in my Democracy IDEAL group or the Junior Committee. And, of course, I’ve had to become really organised — planning meetings, coordinating events, and making sure everything runs smoothly (most of the time!).

 

Plus, being a Round Square leader is a great addition to your resume. It shows you’ve developed leadership skills, learned to communicate well, manage a team, and handle different situations. These are all things that universities and future employers really value, and it’s a good way to show that you’ve taken on responsibilities outside of your schoolwork.

 

If any of you are interested in getting involved with Round Square, or just want to know more about what we do, feel free to come and talk to me or any of the other leaders. We’re more happy to chat and answer any questions you might have.

Exchange

My name is Nick and I hope to give you a better grasp over what Round Square is and what it can do for you.

First off, for those of you that don’t know, Round Square is an international organisation of schools that have programs built around the five IDEALs, Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership and Service, intended to develop students in a wide range of traits. 

Round Square has done a lot for me as a person and has helped me achieve many things in life. It enabled me to go on my exchange to Germany, given me the chance to participate in charity and opened up leadership opportunities for me, things that all of you can participate in. 

I think Round Square is a really important part of the Kinross Wolaroi community and I encourage all of you who are interested to consider joining an ideal that interests you next year and get involved today.

Service, Environmentalism, Internationalism

Good afternoon everyone, I’m Lulu. As you have heard, Round Square is an amazing opportunity to engage with ideals you are passionate about, gain some hands-on leadership experience and become actively involved with incredible projects.

 

I’ve been involved in Round Square since the start of 2023, when I decided to join the IDEALs of Service and Environmentalism. Then at the beginning of this year I also became a part of the Internationalism Round Square leadership team. I have loved being involved across a range of the Round Square IDEALs, as each has enabled me to engage with various things I am passionate about. 

Being a part of the Service group has allowed me to participate in lots of projects within the school and wider community and work with like-minded people who actively want to help the lives of others. I’ve been lucky enough to get involved with the organisation of last years’ ‘Pink Stumps’ project, hosting trivia games and playing bingo at Wontama Aged Care home and helping make sandwiches for ‘Eat Up Australia’. 

 

I have always been passionate about the environment, so joining the Environmentalism IDEAL allowed me to take part in activities that encouraged positive change. One of the first projects I was a part of was making environmentally sustainable Bees Wax Wraps and selling them on World Bee Day. Other projects involved the transformation of a recycled fridge into a refurbished bookshelf in the Anderson Centre and the brightly coloured recycling boxes that live in each staff room. 

 

Being a part this IDEAL made me fortunate enough to enjoy external excursions to events like the recycled art exhibition in Blaney. Like Nick, the Round Square program also enabled me to have the once in a lifetime opportunity to do an international student exchange last year. I know a few of you might have done one as well or could be about to next term. For me, I did some travelling across Europe for 4 weeks, before staying in the city of Nîmes in the South of France for two months. It was one of the best experiences of my life. This is why I decided to become involved in the Internationalism IDEAL at the start of the year. This group has worked on various projects like a school newsletter, as well as providing several presentations to different year groups about the experiences and opportunities of partaking in a student exchange. I have had the chance to interview exchange applicants on a panel with Mrs Anderson and other Round Square Students, and recently we organised a lunch for the current International Exchange Students and their hosts staying at Kinross Wolaroi this term, which included a farewell gift filled with Kinross Wolaroi memorabilia. 

 

For your year group, this structure across initiatives will change slightly, as students now won’t have to pick individual IDEALs but will join a ‘Senior Committee’ that enables them to choose the specific projects they want to be involved in. This allows everyone to partake in any activity that they may be passionate about regardless of which ideal it belongs to, while also providing a great opportunity for leadership.