Participating in Exchanges in 2020!

Our students at Westminster are extremely lucky to have so many opportunities available to them. I get many enquiries throughout the year from students wishing to participate in Exchanges. Very soon, I will be emailing all students regarding exchange opportunities for next year and beyond. This email will include initial application forms which I would encourage students to fill out during the holidays and send back to me for the beginning of the school year.

Some exchanges, particularly international ones, can take at least six months to arrange, so I always encourage our students to start this process early, preferably at the end of Year 9. During Orientation Day, I will be speaking to all the Year 7 students regarding their options for Regional Exchanges in 2020. This year we have had two students go on Regional Exchanges to Ballarat. Regional Exchanges are available to Year 8 and 9 students only, are two weeks in length and are dependent on interest from other schools.

International exchanges are best done in mid to late Year 10, although we have had a number of Year 11 students also complete exchanges in the latter part of the year (usually post Research Project). There is an expectation though that these older students make every effort to keep up with their Westminster school work whilst away and maintain regular contact with their subject teachers.

We currently have strong connections with a number of Round Square schools around the world and although we always do our best to find the right opportunity for our students, there is no guarantee. The best approach for a student to have is to be open about where they want to go and be flexible about when they can go. Some schools in the Northern hemisphere have quite strict rules around when their students can participate in an Exchange and even when they are able to host. Narrowing down choices to specific schools or even countries may mean there won’t be an opportunity available.

On the whole our Exchanges are reciprocal, meaning we send a Westminster student and we also host their ‘partner’, however there are some times when we are looking for hosts only. This hosting only option is restricted though to our day students. I regularly receive requests for Exchanges from other schools which I always send out to students via email, SEQTA notices and eNews so please get in touch if you see something that interests you!

Students and parents are also able to search for Exchange opportunities on the Round Square website (www.roundsquare.org). Please use the following information to access this:

Username: Students
Password: DiscoverMore

Please contact me via Email if you have any problems accessing this or if you wish to discuss the opportunities further.

RSIS (Round Square International Service) - Service Opportunities

Programs available 2020/2021:

Round Square International Service Project, Tanzania (16-18 year olds) Thursday 26 March to Wednesday 8 April 2020

Round Square International Service Project, Laos (16-18 year olds) Saturday 11 to Friday 24 July 2020

Round Square International Service Project, Madagascar (16-18 year olds) Saturday 11 to Saturday 25 July 2020

Round Square International Service Project, Malaysia (16-18 year olds) Saturday 5 to Friday 18 December 2020

Round Square International Service Project, Malaysia (16-18 year olds) Saturday 3 to Friday 16 July 2021

Round Square International Service Project, Vietnam (16-18 year olds) April 2021 (TBC)

Please apply directly on the Round Square website, www.roundsquare.org

Please use the following details:

Username: Students
Password: DiscoverMore

Please contact me via Email if you have any problems accessing this or if you wish to discuss the programs further.

Student Conference Trips for 2020!

Please find below a list of student conference opportunities available through Round Square for 2020. These are open to all students of Westminster. Some of these require immediate attention, especially those earlier in the year so please email me as soon as possible if you are keen to be involved!

Most have a limit of four to five students and usually a minimum of three students must be involved for it to be financially viable for us to participate as a school.

This could be the great opportunity you have been looking for to develop not only your leadership skills, but your overall global understanding and knowledge of Round Square.

Global Opportunities

Wednesday 1 to Friday 7 April - Craighouse School, Chile: ages 15-18

Thursday 9 to Monday 13 April - Modern School, Delhi, India: ages 14-17

Monday 13 to Sunday 19 April - Brookhouse School, Kenya: ages 16-18

Tuesday 28 April to Saturday 2 May - St Cyprian’s School, South Africa: ages 12-14

Thursday 30 April to Wednesday 6 May - Glenlyon Norfolk School, Canada: ages 12-14

Friday 8 to Sunday 10 May - KC Public School, Jammu, India: ages 12-14

Monday 29 June to Friday 3 July - St Mary’s Colchester, UK: ages 12-13

For further information on Round Square, our initiatives, exchanges, or conferences, please contact me via Email.

Julia Chukwuani
Round Square and Exchanges Coordinator