Round Square Year 8 Leadership & International Conference Sydney

We are excited to share that a delegation of six students from Years 10 and 11, accompanied by three staff members, is preparing to attend the upcoming Round Square International Conference in Sydney, hosted by the prestigious Barker College.

The conference will bring together Round Square schools from across the globe, providing our students with a unique opportunity to connect, collaborate and learn alongside young people from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Throughout the conference, students will explore and unpack the Round Square IDEALS through a range of engaging experiences, including urban challenges, Baraza discussion groups, service initiatives, cultural experiences, and explorations of character, citizenship and global responsibility.

This experience will challenge our students to broaden their perspectives, develop their leadership capabilities and consider how they can make a meaningful contribution to their communities and the wider world.

We look forward to sharing our Round Square journey with you next term as our students reflect on their experiences and the connections they make along the way.

Year 8 Leadership Program

As part of the Year 8 Pastoral Program, the MYP and Round Square have collaborated to provide students with a unique Leadership Training Program, embedded within the Pastoral timetable.

Through a series of dedicated lessons, students receive explicit instruction and opportunities to explore leadership skills, attributes, styles and challenges. Students examine different approaches to leadership and consider what it means to view leadership as service, while exploring the relationship between empathy, accountability and effective leadership.

The program also challenges students to consider how to facilitate conversations through an ethical and socially responsible lens, as well as developing strategies for managing and resolving conflict.

As part of the program, students participated in a full-day incursion with Student Leadership Academy Australia through their Redefining Leadership program. Students were challenged to define their own leadership identity, consider how they can demonstrate leadership within their school community, and explore practical ways to develop and implement student-led initiatives.

This program aligns strongly with our school’s focus on Leadership as part of the Round Square IDEALS and has provided our Year 8 students with a deeper understanding of what it means to lead with integrity, empathy and purpose.

Rebecca Bettiol

Round Square Coordinator