On the night of Wednesday September 30, a group of eight students accompanied by Mrs Parker, Ms Faulkenberry and Ms Greaves jetted out to attend the Round Square International Conference in Singapore. The group of global-minded students consisted of Year 11 students Sophie Clare, Megan Lau, Annika Kuruvilla and Jenna Stewart, and IB1 students Abbie Bradshaw Markey, Brianna Mendes, Emma O’Donnell and Aine Smith.

The conference began on Friday, October 2 and ended a week later, giving the students time to soak in the culture of Singapore.

The week comprised of meeting students from all over the world and engaging in discussions centred on the theme of the conference: Act today, Change tomorrow.

The main focus of the conference was on the environmentalism of the Round Square IDEALS, specifically the idea of sustainability.

The students had the opportunity to listen to some inspirational speakers who had a wealth of knowledge to share on the topic. When asked what the conference had taught her, Brianna Mendes said: “It’s not just about the environment, everything we do has to be sustainable, otherwise it is just a short-term solution and will likely have bad consequences”.

Abbie Bradshaw Markey added: “Sometimes it’s better to start working to help locally rather than globally; often it’s easier to make a change that way and if we can all make small changes in our community, they can really add up to a significant amount.”

When Abbie was asked for one word to sum up the conference, she had so many positive adjectives to describe her experience that she replied: “Phenomenalfantasticamazingextraordinaryfun!”

She also said that “connecting with people from all over the world to talk about one common issue has been one of the most interesting experiences of my life”.

Some of the highlights from the trip were moments when they discovered new things about Singapore. For example, Abbie shared this funny fact: “In Singapore, an ice-cream sandwich is not the same as it is in Bermuda. Instead it is a block of ice-cream wrapped in an actual piece of bread. Surprisingly tasty, but still strange.”

All in all, the students had a great time and made some unforgettable memories — such as eating the Singaporean delicacy of an ice cream sandwich! Round Square International Conferences are wonderful opportunities that we are lucky to be offered.