Reaching for the top: (opposite page) Students and staff visited the highest point in Thailand as one of the many cultural and educational experiences of their Round Square service trip.


Making it here: (right) Students Maya Luthi ’23, Sabree Botelho ‘21 and Skye Oliveira ‘21 along with Foreign Languages teacher Hayley Terreta, visited the UN Headquarters in New York, as part of their participation in the Round Square America’s Conference.


“trying new food and the delicacies of the Chinese population of New York”. She also liked helping at the Lower Manhattan Ecology Centre, “because it was great to be able to improve a local environment and make a difference.” The rest of the trip included a day at Ellis Island where the delegates talked about immigration, which was Maya’s favourite part, “Ellis Island was an unforgettable experience.” The students spent a day with their host families and also took part in various service projects. Students volunteered at a water treatment plant and a recycling centre, one group restored


an old boat while another took on a gardening project for the local community. These Round Square trips are a


remarkable opportunity for Secondary students from BHS to travel and experience different cultures through conferences, exchanges and service projects, while forging long-lasting friendships with other Round Square students from around the world.


Regional Round Square Conference, Argentina


Over a week in April, Natalie Calderon ‘20, Elena Menendez-Sanchez ‘23, and


Embracing opportunity: Round Square is a truly global organisation and BHS students were able to travel to Argentina to attend a Regional Round Square Conference in the South American country.


Olivia Taylor ‘20 travelled to Argentina with teacher Mhairi Flood to participate in the Regional Round Square Conference, hosted by the Belgrano Day School. The theme of the conference was “Embrace the Opportunity” and there were students from 23 schools from the US, Colombia, Peru and Canada in attendance. Student delegates took part in workshops and learnt about Argentinian art, handcrafts, tango, folklore and chacarera (a genre of folk music and dance). They also participated in building seven houses with a local company, TECHO. Olivia recounted, “the family I built for included the mother and father of a five- month-old baby. They had been living in the same house as the grandmother for a very long time and were hoping for a new house, but they couldn’t afford one. The whole neighborhood that we were building for was quite poor and it was a very rewarding experience to know we were helping in some small way.” Natalie Calderon reflected on her experience, “At the end of the day, we got to see what we had created. It was an amazing feeling to see the completed house and to hear how grateful the volunteers and family were for our assistance. There wasn’t a dry eye on the site, and it was an incredibly humbling and rewarding experience to have been a part of.” Two keynote speakers at the conference, including Ben Walde, a former Globe actor, spoke about the importance of leadership and service, which the students


Torchbearer Fall 2017 19


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