THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM PARTNERSHIP

The Global Classroom Partnership South Africa has been operational at South Peninsula High School since 2003. We are proud that it is possible for SP to be involved and to sustain such a unique programme. The programme involves high schools from the following countries: the Shetland Islands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Germany, South Africa, Australia and the USA. Japan, one of the founder countries, has not participated for the past three years.

SP has participated in conferences in Sweden in 2005, Japan in 2006, Germany in 2007 (read more about the 2007 Conference in Diepholz, Germany), the Czech Republic in 2008, the Shetland Islands in 2009 and, for the first time, the USA in 2010.

This year (in June) the Conference was held in Ange, Sweden. The student participants were Danielle Moore, Imraa Johnson, Abigail van Rooyen, Laa’iqah Holliday, Ahmedi Begum Dhansay, Zara Bell, and Shagufta and Shameem Zalgaonkir. They were accompanied by Mr Wentzel April and Ms Georgina Kleinhans. The theme was ‘Democracy and Sustainable Development’.

This following is an abridged version of the report written by Ms Kleinhans. Click here for photos.

‘We left for Sweden on Monday 6 June 2011. After arriving at Stockholm Airport, we took the train to Ange, where we were met by the Swedish teacher co-ordinators and two host families. The girls were all hosted by Swedish families, whereas all the teachers stayed at a hotel.

Wednesday 8 June: The students of all the countries were split into working groups to ensure interaction across the nations. After musical items presented by students of the host school, Bobergsgymnasiet, the Conference was opened by the Mayor of Ange. This was followed by a talk on Stress Management.

Thursday 9 June: After some ice-breakers, a guest speaker presented a talk on Sustainable Development, based on the principle of ‘Recycle, Restore, Reduce and Reform’. The students were captivated by the presentation and participated enthusiastically in the Workshop which took place in the second session. That evening the participants were treated to a buffet supper at the hotel, followed by the film ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 4’ in 3D, to which the host families were also invited.

Friday 10 June: Since the Swedish staff and some of the students were preparing for the school’s graduation ceremony later that evening, the local Lions Club entertained the rest of the Conference participants by taking us to a reserve where a talk was given on the environment. This was followed by a meal in the reserve. After the graduation, which included a procession down the main street, we were taken on a cultural tour. At the Information Centre we were shown a short film of Ange, and then visited a Museum.

Saturday 11 June: Participants presented their first prepared tasks, on Democracy. As an additional task, the national groups had to reflect on their first impressions of Sweden.

Sunday 12 June: The students had on off day with their host families, while the teachers had dinner with the Governor of Vasternorrland, Mr Bo Kallstrand, and his wife. They expressed great interest in the Global Classroom.

Monday 13 June: Participants were taken on a field trip to Ostersund and the Jamtkraft Power Plant, together with some sightseeing. This trip tied in with the talk on Sustainable Development. The students could clearly see the connection.

Tuesday 14 June: The groups did their presentations on Sustainable Development, with a question and answer session afterwards. An interesting addition to the programme was a talk by an Afghan boy (assisted by a translator) who has refugee status at Bobergsgymnasiet.

Wednesday 15 June: The students presented their tasks on alcohol, a topic which aroused great interest and much discussion, during which many questions were asked. The second session consisted of the presentation by Learning School - the findings of this group of former Global Classroom participants based on their research on education in the future carried out at the schools in the Partnership over the past year.

Thursday 16 June: The groups presented their ‘Secret Tasks’. It was interesting to see how people view the same thing very differently. In the afternoon the students were given time to prepare for their song and dance presentation later that day. A last minute change of plan saw our girls switch from their original song and dance routine, to one done to the song ‘Welcome to Cape Town’. Fortunately, with Mr April being a Dance Teacher, this was accomplished successfully. The day - and Conference - ended with a disco at the school hall.

At the final staff meeting I gave information about the Conference next year, to be held from 29 June to 9 July. The theme will be ‘Ubuntu - People are people because of other people’.

The girls all enjoyed their stay in Sweden, without exception commenting on the hospitality of their hosts. The short stopover in Turkey was also enjoyable, with the girls having to learn very quickly the skills of haggling!’

The 2012 Conference takes place in South Africa and SP, as the host school, is already preparing for the event.

One of the projects initiated by the Global Classroom is the development and maintenance of an indigenous garden at the school. The Botanical Society based at Kirstenbosch has been extremely helpful in this regard. Click here for some photos showing the development.

For more on the Global Classroom, visit http://globalclassroom.cz or www.schoolofambition.org.

(Updated 3 August 2011)