The 2011–2012 academic year has been another extraordinary year for the College, and we can collectively look back with pride and a sense of accomplishment on all that has been achieved. From the opening of our new campus in Tampines, to the graduation of our Class of 2012 on Dover, it has been another positive and fruitful year.
Traditionally, our final Dunia honours our graduating class, and this edition is no different. Below you will find links to a video, the speeches and photos of the event, and a story about some of our former graduates, written by one of our university counsellors who has visited them at their universities.
The Class of 2012 is significant for us as a College, since for the first time students who have been with us since their first days of school in K1 graduated. These students have had their entire primary and secondary education at UWCSEA, and we have helped to shape their understanding of what education can and should be. As educators, we are constantly refining both our understanding and our practice so that we are preparing our students for the realities of our global society and their responsibilities within it (read more about this recent work in our UWCSEA profile article below). The founder of UWC, Kurt Hahn, dedicated his life to helping people discover that there is more courage, strength and compassion within them than they know. Above and beyond what all our students learn through all the elements of our learning programme, we hope that they learn that they have both the ability and the responsibility to make a positive difference in the world.
A former graduate of UWCSEA, Melissa Kwee (Class of 1990), described it thus:
“It is not what one does that makes a difference but rather how one does it. The greatest changes are made up of millions of tiny steps, small fragments of effort and care that make the mountains move. I believe all of us whether in the private, public or not-for-profit sector, have the capacity to enable others, to show them care and respect, to offer an inspiring vision or to defend a defenseless person. These small actions are what define our UWCSEA ideals as universal ideals, and the pursuit of them not an elusive privilege but a right and a joyful responsibility.”
We wish all our families a restful summer and look forward to the start of another exciting year at UWCSEA in August.
Julian Whiteley
Head of College
Please take the time to browse the 'looking to the future' articles that make up our feature:
Strategic directions at UWCSEA
The end of the 2011-2012 academic year marks the end of my seventh year as the Head of College at UWCSEA. Those seven years have been years of both incremental change and rapid transformation, of strategic visioning and of day to day operations, of honouring the past and building the future, of careful reflection and bold action. In short, they have been exciting years, during which the College has been through extraordinary growth and has extended its influence further into the world of international education. By Julian Whiteley, Head of College. 
'Backwards planning' in course design
Frazer Cairns, Head of Dover Campus, examines approaches to curriculum design, and specifically looks at a form of curriculum development reflecting a three-stage design process called 'backward design.' This process reverses the traditional order of course development, delaying the planning of classroom activities until learning goals have been clarified and assessments designed.
Leaving well: working towards a thoughtful transition
In international schools the only constant is change. Jobs change, friends move away and new friends arrive. With over 110 students leaving UWCSEA East this month, the Counselling Department has recently hosted two parent sessions and a number of student sessions to gather individuals and discuss how they can make their transition to a new home or school as thoughtful as possible. By Philip Meehan, Counsellor, UWCSEA East. |
| Skills and qualities for the 21st Century
Globalisation in the 21st Century has presented new challenges. Nancy Fairburn and Lizzie Bray explain how skills and qualities needed to meet these challenges are being embedded into the learning programme at UWCSEA.
The UWCSEA Profile
Our UWCSEA community is committed to being aware, able and active. As global citizens and independent learners, the members of our community lead by influence to embrace challenge and take responsibility for shaping a better world. The UWCSEA Profile outlines the skills and qualities that our community members will develop through our learning programme. Full Story »
Grade 5 exhibitions
Congratulations to our Grade 5 students on this year's Grade 5 Exhibition, which were a tremendous success on both campuses. The Exhibition is a chance for our students to showcase what we are pretty sure we already knew about them - that they are ready for the next stage of their schooling. Full Story »
Whats in a name? Personal and Social Education
Recently, the College made the decision to change the name of the Pastoral Care programme to Personal and Social Education. |
| Graduation 2012
On Saturday, 26 May UWCSEA celebrated the achievements of the class of 2012 at their graduation ceremony. Three hundred and sixteen students graduated from UWCSEA Dover this year, representing 52 different nationalities - testimony to the wonderful diversity within the UWCSEA student body.
Full Story »
Centre for International Education's inaugural Kishore Mahbubani Speaker Series event
Social media's uses and limits were explored at the Centre for International Education's inaugural Kishore Mahbubani Speaker Series event. The speaker series aims to address issues relevant to society and education today. The inaugural Kishore Mahbubani Speaker Series event was held at UWCSEA East on Saturday, 26 May. Grade 10 student, Kathleen Guan, shares her perspective on and summary of the event. Full Story »
UWCSEA rallies around the Phoenix and Dragons
Student Sports Council members on both campuses proudly launched the Dover Phoenix and East Dragons mascots during their respective Sports Awards Dinners this term. Alto Ono, one of the students who led the effort to identify mascots and select designs for UWCSEA this year, writes about the careful thought and hard work that went into the process. |
