Between the 12th and 19th of June, I attended this year's NAE-UNICEF Summit in Houston with my school friend Dahin, an event that brought together over 100 students from all over the world! Over the course of the week, we participated in action-packed days of workshops and activities, while also meeting all the other wonderful people in attendance and seeing the world from dozens of different perspectives. While most of the activities were related to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and CRCs (Convention on the Rights of the Child), others focused on personal and leadership skills such as public speaking, prioritising values and systems thinking, and we even volunteered at the Houston Food Bank!
During the last few days, we got to use all this knowledge to develop a solution to a problem statement that each region (in our case Latin America) had chosen and applied to the communities around our school: our region's problem statement was the lack of sexual health education in Latin America, and as a school (myself alongside Dahin) we proposed a solution in an exhibition style format.
We plan to take this back to Greengates and implement something similar in our area, but the Summit has complemented my education at Greengates so much more than just this project. It has given me a broader view of the problems facing our world and how making a small impact locally can be the perfect stepping stone to making a bigger impact.
In my future career, I would like to do something in the field of quantum computing: it combines my two passions of coding and quantum physics. One thing about quantum computers is that they require a lot of energy to run, which is a big environmental problem if quantum computers become commercially available at some point in the future. Now, after attending the mind-opening and amazing leadership and SDG workshops at the Summit, I can see how I can begin to propose and possibly implement sustainable ways to run quantum computers efficiently.
Samuel P.
Year 12 student
At Greengates, we are committed to creating an environment where every child feels valued and respected. Our school is more than just a place of learning; it is a vibrant community of families, united by the belief that our diversity is a source of strength and something to be celebrated.
As Educators, we are continuously striving to improve practice and one of the most effective ways that we can do this is through collaboration with others in our profession. This October, we had seven teachers visit Greengates from the British School, Rio to observe the teaching and learning in the primary school. The visit came as a result of a recommendation from our accreditation body, the International Curriculum Association (ICA), who have recognised Greengates Primary as a school of best practice.
Last week, our Performing Arts teachers, Victor Lopez (Drama) and Hadiya Morris (Music and Drama), attended a regional Americas course in Panama focused on the Juilliard K-12 Curriculum.
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