Round Square IDEALS Challenge – A Report
Over the course of two months, 10 students from grades 8 to Yr. 11 accepted and completed the Round Square’s IDEALS challenges. The challenges were centred on the 6 pillars of Round Square - Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service. This RS Challenge aimed at developing a range of skills, whilst giving the participants an opportunity to share their ideas on the RS platform.
Each challenge had six stations, which helped the students learn more about an issue that the challenge was focused on. These were a blend of information, videos and infographics that helped the students grasp the concept better, and in an engaging way.
After completing all six stations, the students tackled the challenge. Every challenge was unique and focused on a different skill. Some were focused on research, like the Internationalism challenge, which gave the students an opportunity to learn more about India’s rich culture and heritage. Others helped the students develop creative skills by guiding them to make colourful and eye-catching infographics. The challenge was completed by most participants in a creative manner and kept them motivated as they worked their way moving from one Ideal to another and explored all the RS IDEALS in totality.
Here’s some interesting reflections from the participating students about the challenges:
“At first when I signed up for it and read about it, I didn’t think it would be this immersive and enjoyable. Every week, as I visited the stations, I got to explore so many aspects of one Ideal. I learnt a whole lot of important skills and concepts from each one of the 6 ideals”. - Tanay Bhandari
“By accepting the Internationalism challenge, I got an opportunity to dig deep and learn interesting facts about my country India”. - Sana Magan
“The Democracy challenge enriched my speech writing skills and got me pondering and reasoning about an interesting topic (Freedom of Speech)”. - Prisha Israni
“The most challenging Ideal was that of environmentalism, because I had to assess my daily habits and think very hard about how I could correct them. It showed me where I was going wrong and taught me how to be a responsible citizen of the environment”. - Sanika Daga
“My favorite challenge was the Adventure one. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of communicating to my future self and giving important bits of advice. It was like sitting back and reflecting on life as a whole, which was very helpful to get a better perspective about it all”. - Naisha Chadha
“I learnt about so many legendary people who have shaped the History of the world by undertaking the leadership challenge. I researched about one such great person -Savitribai Phule in detail, and understood what it takes to be a leader”. - Sanaya Jiwrajka
“For the service challenge, I thought of a feasible idea that I am actually planning to implement for my community. It served as a starting base and compilation of ideas”. - Praanav Lodha
“I learnt so much about prevalent and pressing matters in a fun and innovative way and I got a chance to think deeply about ideas that I had never even heard of before.
I enjoyed taking this challenge so much that I found myself working on it all the time, before every item on my to-do-list.
Overall, this experience was amazing!”- Kriya Shah
“Doing the RS Ideals Challenge has been an extremely enriching experience for me. Besides learning pertinent skills and broadening my knowledge while doing the challenges, the stations dedicated to each of the six challenged truly delved into each aspect of Round Square IDEALS, working towards creating culturally and environmentally conscious world citizens. I thoroughly enjoyed the internationalism challenge, because it gave me the opportunity to showcase the cultures that influence my world. Being part of a Round Square school is preparing me for the global platform in the most holistic way!” -Kareena Shankta
DAIS Student Delegates: Tanay Bhandari, Praanav Lodha, Naisha Chadha, Sanaya Jiwrajka, Jaehaan Bokdawala, Sana Magan, Kriya Shah, Prisha Israni, Sanika Daga and Kareena Shankta guided by RS Core student Dev Mehta.
DAIS Adult Delegates: Ms. Pratima Sridhar and Ms. Manisha Nanda
