Waynflete Embraces Global Citizenship

The Upper School Ethical Leadership and Service activity invites you to attend Waynflete’s first ever Global Citizenship Forum.

This all-school event will will take place on the evening of Monday, October 27 and will feature an international potluck dinner in Sills Hall from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., a community service fair, and an evening of dynamic speakers in Franklin Theater.  The speakers will include seven of our own students and faculty who worked last summer as part of our new partnership with the School for Global Citizenship: Students Shoulder to Shoulder.  The newly formed Ethical Leadership and Service activity group includes Maine Seeds of Peace advocates who have been trained to dialogue about differences and apply these skills in our own community as well as Upper School mentors who are excited to help out during citizenship building initiatives such as Middle School Conflict Resolution Day and Lower School Global Focus Week.  On the 27th, they hope to host full bellies and a full theater for this first Global Forum!

One of the ways Waynflete is working to prepare students and faculty to participate in critical global conversations and actions is by deepening our commitment to awareness and education through community service.  For the Potluck and Forum, along with all Waynflete families, we are inviting many of the representatives from local service organizations where Waynflete students volunteer regularly on the designated service days in Upper and Middle School and on their own.  Waynflete students from activities such as the Middle School “Help Haiti” group and Upper School “Project Story Boost” at Reiche School will be invited to set up table displays and share with the whole community the important work they are doing.  Come and be a part of this global conversation and celebration about citizenship and service as you will learn lots about what is happening this year and may even find a way to get involved!

The keynote speakers at the Global Forum are two of the NGO leaders that our faculty and students have worked with through our new partnership with Students Shoulder to Shoulder.  The SStS program for students and faculty includes three phases that begin with an online course to better comprehend the specific region and existing forces of global poverty, a hands-on service project working alongside the NGO partner in the summer, and an advocacy phase back at home.

We are delighted to be host Lisa Bisceglia and Ul Socheat at the forum this year. Lisa is coordinator for Project WOO “Wave of Optimism”  in the small fishing village of Playa Gigante, Nicaragua,  where she helps local residents harness the natural splendor of this area and the potential resources of tourism to build healthy, sustainable, and economically viable communities.  Ul Socheat will share her work on the Cambodia Rural Development Team . CRDT supports local projects aimed at improving the living standards of poor, rural communities with a particular focus on sustainable environmental practices.  For biographies of the speakers, click here.

After visiting classes and meeting students that day, Lisa and Socheat will speak about the value of getting students involved in community building at a young age. Our own students and faculty will share stories and slides from the work they were involved in this summer in New Orleans, Bolivia, Peru, Cambodia, Nicaragua and Nepal.  Lisa will be introduced by English Department Chair Sarah Macdonald, who led a trip to Nicaragua that included two Upper School students.  Socheat will be introduced by Sixth Grade advisor and English teacher Jim Millard, who knows Socheat well after his second trip leading students in Cambodia. In addition, Seventh Grade advisor and History teacher Lindsay Clarke will share her reflections on the trip she led with SStS to Munaychay in Peru’s Sacred Valley. For pictures and reflections by students and leaders of SSTS, click here.

It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm and interest across campus by students and faculty for being involved in hands on ways in making the world more livable.  Just last week, a handful of Waynflete students and adults helped make history by attending the world’s largest Climate March in New York City. The slogan for the March was “To Change Everything, We Need Everyone.”.   Sitting together at Convocation in our very own Sanctuary a few weeks ago​, it was easy to see that each of us impacts the quality of community life together. It is more clear than ever that everyone of us also has a direct impact on the health and well-being ​of our​ planet.

We hope you will consider bringing a favorite dish and joining parents, students, faculty, local service organizations, and our international guests for a wonderful evening of learning about sustainability, diversity awareness, and hands on engagement.  If you want to get more involved, please contact Juanita Nichols or Lydia Maier.