Focus - UWC Maastricht

Newsletter Issue 7
Newsletter Date
24 March 2011
DATES TO REMEMBER
� Service Learning Conference in
Jordan: Thurs 24 — Mon 28 March
� Global Issue Network (GIN) conference:
Thurs 24 — Sat 26 March
� Years 10 and 12 Adelboden trip:
Sat 26 March — Sat 2 April
� Years 10 and 12 receive progress
reports: Fri 8 April
� PSG Quiz Evening: Fri 8 April,
6:30pm — 11pm
� IGCSE orals: Mon 4 — Fri 15 April
� IB Visual Arts exhibition: Mon 11 —
Thurs 14 April
� Last day of school for year 13: Fri
15 April
� Year 13 receives reports: Fri 15
April
Inside this issue:
Service Learning Day 2
Global Issues Network football
match
Pecha Kucha speeches
The Language Interface
Year 12/13 German trip 4
Boarding House report
Year 10 Art/Design
Latin American Week
Student Profile
Staff Member Profile
Focus on Clubs
Photos around the College
Contact details
3
5
6
7
IN FOCUS
Upper School Newsletter
The United World College
Student Council is finally up
and running!
The Student Council
representatives developed a
questionnaire before the
Christmas break that helped
us to gauge the satisfaction
of UWCM students in
relation to certain areas in
the College. We asked
students what areas of the
school they thought should
be improved. The answers
varied from the canteen
food and outdoor space to
the relationship between
teachers and students and
the interaction with the
primary school.
As the school is going
through many changes at
the moment, the list was
quite extensive. We decided
Student Council up and running!
to create committees as a
way of delegating and
distributing tasks, with the
aim of getting things done
more efficiently.
The committees that we
created are the following:
Physical (the building itself -
canteen, atrium, classrooms,
outdoor space), Academic
(attitudes to learning plus
tutoring), Sports and
Extracurricular (assisting with
sports competitions and
overseeing extracurricular
activities), Communication
(making communication
between different groups in
the College easier) and Social
(addressing the welfare of
students and organising
social events).
These committees will be run
entirely by the students with
the help of Miss Fenner.
Their purpose will be to help
us to keep an overview of all
areas of the school and
efficiently tackle all problems
that arise.
Thank you to the College
community for bearing with
us as we are aware that the
start has been slow.
Hopefully, with everyone's
cooperation, we will begin to
see some great and long
term changes at UWC
Maastricht.
If you have any questions
and/or advice for the
Student Council, please do
not hesitate to contact:
Cicely Blain, 12A Student
Representative
cbworldchallenge@rocketmail.com
Earth Hour — Saturday 26 March, 8.30pm — 9.30pm
Earth Hour started in 2007 in
Sydney, Australia. On that
day, the last Saturday of
March in 2007, 2.2 million
lights were turned off. Since
this date, the Earth Hour
movement has grown
enormously and is now held
in approximately 140
countries.
Joining the movement is
incredibly easy. All you have
to do is to turn off your
lights from 8.30pm to
9.30pm this Saturday 26
March. How easy can it get?
This year our school has
joined the movement; we
will be handing out candles
on the Friday before Earth
Hour so that students can
light them when they have
the lights turned off. Not
only are we taking action in
school, but we will also be
handing candles and flyers
out at IKEA Heerlen, our
sponsor, on 26 March.
Mathieu Dreano, 12D

Page 2 IN FOCUS
Gardening and collecting soil
samples at the Jerusalem
Project. Translating an
information brochure at Mama
Alice. Building teepees in the
College grounds. Visiting an
American war memorial to
place flowers on an adopted
grave. Hosting local Dutch
students in an international
fair. All these activities — and
many more — were part of
UWC Maastricht‘s first Service
Learning Day.
As was reported in the last
issue of In Focus, this event
was organised to coincide with
‗NL Doet‘, a Dutch national
initiative intended to
encourage volunteerism
among the public. Our
students, from years 1 to 12,
were involved in numerous
volunteer projects both at the
school and at various
locations around Maastricht.
In many cases, these projects
were also linked directly to
their academic studies.
For a more detailed overview
of each year level‘s activities
on Service Learning Day,
please see the publication
‗Service Learning at UWC
Maastricht‘, which is available
in the News section of the
College website. These
photographs, however, give an
indication of the activities of
the day.
An enormous thank you must
go to all members of staff and
volunteers for their efforts and
most importantly to Mrs
Vandewege, Ms Adams and
Ms Dauphin for their
coordination of the day.
First Service Learning Day at UWCM
Cooperative learning between Year
12 and primary school students
A helping hand...
Year 10 began their Service
Learning Day with a shared
breakfast and some invited guests
Digging...and painting and
scrubbing and cleaning...at SGL
Students ‗at work‘ (?) at the
Jerusalem castle garden project Another helping hand...
Year 8 begin work on their ‗pi‘ Visual
Arts and Maths projects

Newsletter Issue 7
Global Issues Network — Football
match to raise awareness
On Wednesday 2 March a
football match was organised
by the GIN (Global Issues
Network) team. The Global
Issues Network is a network
that makes schools around
the world think about
solutions to current global
issues.
This year a group of year 9
and 12 students will be going
to the annual GIN conference
in Luxembourg. The theme
this year is inequality and our
subtopic is women's football
in Afghanistan. We believe
these women should be
allowed to play football and
not be oppressed whilst
doing so. Women in
Afghanistan in the past have
not been allowed to play.
This was due to the Taliban
government at that time,
which was completely
against women playing
football. These days the
women train on a football
field. This field, however, is
also used as a helicopter
landing space, which means
that often during their
training they have to stop to
let a helicopter land!
We organised a football
match for years 9 and 10
and divided the groups into
two teams, the ‗UWC team‘
and the ‗Afghanistan team‘.
Both teams played very well,
however the UWC team was
stronger and won with an
overall score of 8-2. Everyone
enjoyed the match. We hope
that this will raise awareness
that although we are free to
play football here, this is not
the case everywhere around
the world.
Lisa van de Ven, 12C
‘The Language Interface’ and the
From Monday 21 March,
everyone who walks into our
school building will see a flip
chart with the word ‗Hello‘
written on it in different
languages. The aim is to
collect the ‗word of the week‘
in as many languages as
possible. So, if you notice
your language is not on the
chart you need to add it! All
languages are welcome.
The Language Interface flip
chart will start as an
introduction to the Viaduct
Project. The Viaduct Project
incorporates performance,
visual art and poetry and was
initiated by Mine Stemkens,
a local poet.
For this project, every
student at UWCM and BLS
will be invited to write a short
poem on the theme of
‗Connection‘ in their own
language. All poems will be
published in a booklet and
some poems will be selected
Viaduct Project
Pecha Kucha in Maastricht
to be visually represented,
together with the Dutch
translation of the poem, on
the viaduct on the A2
motorway near our school. Our
part of the painting will be
done by Year 7 and 8 Visual
Art students. The
Leeuwnborgh School will also
be involved in the painting of
the viaduct with UWCM and
BLS.
Here‘s your chance to
celebrate language and
culture by interacting on the
Language Interface, writing a
poem, and
getting
involved in
some local
graffiti!
Ms Laurie
Kraaijeveld
and Ms
Rowena
McCracken,
Languages B
department
Page 3
On Wednesday 20 April,
Dorjee and Noorullah (year
12) will be presenting their
dreams for their home
countries, Tibet and
Aghanistan, in a joint Pecha
Kucha presentation to be
held at AINSI, an old factory
located on the River Maas to
the south of Maastricht.
Pecha Kucha is a new way of
presenting information from
Japan. The rules are simple:
presenters can use 20 slides
for 20 seconds. Pecha Kucha
is based on the belief that
great ideas can be
communicated effectively in
a short time.
Come and support Dorjee
and Noorullah on 20 April!
The entrance fee is 5 euro
and the first presentation will
start at
20.20
(8.20pm).
The
address is
AINSI, Lage
Kanaaldijk
112-113. For more
information about Pecha
Kucha in Maastricht, go to
www.pechakuchamaastricht.eu
Laurie Kraaijeveld, Head of
Languages B department

Page 4 IN FOCUS
Alternative!
Colourful!
Year 12 and 13 German trip to Berlin:
Thursday 17—Sunday 20 February, 2011
Busy!
Sehenswert!
Full of good
memories!
Lehrreich!
Kalt!
Neu!
Kosmopolitisch!

Page 5 IN FOCUS
Symbolism in Art — Year 10 Art and Design
Year 10 Art and Design
students have recently
completed projects in which
they used symbolism to
communicate a specific
message. This is another
example of the finished
artworks.
For my project, I decided to
use the theme of poverty. I
want people to
realise that while
we might have a
home and a healthy
life, there are many
less fortunate
people.
In my painting, I
emphasised the
fact that many of us
notice these people
but choose to
ignore them. The
girl in my painting,
for example, is
looking out a
window while a
homeless boy sits
without food or
shelter, but the girl
Boarding House report
Carnaval proved to be
interesting and exciting for
the boarding students. The
three days of celebration saw
a wide range of costumes,
many parades and an
increase in the local
population and noise. The
weather was almost perfect
with dry, sunny and cold days
– at the same time last year
it was snowing!
Activities
Most of the Boarders
remained in the Boarding
House for the Carnaval
break. The planned activities
included games at the local
sports park (including cricket,
basketball and football), an
in-house movie night, a
Carnaval celebration in the
common room and a day trip
to Aachen in Germany by
bus. A bike trip to the fort
and a barbecue lunch on our
new BBQs rounded off the
week-long break.
Holiday Breaks
The Boarding House will be
open for the May holiday
break with a planned
catering and activities
program on offer for students
does nothing. Poverty is
unfair and unjust and many
of us don‘t realise it, but we
are all lucky to have been
born into comfortable and
healthy families. I hope we
can all do our part in
keeping society equal.
Shadi Azari, 10A
staying in. A number of
boarding students will take
the opportunity to travel
home during the two week
long break.
If there are any families who
would like to host a boarder
for part of the holidays,
please email me at
doboarding@uwcmaastricht.com
As you may have noticed,
Latin American Cultural Week
has started in our school. All
the Latinos have come
prepared to show everybody
the unique culture of Latin
America.
Each day this week has
shown, chronologically, the
historical development of
these nations. We started on
Monday with pre-colonial
times, then moved on
Tuesday to the colonies. On
Wednesday we showed the
development of the new
republics and on Thursday,
the hectic twentieth century
was the main feature. During
lunchtime we performed a
short play to represent the
military governments that
controlled the whole Latin
American region during much
of the 1900s, and the
repression, censorship,
abuse, terror and fear that
people had to cope with.
As an additional fact, 24th
March is called the ‗Day of
Donation of books/magazines
If anyone has books or
magazines suitable for our
‗Boarding House Library‘ (in
either English or Dutch), we
would welcome your donation.
Mr John Bussenschutt,
Director of Boarding
The Latinos are coming!
Memory‘ in Argentina, as the
last and most bloody coup
d‘état began on this date on
1976. It lasted eight years,
during which time 30 000
people were kidnapped and
taken to detention centres
from which they never
returned.
After many years, the people
from Argentina have been
able to dedicate a day to
commemorate the atrocities
committed during this period
towards innocent people.
Another aim of the day is to
create awareness in younger
generations, in order to avoid
a similar scenario in the
future.
To prove that we are able to
recover from bad times, this
Friday at 19.00 we will be
organising a party at school
for all students from years 10
to 13, where we will play cool
Latin music and everyone will
enjoy the privilege of being
LATINO for a day!
Andrea Grimaldi, 12D

Newsletter Issue 7
Student profile — Rebecca Clark
My name is Rebecca Clark,
but most of you will know me
as Becky. I‘m 15 years old
and in year 10. I have quite
a large family with four
sisters and my parents. I‘m
100% British and the
Netherlands is the first
country I have lived in away
from home. We moved here
three years ago because of
my dad‘s job. He moved to
Maastricht before us,
commuting backwards and
Having worked at the school
now for almost 20(!) years I
still would not dare to say, ―I
have seen it all…..‖
At the age of 26 I exchanged
my job at the Maastricht
Visitors and Convention
Bureau for the English
Stream at Jeanne d‘Arc
College Maastricht. There
were several name changes
for the school and in
September 2009 we had to
change from ―Good morning,
International School
Maastricht‖ to ―Good
As the saying goes: ‗Rugby
Union...a sport for thugs
played by gentlemen.
Football...a sport for
gentlemen played by thugs.‘
We meet on Tuesday
afternoons and have been
developing individual skills
about this fantastic game,
with the hope that we can
put a team together by the
end of the year. The aim is to
then take part in fixtures
forwards to England. After
living here for a year he
thought Maastricht would be
a great place to move with
the family, so that‘s what we
did in the summer of 2008.
I love living in Maastricht; it‘s
completely different to where
I used to live. There‘s so
much to do here!
Most people know me as
being quite loud, fun and
friendly. I enjoy being around
Staff member profile — Esther Zeguers
morning, United World
College Maastricht.‖
As I have held
several
positions here,
most parents
and pupils
know me as
Head of
Reception/
Administration.
I have been
dealing with
Admissions for
the secondary school from
January 2009, a change to
Focus on Clubs — Rugby
against other schools/teams
in the autumn.
Ruck, maul, line-out and
scrum are just a few of the
(often confusing) terms that
are associated with rugby.
We have mainly focused on
basics such as: equipment/
mouth guards, tackling/
contact and ball-handling
skills such as carrying and
passing.
other people
and having a
good time,
but if there is
one thing I
love to do,
it‘s dance. If
there‘s a
school show
happening
that involves
dancing, I‘m
there! Before I moved here I
did professional dancing for
six years.
For me, being away from the
my job that I have really
welcomed. I also act as an
intermediary
between UWCM
and the BLS, the
school with which
we share our
campus.
I live in Maastricht
with my husband,
two sons, daughter
and our lovely
Berner Sennen dog
named Truus. I am
an active member of the
Maastricht community.
We are always looking for
new members or if you would
simply like to join our avid
team of supporters every
week, then come down to the
playing fields at 3.30 on a
Tuesday.
Mr Huw Jones (Coach and
long-suffering Welsh Rugby
fan)
Page 6
rest of the family
is quite hard,
seeing as I grew
up with them close
by. We visit them
often during the
holidays. However,
last summer was a
little different as
my niece, Evelyn
Mae, was born in
July! In the past
seven months she has affected
me so much and I am proud to
call myself her auntie…
Rebecca Clark, 10B
In my spare time I collect money
for cancer fundraising and other
organisations. I am a member
of local folklore organisations
such as Reuzegilde Gigantius
Maastricht and De Tempeleers.
I also love to read and to see
films at Filmhuis Lumiere.
Life is never boring here at the
Nijverheidsweg, a fact that I
thoroughly enjoy.
I love to be part of this big,
international community of
parents, colleagues and pupils
and I hope I will be able to
continue being part of it for
another 20 years……..
Esther Zeguers

Nijverheidsweg 25
6227 AL Maastricht
The Netherlands
Postal address:
PO Box 1187
6201 BD Maastricht
Phone: +31(0)43 367 4666
Fax: +31(0)43 367 0809
E-mail: admin@ism.portamosana.nl
Website: www.uwcmaastricht.com
Newsletter submissions:
uwcmnewsletter@gmail.com
Next deadline for submissions:
Tuesday 5 April
If you have an article you would like to submit to In Focus,
please email it to uwcmnewsletter@gmail.com, along with your
name and any relevant accompanying photographs. A return
email, confirming your submission, will be sent as soon as
possible. This newsletter is intended to inform the UWCM
community about events in the Upper School (years 10 to 13).
If your article is more relevant to Lower School (years 7 to 9)
or Primary School, please contact uwcmlens@gmail.com
(Lower School) or Primary School Administration.
The newsletter will be published each fortnight on Thursday.
The deadline for submissions for each issue will be the Tuesday
of that week. Unfortunately we can only accept submissions for
UWC Maastricht events. We cannot accept advertisements
unless directly affiliated with the College.
Next newsletter publication date:
Thursday 7 April
Would you like to receive the
next issue of In Focus?
If you would like to be placed on the emailing list for
In Focus, please send a request via email to
uwcmnewsletter@gmail.com.
Photos around the College: More images from the different activities
undertaken on Service Learning Day, Friday 18 March