Mr Jeff Mann and Mr Jonathan Le took four Year 9 boys to Chongqing, China, for two weeks to join the inaugural ICEE Festival. The main principle underlying the program is that every student has a unique set of talents and passions, and therefore can contribute value to others. Forty international students from the UK, US and Australia joined 200 local Chinese students to produce products which promote the city of Chongqing to the world. During this entrepreneurial process, the international students brought leadership skills and English speaking ability, whilst the Chinese students were experts on the treasures of their city. Eight production houses designed and created: video documentaries, coffee table books, websites or music videos.
The Scots boys had a rich experience of Chinese lifestyle (including squat toilets!) and made friends from across the globe. It was also a great opportunity to use their personal growth from Glengarry to serve others in leadership, as they each coordinated a team of five local students. Some of them commented that they had a new-found appreciation of how hard teachers work, and were either inspired or forever put off the idea of becoming a teacher!
We look forward to further opportunities to be involved with Professor Zhao and ICEE Festivals in future.
Mr Jeff Mann
Coordinator of Student Experience