Cool Schools International

As peace education grows throughout the world so too does the search for effective peace education programmes in schools such as the Cool Schools Peer Mediation Programme. The Peace Foundation receives numerous emails and calls from educators around the world wanting to implement the Cool Schools Programme and to obtain the useful peace education resources which they can use in their classrooms.

NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!

The Cool Schools Programme has been selected for inclusion in the international Peacebuilding Approaches Catalogue!

WHAT IS THE PEACEBUILDING APPROACHES CATALOGUE?
The Peacebuilding Approaches Catalogue is a full colour glossy publication describing 50 approaches from the fields of conflict resolution, conflict transformation and peacebuilding from around the world
    
The Catalogue is a learning resource for readers to discover and integrate fresh perspectives and an opportunity to showcase  approaches froaround the world

The Catalogue will be available in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, and will be printed and circulated in hardcopy as well as online. 

Being featured in this catalogue will certainly put Cool Schools on the world map and increase our global profile!

Click here to download the Peacebuilders Approaches Catalogue.

Cool Schools on Lantua Island, Hong Kong. Discovery Bay International School
By Merridy Smits and Linda Roxborough Cool Schools Co-Ordinators

Discovery Bay International School on Lantau Island, Hong Kong is now a fully fledged "Cool School."

As one of the 'new kids on the block' and the first school in Hong Kong to introduce the Cool Schools Peer Mediation programme, it was a thrill to see our 26 Year 6 students head out with eager faces for their first playtime session as mediators. They looked very professional in their newly designed caps and yellow sashes, clipboards in hand, ready to solve any problems.

Our school has come a long way since those first, dynamic and inspiring 4 days of training with Christina Barruel (Cool Schools National Trainer).

Initially the idea of mediation was introduced to the whole school in a series of assemblies and through classroom training. Each member of staff taught the skills needed to resolve conflicts peacefully through group sessions and role-play. An assembly on "Peace" gave our students the opportunity to reflect on what peace meant to them. The need for conflict resolution was also reinforced by watching a slideshow of photos about Hiroshima and the story of "Sadoka and the thousand paper cranes".

Over the months, our staff and students worked hard to develop the programme and it was encouraging to see our student's enthusiasm and willingness to use the skills they had learned in class. However, as in any busy international school with many new projects and events occurring, it proved challenging on occasions to find the time to keep everyone motivated and on track.

After avoiding camps and performances we finally managed to spend 2 full training days with an enthusiastic bunch of Year 6 mediators. It was difficult to know who enjoyed the experience most ... our students or the co- ordinators! There was a wonderful sense of trust in the room, and our students felt safe and secure in sharing their feelings and anxieties. After lots of role plays, stumbling over words and most of all FUN ... the new mediators felt excited, if not a little nervous about heading out into the playground.
After a few weeks of all hands on deck we realise the need for frequent meetings to answer difficult questions and to support the mediators in their new role. No doubt we will be asking Christina for her advice again!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at The Peace Foundation for all their assistance and continued support. Our staff and students of DBIS in Hong Kong are proud to be part of such a wonderful programme.

Cool Schools In Suva, Fiji (Two Year Pilot Project in Suva, Fiji: May 2007 - May 2009)

In 2006, Cool Schools Founder and trainer Yvonne Duncan, accepted an invitation by the CEO of the Pride Project in Fiji to attend and facilitate a two-day workshop at The Third Asia Pacific Mediation Conference held in Suva Fiji.

The net result from this conference was a marked increase in enthusiasm from educators to have the Cool Schools Programme made available to schools in Fiji and other Pacific Island states.  Both the conference Director, Laura Seurynk, and convener, Professor Graham Hassall (University of the South Pacific), and attendees including Kailash Rajput, a Senior Fijian Ministry of Education Officer were all very supportive of the concept of trialling Cool Schools in Fiji.

Yvonne Duncan returned to New Zealand and reported back to The Peace Foundation. In September 2006, Yvonne worked with Director Marion Hancock and Cool Schools Programme Manager, Margot Pakenham, on a NZAid funding application to undertake a two year pilot project of the Cool Schools Programme in schools in Suva, Fiji. The funding application was approved and the project started in May 2007.

In May 2007 Yvonne Duncan went to Fiji and trained two Fijian educators to be Cool Schools trainers and trained the following schools in the Cool Schools Peer Mediation Programme:

•    John Wesley Primary
•    Dudley Intermediate
•    Nasinu Secondary
•    D.A.V. College

To date the feedback has been that the programme is being successfully implemented in the schools and the schools are starting to observe positive results.

‘The mediators are enthusiastic and so are the students. The programme has helped us solve a lot of small problems which were not even aware existed.’
Cool Schools Co-ordinator, Suva Fiji.

Dudley Intermediate Cool Schools mediators and Co-ordinator, Suva Fiji

Yvonne returned to Suva in September 2007 for further training and supporting the pilot Cool Schools, and will be recruiting a further eight pilot schools to train in Term One, 2008!

If you would like any further information on the Cool Schools Two-Year Pilot Project in  Fiji please email the Cool Schools Programme Manager.

Useful Links

Ministry of Education
http://search.minedu.govt.nz/search?q=cool++schools

Education Review Office
www.ero.govt.nz