EdNet News

29 November, 2018

EdNet News Updates ... click here

Rustic Pathways Educators Conference, 

Luang Prabang , 7-9 December

Great news!! We have participants from schools from the Middle East through to Korea. This is a fantastic geographical spread.

Participating schools include:
Chinese IS Hong Kong, German Swiss IS Hong Kong, St Josephs Institute International, Singapore, Delia School of Canada, Hong Kong, Korea International School, Seoul, Harrow International School, Hong Kong, American School of Dubai, Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong, International School Singapore, Singapore, King George V School. Hong Kong, Duke Kunshan University, Shanghai, Riffa Views International School, Bahrain, Hong Kong International School, Hong Kong

An exciting fact is that a number of participants who were part of the first conference in Udonthani, Thailand are returning for this conference. This is testimony to how much value that the conferences have for schools and individual educators in the area of experiential learning.

Participants feedback

• 'I wanted an idea of how to structure a programme, and got this and more.' (Nord Anglia Hong Kong)
• 'I had high expectations after the last conference and I was not disappointed!' (Harrow IS, Hong Kong)
• 'As during the first one, I learned a lot of great stuff that was applicable right away upon my lengthy return.' (Korea IS)
• 'Even better than the first!' (American School of Dubai)

Return back here during the conference to keep up with what is happening. We will post photos, comments and other interesting items.

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Following is the proposed agenda below for the conference. Many of the sessions/workshops will be led by educators from within the EdNet group who have demonstrated some expertise or strong interest in specific experiential learning aspects.

Given the limited flights to Luang Prabang, you may need to fly Thursday 6 Dec and would overnight in BKK or another hub to catch a flight early Friday morning to Luang Prabang. We will can book you into our partner hotel very close to the airport.

THEME: Growing Students Through Experiential Learning
Day/Date/Time	Activity	Location
Thursday 6 December
Evening	Early arrivals Airport Pickups	Rustic Staff waiting in Arrivals Hall
Friday 7 December
Morning	Airport Pickups Arrive at Base	Rustic Staff waiting in Arrivals Hall
12:00	Lunch	Base
12:30 - 13:30	Welcome	Base
13:30 - 14:30	Laos Base Tour/Orientation Getting to know Laos	Base
14:30 - 16:00	Learning through Service - Rebecca Gilman	Base
16:00 - 17:00	Service activity - pre-service preparation	Base
17:00 - 18:00	Free time	Base
18:00	Dinner followed by social activities.  Laos Dancing	Base
20:00 ???	Transport to Guest House
Saturday 8 December
7.00	Pick up	Guest House
7:15 - 8:00	Breakfast	Base
8:00 - 12:00	Service activity and reflection	Community
12:00 - 13:30	Lunch	Base
13:30 - 14:00	Week of Action - Service Learning and Student Agency	Base
14:00 - 16:00	Open forum How do we get buy from parents and students? What is the focus/purpose of our trips? Are all students required to go? Do all trips happen in a specific week? What about exam year groups?	Base
16:00 - 17:00	Profile of an experiential program	Base
17:00 - 18:00	Personal Reflection Time	Base
18:00 -	Laos Dinner in town (Thamnak Lao Restaurant)	Luang Prabang
	Transport Home	Guest House
Sunday 9 December
7:15 am	Breakfast
8:00 - 10:00	Open Forum
10:00 - 11:00	Group Wrap-Up Car-park topics, Moving Forward
11:00 - 15:00	Airport departures & lunch for remaining educators
15:00	All educators departed for airport

14 October, 2018

EARCOS Leadership Conference, Kuala Lumpur 

25 - 27 October 2018

Les will be attending the EARCOS conference in Kuala Lumpur 25-27 October. He recently attended the IB Conference in Vienna and got lots of interest in the experiences that Rustic Pathways provides. Have a chat with Les at the exhibitors table at the conference. Call by to see him, he would be really interested in talking with you.

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2 October, 2018

IB Conference, Vienna 3 - 6 October 2018

Rustic Pathways will be at the IB Conference in Vienna. Les will be there at the exhibitors table. If you are attending go along to have a chat with him, he would really enjoy connecting with you. If you have any questions about programmes offered by Rustic Pathways, curriculum links, CAS ideas or just a general chat call by.

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14 September, 2018

2nd EdNet Conference 7-9 December 2018

Theme ' Growing Students Through Experiential Learning'

Following on from the success of the 1st EdNet conference in Udonthani we are offering the 2nd conference this coming December. It will be hosted by the Laos Base staff in Luang Prabang. 

It will take the form of presentations, discussion groups, hands on service activity and of course, very importantly, social interaction! The conference is designed to bring together EdNet educators to discuss experiential learning issues relating to your schools, have expert educators lead presentations. The goal is by sharing knowledge we can as a network provide the best possible learning experiences. 

It is a 2 day programme that is packed with fun and enjoyment. If you haven't experienced the wonders of Laos and what it has to offer this is a great chance. If you have been before then you will know what I mean! See the feedback from the 1st EdNet Conference below.

The conference is sponsored by Rustic Pathways so costs to you and the school for flights and accommodation are taken care of. 

We can accommodate 20 confirmed educators who register first. Be in quick to register your interest in attending by going to the following link Registration of interest for the Rustic Pathways Educators Conference  

1st EdNet Conference May 2018

In May 2018 we ran a highly successful conference at our Base in Udon Thani, Thailand. 
20 EdNet educators travelled to Udon Thani for a Friday evening to Sunday lunchtime conference. The programme included gave participants a blend of experiential theory, practice and implementation. They also had hands on experiences building a garden for an elderly village couple, working towards completion of a building project, and creating Thai cooking masterpieces.

Read the comments from the participating educators

• Surpassed expectations in terms of what I learned over the weekend
• It far exceeded my expectations. I was worried about how much I would get from a weekend conference that involved so much time spent traveling. I was also expecting much more of a sales pitch. All of this meant I was reluctant to go at first.
• It was great learning experience and a platform to discuss ideas for service learning.
• I did not have expectations besides the schedule of conference, enjoyed the discussion generated from the room full of experts. Malcom added a lot to the conference, wonderful introductory speaker.
• Thanks for all of the organisation and hospitality
• Thanks for inviting me. I was sceptical and ended up loving 
• the weekend and came back to Hong Kong with a lot of good ideas and feeling inspired!
• Would like to think about how students can be better prepared for service learning trips, are there activities or discussions that can support students’ leaning before departing on these trips. What are ways that leadership opportunities can be further developed?
• I appreciated that the weekend didn't feel like a sales pitch but at the same time it could have been useful as some point to have heard about some of the programmes offered by RP and maybe to have heard from teachers that had been on them - they could even have presented about a recent trip their school had taken. On the other hand this risks turning the weekend into a sales pitch and diluting the content - it's a tough balance...
• Great to better understand what RP is about and the people involved with RP are educators who understand the context of these service learning trips on offer.
• It was useful to have face time with some of the organizers and better understand philosophy. Also good to speak to other educators and learn how they tweak programmes, what their students' experiences of RP expeditions has been.

Thank you for the wonderful opportunity, and I look forward to our continued partnership

Are you a smaller school....

who is having trouble getting enough students to move forward with traveling with us?

• By using this network connect with other small schools to "pair off"; if you have less than 10 students, or seeking overlapping times in the same destination, EdNet could provide a forum for you to connect to build the same vision, and we could encourage "matchmaking"... Get two or three small schools who are unable to travel due to cost, to travel as one larger group! 

Conferences where we will be present

• EARCOS, Kuala Lumpur October - we will have a table there exhibiting so feel free to call by for a chat with Evan
• IB Conference, Vienna - October - Matija will be present as a participant. Look out for her and connect with her
• IB Conference Hong Kong - March - Les will be there as a participant but he could also be presenting a workshop. More on this later

New Programmes for 2019

• At Rustic Pathways we are always finding ways to improve what we can offer to open new experiences for students and educators. Find out more about our new programmes for 2019 <<read here>>

Programmes in the Pipeline

• We are opening up a number of new programmes in Aotearoa (New Zealand). While these are still in the pipeline we are happy to take inquiries about them now.
• Maori Culture and Service

• This is a trip packed with service and Maori culture rich experiences. Students will learn the Maori culture from local kaumatua (elders) and students while experiencing village life. You will work with the local tribes people on projects in the community.  A feature of this trip is that students will have hands on experience of traditional hangi cooking (cooking in the ground) and mahi harakeke (flax weaving)
• Environment Restoration Challenge
• Partnering with a government supported environment and conservation organisation. They have a number of projects that they are running. A great service opportunity. Based around the sunny Bay of Plenty. Bay of Plenty is just that, plenty of opportunities for students!
  
• The Domain of Ruaumoko (Maori God of all in the underworld e.g. volcanoes, thermal activity etc)
• Explore the world of the underworld activities and the cultural impact to the Maori. Find out the science in real life experiences. Students will enjoy the opportunity to engage with the environment 
  
• Journey to Middle Earth
• Visit Mount Doom, Trollshaw Forest and various other sites of Middle Earth as seen and written about in the trilogies. You will go to Wellington to the famous Weta Workshops where the props and costumes were created. Experience in real life what you have seen or read.
  
• West Coast Greenstone Adventure
• Pounamu is the Maori translation for greenstone. You will be taken on a journey through the rugged West Coast of the South Island where you will be interacting with the local Maori tribe. You will have access to the protected source of the finest greenstone that is protected by the local Maori tribe. From here you will experience the process from source to the final adornment. Along the journey you will hear the traditional stories and visit the incredible environment that the West Coast offers. 
  
• Northern Adventure
• A great service opportunity in the north of New Zealand. See the path of the Maori descendants as they depart to their ancestral homeland. Take in the amazing beaches and subtropical forests, including Taane, the giant kauri tree. Known as the winterless north there are ample opportunities for students to enjoy a range of activities.