Over five days in April, three middle school students had the experience of a lifetime when they attended the Round Square of the Americas Conference in New York.

Sabree Botelho, Year 9, Skye Oliveira, Year 9, and Maya Luthi, Year 7, all took part in the conference and enjoyed five days of planned activities, discussion groups, educational outings and the experience of living with a host family.

On the first day, the girls had a guided tour of the UN with other student delegates from all over the Americas.

Skye said: “The UN was fascinating because we were able to see what the ambassadors did and where they sat. Also, we were able to understand what the UN does for the world.”

They also had the opportunity to listen to Sana Mustafa, a Syrian refugee who has been in the US since 2013.

She originally came for a six-week exchange programme with the US Government, but while she was there, her father, a political and human rights activist, was kidnapped, and her life was for ever changed.

Her mother and two sisters were smuggled to Turkey and she has not seen them since and she has not had any news about her father in more than three years. Sana was granted political asylum in the US, and managed to secure a scholarship to study at Bard University, and now spends her time talking and educating the population on the situation in Syria and the plight of refugees.

On the second day, the girls heard from a Broadway actress who spoke about freedom of speech and they attended a production of Cats. Split into different Barazza groups (a Round Square term for small discussion groups), Sabree, Skye and Maya met new friends, discussed differing opinions and broadened their horizons on a variety of issues surrounding freedom of speech.

Maya said: “The discussions in the Barazza groups taught me to be accepting and open-minded of other people’s opinions and to be confident and have my own voice heard.”

When asked about their favourite parts about the trip, the girls all enjoyed different aspects.

Sabree said: “I really enjoyed the debrief at the end of the day in our Barazza groups, especially when we discussed how democracy was involved in the arts, and I also really enjoyed having the day to spend with our host families and getting to know them better.”

Skye enjoyed their outing to Chinatown and “trying new food and delicacies of the Chinese population of New York! I also liked helping the Lower Manhattan Ecology Centre because it was great to be able to improve a local environment and make a difference.”

The rest of the trip was spent with a day at Ellis Island where the delegates talked about immigration, which was Maya’s favourite part: “Ellis Island was an unforgettable experience.” They spent a day with their host families and they also took part in various service projects. Students volunteered at a water treatment plant, a recycling centre, one group restored an old boat and another took on a gardening project for the local community.

These Round Square trips are a remarkable opportunity for secondary students from BHS to travel and experience different cultures through conferences, exchanges and service projects, while forging long-lasting friendships with other Round Square students from around the world.