Global Engagement and Exchanges

Students currently in Grades 6 through 11 are eligible to apply for exchange opportunities. To participate in an exchange, students must be in Grade 7 or higher.

The application deadline for exchanges during the 2025/26 school year has passed. Applications for the 2026/27 school year are now open for those interested in participating.

1. Researching Potential Host Schools: Students start by exploring partner schools on the Round Square website to compile a list of institutions they are interested in attending for their exchange.
2. Meeting with Dr. Tracy Crowe-Morey: Interested students will meet with Dr. Crowe-Morey, our exchange coordinator, to discuss their goals and school preferences.
3. Application: Students complete an application form detailing their interests and motivations for participating in the exchange.
4. Placement Opportunities: Dr. Crowe-Morey will connect with Round Square schools to identify suitable placement opportunities.
5. Interview: Students may be required to participate in an interview as part of the selection process.
6. Committee Review: A committee reviews the applications and interview outcomes to make final decisions.
7. Confirmation: Successful applicants receive confirmation of their placement and begin preparations for their exchange experience.
    

This long-standing service trip to Guatemala is in partnership with the Doppenbergs, a local Niagara family, who packed up their lives and followed their hearts to Central America after witnessing the conditions. Rita and Geoff Doppenberg and their three children now live in Jutiapa, where they work tirelessly with the indigenous Mayan people. The Doppenberg’s main mission is to abolish malnutrition through education and empowerment. Their work is truly making a difference in the lives of Guatemala’s most impoverished citizens, and their kindness and generosity is inspiring.  

On this service trip, students will have many opportunities to serve the people of Guatemala, with a direct focus on nutrition, health, personal empowerment and sustainability. Alongside the Doppenbergs, Ridleians will help install new stoves to improve lung health in remote Mayan villages and help with the English programme at their school in the afternoon. 

For more information, please contact Mr. Ben Smith. 

Learn More About DIG

Founded by CNN Hero, Marie Da Silva, The Jacaranda School in Malawi, Africa, is a haven where orphans impacted by HIV/AIDS come to realize a better life through access to education, nutrition and medical care. The multi-building school has more than 400 students enrolled and ever-expanding needs.   

For the fourth year, Ridleians have the opportunity to visit The Jacaranda School, where they will interact with its students and teachers while they learn about its unique culture and circumstance. Ridleians and Jacaranda students will participate in collaborative lessons that focus on their passions as well as a core academic subject.

Students will spend time in classrooms or outdoor learning spaces assisting in a lesson or teaching a lesson. They will also get to participate in community service projects in the local villages near the school, renovating a student’s home or helping build a new home for a family. On the final weekend, students will go on a local safari to see some of the African animals in the wild.

For more information, please contact Saralyn Covent.

Experience the incredible biodiversity of the Sabah, Borneo Rainforest and islands. Home to orangutans, hornbills, sea turtles, asian elephants and numerous other primates, this inaugural Ridley College trip to Borneo promises to not only bring you up close and personal with the abundant wildlife in their natural habitats but also to learn about and experience the tri-religious, multi-ethnic diversity of Malaysia’s unique culture, history and local foods.

After flying to the metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, students will travel across the top of Borneo from the East to the West coast, exploring rainforests, rivers, mangroves, islands, mountains and caves. This trip is filled with nature’s breathtaking wonders, from sunrise, with the calls of hornbills, to sunset, with the flashes of mangrove fireflies.

Cost: $6,000–$6,500 (depending on final numbers)

For more information, please contact Janice Smajda. 

Round Square is excited to invite students to register for the next RSIS Project, which will take place in Peru from December 4th–6th, 2026, in collaboration with Markham College.

Since 2022, students from Markham College have been working with local NGO, Andar, to construct houses for families living in extreme poverty in Cañete, a province located approximately 140 km south of Lima, and an area significantly impacted by the Pisco earthquake of 2007.

In December, up to 60 students and 10 adults will come together for this RSIS Project to work in partnership with Markham College and the local community. Their mission will be to build 15 houses in 10 days, each of which will provide long-term security for families living in extreme poverty. Each home will be made up of three separate rooms, an elevated floor, windows and a thermally insulated roof.

Students in Grades 10 and 11 who are 16 years of age or older are eligible to apply for these transformative service trips.

Applications for Round Square Service Trips are handled directly by Round Square. Interested students should contact Dr. Tracy Crowe-Morey for more information about the available opportunities and to receive a parent login for the Round Square portal.

Visit the Round Square Service Projects page to learn more.

Students in Grades 10 and 11 who are 16 years old at the time of the conference are eligible to apply for this enriching experience.