Editorial
Lucie Dickens, Global Connections Program Director and Alan Clarke, International Student Coordinator
Welcome to the second edition of our international newsletter which we are publishing at the end of what, I am sure you will agree, has been a long two years for students and their families.
It is strange to think that it was at the start of 2020 that Kilvington families welcomed two exchange students from one of our sister schools in Tokyo, Todoroki, into their homes and showed them around our great city of Melbourne in a way that has not been possible again until recently.
Included in this newsletter is a piece by exchange student Ayumi Kirita which details her experience of living and studying here in Melbourne at the start of 2020.
Our hope is that exchanges like these can shortly resume and that students in our partner schools in China, France and Japan can once again experience the hospitality of Kilvington families and the best of life that Melbourne has to offer.
There are some positive signs that Melbourne, Victoria, and Australia are ready to once again be open to the world in 2022.
As we write this, the Victorian government’s International Students Arrival Plan has now been approved by the Federal government. You can read the details of the plan here.
In short, university-aged international students will be allowed to return to Melbourne at the start of 2022, with students in high schools able to resume later in 2022.
Importantly, any international student who will be in either Year 11 or 12 in 2022 can apply for a travel exemption which will allow them to travel to Australia at the start of 2022. Students and their families can apply for an exemption via the Department of Home Affairs’ portal.
Students and their families returning from China in 2022 should also be pleased that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has approved Coronavac (Sinovac) as a 'recognised vaccine'. More details on vaccines and their efficacy rates are available here.
We are pleased to be able to confirm that 90% plus of Victorians aged 16 years or older have received two doses of an approved COVID vaccine.
This means that Melbourne will continue to be a very safe place to live and Kilvington Grammar School a safe and caring place to learn.
You will see in this issue that teaching global competencies is key to shaping student perspectives. Our article on the development of intercultural skills as part of our curriculum highlights how valued our connections with our partner schools and our international students are.
Other essential global competencies include creative thinking skills and the ability to view the world from a different perspective. Our article on the collaborative project across Art, French and Digital technologies and on the Writers’ Festival are good examples of our commitment to students acquiring such global competencies.
Finally, it is with pride that we reflect on how we gathered as a community during the challenging times to care for others beside ourselves and to live by our motto, 'non nobis sed omnibus'. The wonderful work that our community service program undertook, despite the COVID context, continues to be central to the education we provide, based on care and compassion.
We wish all our readers a safe and happy festive season as 2021 comes to an end.