Mt A Marvels

Alumnae - Ella Toson

Hello, I am Ellen Toson and, since graduating from Mt A at the end of last year, I have started a five-month overseas exchange trip to Japan.  Every day, while living with my host family, I attend Nigawa Gakuin - Mount Alvernia’s sister school in Japan.  I have joined a high school second year class (Year 11 class) with whom I will become a third year (Year 12) student alongside at the start of the new school year in April.

On Friday 10 February, I began my journey at 3.00am in order to board a plane to Cairns followed by a plane to Osaka.  Although I was nervous, having never done anything this big without my parents (let alone completely alone before), I set off, arriving at 9.00pm the same day.  On arrival, I was greeted with a night of freezing cold weather, as well as my host family, at the Kansai Airport.  After spending the weekend with my host family and adjusting to some of the cultural changes, I began school on the following Monday. 

Although understanding my peers, and especially my teachers, is difficult, everyone I meet is incredibly welcoming and always loves to try out their English skills on me.  One of the things that shocked me the most about Nigawa was the different types of classes I have been attending.  For example, although at Mt A Maths is almost a daily class, at Nigawa Maths lessons only occur twice a week.  Comparatively, there are between one and three English classes every day.  Another shock was the length of the school day, which begins at 8.00am and continues with general classes up until almost 4.00pm.  The remainder of the afternoon is filled with a mixture of seminars and club activities meaning, in reality, for a majority of students, the school day doesn’t end until past 6.00pm.  It is very interesting to continuously be learning about changes in the school system that shape the daily lives of Japanese high school students.

As well as attending school, I have been able to spend weekends exploring different areas in Osaka with my host family and by myself.  Seeing the backstreets, train lines, cafés, and endless supply of vending machines keeps me busy from the moment I leave the house until the moment I return.  The ability to walk through local, mundane streets and still stumble across countless gorgeous shrines and temples by chance is a beautiful yet surreal experience.  The addition of snow, local street food, and sushi trains that are in a league of their own can only add to the already amazing experience.  One major thing I’m awaiting is for the change of season that will lead to the blossoming of cherry blossoms in tourist locations, but also the local streets and suburbs.

Although coming to Japan has been accompanied by fear and a lot of confusion, I am excited to continue this experience and become involved in important school events, such as the graduation and entrance ceremonies, visiting different clubs, and going sightseeing during breaks and weekends.

I am incredibly grateful to Mount Alvernia and Nigawa Gakuin for allowing me the opportunity to experience this type of trip, and the ongoing support of my generous host family is what has made it all possible.  I couldn’t recommend this experience more, particularly to Japanese students at the College looking to step out of their comfort zones, improve their language skills, and experience Japanese culture.

Lizzie Johnston - Lions Club Youth of the Year Competition

My name is Lizzie and I recently participated in the annual Lions club Youth of the Year competition held by the Lions club of Bramble Bay. In the afternoon I was interviewed by the judges about the application I sent in, key topics of discussion being the importance of young women in sport, my academics and school activities, as well as involvement in outside school activities such as playing and coaching club hockey. This interview comprised 70% of the overall score, and the judges told me my answers in this section were a large factor in my success.

The next part of the evening was the public speaking portion, starting with 2 impromptu questions which had to be answered in 2 minutes or less.  These questions ranged from views on positive body image to what would influence voting preferences next year - I talked about the importance of gratitude for our bodies and how they serve us everyday, as well as how environmental candidates were who I felt represented Australia’s future. The final part of the night was the delivery of a prepared 5 minute speech on any topic; I chose to speak about fierce kindness and dedication of the community during recent natural disasters and pandemic. 

During the evening I was grateful to have met some incredible people, including the lions members themselves and my competitor, who quickly became a friend. I was proud to see her win the public speaking portion of the night, and was myself very grateful to take home the overall prize. I look forward to continuing into the next round of selection which will take place next month!