Ogaki Visit

Ogaki visit 

From the 21st to the 27th of August, 10 students from Ogaki, Japan travelled to Australia for a 6 day exchange program. GEC students and families opened up their homes to host these students, showing them the day to day routine of school life, serving them Australian food and taking them to see Melbourne's tourist spots.

The students did a variety of things with the host families, including visiting penguins in Phillip Island, cuddling koalas at the Moonlit sanctuary, and watching AFL. My family took our student, Sawa, into the city to explore and buy souvenirs. She also really liked petting the wallabies, kangaroos and koalas at the wildlife sanctuary. In our downtime at home, I really enjoyed doing craft activities with Sawa. We did scratch art, sticker collages that she brought from Japan and she taught me how to make a paper crane. I took Sawa shopping to find Australian snacks for her to take home and we bought vegemite, shapes, many packets of tim tams and much more. At school we learnt about Aboriginal Rock painting and got to paint Australian icons on rocks, such as koalas and wattle. At lunch the Ogaki students and their hosts had a BBQ, and they all really enjoyed eating sausages and burgers. 

It was a great experience for everyone, and while it was only a short time, my family really enjoyed hosting Sawa and we are continuing to keep in touch via text and email. 

Jasmin Stewart-Luu 

Year 9

Japanese Assembly 

As part of the Ogaki visit, we hosted a welcoming Japanese assembly in the Performing Arts Centre, where both GEC and Ogaki students had the chance to showcase their language skills. Our GEC students from Year 7 (Daniel and Aidan) and Year 9 and 11 (Nefeli, Momona, Maddie, Keiran, and Zac) impressed the audience with their presentations in Japanese, sharing insights about Melbourne and Glen Eira College.

The assembly also featured a lively performance of the Japanese pop song "Workin’ Hard" by Fujii Kaze, and an engaging stand-up comedy act in Japanese by Year 11 students Zac and Fuyang, which had the audience laughing.

One of the highlights was a play by the Ogaki students, who brought the Japanese folktale 'Peach Boy' to life. Afterwards, Kurashige Sensei taught both the Year 7 and Ogaki students the 'Nutbush' dance, and they quickly got into the groove. It was heartwarming to see students from both schools getting to know each other and forming friendships across cultures. 

Chizuko Inoue-Andersson

Learning Specialist/Acting Assistant Principal 

Ogaki Visit with Ms Fisher’s 9A English class – tanoshikatta!

Recently, we were really excited to welcome students from Ogaki, Japan. Nine of the students visited our English class, 9A. Firstly, we introduced ourselves and got to know them as well. Then, we played a game that included everyone, and we also showed them around the school. 

By the end of class, we decided to take a group photo outside, next to our very own small cherry blossom (Sakura) tree. 

Sadly, we said our goodbyes and wished them good luck for their future. Overall, it was a fun, cross-cultural experience, and we are grateful for this visit. 

We hope to encounter them again someday.

Juliette and Husna

Year 9