International Study Tour Visit 

Students from China

On Tuesday, 28th July, Pakenham Secondary College was delighted to welcome 13 international students from China as part of their Australian Study Tour.

Throughout the day, eight of our students volunteered as peer mentors, helping our visitors experience life as a student at Pakenham Secondary College. Together they attended EAL, Science, Physical Education and Art classes, giving our guests a firsthand insight into learning in an Australian secondary school. It was also a valuable opportunity for our students to learn about school life in China and gain an insight into another culture.

Having arrived in Australia just five days earlier, the group had already visited Cairns, Green Island, Sydney and Melbourne before continuing their journey to Auckland the following day. They were fascinated to learn about the Australian education system and were surprised to discover that our school day is significantly shorter than theirs, with many students in China attending school from 8.00 am until 5.30 pm.

During the day, the students enjoyed some traditional Australian fairy bread, kindly prepared by Ms Nadal, before sharing a pizza lunch with their new Australian friends. One of the highlights was the Art lesson, where students explored Indigenous art, learnt about the meaning of traditional Indigenous symbols and created their own artwork to take home as a special keepsake.

The Chinese students thoroughly enjoyed their visit and shared some wonderful feedback:

"My favourite class was P.E. because the teacher is friendly and helpful. I really like this place. I like the environment, atmosphere and culture."

"I really enjoyed Art because I painted a card. I liked eating fairy bread and the pizza. I also liked playing volleyball."

"I liked playing volleyball in P.E. and the wonderful experience in Science class."

Their teacher also expressed appreciation for the experience:

"Thank you for the various activities. Our students learnt a lot from you and said the lessons were much more joyful than theirs. They were very interesting. The students were very happy to take their artworks home. Lastly, welcome to Beijing."

Our student helpers also valued the opportunity to support our international visitors, commenting:

"I enjoyed working with the exchange students and helping them understand the Australian way of schooling."

"It was an excellent day and great to make new friends"

"It was a great day. I would love to do this again with other international students"

Before leaving, the students presented each of our peer mentors with a special gift from China as a thank you for welcoming them to the College.

We sincerely thank our visiting students and teachers for spending the day with us. It was wonderful to share our school with you and we hope you enjoyed your time in Australia and returned home with many happy memories. We also thank you for your thoughtful gifts and kind words, which were greatly appreciated.

We extend our sincere thanks to Mr Kiplagat, Ms Nadal, Ms Fennell, Mrs Chandler and Ms Schinzig for providing engaging and welcoming learning experiences throughout the day. We also thank Ms Nadal for preparing the fairy bread, giving our visitors the opportunity to enjoy a uniquely antipodean treat. 

A special thank you also goes to Ms Tran, our International Student Coordinator, for organising such a memorable experience for our overseas guests.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge our wonderful student helpers, William, Charlotte, Phoenix, Isabelle, Olivia, Scarlett, Nanditha, Quinn and Austin, whose enthusiasm, and support helped make the day such a success. They were outstanding ambassadors for Pakenham Secondary College and we hope our visitors returned home with many happy memories of their time with us.