International Student Program 

International program lunch end-of-the-year celebration

On Tuesday 28th November, after much scouring of weather bureau predictions, the End of Year International Student Celebration went ahead in fine warm conditions with a barbeque at nearby Anderson Park. Ms Zhang, Roland and Leah made food preparations for a real multicultural event with democracy sausages, Asian salad, cantaloupe, lamingtons, Anzac biscuits all on the menu. Roland and Leah were handy with the barbeque tongs, along with Stephen’s help, while Mr Pritchard manned the drinks bar.

Students’ efforts throughout the semester were acknowledged with five students having achieved perfect attendance, others participating in clubs and activities within the school extracurricular program, and two students gaining academic awards at two of Melbourne’s most prominent universities – Monash and Melbourne. International students have already made their mark in their limited time at our school and will soon comprise almost ten percent of the student population.

Students enjoyed the surroundings – being out in nature, the weather and the chance to mix in a warm, relaxed setting after the challenge of a semester of learning in a new language and getting accustomed to new ways.

Lunchtime passed all too quickly with little time left for sporting activities in the surrounding parkland. There were some attempts to master tossing the ‘Jianzi’ (Chinese),’ or ‘Jae-gi’ (Korean) or Da Cao (Vietnamese) or ‘Chinese Hacky-sack’ (like a shuttlecock with four feathers affixed to a rubber sole) but there was no time for the AFL footy lesson promised by Mr Pritchard – that will need to be a whole separate event – next time.

The students all said they had a great time and look forward to the next gathering.

Student comments

All the international students enjoyed the barbeque at Anderson Park. It was a really great time for us. The weather, the food (my favourite thing was the sausages), the air, nature with butterflies, grass, trees and being with our friends and teachers made me happy. We also played ‘Jae-gi’. Korean children don’t play Jae-gi now that they have their phones and I have only played it once before in PE. Overall, everything was beautiful in this place just outside our school (but it would be better in the ‘no flies’ season).

Seoyoung P.

I liked this barbeque activity because I was able to prepare food for us. I did things like I grilled sausages, made the salad and poured drinks. It allowed me to experience the joy of making food for others. It made me feel happy that people from all over the world were able to come together. I even played with an AFL footy! It was very relaxing. I hope we have more events like this in the future.

Eliza B.

Celebrating Christmas in EAL class

Last week, we had the pleasure of celebrating Christmas together with our EAL students, and it was a delightful experience for everyone involved.

Our students were amazed by Christmas bon bons, which we cracked open to reveal small surprises and jokes. It was a joyful way to start our gathering and brought smiles to everyone's faces. We also took this opportunity to discuss the diverse range of Christmas foods enjoyed around the world. One of the highlights of our celebration was the discussion on how Christmas is celebrated in different countries. It was eye opening to see the similarities and differences in the ways people celebrate this special time of year.

          Ms Mills and Ms Zhang