Languages / International News
End Of Term 4:
Languages / International News
Greek Faculty
Celebrating the End of the Year with Traditional Christmas Cookies
To mark the end of the school year, the Year 8 students baked traditional Greek Christmas cookies, kourabiedes.
The students learned not only the recipe, but also the cultural significance behind this treat. Kourabiedes, buttery almond shortbread dusted generously with icing sugar, are traditionally made to bring joy and sweetness into the home during the festive season.
As they measured, shaped, and decorated their cookies, students practised Greek vocabulary related to food, ingredients, and celebrations. The activity brought language and culture together in a fun, hands-on experience that everyone enjoyed.
The activity filled the room with festive aromas and brought the class together, ending the year with fun, learning, and delicious cookies.
ΚΑΛΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ
Dimitra Maniatis
Classroom Teacher (Greek)
Japanese
Step Up
Over the past year, students across all Japanese classes have been building their confidence and capability by learning a wide range of sentence structures and ways of communicating.
To celebrate their progress, 2026 Year 8 students recently took part in a presentation task where they selected one sentence from the year’s coursework and explained how it works to their peers. Throughout the activity, students designed their own presentations on Canva and articulated their own understanding of applying the grammar using what vocabulary they knew.
2026 Year 9 students also wrote letters to Ms Tynan introducing themselves and their goals in Japanese. Rules for using 原稿用紙 (genkouyoushi) or ‘manuscript paper’ were applied in the writing. Some responses included:
· しょうらい、小学校の先生になりたいです。= ‘I want to become a primary school teacher in the future.’
· しょうらいプロゲーマになりたいです。 = ‘I want to be a pro gamer in the future.’
· かんじをつかえるようになりたいです。 = ‘I want to become able to use Kanji (Chinese characters).’
How to Maintain Your Japanese over the Summer Break
As the school year is about to wind down and students look forward to a well-earnt summer break, it’s natural that language studies can take a back seat. At the start of every year, Japanese teachers will find that students require lessons to revise some of the most salient content they learnt previously. The good news, however, is that maintaining one’s Japanese skills over the holidays doesn’t need to feel like homework. Even small, enjoyable habits can make a big difference in keeping language skills fresh for the year ahead.
1. Switch your entertainment
Students might be more inclined to watch videos or listen to music during their breaks. A simple swap can allow for improved listening comprehension and opportunities to improve on pronunciation. Watching a short anime episode with subtitles, or listening to J-pop or other genres of Japanese music, can all reinforce vocabulary. For students who
are more motivated, they can take notes using a pen and paper based on the individual vocabulary words they do recognise from the media of their choice.
2. Try to immerse yourself in the vocabulary
Students can label a few every day items at home with sticky notes, change their phone lock screen to a Japanese phrase to continue their every day exposure to the language. These small steps should build familiarity through repetition, with almost no extra effort required.
3. Smaller, more frequent sessions are more effective than cramming
Rather than having one, one-hour session a week, it is more effective for any language learner to do multiple short revision sessions to reinforce the content covered in the past year. Shorter revision activities may include language-learning games using Quizlet flashcards, or flicking through vocabulary cards one could have made on their own.
Bonnie Tynan
Classroom Teacher (Japanese)
Chinese
International Students Chinese Meuseum Excersion
On November 26th, the International Student cohort attended an excursion to Melbourne City.
We visited the Chinese Museum and did a workshop on Dragon Puppets. We then had lunch at the fabulous Paramount Restaurant – the honey chicken was amazing!
We strolled down Bourke St to see the MYER windows and wander through the arcades and did a little shopping. It was a wonderful day accompanied by Ms Crespo, Ms Truong and Mrs Pel.
Strolling down Swanston street we passed the MLC building, the Melbourne Town Hall and our lovely Christmas Tree at Federation Square.
Video Call with our Chinese Sister School
On the 5th of November, some of our students participated in a video call with students from our sister school in China, Wuhu No. 1 School. This video call marked the first time our students have communicated with Wuhu No. 1 School, which was very exciting! Two Chinese dignitaries supported the session to ensure there were no communication barriers. All participating students prepared speaking topics, including their impressions of Australia and China, and comparisons between the two education systems.
We got to see a photo presentation of some of the amazing sports and cultural events at Wuhu No. 1 School.
Students in Wuhu spoke about how they complete exams for all their subjects every two weeks – they must ensure that they have done all of their homework, so that they are prepared. In return, our students spoke about the VCE system, as well as their passions for particular subjects and hobbies (e.g. being in a band, playing sports). Students on both sides were encouraging and supportive as they each shared their career aspirations.
The Wuhu students discussed their stress management techniques, including playing basketball outside or talking with trusted adults and friends. Our students realised that their coping strategies were very similar. What became clear after their discussions was that although these students are growing up in different environments, they share many similarities and common interests. We hope to continue building this connection with our sister school, ideally leading to study tour opportunities for students on both sides.
Sarah Crespo - Liu
Classroom Teacher (Chinese)