International Week

International Week Assembly 

International Week was a great opportunity for the different nationalities in Oxley Christian College to display their cultures and traditions. In the International Week Assembly, Mrs Kotzé presented a devotion to the Oxley students. Following this, International Captain, Joshua Tan (12.7), gave a lovely presentation about his country Malaysia, exploring the culture, food and landmark. 

To make the Assembly more interesting, teachers with an international background were invited up to the stage for an interview with the International Captain. The Captain asked the teachers about their background, experience and advice to students who have the desire to study or work abroad in the future. To end the Assembly in style, Chester Chim (11.14), originating from Hong Kong, performed a Chinese martial arts dance. This two-minute performance sparked awe and invoked a sense of curiosity for the Chinese culture.

Joshua Tan

International Captain

International Assembly – Languages Captains Speech

During Oxley’s International Week Assembly, there was a presentation made by the Chinese Language Captain, Roman Young (11.15) and the German Language Captain, Eshan Cai (11.13) about the importance of learning a language. 

The first point covered in our speech was about the mental benefits of learning a language. Many scientific studies have proven that learning a language increases pattern recognition skills and contributes to a better functioning memory. These benefits can be especially useful in high school years as they contribute to other subjects like maths and sciences as well. The second point we presented was that learning a new language increases your future job prospects, far beyond just being a teacher or translator. It increases your chances within the customer service industry and opens opportunities for employment overseas. Our final point was that Australia is a very multicultural country, and being able to communicate with people in their own language provides valuable openings to strengthen and deepen bonds within and between our incredibly diverse communities. 

During Assembly, there was also an announcement regarding an exciting event that will be happening at the end of Term 1 holidays in 2025 … Oxley’s China trip! Students from Years 10 to 12 can sign up for the trip. We will be travelling to Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai, seeing many attractions as well as visiting a Chinese school for a day. It’s going to be amazing! 

Roman Young 

Chinese Captain

Junior School International Chapel

Junior School International Chapel was truly an incredible experience! After a fantastic time of worship led by Mrs Ong, the International Costume Parade was held, with students dressing in costume from a wide range of countries, including China, Burma, Nigeria, Germany, and the Netherlands. Two students from each class shared the country that their costumes represented and something special about it. Many heartfelt sighs could be heard from the audience as students talked about the significance of their costume to them and their family. It was spectacular to see the variety of backgrounds of our Oxley students, demonstrating diversity and inclusivity that we value and cherish at Oxley. 

A few Years 5 and 6 students also prepared a small presentation, sharing some phrases they learned in Chinese about food, accompanied with a dance routine. In addition to these presentations, I also shared with the students some of my experiences as a German learner and the benefits of learning languages, encouraging students to persevere in their learning journeys.

Eshan Cai

German Captain

Staff Chopsticks Challenge 

On the Wednesday afternoon of International Week, a chopsticks competition was held for teachers in the Staff Room. Participants were challenged to pick up as many marbles as they could using chopsticks within the one-minute time limit. The competition drew interest from many teachers who were intrigued to have an attempt, leading to fierce rivalry between participants. The winner of the competition by a landslide victory was Mr Bird who was able to successfully pick up 29 marbles in just one minute, contributing his victory to his love of dumplings and Chinese food. In second and third place was Ms Chen and Mrs Hamilton with 21 and 15 respectively. 

All participants were gifted with a bookmark based off Beijing opera while the three winners were additionally given a Chinese knot which symbolises blessings and good fortune.

Raymond Luo (12.7) and Jimmy Sha (12.7)

Year 12 Chinese students

International Food Fair

This was my third year of volunteering to assist in the preparation of food for the International Food Fair. I was still amazed by the variety of food that we were able to prepare. The theme multiculture was well displayed through the presentation of food from all around the world, from Singaporean noodles to chicken curry, from famous Thai dessert glutinous sticky rice to stuffed bean curd. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces and receiving compliments made me feel fulfilled. I was in charge of making the Singaporean noodles along with my friends. This opportunity not only provided me an insight to how these wonderful dishes were made but also a chance to establish new friendships with other international students. 

Overall, the food fair was a success and I can’t help anticipating what the future food fairs will look like.

Tasman Fong (11.13)

Year 12 Chinese student

International Week Chapel

As part of International Week, we had our annual International Chapel. The Chapel started off with Joshua Tan (12.7) running an exciting and competitive game. A representative each from Red House, Blue House and White House, had to bounce the shuttlecock with a badminton racket as many times as possible in 30 seconds. Blue House won! Following this we entered a time of worship which was led by a group of students with an international background – Misty Chen (11.13), Tasman Fong (11.13), Xin Ran Huang (11.13), Jonathan Tan (10.4), Gwen Wong (11.15), and Henry Zhao (10.4). 

After worship, we welcomed a guest speaker, Shae Baxter, to the stage. She gave a touching testimony of the struggles she faced before accepting and allowing God into her life. She said that her understanding of God’s goodness and the difference He can make in the world came about as a result of her many missionary travels, therefore also encouraging us to go on these trips and share the love. 

Xin Ran Huang (11.13)

Year 8 Chinese

Year 8 students were given a very brief story in English. They were asked to write a play in Chinese based on the story Students performed the play in class and produced a video that was played at Chapel.

Seh Yeh Ong

Head – Languages