Cranbourne Campus News
Lessons from Japan
For the final week of Term 3 and the first week of the school break, I had the great privilege of being one of the three teachers accompanying our 18 senior Japanese students for a study tour of Japan - the first overseas school trip in the Diocese of Sale since COVID-19.
There is something special about the opportunity to experience another culture. The student experience is something that I am sure you will read about in either a Newsletter article or ROCK report, suffice to say that from the tears as they left Homestay to the smiles on their faces at the end of each day of sightseeing, all students loved the trip.
As one of the adults on the trip visiting Japan for the first time, I came away with more than an appreciation for a country of beauty and a remarkable resilience since the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki some 77 years ago.
Seeing Japanese classrooms with students cramped into dated classrooms with old wooden desks, blackboards and very basic facilities helped me to appreciate even more the facilities we have at St Peters and just how fortunate our students are in the learning environment we have for them. Secondly, in a country where you can barely find a bin and yet there is no litter in the streets or school yard, enlightened me on just how responsible and respectful the Japanese people are in ensuring that they dispose of their rubbish properly and don't leave that to others to clean up after them. Something that is entrenched in the Japanese culture and one that we would like as part of our campus culture. And finally, spending a little over two weeks seeing as much as we could of Japan and embracing Japan's beautiful culture with 18 grateful, inspired and wonder loving young people, reminded me of just how great the students of our St Peters College community are. Our students were fantastic ambassadors for the College and it was a privilege to share this experience with them.
Travelling abroad as part of a study tour is an enriching experience for language development but some of the lessons gleaned transcend the classroom and help change perspectives.
Coming toward the end.
By this time next week we will have celebrated the end of an era for our graduates of 2024. Formal schooling takes up some 13 years of a young person's life and as such it is only fitting that we celebrate the end with loved ones and family at the Graduation assembly on Tuesday. The graduating class of 2024 have been busily completing their Year 12 video, embracing singing practice and saying their good byes to staff and students who have helped them along the journey. While there is an element of sadness when coming to the end, this is a group of students who are ready for the next step.
This week I was privileged to be part of the audience for the VCE Vocational Major presentations where are applied learning students delivered professional presentations to staff and loved ones on what they had learned and how the course had prepared them the life beyond St Peter's. This was their grand final and they did themselves proud, many of them speaking of the opportunities for apprenticeships and full-time work that have opened up as a result of the learnings and opportunities they have taken from the course at St Peter's college and all of them showing genuine appreciation for their VM teachers. Later this month, our remaining VCE students will have their opportunity to share their learning through the exam program and we wish them luck in anticipation. Whatever lies ahead we hope that graduating class leave knowing that they will always be St Peter's college students and that we will always be there to support them, especially when things get tough.
Mr Jeremy Wright
Deputy Principal - Head of Cranbourne Campus