International Students

Buddy Program 2020

 

 

Souloung Lee, International Student Program Education Support Officer Reports:

 

On Tuesday, 28 January, DSC welcomed 27 newly arrived international students who came from China, Korea, Hong Kong, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

 

The International Student Program launched its Buddy Program during the Homework Club, to help newly arrived international students integrate into the DSC community.

 

During this program, buddies worked in pairs, sharing stories of successes and challenges in various aspects of their school lives, including friendship, homework, classes, home/homestay, school activities and exams etc.

 

They all actively engaged and were keen to participate. It was an excellent opportunity for the intensive students to practice speaking English confidently in a group, and for the buddies to strengthen their connections with each other and their peers.

 

Here are some student reflections:

 

I am enjoying the Buddy Program because it helps me get to know other international students. I also receive valuable advice on my homework and other matters.  - Christabel O (7​​​A)

 

I like the Buddy Program because I get to know other international students. I have tried my best to include everyone and make the best outcome of every activity. The more I get to know them, the more we feel connected and have fun activities together. - Cynthia L (7J)

 

In Buddy Program, I have fun with my buddy and we share food together. The advantages I get from this program are dealing with challenges, improving creativity and critical thinking. - Sui Him (Nicolas) W (7F)

 

In the Buddy Program I get the chance to make friends with students from different cultural backgrounds. We can share our stories and talk about our school lives. I will try to help every student in both academic and extra-curricular programs. We can also be a solid group! - Tien Hieu (Harry) B (11A)

 

The reason I want to participate in the Buddy Program is to make new friends, so that we can share experiences and help each other. - Ng Siew (Chris) L (10D)    

Resilience Program 

 

We recently held our fourth resilience session and the students absolutely loved it!

 

With food on the table, they talked about their surprises and concerns in their lives, shared their thoughts on current social issues and discussed topics such as life balance, mindfulness and teamwork.

 

Each week, the students participate in different group activities. It's great to see them laughing, sharing, and bonding with each other. 

 

- Mary Liao, International Student Program Assistant

Harry Helps Vietnamese Students to Achieve  

Vietnamese International student Tien Hieu (Harry) B(11A) is the coordinator and captain of High School Vietnamese Student in Melbourne (HVSM). Here are his thoughts on the role.

 

Why do you participate in this club/group? 

Our main aim is to help Vietnamese international students adjust to life in Melbourne.

 

Our organisation gives students the opportunity to share their stories and seek help from successful VCE senior students such as Benjamin T, who achieved an ATAR of 99.90 ATAR and 50 in EAL.

 

I joined this organisation to widen my friendship circle, learn interesting tips from our co-founder and improve my leadership skills.

 

What has been your experience so far? 

My biggest achievement so far has been organising events for EAL by myself. I've also made lots of friends who have offered great study tips. We dream of expanding our group across Australia and the whole world. 

Update from our Student Leaders!

It has been a great start to the year for me as a member of the Student Leadership Team (SLT). In SLT, we are responsible for organising events such as Valentine’s Day rose deliveries, performing arts, sporting occasions and more. However, we also focus on whole-school wellbeing, anti-bullying and creating as much positive impact on the school as possible.

 

SLT meetings are held on Monday lunchtimes for students in Years 9 and 12. During these meeting we share our thoughts on how to improve upcoming events. I have learnt how to work with people from different year levels, and I contribute to the best of my ability.

- Shin Thant (Berry) E (9E)

 

In SLT, we organise different events around DSC such as selling roses for Valentine's Day.  Every Monday lunchtime we meet to discuss what we are going to do for an upcoming event. The meetings usually take around 30 minutes and students from different year levels participate. Since joining the SLT, I've learnt to become more creative and responsible. I've also improved my communication skills so I'm very glad to be part of the team!

- Nguyen Quynh Thu (Jenny) L (9F)