International Student Program News
News
On Friday 5th May we had the Year 11 formal at the very glamorous Lincoln of Toorak. The food was great, the company even better, and the fashion… out of this world! Only a few international students attended, but we’re hoping for a better turn out for the year 12 Formal in June!
For three days before the Year 11 Formal our International Student Coordinator accompanied the Year 10 Outdoor Education Class to hike and camp on Mt Stirling! It was freezing cold, but the mountain made us forget all our minor discomforts. Mt Stirling is a very special place, and walking to its summit and camping is a challenge that everyone should try!
On Tuesday May 17th Ruby Nguyen, Joyce Liu and Karen Luo represented MGC at the 2017 International Student Forum at the State Library in the city. The theme for the Forum was sharing cultures, developing intercultural understanding, building capability. This year’s theme recognised the importance of valuing diversity and of sharing cultural knowledge and experience within the school and the broader community. Building intercultural understanding and capability in schools was the focus of the discussion and activities.
The day culminated in the development, by the students, of school action plans documenting recommendations for improvements in their school and changes that could be applied across the State.
Student Profiles
Tanya SCHNYDER
Hullo!
My name is Tanya Schnyder, I’m the weird International Student that introduces herself as an Exchange Student because she is only able to stay in this amazing city for 1 year.
I arrived on the seventh of July, completely jetlagged and tired, after flying for more than 20 hours from one side of the world (Switzerland) to the other (Melbourne) and even though I did feel a bit awkward and lonely, I do not regret having booked my flight on my seventeenth Birthday at all. My host family baked a wonderful cake for me (with candles!) and even prepared a little present. The very next day I was able to meet Lluani Williams who transformed me into a Melbourne Girls' College Student (ok… she actually just took me to the uniform shop. But hey, I felt really Australian after!), and she also offered me a seat in her office and great support during my first weeks when I was struggling to find the right group of friends to eat lunch with.
During the last few months I was able to meet a lot of amazing MGC girls and I fell in love with multicultural Melbourne. I had the unique opportunity to walk the great ocean road and to have my first go at surfing with my year 10 outdoor ed. classmates. I went to a lot of encouraging excursions with AYCC, the environment team, my French, and my arts class, I was able to enjoy a musical weekend with my Accapella friends and I experienced an Australian year 11 Formal. My English skills have increased significantly (though I still have ta work on mah ossie accent) and I feel like I finally got the hang of this thing called ‘society’.
Call for Story Tellers
We are all part of the Melbourne Girls’ College community, so we would like to hear the stories of some of the people that make up our diverse and colourful community.
We’d like you to share your story; where did you come from, where have you been? If you have a family member, particularly a grandparent or older relative, who is a particularly good story teller, we’d like to invite them to tell us a story at school! Please let us know!
League of Homestay Champions
If you are interested in hosting one of our fabulous international students, please contact Lluani Williams via the College number: 9428-8955, or by email: lluani.williams@mgc.vic.edu.au , or you can pop by my office in room 302. We are always looking for new Melbourne Girls’ College homestay families!