McKinnonNEWS

LANGUAGE PERFECT

30th IN THE WORLD FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING!

McKinnon Secondary College has proved itself as a school rich in linguistic diversity with its performance in the Language Perfect World Championships of 2014.

 

 

From Monday 19 May to Thursday 29 May, the staff and students at McKinnon Secondary College participated in the biggest language learning competition in the world.  With over 1,300 schools participating, McKinnon Secondary College in its first ever appearance at the competition achieved a placing of 30th in the world.

 

The competition entails ten days of online language learning with points scored for every word learned across eighteen different languages.

 

McKinnon Secondary College students were learning up to seventeen different languages with almost 3,000 hours dedicated to language learning over the ten days of the competition.

 

There were some extraordinary achievements. 

 

Andy Zhan was our school’s top performer with an enormous total of 13,139 points.  Learning French, Chinese, Japanese and Italian, Andy was ranked 151st out of over 300,000 contestants.

 

At the top of the leaderboard Andy was in good company with Phoebe Dunn and Daniel Ledda

also attaining the coveted ‘Elite’ ranking for scores over 10,000 points.

 

 

Of the staff, there were two teachers who scored over 5,000 points:  Miss Renee Gordan finished on 5,609 points and Ms Diana Hatch on 5,281 points.  Mr Chris Hudd rounded out the top three.

 

The competition showcased curiosity, persistence and pride of our student body with over half of our students participating in the competition.  Having made the connection between effort and outcome in learning languages, they will be in a terrific position for their language learning journey ahead.

 

Congratulations to all staff and students who participated in the competition.  McKinnon Secondary College is already eagerly awaiting the opportunity to improve on its result next year.

 

Joshua Kamener

Teacher

WELCOME TO THE FRENCH EXCHANGE STUDENT GROUP AND MADAME HYAM KEFI

The French students accompanied by their teacher, Madame Hyam Kefi arrived last Saturday.

 

We wish all exchange participants, our host families and the school community an enjoyable experience with our international visitors and look forward to their contributions to our school’s program.

 

 

RAISING GLOBAL CHILDREN

 

A short time ago I came across this fairly new book by Stacie Nevadomski Berdan and Marshall S. Berdan recommended by the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages), that gives teachers and parents a better insight into how we can prepare our children for the demands of a global world.

 

The authors still believe that adults around children influence and shape the development of a global mindset, including and I quote:

 

  • Encouraging curiosity, empathy, flexibility and independence
  • Supporting learning a second language as early as possible
  • Exploring culture through books, food, music and friends
  • Expanding a child’s world through travel at home and abroad
  • Helping teens to spread their own global wings
  • Advocating for teaching global education at schools

 

At McKinnon Secondary College we are preparing your child for the challenges of the future.

 

By learning other languages and offering programs that allow students to experience other countries, cultures and languages, students will be able to develop skills such as cross-cultural awareness, problem-solving, adaptability, consideration of various perspectives and improved communication skills. 

 

Encourage your children to learn Languages – Languages for the future!

 

 

Andrea Fowler

KLA Manager - Languages