PRINCIPAL'S REPORT

Warm Welcome to our French Students

We are delighted to be hosting seven exchange students from France for the first four weeks of this Term.  All students are from our sister city, Bordeaux and will be staying with families from our community and following their host ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ into classes and activities.

In September, we have a group of twelve Doncaster Secondary College students who will be hosted in Bordeaux.  Doncaster students will attend classes in France as well as go on excursions and site seeing trips in Bordeaux, Paris and a full day excursion to the Somme to name a few. 

Intercultural understanding is a competency that is given a high priority at our school.  The rationale for the teaching of this capability centres on the fact that intercultural interactions have become a part of everyday life in our increasingly multicultural and globalised world.

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCCA) aim for the teaching of Intercultural Capability Curriculum is:

To develop knowledge, understandings and skills to enable students to:

• demonstrate an awareness of and respect for cultural diversity within the community
• reflect on how intercultural experiences influence attitudes, values and beliefs
• recognise the importance of acceptance and appreciation of cultural diversity for a cohesive community.

Our international study tours enhance student learning in this area and hosting an exchange student is a great way to further build on students’ intercultural capabilities. Hosting an exchange student means more than providing a bed and meals.   As a host family, you share your everyday lives, and grow as you get to know one another. Students are often surprised at how much they learn about themselves, their family and community by hosting a student from another culture. It can be a life-changing experience in your own home.

Éva McMaster

Principal