LANGUAGES

Indonesian students

Farewell to our new friends from Global Celebes School, Makassar.

On Tuesday 26 July, more than 120 students of Indonesian at LHS were joined by Grade 5 Lilydale West Primary School students, who also study Indonesian, to witness a Cultural Performance given by our visiting sister school, Celebes Global School from Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The CGS girls were dressed in beautiful traditional costumes and performed a welcome dance from Makassar. The audience were then treated to songs in the Makassan language and in Indonesian, with accompaniment provided by the boys of the group who formed a band. Ibu Umie, the teacher escorting the CGS students, explained the significance of each performance. The band then played a Justin Bieber song and the theatre was filled with clapping and singing from the audience.

This event was a wonderful example of two cultures coming together to create an experience for all to share and enjoy. The CGS students have delighted the families with whom they stayed, and loved participating in a range of experiences, both in the classroom and with the host families, which were very different from the routines they are accustomed to in Indonesia.

Goodbyes are always hard to say, and this was proven to be true again when saying farewell to our new friends from CGS. Tears flowed as families said goodbye to children they had taken into their care for two weeks and who are now 4,500 kilometres away in Indonesia.

A huge thank you to all members of the school community for welcoming this group and allowing them to have such a wonderful time at LHS.

Sharon Stoyanoff

Head of Languages