Languages Corner
The end of year has been very busy in our language classes!
In term 4, students in the Year 9 French immersion program studied the Holocaust and to conclude this topic, they went to the Holocaust Museum. They had the privilege to meet with Joe Szwarcberg, a Holocaust survivor. Joe was born in Poland and he was 8 when the war started. At 13, he found himself completely alone at Buchenwald concentration camp. After the war, he lived in a French orphanage before moving to Australia aged 17. It was a real privilege to meet him and hear his story. Students were attentive and respectful, and asked some wonderful questions of Joe.
During transition, our Year 9 French students participated in a special class cooking French crepes! Students learnt about a French tradition while also following simple instructions in French. It was a very popular activity!
Congratulations to 9C and 9E students on completing their language immersion program! 9C students have been studying Humanities in French while 9E students have been learning Science in Japanese. Some did not have any knowledge of the language studied prior to starting in Year 7. Now they are able to read and understand texts and convey complex ideas in French or Japanese. Most importantly, they have discovered new cultures and have learned to think about issues from different perspectives.
To recognise their hard work, all students in 9E and 9C received a certificate during a special assembly. All the students enrolled in the immersion program in Years 7, 8 and 9 attended. Huge congratulations to all graduating immersion students! Their hard work and perseverance over not just the last year, but throughout your schooling, is truly commendable. We wish you the very best in all your future endeavours. Special thanks to Freya Mathews and Eli Leivenzon (former immersion students) for MCing the assembly!
これからもがんばってください、応援してます！Félicitations à vous tous!
Read what some of our students have to say about their experience in the immersion program.
We chose to do the French Immersion program because we were both really interested in learning the French language in other subjects, which were Humanities and Drama. What we didn't realise was how well the French immersion program would expose us to the Francophone World and French culture. It is a great experience to try something new in school, with supportive teachers who made this experience better
Imogen and Saskia 9C
こんにちは、みなさん！
We’re Zach and Fuyang, and we are proud to be former students in the Japanese Immersion class from Years 7-9. In essence, Japanese Immersion has allowed us to develop and grow not only in the subject area of Japanese, but also in the fields of cultural understanding and enrichment. It would be remiss of us to neglect, though, the fact that Japanese Immersion has made class time so much more enjoyable. It is something that we both won’t forget and we could not be more grateful for the opportunity.
じゃ、またね！
いい一日を！
フヤンとザック
Zach and Fuyang 9E
Celine Fompudie
Head of Languages
Japanese Food! (Obento and Onigiri)
Year 7 and 10 Japanese classes were very excited to finish the year by learning about onigiri (rice balls) and then making and eating them! Some say onigiri are the Japanese version of sandwiches, i.e. they’re often made from leftovers, there’s a great variety, and they’re often brought for lunch. Students loved trying the different seasonings and some managed the traditional triangle shape. As you can see in the photos, a number of students also got creative!
Obento Boxes - Year 9
To celebrate the end of 3 years of Japanese, we ordered obento boxes for lunch. Students had the option of choosing one of two Bento boxes or Yakisoba. They all ate with chopsticks and they didn’t drop anything!
Bento boxes included things like: onigiri (seasoned rice balls), Katsu (deep fried pork), teriyaki (chicken wings), california rolls, inari rolls and yakisoba (fried noodles). Students told me that it was their best Japanese lesson ever! ごちそうさまでした！（Gochisousama deshita!)
Emma Nishikubo
Japanese Teacher