LANGUAGES
How the year has raced ahead! We already have Year 7s who are marking their first 100 days at high school; Semester 1 reports have gone out; the winter chills are here; and we can report on so much more, including our highly successful Year 8 excursion to the city on the last day of Term 2!
Year 8 Language & Culture Excursion to the City
The end of Term excursion on the 23rd of June to the city as part of the Year 8 investigations into German and Chinese food and culture was a great success for all involved. Students really enjoyed the opportunity to see the cultures of the language they study live and breathe!
After we met at school and completed the usual formalities, we tried to get the earlier train to have a bit more time in the city, but it couldn’t be done. Instead, students enjoyed their own company and eagerly awaited the rest of the day.
In the city we visited the Immigration Museum and the Hofbräuhaus in our German group and the Chinese students visited the Chinese Museum as well as the Shanghai Village Restaurant in Chinatown. As a picture speaks a thousand words, we’ll let you look over the attached pictures to get your own impression of the day.
The Chinese Group reported:
Chinese group students first in the Chinese Museum explored the session ‘Finding Gold’, to learn about life on the goldfields in the 1850s. In the ‘Dragon Gallery’, students learned about Chinese mythology and symbolism. ‘Han Dynasty’ presents interesting inventions from Ancient China (206BCE – 220CE). ‘One Million Stories’ provides a unique insight into Chinese-Australian history spanning 200 years through to the present day. Students also enjoyed a traditional shared Chinese meal in a restaurant after.
The German Group reported:
While the Chinese students discovered Chinese culture, the German learners split off at Flinders Street Station and we headed off to the Immigration Museum. The museum shows how the different waves of migrants coming to Australia adapted to their new life here. It let the students explore their own heritage and many of our students found exciting aspects relating to their families’ pasts they were unfamiliar with. It is always a great experience for students and staff, when we see students eagerly going from one display to another exploring the way things were. At the Hofbrauhaus, students enjoyed not just the Bavarian and Austrian atmosphere, but a truly classy lunch: Brezel for entree, Schnitzel mit Pommes Frites und Salat for mains and Apfelstrudel mit Eis for dessert! That was just wunderbar!
On reflection, we had over 100 students and six staff travelling happily and safely enjoying a fantastic day out on the town and we all made it back on time for the end of term dismissal. What a great day out! A special thanks must go to Ms Jiang for her many hours she committed to helping organising the day as well as Mrs Tan, Mr Bell and Mr Contebardo for accompanying the group.
Assessment & Reports:
We hope that the end of Semester 1 was a positive experience and that the reports gave constructive feedback on how to improve during Semester 2. Of course, all upcoming CATs will have their outlines and resources published on Compass, and so, to finish off this newsletter, what better way to do so than by sharing some excellent work from the end of last term. We must again congratulate Ella McKenzie and Marllon Musilman of Year 7 for their outstanding submissions on display here. There were so many excellent designs and posters, so this is just a very small sample.
Jonas Bahlo
LANGUAGES KEY LEARNING HEAD