Spring has now arrived and that feeling of summer being just around the corner! Term 3 has been an exceptionally busy term in the International Department.

 We have has several groups through. Our Omiya students and their Principal attended a UC tour, Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, class integration and ESOL lessons, but their highlight was the trip to the Antarctic Centre and the Hagglund Ride.

We also hosted a group of five students from Korea for eight weeks.  They experienced several excursions with local businesses, with the interest of their ESOL lessons designed around agriculture and New Zealand products. They visited the Kaiapoi food forest, Brewery, Lavender farm and even took part in the WaiYouth all-night party, which was their highlight!

Many of our students have been taking the opportunity to get involved in the wider life of the school. These include the senior formal, a day trip to Sumner and Christchurch City and a ski trip. After a few attempts to get to the slopes, we finally made it up to Porter's ski field and it was a magnificent day!

We hosted a wonderful potluck evening for our homestay families, which was a great opportunity for new and old families to meet, ask questions and get a general overview of the International Department and our students. 

This term I attended the New Zealand International Education Conference and brought back some insight into how our country is operating in response to the recent International Student Strategy.

We have a large group from Thailand arriving during the holidays so we are looking forward to new faces! We have said our goodbyes to Mayu, Gabriel, Luca this month and Taichi and Rei will be heading home at the end of the month. Bon voyage!

I would like to give a big shout of appreciation to Jill Cassidy, who does a wonderful job with the administration in the department and held the fort whilst I was away on leave. Also, a very warm welcome and thank you to Sarah Button, who has come on board as a contractor to help with the homestay coordinator tasks. 

Sarah Sweet - International Manager