March 2017

March has flown by and it is hard to believe we are nearing the end of Term One.

Our five International students from Japan, Thailand and France have settled in well and seem to be finding their way around school, making new friends and contributing to school life.

The boys participated in  the school Athletic Sports and Tabloid Sports with enthusiasm and earned their Houses many appreciated points. Koki Osada made the 200M Senior Finals. Congratulations Koki!  The boys are participating in clubs such as Tennis, Target shooting and Football. It is great to see their level of involvement.

At the beginning of March, we welcomed Liew Pimprapaiporn from Thailand to SBHS, bringing our International student body to six . Liew has entered  Year 10 and plans to study at Shirley through to Year 13. He hopes to go to University in New Zealand in the future.

21 students and their teacher, Mr Shin from Munchang High School in South Korea spent twelve days with us from 12-24th February. We were honoured to have Mr Kang, their Principal join us during the final week.

The Munchang group were welcomed by the Year 11 Te Reo Maori class with a Powhiri on day one. A big thanks to these Shirley men.  They are great ambassadors for our school and make a truly positive and lasting impression on our guests. The Munchang students met with this class twice during their stay and were taught the Haka.  It was fabulous to see the way our Shirley students interacted with the Korean boys on both a cultural and social level. This cultural exchange culminated in an impromptu but powerful performance of the Haka during Athletics Day which was broadcast live to Korea via facebook! The Korean parents were thrilled to see their boys performing with ours.

A big thanks to 9M, the year 10 and 11 French classes for hosting the boys for language exchanges and the form classes of Miura sensei and Madame Lallement for playing Munchang in a football match on their last day here. The game against Miura sensei’s class was like an international test match. SBHS held the Munchang to 1-1 for a long while only to be beaten 3-1 in the end.

Mr Kang, the Principal of Munchang High School challenged staff to a tennis match. A big thanks to Mr Jackman, Mr Humphreys and Mr Cooper for stepping up to the net on a hot day! An enjoyable and competitive time was had by all.

The Munchang programme was based around morning classes and afternoon excursions around Christchurch. The students had a day trip to Akaroa and an overnight trip to Hanmer where they enjoyed the hot pools and an exciting jet boat ride. While these excursions are a lot of fun, the most important thing has been the interaction they have had in an English speaking environment and in a completely different culture.  We are grateful to our host families, the staff and students of Shirley who made them feel welcome.

The group were a delight and very outgoing! We nicknamed them “The Sunshine Boys”,  as wherever they went the sun seemed to shine both literally and figuratively. They were always smiling and made great efforts to communicate. We look forward to Munchang High School visiting again next year. Thank you Munchang,  We miss you!

Any families interested in joining our homestay data base can contact Leanne Russ, International Administrator on lor@shirley.school.nz