As we farewell Diana Jager in this newsletter, I thought I would share some of the work that she has done with our International Students, especially the groups that visit us.

Two of our strengths in our International Student programme are the quality and care from our Homestay parents and the trips and experiences that we organise. 

Many of you have been a Host Family or your children have acted as a "buddy" at school, guiding our visitors and welcoming as part of the Te Aroha College whānau. The International group teachers are always highly complimentary about the experiences their students have.

Examples of some of the trips include going to Hobbiton, Hamilton Gardens, The Base, Waitomo Caves, the various activities and events available in Rotorua and Tauranga/Mount Maunganui.

One of the favourite activities is to explore Te Aroha. Diana has designed a great activity that engages the students to find out more about our town. The activity involves the International Students answering a whole of range of questions and taking photos to show what the have found (International Students get a phone exemption under the Ministry of Education guidelines). Some of the questions/activities include; What does Te Aroha mean? When was the i-site building built? How high is Mount Te Aroha? What year did the last train cross the bridge? Take a photo of each of the sculptures in the town centre. Find a book by J K Rowling in the town library. 

Below are some more examples of the exploration of Te Aroha from the International Students.