The international calendar has been packed with events over the past few weeks keeping our students very busy.

Firstly, we welcomed 10 students from Ichihara City, Japan. The students attended timetabled classes for two weeks and paired up with Kiwi Buddies for a taste of Waimea College. As a department we would like to thank our amazing Kiwi Buddies that helped our students feel welcomed in our school and a huge thank you to our lovely host families that made them feel welcome in their homes. The group of 10 students absolutely loved their time with us and were not ready to go home, so we hope they make the decision to come back to Waimea College again sometime soon.

We also hosted the very popular Cultural Night which was held in the Hall with large numbers attending. We were presented with an amazing array of dishes from around the world that students lovingly cooked and created, followed by a very impressive piano performance by Rugo Greimel and an awesome band performance by Song Lee, Jess Lerch and Koharu Bell.

Over 60 students and staff were interested in attending our ski trip this year, so we organized a two-day trip to allow everyone to take part. We were very lucky to have a big dumping of snow prior to the trip, followed by perfect sunny conditions on the ski field. We had a range of abilities, so students could take part in a ski lesson or spend the day exploring the field. Huge thanks to our amazing host families that kindly put their hand up to help: Nicky Van De Geest who helped us over the two days, Noeline Webb and Antony Gledhill. We were also very fortunate to have the help of our pro skier and Mathematics Teacher Dale McDonald. Without the support from you all these days cannot happen. Thank you so much!

On Wednesday 30 August we held the International Student Civic Welcome in the Waimea College Hall. International students from the Tasman region were invited to be formally welcomed by the local Waiata group followed by a few words from our Mayor, Tim King.

Looking ahead until the end of the term we have a Games night organised in place of Gym night, so we look forward to some fun board games and activities on the night.

Some of our Year 12 students will be attending the Year 12 Semi Formal (A Night in Hollywood) being held on Thursday 21 September. We look forward to seeing you all dressed up and enjoying yourself on the night!

Hayley, our International Manager, is set to travel to Japan from 19 September - 2 October to meet with agents, attending fairs, and hopefully meeting lots of prospective students to join us next year.

Our Homestay Coordinator is always on the lookout for new host families for our long-term students so if you are interested, or would simply like more information, please contact Charlotte on 544 6099 ext 868 or email intl.homestay@waimea.school.nz.

Term 4 is shaping up to be just as busy with some of our students sitting NCEA and others participating in our special End of Year Programme. We hope everyone enjoys their well-deserved break at the end of the month and come back ready for an eventful final term!

Don’t forget to check out our FB and Instagram pages for all our pics and videos
https://www.facebook.com/WaimeaCollegeInternationalStudents/
https://www.instagram.com/waimea_international/