INTERNATIONAL STUDENT NEWS

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1 Newsletter No. 01 Term 1, 2017 WELCOME Term 1 was an extremely busy term for the International Department. New international Students We began by welcoming six new students to the school. Rico Chan and Kelly and Oscar Ng from Hong Kong; Melo Zhang and Kelly Qi from China and Mey Mey Lam from Cambodia. They all made a great start, settling in quickly to a new way of learning and quickly became part of the Sancta Maria College family. NCEA SUCCESS Congratulations to three International Students who were presented with badges for their academic success in Yoyo Cheng who achieved 68 excellence credits in NCEA Level 2 Eileen Chen who achieved 93 excellence credits in NCEA Level 1 Henry Yu who achieved 70 excellence credits in NCEA Level 1 Yoyo Cheng Eileen Chen Henry Yu

2 Percentage Achieved Percentage Achieved INTERNATIONAL STUDENT NEWS We were able to celebrate the achievements of our senior international students in NCEA at Level 1, 2 and 3. The overall school results were once again excellent, placing Sancta Maria College within the Top 10 schools in Auckland for NCEA SANCTA MARIA COLLEGE NCEA ACHIEVEMENT Sancta Maria College NZ Decile 10 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 We are very proud of our international students whose success in NCEA must be understood within a specific context. Not only were most of our Year 11 students for example new to the New Zealand education system but all of our international students have to learn and study with English as a second or other language. To be able to compete with domestic students at this level is simply outstanding INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS NCEA ACHIEVEMENT Achieved NCEA Achieved 90% + Pass Rate Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

3 Congratulations! Ashley Ding who was an international student in gained entry to the University of New South Wales to study Engineering. She is now living in Sydney and enjoying life there. Other Highlights For the first time, the department organised an international student trip. Our goal was to bring all the international students together and allow them to get to know each other better. We also invited two of our Year 13 prefects to join us, John Purification who is the Head Boy for 2017 and Jasmine Castro who is an International School Prefect for For our inaugural trip, we chose Rotorua as a destination because it allowed students to experience a taste of New Zealand Maori culture and see some of the famous geographical sights that New Zealand is famous for. The students behaviour throughout the two days was exceptional. The feedback from the students after the trip was unanimously positive and we intend to make this an annual event from now on. POWHIRI SIGNALS START OF SCHOOL YEAR New staff members and students including our six new International Students were welcomed to the College by a powhiri led by our Kapa Haka. Mr Green, deputy principal, welcomed the newcomers on behalf of the school. Mr Camp, a new member of the P.E. department responded. The Kapa Haka welcomed the newcomers in song and the Year 7 students sang in reply, on behalf of the student body. There followed a hongi between new staff and some of the senior students and staff to complete the welcoming ceremony. Ms Moore then revealed to the students some of the Maori background to the area relating to the College and how this contributes to us being a community of faith and love. New members of staff were then introduced to the students. This theme was continued in brief speeches by the 2017 head prefects, John Purificacion and Gemma Deftereos. On leaving the students were offered a biscuit as a sign of ending the tapu on the auditorium which for this ceremony had become a sacred space.

4 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS VISIT AMBURY A group of nineteen students from Year 11 and 12 headed across to Ambury Regional Park for the afternoon. All of the students are international students, and the goal of the trip was to prepare for an upcoming English Language writing assessment. We left school at morning tea time, nervously watching the sky for rain. We knew rain was forecast but were hoping and praying we would get through our intended activities without getting soaked. Our prayers were answered, and after enjoying a walk around the Ambury foreshore, enjoying the incredible view out towards the Manukau Heads and stopping to appreciate the beautiful landscape around us, we made our way back to the grassy picnic area to eat. All of the food was traditional Kiwi picnic food, an opportunity for the students to get a small taste of the classic Kiwi picnic. After a leisurely lunch, we could see the rain making its way across the harbour, so we loaded back into the school vans and headed home. It was a wonderful day out, thoroughly enjoyed by all.

5 SCHOOL ATHLETICS DAY 24 FEBRUARY 2017 On 24 February, Athletics Day was held. The day started with exchanging chants from the four houses, Akaroa, Hokianga, Kororareka, Waitemata. There were different competitions prepared for different year levels and age groups. For example, two-hundred meter race, long jump and discus. The students were divided into each groups, Year 7 & 8 are by themselves, juniors under 14, intermediate under 16 and senior above 16. Year 13 students were dressed up into different colourful costumes to enjoy the day.

6 HOMESTAY BBQ International Students Annual BBQ It was a night filled with music, games and delicious food ranging from noodles, fried rice, dumplings and ice cream! On Friday 17 March we held our annual International Students BBQ. The international students came along with their homestays and their families and it was a great opportunity to come together to bond with not only their fellow international students but also with their own homestays. There was a variety of very fun and entertaining games during the night. The students and a few teachers were put into teams and played the egg-on-spoon game, sack racing and the balloon popping game where they had to put a balloon between their legs, walk to a chair and pop the balloon by sitting on it! It was fun and I was surprised that our Principal, Ms Moore, played the game with us said one student. We want to thank all of the teachers and students that were involved with making this BBQ a great success! This was definitely a very memorable day for all of the students and families that attended and we hope to carry on the tradition next year! By Jasmine Castro

7 ROTORUA TRIP On 30 and 31 March, we (international students) had our first overnight trip to Rotorua. We all gathered at school in the early morning and everyone was so excited. We went to a lot of places, including Hobbiton, Te Puia, Maori Village, Agrodome Farm and Gondola. Through this trip, we had a chance to explore New Zealand more, got to know more about the Maori culture and got closer with each other. All of us thought that this was a great and memorable trip, and some people even said they can't wait for the next international student s trip. By Yoyo Cheng