Today, students bought post cards from the post office and they learned how to write post card messages and addresses in English, then sent them to their parents in Japan.
Thank you very much to Peregian Beach College for providing an opportunity for the Epion group to show some of their culture as well as learning western culture. Easter is something new that they will remember !
They presented a beautiful song at the Farewell Party, which they have learned at Peregian Beach College from Mr. Brian Spiers.After the beautiful weekend they had with host families, they were hesitant to leave Noosa, and the host families were hesitant to let them go…Lots of hugs at the final farewell.
We miss Kanagawa University High School and hope they will come back again!
EPION is a group of 10 – 12-year-old Japanese children from a private English learning school in Osaka. We welcomed the group with a BBQ lunch at the park on the weekend.
Yuma and Naoya have already learned how to play cricket from their host brother Joshua and their English teacher, Marty! They are the youngest group we have received in 2010.
We are very happy to have this brave boys and girls at GV Noosa.
Mianmi and Chisato had a great weekend with their host families! They had a lovely weekend at the beach and enjoyed Noosa’s stunning blue sky and blue water followed by nice evening BBQ. They also visited the local radio station, 101.3 FM, where Minami got to introduce some of her favourite songs!
Thank you Rebecca and Lawrence for taking the time to show the girls around and for sending us the photos.
Dr. Scott Burnett gave our students an extensive tour of the campus grounds and helped them to identify some unique Australian plants. We also saw the resident Kangaroos resting in the shade. We saw a mother who had a baby joey in her pouch and a teenager staying nearby. We learned that they have 5 limbs, they use their tail so much, it is considered a limb!
Next we had a lecture from Dr. Scott Burnett and Dr. Rob Lamont. Dr. Lamont taught us about the flora of Australia and how so many trees can survive in such a dry environment. Then Dr. Burnett told us all about the strange and wonderful animals of Australia. We learned so much.
Next we had lunch where the students had to interview several university students. They did it with pleasure and enjoyed talking to all of the students in the cafeteria.
We then went to the field to spot birds, look at trees, and inspect the water through microscopes. What a great afternoon! How could it get any better? The only way is to meet many of the indigenous animals. Some of them were Smoochy the Cockatoo, a green tree frog, a turtle, bearded dragon, crocodile, goanna, python, sugar glider, possum, and billy the wombat!!! We loved getting our photo taken with the python draped around our neck.
We had a great day at the University. Thank you to Dr. Scott Burnett and all of the others there.
After the coaching, we had a doubles match, girls vs boys. It was a very close match, but Rina and Kaya came out on top… Well done girls!
Kanagawa University High School has visited Peregian Beach College. Students were separated into 3 groups and attended Art, Home Economics and Music lessons.
They experienced all 3 subjects, and enjoyed the different styles of learning.
We would like to express our appreciation to Peregian Beach College for having Kanagawa University High School students and providing such wonderful learning opportunities!
Minami from Kanagawa High School has been having a great time with her host family. She says “ I enjoy everyday. My room is very nice, BBQ was very very delicious. Most of all, my host family is very kind to me”.
The Russell family has also told us that they are loving having Minami! Thank you Rebecca and Lawrence for welcoming Minami into your home and sending us photos of your time together. The BBQ at the Lion’s Park looks so yummy!
Kanagawa students enjoyed an Aboriginal cultural presentation today. Lyndon and Jesse demonstrated boomerang throwing, didgeridoo playing, fire making and song and dance, all in traditional dress.
Students got to throw boomerangs on the soccer field and most of them did very well… Some actually managed to catch the ancient hunting tool when it returned!
All eyes were wide open when Lyndon created a fire by rubbing two sticks together, and then put out the flames with his bare feet.
The singing and dancing was also very enjoyable, especially when some students volunteered to join the guys for a corroberee, and learned some basic dance moves.
Aboriginal culture is focussed on sustainability, and only taking the resources that you need, leaving plenty for future generations. This focus fits in well with Kanagawa HS students’ environmental studies, and we can all learn a thing or two from them. After all, the aboriginal people survived for Forty Thousand years, because of their respect for the environment, and sustainable way of life.
It may become your mother’s day gift! Most of them scored 10 out of 10! They all impressed Joan, the instructor from Ezili.
Another group of Japanese students arrived yesterday, this time from Kanagawa. They are here to study English and also to focus on environmental studies and aboriginal culture.
Students will visit the University of the Sunshine Coast this week and attend lectures on environmental sustainability, and familiarise themselves with some native Australian flora and fauna.
38 Students from Hiyoshigaoka High School in Kyoto, Japan said goodbye to their host families and teachers on the weekend. As always, it was an emotional time for all involved. We grow very close to these students during their short, action packed tours, and always hope to see them return some day.
The student performances were very entertaining, the catering was delicous and the speeches were not too boring at all. In fact Ruichi’s (Japanese Teacher) speech was delightful.
The Farewell party at PBC was a great success, where students were presented with certificates and had the opportunity to thank their host families and teachers.
The students entertained the crowd with well prepared presentations. The most enjoyable was a version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” which got the whole room laughing hysterically.
Today we went Mountain Bike Riding. It started to rain on us, but thankfully stopped just as we started. We had beautiful weather!
What a nice a peaceful ride we had through the Noosa National Park from the Peregian Beach College almost to Peregian Beach. We rode about 10 kilometers!!! Everyone did really well. We thought Yoko wouldn’t make it, but she was tough and made it back!! What a great day and a super fun last activity!!! Thanks Rod and Jimmy for taking us!!!
We really appreciate our host families who support and give our students such warm care while they are thousands of miles away from their own home.
Hiyoshigaoka students swapped sides today and got to cruise up the river on pontoon boats and kayaks. This time some of the boys fell off the kayaks and got very wet!
The girls enjoyed the pontoon boats, especially the part when we got to stop and play on the sand bars near the river mouth
Students got to meet Lyndon Davis yesterday. He is a direct descendant of the Gubbi Gubbi People, who populated this area for thousands of years before white settlement.
While half of the group learned about the Aboriginal people and their culture, the other half went to Hastings Street for an English conversational skills task. These students were aked to approach shoppers in Hastings Street and ask some simple questions about where they were from and what they love about Noosa.
This comment was posted to our blog from Chiyoda Student, Reina, who visited us last year!
Looking at blog, I can remember a lot of things in Noosa.
it is possible I want to go to Australia at once.
Australia’s life was really really GREAT!!!
I miss my host family and Marty,Deb,Jem and PBC students….
I always love them…
My dream is to become a nurse, and to go to study English to NOOSA again.
Yes, I can:) hehexx
Thanks for a lot of memories and happiness. We were often talking about Australia.
Everyone says, “I want to return to Australia”.
I’ll NEVER forget.
Memories in Australia are my treasures.
Reina has graduated from Chiyoda High School this February. Congratulations, Reina and we hope to see you here in Noosa!
We studied all about the strange and wonderful animals that live only in Australia. Each student researched one animal and presented the information to the class.
We researched Koala, Kangaroo, Crocodile, Wombat, Kookaburra, and Turtle. We got to see all of these animals at Australia Zoo on our first day in Australia, but now we know a lot more about each of them.
The Peregian Beach College students were very eager to listen to the Chiyoda HS students, even though it was CRAZY HAIR DAY!!! (Color or style your hair wild to raise money for Cancer )
The Power Point Presentation, Calligraphy, and Origami were all a success!
On Friday the Chiyoda HS students had a chance to participate in raising money and awareness for Cancer Research by dressing in casual clothes and styling their hair in crazy styles or wearing fun hats.
What fun the whole school had! For lunch there was a traditional “Sausage Sizzle.” We also got a chance to listen to the talented Peregian College bands and singers… Watch out Australian Idol!
Hiyoshigaoka students paired up with their buddies at Noosa High School today. In groups of 4 or 5, they made excellent presentations to their Australian peers and showed great confidence and communication skills.
The local students were very welcoming and extremely interested in Japanese culture. The boys even got to jam with some fellow musicians in the lunch break, and it sounded great.
Then Kosuke had a really hard time. He had some trouble holding the paddles correctly, so he really wasn’t going anywhere, except into the one dock that stuck out into the river! He ran right into that… Ooops!!! I wasn’t sure we were going to, but we finally made it to the others. I was ready to take Kosuke back across to where we started, but he persisted. Well done to the 3 “lost boys” who kept on trying and succeeded… It wasn’t pretty, but you made it!!!
We warmed up with some team building exercises where students formed a circle and had to find their friends with eyes closed by making animal noises like a cat, dog, chicken or sheep. This was followed by a hula-hoop relay race where the group formed 4 teams; orange, purple, green and blue.
The teams then had to strap their feet on to rubber mats and walk together to cross the line first (this one as very funny to watch). After a couple more group activities it was time for the teams to play volleyball; something they had been looking forward to all afternoon. It soon became obvious that these students had played this game before and showed some very competitive skills!
At the end of the day, the orange team was declared the winner, and received some chocolates for their effort. Every student who participated was presented with a certificate of achievement by the event coordinator, Lee.
We had a lesson in Boomerang throwing today. Lyndon gave us a great lesson! All of the students got to try throwing a boomerang. Lots of them had to run after them, but a few actually came back!!! Well done!
Lyndon also played the didgeridoo and showed us Aboriginal artifacts that were really interesting; spears, axes, different boomerangs and beautiful artwork.
Then everyone got to paint a boomerang of their own. How talented the students are!!! Fantastic artwork!!!
There is a special day in Japan called the Start Festival. Many children write a wish on paper and hang it on bamboo to make the wish come true. Chiyoda HS students brought special paper and made an oblong card with the year 2 students.
One more group did a power point presentation to introduce Japanese youth culture. Y10-12 students at Peregian Beach College have also shown Chiyoda HS students Australian culture with lots of demonstrations. Of course they had to introduce well-known Australian Steve Irwin. Chiyoda HS students all learned his catch phrase:“ Crikey!!”
Hiyoshigaoka HS students visited the famous Sunshine Coast Eumundi Market where more than 500 stall holders gather to sell a huge variety of local products. Everyone enjoyed the shopping in the morning, some had face painting done!
When they returned to the college, A traditional Aussie BBQ welcome lunch was waiting for them.
We hope Hiyoshigaoka HS students will enjoy their stay here in Noosa and make long-lasting memories with their host families.
On Friday we went shopping at Woolworths to buy ingredients for Anzac biscuits. After a fun hunt through the supermarket shelves, Hiyoshigaoka students returned to their classrooms to cook.
Expert taste tester Ryuichi Kobayashi,on being asked to assess the standard of the biscuits, declared they were “nicely soft”
Great job everyone!
We joined the Chiyoda classes today for a “Find Someone Who…”Bingo Game! We all had a great time. They even had to ask the teachers questions. Everyone got Bingo and won a “Gummy Bear,” yummy!!!
38 students from Hiyoshigaoka High School in Kyoto, Japan arrived yesterday. We had a local tour which included a trip to Mount Timbeerwah lookout. From the elevated vantage point we were able to see all of Noosa and the surrounding area.
This group has a schedule that is jam-packed with classes and excursions during their 17 days here in Noosa, including school integration with Noosa District State High School, which is a sister school to Hiyoshigaoka in Japan.
Chiyoda students got to visit the biggest shopping mall on the coast yesterday – Sunshine Plaza.
With more than 100 specialty stores, Sunshine Plaza is a great place to look for just about anything. The most wanted item on students shopping lists was ice cream, and all got to enjoy some delicious New Zealand flavours.
The didgeridoo was enjoyed by everyone. Playing it was much more difficult than we all thought, but it was a lot of fun trying and we laughed so hard at the funny sounds we produced. We were a little surprised that some were really good at the technique used to blow into the instrument to make sound!! We were also amazed when Scott played songs on each of the didgeridoos that he brought. The songs were magical. A great time was had by all.
28 students from Chiyoda High School in Japan arrived on Friday and went straight to Australia Zoo from the airport. After meeting all the cuddly (and not so cuddly) creatures at the zoo we went to Noosa Civic for some free time in the shopping centre, then to Peregian Beach College to meet up with host families.
It was a long day but all students enjoyed their first day in Australia with just a couple of power naps on the bus between stops. This week is jam packed with classes and afternoon activities so keep watching for lots more photos!
