Kindai HS students went for a leisurely boardwalk stroll from Lexis English Noosa to Noosa River mouth and back.

The students were very keen to meet locals and tourists visiting Noosa. As you can see from the photos below, they are anything but shy when it comes to social situations and making new friends. I’m sure the boys will go home with some very interesting pictures to show their friends and family!

On our last day together we went to the beautiful Noosa River to have a go at stand up paddle boarding. We arrived in the early afternoon and the blazing heat made the river sparkle and look amazing-we couldn’t wait to get in!

All the students were given bright yellow life jackets as there was a strong wind and a strong current. Once safe it was time for our lesson! World surf champ Merrick showed us how it was done by demonstrating on the sands of the river bed.

The students firstly paddled out on the water on their knees before coming ashore for the stand up demonstration. Easy enough on land……now for the rocky river! We pushed out on our knees and placing the paddle carefully in the centre of the board we had to try to stand up. Although this looks easy enough the choppy current made it difficult.

Some of the boys practise paddling on their knees before attempting to stand up.

Atsushi gets the hang of stand up paddle boarding and Rena survives a little wobble on the board and keeps her balance! Great effort!

Nomads Noosa offered the students their volleyball court and their swimming pool to cool down in the hot sun.

The guys at Nomads Noosa!

On a really hot summer afternoon we went to Nomads Hostel to play some volleyball and have a swim. When we got there the students had a few arguments about who was going in who’s team but we eventually settled on two teams of eight players each.

The energy was high and they played very well. Each team scored some excellent points accompanied by great screams from each team and soon after we had started the teams were changing and everybody was throwing themselves at the ball to try to win.

Playing on the hot sand, directly underneath the sun was tiring and the girls soon decided to take a dip in the pool to cool down where they found another ball and volleyball net and continued to play their own game in the rather cooler water.

The boys on the other hand were running around and playing their own games of volleyball, hide and seek and one game where they began by lying on their stomachs and then pushing up to turn around and chase each other to an obstacle.

All in all the students had a very active afternoon in one of Noosa’s popular spots had some well earned relaxation in the hot sun.

The girls relaxing after enjoying a swim and the boys exhausted after playing volleyball and running around.

After a great surfing lesson last week we went back for more! Another beautiful day in Noosa brought blue skys and calm waves making it ideal for surfing.

When we arrived we hopped about on the boiling hot tar mac trying to get changed into the school’s bright red tops. We were then given our surf boards (smaller than the last lesson because we had improved so much) and marched down to the beach.

Here, surf instructor Alex practised his Japanese and went over the three step approach to standing up. The students tried really hard and many laughs were had as they practised on the sand. Now it was time to test the waters (literally).

The instructor showing everyone how to stand up!

The students were so, so excited that they ran into the sea with some so excited they forgot to put their leg rope on! Once in the sea they played and paddled and caught those waves! Despite being on harder board the students were fantastic! Everyone tried so hard and everyone did really well. The instructors were so impressed!

After a long few hours in the water we waved goodbye to the waves taking with us some awesome memories of Noosa’s surf!

Waka and Yuki Surfing Noosa style!

Students show us their shots!

We arrived at the beautiful Noosa Springs Resort to be greeted by two top tennis coaches. The students first task was to hit a ball over the net. After each student did this they were assigned a group, orange or green. Then the games began!

The coaches taught the students how to fore hand/back hand/volley and serve! The step by step approach was a fantastic way for the students to learn. The instructors ensured everyone had the correct position so that they were ready to tackle their tennis on the court!

We played an exhausting game of hitting these shots over the net. If the ball remained on court the students stayed in the game. If it went out they had to run to the other side of the net and try to catch other students balls (if they did this they were back in the game). This caused lots of laughter as well as some tense moments on court!

Finally we were ready to play each other. Students played aginst each other in some great rally and were even serving over arm (despite the blinding sunshine). Everyone improved and had a fantastic day! With the Australian Open just around the corner, tennis proffessionals had better watch out-the TAPs are on their toes!

End of match celebrations!

The students enjoyed another another water based activity today, when they jumped in a kayak and paddled up and down Noosa river!

Upon arriving at the river, the kayaks were already laid out waiting for the students. All we needed was life jackets and paddles and then we were ready to go! The students were put in pairs or in groups of three and jumped in the boats ready to go.

With a little push from the instructors they were in the water and eagerly paddling away with one instructor leading at the front and one instructor at the back.

Drying off in the sunshine!

After seeing Noosa the day before and watching the surfers in the sea the students had the opportunity today to get in the sea themselves and have a lesson with a professional.

The students arrived at school very excited about their surfing lesson in the afternoon and it didn’t disappoint! With a large group we took to the beach with 3 surf instructors. Upon arriving on the beach we spread out and lay on our boards. The instructors gave a lesson on how to position themselves on the board, where to put their hands and feet, how to paddle and how to push up ready to stand. Step 1!

Step 1, the students were told how to position themselves on the board!

After plenty of practise on the beach the students then ran to the water to give it a go. In the water the students were eager to get going and after a few shrieks and screams about the cold water the were enjoying themselves practising.

Having mastered step 1 the students went back to the beach so they could learn the most important technique of how to stand up on the board. Push up from the legs ready to stand. Step 2!

After a fantastic and energetic visual display from the instructors the students were then told how to get from the push up position into the standing position on their board. Step 3!

The instrucor gives a demonstration and the boys all practise their technique.

Uiru, Mai and Junki looking cool!

The students enjoy Noosa’s scenery and the national park!

After the students had settled in to their new school we took them for a walk around Noosa. A short bus journey away is beautiful scenery of lakes, mountains, the Noosa river and of course the ocean. The students walked around and took in the amazing views and excitedly took some pictures.

One can’t come to Noosa and not see the bustling Hastings Street which was our next stop where the students had the opportunity to shop in the many souvenir and surf shops on offer. The best things about Hastings Street is its short distance from Noosa National park which is covered in trees, plants and flowers as well as providing incredible views of the sea where the students could see some of Noosa’s local surfers catching the waves. We were even lucky enough to see a Koala sitting in one of the trees!

After a wonderful walk, we went back to the school and the students were picked up by their host families!

Safety comes first at Noosa’s beautiful Main beach and is followed by a very musical afternoon!

What a great day! Noosa has some beautiful beaches and none more so than it’s main beach where we went for our first outing of the day. Safety is so important when swimming in Australian water and the students were given a talk about how to be safe whilst enjoying the beach, how to read the signs and even how to look out from the lifeguard tower and spot trouble.

The students learn all about beach safety and have the chance to be a lifeguard!

After the morning at the beach the students had some time to go shopping on Noosa’s famous Hastings Street which were busy as usual while the locals did some last minute christmas shopping.

Then it was back to the school for a lesson on how to play the didgeridoo, an old Aboriginal instrument they called the ‘yidaki’ that the natives used for rituals and entertainment.

The instructor ‘Scott’ told them that each song had a story behind it and that the Aboriginal tribes each had their own unique songs. Celebratios are common within these tribes and special songs are performed for these. One in particular is the ritual of when a boy becomes a man at the age of 12 or 13. These celebrations can last up to a week.

Inspired by the stories that Scott had to tell the students found these oddly shaped instruments interesting and were soon keen to give it a go themselves. For the next hour students were blowing into their didgeridoos and successfully making the desired ‘drone’ sound of the instrument.

The students and Scott with their didgeridoos!

 More music was to follow when we went to a local church for a Christmas Carol service. The church and the service were both beautiful and we watched a video of the nativity made by the church themselves and all sang songs which the students throughly enjoyed.

After a long day and lots of singing, music and celebration the students went back to their host families to celebrate an Australian Christmas!

Students enjoy kayaking on the river and an Australian BBQ!

 After meeting the instructors and finally getting everybody a life jacket they all grabbed an oar and gathered round Intructor Tim for a lesson in how to paddle.

Once they were sat in their Kayaks and the other instructors had pushed them off they all started to put into action Tim’s careful instructions. With one instructor leading from the front and one instructor at the back the students all floated in the middle and went in various different directions up the river.

After a couple of rescues and collisions with each other the students who were starting to get tired began to paddle back to shore with continuous shouts from all instructors and teachers of ‘Migi Migi!’, ‘Hidari, Hidari!’

Relieved to be back on dry land the students made their way a few hundred yards down the river where some amazing food had been prepared and delivered to our barbecue station.

The students host families arrived and everybody enjoyed a drink and some food before getting involved in Australia’s most popular game – Cricket! Despite the girls holding the cricket bat as if it was a baseball bat they all got the hang of it and a mix of host mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters were all running after the ball and having great fun.

It was a very hot day and a beautiful place to go Kayaking and have a barbecue but in the heat and after all that hard work the students were ready to go home with their host families early in the afternoon.

A great Australian day!

CLICK HERE to see pictures of all the fun and action from the Lexis Junior Program from July to August 2011.

This could be you spending Summer in Australia… Awesome!

Clarisse from France did the TAP General Course for 3 weeks. Below are some inserts she wrote in her school diary whilst she was in Noosa.

Wed 20 July 2011
In the classroom we learnt how to use the future tense and the different futures and vocabulary. It was amusing because we played some games. In the afternoon we went to the beach to go surfing. Since I couldn’t go into the sea, I took a lot of photos for Cindy the TAP co-ordinator. The weather was wonderful! I sun bathed, tanned and watched my friends surfing. It was brilliant!

Thursday 21 July 2011
It was a perfect day because it was my birthday. A lot of people wished me happy birthday and i was very happy. I had a delicious chocolate cake and a lot of cards with writing ‘happy birthday’… I had tears in my eyes… thank you very much. In the afternoon we saw a lot of snakes at a reptile show… I was scared and excited at the same time. It was a wonderful day! Thank you so much everybody!

Although there was a spot of rain, it didn’t stop the students from enjoying learning to play the didjeridu.

Rushana seemed to pick up the droning very quickly and everyone else seemed to pick up the technique soon after. Some students created their own unique sounds while others tried to learn the traditional Aboriginal sounds. By the end of the session everyone had learnt how to play a little and were very impressed with Scott’s knowledge and especially how he can breath and play at the same time!

It’s that time again to say goodbye to friends, host families and GV teachers…

They will take back home many fond memories, contacts with new friends from around the world, experience of Australian culture and most important of all… English language skills!! Good luck Jen, Cassandre, Clarisse, Capucine, Mitsuki, Louis, Thibault, Lucas, Hugo, Victor and Jean-Eloi… It was a pleasure getting to know you all!

Chokai School from Thailand arrived at Perth Campus on the 18 April for their one week study tour.

The weather was perfect and they had a fantastic week. They really enjoyed English lessons every morning to work on pronunciation, vocabulary building, speaking, listening and even some songs.

The group went for an activity each afternoon. The beach is about 3 minutes by walk from campus so the students requested to spend more time on the beach to play. Surf Life Saving Team gave the presentation to the student ensured that everyone understood the dangers of the ocean.  Afterwards they all went down to the beach where the surf club had set up lots of activities for the group to do.

Another afternoon they went in the water and built sand castles.

By day three the group were fully embracing the Aussie way of life.  Wearing thongs and the hats to school and about on activities.  Toto (one of my students) actually greeted me with ‘G’Day Mate’.

After a morning of English we played Easter Games and had an Easter Egg Hunt which everyone loved.

Of course that afternoon the students all wanted to go to the beach again!!!! So we headed down and for some more time on the beach.

They experienced a bike ride along the coast and played a game of soccer with some local kids.  They went to the Wildlife Park where the group sat with a wombat and patted kangaroos and koalas. We all enjoyed a good old Aussie BBQ that afternoon.  In the evening the homestay families got together for a farewell party. They also went for sight-seeing and shopping around the gorgeous city of Perth then had a huge BBQ in Kings Park.  So much fun at GV Perth Campus!!!

The students really enjoyed the stay with their host families and our host families were great! They all had children the same age as the Thai Students. When homestay families brought their students for the farewell everyone was really sad and lots of tears were shed.

There are quotes from the students we like to share!

Amy Lee “GV is the best school I have ever been to. I love the beach, teaching and teacher of course!”

Boss ” It’s great learning English here I want to come back when I’m big”

Toto ” Thank you Gv. MY homestay Mum and Dad and the people in the school were great I will miss WA

” Pond ” I loved every minute class was much more fun than I expected. I come back!”

Teacher Beer: ” I want to come back again and again. Can I study here too? (HAHA)”

Teacher Lee: ” I have been on many Study Tours to England, Canada and New Zealand but I have never had such a good experience as the one we got in GV Perth- well done to Neil and all of his staff and homestay families. We will be back and I can’t wait”

The accompanying Thai teachers seemed to enjoy this tour even more than the students! Teacher Lee and Teacher Beer said they will be back with many more study tours in the near future and all the staff at GV can guarantee they will be made very welcome!

On friday TAP students studying at Global Village Noosa enjoyed an afternoon on the beautiful Noosa River pontoon boating. 

Students took turns in driving the boat and enjoyed the view on the water of the Noosa River.  The afternoon included learning about the water rules and taking a quick swim in the river on our own private sand island.  All of the students really enjoyed the activity it was a great way to finish off the second week of TAP students.

  From all of the staff at Global Village Noosa we wish our TAP students a warm thank you and hope you return to study with us again in the near future. 

Yesterday ECC students studying at Global Village on our Sunshine Coast campus, enjoyed an afternoon of fun in the sun at Maroochydore Beach with Maroochy Surf School.   

For many of the students it was their first time surfing, the little ones loved the waves and bigger students loved it just as much even the teachers tried their skills at riding some waves for the very first time.

For many of the group it was the highlight of the trip!  The sun was shining and the waves breaking nicely, surfing is all about sharing waves with your mates and having a good time.  This is exactly what the ECC group did yesterday a truly great way to finish off a  study tour in  Australia. 

From all the staff at Global Village Sunshine Coast we wish you a safe trip home and would like to say; thank you to all students and teachers from ECC Japan, we hope you enjoyed your time here in Australia and look forward to seeing you come back again soon  in the near future. 

Surfing is all about having fun!

That is exactly what our TAP students in Noosa did yesterday when they went surfing at Main Beach Noosa. 

The eighteen TAP students took part in a 2 hour lesson under the guidance of three professional surf instructors.  The lesson is structured to teach  first time beginners how to first catch waves and secondly stand up and ride waves standing tall and proud on a surfboard. 

Once you know how to paddle into a wave you head out into the water and start practising.  When everyone can catch waves lying down, it’s time to head back to shore and learn how to stand up!

Sumio demonstrates the jump up with style.

We have the youngest right through to adult students from ECC studying at Global Village Sunshine Coast Campus!  Students from ECC Japan will be studying for one week at our new Sunshine Coast Campus in Maroochydore.  

They had a didgeridoo lesson in the afternoon and joined by our Saudi Arabian students who were also keen to practice.

Scott Estrich from BushLab team Boosting demonstrated how to play the didgeridoo and encouraged everyone to have a go.  When Ahmed had a try he sounded like a sick elephant which made all ECC students to laugh!

Global Village Noosa TAP students yesterday enjoyed spending sometime on Noosa’s Main beach playing volleyball and swimming in  the ocean between the flags.

Here are some pictures of the students playing volleyball and enjoying the afternoon on the beach. 

After a good afternoon on the beach it was time to enjoy an ice cream on Hastings Street Noosa before heading back to the college to be picked up by host families. 

Yesterday TAP students from Global Village Noosa adventured out into the Noosa National Park.  Students enjoyed a walk around the coastal track observing the nature and wild life of the park. 

On entering the park the students were able to see a Koala high above in a large Australian Gum Tree.  The National Park is home to many different native Australian animals, birds and plants. 

The team of TAP students walked past beautiful bays including Tea Tree Bay and Granite Bay before reaching their final destination Hell’s Gates.  The view and the feeling of standing of the cliffs edge at Hells Gates is very exciting.  Students took photo’s and called out into the cliff face to hear the echoes of their voices. 

It’s always exciting for students to meet and share time with their host families.  For Muroya Primary and Junior High School students Fumiyo and Emily it has been a wonderful experience. 

When they arrive they are usually a little bit nervous, however within hours they are best friends and accepted as a part of the family. 

Emily and Fumiyo have been making the most of their time at home by spending lots of time with the family and having a good time. 

Global Village Noosa has been buzzing with Primary and Junior High School students this week as thirty-two students arrived on campus to study English and enjoy some outdoor activities on the pristine Sunshine Coast.

The students are really enjoying their time in Noosa and for some of them it’s the first time overseas aswell.  The excitement continues as each afternoon they adventure out with teachers and enjoy an activity outdoors with their peers. 

Yesterday the Muroya Primary and Junior High School  students enjoyed kayaking on the Noosa River.  Conditions were amazing and all the students really loved learning how to paddle and work as a team.

One group practised some relay races around a house boat.  The competition really started to heat up, two teams were formed, ‘The Takeaways’ and ‘The She She’s.’  It was a close race but the winning team in the end was the Takeaways.  Well done to all for your good sportsmanship and a fun race. 

Hiyoshigaoka High School students celebrated their last day in Noosa with their host families, teachers and Global Village staff with a big farewell party at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.    

The students performed songs and dances for the audience. They enjoyed some food and the celebration of Mizuki’s 16th birthday with their teachers and host families.  The night carried on with speeches from some of the students and a presentation of certificates for all students and teachers from Hiyoshigaoka. 

There were tears of happiness and joy as students presented their teachers with a gift of appreciation followed with kind words of how much they enjoyed learning English here in Noosa.  Students were very grateful of everything they learnt from their teachers at Global Village. 

A final presentation from Japanese teacher Masaki Takeuchi concluded the evening he spoke on behalf of the teachers and students appreciation and on the joys they had experienced here in Noosa.  He also expressed the gratitude of respect from everyone for their concern and sorrow for sufferers of the recent Japanese earth quake.  A minute of silence was dedicated earlier in the evening for lost ones and people suffering lose from the catastrophe. 

     From all of the staff at Global Village we would like to say, ”Thank you to all of the students and teachers from Hiyoshigaoka High School 2011 Study Group Tour.  We hope you come back again next year it was a pleasure having you with us here in Noosa”.

Good luck and best wishes for the future from everyone at GV Noosa. 

Our hearts and sympathy to all the people in Japan who are suffering at the moment from the recent catastrophe. 

All of the staff and students from Global Village would like to send our sincere sympathy to all those who are suffering.  If we can send some hope and wishes to those in need please know that we are feeling your pain.  May the future bring better times ahead and our blessings bring some strength to your spirits. 

Our sincere sympathy to you all with love Global Village.

Today Hiyoshigaoka students learnt about the Australian Aborigines.  They learnt about their culture, musical instruments and the way they lived from the land.

Aborigines are the first Australians and indigenous people of the land.  They loved the land and respected all the parts of life and living with nature.  They collected foods from the land and hunted wild animals for food with spears and sticks. 

Students enjoyed the presentation from Lyndon who is an Aborigine with a family heritage from the Sunshine Coast known as the Gubbi Gubbi people.

Lyndon played the Didgeridoo for the students and taught them how to throw a boomerang. 

Thank you Lyndon for a great presentation.   

On Friday students from Hiyoshigaoka High School experienced their second day on the river boating and canoeing. 

Students today had the opportunity to try out the second activity, the options were easy kayak or pontoon boating.  Both activities are really great and fun to do with a group of friends. 

Sometimes paddling can be hard work…even the fittest students need a break from the continuous workout that canoeing provides.

Students enjoyed the afternoon and after the activities finished they enjoyed some hot chips from the Fish and Chip shop beside the river.

Hiyoshigaoka High School students visit Noosa District High School for presentations as part of their inter school program between the two schools.

The sister school relationship has allowed Japanese students the ability to practice their English presentation skills with Australian students for the past two days.  Hiyoshigaoka students presented information about Japan to whole classes at Noosa High School. 

Today was the second day for visiting and all students spoke well and presented their knowledge confidently.  A range of topics and historical information was presented, topics spoken about included foods, places, people and sports that are popular in Japan. 

Noosa High School teachers and students were amazed at the high level of spoken English that the visiting students possessed and presented to whole classrooms.

Well done and thank you to all students from Hiyoshigaoka High School and Noosa District State High School.

Yesterday afternoon Hiyoshigaoka students and teachers enjoyed pontoon boating and canoeing on the beautiful Noosa River.

“All aboard!” was the call from teachers Nathan and Marty and before you knew it, all of the students were on the two boats and ready to cast off the bow lines and set out for an afternoon of boating on the river. 

Students took turns in driving the boats with the supervision of the teachers and navigated their way through the river.  Some of the first time boat drivers found it difficult to keep the boat going in a straight direction.  

First we drove up river towards the Noosa Marina and then we turned around into the wind and made our way towards the river mouth. 

Students laughed and sang as we motored past some of Noosa’s prestige water front real estate.  Everyone was happy that the sun was shining and the conditions were perfect for a day on the water. 

We took a short break back on dry land at the Noosa Lions Park.  Students were happy with the opportunity to get some photos as a group and with their friends.    

Global Village Noosa welcomes Hiyoshigaoka High School to Noosa.

A large excited group of forty-one Japanese students and three a teachers arrived in Noosa on Friday.  The group will be studying English with Global Village Noosa.  

For the next three weeks they will be enjoying a range of activities including kayaking, boating and boomerang throwing. The students are also visiting a number of the Sunshine Coast attractions including the famous Australia Zoo and Underwater World.  Hiyoshigaoka is also taking part in an exchange program with their sister school Noosa District State High School. 

Tomorrow students will visit NDSHS where they will start giving presentations in English to Australian students. 

Here are some photos of the students enjoying Australia Zoo yesterday.

Global Village Noosa welcomes all Hiyoshigaoka students and teachers to the beautiful Sunshine Coast.

On Saturday Kindai High School went on an educational excursion to Australia Zoo. 

They experienced the famous Steve Irwin ’Crocodile Show’ and fed wallabies and kangaroos including the well-known Australian red kangaroo.  Students were able to hold the koala and get a picture too. 

Here are some photographs of the happy students enjoying the world-famous Australia Zoo.   

Students from Kindai High School have been enjoying the outdoor lifestyle that the Sunshine Coast provides. 

Global Village students are always enjoying an active lifestyle outdoors with a variety of games and activities after a hard morning of serious studying and learning in the classroom. 

Here Kindai students enjoy some soccer in the park with other Global Village students studying at the Maroochydore campus. 

Cooking is always a good way to let off steam, and twisting around with friends is good way to pass time with your class mates. 

This afternoons activity was a cooking competition and Kindai students cooked up a storm in the kitchen. 

The students competed against other students in a cooking competition to find out who could cook the best Chocolate Cookie!  Yummy everyone was excited and once the ingredients were out it was all hands on deck. 

With team names like Firemen, Homemade, Nike and Girls Generation there was bound to be some blood, sweat and tears shed before the afternoon was over. 

After all groups had finished preparing the cookie batch from scratch, it was time to bake them in the oven.  

Nadia had it all under control or did she?  That is still the question, one thing is certain a number of the cookies were very well done.   

Matching the group to cookies was easily done and all students enjoyed tasting each others delicious cookie.  The winning group was decided and with the name fitting the smoke that filled the kitchen when the oven was opened the Firemen had won the cooking competition. 

Well done all students and well done to the Firemen pictured below.

Yesterday afternoon Kindai students joined with other Global Village Noosa students for a hit of Beach Volleyball.

Six teams were drawn up for a knock out competition of Beach Volley Ball.  Teams showed their volley ball skills, setting, digging and spiking to compete in a round of team elimination.  After four games being played GV had chosen a winning team. 

The teams consisted of  eight people a side and were accordingly named from team one to team six.  Students competed seriously to win and the competition was of a high standard.  Kindai students raised the intensity of the competition and had the General English students on their toes the duration of the contest.

Eventually the winning team was found and rightly named it was actually Team One who scored the match point.  The consisted of both Kindai students and Global Village students. 

A great afternoon of Beach Volleyball that everyone really enjoyed followed by a cool off swim before heading back to the college.    

Congratulations to the winning team, the victorious ‘Team One’ are pictured below.

On Sunday Global Village welcomed fifty senior students and accompanying teachers from Kindai High School in Osaka/Japan to Australia.

The students were very excited when they arrived in Australia at the Gold Coast International Airport.  This is their last year of high school and they have come to Australia for three weeks to improve their English skills before starting university in April this year back in Japan.  

The Kindai students will be studying English at two of our Global Village colleges, one group is studying in Noosa while the other will be studying at our new Sunshine Coast campus in Maroochydore. 

For the next three weeks the program consists of General English classes in the morning, followed by an intensive English class after lunch.  However its not all hard work without some play as each afternoon they are able to participate in exciting activities including Beach Volley ball, swimming, soccer, cook off competitions and many other activities as well.  

 The Kindai High School students below practised sand sculpting yesterday at the Sunshine Coast campus.

Take a look at the pictures of students enjoying the Magic Show yesterday from the magnificent ‘Magician Shaun.’   

Global Village welcomes all our new Kindai High School students and we hope you enjoy your stay and experiences here down under.  

Today was our TAP’s last day at GV Noosa.  Being their last day the students made ‘Thank you cards’ for their host families.  

The students were very creative, Akiko drew a ’Hello Kitty’ on the front of her card and wrote a beautiful note for her host family. 

At lunch time the TAP’s enjoyed an Aussie BBQ, Kio, Naoki and Chihiro even had a go at barbecuing some sausages on the barbecue. 

After the BBQ the students were surprised with a trip to the cinema to watch Gulliver’s Travels, starring Jack Black.  The students enjoyed the movie with teacher Nathan and returned to the college in high spirits. 

It was really sad to say goodbye to all of the students in the afternoon as we have all bonded a lot over the past few weeks. 

From all of the staff at GV Noosa, especially Peter, Nathan and Kiyo we wish all the students the very best and safe travels back to their home countries.

Everyone is learning how, come on a safari with me. 

The Beach Boys knew what it was all about when they wrote Surfing Safari and today our TAP’s had the chance to carve their names into a few waves. 

It was a great afternoon of surfing at Noosa Main Beach.  For some of our TAP students it was their second and third time surfing.  Their skills are really developing and you can see that they are actually getting the hang of riding waves standing up.

Mao has great balance, she has a background in Ballet so she is naturally gifted when it comes to riding waves.  Today was also her last day, what a great way to finish her visit to Australia in the surf at Noosa with her classmates. 

The weather was really fantastic today and the water was very clear and beautiful.  Take a look at the picture below, this is what a wave looks like from the water when you are on the board. 

Chihiro and Naoki were quite good surfers and caught good waves.  Miwa had a good time with instructor Tim who helped her to catch a few good waves.      

Today our lucky TAP students at GV Noosa enjoyed the fast growing and extremely popular water sport, Stand Up Paddle otherwise known as SUP.

With a brief demonstration on how to paddle a SUP board from the professional instructors and a safety talk, students were ready to try their skills on a SUP board. 

“The beautiful Noosa River provides a fantastic place to learn how to SUP!” explained instructor Tim. 

There was time for practice on the boards and even some racing as well!  All of the students laughed and enjoyed the afternoon.  One of the high lights of the afternoon was waiting to see who might fall off while practising and paddling the massive SUP boards.

Sarah and Victoire mastered the surf turn on the SUP’s while Mao did really well and didnt fall in or even get wet for the entire session. 

In the relay race Hiroki, Chihiro, Mao and Victoire were the winning team, they shared in the pride of being champions for the afternoon. 

After the races students played in the water and enjoyed the afternoon.   

Students will enjoy a range of activities over the next week including surfing, Sand Volley Ball and a farewell BBQ on Friday their last day.

Legend has it that two warriors fought over the love of a girl, one of the warriors was Coolum the other Ninderry. 

The warriors fought and Coolum died his head became Mudjimba Island and his body laying on its side became the famous Mount Coolum itself.  Ninderry was turned to stone by the elders and gods of the dream time.  Maroochy cried and cried for Coolum making the Maroochydore River.  This is the tragic love story of Coolum and Maroochy.   

Today our students ventured up Mt. Coolum and listened to the story from their activity co-ordinator Nathan.  A story from the Aboriginal Dream Time.  The hike to the summit is only 1.6 kilometers but at times it is rather steep.  A little difficult, but all of the students stepped up to challenge and made it to the top of the mountain. 

The first students to the top included Sarah, Victoire and Kio they joined with Nathan to enjoy the scenery first, soon after the other students started to arrive at the summit.  

From the top beautiful panoramic views can be seen south to Maroochydore, east to the Pacific Ocean, west to Ninderry and north to Noosa.

Yesterday afternoon our TAP students were smiled upon by the forces of nature, blue skies prevailed and our excited teens hit the river with kayaks for a bit of an adventure.   

The students were energetic as they walked to the shore.  It was a bit difficult at first but they soon got the hang of it.  Miwa, Kio, and Chihiro H, managed to capsize their canoe at one stage it was actually quite funny to see this happen. 

Miwa told me it was because the two boys had decided to swap positions on the boat.  The sun was shining and the water was warm so the students stopped along the river for a swim.

On returning to college the students enjoyed ice cream a well deserved treat after a good 2 hours of adventure kayaking down the Noosa River.

TAP students might seem to be having heaps of fun everyday on activities, but there is some hard work to be done aswell. 

Each morning TAP students join together to learn English for two brilliant lessons.  Their confidence and spoken English is already improving under the guidance of teacher Peter. 

Today the lesson was focused on reading and telling the time, in the pictures you can see the concentration and focus of the students. 

 Of course it’s not all hard work, there is plenty of time to be social and talk with friends.  

The smiles on the girls Victoire and Sarah from New Caledonia express how fun it can be when you study at GV Noosa.  

The Christmas break for thirty students from Poole Gakuin was spent in beautiful Noosa. 

Students travelled from Japan last week to enjoy some fun activities in the sun down under. 

Despite the wet Christmas that we all enjoyed this year, students were able to participate in activities like Australia Zoo, kayaking in Noosa River and some surfing on Noosa Main Beach. 

Their stay was short and sweet, packed full of fun times and laughter, students finished off their visit to Global Village Noosa by singing to their host families at the farewell party. 

From all the staff and host families we would like to say thank you to the students and teachers of Poole Gakuin.  Wishing you all a Happy New Years and we hope to see you again soon.    

On Friday the TAP students started out the day making Christmas cards for their host families. 

They cut out a Christmas tree using green paper and then decorated it using glitter pens.  They looked really spectacular.  In the afternoon the TAP students joined in with all the other General English students for a whole college Christmas Party. 

After the party the students joined with Peter to sing a Christmas song called “We wish you a merry Xmas”.  Afterwards all the other students sang songs as well, a surprise visit from Santa Clause was unexpected and an original Aussie Jingle Bells version finished the concert complete with a bit of live didgeridoo as well. 

On thursday students visited the famous Under Water World in Mooloolaba. 

The students were lucky to see the newest attraction to the aquarium a frozen hammer-head shark!  Apparently the biggest hammer-head that has ever been caught in the world. 

 Hiroki was looking forward to the activity, as he had expressed to his teacher Peter that when he is older he would like to work in an aquarium like Underwater World.   

Shikano and Chihiro squealed when they saw a stone fish, I think they thought they were actually stones…until they moved that is.  

To finish off the visit to Underwater World we managed to watch the seal show, which was really good and very educational.  Everyone had a great time at the Sunshine Coasts biggest aquarium, Underwater World.   

Today the TAP students had their first surfing lesson at Noosa Main Beach.

At first students were a little nervous, but after some instructions on the beach they were eager to get into the water and give it a go.  Kio was the first to stand up and showed his class mates how to ride the waves with style. 

Shikino and Chihiro were great surfers too, the instructor (Stephan) was surprised and impressed how well they surfed for their first time on a surfboard.  Even though Hiroki was the shortest he showed everyone that he could be a great surfer as well, perhaps to his advantage a lower centre of gravity that allows for a greater balance.

At one point Hiroki said with a smiling face “Peter! I can’t touch sand.”  But he was not scared he was ready to catch the next wave. Akiko and Haruka said they had a good time surfing and wanted to go again next week.  In the end everyone was catching waves and standing tall riding their surfboards.  Wave of the day went to Kenyu, his last wave was a beauty.

The cricket pitch was drawn up and the TAP team was ready to play one of Australia’s most popular summer games, Beach Cricket. 

With some instructions and rules explained it wasn’t long before our students were hitting sixers, bowling stumps and catching out their class mates.  The game was great and all students had a chance to bowl, bat and field.  Hiroki and Mewa were so excited that they continued with teacher Nathan for some practice after the game had finished.

Kio excelled in the water with some excellent swimming showing he was the fastest swimmer, he even managed to beat both teachers with his speedy swimming style, he is truly a fish in the water. 

After a hit of cricket and swimming it was time to buy an ice cream before heading back to the college.  A great way to finish off a typical Aussie style afternoon at the beach.         

This morning GV Noosa welcomed the new TAP students to Noosa.

The students were a little nervous at first but quickly settled making new friends with their class mates.  The students adventured in the Noosa National Park with their teachers Peter and Nathan.  They enjoyed the beautiful walk with spectacular views and even spotted a koala on entering the national park. 

As we walked around Chihiro couldn’t believe how hot it was, she said “It’s very, very, very hot.”  During  the walk Haruka stood in a big puddle by accident which was quite funny.  The final destination of the walk was the famous Hells Gates, all of the students were amazed at how beautiful the ocean and beaches were from the top of the cliff face. 

On the returning walk the students saw many different animals including a snake, koala’s and a variety of birds.  Hiroki happened to mention to the others on the walk that he had seen a platypus (an Australian animal) in a Japanese Zoo.  On returning the students were very happy to enjoy a cool drink after a scenic walk through Noosa’s National Park.

TAP students at Global Village in Noosa are always enjoying fantastic activities.  Today they were out on the river for a spot of Pontoon Boating.

For some students it was their first time behind the wheel of a motor powered vessel.  The excitement of navigating through the pristine waters of Noosa River alongside million dollar catamaran yachts and waving to people passing by on other boats.

We motored along the river to Tewantin before turning back and heading to the river mouth, here the ocean meets the river.  All students took a turn at the helm some only for a little while.  Akira was at the wheel when we were bounced over the wake of two passing boats.  Water rushed in over the deck and wet everyone, students hooted and laughed at the two boats as they quickly motored away. 

It was time to take the group to a secret sand island that is only above sea level at low tide!  We cast off the bow lines and anchored for some exploring of this sandy land that would soon again be the bottom of the river.  Students searched through the shallows looking for crabs, fish and other creatures of the sea. 

A large flock of Sea Terns (native birds) spooked by our presence took flight and chased through the air until they decided on a less busy part of the island to land upon.  Moe’ found a larger Spanner Crab and impressed all her friends by catching it with her hands. 

“All aboard!”  It was time to leave.  Our visit to the lost land in the middle of Noosa River was over.  Now it was time to head back to port.  Which is actually left when you are boating.  Somehow I’m not convinced that Akira understood that when he was driving the boat!

Australians take their sport very seriously and it would seem that students from Josei Gakuen also take their sport just as serious, especially on sports day.

Josei Gakuen students joined forces today with PBC students at their annual sports carnival. Tug of war, high jump, shotput and javelin were only a few of the events that the girls took part in. A brand new discipline for our Japanese guests was definitely the “Welly”, the throwing of a rubber boot, not as easy as it sounds, be assured. Anyway, it was a great day that ended with cheerful dancing to earn some extra house points.