News From The International Department

In Term 2 this year we have a theme of “UNIQUE ME” for the international student group. A big group of international students by now have met high expectations or made great progress, among whom are Kanako Hara (from Japan) and Chao Yang (from China). Here are the “unique” messages from them.

Kanako Hara from Japan Yr 13

At Western Springs, I got the opportunity to develop myself to my best potential. I have explored myself in various subject areas and really enjoy the wide range of the courses, from Dance to Digital Technology, Food Technology and Economics. Last year the Dance class and its showcase helped me develop a lot more passion and motivation. Food Technology is what I couldn’t learn in Japan. Teachers have made it interesting and it was not just about cooking. My parents and I are very satisfied with what has been offered at Western Springs College. Teachers know well about me and they have got genuine interests in students and provide detailed support. Therefore, after I completed Year 11, I extended my study at Western Springs. At Western Springs, the individualized course design has been made possible for individual students. For example, although I was at Year 12 in 2018 last year, I was allowed to study the cross-level courses such as Year 11 Digital Technology and Year 13 Dance. And in 2019, I was allowed to skip to Year 13 Digital Technology and also take Year 13 Calculus and Year 13 Economics directly. Mr Jeung knows that I am aiming to achieve “Excellent”. He was always able to help me when I approached to him or when I was working on my tasks during the lunch time.  My teachers always have confidence and patience in me, and keep giving me a lot of support with clear and professional instructions every time when I ask questions. Since I didn’t study Year 11 and Year 12 Economics, Mr Griffin posted some teaching resources on YouTube or told me some links for my self-study. I watched nearly all the videos he introduced and now can catch up well with the class. Also I didn’t study Statistics before. Ms Petra Tang knows about my background and assist me to understand the concept and some detailed questions. Without the teachers’ extraordinary help, I couldn’t make my goal achievable

Frank Chao Yang from China Year 13

I studied at an international school in China, which was in a partnership with a Canadian high school. I enjoyed studying there. I thought I was at the best school. But my life at Western Springs is so positive and far beyond my expectation. It has opened a completely new world for me. I really enjoyed Digital Technology, and Graphic Design which I studied last year. My teacher Mr Jeung sometimes joined our discussions even at late night, provided feedback and encouraged us to do more research for better development for certain assignment and project. My Maths teacher Mr Watt seems to have got a routine job of asking me whether there are any other parts I do not understand that are covered in class because I used to ask him questions after class. I was very interested in Physics when I was younger, but I didn’t study a lot about it at school. Here, I found myself lucky to have Ms Rosa, my Physics teacher, who always welcomes my questions and provides detailed help. I sometimes also ask the Teacher Aide Ms Vivian regarding some difficult questions in Physics as she provides bilingual support. For Photography, I also learned a lot. I was leading a photography club at my school in China. I found it hard at the beginning at the Photography class and didn’t get the concept why we were supposed to produce a kind of “story” portfolio instead of just focusing on producing each individual art work. But I have got it now and learned something new, and am aiming to achieve well. With all the help I received from the teachers and my homestay parents at Western Springs, I have become a more confident, independent and motivated person.