Transcript – Loyola College
Images: students and tours, voice over
Loyola College has for many years committed to the development of its students as
global citizens. The College has developed sister school partnerships with schools
in France, Italy and Indonesia. These relationships have developed over the years
and all have unique traits.
Setting: Principal’s office, principal input
At Loyola we have three sister schools, one for each of the three languages we
teach. We have biannual exchanges. One year we go to the school, the other year
they come to us. The programs vary a little bit.
Our sister school in Italy is also a culinary school. Therefore, they send us a group
annually that does a vocational experience with us because we teach VET
Hospitality and they send us a language group every second year. That is an
interesting program. With the vocational program, they actually stay here for a
month and do two weeks of school and they do a two-week work experience in city
hotels either as chefs or front of house.
Our sister school in France is in Avignon. It is a Catholic school, St Jean Baptiste
De La Salle. We have had a relationship with them now for probably four years. We
share that school with another Catholic school here in Melbourne, Penola Catholic
College.
The third sister school is Santa Laurensia in Jakarta, in Indonesia. It is our newest
sister school. We have done only one exchange with them, and they have come to
us twice and that is a Catholic independent school in Indonesia. Very good
relationships are emerging through the relationship.
Images: students and tours, voice over
The aim of the Sister School Partnerships is to develop confidence and intercultural
competence in the students.
Other initiatives that sustain or contribute to the success of the partnerships
include immersion teaching with the AIM and CLIL programs, the opportunity to
undertake two foreign languages from Year 9, the celebration of Harmony Day and
native language assistants on staff for all languages offered. Community
involvement in additional initiatives contributes to the growing student interest and
awareness of language learning and intercultural understanding.
Loyola College student engage with the Indonesian community in the From Dawn
to Dusk musical event held at the Melbourne Conference Centre.
Setting: Classroom, student input
We as a society have a responsibility to share and respect each other’s cultures,
which is something that we can achieve through a sister school partnership. My
host family experience has changed my life. Seeing their family dynamic as a
foreigner is really an opening experience.
Images: students and tours, voice over
The partnerships are essentially about getting students to understand as language
learners they are in the third place, a place from which they interact, learn new
languages, and understand new cultures.
In additional to improved student outcomes the partnerships offer professional
learning opportunities for staff. Teachers are able to present lessons to the foreign
students and participate in teacher shadowing. Teachers partake in evaluations
and this feedback is used to guide future programs.
Images: students and tours, voice over
An allocation of funds for tour expenses is made in the annual budget. When
Loyola travels overseas the host schools cover all expenses and Loyola offers the
same to visiting schools.
A Whole School Approach ensures that the opportunities for cultural
understanding and enrichment are offered to all. The experiences of the visiting
students are not limited to languages classes, visiting students pull on football
boots and play a game of Aussie Rules, they pick up a paintbrush and create
Aboriginal inspired masterpieces and they put on an apron and whip up
lamingtons and Anzac biscuits. Parents are an integral part of the program and
they are invited a thank you dinner that acknowledges the hospitality they have
offered to the exchange students.
Images: students and tours, voice over
Languages studies in conjunction with the Sister School Partnership Programs
have provided the students with a myriad of opportunities that have seen them
engage with new cultures and deepen intercultural understanding in remarkable
ways.