International Relationships

Over the recent school holidays, I was privileged to be a part of the 2019 Japan Trip, where 20 Senior College students embarked on a two week cultural experience in Japan. This biennial trip, which has been going since 2005, has positively affected many lives (both in Australia and in Japan) through the sharing of cultures, traditions and experiences.

Although the students talk about the friendships formed, the visiting of different cities and the shopping and sight-seeing; there is more to the trip than what meets the eye. What most do not realise at the time, is the strength of connections formed between the two countries, across a range of different areas. The connections between staff and students are not just superficial, with many of the host families still in contact with Pacific staff and students long after the trip ends. In some cases, Pacific families travel back to Japan to spend more time with their host families, even years after the experience. Seishin students have also been known to do the same, visiting their Australian hosts in return. Past Japanese Teacher Assistants who have worked at Pacific, even for brief periods of time, are always eager to catch up with the Pacific travelling group due to the strong international bonds that have been formed through these partnerships.

In a world where globalisation is now the norm, the Pacific Japan Trip provides students with many great opportunities. Pacific greatly values the forging of international relationships, as also demonstrated by our engagement in various exchange programs. Recently, Camilla Barstad and Chloe Mear undertook a 12-month Rotary student exchange and the lessons that they learnt and taught us were invaluable. Similarly, this week we proudly welcomed our Seishin exchange students to Pacific for Term 3, Koki and Ikumi, and look forward to the experiences that we can all share. The opportunities that we are offered for building international relationships, as well as the tremendous benefits of them, are enormous. It is up to each one of us to make the most of them. We encourage all students and families to fully engage with these experiences to learn more about others in this global age.

Thank you to Mrs Michiko Hauser for her organisation and leadership of these important cultural experiences.

Over the next four weeks, all Year 7-12 students will have their photos taken in their Pastoral Care Groups for the College magazine. It is important to note that all must dressed in full formal winter uniform, with blazers (Senior College students) and ties. Please check carefully for the dates that each group is required for photos. Reminders will be in student notices in the lead up to each photo morning. All students will need to be on time to morning PCG in order to be in the photos.

• Bula: Bula 5-8 taken this week and Bula 1-4 TBA
• Wira: Week 4 and 5 – Wira 1-4 on Monday 5^th August and Wira 5-8 on Monday 12^th August
• Mumba: Week 6 – Mumba 1-4 on Monday 19^th August and Mumba 5-8 on Thursday 22^nd August

The Year 12 house photos will be taken on Thursday 1^st August during their Christian Studies lesson in Period 4.

The Year 7-12 Athletics Carnival will be held this Friday 26^th July. We wish all students the very best on the day. It is sure to be a fun and exciting carnival once again and we all look forward to the comradery, house spirit and quality of competition.

Mr Mark Hauser, Head of Senior College Students