Multi Ethnic Extravaganza

On Saturday, the students went on a parade through town in their traditional dress and waving their flags. They had fun and looked great :) Here is Arisa to tell you more about it:

This day, me and my Japanese friends were wearing Yukata. It was hard to wear by myself. We walked up Devon Street for 20 minutes. There were so many people watching us. After this parade we rode on buses and went to Racecourse. There so many food carts so I ate many things. I was happy that I could eat bubble tea  after a long absence. I was really happy this day. 

Welcome Pool Party

All our Internationals had a wonderful time at a host family pool party. Huge thank you to the Larsen family.

Welcome to the new Internationals

We warmly welcome students from Chile, Japan, South Korea, Germany, China and France.

Tabloid Sports Day

In the good weather last week the new Internationals watched the tabloid sports.

Over the Summer period Arisa from Japan paid a visit to the South Island where she completed a Sky Dive and Bungy Jump! Good on you Arisa, that view is stunning!

Anna and Anthea from Germany

Yesterday we said goodbye to Anna and Anthea, both Year 11 girls who joined us from Germany for terms 3 and 4.
They have both embraced the Kiwi way of life with passion, have made many new friends, and experienced some new challenges like surfing, preparing and laying a Hangi and performing a Maori song and dance in front of homestay families and friends from many schools.
We will miss these girls and look forward to hearing of their future endeavours.

Film review - Moana

Film review from Year 11 German student - Anthea Tillmann

Film review – Moana 04/12/2018
I watched today the Disney-animated film “Moana”. It’s a film from the year 2016, 107 minutes long and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The theme song is “How far I’ll go” by Auli’i Cravalho and by Alessia Cara.
The film tells the story about Moana, who lives on a beautiful island in the South Pacific. She is the daughter of the chief of the village. When she was a very young girl, her grandma told her the story about a legendary demigod, Maui, who stole thousands of years ago the heart of a Te Fiti, a goddess who keeps the ocean alive. Moana became the chosen one who should bring the heart of the ocean back. She got it from her grandma. When she was stranded after a storm on a lonely island, she met the missing demigod Maui. Who helped her to bring it back. They made it and the islands stopped dying.
It is a very cute film, a family film. We learned about the culture with is a little bit similar to the Maori one. There are funny scenes but sad ones as well.
Summarised: It’s a good film, worth to watch it.

Anthea Tillmann

Tawhiti Museum

On Friday the 30^th November two of the international girls from NP Girls High and me drove to Hawera to visit the Tawhiti Museum. After we arrived the first thing we did was to go on a boat ride to see how life was like in Taranaki before the English settlers arrived. It was really interesting to see the conflicts between the different tribes and it was great to see how much effort the owner put into such an amazing boat ride. After we finished the boat ride we went off and had a look at all the old tractors that the owner collected. It was really interesting to see all the different stories behind the tractors and how tractors changed during the 20^thcentury. 

After that we went to see a different part of the exhibition: The history of Taranaki presented in a series of super realistic and engaging displays. The museum uses life size figures and scale models to present the heritage of Taranaki which makes it unique. The little figures are so fascinating and even all the little details are shown. It was amazing to read all the stories behind the displays and see the connection between an artist during the war and the displays. I can definitely speak for all of us and say that it was a great experience and we all learned more about the history of Taranaki, which is our home right now. 

Anna Zumegen - Year 11

Baking with Mr Zimmerman

You can't get more Kiwi than a Pavlova so this week a group of our girls met up with Mr Zimmerman to learn how to create their very own Pavlova Roll.  The girls got very creative with decorating and all created their own unique rolls which they took home to share with their host families.

Learning how to pipe

The end result

Surfing with Daisy

This week a group of our students went Surfing with Daisy.  Here is what they had to say about their experience, 

On Monday some of the internationals from Girls High and Sacred Heart Girls College and I  went surfing at Fitzroy Beach. We all met at Mrs Wootton’s office at 2pm from where we went down to Fitzroy Beach. We met Daisy, who is the surf teacher at Fitzroy Beach, and Linda, who is an apprentice from Sweden. 

First of all we put on our wetsuits, due to the water still being very cold and to protect our knees while we were surfing. When we were finished getting changed all the internationals took some photos with surfboards as a memory of our time here. After that we went down to the beach and had an introduction and went straight into the water. Some of us had been surfing before others had not but nevertheless we all could stand up within the first twenty minutes. Although, it was quite a challenge due to it being very windy down at the beach. Linda and Daisy helped us catch waves and it was a lot of fun. We almost spent one and a half hours in the water but I think I can speak for all and say that we could have stayed in there for much longer. It was a great experience and lot of fun. I am looking forward going surfing next Tuesday and hope it is going to be even more fun and another great experience during our time in New Zealand. Anna Zumegen - Germany

On Monday, we went to Fitzroy beach and went surfing with NPGHS international students, Sacred Heart international students and another man. First we met our teachers and changed into wet suits. I have never done surfing so I was so excited. Sometimes I drank the sea water and it was very salty. Everyone initially couldn't ride on the surfboard, but finally everyone could stand up. I think it was a good experience and great time. Arisa Odagiri - Japan    

Last week some of our International Girls went on a Marae visit out to Oakura where they had a fabulous day learning about Maori Culture.
They spent the day learning language, values, song and dance.  They also were lucky enough to experience the beautiful Maori Hangi for their dinner which they helped to prepare and see the cooking process.  This was shared with the girls' host families.
After dinner the girls performed for the families and guests using Poi for dance.
The girls had an amazing day and did exceptionally well in their performance.

Reflections

Before I came here, I was very nervous. Nervous about the school, my host family, if I would find friends at school and how my life would change. But after a few days, I calmed down. My host family was the best I could get, school was way less strict than my school at home in Germany and I found great friends already on my first day. My life changed in many ways: I’m living in a way smaller home than in Germany, my host mum is a single parent and of course I’m speaking English all day. My parents are on the other side of the world and I couldn’t just walk in the next room to talk with them. I must wait until I can reach someone on Skype. But my life changed in many good ways as well: school starts between 60 and 80 minutes later than in Germany, I have way more freedom, I matured, and I experienced so many adventures.
Adventures are a big point of my stay here. I went to Auckland twice, I went to Wellington, Hamilton, Taupo, Waitomo, Rotorua, Tongariro National Park, Tiritiri Matangi Island and so many other places. I did White and Black water rafting, speedboating, hikes ... New Zealand is one big adventure. Here in New Plymouth I’ve done some cool stuff as well: surfing, driving up and around Mount Taranaki, hanging out with my friends and having fun parties. But even small or less important things were little adventures for me: going to the supermarket for the first time, driving through the city and looking around the shops in centre city. Everything which was completely normal for my host family or everybody else was totally new for me.
My stay here was rather spontaneous. My mom brought up the idea of a stay in another country. I had just come back from a four-week-stay in the United States. She made the suggestion I could go for half a year or a year away. At first, I was not very enthusiastic. In my opinion, a year or even half a year was way too long. My maximum at that time was 3 months. But my mom convinced me to do 5 months. And I’m now very thankful for that. It’s amazing how time flies here.
In conclusion, these five months were the best I’ve ever had. It was not always perfect, I had ups and downs, good and bad days. It wasn’t always easy, it’s not always as perfect as it seems. But the clue is: do the best, YOUR best! And never give up. And if you have a bad day or a bad week, don’t worry. Times get better! Talk with your host family or your family at home, your friends here or at home or with your teachers. Don't let yourself get dragged down and look forward. Take all chances and opportunities you can get. Be positive and your stay will be great!
Anthea 2018

International Farewell

Last night we sadly said farewell to five International students. Anna and Anthea from Germany who have been studying with us for a short stay, and Phinyada from Thailand, Jingchen from China and Maymay from China who have all been studying with us for a number of years. We hope you have had a wonderful time here and please stay in touch. You have brought our school many wonderful new perspectives and ideas.

We also sadly farewell Ms. Blackwell our senior ESOL teacher and teacher in charge of ESOL. She has been at NPGHS for 16 years and in the ESOL department for 13 years. She is not retiring but is going to be spending time being creative and following the direction of her heart. We wish you all the best and send you with love onto your next journey. Thank you for the tremendous contribution you have made to our school.

Welcome to Mayo From Japan

Welcome to our new International student from Japan. Mayo (middle), we hope you will be happy here :)