Teacher Exchange

My days at St Leonards

2007-03-22T22:48:00.001-07:00

Day 2
The lovely day
I’m in the ELC (Early Learning Centre). It’s a lovely area for kids. I can see through the window, everybody is busy. Parents are dropping off their children, the students are putting their bag away, putting folder away, taking off jacket and so on. Students look so happy doing activities such as puzzles and construction toys before starting their lesson.

Kerrie begins the lesson and talks to the students about the community around them. She introduces me. Later I share about traditional music namely ANGKLUNG. Most of the students are interested. They enjoy watching DVD about Angklung. Before lunch I go to another class. They are finishing their PYP portfolio for their current unit of inquiry. I see the teacher complement the students using the learner profile and attitudes when students tidy up before leaving. (Responsible, independent, commitment)

Year 3/4 planning
This is a little bit different from my school. I’ve got half day for planning and a teacher from other year level will be filling in for me in my classroom. St Leonard’s gives the teachers a whole day for planning and the specialists will take over the lessons on that day. Teachers need to be a thinker when they are planning using the new PYP planner. Well done!

Year 2
Year 2 use the monopoly as an artefact. The children have brought seven different monopolies from different countries such as Germany, Singapore, Holland, Switzerland and Australia. They play and compare it. A lovely activity.

Day 3
The wonderful day
I spent most of my time in the secondary building. This morning Kerry Ambrose (Indonesian teacher) picked me up to go to the classroom. With Ibu Ana, we taught three different classes in year 11 and year 12.
The first class:
Discuss among student teacher (Mrs Lou) and us about Western lifestyle and Indonesian youth.
The second class:
We did a game about how to recognise friends and silent birthday. There are students who have been risk takers wearing kebaya. It’s lovely because the kebaya is fixed to her body. She pretends to be a Javanese women walking in the traditional ceremony. Later Ibu Ana tells them about ‘WAYANG’ and traditional costume from Jogja. It’s wonderful because she also tells the students about Pandawa.
The third class:
We had a discussion about Indonesia. I am very proud when other people from overseas have learnt about Indonesian culture.

Note: We delivered lessons in Indonesian as much as possible.

Day 4
The terrific day
As usual, I arrive at school at 7.45am. I check email and get ready for morning tea. During the first session I visit prep class. They are so cute. (Suddenly I remember my daughters in Indonesia. Oh I miss them). They do writing letters with the first letter ‘i’. As a class teacher, I do some checking and marking, lovely. Next I go to the year 1. They have a maths lesson. Numeration. The teacher tries to implement inquiry as much as possible. Maths happens in the classroom. Both the students and teachers are very enthusiastic. They explore the concept of numbers through domino cards.

Kahurangi performance:
The students went to the Multi-Purpose Room to see a performance by a group of Maori native people. They take the students on a journey through the many Pacific Islands and demonstrate some language and dance. It was wonderful to watch.

This afternoon we went with Keith (PYP Coordinator at St Leonard’s) into the city. We go and visit St Paul’s Cathedral opposite Flinders Street Station. This church was very big and very old. It had beautiful furniture inside. I enjoyed seeing this very much. Thank you Keith. Next he took us to buy some souvenirs and to a book shop. We bought some things to take home with us.

PD: First step Reading & Writing
After school the staff all went to the library to listen to Anne Hammond talk about the new edition of the First Steps Reading and Writing documents. They will help the teachers to assessment and teach to the individual needs of the children.

Presentation
I share what we have been doing about SGJ’s community service. I’m a little bit nervous. In fact, all of the teachers are paying attention to this presentation. This presentation tells the St Leonard’s Primary staff about action beyond the classroom.

Day 5
The great day
Today is the best day for me at St Leonard’s College Melbourne. During morning tea, Jane Britten as Head of Junior School led the farewell for us. It will be very sad to leave but we have had a great time.

A Great Performance from Maori “Kahurangi”

2007-03-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

The sun was shining so bright. Ibu Jane and I always come earlier than other teachers. We arrive at school around 7.15.

I visited Prep D where Ibu Bernadette teaches. She read a story “The Scrubbing Machine”. The children enjoyed the story. After that she divided the children into 4 groups: writing, reading, drawing and vocabulary – word bank.

At 9.30 Ibu Bernadette took the children to the Multipurpose Room to watch a special performance with other students. The performance was provided by the school. It was a wonderful performance. The performers came from Maori backgrounds and they lived in New Zealand. The dancers and singers brought their special instruments to play. Every performance used different costumes. They taught us some Maori words and everybody loved it. It was easy to understand the songs and the movements because they explained it clearly to us before they did each dance. Before the last performance they choose one student and a teacher to try some dance movements using a long stick on the stage (sorry I forget the name of the equipment). The performance took about one and a half hours.
Teachers and students looked exited and enthusiastic to watch from the start til the last performance.

Wow……. I have had another great opportunity to learn more about another culture. It showed that St Leonard’s is focusing on internationalism and helping their students become more appreciative and be more open minded people and also to respect their own native culture.

It is similar to our school; Global Jaya had a special week to learn about other cultures. It can be from our native cultures (Indonesian Culture Week) or it can be from other countries (Cultural Week).During that time each year level does some activities based on the culture that they have chosen. The students learn about the languages, customs, foods, costumes etc. We invite a guest speaker also. Then at the end of activities we have a short Assembly.

After school day Endang and I attended on First Steps Reading and Writing PD by Anne Hammond. She gave us some tips on how to record and assess children’s work in reading and writing.

Arrival in Melbourne

2007-03-21T18:07:00.000-07:00

Hello…..my name is Anna Yohanna but you can call me Anna. I am one of the year 3 teachers at Sekolah Global Jaya, Indonesia. I have been working at Global Jaya since July 1998. This is a great opportunity for us to join the Teacher Exchange Program and this is the second year of our school involvement in this program. We would like to share something about Indonesia especially our cultures (foods, costumes, beliefs, languages and many things). I brought some special things from Indonesia, such as “blangkon” some kind of traditional hat from Central Java, pictures of the characters in “wayang kulit” (shadow puppet), books about Indonesia and “wayang golek”(another type of puppet from Sundaness -West Java), ‘kebaya ( a traditional blouse for woman) and kain”(some kind of sarong for woman).

Endang (my other friend in this program) and I arrived on Friday night after 7 hours on the plane. On that day back at our school they were still doing the second day of Student Led Conference. We met Ibu Jane Lukaitis and Ibu Bernadette around 10 o’clock.

This is the first time we have been to Australia. We keep wondering what the people are doing and why this city is so quite. It is different, totally different to Jakarta where we live. In Jakarta we can see many people and cars on the road. It is always hot in Jakarta especially in the dry season.

I am staying at Ibu Jane’s home in Brighton. She has a wonderful family.

On the 17th of March, the first day the weather was a little bit cloudy. Ibu Jane took us to Healesville Sanctuary (the weather it was like one of the places in Puncak, Bogor – a close city to Jakarta) and she walked us around Melbourne city too.

In Jakarta we have a place that looked similar to Healesville, we call “Taman Mini Indonesia Indah”(Mini Garden of Indonesian) in East Jakarta. There we can see different kinds of traditional houses, native animals, plants, types of Indonesian flower, traditional dance performances, museums and many things. The TMII opens on Tuesday until Sunday (they close on Monday).

Endang and I were impressed and enthusiastic to know everything about Melbourne.

The second day, Sunday morning the sky was bright. It made me feel a lot warmer than yesterday. Ibu Jane took me to Ibu Bernadette’s place.

The three of us walked along the beach then we had breakfast on St Kilda Pier. On that day Melbourne had the FINA International Swimming Competition and Grand Prix Race.

After we had breakfast Ibu Bernadette took us on her brother in-law’s yacht. I was so lucky because he let us try driving the yacht. It was an unforgettable moment for me. Unfortunately I am afraid on the water and afraid to drive a car but I drove the yacht to the West Gate Bridge. It meant I became more of a risk taker and confident person. I have tried many new things here and I might try something else too.

Day-1: The Cool Day

2007-03-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Intermezzo:
Hai, my name is Endang. I have been teaching at Sekolah Global Jaya, Indonesia for more 10 years. Classes I have taught are year 4, year 5 and year 6. Now, I am a year 5 class teacher. I am so lucky that my school give me chance to go to St Leonard's College in Melbourne. I said to myself, my dream is coming true.
Since I departure from The Soekarno-Hatta Aiport Jakarta to the Melbourne, I can't stop thinking and asking myself about everything regarding the teacher exchange program. What do people in St Leonard's College look like? (Form), How does the school work?(Function), How is the St Leonard's College connected to Sekolah Global Jaya?(Connection), What are the points of view of St Leonard's College about "multiculturalism"? (Perspective), What is my responsibility to keep 'friendship' amongst us?(Responsibility) and How do I know that we are in an IB world school?(Reflection).
Don't be wondering, as PYP teacher wherever I go, I always keep in mind the key concepts and related questions. Eh...ah!

Day 1- the cool day
Like a new student, I little bit nervous to go to school. In fact, all of my problem has gone, because all of teachers and staff in St Leonard's are so kind. Thank you for accepting me. After wellcome by Keith and Jane, I get school tour. Keith guide us to go arround ELC (Early Learning Center) and primary building. It is a wonderful school facility.

Selanjutnya aku mengunjungi kelas 3. Ada dua kelas paralel.Mereka sedang belajar tentang membaca. Mereka menggunakan metode "Rotation activities". Terlihat sangat menarik. Anak-anak antusias mengikutinya. Selain kelas 3, aku juga ke kelas 4. Kelas 4 juga menyajikan suatu kegiatan yang menarik lewat 'rotation activities' dalam pelajaran Matematika. satu hal yang menarik saya melihat, guru begitu menekankan problem solving bagian dari berpikir matematika.

Akhirnya kita sampai di akhir pelajaran yaitu assembly. Mereka menyebutnya mini assembly, yaitu kelompok kelas 1 dan 2 serta kelompok kelas 3 dan 4. Semuanya menyajikan pertunjukan yang bagus. Pada kesempatan kelompok 3 dan 4, kami diberi kesempatan berbagi pengalaman. Pada saat ini pula kami memutar DVD suatu film dokumenter karya kelas 5 Sekolah Global Jaya yang berjudul "Angklung". Video ini dibuat dalam rangka Panasonic Competition tingkat nasional tahun 2006. Murid-murid St Leonard's sangat menikmati video tersebut.

Endang Puji Astutik
Sekolah Global Jaya

WELCOME

2007-03-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

The Community of St Leonard's College would like to warmly welcome Anna and Endang. We hope that they enjoy their stay in Melbourne. The staff and students of St Leonard's College look forward to hearing all about Indonesia and Sekolah Global Jaya.

Moslem Celebration-Hari Raya Idul Fitri

2006-10-24T04:34:00.000-07:00

Today is the day for all moslem to celebrate the end of the fasting month. It is usually called 'Hari Raya Idul Fitri'. We started the day by going to the mosque to pray together with other people. We are lucky as there is a mosque in the neighbourhood so we don't have to go far but walking. After that, we went home and had breakfast together before we went to relatives to get together and meet the rest of the extended family.

We have special food for this day, called 'Ketupat'. It is made of rice, cooked in a 'diamond shaped' coconut leaves. We usually eat it with some kind of curry, beef and or chicken. Very tasty and rich, as it uses alot of coconut milk.

As you can see from the picture, children from the neighbourhood were very excited they hit the 'Bedug' (could be made out of a barrel) to make some special sound that you can hear during that day. Bedug is usually used daily to call people to pray.

It is a custom to try and taste the host's food whereever you go, so it is so easy to indulge yourself into some nice and tasty food, delicious cookies and nice drinks. Unlike Christmas where you usually have the big dinner or lunch at one designated place, during the 'Hari Raya Idul Fitri', we can go to few homes in one day and maybe do it again on the day after.

I hope the pictures could give you all some ideas of what does it look like, by the way the picture of food was taken from my own family, so you get to see what my favourite food is like...Yummm!

Hamidah
PYP coordinator
Sekolah Global Jaya

Thank you, Jane

2006-10-22T05:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone in St.Leonards

My name is Hamidah and I am the PYP coordinator at Sekolah Global Jaya. I had a great time with Jane Lukaitis, as she came with lots of ideas and openess to share with us here in jakarta, Indonesia.

We are looking forward to sending our teachers to St.Leonards, to have the same experience as Jane had here at our school.

At the moment, moslem people in Indonesia are getting ready to welcome the 'Hari Raya Idul Fitri', to end the fasting month we had been having for the past 4 weeks. Global Jaya will start school again on November 1, 2006.

Once again, thanks to Jane for all the fun we had together, for sharing her ideas, for being open minded to everything she experienced here and to all students in St.Leonards who posted some comments and I hope we can keep in touch to learn from each other and to share some of the learning experiences we have from both schools and more importantly, from both countries.

Photo information: from left to right (Me, Jane, Dewi-PYP associate and Kathryn Young-Expatriate Primary Principal)

Final moments

2006-09-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

My journey here is nearing the end. It's been an absolute delight to be a part of this fabulous teaching team and to share in their PYP journey.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff, children and parent community of Global Jaya for welcoming me so warmly into their school and for making my stay here so rewarding. This exchange experience creates opportunities for us to grow and develop our awareness and understanding of the world, and makes us aware of the responsiblities we have as global citizens.
It's not goodbye but until we meet again!

Day4 Student Led Conferences

2006-09-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hi to everyone,
7:00am
Time is slowly drawing to a close. I can't believe how much I have managed to fit into such a short period. Spent yesterday nursing a gurgly tummy. Nothing that kept me from doing things, but I just felt out of sorts and ate very little.
Global Jay had a small farewell assembly for me where they presented me with the most beautiful Indonesian batik. I read Wombat Stew to the children with the help of a few year 6's using the puppets. Chris McNamara would have been proud! The students just loved it and were chanting the rhyme by the end of the story. They really are the most gorgeuos bunch of children. Each morning I am greeted with "selamat pagi Ibu Jane", "good morning Ibu Jane". As with children all over the world, they love learning, they love their friends, they love their teachers(!), they love chatting, they love games and they love new challenges. I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of their school lives. We all agree here that one week is much too short!
Preparation for SLC were well underway yesterday with staff working at a frantic pace to complete corrections, put up displays and tidy rooms. It reminded me of Open Night!
Went to a night market with Ibu Mida, Ibu Juni and Ibu Dewi, David and Carmel. It was actually a collection of stalls set up between the shops inside a huge shopping centre. There were cars and people everywhere with plenty of things to see and buy. Not feeling the greatest, I was a little overwhelmed by the options available to me and didn't see anything that jumped out saying "Buy me, buy me!" Consequently, my wallet stayed in my pocket. My Indonsesian friends chose Italian for dinner and shared a pizza and garlic bread. I drank iced tea.
8:30am
SLC's are now well on the way and the children are all engrossed in sharing their learning with their parents. The atmoshphere in and around the rooms is one of total focus and commitment to the purpose of being there. It's a sheer delight to observe!
Will be sitting down with Ibu Mida and Ibu Kathryn this afternoon to go through their documentation, gathering ideas that will be useful to us at StLeonard's. A quiet night at home is planned for this evening. Well at this stage anyway! So long for now.

Day 3 Preparing for SLC

2006-09-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Hi to all. Had my first Indonesian coffee yeasterday. James, one of the expat teachers took us to a gorgeous little coffee shop where they roast and make all their own coffee. I was very impressed and it almost felt like home except for the fact that the humidity outside was about 80%. Ibu Kathryn, the Junior Head had me over for dinner along with a few other Global Jaya teachers. We had a lovely meal and chat. Most of the expatriate teachers have maids and drivers that cook, clean, iron and drive them around. The lifestyle is very different and I'm sure it doesn't take long to slip into the comfort of it. I came home from school yesterday and Nitta had washed and ironed all by clothes (including ironed knickers!)
Have just spent the morning with Year 6 watching them go through the routines of sharing their portfolio with their parents and the formalities of introducing their parents to their teacher. took a small group into the quiet area and used TTYPA..., the thinkers keys and a PMI with them to get their personal opinion of Student Led Conferences. Most of the children agreed that they enjoyed showing their parents the work they'd done and that they felt proud when their parents were pleased with their efforts and their score. I finished the session with a game from the Games Workshop. They loved it. Tonight I am going to a street market that's exclusively for women. Could prove to be very costly! Looking forward to observing the children during their conferences tomorrow. I also hope to go exploring along some of the little streets and alleyways that surround the school.Talk again tomorrow. xo

Day 2

2006-09-11T23:34:00.000-07:00

Hi to everyone in the St Leonard"s community. I'm glad you all managed to decode my last entry. Have just reread it and didn't realise it had so many typo errors in it! Couldn't find the spellcheck on the blogger, so will try a little harder to make my mind keep up with my fingers. Actually, it was a test for the Year 4's to see how many errors they could pick up!!.
This is a very late entry toda. Unfortunatley I have no access to the internet at my host house and we headed off at 7:00 am this for the PYP Dunia (world) network meeting at Sekola Pelita Harapan, another PYP school situated in another part of Jakarta. There were representatives from all over Indonesia: Bali; Jakarta, West Java and it was a wonderful opportunity to speak and listen to all they had to share about their PYP journey. Most of the people there were coordinators for their respective schools. I did us proud! I was asked to speak a little bit about the exchange program between Global Jaya and our school and after yesterday's presentation to the staff here, I'm feeling pretty comfortable about public speaking. The tapping is working!
I gave them a brief overview of the types of PD inservices and workshops available to us and then had them up and moving: used the attitude cardsI use with year 4 for some spontaneous role plays; showed them our draft critical thinking scope and sequence and then got them to work in groups using the thinkers keys; played some games for the workshop and also talked briefly about BrainGym. It's very hard to be effective in 1 hour but they all seemed to enjoy it and were very positive.
With that stress out of the way, Carmel and I went to a 'Salon' for a well earned body massage. Sheer bliss! Although it was quite firm and certain parts she touched were very tender, I just floated out of there when it finished.
I am now about to visit year3 and observe them pracitising for thier Student Led conference. I hope my awsome year 4's are having a wonderful time. It certainly sounds like it. Many thanks for all your messages. I will endeavour to get onto the net by 7:00 tomorrow so you can access this earlier. Stay happy and remember to make the most of every moment!

Global Jaya Day 1

2006-09-10T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone back at St Leonard's College. I have arrived! I spent the long plane journey ocuupying myself with the usual things you do on a plane: eating, watching video, eating sleeping, eating! Managed to have a reflexology foot massage in Singapaore between flight, which certaily rejuvinated me. Well my feet at least! From the moments I stepped off the plane my time here in Indonesia has been go, go, go! Was met By Ibu Mida at the airport and taken to a wonderful chinese restaurant for some scrumptious authentic chinese cuisine: quail's eggs, salted fish & beef and tofu. Yum Yum. Arrived at my host family and promptly collapsed into bed around 10pm Indonesian which is 1am Aus. We are three hours beind here. On sunday I took a Ojek ride (a motorbike taxi) to a local market. this was quite an experience. Mnay of the Indonesian drivers wear bare feet and there's no helmets to be seen. I loved it! There was so much to see and I got to peek down all the little alley ways and watch people going about their daily routines. We wandered around the food market which sold an array of fresh food products, some of them extremely fresh and in the process of being killed. It was a wonderful experience.
for luch I was taken to a traditional Indonesian restaurant which was exquisite in both it's food rpoductiona dn presentation and also the ambience of the place. The menus were little carved wooden doors that opened to reveal the course available. After lunch we wne t to a larger department store that sold Indonesian atifacts and I've bought a few treats for the Junior school.
Like StLeondard's, Global Jay is an impressive school. It has a very tropical feel to it: very colourful; lots of open areas and wonderful aromas coming form the state of the art caffeteria. School starts here at 7:30 and finishes at 4 so it's a long day for the children. We started today with a flag raising ceremony, 'Upacara' , which is done every fortnight.
Will be spending my time today in various classrooms watching th Indonesian teachers. The children and staff are preparing themselves for Student Led Conferences on Thursday. Stay tuned for more news from Global Jaya. Over and out!

Good Luck Jane

2006-09-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Jane,

All the staff, students and College community wish you a safe journey and are looking forward to hearing all about your wonderful experiences at Sekolah Global Jaya.

Best wishes!

New Exchange

2006-08-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

St Leonards College, Melbourne
and
Sekolah Global Jaya, Jakarta

Just to let you all know that Jane Lukaitis from St Leonards College in Melbourne is visiting SGJ, Jakarta from the 11th September, 2005 for 1 week.

We are really looking forward to hearing about Jane's adventures and experiences.
She will be logging her experiences, reflections and thoughts on this
page for us all to view!
HOW EXCITING!!

Please feel free to visit both schools using the links at the bottom of this message.

Regards,

Keith Newman
(PYP Coordinator, St Leonard's College)

http://www.stleonards.vic.edu.au

http://www.globaljaya.com/

Hari ke-2 di Cornish

2005-11-24T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hari ke-2

Seperti hari pertama, sebelum sekolah dimulai semua staf guru menghadiri meeting pagi selama + 30 menit dipimpin oleh salah satu staf secara bergiliran. Agenda dan catatan-catatan dari sekolah sudah dipersiapkan dan dibagikan kepada masing-masing staf. Hari ke-2 ini saya masuk ke kelas 4. Guru yang mengajar di kelas ini bernama Ibu Jackie. Jumlah siswa di kelas ini ada 15 orang. Lesson pertama yaitu matematika. Namun sebelum pelajaran dimulai anak sebentar duduk di karpet. Ibu Jackie membahas kesiapan anak-anak untuk kegiatan camp.
Hari esok dan meminta anak untuk merapikan projek mereka yang disimpan di atas meja masing-masing, mengembalikan peralatan dan bahan-bahan yang masih dipakai dan membuang benda-benda yang tidak digunakan lagi sampai rapi. Pelajaran dimulai denagn menjelasakan secara singkat matematikan perkalian/berhitung dilanjutkan denagn menyelesaikan lembar kerja yang sudah disediakan. Sikap tanggung jawab ketika merapikan kelas serta mandiri saat mengerjakan lembar kerja di meja mampu mereka lakukan tanpa banyak perintah yang disampaikan.

Pada jam berikutnya saya diikutsertakan oleh Ibu Ann (Coord. PYP Cornish Campus) untuk bergabung dengan guru-guru dari sekolah lain yang sedang mengadakan kunjungan (study banding) ke kampus Cornish. Senang sekali saya berkesempatan bergabung dengan guru-guru dari sekolah lain. Kita diajak touring/berkeliling melihat aktifitas /kegiatan sekolah di Cornish dari mulai penjelasan awal sistem pengajaran sekolah oleh: Principal Cornish Campus Mr. Kerry Bogler, Head Deputy Cornish Campus Mrs. Marcia dan Coord. PYP Cornish Campus Mrs. Anne. Penjelasan dilakukan di ruang perpustakaan yang sudah di seting lengkap.

Selanjutnya touring keruang computer. Melihat bagaimana siswa grade 8 sedang belajar. Masing-masing anak menggunakan lap top sendiri-sendiri. Sempat tanya jawab sebentar dengan anak. Mengesankan sekalai mereka dengan semangat berkeinginan untuk menjawab setiap pertanyaan yang diajukan oleh pengunjung. Berikutnya masuk keruang kelas 1 dan 2, kelas Prep. Dan kelas ELC (Early Learning Center) yang sedang belajar bahasa Inggris. Seorang anak dari kelas tersebut membukakan pintu dan mempersilakan masuk luar biasa! Berikutnya masuk ruang art melihat baju rancangan hasil karya siswa secondary. Luar biasa! Layaknya seorang perancang baju yang profesional. Mereka membuat sket rancangan sendiri dan membuat wujud gaun tersebut dipanjang di galery.

Lesson terakhir kegiatan Buddy. Dimana beberapa siswa dari secondary Grade 9 datang ke kelas 4 berbagi pengalaman dan menjelaskan mengenai jenis ikan yang hidup di sekitar danau di sekolah. Mereka sudah melakukan penelitian dan menjelaskan mengenai jenis, warna, berat, ukuran , makanan dan habitat tempat ikan tersebut hidup. Mereka memeliharanya juga di dalam akuarium yang disimpan di kelas, Anak memberikan makan ikan setiap hari secara bergiliran sesuai dengan jadwalnya masing-masing. Setelah cukup besar mereka mengembalikannya ke habitat semula sampai ada yang mencapai berat 6 kg. Kegiatan tersebut merupakan bukti Sikap tanggung jawab dan kepedulian anak terhadap lingkungan sekitar sekolah.

Joni Muchsin
Sekolah Global Jaya
Indonesia

Day 8 Broading our knowledge

2005-11-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

I went to school very early this morning because I had sharing time with St. Leonards teachers at Brighton campus for 20 minutes. Not long afterwards, Joni joined me to visit Wesley College, the authorized PYP school. Wesley college has 3 campuses. They are in St. Kilda, Glen Waverley and Elsternwick . When we entered Elsternwick campus the first impression we got was that everything was purple. The building was interesting and unique, just like home. We visited classes starting from early childhood up to year 6. The early childhood centre implemented the combination of Reggio Emelia and PYP. The year 1 and 2 classes are doing the same unit that is about story. All the classrooms and every part of the school were full of displays of students' work. After visiting Elsternwick we went to the next campus in Glen Waverley. The campus is big and spread over a large area. We visited classes and had a long discussion with the PYP coordinator in this campus, Kathy Saville. We asked lots of questions about their program, assessment and portfolio. She explained in detail about the teaching and learning process in this school. The school also has a very good facilities in Art and library. Our last visit was St. Kilda campus. The campus is in the middle of the city. The same as in previous campuses, we also had a tour around junior school. We also had a discussion about portfolio and central idea. The tour to Wesley college helped us to broaden our knowledge of the implementation of PYP.

Pagi ini saya berangkat pagi-pagi sekali. Hari ini saya ada pertemuan selama 20 menit dengan guru-guru St. Leonards untuk berbagi informasi tentang hal yang sudah kita lakukan di Sekolah Global Jaya. Tak lama kemudian Joni datang untuk bergabung bersama dengan saya mengunjungi 'Wesley college'. 'Wesley college' mempunyai 3 kampus yang terletak di 3 tempat yang berbeda yaitu di St. Kilda, Glen Waverley dan Eisternwick. Ketika kami memasuki salah satu kampusnya yaituEisternwick, kesan pertama yang kami lihat adalah kampusnya serba ungu. Warna ungu adlah ciri khas 'Wesley college'. Bangunan sekolahnya unik dan menarik seperti berada di rumah. Kami mengunjungi kelas-kelas dimulai dari TKA sampai dengan kelas 6. Kelas TK menerapkan kombinasi dari Reggio Emilia dan PYP. Kelas 1 dan kelas 2 mempelajari unit yang sama yaitu mengenai cerita. Setiap kelas dan sudut-sudut sekolah penuh dengan display hasil kerja murid-murid. Setelah mengunjungi kampus Eisternwick, kami mengunjungi kampus yang berikutnya yang terletak di Glen Waverley. Kampusnya sangat luas dan tersebar di beberapa tempat. Kami mengunjungi kelas-kelas dan berdiskusi dengan Kathy Saville, PYP Koordinator. Kami mengajukan banyak pertanyaan mengenai program inkuiri, portfolio dan penilaian. Dia menjelaskan dengan detil mengenai program pembelajaran di sekolah ini. Kampus ini memiliki fasilitas gedung 'Art' dan perpustakaan yang bagus untuk mendukung proses belajar mengajar. Kunjungan kami yang terakhir adalah kampus St. Kilda. Sama seperti kampus sebelumnya Kami juga berkeliling sekolah. Kami juga berdiskusi mengenai porto folio dan ide central. Kunjungan kami ke 'Wesley College' semakin memperluas pandangan kami bagaimana penerapan PYP.

Juni dan Joni

Sekolah Global Jaya

Indonesia

Day 7 Inquiry Happened in ELC Classes

2005-11-22T22:50:00.000-08:00

Today I had a great day in ELC classes. I went to the students morning meeting, the time when the ELC students usually talk and ask about something happening around them. They were inquirers asking me lots of questions. Most of the questions they asked were about Indonesia. Some of their questions were about what people eat when celebrating Iedl Fitri, what sort of clothes people wear when celebrating Iedl Fitr, how to grow rice, what the childen want to be when they grow up and what kind of dances we have. To help them get a clearer picture of Indonesia, I answered their questions and dressed up to show them how we wear clothes during Iedl Fitr. I also showed them how to play angklung, then they were risk-takers when trying to play a song 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. We also sang a song called 'Burung Kakak Tua' together. Being with the ELC students and involved in their activities reminded me a lot of being with my students in Sekolah Global Jaya. Today the school had an interesting program, an African drummer. I had the opportunity to watch this program with year 2 class. The students were enthusiastic and interacted with the drummer. They were taking parts actively in this program. After watching this performance I went to year 2 class. Their central idea was, aspects of modern society have their origins in civilisations. They were thinkers when they analyzed the picture of ancient greek houses. They tried to see the similarities and differences of houses in ancient time and now.

Saya Senang sekali hari ini di kelas TKA. Saya menghadiri diskusi pagi murid-murid ELC, saat dimana murid-murid mendiskusikan dan bertanya mengenai hal-hal yang terjadi di sekeliling mereka. Mereka inkuiri dengan mengajukan banyak pertanyaan mengenai Indonesia kepada saya. Beberapa pertanyaan yang mereka ajukan adalah bagaimana orang Indonesia merayakan Hari Raya Idul Fitri, Pakaian apa yang dikenakan ketika merayakan Hari Raya Idul Fitri, Bagaimana cara menanam padi, apa cita-cita anak-anak Indonesia kalau mereka sudah besar dan jenis tarian apa saja yang ada di Indonesia. Untuk membantu mereka mendapatkan gambaran yang jelas mengenai Indonesia saya menjawab pertanyaan mereka dan mengenakan busana seperti ketika merayakan Hari Raya Idul Fitri. Saya juga memperlihatkan kepada mereka bagaimana cara memainkan angklung dan kemudian mereka menjadi 'risk-taker' dengan memainkan lagu 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' dengan angklung. Di samping itu skami juga menyanyikan lagu Burung Kakak Tua bersama-sama. Menghabviskan waktu bersama-sama dengan kelas TKA dan terlibat langsung dengan mereka mengingatkan saya dengan murid-murid saya di Sekolah Global Jaya. Hari ini ada program yang menarik di sekolah yaitu pertunjukan penabuh drum dari Afrika. Saya berkesempatan menyaksikan pertunjukan ini dengan murid-murid kelas 2. Murid-murid sangat antusias dan berinteraksi langsung dengan penabuh drum tersebut. Murid-murid terlibat aktif dalam pertunjukan ini. Setelah menonton pertunjukan ini saya mengunjungi kelas 2. Ide sentral mereka adalah aspek- aspek kehidupan modern berawal dari kehidupan di masa lampau. Murid-Murid menjadi pemikir ketika menganalisa gambar rumah Yunani kuno. Mereka mencoba melihat perbedaan dan persamaan dengan rumah pada zaman sekarang.

Juni
Sekolah Global Jaya
Indonesia

Day 6 Being communicators

2005-11-21T22:15:00.000-08:00

The weather was very good, warm and bright. The teachers were ready for their monday meeting. Some of them were very excited about their new posting for next year. All of the teachers seemed busy preparing students reports because the school year is nearly finished. The school year starts in January and ends in December. I visited year 1 today. Their unit was about little creatures, that is the same as what my students are learning in year 2 in Jakarta. What a coincidence! Every Monday the students write journals. They wrote about what they did during weekend. The students were very enthusiastic. I found that here parents also help the teachers in the morning, especially when the students learn literacy. It resambles our reading program when parents, especially moms, come to school to support our reading program. It was another similarity, wasn't it? I also observed maths lesson or numeracy in here. The students were communicators when explaining shapes they had. It was exciting to see how the students engaged in it. At 14:10 I joined the assembly. During assembly I shared information about my school with the students by showing them the slides which Joni and I had prepared. The students were enthused by raising their hand to ask me questions. Because the time was limited I chosed 3 students to ask questions. The students also sang 3 famous australian songs to entertain me. I was touched. After the assembly finished I went to the Cornish campus, 30kms away, to do the same thing. I was excited to do this. I did the presentation together with Joni at the teachers meeting. When I arrived there I was amazed with the campus. It seemed unique and interesting. It was different from Brighton campus. It was like in a farm. I could see sheep, chickens and paddocks. The school building was cozy, like at home. One thing that made this more interesting was the class. The year 3 and 4 class were in the same room without a room divider. It was the same in year 5 and 6.

Cuaca hari ini sangat bagus, cerah dan hangat. Para guru sudah siap untuk mengikuti rapat Senin pagi mereka. Beberapa guru juga kelihatan senang ketika kepala sekolah mengumumkan kelas yang akan mereka ajar tahun depan. Semua guru terlihat sibuk mempersiapkan raport para murid karena tahun ajaran akan segera berakhir. Di sini tahun ajaran sekolah dimulai pada bulan Januari dan berakhir pada bulan Desember. Hari ini saya mengunjungi kelas 1. Unit inkuiri mereka sama dengan unit yang sedang dipelajari oleh murid-murid kelas 2 di Sekolah Global Jaya yaitu hewan-hewan kecil. Wah suatu kebetulan sekali! Kegiatan hari ini dimulai dengan menulis jurnal mengenai kegiatan yang dilakukan mereka pada akhir pekan. Kegiatan ini dilakukan setiap hari Senin. Di sini saya melihat orang tua juga membantu guru di sekolah terutama dalam kecakapan menulis dan membaca. Mereka menentukan jadwal kapan mereka dapat membantu. Hal ini juga sama seperti yang terjadi di SGJ yaitu orang tua terlibat dalam program membaca. Wah ternyata ada kesamaan lagi! Saya mengamati kegiatan matematika . Murid-murid belajar mengenai bangun datar. Murid-murid menjadi komunikator ketika menjelaskan bangun-bangun yang di dapatnya. suatu hal yang menyenangkan bagi saya melihat anak-anak begitu senang melakukannya. Pada Jam 14:10, saya mengikuti kegiatan 'assembly'. Di sini saya berbagi informasi mengenai Sekolah Global Jaya dengan murid-murid prep sampai dengan year 4 dengan memperlihatkan 'slide' yang saya buat bersama Joni di Jakarta sebelum kami berangkat. anak-anak terlihat antusias dengan mengangkat tangannya untuk bertanya. Karena keterbatasan waktu saya memilih pertanyaan dari 3 siswa yang berbeda. Murid-murid juga menyanyikan 3 buah lagu Australia yang terkenal untuk menghibur saya. Saya merasa terharu. Setelah 'assembly selesai saya pergi ke kampus Cornish untuk melakukan hal yang sama. Saya sangat senang melakukannya. Namun kali ini saya melakukannya bersama Joni pada saat rapat para guru. Ketika saya sampai di sana saya kagum melihat kampusnya. kampusnya terlihat unik dan menarik, kelihatan seperti lahan pertanian. Saya melihat biri-biri, ayam dan padang rumput. Gedung sekolah terlihat nyaman seperti rumah. Satu hal yang membuatnya semakin menarik yaitu kelas 3 dan 4 berada di ruangan yang sama tanpa pembatas ruangan. Menarik dan unik ya?

Juni

Sekolah Global Jaya

Indonesia

Day 3,4 and 5 Fascinating Days on Camp

2005-11-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

The year 4 students were very enthusiastic and busy. They carried enormous bags to school. Guess what?.................They went on camp! It was an exciting moment for Joni and me because we haven't seen and talked to each other since we separated last Sunday. I travelled with the Brighton students and met Joni, with the Cornish campus students, at San Remo. Then we continued our journey to Philip Island. The camp was in Philip Island Adventure Resorts. It is a very awesome place for camp. It has very good facilities for camp. The children were risk-takers and curious to know how they would feel when attempting to go on a giant swing, circotron, flying fox and archery. Some of them tried very hard to challenge themselves to go higher beyond their limit on a giant swing. Some of their comments were ' I was afraid at the beginning, but at the end it was fun', 'When I was up there I decided to step back, but then it was cool, I really enjoyed it'. Joni tried to go on a giant swing and flying fox. I pretended that I was Robin Hood from Jakarta by doing the archery. During the camp the students learned how to be more independent as well as how to work cooperatively with their group to tidy up their bedroom and get ready for room inspection. They came up with different ways when welcoming their teachers to their room. Some of them sang a song, acted as reporter or flight attendants. They were creative, weren't they ? At night time they had a concert and watched VCD called Monster.Inc. In addition, They were also responsible and showed commitment when doing their duties such as setting up and packing up the table before and after breakfast, lunch and dinner. They really enjoyed the time when using the vacuum cleaner. They sang and danced while doing it. We also found out that they were inquirers when asking the ranger lots of questions about Koalas in Koala Conservation Park and searching for objects in the Smiths Beach. They made predictions how the objects had got to the beach. Some of them were caring when finding a dead seal, kind of fury seal. The amazing part was when we saw the penguins parade at Nobbies. They were very cute when came out from the sea and walked to the bushes.

Anak-anak kelas empat sangat antusias dan sibuk. Mereka membawa tas yang besar ke sekolah. Ayo tebak ... Ada apa?................Mereka akan pergi ke Pulau Philip untuk berkemah lebih tepatnya kegiatan luar sekolah karena mereka tidak tidur di tenda. Ini juga merupakan saat-saat yang menyenangkan bagi Joni dan saya karena kami akan bertemu kembali setelah berpisah pada hari minggu yang lalu tanpa kabar berita sedikitpun. Murid-murid dari kampus Brighton dan saya akan bertemu dengan murid-murid dari kampus Cornish dan Joni di San Remo. San Remo adalah kota terakhir sebelum menuju Pulau Philip. kegiatan kami berlokasi di "Philips Islands Adventure Resort'. Tempatnya sangat menarik dan mempunyai fasilitas yang sangat bagus. Di sana murid-murid mengambil resiko dan menunjukkan sikap ingin tahu seperti apa rasanya mencoba permainan yang ada di sana seperti ayunan raksasa, 'flying fox', 'circotron' dan panahan. Beberapa diantara mereka mencoba dengan sangat gigih bahkan ada yang mencoba ketinggian di luar batas keberaniannya ketika bermain ayunan raksasa. Beberapa anak-anak berkomentar:"Pada awalnya saya takut, tapi ternya permainan ini sangat mengasyikan", "Ketika saya berada di atas sana saya merasa ingin mundur saja tapi kemudian saya mencobanya dan ternyata sangat menyenangkan, saya benar-benar menyukainya". Saya mencoba menjadi Robin Hood dari Jakarta dengan belajar memanah. Selama kegiatan tersebut berlangsung murid-murid belajar mandiri ketika merapikan tempat tidur mereka sekaligus bekerja sama dalam tim bagaimana menyambut kedatangan guru mereka ketika memeriksa kamar mereka. Mereka menyambut guru yang datang untuk memeriksa dengan bernyanyi, berakting sebagai reporter maupun pramugari. Mereka kreatif kan? Pada malam harinya mereka mengadakan pertunjukkan dan menonton VCD yang berjudul 'Monster. Inc'. Mereka juga bertanggung jawab danmenunjukkan sikap komitmen ketika menjalankan tugas piket mereka seperti menata dan merapikan meja sebelum dan sesudah makan pagi, siang dan malam. Mereka juga menyukai saat mereka menggunakan vakum pembersih lantai. Mereka melakukannya dengan bernyanyi dan menari. Kami juga melihat mereka inkuri ketika bertanya kepada 'ranger' mengenai koala dan benda-benda yang ada di pantai ketika mereka mengunjungi Pantai 'Smiths'. Mereka juga peduli ketika melihat bangkai anjing laut yang mereka temukan di pantai .Hal yang paling memukau adalah ketika kami melihat parade penguin di Nobbies. Mereka sangat lucu ketika keluar dari laut dan berjalan pulang ke sarang mereka di semak-semak.

Juninarita and Joni Muchsin

Sekolah Global Jaya

Indonesia

Day 2 -What a small world!

2005-11-15T23:04:00.000-08:00

What a cold day! I started my morning attending Year 4L class. I found internationalism occur in this class. The students's ancestors come from different places in the world such as Germany, England, Russia, Australia, India and Switzerland. The students were communicators when they talked about items brought from home and were reflective when they shared what they have learned in the last 24 hours. I was introduced again to the class and the students were risk- takers using Indonesian when introducing themselves.
After recess I had a tour with Chris to The middle school section, year 5 up to year 10, to browse other facilities in the the school. The school has very good facilities to support their PE program. Some of them are the indoor swimming pool, indoor basket ball court and aerobics and gym equipment area.
Then I visited year 5 and 6. The corridor I passed was full of interesting displays. I met jerry who used to teach in North Jakarta International School. It was nice for me to talk to someone from home and he says 'Hi' to Ibu Hety.
After touring around the school, we discussed the reporting system. This topic really intrigued me to be more of an inquirer about how the teachers report the students progress. I found out that the teachers wrote detailed comments for every unit of inquiry. It's a hard work, isn't it? The school has conducted their first student-led conference.
During lunch time, I tried to be a risk-taker by having lunch from the school canteen for the first time. One of the teachers, Steph, chose the menu for me which was a wrap; roast beef, chutney and tomato. It's one of the specials for today. I wondered what it looked like and how it tasted. Do you know................. It's like Kebab, Abra or Donner that we can find in Jakarta. Different places, different names for the same thing!
Guess what...... after lunch break the students needed to do SQUIRT (Sustained Quiet Uninterrupted Reading Time). It is the same as we do in our school, but we use different name for this program, USSR. See different places,different names for the same thing! I am still spending my time with Year 4K. The students were enthusiastic when using thinker keys.
Last but not least I joined Prep orientation day. It is very interesting to see the Elc class practice moving from their class to prep class. They were creative when decorating their star with feather and paper cup.

Wah dingin sekali hari ini! Saya memulai hari saya dengan mengikuti kegiatan kelas 4L. Kelas ini bisa dikatakan kelas yang internasional. Beberapa siswa dari kelas ini berasal dari berbagai negara misalnya jerman, Inggris, Rusia, Australia, India dan Swiss. Mereka juga komunikator ketika mereka bercerita mengenai benda yang mereka bawa dari rumah dan bersikap reflektif ketika mereka bercerita dengan temannya mengenai hal yang telah mereka pelajari selama 24 jam terakhir. Saya juga diperkenalkan kembali dengan siswa kelas 4 dan mereka mengambil resiko untuk menggunakan Bahasa Indonesia ketika memperkenalkan diri.
Setelah jam istirahat saya diajak berkeliling ke 'middle school' , dari kelas 5 sampai kelas 10, oleh Chris untuk melihat fasilitas yang lain yang ada di sekolah ini. Sekolah ini mempunyai fasilitas yang bagus untuk mendukung program pendidikan jasmani dan kesehatan mereka. beberapa fasilitas yang ada adalah kolam renang dalam ruangan, lapangan basket dalam ruangan dan tempat aerobik yang dilengkapi dengan peralatan. Kemudian saya mengunjungi kelas 5 dan 6. Koridor yang saya lewati dipenuhi dengan display yang menarik. Di sini saya juga bertemu Pak Gary. Dia bercerita bahwa dia pernah mengajar di NJIS. Lalu kamipun bercerita tentang Jakarta. Wah, saya benar-benar senang karena merasa seperti ketemu teman sekampung. Dia juga menitip salam untuk Ibu Hety. Katanya dulu dia teman Ibu Hety ketika sama-sama mengajar di NJIS.
Setelah berkeliling sekolah saya berdiskusi dengan Chris mengenai sistem pelaporan. Topik ini benar-benar menggelitik saya untuk mengetahui lebih dalam bagaimana guru-guru di sini melaporkan perkembangan belajar murid-murid mereka. Ternyata mereka menggunakan laporan yang berisikan komentar yang detil untuk setiap unit yang sudah mereka pelajari. Wah pasti mereka banyak sekali kerjanya ya? Mereka baru saja mengadakan "student-led conference' untuk yang pertama kalinya.
Pada saat makan siang saya berusaha untuk menjadi pengambil resiko dengan memesan makanan yang ada di kantin untuk pertama kalinya. Salah seorang guru di sini , namanya Steph, memilihkan menu untuk saya yaitu 'a wrap'; roast beef, chutney and tomato'. Ini adalah salah satu menu yang spesial untuk hari ini. Saya bertanya dalam hati seperti apa bentuk dan rasanya. Setelah makanannya datang ternyata....................... itu adalah kebab yang sering saya makan di Jakarta. Wah, ternyata beda tempat, beda nama, tapi ya bendanya sama saja.
Tahu tidak........ Setelah istirahat makan siang murid-murid di sini juga melakukan 'silent reading'. Di sini mereka memakai istilah SQUIRT, sedangkan di Sekolah Global Jaya kita menggunakan istilah USSR. Ya .... seperti yang saya sudah disebutkan di atas beda tempat ..ya beda nama. Saya masih mengikuti kegiatan di kelas 4, namun kali ini di kelas 4K. murid- murid di sini terlihat antusias ketika mereka belajar dengan menggunakan'thinker keys'. Saya mengakhiri hari saya di sekolah dengan mengikuti kegiatan orientasi murid-murid ELC di kelas Prep. Menarik sekali ketika melihat mereka berlatih bagaimana pindah dari kelas ELC ke kelas Prep. Mereka juga kreatif ketika mendekorasi bintang dengan bulu dan mangkuk kertas.

Juni
Sekolah Global Jaya
Indonesia

Day 1 A Taste of Indonesia in Melbourne

2005-11-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

What a school! I went to the school at 7:45. When I got there I was introduced to the junior primary staff. They are very friendly and like to make a joke all the time. They have briefing three mornings a week. Then I spent my time joining the ELC class on their excursion to CERES environmental park. This excursion is to further students understanding about recycling . At the same time they also visited a replica of an Indonesian Village as they kept asking lot of questions after Liz visited our school. The excursion was interesting. The children dressed up with Indonesian tradional clothes such as sarong, kebaya and 'peci'. They also played 'dakon (congklak)' , kuda lumping and had the experience of becak riding. Further more, they went along the Merri creek to see the effect of litter on the environment. They were inquirers and thinkers by asking lots of questions about it and suggesting some solutions. Some of the children were very enthusiastic to use compost toilets. After coming back from the excursion, I joined the junior school assembly. I was introduced to prep (reception) up to year 4 students during the assembly. It is very interesting to see children attempt to be risk-takers showing their talents. Afterwards I have a brief discussion about PYP program in our school with Chris McNamara, St. Leonards PYP coordinator, then I joined the year3 and 4 planning meeting. The meeting was attended by year level teachers and specialist. They reviewed their programs as we always do in our school. The meeting was conducted seriously at the beginning and ended up with jokes, as I have said before they loved making jokes.

Saya berangkat ke sekolah pukul 7:45. Ketika saya tiba di sana saya diperkenalkan dengan guru-guru sekolah dasar dari tingkat Tk sampai dengan kelas 4. Mereka sangat ramah dan suka bercanda. Mereka selalu mengadakan rapat 3 kali seminggu. Kemudian saya bergabung dengan murid-murid TK. Hari ini mereka mengadakan wisata belajar ke CERES. CERES adalah sebuah tempat dimana kita dapat belajar mengenai lingkungan. Adapun tujuan wisata mereka ke sana adalah untuk memperdalam pemahaman mereka mengenai daur ulang. Pada saat yang bersamaan mereka juga belajar mengenal Indonesia dengan mengunjungi replika kampung Indonesia. Hal ini sangat menarik. Mereka mengenakan kostum tradisional Indonesia seperti sarung, kebaya dan peci. Mereka juka bermain dakon (congklak) , kuda lumping dan naik becak. Selain itu mereka juga menyusuri kali Merri untuk mengamati efek sampah terhadap lingkungan. mereka inkuiri (sangat ingin tahu) dan pemikir dengan banyak bertanya mengenai hal ini dan memberikan beberapa jalan keluar mengenai hal ini. Beberapa anak sangat antusias untuk menggunakan WC kompos. Menarik kan? Setelah kembali dari wisata belajar saya mengikuti acara 'assembly' untuk kelas 1 sampai dengan kelas 4. Pada acara tersebut saya diperkenalkan dengan murid tersebut dan sedikit memberikan kata sambutan kepada mereka. Setelah itu saya berdiskusi singkat mengenai program-program yang ada di sekolah kita dengan Chris McNamara, koordinator PYP sekolah St. Leonards. Kemudian saya mengikuti rapat perencanaan pembelajaran kelas 3 dan kelas 4. Rapat ini dihadiri oleh guru kelas dan guru spesialis. Pada awalnya rapat ini serius namun diakhiri dengan bercanda, seperti yang sudah saya bahas di atas yaitu mereka suka bercanda.

Here at Last

2005-11-14T20:30:00.000-08:00

After spending 7 hours on the plane and 1 hour delay in the middle of the night in Denpasar, finally we arrived in Melbourne. When we went out of the airport , we were welcomed by the cold breeze. We felt very happy when we saw Chris and Liz had been waiting for us. Then we went straight away to Liz's house. On the way to Liz 's we found so many differences such as the city is clean, there are many beautiful old houses as well as many bikers; one of the good ways to reduce pollution. In addition the houses in the city are tighter than houses in the suburbs. But the huge difference we found here is the day time is longer than night time, and there is no traffic jam. When we arrived at Liz's, Allison, Joni's host , had waited for us. We also met Larry, Liz's husband and her three daughters. Larry allowed us to take pictures on his 900cc Kawasaki motor cycle. After having tea and snacks , Joni and Allison went home, but they planned to do some shopping first. I felt so tired because I slept only 2 hours on the plane. But I also felt happy because finally I'm here...... in Melbourne.

Setelah menghabiskan waktu selama 7 jam di pesawat ditambah dengan 1 jam penundaan keberangkatan di Denpasar, akhirnya kami sampai di Melbourne. Ketika kami keluar dari Bandara, kami sudah disambut oleh udara dingin yang menggigit. kami merasa sangat lega ketika melihat Chris dan Liz sudah menunggu kami. Kemudian kami langsung berangkat ke rumah Liz. Dalam perjalanan ke rumah Liz kami banyak menemukan beberapa perbedaan seperti kota yang bersih , banyak rumah tua yang indah di sepanjang jalan dan banyak pengendara sepeda, salah satu cara yang baik untuk mengurangi polusi. Selain itu rumah- rumah di kota terlihat lebih rapat daripada rumah yang ada di pinggir kota. Tapi perbedaan yang sangat mencolok adalah di sini tidak ada kemacetan dan waktu siang lebih lama daripada malam. Bayangkan saja disini jam 7 masih sangat terang. Sesampainya di rumah Liz, Allison , tuan rumah dimana Joni akan tinggal, sudah menunggu. Kami juga bertemu dengan suami dan anak-anak Liz. Larry, suami Liz. mengizinkan kami berpose dengan motor kesayangannya. Setelah minum teh dan makan sedikit kudapan kamipun berpisah. Joni pergi ke rumah allison, namun sebelum ke sana mereka berencana untuk berbelanja terlebih dahulu. Sedangkan saya tinggal di rumah Liz. Pada sore harinya kami keluar berbelanja dan melihat-lihat tempat di lingkungan Liz tinggal. Saya merasa sangat lelah karena di dalam pesawat saya hanya tidur selama 2 jam . Namun saya juga merasa sangat senang karena pada akhirnya Joni dan saya sampai juga di Melbourne .

Juninarita and Joni Muchsin

Sekolah Global Jaya

Indonesia

Final Photos

2005-09-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Prayer time on Friday afternoon for everyone to participate.

Sekolah Global Jaya students teach english at a nearby National School.

A restuarant and fish farm helps support the Paragi community.

Tolerance and friendship-Day 5

2005-09-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

My last day at Sekolah Global Jaya. I was very touched as the Junior School students and staff gathered to say goodbye and presented me with a gift. The atmosphere of SGJ is one of compassion, tolerance and open-mindedness. The staff are nurturing life-long learners in every way.
I was welcomed to observe prayer time which is held at midday every Friday. All the children went to different parts of the school for their religion; Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic and Christian. As I went up the stairs amongst chattering children many said hello and one boy asked me, 'Are you Muslim?' I joined the Muslim children and enjoyed observing their rituals. I also observed the Buddist and Hindu prayers, each group singing and celebrating their religion in different ways.
This afternoon I went approx. 5 km from SGJ through small traditional villages and rice fields to Parigi, a national school. I enjoyed an Indonesian lunch, sitting on the floor of an open air restuarant, overlooking a rural area and fish farms. I then met the local children and was joined by years 8 and 11 students fro SGJ who teach English as part of their IB requirements of community service. SGJ is very supportive to the Parigi school.

Thank you Global Jaya for making this week so memorable and informative. The children and staff were so welcoming. My host Anne Gallagher, has made my stay comfortable and entertaining. Allison Stekelenberg, the PYP coordinator, did an amazing job establishing this exchange and the blog in collaboration with Chris McNamara from St Leonard's College, fully suppoted by Kathryn Young, the expatriate primary Principal. I hope more teachers are able to experience such a postive learning experience and develop links with other schools creating international learning, friendship and tolerance.
Liz Bawden-Nixon.

Interconnectedness - Day 4

2005-09-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

Many visitors were welcomed to the school today for an MYP community workshop for new MYP teachers from all over Indonesia. Pak Andy (the expatriate music teacher) introduced his year 9 music class who played the kolintang (Indonesian xylophone). In his introduction he stated: “The next performance is very ‘MYP’. We are using Indonesian instruments, western mallets, an Indonesian song called ‘Pesta’ (party) and a western style of music" The cultural interconnectedness between PYP and MYP was evident.There were about 15 students in the group who all played on their own kolintang.

I also witnessed the Year 5 students filming a Balinese tale under two beautiful red umbrellas as they were finishing their Central Idea:’ Legends help us in understanding our heritage’.

This afternoon, Allison (PYP coordinator and Year 4 teacher) organized a meeting with the 2 teachers who will be visiting St Leonards in mid-November. Pak Joni works with Year 6 and Ibu Juni works in the Year 2 team. Both have never have travelled overseas and are excited about seeing another PYP school in a different context. They are keen to gain new ideas concerning math and teaching practices in Australia. They also are keen to share their assessment and reporting ideas with staff at St Leonards during their visit in November.
- Liz Bawden - Nixon

Internationalism - Day 3

2005-09-14T22:50:00.000-07:00

An inspiring start to the morning:one of the agama, (religious teachers) delighted children and staff alike with his traditional Balinese dance. The enchanting Balinese music played in the background as his dance retold a traditional story. The children were being exposed to aspects of the Hindu culture, despite having no Hindu children in this particular class. As the children watched, sitting quietly, I could see them getting more anxious to join in. As they were invited to have a go, there were sounds of laughter as they attempted the intricate movements. The agama teacher spoke in Bahasa Indonesian and invited questions from the children. This class is beginning How we express ourselves UOI. The Indonesian teacher explained the dance to me and said it was important for the children to keep their culture and be proud of it, we have planned games, food, songs, language and looking at the map.

The reception class has some questions for the ELC or prep children:
1. What are you your favourite books?
2.What are your favourite foods?
3.What is in your classroom?

- Liz Bawden-Nixon

Time with the children - Day 2

2005-09-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

My morning began spending time with the kindergarten and reception children. Some of these children arrive before 7am and travel long distances. Some of the staff take three hours to get to work due to the traffic and distance. Each year level has a shared area, similar to our gallery, which is set up for free play. Here there are opportunities for dramatic play, drawing, painting and construction. All classes are out here together from 7.30 until 8.30, some playing outside. The very high ratio of staff means plenty of relaxed interaction with the children and time for organisational tasks such as returning readers and preparation of portfolios and self assessment tasks. The atmosphere was calm and quiet, yet busy and engaging. The kindergarten children had swimming this morning, as they got changed I could hear them saying: "I am independent", as they put goggles and bathers on. In the reception class the teacher also used the PYP terminology: "You are a risk taker having a go at writing and I can see you are gaining confidence."
In preparation for the student led conferences, I was a parent for one of the kindergarten children to practise, who showed me around the room, expressing an understanding of the unit of inquiry and other displays in the room and shared area. Each family can book in for one hour, with 4 students there at the same time. This gives them plenty of time in the different areas.
I enjoyed a traditional lunch at a roadside cafe (warung) served in brown paper. It cost 80 cents and was great! (Some say I was a risk taker!)
I am currently in the year 4 class, they are discussing; research process six steps, lots of questions from the children and all in Bahasa Indonesia.
- Liz Bawden-Nixon

Day one, total immersion.

2005-09-12T21:25:00.000-07:00

The day started early, 7.30am. After meeting all the staff, I joined the junior school outside for their Monday morning assembly called Upacara. This is a national assembly the children ran singing traditional songs and raising of the flag, all in Indonesian. I was introduced to the students as Ibu Liz by Kathryn Young, the primary expat principal.

I had a tour of the school, which is huge, and surrounded by a kampung (village) on one side and open land on the other. Plenty of space for the students in a beautifully maintained tropical garden setting. I attended two team planning meetings and was impressed by the collaboration of the one expat teacher and four Indonesian teachers. Each classroom has two Indonesian teachers who teach in Indonesian and one expat per year level to teach subjects in English.They worked together on the week aheads plan for the program of inquiry, all equally contributing ideas. A specialist (library) joined us for the year two meeting and demonstrated a truly integrated approach of specialist subjects. Time for planning meetings was available due to religion classes happening at that time.

Religion seems to play a big part in the school as Muslims, Christians, Catholics, Buddists and Hindus are equally acknowledged and respected. They all go off to seperate classes and these teachers are also brought on board for units of inquiry.
Your comments are welcome!
- Liz Bawden-Nixon

First impressions....

2005-09-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

After a very long day travelling I arrived to a wonderful welcome at the airport from Allison and Anne. The streets of Jakarta seem worlds away from Melbourne as I watched families of four on motorbikes, chickens in bamboo cages on the back of motorbikes and crazy traffic. As we stopped at a railway crossing a train passed, very overcrowded, with hundreds of people hanging on, and I was glad to have Bimo, the school driver at the wheel. I have settled in to the staff accomodation with an amazing thunderstorm in progress. The school is very close by and awaits me tomorrow for a 7.15am start! - Liz Bawden-Nixon

Teacher Exchange

2005-09-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

St Leonards College, Melbourne

and

Sekolah Global Jaya, Jakarta

Just to let you all know that Liz Nixon from St Leonards College in Melbourne is visiting SGJ, Jakarta from the 11th September, 2005 for 1 week.

We are really looking forward to meeting her.

She will be logging her experiences, reflections and thoughts on this

page for us all to view!

HOW EXCITING!!

ps. You will have to sign up for a username and password if you want to make a comment and add to this blog.

Talk soon,
Allison Stekelenburg (Sekolah Global Jaya)

(PYP coordinator)
pyp_coord@globaljaya.com