My days at St Leonards

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”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.