Melrose High School in Australia Maintains Strong Connections with Sister school in Taiwan -Ministry of Education Republic of China (Taiwan)

Melrose High School in Australia Maintains Strong Connections with Sister school in Taiwan

Date: 2014-08-20

Melrose High School in Australia Maintains Strong Connections with Sister school in Taiwan

20 students from Min De Junior High School in Taiwan, led by their principal Ms Tsai Mei-Yen, visited Melrose High School in Canberra for ten days in August 2014. Melrose High School is a government school located in Pearce, a suburb of Canberra, the Australian capital. Melrose has approximately 800 students from year 7 to year 10, similar to the range at Min De. They represent a very multicultural range of backgrounds and Melrose works closely with its local and extended community to provide a well-balanced and stimulating curriculum.

Melrose established its sister school exchange program in 2010 and it maintains strong connections with its sister school, Min De Junior High School in Tainan Municipality in Taiwan. Language students at Melrose have the opportunity to visit and experience life in this Taiwanese school and home in its visits to Taiwan every second year. This year Min De is visiting Melrose.

The Taiwanese students experienced Australian home and school life. They were billeted with Melrose High School families and participated in various practical classes, such as cooking and art, and also some core subjects, accompanied by their homestay friend. They also had an opportunity to gain an appreciation of Indigenous culture through intercultural activities, such as making boomerangs. Excursions were organised so that the students can experience the way of life in Australian National Capital.

A highlight of Min De’s visit was a welcoming party on 4 August. The new principal of Melrose High School, Simon Vaugh, an invited students and Melrose families to come along and Mr Andy Bi, the newly arrived Director of the Education Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia, was also invited to personally witness this exchange visit which is part of a well-established sister school friendship.

“As I researched Min De, I found that a great deal of common ground exists for us as schools and for each and every student friendship created by these exchanges. Our kids are active, inquiring, creative and logical and, most importantly, they celebrate diversity and value the chances to connect with young people from around the world,” Mr. Vaughan said in his welcoming remarks.

Photo:(L to R) Ms. Liao Feng-Yi, staff member of Min De Junior High School; Ms. Tsai Mei-Yen, Min De Junior High School principal; Mr. Andy Bi, Executive Director of the Education Division at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia; Mr. Simon Vaughan, Melrose High School principal; Ms. Evelyn Karapanos, Language Executive Teacher; Ms. Daisy Ruan, Mandarin teacher at Melrose; Ms. Julie Wen, Mandarin teaching assistant at Melrose, funded by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan.