A great world school
Our vision at HRS is to be a great world school and over the last two weeks we took another step towards honouring this goal.
We had 49 visitors from the elite Guangzhou Foreign Language School (GZFLS) in southern China. The group comprised 43 Middle School students and six staff. This was our first inbound study tour and our guests arrived in the early hours on Monday, 11 August and spent two weeks living in boarding in Madjirra and Dewarra. They left Darwin on Sunday night, 24 August.
The study tour was a great success for many reasons. The visitors added life and vibrancy to our boarding precinct, basically lifting our numbers from 100 to 150 boarders for the fortnight. They were able to interact with our seven full time Chinese boarders, but it was great to see many moments and activities where all our boarders made connections. The second week of the visit was NAIDOC Week and this meant everyone got involved in Indigenous celebrations both at boarding and at School.
Weekends provided a chance to see the Territory and visit Litchfield, Leanyer water park, beaches, museums and other well-known tourist destinations.
I pass on a huge thank you to Mr Dennis Nowak and all our boarding staff for their extra work during this time in support of all students. Fittingly, funds raised from the visit have been set aside to allow further upgrades to Dewarra and Gumimba, so that everyone benefits in the long run.
At school, Mr Brendan Evans organised 43 Middle School buddies — one for every student from GZFLS. Our students made the most of this leadership opportunity and made lasting connections. Chinese visitors also joined in many classes across the two weeks, and our staff were generous in supporting this endeavour.
A special thank you goes to Head of International Relations, Mr Lei Shangguan, for organising the Study Tour and attending most events and activities during the fortnight. Equally, our International Student Coordinator, Ms Debbie Unwin, was a great support organising the School activities and running a series of workshops.
We are also excited that our second HRS China Study Tour will be leaving at the end of this term for a ten-day visit to China, including a visit to Haileybury Tianjin.
Andrew McGregor
Principal, Haileybury Rendall School
