ELC, Year 11s combine for cultural learning experience
A group of Blackfriars ELC students is taking a trip around the world, with the help of some senior Secondary boys.
As part of their “Travelling Around the World” inquiry, the ELC Purple Room students are taking a virtual trip across the globe, learning more about key countries, their cuisine, landmarks, fauna and language.
They were joined by a group of Year 11 Japanese students for some classroom activities, including origami, and, together with the senior boys, last week attended a play as part of the OzAsia Festival.
“The Year 11 boys were amazing. I think they enjoyed it as much as – if not more than – the ELC boys and girls,” Purple Room teacher Michelle McGinty said.
“When our ELC boys and girls interact with the senior students, they get a glimpse into the world of the ‘big kids,’ sparking their curiosity and showing them what lies ahead in their educational journey.
“This environment also nurtures a sense of community, where younger students see the older boys as role models and those seniors develop leadership and patience by helping the little ones.”
Head of Languages Chikako Oguma also visited the ELC to share information about her home country.
Ms McGinty said the ELC boys and girls had shown great engagement in the “Travelling Around the World” learning, which also included weekly cooking sessions featuring a variety of foods, such as Indian curries, scones, fried rice and Japanese okonomiyaki.
“It has been amazing,” she said.
“In the sandpit, they will be building the Great Wall of China or the Eiffel Tower, or they will talk about the pandas, or the elephants. They have really taken what they are learning into every day.”
Year 11 Japanese student Eli Scharfbillig said it was “nice to get out of the usual classroom environment for a fun origami lesson with the ELC”.
“The enjoyment and engagement of the ELC students made the experience worthwhile,” said Eli, who earlier this year travelled to Japan with fellow Blackfriars students.
“I’d recommend more collaboration between the different age groups, especially considering they are embarking on their education journey while we near the end of ours.”
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