SENIOR SCHOOL
Dr Harris on the China Tour
In Term 3 last year, I was lucky enough to be successful
in my application for an eight day study tour to China,
organised by the Confuscius Institute through AISWA, to
take place during the September holidays.
It was with some trepidation that I set off from Perth airport
with fifteen or so other educational leaders to Beijing,
Shanghai and Hangzhou, having not travelled extensively
in Asia before. I had been told various things including that
it would be very different from India and that it would be
culturally fascinating. This was indeed true – I had travelled
to India a couple of times previously and China was very
different. I was impressed at the cleanliness of the streets
and the seemingly lovely lives that very old people enjoyed.
I was surprised at how few people spoke or understood
English but not surprised that my French, German and
Welsh skills were entirely useless. I struggled with the
ubiquitous smoking inside buildings (at the university, in
restaurants, inside the hotel) and marvelled at the vast
numbers of tower blocks of flats in which people lived.
We enjoyed visits to various schools as well as to various
touristy venues. The Great Wall of China was far bigger
than I had imagined and teeming with thousands of people,
many of whom embarrassed me by taking selfies with me
because they’d never seen anyone with white hair before.
I blushed at the thought of the captions they would add to
their photos of the strange, pale foreigner they encountered
that day. Tiananmen Square was an emotional visit for me,
as I recalled the man with the shopping bags who stopped
the tanks on that dreadful day and wondered again what
happened to him subsequently. It was interesting to witness
the numerous photographs and lengthy speeches that
happened at every destination and on every occasion. I
returned far more aware of Chinese cultural norms and
much more able to effectively understand some of the
differences in approach between our cultures, which will
undoubtedly be useful.
Dr Julie Harris
Director of Teaching and Learning
FOSS Dads’ Breakfast
Henn’s House remain undefeated in tug-of-war!
The FOSS Dads’ Big Breakfast was held on
the last day of Term 3 last year. As always, we
enjoyed the company of hundreds of dads,
step-dads, uncles and grandads, and father
figures who came along to enjoy a cooked
breakfast with their children.
The FOSS Team, supported by our catering
team, prepared and served a delicious
cooked breakfast, followed by the House
tug-of-war. Henn’s House once again took
home the tug-of-war cup, proving to be very
serious competitors!
Thank you to the FOSS Team for your support
and coordination of this great family event.
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