Global Classrooms
St Andrew’s has implemented several programmes throughout the School, which allow students to think critically about global issues facing today’s world. The ultimate aim of these programmes is to prepare our students for life in a culturally and economically globalised world. Examples of global classrooms serving the world include our Lilla Project, where a group of Year 11 IB students visit the Aboriginal community of Lilla in Central Australia, with the aim of helping the community to establish a primary school for the local children.
Globally Connected Education in the Senior College
Students in the Senior History class have connected with a variety of experts and students around the globe. Using the modern tool of Skype, students have been learning interactively and globally by inviting into their classrooms (via Skype) Historians, Museum Curators and people who have lived through the history they are studying. This represents the second tier of our approach to globally connected education: learning with the world. Through Skype calls to the Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York, for example, students gain invaluable insight into historical knowledge from the source.
An example of how our Senior College meet with the world is the visit of some former Ugandan child soldiers, who spoke with the whole of the Senior College to share their stories of hardship and offer some invaluable perspective on life. Students were particularly moved by this opportunity to meet such unique individuals from a diversely different part of the world.
Globally Connected Education in the Middle School
MY WORLD, is an initiative which sees a Year 9 Visual Art class working in collaboration with a school in Beijing, producing art work based on the theme of ‘MY WORLD’. Following this collaboration, the art works will ultimately be exhibited in both Beijing and Sydney. Additionally, Japanese language teachers continue to work with a school in Tokyo to set up opportunities for the students in both countries to further their language skills and their cultural understanding. Each year, our links with schools across the globe see exchange trips where either our students visit countries such as Japan for their language studies, or our sister schools send students to stay with us. This is an example of our commitment to ensuring our students meet the world.
Some students in Year 8 English have also been involved in publishing articles to a global online Student News Action Network, in the context of their learning about newspaper text type. This initiative allows students to receive feedback on their journalism from fellow students around the world.
Globally Connected in the Junior School and Gawura
One of our Junior School teachers has been exploring new possibilities for global education by developing our connections with schools in Shanghai. This would develop our youngest students’ knowledge and understanding of both China and communication between foreign cultures. She has also been managing a Pen Pal Project, which sees our Junior School students communicating with other children across the globe; ‘meeting them’ via the power of the pen.
The Music Department also arranged for a Skype call to take place between our Gawura students and a school in far North Queensland, allowing students with similar interests but from very different localities to work together and share in the experience of learning.