German exchange students and teachers farewell their friends at Cranbourne Secondary College where they spent three weeks immersed in the local culture.
By Callan Date
THE Cranbourne Secondary College school community said farewell to 13 German students and five German teachers last Thursday after their exciting three-week exchange visit came to an end.
The students and teachers were all from Cranbourne Secondary College’s sister school which is in the centre of Germany and a two hour drive from Frankfurt.
The visit coincided with the Commonwealth Games and one of the many highlights of their trip was attending Games events and experiencing the Commonwealth Games fever that swept Melbourne.
Mayor Kevin Bradford and the City of Casey also rolled out the red carpet with a reception that officially welcomed the German visitors and wished them all the best throughout their stay.
German exchange coordinator Anita Templin said it was a pleasure to host the German visitors and the experience was rewarding for both parties.
“The exchange program was very beneficial for both sets of students and teachers and it really enabled a way of practising the language skills that they have both learnt in the classroom,” said Ms Templin.
The visitors from the school called Berufsbildeneschule Eins were housed by the wider school community and were able to experience aspects of Australian culture first hand.
“They met up with our students who are studying German at Cranbourne and were able to exchange questions about the different cultures in each country,” she said.
Along with attending classes and school activities, the exchange students and teachers saw the little penguins at Phillip Island, had their first surfing lesson and visited major Melbourne landmarks throughout the city.
Cranbourne Secondary College will continue the sister school relationship in September when 14 students and two teachers travel to Germany and are hosted by students from their sister school.
