Over the term break I had the privilege of visiting our four Year 11 students on exchange at Kindai High School, in Osaka, Japan. We first began our relationship with Kindai High back in 2013 and it had been five years since my previous visit, and so to reconnect with staff and more importantly, to see our students face-to-face while on their exchange was such a joy. Mr Tim Barrett, who oversees both our Personal Capacity program and our global and service opportunities, and I were so fortunate to spend an evening with all the staff who have been part of our teacher exchange program over the years and to reminisce on their differing experiences.

Our Global and Service-Learning program (GO), pre COVID was inclusive of trips to Thailand, Cambodia, Japan and Nepal, was one of the most well-respected programs across the country for a number of reasons. As some parents may recall, we received national awards for the experiences we were offering. Our programs were based on existing and positive relationships with schools and well-regarded service organisations. We worked hard to avoid any focus on voluntourism, but instead to partner with organisations that are permanently invested in the areas that we have chosen and importantly, we ensured there was a strong learning aspect associated with what we were aiming to do. It has been so exciting to see our trips start again this year.

Students and staff have also returned after the break from an incredibly challenging yet rewarding experience in Cambodia, with our partners, RAW impact. Their stories of serving in the local village, as well as developing an appreciation of what took place in this country just a few decades ago have been profound and confirm our long-held belief that these sorts of opportunities, both domestic and international, help students learn about themselves, their environment and the world.

Mr Barrett and I have spent the past six to seven years building these connections and as we look to the future, we are keen to develop our programs to provide more GAP exchange opportunities to our graduating students and explore more opportunities for both academic and co-curricular trips to broaden the experiences for our students.

However, the core of all these opportunities, is about building into the personal capacity of our students. These are not just fancy trips which look good on a prospectus, we are engaged in ongoing research around their impact on student development. As we know, there are many sorts of Intelligences, both Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and service to others is a key part of what we are trying to develop in our students. Mr Barrett is leading the way across both the country and around the globe, in how teach and measure CQ both within the normal school context and through these opportunities. It is encouraging to know that the opportunities our students undertake are having an impact on how they view the world, their hopes for the future and where they see themselves in that picture.

There is a long way to go in both our research and implementation but to know we are on the cutting edge in this area of cultural intelligence is testament to the passion of our staff and the  commitment and enthusiasm of our students and families.

Over the coming months, we look forward to sharing with you the re-introduction of programs that were halted due to COVID and the establishment of new and interesting opportunities for our students, whereby they step out of their comfort zone and embrace new experiences.

These opportunities are infinitely worthwhile and ultimately, only possible because we have staff, willing to invest their time to support our vision. On behalf of our community can I thank these staff for their time and commitment to both GO program, but more importantly the students within their care.

Best wishes,

Chris