Welcome to the International Department

	More than 200 people gathered at Dunedin's Museum Reserve to mark the 2007 International Day of Peace. Performers from a variety of cultural groups entertained the crowd, including the Bu Choe Chum (fan dancing) group, consisting of Korean pupils from Columba College. They are (from left) Joy Kwan, Elizabeth Kim and Michelle Choo. Photograph: John Lewis - Otago Daily Times

	Columba College pupils, clockwise from left, Hiromi Okayama (14), Mifu Suzuki (12), Yumeki Ando (14), Makoto Teramoto (14), Ruka Nojiri (13) and Yu Shibata (16) perform a traditional Japanese dance to launch the school's International Week. Columba celebrates its cultural diversity annually with an International Week which features dance assemblies, a fashion parade, a badminton tournament and international food day. Photograph: Craig Baxter - Otago Daily Times

	A Year 12 student at work on ESOL material

Columba College is experienced in the delivery of high quality education and pastoral care to International students. It welcomes the cultural diversity and international dimension that its International students contribute to school life.

International students have been attending Columba for well over a decade and are an important and integral part of the College. The majority of students come from Asia and South East Asia.

Many of the International students who have graduated from Columba have gone on to complete degrees at a New Zealand or overseas University and are now involved in a wide variety of careers internationally.

Ms Bronwen Strang, Master of Guidance and Counselling (Distinction), Licentiate in Theology (Distinction), B.Sc., Dip.Tchg. (Secondary).

Mrs Paula Hughes, Otago Polytechnic Certificate in TESOL.

Ms Ina Bercinskas, M.A. (Applied Linguistics), B.A., Dip. TESOL, Cert. TESOL, ATLC (Speech and Drama), LTCL (Speech and Drama), IELTS (Registered Examiner) (Cambridge).

English Language Support and ESOL Tuition are provided by the ESOL Tutors (two) with the assistance of the International Dean. The tuition may take the form of specialist individual tuition, small groups, a separate Year level class for English or in-class other subject support.

Special classes are run each year at school for International students wishing to sit TOEFL and IELTS examinations. Tutors are engaged for these lessons. Girls are also prepared for the Pitman ESOL examinations.

A number of International students also choose to have private tuition in Speech and Drama with one of the two private Speech and Drama teachers at school.

In the International Department at Columba College we recognise the need to provide additional opportunities for assessment for our students. We offer the New Zealand Speech Board’s OCESOL examinations (Oral Communication in English for Speakers of other Languages) from Beginner to Advanced levels, and senior students prepare for tertiary study with weekly IELTS classes held at school and which are taken by one of our specialist ESOL tutors. We also offer support for TOEFL and TOEIC examination preparation.

Results this year have been outstanding, with several of our International girls achieving 8 and 9 level band scores in IELTS. In the OCESOL examinations, our students gained 11 Distinctions and 9 Merit passes.

For the first time in 2008, we will be offering Cambridge Second Language examinations: from KET (Key English Test) at Pre-Intermediate level to First Certificate (Upper Intermediate level). These are internationally recognised qualifications and we expect our girls to do well.

It was pleasing also to note the success of several girls in the School’s Annual Public Speaking Competition: Hiromi Okayama (Japan) in Year 10, Panchalee Areethamsirikul and Sarah Chow in Year 12, all achieved at the highest level.

Columba is known for its emphasis on caring for its students. This is crucial for International students. As well as having normal issues to do with friends and relationships, identity, the pressure of school work, what to do for future study directions and careers, there is the huge issue of being so far from home and family, while living in a strange culture. This means that during a day, staff in the International Department might be listening to friendship or loneliness issues, assisting with change of subject, contacting the University to get information about a particular course, tracking an overdue parcel from home, checking flight plans home in the holidays, etc. As well as International Staff, there is an official school Counsellor, a Careers Adviser, Deans of Year Levels, caring Boarding House staff or Homestay parents (who are chosen with care). Columba is a caring school.

The Dean of International Students is a key person in the pastoral care of all International girls and meets with them regularly.

Every effort is made to ensure that each girl feels welcome and well settled, and that she has a course of study that meets her needs and abilities.

All new students are met on arrival at Dunedin airport and are provided with a "buddy" for the first few weeks of School. The Dean of International Students also gives each girl an orientation programme which involves discussing her course, introducing her to her teachers and a tour of the campus.

We have a very active International Club involving girls from “away” and from New Zealand. It caters for truly International girls, Permanent Residents (PRs), New Zealand citizens and a few “Kiwi” girls. The Club is also an opportunity for girls to develop leadership skills as elected International Club Committee members. They help plan and organise activities throughout the year, such as the beginning and end-of-year celebrations, International Week, social times with International students from other schools, etc. These are all very happy times which help foster friendships among the different nationalities and confidence in each girl’s own abilities.

This is a celebration of Columba’s cultural diversity and is different each year. This year there were two very special Dance Assemblies in front of the school, at which girls performed dances from their home countries, complete with costumes and music. These dances were a delight, communicating energy and fun, grace and beauty. There was also a Chapel Assembly with girls contributing in their own languages, an International Food Day, a Costume Parade and an informal Badminton Tournament. This year the week culminated in an invitation to the Korean girls to perform publicly their exquisite traditional fan dance, Bu Chae Choom, at the Dunedin City’s celebration of United Nations’ Peace Day. This was a thrill for both the girls and the audience.

The International Ski Weekend, held annually, is a wonderful opportunity to see something of Central Otago, to learn a new skill (if you are from Thailand) or show us how (if you are from Germany). Best of all it is a chance to have great fun together.

We bus to Coronet Peak on Friday afternoon, stay in a Ski lodge on the mountain and ski or snowboard on both Saturday and Sunday. This year, by the end of two days, those new to skiing had mastered the basics and were trying more challenging slopes, while the experienced skiers skied the whole mountain.

The above Code was produced by the New Zealand Ministry of Education to provide a framework for educational providers for the pastoral care of International students. The Code is established under section 238F of the Education Act 1989. The Act requires that an educational provider must be a signatory to the Code to enrol international students who need study permits.

Columba College is a signatory to the Code of Practice. For more information about the Code of Practice, click here.

For further information, visit the Education New Zealand Trust www.mynzed.com and Education Dunedin www.educationdunedin.co.nz.