In April 2014, we will be taking a group of Horowhenua College students to visit our Sister School, Nguyen Tat Thanh High School in Hanoi. A group of 20 students and two teachers have just recently visited us. Registration forms for this trip are available from Mrs Keeling, International Department (T12). The first parent and student meeting for this trip will be held on Thursday 9 May at 7.00pm. The first letter with information about the trip will be sent out to students registered on Monday 8 April.
Nguyen Tat Thanh High School, Hanoi, Vietnam visits Horowhenua College
The following article has been written by Phung Nhat Hong, 14 years old, who has studied English for only two years
After waiting a long time, finally we were very excited that our wonderful time in New Zealand began.
We found out a lot of interesting things on our first day at Horowhenua College. Firstly, the College is so beautiful and huge. Secondly, students here are gorgeous, especially our buddies. Thirdly, it was so awesome to be warmly welcomed in the Maori way with interesting rituals. Experiencing our first day at school with our buddies was full of joy.
The following days, we step-by-step discovered so many things that we had never had before during our school days.
All classes we went to, all teachers and students … they all impressed us. We really enjoyed your teaching methods, the passion of both students and teachers, and we admire your close relationships.
We couldn’t stop being surprising at the variety of subjects and activities. Each day at school was full of joy and new amazing experiences.
Besides, we had the good luck to explore New Zealand by taking part in several outdoor activities. We hadn’t known that New Zealand had such a special culture and such amazing sceneries. Going to Nga Manu Bird Sanctuary, visiting Rangiatea Church, visiting Parliament House and Te Papa in Wellington, walking along the beautiful beaches, doing shopping … were all incredible, especially the visit to the local Marae to know more about Maori culture. This was the best trip we had ever had and we had made so many unforgettable memories here.
We would like to thank Horowhenua College, especially Mrs Robyn Keeling, for giving us the opportunity to visit New Zealand and helping us to have such a great time here. We also want to say thank you to kiwi students, especially our buddies for giving us the warm welcome while we were here. We are sure we will miss you all so much and we are looking forward to seeing you in the near future to introduce Vietnam to you and to make our friendship closer and closer.