Every year, Collingwood College sends a group of students to China to visit their sister schools, stay with a Chinese family, and see many Chinese landmarks.
If you are:
a current Year 9 student in Chinese language class at Collingwood College
have demonstrated an empathy and understanding of cultural differences, as well as a serious appreciation and respect for Chinese and Asian culture that will enable you to act as an ambassador for Collingwood College
willing to take on the responsibilities of promoting Chinese Language and Culture at Collingwood College in the future and to represent CC at Government presentations and to document your learning journey
prepared for a 6 week immersion program in China requiring a commitment to a 3 month orientation preparation
then you are eligible to apply to join the Collingwood College China tour and sister school home stay planned for each year.
We established a sister school program with Suzhou High School in China (near Shanghai) in 2004. Every second year (in alternating years) each school will send a team of students (mainly from Year 9, 10 &11) overseas to the other school for a study trip of approximately 10 days. In 2015 Collingwood College won the Victorian Young Leaders to China -Sister School Partnerships
Program (VYLCP) – the 6 week in-country immersion with our Sister Schools in China. 12 students were chosen in Year 9 to participate in the program. The trip started on 14 Sept. and ended on 23 Oct. The program ran smoothly and successfully. In 2016 we were lucky enough to win this program once again. The group will travel to 7 cities including the exchange activities with our 3 sister schools in Kunshan and Suzhou cities. We have maintained a great relationship with Suzhou Secondary College for 11 years, and have recently developed a sister relationship with 2 more schools in Jiangsu Province, namely, Suzhou Art School and Kunshan High School. The Sister School program provides a great opportunity for our students to enhance their Chinese language ability and to learn about China which is very useful for their future lives.
Past China trips
Some Students in Year 8-11 were involved in the past tours in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 were for two- three weeks. Twelve students in Year 9 participated in the VYLCP program to China in 2015 and 2016.
The Collingwood College group
landed in Beijing and took in Tien’anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall
ate Peking duck; participated in morning exercises with the local Beijing people
“The Great Wall was definitely the best thing; it was so cool.”
“Going to the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Hutong was my highlight.”
Caught a train west to Xian where the group visited the Terra-Cotta Soldiers and Horses that form a large army guarding the emperor’s tomb. They are wonderful works of art created by ancient Chinese working people.
“Each of the Terracotta Soldiers looks different from the others.”
“The Xian Hotel is magnificent and luxurious.”
“Going to the park and doing morning exercises with local people was pretty fun.”
caught an overnight train to Nanjing, where students in 2010 and 2012 groups did two days of tour in Nanjing, Yangzhou and Wuxi cities, which located in Jiangsu Province, close to Suzhou. There were a number of social occasions and sightseeing opportunities in these beautiful cities.
spent a week attending Suzhou Secondary School, our sister school with an enrolment of about 2,000 students. Collingwood students participated in daily assemblies with an exercise program, joined in classes with their host students, attended English classes and did a course in Chinese art and Taiji. Students also visited our newly established school, the No 6 Secondary School, which is very strong in arts and music.
caught a coach one-hour east to the city of Shanghai, a modern metropolis of 20 million people. Students visited the Yu garden, the old town, the Jade Buddhist temple and the bank with the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The group flew home from Shanghai at the end of the trip.
“In Shanghai we did the night visit on the Huangpu River Bank; we looked out over 20 million people from the Oriental Pearl TV Tower– cool.”
“I really enjoyed the amusement park in Shanghai as well.”
“I think the best part of the trip was that we made friends in a different country. Even though we didn’t speak Chinese very well and they didn’t know much English, we were able to get along with them.”
“I felt inspired by the Chinese students’ study efforts.”
” The cultural is so different to Australia and I so badly don’t want to go home.”
We envisage a similar program for the future, but we’re open to suggestions.
The tour usually costs each student around $3,000; so maybe it’s time to find a part-time job. (Safeway? McDonalds? Victoria Gardens?) The final price depends on our efforts in fundraising as well as the final itinerary. It is envisaged that our fundraising efforts will also make it possible to offer some scholarships again in the future. (In 2006 the China trip committee raised $10,000 and in 2012 our parents raised around $7,000.)
For further information, please contact Lijuan Wang.
China Trip
Every year, Collingwood College sends a group of students to China to visit their sister schools, stay with a Chinese family, and see many Chinese landmarks.
If you are:
then you are eligible to apply to join the Collingwood College China tour and sister school home stay planned for each year.
We established a sister school program with Suzhou High School in China (near Shanghai) in 2004. Every second year (in alternating years) each school will send a team of students (mainly from Year 9, 10 &11) overseas to the other school for a study trip of approximately 10 days. In 2015 Collingwood College won the Victorian Young Leaders to China -Sister School Partnerships
Program (VYLCP) – the 6 week in-country immersion with our Sister Schools in China. 12 students were chosen in Year 9 to participate in the program. The trip started on 14 Sept. and ended on 23 Oct. The program ran smoothly and successfully. In 2016 we were lucky enough to win this program once again. The group will travel to 7 cities including the exchange activities with our 3 sister schools in Kunshan and Suzhou cities. We have maintained a great relationship with Suzhou Secondary College for 11 years, and have recently developed a sister relationship with 2 more schools in Jiangsu Province, namely, Suzhou Art School and Kunshan High School. The Sister School program provides a great opportunity for our students to enhance their Chinese language ability and to learn about China which is very useful for their future lives.
Past China trips
Some Students in Year 8-11 were involved in the past tours in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 were for two- three weeks. Twelve students in Year 9 participated in the VYLCP program to China in 2015 and 2016.
The Collingwood College group
“The Great Wall was definitely the best thing; it was so cool.”
“Going to the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Hutong was my highlight.”
“Each of the Terracotta Soldiers looks different from the others.”
“The Xian Hotel is magnificent and luxurious.”
“Going to the park and doing morning exercises with local people was pretty fun.”
“In Shanghai we did the night visit on the Huangpu River Bank; we looked out over 20 million people from the Oriental Pearl TV Tower– cool.”
“I really enjoyed the amusement park in Shanghai as well.”
“I think the best part of the trip was that we made friends in a different country. Even though we didn’t speak Chinese very well and they didn’t know much English, we were able to get along with them.”
“I felt inspired by the Chinese students’ study efforts.”
” The cultural is so different to Australia and I so badly don’t want to go home.”
We envisage a similar program for the future, but we’re open to suggestions.
The tour usually costs each student around $3,000; so maybe it’s time to find a part-time job. (Safeway? McDonalds? Victoria Gardens?) The final price depends on our efforts in fundraising as well as the final itinerary. It is envisaged that our fundraising efforts will also make it possible to offer some scholarships again in the future. (In 2006 the China trip committee raised $10,000 and in 2012 our parents raised around $7,000.)
For further information, please contact Lijuan Wang.