LOTE activities
Chinese Orchestra
The PEGS Chinese Orchestra won a special achievement award in the School Orchestra Division on 19 August at the Orchestra Australia 'Orchestra of the Year' Awards.
The photos above were taken during the Chinese Orchestra's recent performance at Melbourne Town Hall.
Latin Banquet - 9 August 2006
On a brisk evening the Latin students from Years 9 through to 12 gathered at Limerock Hall for the Annual Latin Banquet. The Year 9 students prepared a range of, for the most part, authentic dishes to tempt the palates of the assembled. Juice of the vine, not fermented, complemented the range of delicious victuals. The evening began with the auction of the Year 9 students, who were slaves for the evening (below left). Bidding was healthy, with some fetching as much as 1500 denarii. After the Year 10 freedmen and freedwomen, the Year 11 senators and the Year 12 gods had made their purchases, the food began to arrive (below centre).
Sated by the food, the evening progressed to games (above right), a trivia quiz and a grape feeding competition. Many were heard giving thanks to the gods for such an enjoyable evening.
Mark Andrews
Latin Teacher, Years 9 and 10
Chinese Orchestra in Sydney
In April 2006, the Penleigh and Essendon Grammar Chinese Orchestra, conducted by Mr. Pangeng Shen, traveled to Sydney to perform in the Sydney Hawkesbury National Fiddle Festival. Apart from our 18 current orchestra members, two former PEGS students and orchestra members from 2005, Paul McMillan and Fiona Guan, joined us. Mr Wu and Ms Holmes also accompanied us on our trip.
Our weekend in Sydney has brought the Chinese Orchestra members closer together in friendship and music. The Hawkesbury Fiddle Festival was an unforgettable experience for all our orchestra members.
Joanne Lieu
Leader of the Chinese Orchestra 2006
Year 8 Indonesian excursion
On Wednesday 17 August 2005, selected Year 8 students from PEGS attended the celebrations for the 60th Anniversary of Indonesia's Independence at the Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne. In scenes that were echoed in Indonesian embassies and consulates throughout the world, students witnessed festivities such as the flag-raising ceremony and traditional Indonesian singing.
The food provided afterwards was delicious and the students enjoyed the opportunity to meet with Indonesian Consulate staff. A number of students were interviewed and appeared on Indonesian community television the next week. Overall it was a wonderful and enjoyable experience.
Year 9 Chinese excursion
Year 9 Chinese students visited the Fo Guang Art Gallery in early March 2005. They spent the morning there viewing a Buddhist painting exhibition, attending meditation and calligraphy workshops. They also enjoyed a vegetarian meal for lunch.
European trips December/January 2005
Over forty senior PEGS students who study French or German spent the 2004/2005 Christmas break enjoying a six-week homestay visit in Europe.
The French group was centred on the Lyon region south of Paris while the German group was based in Berlin. Click on the image (left) of the French group visiting Montmartre's Basilica of the Sacré Coeur while in Paris to view a full size photo.
Laura Cochrane, a Year 12 French student summed up the tour by saying, 'When people ask, "How was the French trip?", I can only smile. How can words convey such a myriad of emotions? The French trip was one of the most valuable and rewarding experiences of my life'.
Visitors from Datong High School
Datong High School teachers - Datong High School students with their PEGS hosts - Mr Jiang Haibo
Three different groups from our sister school in Shanghai, Datong High School, visited PEGS in 2004. Four Datong students attended classes at McNab House and enjoyed homestays with PEGS families; four Datong teachers, from their bilingual programme, joined PEGS classes to gain new experience with teaching English; and Mr Jiang Haibo worked at PEGS for three months as part of a teacher exchange.
In turn Ms Alex Abela, the Middle Schools' Science coordinator, taught in Shanghai for three months during Term Four, 2004.