Sakena Batool
Student from Pakistan
My name is Sakeena and I arrived in Australia when I was in grade two. I came to Annandale State School with my big sister Zoha. When I first arrived it was very overwhelming and scarey. I was not able to communicate with the Teachers and my friends.
I started working with Mrs Hart (EAL/D Teacher) in small groups. This helped me learn some basic English so that I could communicate with my friends and the Staff at Annandale. This made me feel joyful in comparison to when I first arrived.
I stayed at Annandale State School until grade 5. By then I was completing all the same tasks as my classmates. I did not need extra assistance from Mrs Hart anymore but I would see her at lunchtimes for Games Room fun. I felt proud of my efforts and I was happy. Around Easter I left the school to go back to Pakistan with my family. I was sad to go and I had to go through another big language barrier on my return to my home country.
Then I returned to Annandale State School in Term three of grade six. I reconnected with my old friends and Teachers that I knew. It made me feel happy coming back and being part of the school community again.
Now I am graduating from Primary School. I will be attending William Ross State High School with my sister which is a feeder school for Annandale State School. I am sad about leaving Annandale because I won't be able to see my old Teachers and some of my friends. I feel grateful for all that I have learnt and all the Teachers who have helped me.
Raquel Giuffrida
Mother of Amy Gomez (Year 6)
November, 2023.
We are forever grateful for you Mrs Hart (EAL/D Teacher). You made an incredible impact on Amy's life.
Only a couple of weeks after arriving to Australia, we came into the school scared how Amy was going to adapt to a new school, language, new everything and you were just so kind and welcoming.
Your kindness and positive energy made a world of difference to us all. Amy loves you and Krystal is super excited to enter Prep, I hope she has a great start at Annandale State School like her sister did.
Mr Changfei CHEN
Father of Lucas Chen – Year 5
16.11.23
Kind comments forwarded to Staff about an upcoming Camp to Paluma for Year 5.
Thank you very much for the school's careful arrangements for this camping trip, and thank you very much for your meticulous attention to Lucas Chen. As a family with children, I am very grateful to you. I support all decisions of the school and teachers and abide by all regulations. Thank you very much for your hard work and dedication. Thanks!
Robin Ding – Year 3 – 2023
Testimonial
Robin has experienced a wonderful period at Annandale State School.
When he came to school, he could speak a little English. Mrs Hart organized classes for Robin. She not only taught him English, but also taught him disciplines and rules of school. Mrs Hart also encouraged Robin to attend group study and to play games with classmates. Moreover, Mrs Hart provided Robin's progress and behaviours to us regularly, and shared many useful study materials with us. Robin has achieved great progress in English, and has a lot of friends at school.
We do appreciate Mrs Hart and all other teachers' great teaching for Robin.
Xing Xu
(Mother)
Ting-ting Kao Year 4 2022
Home country: Taiwan
My name is Ting-ting and I have been an ISP (International School Program) student at Annandale State School for four years since I was in grade one. My family and I moved from Taiwan to Townsville and I was quite scared about the change. My older brother started at Annandale State School with me but he is now in Year 8 at William Ross State High School which is also a local ISP High school.
At home we still speak Traditional Chinese (although my brother and I speak English to each other now too). When I arrived at Annandale State School I found it hard to understand others (Teachers and peers) as I had limited English. I persisted and now my spoken and written English is very good. My Teachers have always been very kind to me. I have found it easy to make friends and I enjoy spending time with my best friend.
My Class Teachers over the years have been Mrs Roberts, Ms Hawes, Mr MacGillivray and Ms Campbell. I have also worked in small groups with my EAL/D Teacher Mrs Hart since I arrived in grade one. I have found these fun as we play learning games and complete fun activities.
I have participated in swimming lessons, gone on excursions and attended lessons in LOTE (Languages other than English). I have PE and Music lessons each week with Mr Hull and Mrs Hancock. I have really enjoyed learning the trumpet as an instrument at Annandale State School and have been lucky enough to be invited to be part of the school's Concert Band and Beginner Band.
I am happy and enjoy coming to school. I like being part of the Annandale S.S. community.
Huanzi Wu Year 6 2020
Home country : China
This is Tong Wu from China - a paid a scholar visiting to JCU. Before our departure of Australia, we want to express our sincere thanks for making our child Huanzi Wu feel a part of Annandale State School in the past 7 months.
I could still recall on 15th Jan, the day when Huanzi registered successfully in your Reception Office with the warm welcome of your amiable staffs. Actually, we were very anxious about whether you could accept her as a temporary international student. And then we were very lucky to meet Miss Stephanie Ley of 6G1, she is an amazing teacher with many innovative teaching skills who gave Huanzi a lot of extra patient explanations to promote her better understanding on the subjects. And especially many thanks for her continuous encouragement which make the transition and involvement much easier for Huanzi in this new environment. We also appreciate the effective way Ms. Tegan Hart helped her English which was the main subject she dreaded. And gradually Huanzi had developed the keen liking for English with reading and writing. What is more, her hobby of drawing was greatly inspired by Ms. Hart who helped to contact with the press house which ignited her much confidence on her strong points. Besides we can't forget that Ms Lily Dong gave her hands on helping Huanzi to understand the essences of Australia from an intercultural prospective. And we are all grateful to the musician teacher Mrs. Stevenson and Ms Olivia Jung who are so wonderful in teaching violin and the other great teachers.
I thank again for all the marvellous work you have done and wish Annandale S.S. all the best in the future.
Best Regards
Tong Wu
Sunny (Chaeeun) Kim Year 6 2019
Home country - Korea
Sunny (Chaeeun) Kim enrolled at Annandale S.S. in Townsville on 29/01/19 at the age of 11. Sunny was born in South Korea and speaks Korean. She lived with her Mother in Seoul before moving to Australia. Sunny's Mother runs a food stall in South Korea and asked Sunny's Auntie to allow her to live with her in Townsville, Australia to receive a good education. She currently lives with her Auntie, Uncle and their two small children in Idalia, Townsville. Her cousins attend Kindy and childcare so are not in the same school. Sunny was aware of Townsville as she had visited her Auntie with her Mother for a month's holiday previously. She said that the air quality is much better in Australia in comparison to South Korea. She also said that the weather is much more pleasant in Townsville as South Korea has extremes from very hot to snow conditions. She noted that her school in South Korea is a high rise with many levels and corridors while Townsville schools are generally low set.
When enrolling at Annandale S.S. Sunny was happy and excited – particularly to make new friends! She was placed in a 5/6 composite class where she would be in grade 6. Within that class Sunny found that a number of the students were from other cultures and spoke different languages, so she wasn't alone. When Sunny arrived in Australia she had very little spoken or written English. She used her own personal electronic translator in the classroom with peer and Teacher support. Sunny has attended tutoring after school as well as her class studies during the day. She is very studious and has an evident desire to academically and culturally better herself.
Sunny has a bright and bubbly personality. Sunny has socially settled in well and has made a number of friends. She has visited friend's houses and even had a sleep over! Sunny has enjoyed eating different Australian food but still partakes in Korean favourites. She excels in Music lessons at school. Sunny enjoys singing and playing the piano and has attained an A for music on her Semester One school report card. Her favourite topics at school are music, sports and maths. A feature for Sunny of her Australian schooling is inter school sport. This is something that is not offered in South Korea where they only do their one PE lesson each week. Sunny has enjoyed playing sports against other schools in the area on a Friday. She said that she didn't apply for term one sports when her English language was limited but when she became confident, she applied for teams in term two and three. In term two she played touch Football which she said she loved and then in term three she had to choose between basketball and AFL. Sunny said that she had played basketball in South Korea before so she chose AFL to have an Australian experience.
Sunny has 2 class Teachers named Mrs Rains and Mrs Williams who Sunny said are nice and kind. “They help me with the meaning of words or tell me a simpler word that means the same thing". Sunny also works with Mrs Hart the EAL/D Teacher in small groups each week. “I like learning about words and all their different parts with Mrs Hart. It helps my understanding of the English lesson EG reading, syllables, word families, beginnings, endings, small words inside big words, nouns, verbs, adjectives etc". Sunny has assimilated well into the Australian school environment and can be seen in the school grounds proudly wearing her Senior shirt and playing with a large group of friends. It is a pleasure to have Sunny Kim as a student at Annandale S.S. and we look forward to assisting her to academically prepare for High School in 2020.