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International Students
At the start of the school year, we welcomed back to our school for Year 13, Paula from Germany. Paula arrived in July last year and decided to stay on to complete her schooling here in Golden Bay. Paula has thrown herself into school life here and has been involved in a number of sports and outdoor activities. She has been playing football in the Shield Maidens team and has represented the school in rogaining and adventure racing. Paula also trained with the swimming club and is always keen to go tramping. In February we also welcomed two other students from Germany. Jana has been with us for two terms and returns home at the end of this month. Jana has also thrown herself into the midst of any opportunity that comes her way. She has swum with the GB Swimming Club, entered into adventure racing and rogaining races and even taken up netball. Jakob is at Golden Bay High School for the remainder of the year and it was great to see he and Jana up on the stage for Blue House lipsync. Jakob is also big on saying "yes" to all opportunities, and he, too, has thrown himself into multiple outdoor adventures. Joining the international students this term has been Philippe, who is from France. Philippe has been staying with family friends and has just slotted into life here at Golden Bay High School. He has packed a lot into his eight weeks! We wish Philippe and Jana safe travels home. Thanks for contributing to our school and all the best for future studies. At the beginning of next term we welcome Julia from Germany, and then two weeks later Zoe joins us, also from Germany. 
Zoe from Germany
Kia Ora everyone! My name is Zoe, I’m from Germany, and I’ve spent the last three months at Golden Bay High School as an international student. Since I’ll be leaving New Zealand soon, I just wanted to share a few thoughts about my time here. This was my first experience settling into a completely new environment, and thanks to Golden Bay High School, it has been a wonderful and smooth experience. Not only my classmates, teachers, and friends, but even the smallest encounters left me with an amazing feeling, and I truly thank you all for that. Right at the beginning of my stay, I was invited to join the Year 11 camp, where we tramped around Lake Rotoiti — an experience I will never forget. During the camp, everyone made me feel so welcome and included, and I had an incredible time. Other fantastic activities organized by the school included the ball, mountain biking, the volleyball tournament, and my absolute highlight: the football tournament, where I played as goalkeeper for the Golden Bay High School girls’ team. Playing football for several days in a row was amazing, and I felt really supported and seen by my teammates and coach. That tournament was an unforgettable, bonding experience, and it laid the foundation for many valuable friendships. Now, as my stay in New Zealand comes to an end, I look back and think about all the wonderful experiences and incredible people I’ve met. I feel deeply grateful - not only that everything happened the way it did, but also that everyone contributed to making my time here so special. You’ve left me with such a positive impression of New Zealand that I’m already counting the days until I can return. Until then, I wish everyone at this amazing school all the very best, and I hope to see you in the near future - maybe some of you even in Germany ;) Ngā Mihi, Zoe Schindler Hi, I'm Beate and I'm from Germany. I'm here for six months but half of my time here is almost over. I have enjoyed participating in all the really cool activities outside of the classroom and the trips on the weekend. The nature is so beautiful and there are so many places to visit. One of my best activities I've done here so far was the gator driving. I am really enjoying my time here and hope my second half is as lovely as my first half.
Hi, I am Amelie from Germany. I am here for Term 1 and 2 and already almost half of my time in New Zealand is over. I really like it here in Golden Bay. You always see mountains, even when you are swimming in the sea, which is so wonderful. I hope my time here continues to be eventful and exciting and I hope I catch a little bit of the Kiwi accent. See ya Amelie |
My name is Fenja and I am 15 years old. I have been in Takaka since July. The school is great. I enjoyed the lessons and learned a lot of new things. But the really important thing for me are the people. On my first day of school I was so scared to find new friends, but a girl came to me and started talking to me. After the regular school ended us internationals were on the school camps of the Year 8’s and the Year 9’s. In winter we were on the Year 11 camp. The school was such a beautiful place for me. I found friends and had a lot of new experiences. Fenja
Hi, my name is Julia and I am from Germany. I stayed in Golden Bay for the first two terms of this year. During my stay I did some great trips with my outdoor education class. For example we did an overnight trip with sea kayaking and a tramping trip over two nights. I also did a week of caving in the Waitomo Caves, which was challenging and a lot of fun. At school I enjoyed the different events, like swimming competition and lip sync which were happening during my stay. Thank you for my great experiences and time here in New Zealand. Julia Kia Ora, I'm Alicia from Germany. I've been here for 1.5 years and was very fortunate to finish school here at GBHS. At first I was only going to stay for one year, but decided I enjoy it here so much I want to stay for another two terms and finish school with my year group. I made lovely dear friends here and I'm very sad to leave them. They welcomed me from my very first day of school here and I am grateful they have become some of my best friends. I also want to thank both my host families that have been nothing but welcoming to me and I really enjoyed staying with them. Especially my siblings in both host families have become really close to me. Another thing I loved was that I got to try out so many new things, I have learned a lot from this and gained new life skills and new hobbies. I got to go rock climbing, sky diving, mountain biking, bungee jumping and so much more. Thank you to everyone who made my experience here this cool, my family, friends and teachers. I will miss Golden Bay and all it's people a lot, thank you for making this my second home. Alicia Hi I am Maxi, I am from Hahnenklee in Germany and my school, RKS in Germany, has about 500 students. This is still very small but almost double the size of the Golden Bay High School. I arrived in New Zealand exactly four months ago and I just have 24 days left. I am not sure what my favourite activity was, because I did way too many activities, everything from four wheel driving on the West Coast beach, to whale watching in Kaikoura, to skydiving in Queenstown. I have done a lot. I really like Golden Bay, because here you can be whoever you want and nobody judges you. I am happy to go home again but I am also sad to leave the Bay, because I am going to miss the time and the people I met here. I will definitely come back again to visit you and make some new experiences. Bis bald Maxi Hi! My name is Julia. Most of you might have seen me around school. I am 17 and I have lived in a big city in Austria my entire life. A couple of months ago I decided to get away from the daily routine, leave home and go on an adventure to New Zealand. Little did I know this adventure would soon change the way I look at life forever. It’s crazy how people who were strangers a few months ago can become family. Thanks to all who make my trip amazing, and I am thankful for all the great things I get to experience. Guten Tag. My name is Joline and I am attending GBHS since July last year. I come from a small town (about the size of Nelson) in Germany, near the border with the Netherlands. I like Golden Bay so much as it’s very different here – more exciting, amazing nature and the people are friendlier too. I have learnt a lot of new things here and have had some cool adventures such as caving, sailing in the Bay of Islands and doing Outdoor Education. I have made good friends and hope that we can keep in touch when I leave in July. If I could choose I would stay for another year. Hi, my name is Nina and I am from Germany. I am staying here for the whole year. What I really like about Golden Bay is that you can see so many different things compared to Germany. I am happy that I have had so many different experiences so far like seeing and helping the stranded whales, camping at the beach or eating ice cream. I really love the ice cream here. |
