International Students Booklet
Yuan Yuan Zhang
Gisborne Girls' High School
Year 11 Technology, half-year project
Teacher: Heather McIntyre
As part of the schools 50th jubilee celebrations, International student Yuan Yuan Zhang used her technology project to produce a booklet showcasing the international students attending Gisborne Girls' High School in 2006.
"I wanted to share my culture with New Zealand students and tell them what the difference is between my home country's school and my New Zealand school. This booklet points out that 50 years ago Gisborne Girls' High School didn't have any international students. Now our school has many students from different countries, speaking different languages, and with a totally different culture to New Zealand. ."
Yuan Yuan interviewed three students from Japan, three from Hong Kong, and one from China. She decided on an A5 format to make the booklet a convenient size and designed the graphics and layout to make them attractive and user-friendly. To illustrate the handbook, she used photos of the students, pictures of their country and their national flag.
Yuan Yuan says she learnt a lot doing the project and has been delighted by the response to it. "I learned how to work independently and how to find out things from people. I needed to interview teachers who I didn't know to find out what they thought about the information in my booklet and I needed their help with getting the language right. I also had to show the school principal my booklet to get her approval. That was scary as I had never talked to her before. Because of this project I made friends with people from other countries and I learnt a lot about different cultures. I also now know a lot more about how to make a booklet on a computer."
"Unexpectedly, other people decided they wanted to use my booklet too. The International Dean has already sent a copy of my booklet to a family overseas who are thinking of sending their daughter to GGHS. The school library has also got a copy on display. I am very proud that my booklet has also been used in these ways."
Teacher comment
Yuan Yuan's project was a good one because not only did it fully engage Yaun Yuan and give her pride in the outcome, it has also proven very useful in the school's international department. Yuan Yuan strongly identified with the project as being a real need. Although it was originally developed for the school jubillee, it really has been most useful in the international department as a means of giving potential overseas students an insight into life at GGHS. I think she found that it was a fun project too as she had the opportunity to work with and 'show off' her friends.
