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LEARNING STRATEGIC PLANS - LEARNING THE ART OF

EXCELLENCE
CONVERSATION
IN CHINESE
We connect through stories.
STUDIES
Oral storytelling has long been an effective means of making sense
of the migrant experience. A significant project in Year 6 involves
Two Hale School students excelled in the Australian students researching the oral history of a person who has migrated
China Friendship Society of WA (ACFSWA) awards to Australia during the 20th or 21st Century. The boys conduct
this year. oral interviews, collect photographs and gather relevant artefacts.
Interview notes are then developed into a biography of the subject
Ben Taseff (Year 8) won the ACFSWA Chinese
Language Student Award for 2022. This award was under the headings: Early Life, Push and Pull Factors, Journey,
presented to Ben for his significant effort toward his Arrival and New Life.
study of the Chinese language and Chinese culture. In 2021, an opportunity to undertake action research alongside
Mr Toby Trewin, Director of the Hale Institute of Innovation and
Kaeden Tian (Year 6) won the ACFSWA Cultural Link Research, prompted me to consider how the use of technology
category for his outstanding commitment in Chinese might foster collaboration and a greater understanding of the
learning.
migrant experience for my students. An interactive installation at
Both boys received their awards at a special awards Boola Bardip WA Museum, showing actors sharing a conversation
ceremony at UWA. on their experiences of war, prompted me to consider if students
might share their migrant interviews as a conversation.
Congratulations to both students for their
outstanding achievements. The use of role play and performance, and the technical skills
of media production involved in digital storytelling appeared an
effective vehicle to share the experience of each boy’s migrant with
their fellow classmates and, indeed, the wider student and parent
community. Utilising the expertise of Head of Media, Mrs Belinda
Massey and two Year 11 students, the Year 6 boys accessed the
Senior School Media Laboratory, learning about staging, lighting
and green screen, and editing through Adobe Premiere Rush.
Towards the end of the action learning research, the boys
presented a sample of their conversations at a Junior School
Assembly. Boys from different year levels, parents and, in many
MATHEMATICS cases, the subjects of the migrant interviews, were also proudly in
attendance. It was certainly a highlight to witness boys from the
MASTERS audience eagerly approach the stage to press a button, which then
gave way to an earnest conversation about a various aspect of four
migrants’ experiences.
Once again Hale students have scored well in various
national mathematics competitions. Producing an authentic conversation involving four speakers
discussing elements of their migration experience relied on the
Eric Xia (Year 10) achieved a Bronze award in the collective efficacy of the group. Projects such as these foster
Australian Maths Trust’s AMOC Senior Contest, which collaboration and work to prepare our boys for a future demanding
put him in the top 50 students in the country for his age the collective skills of a team to create products and solve problems.
group.
Louise Kennedy, Year 6 Teacher
Aidan Kwa (Year 8) was a Prize winner in the AMC
Australian Mathematics Competition, joining several
students from Years 7 to 12 who received High
Distinctions.
Twenty Hale students in Years 7, 8 and 9 took part
in the WA Junior Maths Olympiad (WAJO) Enriched
Mathematics for High School Students. The most
notable results included Will Rigg (Year 9) tying in
fourth place and being awarded the Data Analysis
Australia Merit Award. Also a Year 9 team – consisting
of Ayodeji Oyenaike, Will Rigg, Phoenix Wang and
Shintaro Mega – scored sixth place.

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