At the beginning of Term 4 we welcomed Marielle Kohler from Groeningen in Germany. Along with the other international students she joined the Year 13 Outdoor Education Climbing Trip to Mount Cook. The highlight was learning and playing card games in the hut in the evening.

Now that NCEA exams have started Lizzie, Maria - Theresia, Katharina, Zoe and Marielle have joined with International Students from Cromwell for a programme of activities for the month of November.

We were privileged to have Ned Wepiha (Ngā Puhi) from the Mana Tāhuna Charitable Trust Queenstown lead us through our Pepeha, share Māori cultural knowledge and teach the students Rākau activities. He is a board member and cultural advisor.

Tamah Alley (Central Otago District Council Mayor) also visited the group to welcome them and share information about her role.

Students visited the Central Stories Museum for an interesting behind the scenes tour, visited Como Villa Winery where they learnt about the local winemaking history, had lunch at Monte Christo Winery and then finished off their local history education with a visit to Clyde Museum.

The rest of the week included biking from Lauder to Auripo Viaduct and return. Thank you to Mr Grewe (Dunstan High School Outdoor Education Teacher 2026) and Mr Flanagan for supporting this trip. A visit to Arrowtown and a bike ride along the Arrow river to the Bungee Bridge provided lots more highlights.

This week has seen the group kayaking on McNulty Inlet. An overnight trip to Dunedin to learn to surf has been highly anticipated as many of our International Students live a long way away from the sea!

Rosemary Flanagan

International Director