A TEACHING placement abroad has helped Horsham’s Jessica Breuer foster connections between Horsham and Solomon Islands students.
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Miss Breuer completed a four-week placement teaching 38 grade two students at Bishop Epalle Catholic School in Honiara this month. Before she left, she collected dozens of kilograms of donated goods for Solomon Islands students, from books to pencils and sanitary packs.
She also collected letters from students at Horsham’s Ss Michael and John’s Primary School – where she has volunteered during her uni studies this year – written for Solomon Islands students.
On Friday, Miss Breuer returned to the Horsham school to deliver reply letters from her class abroad.
She said it was a lovely way to finish the trip.
“Apparently the students have been asking about me and when I was going to return with the letters,” she said.
“The students had time to think about how, just from letters, they could identify how different their lives are compared to the Solomon students. I thank Ss Michael and Johns school for allowing me to do this.”
The Horsham and Solomon Islands students also had the chance to meet through FaceTime during Miss Breuer’s exchange.
“My students overseas loved seeing people I’d been talking and the students they had wrote their letters to,” she said.
“Every day when I got to class they would ask if they could FaceTime the Australian students.”
The exchange was the first time Miss Breuer had handled a class alone.
“My teacher just came in before school said hello and then left and I wouldn’t see her again until after school,” she said.
“I had to implement routines and behavioural management strategies and learn how to work extremely well with EAL/D students – students for whom English is an additional language.
“From this experience I definitely feel like I am ready to finish my degree and get a classroom of my own.”
Miss Breuer said a typical school day would start at 7.15am, when she would arrive before officially starting work at 8am.
“Even being 45 minutes early I still would have at least 15 kids there before me because they were so excited to come and see me at school,” she said.
“I set up a classroom routine where I implemented the students brushing their teeth every morning. They would put a sticker next to their name so I knew they were there, and then they would go and brush their teeth outside.
“During the rest of the day we did lessons on English, maths, science, RE, health and PE. School would finish around 1pm, with a half-hour break at 10.30am.
“For the rest of the day I would either help around the school, plan, or do marking.”
Miss Breuer said some parts of the experience took her by surprise.
“I originally thought I would be spending my whole time in the school, but in the afternoon and on weekends we got involved heavily within the Honiara community by helping set up for graduation and attending mass,” she said.
“I didn’t really think too much about the ‘culture shock’ I would experience, but it is completely different to Australia: rubbish everywhere, protesting most days and just really confronting things I didn’t think about before going.
“It was great to spend so much time giving back to community and give them a helping hand as well as teaching.”
Miss Breuer said the best part of the exchange was seeing the positive effect she had on her class.
“By the end of the four weeks I nearly had every student’s parents come in and see me and say thank you, and tell me how much they had seen an improvement in their child,” she said.
“The most special moment though was when I received a letter from a student’s mum thanking me for everything I had done, and that she was going to meet me at the airport to say goodbye.”
Miss Breuer said she planned to continue sending sanitary packs with future university exchange groups after seeing the difference the packs made for her students.
“I took over 80 period packs for the girls and the response to that was incredible,” she said.
“When I pulled the packs out of the bag to give to the year 6 girls they all gasped. It sent shivers down my spine. They couldn’t stop thanking me and telling me how much of a difference I had made to their lives.”