Since 2012, Year 9 Cornish College students have had the opportunity and privilege to work with a variety of remote communities in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia through our Make A Difference Experience (MADE) program. So far they have funded and built classrooms, built kitchens and drying rooms needed in a tropical climate, installed water tanks, funded three students to attend school with the view to continuing at university, and more.
“I feel the Year 9 MADE trip has given me a greater appreciation of what I have access to and also a broader outlook on what happens in other countries and how people live,” said now Year 10 student Niall of the experience.
Mrs Annemarie Denton, the integrated curriculum co-ordinator for Years 8 and 9 students, is inspired by these encounters. “I encourage my students to discover more about their world and the MADE program is a wonderful place to begin. Our students raise funds to build much-needed infrastructure in village schools. They work with young people in their villages to help build their schools, and even though they can't speak the same language, they connect with one another through working and laughing together.”
The MADE program aligns with our motto at Cornish College: “Make a Difference.” The experience also helps to encourage confident and knowledgeable young people who are well-prepared to take on the challenges of the senior years.
As students move into the Senior School, Years 10 to 12, they continue to embrace opportunities to make a difference. The inaugural student trip to East Timor will kick off in 2019, focused on cultural immersion and a partnership with a local school providing an English language program and taking positive action.
Students enjoy the opportunities to be ambassadors for their school and grow in confidence and self-awareness through confronting challenges beyond their familiar environment. They develop a global outlook as they grow to appreciate their own and a different culture.
To find out more about Cornish College, the VCE program, outdoor classrooms set on 100 acres and the build of their new Senior Studies Centre, please visit cornishcollege.vic.edu.au