Telopea Park School
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| Telopea Park School | |
|---|---|
| spectans orietia solis lumina looking twoards the rising sun |
|
| Established | 1923 |
| School type | Primary school High school |
| Principal/ Headmaster |
Michael Maniska Jean Paul Clement (Proviseur) Kerrie Blain (Deputy, High school) Kate Sutherland (Deputy, Primary school) |
| Location | Canberra, ACT, Australia  |
| Campus | Urban |
| Enrolment | 705 (2007, High school only) |
| School colours | Red, white and blue |
| Homepage | http://www.telopea.act.edu.au/ |
Telopea Park School is a public school in Canberra. It is named after the adjacent Telopea Park. It was founded in 1923, making it the oldest school in Canberra still operating. Telopea Park School is one of the few public schools in the ACT to teach students from kindergarten to tenth grade and is the only Bi-national school in Canberra (Following an agreement signed with the French government in 1983). It is also the only high school in the ACT to be part of the International Baccalaureat Middle Years program, having gained I.B. membership in 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Primary
One half of the school building has been allocated to the primary section of Telopea Park School. All of the students in primary at Telopea Park School follow a bi-lingual education, with a majority of lessons given in french by french teachers recognised by both the French Education department and the ACT Department of Education. Students also have classes given in english to complement their french language education.
[edit] High school
The high school is not exclusively french speaking, there is a stream dedicated to students continuing their education in french, the EFS (English French Stream) follows the french education system while incorporating three compulsory ACT courses. The other students, who form about two thirds of the student body, follow the ACT high school system and can then complete the IB Middle Years Program. Most students from Telopea Park School go on to Narrabundah College, the EFS in particular as Narrabundah College is the only College in Canberra (and one of only two schools in Australia) to allow students to sit the Baccalauréat Français.
[edit] Languages
(High school) Telopea park school, unlike most other ACT schools, has made learning a language other than english (LOTE) compulsory. Students usually study a single language for all four years. However sometimes beginner classes are started for new students to the school in years 9 and 10. ESL students do not have to study one foreign language but have a Language Studies class instead. Students must choose between:
- French (mainstream French, advanced French or EFS French)
- German
- Italian
- Spanish
- Japanese
- Indonesian
There are currently discussions of getting rid of learning Indonesian at Telopea and replacing it with Chinese (Cantonese or Mandarin). The Principal, Mr Maniska, is discussing this prospect with school teachers at the moment.
[edit] The English French Stream
The English French Stream is essentially a portion of students at Telopea High School who follow a different system and curriculum to those of the English Stream, who follow the standard Australian system and curriculum. These students are usually those who follow on from Telopea Park Primary School. The way the EFS students learn is very different to that of the students of the English Stream: EFS studens have more classes, as they have compulsory History and Geography every term, and they learn three languages instead of two.
As the EFS follows a different system to the English Stream, it has a different timetable, and consequently the students from the two streams have few chances to mingle. The exceptions to this situation are English, LOTE and electives in years 9 and 10. The french stream classes have always been contact groups _.1 and _.2 (like 8.1 and 8.2) until 2008, when the new year 7s were mixed in with the English Stream. The Bilingual Stream has its own principal, called the Proviseur.
To underline the equal importance of the French and Australian streams, both national anthems are played at the beginning of the school assembly each Friday. This year, in 2008, it is the 25 year anniversary of the agreement between the French and AUstralian governments to have a bilingual school. This agreement was signed in 1983.
[edit] Notable Alumnae
- Gough Whitlam: former Australian Prime Minister.[[1]]
- Jackie Chan: actor. [[2]]
[edit] External links
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