Student Stories

Hello, my name is Jessie Oh. I am an international student from South Korea and I go to Rangitoto College as a year 9 student (I will be year 10 very soon!). I would like to talk about how my first year at Rangitoto had been. Firstly, Rangitoto found me a great host family to live in, one that I could always get help from and talk comfortably with. They would always welcome me after school and would help me with my schoolwork.

I was kind of scared and nervous of what a college might bring me during my first week, but the teachers and the students in my classes (they later became my friends, I had my ups and downs with them but in the end we always support each other) helped me to settle well in Rangitoto. The teachers make education fun and interesting, which leads to students being able to understand the subjects they learn in depth. They also makes sure that no student misses out on fun school work, allowing students who are not confident with their English to be included in the fun.  

There are many things at Rangitoto College that makes it stand out from other colleges, one of them are the numerous activities / clubs that you could join. Some of them are about sports, cultures and performing arts, but there are other topics that you could be interested in. I love playing my violin and I was worried that I might have to stop playing my instrument once I come to New Zealand, but it turned out that the school can provide music tuitions for many instruments, and has orchestras or band groups of different genres that you could be a part of. 

When I first came to Rangitoto College my English was not that good, but thanks to my amazing English teacher and my friends, at the end of year 9 I was able to achieve my goals of being the 1st of class in English. This was a big improvement for me and I am very grateful to my teacher for teaching me so well. I am planning to do more activities in Rangitoto next year, such as trying out for the violin auditions for the orchestra and starting to learn to play badminton. I think coming to Rangitoto College was the best choice I ever made because there is always something to look forward to in the future. 

저는 랑기토토 컬리지 9학년에 재학 중인 오예인(Jessie OH) 이에요. 

지금부터 제가 학교에서 보낸 첫 해에 대해서 이야기를 해보려고 해요.

먼저 학교에서는 제가 편안하게 지낼 수 있는 좋은 홈스테이를 연결시켜주었어요. 저희 홈스테이 가족은 제가 학교 수업이 끝나고 집으로 올 때면 늘 반갑게 맞아주시고, 때때로 제가 숙제하는 것을 도와주시기도 했어요.

학교에 등교한 첫 주는 걱정도 되고 두렵기도 했어요. 하지만 제가 듣는 각각의 수업에서 선생님들과 학생들은 제가 학교에 잘 적응할 수 있도록 많은 도움을 주었어요. 처음에는 낯설기만 하던 학생들이었는데 지금은 마음을 나눌 수 있는 친한 친구들이 되었어요.

선생님들의 수업들은 흥미진진해서 학생들이 수업 내용에 대해서 깊이 있게 이해할 수 있었어요. 그리고 또 선생님들은 수업 중에 진행되는 재밌는 활동들 중에도 반 친구 중 누구도 소외되지 않게 이끌어주셨어요. 심지어 그 친구가 수업 중의 활동을 이해할 수 없을 정도로 영어를 잘 못 해도 함께 수업을 즐길 수 있도록 배려해주셨어요.

또한 학교에는 각양각색의 문화와 관련된 것들이나 예술, 스포츠 그 외에도 재밌을 만한 엄청나게 다양한 동아리가 있어요.

제 경우에는 한국에 있을 때 바이올린 연주하는 것을 좋아했는데 뉴질랜드로 유학을 올 때 제가 좋아하는 바이올린을 계속 배우고 연주할 수 있을까 걱정이 되었어요. 그런데 제 걱정과는 달리 학교에서는 학생이 원하면 다양한 악기들을 가르쳐주는 수업들도 있었어요. 자신이 원한다면 오케스트라나 밴드 같은 음악활동도 가입 할 수 있어요.

제가 학교에 처음 왔을 때에는 영어 실력이 그렇게 좋았다고는 할 수 없었어요. 그러나 지금은 감사하게도 너무나 훌륭한 영어 선생님과 학교 친구들의 도움으로 9학년 마지막 학기에 영어 과목에서 반 1등을 하게 되었어요. 이렇게 향상될 수 있었던 것은 즐겁고 자상하게 가르쳐주신 선생님들 덕분이라고 생각해요.

요즘 저는 내년에 학교에서 어떤 활동을 할까 생각중이예요. 우선은 오케스트라의 바이올린 오디션을 볼 거고, 배드민턴 클럽에도 가입할 생각이에요.

랑이토토 늘 무슨 재밌는 일이 있을까 기대하는 즐거움이 있기 때문에 저는 랑이토토 컬리지에 오기를 정말 잘한 것 같아요.

Kia Ora! My name is Sum Yee and I am from Hong Kong. I came to New Zealand in 2010 as a Year 11 student and studied at Rangitoto College for my last three years of school, leaving in 2012.

Looking back at my time at Rangi, I have loved every single minute of school, made some of my best memories in life. My English was not fluent when I first came to New Zealand but people were all willing to help and I realized that language barrier is not a big issue at all. Everyone at school is really welcoming and friendly so you will never feel lonely. Additionally, I have made lifelong friendships here at Rangi. Rangi is the largest school in New Zealand with endless exciting and challenging opportunities and activities happening every day. You get to make new friends every day and expand your social circle during your time at Rangi. I loved the hustle and bustle around me every day especially during morning tea and lunch time - you could be meeting friends who are new to New Zealand, trying to get that last potato top pie at the bottom tuck shop, trying to protect your sandwiches being eaten by the seagulls or trying to find a spot in A block with your huge group of friends during winter time.

Furthermore, Rangi has changed my opinion about school, student life and education. School life in Hong Kong is so different to New Zealand because academic subjects are always the most important out of all. Subjects like Art, PE or Graphics are seen as not as important as Chinese, English and Mathematics because people think that studying these subjects won’t help you earn good money or get a job in the future. Every single subject is equally important at Rangi, and we were encouraged to think outside the box and explore topics out of the syllabus. The diversity of subjects enabled us to explore as many options as possible before moving on to our next stage of life. I chose tourism as one of my option in Year 12 and 13, a subject I had never thought of studying before coming to New Zealand. There is also many different activities for us to join. Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, an absolute beginner or an expert, there is something for you to join. While I was there, I had the chance to participate as both back stage and dancer in Stage Challenge, which is a dance, drama and design competition for all schools in New Zealand. Rangi has influenced me to step out of my comfort zone and explore new opportunities and things, including skydiving in Queenstown. I have become more outgoing and adventurous after studying at Rangi.

After finishing high school, I completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney before doing my Master of Heritage Conservation (Built Heritage) at the University of Auckland. It is exciting to be the first person to earn this Masters and I am hoping to use my skills to play an on-going role in heritage conservation here in New Zealand.

Last but not least, the homestay office at Rangi made the best match for me. Apart from my biological family, my host family, the Barry’s family, is now my other family. They treated me like their real daughter and sister and they are one of the reasons why I love New Zealand so much and had my best time of life here! I never had homesickness when I was in New Zealand thanks to them and we made heaps of amazing memories together. A big shout out to the Barry for all their support and love and I am really grateful to have them in my life.

Thank you my parents, host family and everyone at Rangi and New Zealand for giving me the opportunities and shaping who I am today. I would highly and 120% truly recommend Rangi to people who are considering studying abroad to create the most amazing and sweet as memories and experience!

我的名字叫林琛怡，在2010年由香港來到紐西蘭Rangitoto學院讀 11年班，至2012年完成我的中學課程。

回想這三年，我每分鐘都是那麽享受著Rangi帶給我多姿多彩的校園生活；初到紐西蘭時，我的英文並不流利，但是同學們都願意幫助我，我不感到孤單；我在Rangi結交到知心好友，我們最喜歡每天在小息和午餐時跑去小食部搶買最後一塊薯餅、為了保護我的三明治免被聰明的海鷗搶走跟牠們鬥智。

在Rangi，每個科目同樣重要，老師鼓勵我們跳出框框去思考，鼓勵我們去探索新事物，從探索中尋找答案，因而我選讀旅遊科，在來紐西蘭之前我從來沒想過有這門課程， 旅遊科涉足之廣泛令我大開眼界，學習令我樂在其中；我更有機會參加全國校際舞蹈賽，還有戲劇和設計比賽，Rangi不僅改變了我的人生觀，也影響了我對教育的看法，更令我變得更外向和富探索精神。

高中畢業後，我去澳洲悉尼大學修讀，然後再回來奧克蘭大學攻讀文物保護（建築文物）碩士學位，有幸成為第一個碩士畢業生，我希望能夠用我所學回饋紐西蘭，在文物保護工作中發揮作長。

最後，一定要提到的是我的寄宿家庭 Barry’s family，除了香港外，Barry’s family是我的另一個家，他們待我如親生女兒一樣，我一直沒有講感謝之言，在這裡也要說句: Barry’s family，我愛你們。

我感謝我的父母，我的寄宿家庭以及在Rangi和紐西蘭遇過的每一個人，給予我機會，塑造了我今天的我，令我的人生有著美好和最甜蜜的回憶和體驗！

Looking back at my time at Rangitoto College, I can say it without a doubt that Rangitoto College has made me a better person!

Academically, Rangitoto pushes me to pursue different challenging courses to extend my knowledge beyond textbooks, but it also teaches me how to use this applied knowledge in real life situations. All my teachers throughout high school are different in personalities and teaching styles, but every single one of them has been caring along the way in creating a supportive and engaging learning environment for the students. I appreciate their efforts in establishing Rangitoto as one of the best high schools not only in Auckland but New Zealand.

Extracurricularly, Rangitoto College has given me the opportunity to choose anything and everything. It gives me the platform to extend and grow in a personal, intellectual and physical level through its enjoyable music programs, social and competitive sports teams and all other cultural groups from Robotics to Model United Nations.

Socially, I have made great friends who not only give me the support I need along the way, but they are also my role models. We have been challenging each other and pushing each other along the way throughout our high school lives. The bonds we have made can only be strengthened by the scale and the size of the school, as everyone is talented and extraordinary in different ways. I have been learning something new and useful from everyone every day.

Overall, my high school experience is a nine out of ten. To make it a ten out of ten, I only wish I can stay here a bit longer as it is my home which offers me comfort and hope in the most memorable four years of my life.

在我在Rangitoto College的四年当中，这所高中把我变得更加完美。

在学习方面，Rangitoto College督促着我在不断学习新知识的同时，挺高自己，而且把我的知识运用到生活中。我高中生涯中的每一个老师，虽然教学风格和个性各有不同， 不过他们都给我建立了一个温馨的学习空间。我非常感谢他们的尽头和努力，他们对学生的热爱已经把Rangitoto College变成了不仅仅是在奥克兰，而是在新西兰都是数一数二的学校。

在课外活动方面，Rangitoto College让我去尝试和选择任何我想做的事情。通过各式各样的体育和音乐项目，我可以追求自己的喜好，培养自己的才能。

在生活方面，我交到许多多才多艺的朋友。从他们身上，我也学到了很多。在这么大的一个学校里，每一个人都是多才多艺的，我每天都能从他们身上学到很多。

为了让我的学校生活十全十美，我真的希望我在这儿能多呆一点时间。

What to say about my host family… simply amazing! At the beginning, when I received the information about it, I wasn't very happy because I’m not really keen on kids, but since the first day I got there, they’ve been adorable and very cute. I perfectly remember the first week: every day, before going to bed, all of the three children were hugging me, making me feel like their older sister and part of this new family.

Katie, the mother, has always been very kind and helpful even when I made some mistakes, like forgetting the freezer door opened ahahah. I really loved playing and talking with my three host brothers and I’ll never forget them, also because the oldest promised to come and see me in Italy when he is older. I can consider myself very lucky because I found such an amazing family to stay this three amazing months… my only regret is that I should have stayed longer! 

Cosa dire della mia host family…semplicemente fantastica! All’inizio, quando ho ricevuto tutte le informazioni riguardo la famiglia, non ero molto entusiasta, visto che non amo particolarmente i bambini piccoli, ma fin dal primo giorno in cui sono arrivata sono stati tutti molto carini e tenerissimi. Ricordo perfettamente la prima settimana: ogni giorno, prima di andare  a dormire, tutti e tre i bambini venivano ad abbracciarmi per darmi la buonanotte, facendomi sentire come se fossi loro sorella e parte di questa nuova famiglia.

Katie, la mamma, è sempre stata molto gentile e disponibile, anche quando facevo degli errori, come dimenticarmi la porta del freezer aperta ahahaha. Ho davvero amato giocare e parlare con i mie tre host brothers e non mi dimenticherò mai di loro, anche perché il piu grande mi ha promesso che, appena sarà grande abbastanza, verrà a trovarmi in Italia.  Non posso che considerarmi fortunata poiché ho trovato una famiglia meravigliosa in cui stare in questi tre fantastici mesi… il mio unico rimorso è di non essere stata di più!