I am attending Year 12 at Kerikeri High School where I’ve met amazing people who are always ready to help and support me.
New Zealand is just wonderful. If you love nature, like me, I am pretty sure it would be the right place for you. If you like having the beach 10 minutes from your house or meeting fantastic people that will make your life better, you will find that New Zealand is your perfect country.
I have to say that studying here is very different from Italy and, after talking with my international friends, Europe in general.
Here are five things that I find different about studying in New Zealand.
1. Teachers care about you
Here, the teachers really care about you, they always want to be sure that you understand the lesson and if you have any questions they are always ready and happy to answer them.
Plus, they are very friendly and make jokes! So, you are never going to feel under pressure or uncomfortable in your class.
2. Choosing your subjects
One thing that I was really excited about was finally choosing my subjects. If you are from Italy, you will know that we can’t choose our subjects.
Here you can decide what kind of subjects you want to take. If you prefer arts you can choose all your subjects based on art or if you like science subjects you can take physics, biology, chemistry and a lot of others.
This will make you feel happy about going to school because you know that you are going to do what you like and what could be useful for what you would like to do in the future.
3. Practical approach to the subjects
One thing that I found very different from my school back in Italy is that they have a very practical approach to the subjects. You will always do something during the lesson, you won’t be just reading from a book or doing exercises on what you’ve learnt.
Let’s take science, for example. In my school we go to the laboratory maybe once a year, here we are in the laboratory every day because we need to do that work to completely understand what we are studying.
4. Changing classrooms
Here in New Zealand every subject has its own classroom and you have to change rooms every time. You finish one lesson and you move rooms to the next one.
I really like this way of going to class because it gives you the option to take a breather between lessons. You can go out and walk on the grass – you can meet other students and your friends and see the sky up above you.
This will help you to relax and be more focused during the next lesson.
5. Shorter terms
You will have four terms, 10 weeks each, separated by two weeks of holidays. Don’t worry, you still have a longer holiday for Christmas and summer!
I find the shorter terms work well as it helps you to relax and go back to school happier.
I have to admit that after a certain amount of time spent at school I want to finish up. I start to get bored, so I think that it’s healthy to have a break after a while.
It is also nice because you can travel during the holidays. You don’t have to stay at home overwhelmed by homework and have a little bit of time for yourself. You can go out and have fun!
