Ringwood North Primary School VIC
Sector: Government
School level: Primary
In June 2015, 21 Grade 6 students at Ringwood North Primary School (RNPS) were glued to their school's Polycom unit to watch a dramatic dance and acrobatics performance streamed live from the Sydney Opera house. Ringwood North was one of eight schools from across Australia and South Korea watching the Tale of Samulnori performance from their classroom. This was followed by a question and answer session to give students the chance to 'meet the performers' virtually.
Ringwood North students are not new to the idea of global collaboration through ICT. With BRIDGE partnerships in Indonesia and Korea, RNPS uses videoconferencing tools to link up with their partner school in Korea each week.
The students take turns preparing and presenting to each other. According to their teacher, Merryn Platt, they have increased their understanding of Korean culture and their connection to the Korean school in Busan has created an opportunity to learn about the country that they would not have otherwise had.
Ringwood North's partner in Indonesia is in Bandung, West Java. Following a BRIDGE teacher exchange and professional learning programme, teachers from Bandung arrived in Melbourne with some of their students. They were hosted with families from Ringwood North and some of these families have reciprocated the visit. Teachers, students and their parents have fully engaged in reciprocal visits, strengthening the school partnership and subsequent friendships. Five teachers from Ringwood North PS are planning another visit to their partner school in Bandung to share more ideas for teaching, learning, and global collaboration.
Students have increased their understanding of Korean culture and their connection to the Korean school in Busan has created an opportunity to learn about the country that they would not have otherwise had.
– Merryn Platt, teacher, Ringwood North Primary School