Telopea Park School

Telopea Park School

Latin: Spectans orientia solis lumina
Looking towards the rising sun
Location
Barton, ACT
Australia
Information
Type Primary school
secondary school (Years 7–10)
Established 1923
Principal Kerrie Blain
Grades K-10
Enrolment ~1127 (2010)
Campus Urban
Colour(s) Red, white and blue
              
Website www.telopea.act.edu.au http://www.lyceefrancoaustralien-efs.org
Telopea Park School circa 1923.

Telopea Park School (French: ''Lycée Franco-Australien de Canberra'') is a public school in Canberra, Australia. It is named after the adjacent Telopea Park. It was founded in 1923, making it the oldest operating school in Canberra. 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 (as opposed to college) in the ACT to be part of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP), having gained IB membership in 2006. It has been listed by the ACT Heritage Council.[1]

Primary school

One half of the school's buildings has been allocated to the primary section of Telopea Park School. All of the students in primary at Telopea Park School follow a bilingual education, with 80% of the lessons from Kindergarten to Year 2 given in French by teachers recognised by both the French Education department and the ACT Department of Education. In Years 3 to 6, French and English is taught as a 50/50 ratio. French staff are generally contracted for 2 to 3 years. They arrive and depart mid-year in accordance with Northern Hemisphere schooling. Students also have classes given in English by Australian staff to complement their French language education.

Secondary school

The secondary school is not exclusively English speaking. The English/French Stream (EFS) allows students to continue their education in French. It 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 secondary school system and can then complete the International Baccalaureate Organisation 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.

Languages

During Years 7 to 10, learning a language other than English is compulsory at Telopea park school, unlike most other ACT secondary schools. 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. Students choose between Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, Indonesian, and French.

The English/French Stream

The English/French Stream (EFS) 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 ACT 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 from that of the students of the English Stream: EFS students have fewer elective classes, as they have compulsory History and Geography every term, and they learn three languages instead of two (English, French, and a third language).

As the EFS follows a different system to the English Stream, it has a different timetable. The French stream classes have always been contact groups _.1 and _.2 (like 9.1 and 9.2) until 2008, when the new year 7s were mixed in with the English Stream. The Bilingual Stream has its own principal (le proviseur). French Stream students are often affectionately referred to by their English Stream counterparts (and themselves) as "Frenchies".

To underline the equal importance of the French and Australian streams, both national anthems are played at the beginning of the school assembly which is on every other Friday.

Notable alumni

School Captains

· 2015 : Mahdid Azam and Philippa Evans
· 2014 : Peter Alliott and Siobhán Honey
· 2013 : Jeremiah Mar and Véronique Wong-Kai-In
· 2012 : Talis Tebecis and Noemie Huttner-Koros
· 2011 : Aiden Daly and Ashleigh Buckley
· 2010 : Clancy Baxter and Beatrice Tonks

See also

External links

Media related to Telopea Park School at Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. ↑ "Heritage (Decision about Registration for Telopea Park School, Barton) Notice 2011" (PDF). ACT Heritage Council. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Burgess, Verona (9 February 2000). "Scientist a Courageous and Brilliant Leader". The Canberra Times (Fairfax Media). p. 11.
  3. ↑ Edward Gough Whitlam, archived from the original on 22 June 2013

Coordinates: 35°18′50″S 149°8′3″E / 35.31389°S 149.13417°E / -35.31389; 149.13417

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