The Archer community welcomed three students and one teacher from St. Catherine’s School in Melbourne, Australia, upon their arrival on April 2 to Los Angeles. Katie Frances, Rose Hogan and Chloe Stuart are all Year 10 students at St. Catherine’s School and are staying with Archer tenth graders Abby Gore, Halle Jacobs and India Halsted and their families respectively.
Elizabeth Ryan, Year 8 Dean and History teacher at St. Catherine’s School, accompanied the three Australian students.
After a successful pilot year during the 2013-2014 school year, this is the second Archer-St. Catherine’s exchange. Honors Pre-Calculus and AP Calculus AB teacher Tim Rule has worked with Archer families to put together a memorable exchange for all students, with activities including trips to local LA hotspots.
Prior to arriving in LA, Frances, Hogan, Stuart and Ryan all traveled to San Francisco to explore the city.
“Participating in the Australia exchange program has been super fun and interesting. I have loved getting to know my exchange partner, Rose, and I have loved exploring LA and doing fun activities,” Gore ’17 said.
“I’ve found a lot of programs at Archer to be exciting and have encouraged me to participate in similar activities at home, such as the self defense program and ceramics. After adjusting to cars in the right hand lane here in America, I think it’s safe to say I feel right at home,” Stuart said, also noting her newfound appreciation for Chipotle.
The Australian students will return to Melbourne on April 17 after spending two full weeks on the Archer campus shadowing their host sisters in their classes.
Gore, Jacobs and Halsted will travel with Rule to Melbourne in July.
“I am excited to be the chaperone for this exchange. I have already learned so much from my conversations with Ms. Ryan, and I now can’t wait to go to Melbourne to see St. Catherine’s first hand,” Rule said.
“This exchange has been amazing: a completely unique experience. I have enjoyed traveling around LA and seeing my hometown from a new and different perspective. It has been fun to ‘show off’ my city in a way that I never have before,” Jacobs shared. “I am also looking forward to visiting Australia not only to learn about another culture and school, but also to visit my new friend.”
