Our placement was in Eddystone Primary School which opened in 1986. It is situated near Heathridge near Joondalup (around 25km) north of Perth. We worked within the Intensive English Classrooms (IEC) alongside a teacher assisting with the daily school routines and the teaching of Maths, Science, History, Geography, Physical Education, Music, Art and Library studies. We were involved with the classroom preparations, taking children 1:1 for assessments and delivering the lessons ourselves.
The school caters for children from Kindergarten age through to year 6 with the Instensive English Program currently having children enrolled from Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East and South America. These children could have been born in Australia or could have come from a refugee background. It is one of 8 Intensive English Centres in the metropolitan area.
The school day at Eddystone Primary School is full time Monday to Friday starting at 8:40am and finishing at 2:45pm. There is a 15 minute break at 'recess' and staff and volunteers are entitled to a 30minute lunch break. There are no shops within walking distance of the school so make sure you take lunch and a water bottle which you can refill there.
We stayed in Townsend Lodge which was provided by our project. The hostel was located on Adelaide Terrace which is situated in the centre of Perth city (making travelling to and from Eddystone and on weekends very handy!). The hostel was very basic yet comfortable and clean throughout our three week stay. We had our own rooms with a single bed, wardrobe, desk, draws and a mirror as well as a shared single sex bathroom with the other residents who were staying in the hostel. There is no air conditioning at Townsend Lodge, however each room should have a fan, you can always ask at reception if your room does not have one.
There are also communal areas in the hostel which include two TV rooms, 2 dining rooms, a kitchen (where you have your own fridge and shared freezer), 2 outdoor areas, a bbq and a laundry room.
We took the train every day from Perth Underground station to Whitfords station which runs every 10 minutes. We then had to get the 464 bus from Whitfords bus station, which dropped us off just outside the school gates.
Transport did become a little expensive, spending around $50 every 3-4 days. To bring down the costs of transport 'Transperth' have a travel card which you buy for $10 and then upload money onto the card when needed. This card provides you with 15-20% discount on all buses, trains and ferries in and around Perth.
As well as this, 'CAT buses' operate around Perth city Centre. These buses are free and run every 15 minutes in the Free Transit Zones (FTZ) labelled on bus stops.
The social life in Perth is great because there are a lot of backpackers travelling around Australia, so staying in a hostel meant that we were able to meet lots of new people. There are plenty of places to go and visit after your day at placement and on weekends such as wildlife parks, islands, shops, bars, restaurants, clubs and most importantly.. the beach!
Drinks can be a little expensive in the bars so make sure you take lots of money with you!!
Things
to do, things not to do
Things to do: Caversham Wildlife park, Penguin Island at Rockingham, Cohuna Wildlife park, Scarborough and Cottesloe beach, Fremantle, Mandurah and Mandurah foreshore, The Crowne Plaza, Swan River, Kings park, Margaret River, Bussleton, Bumbury, Margaret river chocolate factory, Leederville.
Things to do if you hire a vehicle: Its always great to make the most of your surroundings so why not hire a car and split the cost between those who want to travel with you...Serpentine national park is great place to see natural wildlife including kangaroos, wallabies and the occasional wombat. It has 2 hikes that you can do and a natural waterfall and spring water lake to swim in so make sure you take your swimwear!
A few hours drive away are the Pinnacles (natural rock formations) which is a great tourist attraction, however be sure to do the drive through tour as it is huge! they have a hidden shop where you can buy some beautiful postcards! Just past the pinnacles is Jurien Bay, great beach with the possibility of seeing turtles, seals and dolphins in the wild! On your way back is lancelin, where at the local shop you can hire Sand boards and get directions to a massive area for sandboarding...such fun but be sure to take sunglasses or goggles if you have any...as if the wind is strong the sand gets in your eyes, teeth and hair!
Things not to do: Dont just do your food shopping at Woolworths as some things can be expensive there. If Woolworths do not have it on special then COLES will do. You can also shop at IGA and 711.
Don't forget your passport when buying alcohol at a bottle shop, most of them will not accept a UK drivers licence as a form of identity, it must be your passport.
- Make sure you take a lot of money.. you're going to need it! Australia is expensive and there are so many places to go and see.
- Buy a book all about Australia, it will provide you with a lot of information about where to visit, where to eat, what activities to do etc.
- Make sure you print off a copy of your visa!!
- Take out medical insurance, you'll need it if anything goes wrong!!
- Be sure to check out local information centres as they can provide with you plenty of touristy things to do!
Unfortunately food and transport was not included on this project so we had to fund for ourselves. We budgeted around $70 per week for food and the transport to and from the project were around $10 per day.
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