Welcome to our November Newsletter

The month of November holds Australia's biggest race day - The Melbourne Cup. It is known in Australia as the "the race that stops the nation." The cup is always held on the first Tuesday of November, which this year is November 3rd. It's a great excuse to put on your best clothes and have a glass of champagne in the sun with friends. Enjoy this historic day in Melbourne!

GEOS Challenge Seminars coming up in December

We will be hosting GEOS Challenge seminars during the month of December so if you're interested, please come along and find out more about it. The seminars will be held on the following dates and times:

Wednesday, December 2nd - 10am - 10.30am in Room 5.01 (Level 5)

Wednesday, December 9th - 4.30pm - 5.00pm in Room 5.01

Wednesday, December 16th - 10am - 10.30am in Room 5.01

The seminar will be conducted by our Senior Teacher, Chelsea Bernal, who also wrote & designed a big part of the course. We look forward to seeing you there!

GEOS Challenge Course coming in January!

A new exciting course has been written and designed by our highly experienced academic team. The aim of this course is to give students a taste of what they may like to focus on in the future by introducing them to IELTS, Business English and English For Further Studies (EFS).

The course is aimed at students with a strong Pre-Intermediate Level. All students will need to complete an entry test to enter this course - you can come every Tusday at 3pm and every Thursday at 9.30am to do your free test. Please call us on 9650 0710 and ask for Junka, Tim or Anne or send us and email at info@geosmelbourne.com.au for more information about this course and for a sample timetable.

IELTS Exams

Please not that the IELTS Exam needs to be applied for by each individual student. Please note that the IELTS Exam is not part of the IELTS Exam Preparation Course and must be booked separately to the course. If you would like any further information on booking the IELTS Exam or testing dates please contact Junka, Tim or Anne at info@geosmelbourne.com.au. You can also access the IELTS website - http://www.ielts.org/ - which has alot of information.

Testimonial - Annabell Steengaard from Denmark

ANNABELL STEENGAARD FROM DENMARK

1. Why Did you Choose Melbourne?

I have always been fascinated by Australia! After finishing school I wanted to improve my English before beginning uni in Denmark. I saw a brilliant opportunity to go to Australia. " Slå to fluer med et smæk" and then Melbourne because I’ve got family here that I haven't seen for a long time and then I thought it could be fun to be near by them and hopefully get to know them better, which has turned out pretty well for me.

2. Why did you choose GEOS?

It was difficult to find a school from Denmark so all I had was the internet. I checked out a lot of schools and I thought GEOS had the best website, it looked trustworthy and serious. I also like the location of the school.

3. What do you do in your free time?

I enjoy having a cup of tea after school with my new GEOS friends. We sometimes go to the museum and go shopping. Sometimes I also like to go for a beer with my cousins and friends. I like to go to the cinema as well and now that the weather is getting better I think it is lovely to be outside and explore Melbourne.

4. What do you plan to do after GEOS?

After GEOS I will travel in Australia for a couplle of weeks and then I am heading back to Denmark.

5. What advice would you give to other Danish students thinking about coming to Melbourne?

Go and see Anne at the office at GEOS ! I think Melbourne is a nice city to come to and it has many possibilities, so just go go go , and enjoy .

6. Which course(s) have you studied here at GEOS Melbourne and what did you think of them?

I was in the general English courses for about 4 weeks and then I am new in the EFS-course , I think that both of them have been really good and they have giving me a lot and helped me improve .

Student Of The Month - November

Congratulations to Gabriel Salinas Fuentes (in photo with Alicia) on becoming student of the month for November. According to Alicia, our ILC coordinator, "Gabriel is a regular visitor to the ILC who always strives to improve his English. He utilizes his time in the ILC by reviewing his class work, borrowing grammar books, working on his pronunciation, borrowing books and DVD’s or asking lots of questions about the English Language - he even practices his English with Alicia or Jel. Congratulations and keep up your hard work." Gabriel will receive a dictionary and a GEOS Melbourne t-shirt and we will display his photo at reception here on level 1. Well Done Gabriel - You're an inspiration to all of us!

Teacher of The Month - Anita Speziale

What made you decide to become a teacher?
I wanted to do something that involved meeting new people, talking and being creative - teaching is perfect for me!!!

How long have you been a teacher and how long have you taught at GEOS Melbourne?
I've been a teacher for about 7 years now. I taught in Rome for 5 years and I've been at GEOS for just over 2 years.

What are the 3 best parts of being a teacher for you?
Working with people on a daily basis is the best part of being a teacher! I also enjoy interacting with different nationalities and cultures.
Teaching is very rewarding!!! It's great, for example, when you have students at low levels and you are able to see their progress as they continue studying.

What makes GEOS a special place to work?
I think the best thing about GEOS is that the classes are so multi-cultural. We have a great mix of nationalities and it's great for the students to interact with each other - I think that when they finish studying at GEOS, they have not only studied English but they have been able to learn about different cultures and experience friendships that they would never have imagined!!!

Where are you originally from and where did you grow up?
I'm Australian although my background is Italian. I was born right here in Melbourne and have lived most of my life here - except for the 5 years that I lived overseas teaching English.

Is there anything else you would like to add or tell us?
As a teacher, I am very lucky to be part of the experiences my students have when they decide to come and live and study in Australia.

Public holidays over Christmas.

Just an early reminder that GEOS Melbourne will be closed on Friday, December 25th (Christmas Day), Monday, December 28th and Friday, January 1st (New Year's Day). It's a great opportunity to experience an Australian Christmas with friends and speak alot of English - enjoy!

Our Current Nationality Mix

Please visit

http://www.geosmelbourne.com.au/files/geos_mce_nationality_mix_nov_09.pdf

Staff Contact Details:

Natalie Reddy, General Manager: manager@geosmelbourne.com.au
Okkyoung Hong (Okky), Office Manager: okkyoung@geosmelbourne.com.au
Cameron Winton, Director of Studies: cameron@geosmelbourne.com.au
Anne Tinkler, Marketing Coordinator: anne@geosmelbourne.com.au
Junka Nikahara, Marketing Coordinator: junka@geosmelbourne.com.au

Tim Field, Student Services Coordinator: tim@geosmelbourne.com.au

Nadiya Grubrina, Accounts Administrator: accounts@geosmelbourne.com.au
Janelle Park, Enrolments Officer: enrolments@geosmelbourne.com.au
Mara Micheloni, Homestay Coordinator: homestay@geosmelbourne.com.au

Elaine Chan Student Services: reception@geosmelbourne.com.au

Derly Rodriguez, Academic Administration: academic@geosmelbourne.com.au

General Enquiries info@geosmelbourne.com.au

Contact us

Level 1, 277 Flinders Lane,
Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Telephone +61 3 9650 0710
Facsimile +61 3 9654 1886

CRICOS 01698G

Activities at GEOS Melbourne

October activities have been a great success. In October we had three Endeavour Natural Wellness clubs sessions, soccer got a coach and changed to outdoors, and the free Salsa lessons started. In November we have a range of new and fun activities such as; Capoeira, a nature walk, knock-off drinks, the docklands markets and the German Christkindlmarkt (Christmas market). Students need to remember to sign up for all activities on level 1.

Congratulations to Younghoon Ji!

We would like to congratulate Younghoon Ji on winning the writing prize. We asked students to write about the activity they had participated in here at GEOS Melbourne. Younghoon has won a free one day tip to The Great Ocean Road courtesy of Matt from Student Travel Services http://www.stsaustralia.com.au/. Well Done Younghoon!