The Southport School 2018

Week 1: We arrived in Southport, Australia with only four weeks to experience everything the country had to offer. It was July 16 around 8 a.m. when we arrived at the school. We were exhausted after the grueling 22 hour travel day, but thanks to a nearby coffee shop we were able to stay awake for the day. After arriving, we were given a quick tour of The Southport School until it was time for us to select our classes for the month. We both took a variety of classes including: accounting, economics, business management, legal studies, and art. We were then taken to be introduced to our new home, the Thorold Boarding House. The day after arriving, we immediately got introduced to an Australian University, Griffith University. We got to go with our new economics class to an economic seminar hosted by the university. The remaining part of the school week consisted of getting adjusted to boarding school life, meeting new friends, and sitting in on our new classes. Next came the weekend. On Friday night, we visited a nearby beach with some of our new friends. Saturday, we watched the school rugby team dominate at home and the basketball team play a close game. Sunday, we visited a massive shopping mall downtown known as the Pacific Fair.

The Nimmo building                                                                       The Pacific Fair


Week 2: By the second week, we began to get into the routine of classes. Along with normal classes we would occasionally be taught bout how to avoid fake news, as well as leadership lessons in a class they called "life and faith". After school we would typically go to nearby shops and restaurants with friends. Our favorite spot to hang out became Pizza Hut where lots of the students would go. After a week of listening in on the fascinating classes, the weekend finally arrived. Friday night was another night down by the beach; however, before going we grabbed dinner and explored downtown Surfer's Paradise. On Saturday, there was no home rugby game, but we still got to see the basketball game. Later, that afternoon, we went to a different shopping mall called the "Australia Fair" where we went to go see a movie with the boys. The following day was spent mostly at Movie World, a popular attraction of the Gold Coast, where we got to ride some insane roller-coasters.

Movie World

Week 3: Week three was different from most school weeks. We started the week taking leave from school on Monday to check out the local Wildlife Sanctuary. We saw lots of new and exotic animals that we had never seen before like, koalas and kangaroos. The next couple of days we spent attending school regularly until Friday. Friday, we took leave off school again, this time to visit the Burleigh Head National Park. While there, we hiked trails through one of the last remaining forests in Australia that sits on a beach. After a long hike, we spent the rest of our afternoon in the boarding house. The next day was our last Saturday of the trip. To celebrate, we spent the night at a friend's house who lived nearby after the rugby game. On Sunday, we took it easy and stayed at boarding house with friends.


                                            Wildlife Sanctuary

Burleigh Head National Park

Week 4: We began our final week with one last excursion. This time we visited Gold Coast's Sea World. We got to see even more animals here including a native tiny species of penguins, polar bears, and dolphins. Our favorite part was the dolphin show. The rest of our week leading up to our departure on Friday morning was full of final goodbyes with all the new friends we made. We would like to thank Mrs. Scholar, Mr. Gioia, the Warner Family, and all those at TSS that showed us so much hospitality throughout our stay. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Oath.


World's smallest species of penguin