At Kalinda, we pride ourselves in making the learning of language and culture relevant to communicating with others. We do this with our Branch Out Exchange partners - Lilyvale, a primary school in Japan. 

Students engage in the Japanese language for an hour per week from Foundation to Grade 6. Students build up their confidence to speak, read and write through the exchange activities and enjoy the friendship between Australia and Japan.

Our students have shown a great flexibility to enjoy both the similarities and differences between cultures while learning the language.

Kalinda's International Internship Program

For over 20 years, the Kalinda community has been hosting Japanese university graduates/teachers. They visit Kalinda for 6-12 months and staying with our families. The Interns pay their own way to Australia and work free as a volunteer. Interns love to stay with our families. Families enjoy taking the Interns on outings and family events and learning the Japanese language. We enjoy keeping in touch with them. Our previous intern teachers came and helped us in Japan when we went on a Japan trip.

Branch Out Exchange Program

We are very proud to have Lilyvale Primary School from Mito, Ibaraki in Japan as our Branch Out Exchange program partner. Our current challenge is called “Tomodachi Project” that has facilitated Kalinda students meeting Lilyvale students in an online meeting under the COVID situations.

Every second year our Senior School students, together with Warranwood Primary school are given an opportunity of a Japan trip. Lilyvale Primary School visited Kalinda and Warranwood in 2017 for the first time. The school community welcomed them and it strengthened the community’s social and international development capabilities.

We are fortunate to keep exchanging artwork with Kofu Higashi Primary School from Kofu, Yamanashi in Japan. Their wonderful calligraphy work and drawings are displayed in the Kofu Higashi corner every year. Students and staff had opportunities to visit them near the beautiful Mt Fuji in the past.

Our intern teachers also offer Kalinda students opportunities to communicate with their students after they arrive back in Japan.

The all process from the exchange work to a trip is shared among the whole school, so the students develop an aim to listen, speak, read and write Japanese and also learn the culture. The students understand themselves as communicators.

Branch Out Day and Japanese Evening

The students have the opportunity to order Australian and Japanese lunch. We exchange cultural activities on our Branch Out Day. Lilyvale students share their Japanese cultural activities and Kalinda students share Australian cultural activities including Aussie dress up and bush dance. The students are exposed to Japanese cultures with their family and friends at our Japan evening biennially.  The parents have an opportunity to be informed about the Branch Out Japan trip directly from the trip group members as well.

Our Japanese Garden

Through our school entrance-way, you will see our beautiful Japanese garden in the courtyard built in 2016. It features bamboo, maple and cherry trees, a pond and a little tea house. Students have opportunities to rake the gravel and spend a peaceful time reading. We had a Star Festival hanging our wishes on the bamboo trees.

Kalinda students have been fundraising to help the Japense schools since the devasting tsunamis hit in 2011.