Geelong-Viqueque Friendship Schools
"Developing social responsibility and connectedness with Timor Leste"
Starting in 2019, Geelong Viqueque Friendship Schools (GVFS) has partnered with Mary MacKillop Today (MMT) in an innovative teacher training in Viqueque. 40 Viqueque teachers will take part and GVFS has committed to covering the expenses for seven teachers at a total cost of $A14,000. The focus is on assisting the professional development of current primary... Continue Reading →
Timorese parents value education. The students, both boys and girls, are very keen to attend primary and secondary school. The government has invested in the regions schools by building and equipping many primary and secondary schools. They have also employed teachers for these schools. However, a high proportion of the teachers have minimum or no... Continue Reading →
During 2017-2018, Geelong Viqueque Friendship Schools Inc supported Mary MacKillop International’s one-year training program. This funding allowed 5 teachers from Viqueque to participate. It allowed 150 children to receive quality education in the classroom and to assist in creating a positive future for themselves and their community. This teacher training program is particularly vital in... Continue Reading →
Peter Cannon recently received a cheque for $7,447 from the students at The Geelong College. Led by the Middle School SRC team they raised funds to support the schools in Viqueque, particularly their primary partner school Loi-Huno. The funds will be used for a teacher training program conducted at the school by qualified Timorese teachers... Continue Reading →
At our last meeting we received a request from three teachers from No 1 Viqueque and Cabira, Jocquim, Paulina and Marcella requesting assistance with the upgrading of their qualifications. As part of their studies the teachers are required to complete a thesis. The cost of the course is approximately $700 and it was decided to... Continue Reading →
Students from The Geelong College have made a generous donation of $7,447 towards support of schools in Viqueque, particularly their primary partner school at Loi-Huno. Loi-Huno PS is about twenty kilometres north of the Viqueque town on the road to Bacau. The funds will be used for a five-week intensive teacher training program conducted at... Continue Reading →
On the 12th May 2006 my wife Yvonne and I strolled along the unkempt esplanade of Dili’s beach front before walking through the streets of the town centre. Some of the buildings were still smoke stained and burned out shells, the legacy of the departure of Indonesia’s military five years earlier. The streets were littered... Continue Reading →
Veronica Gregoric and Noel Fanning have produced a short and evocative DVD Keep the Wheel Turning on Geelong’s small effort to support education in Viqueque. Much of the footage comes from Noel’s visit to East Timor in May 2011 when he joined a group of teachers and principals drawn from the Geelong-Viqueque Friendship Schools members.... Continue Reading →
A 21 day Professional Development Program was held in Geelong for four principals and three teachers from Viqueque partner schools. The program focused on how schools are managed, good teaching practices and English as a Second Language. The program was funded by the East Timor Ministry of Education ($30,000) and the generous support of Geelong... Continue Reading →
