Staff at Embassy

Fundraising at Embassy London

Lisa Evripidou, from Embassy London, writes:

Students sold St. Valentine's cards and flowers last month, and I can now report that we raised £211.52.  This will be doubled by Embassy to £423.04. This is a fantastic achievement for the charity committee and great for the students who volunteered their time. See photos on our Facebook page.

Secondly, the money raised from the Football Tournament has not yet been counted yet but is over £400, which will be doubled to £800 by Embassy. Another fantastic achievement!

On Friday 18th March it was Wear Jeans Day which meant staff were allowed to wear jeans for the day.

On the same day, we held International Food Night in the canteen for staff and students. 18 countries took part. Students could come and buy food typical of these countries. The students who cooked the food were very excited about sharing their favourite dishes with everyone. All money raised will be going to charity.

That brings our running total to £16,570.19 raised for Building Futures, the dedicated Embassy charity.

 

Aga's last cake sale

Peter Madams, ICT teacher at Embassy Oxford, writes:

A special mention must go to our departing Accomodation Manager, Aga Kaleka, who has been our most active fundraiser in her time at Embassy Oxford - her speciality has been fantastic cake sales.

Aga is leaving us to study to become a teacher, and so this was her last cake sale. She is pictured here, in the middle, flanked by summer student activity leaders Ruth Otiotio and Romas Sostakas.

£60.80 was raised, which will be doubled by the company, and this goes towards the charity Building Futures via Plan International.

We'll miss Aga, her cakes and her good spirit. Good luck.

International Students' Day at Embassy Brisbane

Anne Azano, the Student Activities Co-ordinator at Embassy Brisbane, writes:


Last Friday's International Student Day was a wonderful celebration of different nationalities and cultures. Students shared their cuisine, culture, dancing and information about their countries.

Some of the culinary highlights were: coffee and dates from Saudi Arabia, Turkish Delight, Brazilian Brigadeiros and Coxina, Venezulan desserts, Japanese sushi and traditional clothing, Korean kim chi and spicy octopus, delicacies from Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka,Taiwan and China, Vegemite sandwiches and homemade American choc chip cookies! 

The displays were great, as were the performances. The entertainment consisted of Russian dancing, Turkish belly dancing, French love messages, guitar music from Colombia and a chop stick competition!

So many students participated and it was a huge success! To quote one student "It was awesome!"

See more photos from this event in our Embassy Brisbane Facebook photo gallery.

Students and staff at Embassy Boston Merrimack enjoy annual International Tea.

Recently, Embassy students participated in a very special International Tea event. Linda D. Walsh, New England Embassy Manager, writes:'Embassy joined with the Merrimack College to host the college’s annual International Tea. Students brought desserts and tea from their country to share with other students and staff members. There were brigadeiros from Brazil, date and banana cake from Saudi Arabia and a variety of cookies and candies from other countries too. Those who attended also sampled Arabic   coffee, Japanese green tea, and Korean corn tea.  The International Tea event was a great opportunity for Embassy Boston students to interact with Merrimack students and practice English in a fun and enjoyable setting.'

To see more photos from the event, go to the Facebook gallery for the Embassy Boston Merrimack school, or for more information about the school, have a look at the courses offered here and read the local information page.

Embassy staff's favourite things to do in Oxford

Oxford is a beautiful historic English town with many great sights and attractions to see. Our staff all love living and working here, and two of our staff members have told us about their favourite places to go in Oxford...

Julia Southby, Principal of Embassy Oxford writes:

Want to see some live music? One of the places I go regularly is the O2 Academy on the Cowley Road: it's only a 20 minute walk from school!

This is a fantastic venue to see a range of live music: some unsigned local musicians get their start here, and big names also feature - Goldfrapp and We Are Scientists are coming to town in June! The venue has two stages and both offer a good safe environment to see some excellent music.

They will be showing the World Cup football matches too - with FREE entry! They also offer varied dance nights with regular features and visiting DJs. The O2 Academy is always a great venue to try if you fancy getting out of the town centre for a dance one weekend! So, whether you like hard rock, folk, pop or dance, check it out.

Andrea Paschoal, English Language Co-ordinator at Embassy Oxford writes:

Iffley lock walk is very near where I live, which is only 20 minutes from the city centre. Iffley village is a lovely little place, with an ancient church and thatched cottages. The lock itself is very well kept with a beautiful lock keeper’s cottage and a popular pub. You can walk down a narrow fenced path to the lock where you’ll see a couple of little bridges and some ducks to feed. When the river is high, the water rushing through the weir (a dam used to regulate the water flow) is a nice sight.

After this, you can go on a short walk through some meadows and over a bridge to the famous boat  houses of Oxford University. This is a delightful spot to sit by the river and watch the boats go past.
I don’t always have time to stop and have a cup of coffee, but whenever I can I stop at Prêt a Manger. It is probably the best place to head for coffee here in the city centre. They sell sandwiches, sushi, cakes and juices. Their food is of very good quality, everything is freshly made on the day and is also free of nasty GM ingredients.

To find out more about Oxford you can read our local information page or take a look at the Oxford   photos on the Embassy website.

Recent news from our Embassy schools

Here is a round-up of news from our various schools around the world. As you can see, there is a lot going on!

• A major project is currently underway to refurbish the library at Embassy Cambridge, and also revitalise some of the classrooms.
• After a year of testing and development, Smart Express classes started last week in New York, Boston, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Cambridge. Will you be on the next Smart Express course? 
• We have lots of special offers on Embassy courses and accommodation at the moment - you can get a bargain if you can be flexible on dates! 
• At Boston Merrimack, students participated in the College's Global Village - an annual event in which students showcase their country’s culture, traditions, clothing, music, and food. We had 12 countries including: Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, China, Japan, France, Spain, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, El Salvador..., & Brazil. Students took great pride in presenting their countries to the campus community.
• Recently, in Seattle, students headed to the trendy Queen Anne Neighborhood for an “Amazing Race” competition. Working in groups of three, students were given a list of tasks to perform and questions to answer in a period of two hours. They had a great time learning and exploring Seattle alongside their classmates!
• 10 new interactive whiteboards have been installed at Embassy Melbourne, meaning every classroom in that school now has access to this fab technology.
• Embassy Brisbane has a new student residence:  it's just seven minutes from school by bus; has inclusive broadband internet and utilities; and best of all there's a great social community.
• Meanwhile, Brisbane students have enjoyed trips to farmers markets, a table tennis tournament, a pizza & board games day & a sausage sizzle. OK, who knows what a sausage sizzle is? ;)
  
• Embassy Perth has a new Director of Studies - Andrew Foster. Andrew joins us after working for over 10 years with GEOS, and more recently as Senior Director of Studies for GEOS Oceania, where he was responsible for the academic management of 11 schools. He has worked as an English Language Teacher, a Teacher Traine...r and as Director of Studies in Australia, Japan, England and New Zealand.
• On Sunday 14 March, 12 teachers and staff from the Auckland campus took part in the annual Round the Bays fun run in aid of the Study Group ‘Plan Haiti Appeal’. Students and staff managed to raise $624.90 for the Plan Haiti Appeal. This amount will be matched by Study Group, so Auckland will be contributing almost $1,250!
• Embassy Sydney now offers 3-day trips for activities such as surfing camps, snowboarding weekends and tours to Melbourne and Canberra.
  

A Thanksgiving potluck

Benjamin Downey, Social Services Manager at Embassy Boston Merrimack, writes:

  Embassy Boston Merrimack students gather for a group photo after the feast

Merrimack staff and students enjoyed a Thanksgiving 'potluck' feast - everyone brought a dish, and the result was a huge spread of many different flavours, colours and cultures! See all the photos from this event on our Boston Merrimack Facebook photo gallery.

Agnieszka's Awesome Waffles

Staff and students ate their way through more than fifty waffles in an hour today - that's a local record, for this building anyway!

Agnieszka Kaleka, a gifted chef, made delicious waffles from her own secret recipe and sold them at lunchtime in the common room at the Embassy Oxford school centre. Favourite toppings were maple syrup, icing sugar, strawberry jam, chocolate spread and whipped cream. Over £30 was raised for the Building Futures charity.

  

Find our more about studying English in Oxford on our website, or see lots more photos and join in the chat on our Embassy in the UK Facebook page.

Easter Beach Barbeque at Embassy Gold Coast

Over 150 students at Embassy Gold Coast celebrated the beginning of their Easter break with a beach barbeque (or BBQ as it is sometimes known).

The weather was gorgeous, the food delicious and the company even better! The students enjoyed a mouth-watering BBQ cooked for them by their teachers with the menu including Aussie steak, Indian spiced chicken, homemade salads and of course many many Easter eggs.

No one was left hungry! With all this food, exercise was needed with different nationalities teaching us new and exciting games, which culminated in a fast and furious international soccer game.

See more images over at the Embassy Australia Facebook page, or find out more about studying English on the Gold Coast on the Embassy website.

Free Flapjacks?

Jessica Schoppe, of Embassy Seattle-Tacoma, writes: We started class with a free Grandslam at Denny's. How do YOU like your eggs?