Agent Newsletter Out Now!

 

 

Every month we email our newsletter to our agents to keep them updated on what is going on around school here in Auckland.  If you would like to receive our newsletter, please email marketing@dominion.school.nz.

Cambridge Course Starting Soon!

　

Our next Cambridge course starts on 9 September. Students can study this globally recognised course for the same price as General English (plus $470 for exams/text/materials). Please contact us if you have interested any students.

Farewell to our Beloved Founder

John Arthur Langdon, the founder of Dominion English Schools New Zealand, passed on in Auckland hospital at 3.00am this morning. He was 73 years old.

John was well known. Known for his incredibly bad taste jokes, a sense of humour that embarrassed the hardest of us, his offensive collection of ties and his own very unique dress code. We will never forget all this. He was praised for his spirited delivery of the haka, his soft shoe shuffle, his poetry, his stories, his wide general knowledge and his ability to touch peoples’ hearts. “You have touched the heart of a New Zealander” he would say on meeting anyone from anywhere around the world, as he clutched their hand to his heart. John was all heart. He worked from there. He built his Dominion English School on his love of learning and his love of people. From 1969 until 5 years ago, that was where he worked every day, creating a unique school. He was the guru of the new industry as English Language Schools sprang up around him in New Zealand, but he kept his first school in Auckland and the school that followed on in Christchurch reigned in to being first and foremost a place where staff and students from all around the world felt a warm welcome and a special place to work or study.

John had failing health over the last few months and went peacefully today.

Our thoughts are with his family.

Welcome Erin & Gelise

Erin Madden (left) joined us on July 1 as Marketing Manager, replacing Keizo in a local marketing and complementing Alyson in other markets. Erin has a Masters in International Business and Languages from Heriot Watt in Edinburgh and speaks Spanish and French. Erin has experience in marketing healthcare products and cosmetics in UK and NZ. She has also Cambridge CELTA and has experience in teaching English so we feel she will fit very well into our marketing team. Expect a visit from her in the future!

Erin has been featured in the IALC website too.

Gelise O'Hare (right) has moved from Reception to become Registrar. Gelise is a very talented Kiwi who studied languages at university and speaks Spanish, Portuguese and French. We know she'll do an excellent job and that you will enjoy communicating with her.

Our brand new Marketing Team...

From left to right... Erin Madden, Gelise O'Hare, Martin Wall, Alyson Craig and Andrea Soares.

Goodbye Keizo & Sonia! We'll miss you...

Today we are saying goodbye to two wonderful members of our staff, Keizo Ito (Marketing and Japanese mentor) and Sonia Kao (Registrar). They are moving to Sydney, where Keizo will be working at our sister school, the Sydney College of English. We are sad to see them go but we wish them all the best with their new adventure!

Here is a message from Keizo:

Thank you everyone! I have mainly been looking after Japanese students.Yes, I have been very fortunate to meet Japanese students but also I also enjoyed meeting students from other countries. I can see that Japanese students are also very lucky to meet you all.
Physically I am leaving Dominion but my heart remains here.
I can be contacted by email k.ito(at)dominion.school.nz. Sydney is not so far from Auckland so when you visit Sydney, please pop in Sydney College of English (Dominion’s Sister School).

Thank you very much again,

Keizo

Class 2A PM Interviews Anne!

The first time you come to Dominion English School you meet Anne who is a special person in the school, because she's the Assistant Director of Studies. She really likes adventure racing and it's a special hobby for her. She started her hobby in 2000 when her friend invited her. She loves adventure racing very much because she thinks it's very fun and challenging and she likes that.


Adventure racing is usually mountain biking, kayaking and trekking. There can also be rafting or snorkelling. They do these sports together in one race. The team is made of four people, usually three men and one woman, but, Anne's team is four women. Anne chose adventure racing because she likes a lot of sports. First, they plan the route on the map then they start the race. Sometimes adventure racing is short and sometimes it is long. For example, it can be 6, 12, 24 or 48 hours or 6 to 10 days. Anne does adventure races 5 times a year, but trains every week, especially weekends. Anne feels more tired when she does kayaking.

There are many multiday races in the world and the ''XPD'' in Cairns, Australia is one of these. This race was the main and the latest race for her team, Macpac Girls on Top. Macpac outdoor company is the sponsor of her team.

The XPD was in May and about 200 people entered the race. It took 9 days and 6 hours and it was 700 kilometres. As a result, they must have a lot of food and drink. However, these long races are very expensive, because each person must pay $2000 including all activities. In spite of the prices, it's a fantastic experience. Macpac Girls on Top were 16th out of 47 teams.

After this adventure race, she was very tired but she said, "I was more excited than tired". It's valuable to acheive her goals with her friends. This race was not only a competition, but also meant that her friendships became stronger. Her next race will be held in Australia in August. It's a 48 hour race too. She will enjoy this race. Anne thinks "adventure racing is wonderful".

Auckland's New Marketing Team Additions

Meet Auckland Campus' latest Marketing Team Additions!

Sonia Kao

Sonia is Dominion's registrar and has now become Dominion's marketing contact for our Chinese and Taiwanese market.

Sonia is from Taipei where she grew up in the suburban town of Hsin-dian.

Sonia speaks Mandarin, English, German and some Japanese! Although Sonia has only been Dominion's registrar for 12 months, she has lived in New Zealand for the last 14 years.

Sonia studied the piano in beautiful Prague where she was accepted by The Prague Conservatoire for a postgraduate course. After Prague, Sonia decided to move to Berlin for further studies at The German School of Piano to improve her performance on stage and to realise her dream of living in Germany. During her 8 month stay in Germany she travelled to all the major German cities, enjoying the marvellous German architecture and cuisine.

Her next stop was London where she studied for 2 years at the prestigious Royal College of Music thus completing her master's degree.

She enjoys her role at Dominion and says "the multi-lingual and multi-cultural environment appeals to me the most, furthermore, providing assistance to international students as a registrar is challenging and interesting".

To contact Sonia, email her at: registrar@dominion.school.nz

Andrea Soares

Andrea is Dominion's Student Welfare Officer and is now also our Brazilian marketing contact.

Andrea grew up in Fortaleza (Northeast Brazil) and speaks Portuguese, English and a bit of Spanish.

Andrea has lived in Auckland with her husband Jade and her 4 year old son Niko for 3 years and has been Auckland's Student Welfare Officer since the end of last year. She has travelled to many parts of the world including almost all of Europe & South America, all over Brazil and has visited parts of Australia! She moved to New Zealand with her family as her hubby Jade is Kiwi! She is happy here but misses Brazil.

To contact Andrea, you can email her at: welfare@dominion.school.nz

Addicted to New Zealand

Dirk Meyle - Activity co-ordinator (Auckland)

My connection to New Zealand started back in 2001 when I decided to leave Germany for some months in order to improve my English skills. I wanted to go away from my home country as far as possible and ended up in New Zealand. I attended a general English course at Dominion English School in Auckland for 3 months and had the time of my life. I met so many people from all over the world and this cultural exchange was really fascinating and bonding. During the week I had class, but on the weekends...I travelled around the North Island with my new friends. It was then, when I completely fall in love with this awesome country. The stunning and breath-taking landscapes, the unique thrill-riding activities and the kindness of the locals stayed in my mind for ages after I returned home.

The following year I went back to NZ with my best mate and we travelled around the North Island. This time I visited areas I hadn’t seen on my first visit. The most impressive places were the East Cape with all its Maori Cultural Sites and the Hawke’s Bay Region with all the wineries and Art Deco Buildings.

After I finished my apprenticeship back in Germany in 2003 I decided to take a break. And so I returned to Dominion English School, where I did my FCE and CAE Cambridge Exam. I made friends with lots of people - foreigners and locals – and travelled round the South Island for the very first time. Although it’s the same country, the South Island is totally different than the North Island. There was so much to see, so much to do and so little time. Climbing up Franz Josef Glacier, relaxing at Lake Wanaka, Bungee-Jumping in Queenstown, Cruising on Milford Sound, getting bitten by hundreds of sand flies on Doubtful Sound, chilling at the Catlins, exploring Dunedin, tracking around Mt. Cook and there was still lots more on my to-do-list. After 6 months my time was over and I had to return home, but not for long.

In the following couple of years I came back to catch up with some friends for Christmas and New Years and visited some of my favourite spots.

Last year I returned to Auckland to finish my English studies, passed my Cambridge Proficiency Exam in December and travelled around the South Island for 5 weeks by car. Although I’ve already been everywhere it felt great to see the amazing scenery again. Then, in January 2008, I started to work part time in my former language school as an Activity Coordinator for Students. I really enjoy this job, because it’s a really good feeling to show students the interesting sites in and around Auckland and give them their “time of their life”.

I not only work for Dominion English School, but also do I work in the marketing department of Action Tours – a company offering and running weekend-trips for students.

Looking back at all the miles I drove, the sleepless nights in all the backpackers, the almost endless list of my favourite spots, the adventure activities I did and thinking of my beloved Kiwi-mates - I consider New Zealand my second home. It is a very special country which has so much to give, so much to show, it has the light heartedness, which I think we’ve lost in Europe. Unfortunately my work and travel visa expired in September and I have to go back to Germany.

And what’s happening after that? I’ve planned to travel through South America in 2009, but as I know myself, I will end up in New Zealand…once again.

Welcome Kirstin Brown our new Director of Studies

Hello everyone! I am Kirstin Brown, the new Director of Studies for Dominion English Schools in Christchurch and Auckland. Let me tell you a little bit about myself! I grew up in Christchurch and studied right through until the end of my university years (such a long time ago now I can hardly remember!). All my family and fabulous friends still live in Christchurch so I try and go and visit every couple of months. I really miss it! I’ve been in Auckland for over 2 years now and I’m really enjoying it. The sunshine is the best part as well as being able to do so many different things whenever you want! The only downside is the traffic and all the people. When I’m not busy working I like going to the gym, reading, cooking and dancing. My friends and I often go out dancing in Auckland – we take over the dance floor like you’d never believe! I like travelling and lived in Australia for 2 years and Switzerland for 1 year. It was great living in Switzerland because I got to travel around Europe during my holidays. But I’m really happy living in New Zealand as it’s such a beautiful country. I’m proud to call myself a Kiwi!