Alex from the Byron Yoga Centre came to GV Byron Bay today and gave a yoga class as part of the school’s afternoon activity program.

The class grew to 12 students by the end of the session and they reported feeling very relaxed and flexible at the end of it.

There will be at least two yoga sessions every month at GV Byron Bay as part of the afternoon activity program. It is a great way to unwind after a hard day studying so why not join in?

Alex said she enjoyed giving the lesson and that it was a good way for students to practise their English because they had to listen to her instructions and follow them! For more info on the Byron Yoga Centre go to: http://www.byronyoga.com/

It was a sensational day so the intermediate class held it’s afternoon lesson at the beautiful White’s Beach.

White’s Beach is a few kilometres south of Byron Bay in the Broken Head National Park and is about 10 minutes drive from GV Byron Bay. Although relatively close to the Byron Bay township the area is largely undiscovered by tourists and the students were able to have the beach to themselves. All of the students enjoyed having the lesson outside at this beautiful location. More outdoor classes are planned for the next few months.

Maybe you want to learn a bit about some of the terrific teachers we have here at GV Byron Bay. This week we spoke to Louisa who is currently teaching pre-intermediate and Intermediate classes.

Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been in Byron Bay and where else have you lived and worked?

I have travelled a lot and worked and lived in a few different places around the world. I lived in Peru for 6 months and Colombia for two years. I have also lived in India. I have been back in Byron Bay and teaching at GV Byron Bay for about five months. I previously studied at the Southern Cross University at Lismore (the closest Uni to Byron Bay) and I obtained my Bachelor Degree in Music.

Do you have any special talents or interests (besides teaching ESL of course)?

I love music. I’ve been singing and writing music and playing guitar for years. I love incorporating music into my English lessons – the students respond well to music. I have played my guitar and sung a few of my songs at GV Byron Bay barbeques and that has been fun!

Which class are you teaching at the moment? 

I teach intermediate and pre-intermediate. My students are really motivated and enthusiastic – it’s been a great experience and I am enjoying teaching so much.

Can you tell us about a student in your class who you feel has made outstanding progress…?

Anna, a Spanish student. She is just so enthusiastic and interested in learning not only English but about Australian culture. She always participates, studies hard and completes homework. She has a positive influence on the rest of the students.

What do you enjoy about teaching at GV Byron Bay?

I love the facilities. I have taught in other schools where the classrooms are a bit depressing. At GV Byron Bay we have big beautiful classrooms with big windows. Also it is the overall positive teaching environment. The teachers at GV all take their jobs very seriously and there is a lot of support and exchange of ideas between teachers.

If you weren’t a teacher what job would you like to be doing now?

That’s easy – I’d like to be touring the world playing my music in big venues… in other words I’d be a rockstar!

What do you like most about living in the Byron Bay area?

There are a lot of things I love about Byron Bay. The spectacular scenery and natural beauty, the live music culture, the fact that it is a meeting place for people from all over the world, the huge amount of things there are to do here….surfing, dancing, camping, bushwalking….I could go on and on!

What is your favourite shop or Restaurant in Byron Bay?

The Chameleon Cafe – all the meals are handmade and the produce locally grown. It’s not expensive and they have great pizzas and steaks. I also love “O-Sushi” – it was voted the best sushi train restaurant in New South Wales recently.

Nanny/Housekeeper caring for 10 year old boy, 2 afternoons, evenings per weekly and occasional weekend work. Energetic, kind hearted person, Suffolk Park $15 per hour. Ph 0409361801

Gardener for property at Possum Creek, must be experienced, reliable, fit and strong, 4hrs per week at $20 per hour. Ph 66872340

Nanny mature, caring & gentle woman needed up to 10 hours per week. Experience essential, ph 66872860

Jack and Lucy’s school was closed yesterday so they visited GV Byron Bay and helped with the games afternoon in the Common Room.

Jack (11 years) and Lucy (9 years) are the children of GV Byron Bay’s Director. Their school was closed today so they came along to GV Byron Bay and helped out with the afternoon boardgames activity. The children and the students all had a great time – Jack & Lucy introduced the students to such games as “Kaleidoscope”, “Pass the Bomb”, “Cathedral” and “Goblet”. Pass the Bomb is a particularly good game for English Language students because it involves making words out of letters and is good for expanding your vocabulary.

The Byron Harmony Team hold a “Multicultural Drop In” every Wednesday at the Byron Community Cultural Centre from 2pm to 4pm.

Yvonne Jessop from the Byron Harmony Group visited GV Byron Bay this week and extended an invitation to all students to come along to the Drop In which is held every Wednesday at 2pm. It will occasionally be incorporated into GV’s afternoon activities. The Byron Harmony Group is made up of local people –  many of them have moved here from overseas. The purpose of the group is to promote acceptance of other country’s cultures by celebrating them with events such as Harmony Day and the weekly drop in. At the drop in people bring their musical instruments and national dishes and have an afternoon of fun, food, music and lively conversation. At the drop in you can expect to see such things as digeredoo playing, flamenco dancing, an Indonesion Gamalan Band, food from many different countries and more. Yvonne has said that she would love our students to put on a presentation of their country’s culture whether it be a cooking or craft lesson or music and dancing. The Harmony Group will pay for all materials, ingredients and expenses! The Community Centre is located a short distance from GV Byron Bay – only five minutes walk, so why not come down next Wednesday and check out the drop in – you never know who you will meet and it is sure to be a lot of fun.

Congratulations to Gema who is now working for the Byron Bay sky diving tour operators!! www.skydivebyronbay.com

 
Person required to work in  food van at local markets. Experience

 in food not necessary but excellent customer skills & attention to detail essential.

Please respond to: market_job@hotmail.com

Food and Beverage/Retail Opportunity Qualified chefs/ baristas/ waitpersons and kitchenhands. Phone Steve on 0408520747

Casual Cleaners wanted, experience preferred. Email resume to: raes@wategos.com.au

The Lighthouse located at Cape Byron is one of the most famous lighthouses in Australia and thousands of people walk around it every week – very few people get to go inside  the lighthouse and up to the top of it.  GV Byron Bay was able to arrange a tour inside for some fortunate students.

Here is one students report on the tour:

In the afternoon  lesson on Thursday we went up to the Byron Bay Lighthouse (the most easterly point in Australia) We were given a tour and talk by one of the indigenous (aboriginal)rangers, a descendent of the original people to live on the land, 40,000 years ago!

He told us everything about the construction, operation and history of the lighthouse and we walked up inside it to the actual light. We also walked out on the ‘balcony’ to see the best view in Australia and saw dolphins in the water below.

Our guide also told us about the aboriginal dreamtime story of the formation of the two rocky outcrops or islands in the bay called Julian Rocks where people scuba dive and snorkel today.

The legend is that two lovers from different tribes who were not allowed to be together ran off into the ocean together and became the two rocks to be together for eternity. A beautiful story!

Now the light house shines on them every night to let them know they are not alone!

GV Byron Bay students got a taste of Italian, Korean, German, Spanish, Japanese and Aussie food when they had an international cooking feast at Sophie’s house in Nashua.

All the students were invited to a special cooking feast at Sophie’s house to learn to make dishes from all over the world.  Students of the same nationality formed groups to cook something traditional from their home country.  Everyone prepared the food at the house so you can imagine the fun that was had in the kitchen.  Every chopping board, knife, plate and bowl was in use and the smells wafting around the house were delicious! From sushi to paella, we had six countries dishes to taste and wow were they fantastic.  Sophie also added a touch of Australia with apple crumble for dessert.

After such a big lunch everyone went for a walk around the property to enjoy the views and see how some local produce grows.  They discovered macadamia, banana and guava trees, dragon fruit, tomatoes and enough basil to have every European salivating!  Check out the photos to see the amazing dishes that were created.

Nanny/ Housekeeper $15 per hr x 2 days per week. References  required. Byron, 0412007202

Barista talented and passionate, required for casual shifts over 7 day roster. Excellent working conditions. Please drop resume into “ATE” in Bangalow. (2nd week).

Part-time Wait Staff, Pasta Cook & Delivery Drivers required for Suffolk Park restaurant. Looking for friendly, professional people with experience. Email resumes to: dblackstock08@gmail.com

Good luck and don’t forget to ask your friendly  Global Village Byron Bay staff or teachers to check your resume for you. Your GIL supervising teacher is happy to help you with your resume during GIL time!

Two of our wonderful Swiss students, Andreas and Mario, graduated on Friday.

The graduation ceremony was held at a barbeque in the beautiful park at “The Pass”. Lousia provided the live entertainment which was awesome.

Mario is travelling down to Sydney where he is meeting up with one of our other ex-students and together they are hiring a “Wicked” Campervan and travelling around Australia including the outback. Andreas and his family have also hired a campervan and are setting off on their own adventure. Farewell boys and dont forget to stay in touch with all the friends you have made here at GV Byron Bay.

The GV Byron Bay Facebook Group is a great place to keep in touch with past and present students and what’s happening in the school.

Go to http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/group.php?gid=53009547646

Feel free to have your say, voice your suggestions or post comments, photos or videos of your time in Byron Bay.

Today we launched the GV Byron Bay Table Tennis Championship

Su - table tennis champ. Can you spot the ball in the air?

The contest will be held each week and 9 challengers will battle it out for the chance to meet the reigning champion. This week saw a hard fought contest with Su from Korea the ultimate winner and now the inaugural GV Byron Bay Table Tennis Champion. He won a six-pack of beer for his troubles but more importantly has given himself the chance to win the big monthly prize! Do you have what it takes to be the next champion?

Yet more cafe and cleaning work available this week.  Several students have obtained positions with restaurants this week, for example Mi Sook and Fiona….congratulations!

Part-Time Sales Person For Bromeliad Nursery, must be well presented and enthusiastic, female preferred. Phone 0414510345 or 66801887.

Barista , experienced, for cafe in New Brighton. Phone 66803368.

Barista talented and passionate, required for casual shifts over 7 day roster. Excellent working conditions. Please drop resume into “ATE” in Bangalow.

Exp Casual Cleaners wanted for Byron Bay apartments. Must be able to work weekends. TFN or ABN required. Send resume to PO Box 1020 Byron Bay, 2481 or fax 66809477.

Humpback whales are stirring in the Antartic. The winter migration has begun.

The first group of north-bound Humpbacks has already been spotted off the NSW far south coast and the northern migration of some 10,000 will continue through to July. Cape Byron is the most easterly point of the Australian mainland and is the premier whale-watching spot in Australia. The whales often pass extremely close to the coast on their way further north and the lighthouse lookout is a fantastic vantage point to view these magnificent creatures. The first student to submit a photo taken by them of a whale passing Byron Bay this migration will receive a prize!

As promised here are some of the photos taken by the professional photographer last Friday. Which is your favourite?

The six lucky students who took part in the photo shoot on Friday afternoon were a multi national group (as you would expect from GV Byron Bay). Pyo (Korean),  Mario (Swiss),  Anna (Spanish), Aya and Saya (Japanese) and Camila (Chilean) all said it was really fun and the easiest money they ever earnt!  Dean Turner the photographer has said that the school is a great venue for him to use and that he needs more pictures of multinational groups for his portfolio of work which is sold to photo libraries and used around the world.  Go to: www.istockphoto.com/Maliketh  He has asked if he can return in a few weeks for another photo shoot so if you are interested in participating just let us know.

Dean is going to send us copies of the photos that he took on the photo shoot later this week and they will be posted on the blog.