Byron Carols by the Sea
Date: Friday the 13th of December
Time: 6.30pm
Where: Apex Park, Byron Bay
The iconic Byron Carols by the Sea event is happening again with special guest Chang Po Ching (featured on “The Voice”), local schools, carols choir and more guest artists! Stop by the Byron Rotary Club’s sausage sizzle, and grab a spot on the grass as you watch the sun set over the Bay and sing some beloved carols!
We had our weekly Coffee Club today at Lexis Byron Bay! ☕
And we have our nice little routine down pat these days!
What we do:
It’s a safe and fun environment to practice your English skills and to meet new people 🙂
If you want to join us next week Coffee Club is on Monday 2pm and Tuesday 11.30am!
Congratulations and farewell to our 7 students graduating from Lexis Byron Bay today!
Rafael from Spain graduates from Josie’s Pre-Intermediate class. You have made a lot of progress in your time here. You have been such a positive students and we will all miss your great sense of humour! Good luck with everything in your future. 🙂
Cassandra from Spain graduates from Kristy’s Intermediate class. It has been lovely to have you at Lexis Byron Bay and we hope you have enjoyed your time here. We wish you all the best and hope you continue to improve your English and your surf skills 🙂
Antoine from France graduates from Kristy’s Intermediate class. It has been a pleasure to have as a student. You are a very positive, smart young man and very funny too. We wish you all the very bet for your next trip and continued studies in Australia.
Natalie from Brazil graduates from Kristy’s Intermediate class. You have been a part of the school for so long, it is safe to say you will be missed..not only by the students, but the staff also. Thank you for always being a positive, happy person. It has been lovely to get to know you. We look forward seeing what the future brings for you. All the best and enjoy a break.
Daniel from Spain graduates from Kristy and Adrienne’s Intermediate class. It has been a pleasure to have you as a student. Thank you for all your hard work and enthusiasm. All the best with your future.
Mara from Germany graduates from Michelle’s Upper-Intermediate class. It’s a shame you are are only here for 2 weeks. We hope you continue to study English because you have a true natural talent for it. We hope you have enjoyed all your surf lessons also. Take care and all the best for your future <3
Igor from Brazil graduates from Michelle’s Upper-Intermediate class. You have worked well in class over the last 2 weeks and you have proved to be a fast learner who asks intelligent questions. Well done. All the best for your future and enjoy Melbourne 🙂
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Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing and Yoga in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
WOW and just like that, it is the end of another month.. What a great month it has been! Here is a look back at all of the fun we have had in May!
The wonderful Suzy taught her last yoga class before going on maternity leave. We welcomed our new teacher Jimmy.
Coffee club continued to make us all laugh every Tuesday.
Alejandro was May’s table tennis champion.. Who will it be in June?
I was so impressed by your artistic skills when we painted pot plants.
I always look forward to our afternoons down at the soccer field.. Also I love the support from everyone that comes down to cheer us on! Next month we will claim the trophy back!
Sushi making was fun.. Thanks to Nana and Ai for saving us from a rice disaster!
We had a wonderful Friday afternoon enjoying the sun and hitting the waves on the body boards!
More artistic talent expressed in boomerang painting!
We all had a great boogie for Salsa and Sangria.
Mmmmmmm and that yummy afternoon we had cooking with chocolate and Hongki and Nana’s fantastic cookies.. HAHAHA
And finally all of the amazing weekend activities thanks to Byron Bay Tour Co. and Happy Travels
Cant wait to see what June has in store!
On Wednesday our Intermediate and FCE class went to Palace Cinema to watch the movie 2040.
It was about a journey to explore what the planet would look like by the year 2040 while focusing on what is happening now. From the movie we found that there are lots of solutions such as marine permaculture, shared energy, renewable energy, balanced agriculture and female empowerment and education.
We strongly recommend everyone to watch 2040 because it is such a good movie to learn about how we can contribute to a bright future.
Congratulations and farewell to our two lovely students graduating Lexis Byron Bay today!
Talita, from Brazil, graduates from Michelle’s Upper Intermediate class. What a journey you have had here at Lexis. You’ve come such a long way and you should be very proud of what you have achieved. It is very sad to say farewell but we know exciting times are ahead for you. From everyone at Lexis, we wish you well and we are all going to miss you!
Enrique, from Norway, graduates from, Adrienne’s Pre-Intermediate class. It has been wonderful having you as a student here at Lexis. It is always a pleasure to have a conversation with you and we will all miss your happy face. Enjoy your trip to Bali, please come back and visit us.
Ana Carolina, from … , graduates from Kristy’s Intermediate class. You’re such a kind and enthusiastic person, you have been amazing at encouraging other students and we will all miss you around here. We wish you all the very best for your future, please keep in contact <3
Simon, from Switzerland, graduates from Michelle’s Upper Intermediate class. It has been fantastic having you at Lexis. With your hard work and diligence you have improved your English in all areas and you should be very proud. We will miss your quick wit and participation in all activities. Enjoy your time now travelling. All the best.
Rafael, from Brazil, graduates from Michelle’s Upper intermediate class. We will all miss your charisma and your bleached beard! You are such an easy-going, friendly student and you should be proud of how much your English has improved in all areas. Take care, and all the very best.
Charlotte, from France, graduates from Michelle’s Upper Intermediate class. It has been amazing to have your participation in class and in all activities. You have been such a diligent and focused student and we have seen your English and particularly your grammar improve, you should be very proud of yourself! All the best for your future.
Lisa, from Switzerland, graduates from Michelle’s Upper Intermediate class. We hope you enjoyed your time here at Lexis, it has been great watching you progress. You are a dedicated student and always show enthusiasm in your learning pathways! Enjoy the rest of your travels around Australia and take care.
Tommaso, from Italy, graduates from Michelle’s Upper Intermediate class. Your friendly personality and great sense of humour will be missed here at Lexis. You have worked well in class over the past four weeks and as a result you have really improved in all areas of English. Enjoy your time in New Zealand, stay warm.
Jvana, from Switzerland, graduates from Michelle’s Upper Intermediate class. You have been a wonderful student and a really lovely person to get to know. You have come along way during your time here at Lexis and you should be proud of how much you have improved. Thank you for all your hard work. You will be missed, especially by Lexis soccer team. Enjoy the rest of your travels around Australia, all the best.
Ainhoa on her first day
Ainhoa, from Spain graduates from Claudia’s Upper Intermediate class. Your hard work and enthusiasm to class has really paid off and you should be proud of how much your English has improved. All the best with your future enjoy your holiday 🙂
WEATHER
SURF
HAPPY TRAVELS & BRYON BAY TOURING COMPANY
See Dearne or Mark to sign up for the weekend trips! They will be in the student lounge Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday from 12pm til 3pm, or you can pop into the Happy Travels Store on Jonson Street!
Saturday:
Mullum at Night: Food & Music Festival $20 per person
Sunday:
Trip to Broad Beach – stopping at Pacific Fair first to go shopping and then enjoying the Blues festival!
GIGS
Friday:
Saturday 18th May
Sunday 19th May
English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing and Yoga in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
It was a great turn out for this weeks coffee club! We had our usual selection of delicious coffee’s and of course everyone’s favourite, Tim Tams.
It was nice to have a catch up with everyone about their weekend and life in Byron. Then we got stuck in to a very serious game of Jenga.
Lexis Jenga is exceptionally fun because each block piece has a question on it so we can all get to know each other better whilst we play.
Serious concentration was required.
Then it was Talita’s turn …. the moment it all came crashing down!
So we played another round while we continued to sip our coffee’s..
Until it was Talita’s turn again…
Haha sorry Talita, but thank you for making us all laugh!! 🙂
Coffee Club happens outside the student lounge every Tuesday at 2pm. Come and join us to chat with new friends and of course, for coffee and Tim Tams!
It is with much sadness I will be leaving my job as Activities and Student Services Officer at Lexis next week 🙁
I have had an AMAZING 2 years with the school and have made lots of brilliant memories <3 More than this, I have met so many lovely, incredible, interesting people and made great friendships that I know will last beyond me working here.
It has been a huge amount of fun running the activities; wine & cheese tasting being a favourite, but not forgetting… skateboarding, slacklining, cooking, coffee clubs, volleyball at the beach, bake sales for charities, jewellery making, and sometimes I’ve even enjoyed doing the BBQs for 100 hungry students (only when helped by Eric!)!
The two best things about this job though…
Thank you to everyone who has made this a fantastic place to work and an unforgettable experience. A special thank you to Lisa and Koko, two amazing ladies it has been a pleasure to work alongside every day.
It wasn’t an easy decision to leave somewhere that has brought me so much happiness, but I felt it was time for me to try something new! I will still be in Byron so will probably still see lots of you (normally in Woolworths or at the Rails!), and feel free to message me to meet for coffee or cocktails! Much love <3
Last month some of our past students reunited in Switzerland!!!
Past Lexis students reunited! Angelo, Lisa, Valerie, Thomas, Maxime, Jodie, Estelle, Gaetan, Romain, Camille, Pauline, Anais, Amelie and Tito!
They all studied at Lexis Byron Bay over the last summer; with half completing our Cambridge Course and the other half studying in our General English classes.
After forming such great friendships during their time in Byron Bay they decided to reunite in Switzerland to have a catch up and reminisce, and in true Aussie style done it with a BBQ!
It was Valerie who started the plans and after a couple of months of messages and calls between them all they finally made it happen!
I got in touch with Tito to ask about their meet up and he provided me with this beautiful quote:
“It’s difficult to find the correct words to describe an incredible experience, maybe because it’s so unique, that you can only feel. It’s difficult to find the correct words to describe an incredible experience, something you lived that was so remarkable, that nobody could understand. Nobody, apart from the people you shared it with.”
Great to see all your lovely faces together and hopefully one day we’ll see them all again in Byron Bay?!
Sakiko is 24 years old and she is from Kochi, a small town in rural Japan. She studied law at Kobe University and came straight to Australia after she graduated. She arrived in Byron Bay in June 2016 and has been at Lexis for an incredible here for 52 weeks! I interviewed Sakiko on her last day of school to find out about the remarkable year she has had.
Why did you choose Byron Bay?
While I was at University I was living in a big city, it was very crowded and busy for me. I wanted to live somewhere quiet and peaceful. My agent recommended Byron Bay to me and it is exactly what I wanted. Also I love yoga; I practised it in Japan for many years. Yoga is a big part of life in Byron, I practice yoga 3 or 4 times every week here.
Byron is a great place to come if you don’t know anybody. If you go to a big place it is hard to meet people but Byron is community so it is a good opportunity to speak with local people – it has a very friendly atmosphere here, everyone is happy to talk to you.
What were your weaknesses in English before you came to Australia?
I found listening and speaking the most difficult – I think most Japanese have this problem. We don’t have speaking practise in class at school in Japan so I was not used to speaking. On my first day I couldn’t understand everything, even though everyone was speaking slowly, I just guessed what they were saying. I did not feel ready to speak English yet, I’m afraid to make mistakes when I spoke. After 1 month and 2 months when I made a lot of friends from different places they really influenced me. Especially my Brazilian friends because I saw that they were not scared to make mistakes. I asked them once: ‘you don’t care about making mistakes?’ but they said ‘no I don’t care, I just speak.’ That was a really good lesson to learn.
Tell me about your teachers and your classes.
I started in Intermediate class. I studied a lot of English to enter University, and my grammar was good. I have had so many great teachers. Paul is my favourite teacher because he is so interesting and he always makes us laugh. He taught me pronunciation, how English and Japanese are so different because of emphasis and intonation. It was very hard, I almost gave up, but he never gave up to teach me!
One lesson we went to Byron Bay farmers market (we have this once a week in Byron, in the mornings, we can buy local products: fresh vegetables, fruits etc. It’s a great community atmosphere.) Here we interviewed the people working in the market. I was nervous but they are so kind to us, even though we were still learning. It was great because I often go to the farmers market but I don’t often have the chance to communicate with the producers about the local produce.
What was your favourite activity?
Yoga was my favourite activity. Every Monday at school there is free yoga and I went every week for a year. I think I improved my yoga a lot. I also tried a lot of new activities, like surfing, skate boarding, slack-lining, cooking (we made koala cupcakes). They were very sweet for me but I enjoyed decorating them.
Tell me about your accommodation.
My first 6 weeks I was in homestay accommodation, staying with Gill and John. They were so kind. I was nervous about living with them, but on my first day they took me around Byron Bay, to lots of places. We went up to the lighthouse and to different beaches. We had lots of BBQs at the house and we baked cookies.
Afterwards I find a share house on Gumtree. It takes my five minutes to get to school on foot. At the moment with 2 Australian people, this has helped me to learn English. My host is very kind and speaks slowly and explains what words mean to me and this really helped my English improve.
What are your favourite things to do in Byron?
After I took a surf lesson, I decided to buy a surf board. During the Summer I surfed almost every day. It’s a good life, study and then go to surf. I think I got a bit better and I enjoyed it. I would meet up with my friends at the beach to surf.
I also enjoy going up to lighthouse to see the sunrise. It is the most Easterly point of Australia and the view is amazing. The view always changes as the seasons change. One morning I met my friends at 4:30 am and we walked up in the dark and the stars were beautiful.
I also love yoga here. It is very different to Japan, it seems more difficult and there is more variety of lessons. I can chose which I want to do depending on the condition of my body.
What is your most magical moment in Byron?
While I was doing the light house walk in the morning I saw whales and dolphins. One time I saw many dolphins very close to us on the walk. I was able to take this amazing picture:
What is your advice for people who are thinking about enrolling at Lexis Byron Bay?
You should come here, all the teachers are very kind and there are good quality lessons that are interesting and never boring. It is a very small school here so it is easy for everyone to get to know each other. March was my favourite month, because it is not too hot but the Sun is still out and it is not so crowded here. Winter is also good here, the sky is clear and bright but it is not too hot, you can see beautiful sunrises!
What are you going to do now?
I have 3 weeks holidays now before I move to Lexis Perth. Tomorrow I am going to travel in New Zealand for 1 week. After New Zealand my sister will come here to visit in Byron Bay. Then I am going to do the Gold Coast marathon with my sister. I have heard it is a good route, around the beach but very flat. It is going to be a very challenging event in my life but I like to try new challenges. I am a little but worried about that but also excited. I will study in Perth for 3 weeks and then go home back to Japan. When I go home I think I will look for a job. I would like to live one more year in Australia or New Zealand, I want more opportunity to use English and communicate with English speakers. In Japan I would love to do an international job that involves using English and possibly working with sports, for example I would love to have a job related to the Japanese Olympics in Tokyo 2020.
Good luck with your marathon and your travels Sakiko, you will be missed here at Lexis Byron Bay!
Learn English in Byron Bay. Lexis English students study General English, IELTS, FCE, CAE and English plus Surfing in a friendly and professional school right in the heart of Byron Bay and only 15 minutes from the beach.
Raphael is from Bayonne in the South-West of France, he is 18 years old and he headed straight to Australia after finishing high school in France. He arrived in Byron Bay in November 2016 and stayed until March. He’s now headed to Bundaberg to do his farm work, so that he can save up for more travelling around Australia. Raphael joined us an an intermediate speaker and on leaving he achieved an overall A in his Upper Intermediate class. Raphael is sorely missed here at Lexis. Who will DJ for our parties and BBQs now? I’m sure Cheeky Monkeys is missing its most regular customer too.
Raphael has answered some questions for us about his time at Lexis.
Why did you choose Byron Bay?
I remember the evening I spent with my mother in France, choosing the destination for my gap year. Originally, I decided the USA, but then I found a video about surfing in Australia – which made me fall in love with Byron Bay: the best place to surf in Australia! For me Byron is the perfect place for me: small, peaceful, joyful, good waves, no big buildings, but lots of bars to party all week!
Raphael on his very first day of school
What were your weaknesses in English before you came to Australia?
My major weakness in English when I arrived here were – everything! English was my weakness. But more seriously – it was my ability to understand the first time what someone told me. I had to make them repeat 3 or 4 times. Now I can see how far my English has come. Now I can understand films without subtitles easily!
Tell me about your teachers and your classes.
What is it like living in our onsite Accommodation?
BBSA is now like my home. I met people from all around the world and I learnt about lots of different cultures. The best moments spent were the Christmas dinner, when we cooked Hamburgers, the sushi parties with the Japaneses people, the dinner tortillas with the Spanish guys, the spaghetti party with the Swiss people.Yes you’ve understood, all the best moments are around food!
What were your favourite things to do in Byron?
The best times were all the parties with my bro Tito [See last week’s happy student blog!] and all the others who are like my international family, the days of hangovers when we were all regretting going out the night before. But the best activity was surfing by far. All the surf sessions spent with Hiro, Nil, Pol, Tito and all the others were the time of my life.
What is your most magical moment in Byron?
I remember a time I was surfing at the Pass during sunset, catching one of the best waves I ever caught. The sun was going down in front of me, the reflection of the sun making the water yellow and orange, I’ll remember this all my life I think. I understood how peaceful life can be; in front of me, it was like the most beautiful painting I’ve ever seen: a colorful sunset on the beach. At my right there were people taking pictures and I had a strange feeling that made me understand you have to enjoy the moment with your eyes rather through your phone. Yes I know it sounds very philosophical, but for me happiness is about little things like this.
What is your advice for people who are thinking about enrolling at Lexis Byron Bay?
My advice for people who are thinking about enrolling at Lexis Byron Bay is: Go for it!!! I am 100% sure you’ll not regret it, you will make so much progress with your English, furthermore, there are good activities everyday and lovely people to spend time with.
