Hello, my name is Lulya, I am 12 years old and I am from Eritrea. My brother went to school here and when he showed me the school on the open day, I was sold! At school I learned a lot about Dutch culture; on special days we played games to learn about the culture.
I can always call or app my mentor if there is any concern, which is very nice. If I don’t understand a word well, I can also ask my mentor. From next school year I will go to the Henegouwenlaan, there I will take full Dutch-language classes.
Hello, my name is Darya! I’m 12 years old, I’m from Iran and I’ve been in the Netherlands for a little over 2 years now. I really enjoy it in the Netherlands, the people are always very friendly! During the Man and Society lessons we learn a lot about the history and rules of the Netherlands.
Sometimes I don’t understand a word very well, then I look it up in the dictionary first. If I really don’t understand it, then my mentor explains it. In class we always talk in Dutch. As of next year, I will go to regular education.
MY TIP:
“Participate in as many activities as possible. That way you get to know everyone. Being in education is a bit exciting, but it will be fine!”
My name is Victoria, I am 14 years old and from China. I have been living in the Netherlands for one year now and enjoy learning the language! I like to read books and try to talk a lot of Dutch with others. I can already speak well and I am proud of that, but I sometimes find grammar difficult. After high school I would like to become a doctor. My classmates and teachers are very nice, also outside of school I meet a lot of school friends. My favorite subjects are Art and Culture and Sports; I really like drawing and I can do this well.
MY TIP:
“Read lots of books, that way you improve your vocabulary and learn more words quickly! Also engage in conversation with each other, it makes language learning easier and more fun.” To do together with classmates, we play a game or get to choose a sport.”
My name is Sinan, I am 13 years old and moved from Istanbul, Turkey 2 years ago.
I’ve been in the EOA program for a year and a half now and will be moving on to havo 1 at Strabrecht College next school year. I was so happy when I heard I was accepted there: I said to myself “Yes, I did it!”. Later I would like to become a programmer; I taught myself to code by watching a lot of YouTube videos.
My experiences here are great, the teachers are teaching us many different things, not only the Dutch language but also the Dutch culture.
MY TIP:
My tip to anyone new here would be: just start talking to new people, even if you are shy; you will make friends easily. Do your best to learn, you can reach your goal!”
Hello, my name is Mamoune. I am 15 years old. My father is Moroccan and my mother is Portuguese. I would like to be a professional soccer player and if that doesn’t work out, I want to be an aircraft engineer. I play soccer and I am super proud and happy that we won the competition this year. I find learning Dutch very easy because I already speak English and French and I recognize some words from those languages in Dutch.
My name is Houda and I have been living in the Netherlands for 2 years and 4 months; I am from Morocco. Because my father is Portuguese, we now speak 4 languages at home: French, Portuguese, Arabic and Dutch.
The classes here are different: the teachers are super friendly and I feel safe here. At the end of the school year I will continue at the regular havo. Because I experience quite a lot of stress, I get extra guidance and extra time with a test; that helps and gives peace of mind.
Social studies is a very important subject for me, it makes me think about the past. Later I want to become a detective so I can help others.
MY TIP:
To students who are new here I would say, “Don’t be afraid, everything will be fine!”. Everyone is new and making friends will happen naturally.
