LOVING SCHOOL: Senda Dilber (left) with her school buddy Tara Hobbs-Ladd. Picture by MARINA NEIL
The last thing a 10-year-old wants to do on their summer break is go to school, but Bosnian girl Senda Dilber is loving Thornton Public.
Senda is in Australia visiting her aunt and uncle, who enrolled her in year 4 to improve her English.
School principal John Millburn said Senda had made great friends with several girls at the school and there was talk of a class Skype session with her
parents.
“I think the first week was overwhelming for her, but her English is improving,” Mr Millburn said.
Senda’s aunt, Valentina Jovanovic, said her niece was
initially homesick but was
growing to like the country and suggested she might study here when she is older.
“She said school is different [than in Bosnia]. It is more relaxed, the children are able to play more and they do things other than just listening to the teacher,” Mrs Jovanovic said.
“Another thing she found
different was the uniform.
“They don’t wear a uniform over there, it’s more like a fashion parade.
“Senda was especially impressed with the computer boards, which they don’t have over there.”
Of a weekend Senda has been travelling across the country.
“We went to Queensland to Dream World and she love it,” Mrs Jovanovic said.
“We have lots of pictures of her holding a koala; she absolutely loves the animals and she’d
probably never ever see them in a zoo in Bosnia.”
Senda will return to Bosnia later this month.