Mitsui & Co. (Australia) Manager of Legal Counsel, Hanako Matsuura recently returned to work tired but content after volunteering as an outdoor activities instructor on her daughter’s school camp.

Seventy-seven students from Melbourne’s Huntingdale Primary School, plus teachers and volunteers spent three days enjoying a unique learning experience at Waratah Beach Camp on the scenic coast of Victoria’s Gippsland region.

Huntingdale is an immersive Japanese-English language school and Hanako spoke to all of the students in Japanese throughout the camp as a means of supporting their learning through real life activities.

“It was as much fun for me as it was for the kids. The activities the students tackled were challenging and promoted teamwork, creativity and communication. The highlight was the walk along the beach at night under the stars,” Hanako said. 

Hanako said her involvement with the Australian school system as a parent has been very positive. 

“I've found that Australian primary schools have a nice balance of discipline, encouragement, flexibility as well as fun. There’s a real appreciation of the individual student, that everyone is different.”