On Tuesday 15 May the EAP Extended University of Auckland Foundation class together with Ms Jowett, Mrs Kinnell and Miss Nurul toured the Degas to Dali exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery. Degas to Dali is drawn from The National Galleries of Scotland and traces the Avant-garde artists from the mid-19th to the late 20th centuries. Margaret, our guide, told the stories behind the paintings and helped us to better understand the artists - their lives and work. The students and teachers enjoyed their journey through the exhibition, and there seemed to be paintings and sculptures that catered for everyone's tastes.
  
While Brian 'enjoyed the swirls and crazy brush strokes of Mr Van Gogh', Jamie 'liked Roy Lichtenstein's modern art, In the car 1963', Ken' specifically enjoyed Dali's young girl with the hole in her head' and Aziz thought all of the paintings were 'interesting to see'. After browsing the shop and buying a few mementos, some of us wandered off to view other sections of the Gallery, some listened to Italian music played by a visiting group, and others sloped off to the Gallery Café for an 'expensive coffee and croissant'. One student wrote in her report, "I am proud to have visited the Auckland Art Gallery. It was a good experience for me and I learnt many things. I appreciate ACG giving me this new experience."

Toward the end of 2011, ACG City Campus students collected donations of over $2000 to help Watambune school in Sulawesi, Indonesia begin a project to rebuild a village school. This project is a joint effort with ACG Jakarta, two Australian Schools and Qantas Helping Hands. The fundraising target was exceeded thanks to the generosity of donors and greater improvements have been included so that staff and students can have a better teaching and learning environment.
  
The building project is now well underway and there are tangible results for the ACG students to see where their giving has gone. For more information go to: http://paluproject.wikispaces.com

Kim Anh Phung is a conscientious student of excellent academic proficiency with a genuine zeal for learning. Striving for excellence is a trait that underpins her success as a student and this has resulted in her being the top student in the Trimester One programme for 2012. Ann is motivated to learn and has the confidence to ask questions and clarify her understanding of subject matter. She is actively engaged in her education. Ann has some choices to make about her degree pathway but will likely be a BBus degree at AUT, majoring in Accounting or a BIHM.