This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly.
Harker’s middle school recently played host to 19 students and four chaperones visiting from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai, China as part of Harker’s student exchange program with its Chinese sister school.
Come spring, a contingent of Harker students will head to China as part of the annual exchange program which is a highlight and culmination of the middle school experience for many grade 8 students.
During their stay from Jan. 22-25, the WFLMS students observed and attended several middle school classes and headed over to the lower school for a traditional Chinese paper cutting project with grades 4 and 5. In their free time, the visitors ventured out for some sightseeing activities.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly.
In February, Harker received a visit by two high school students from Tamagawa Gakuen in Tokyo. Akari Ito and Ayako Nagashima, who buddied up respectively with grade 11 students Monika Lee and Maya Madhavan, arrived Feb. 2 and spent the next month shadowing their buddies in classrooms and attending classes of their own. Classes they attended included stone carving with upper school art teacher Jaap Bongers, chemistry with Mala Raghavan, Pilar Agüero-Esparza’s painting class and Masako Onakado’s Japanese 5 class.
Ito also made a special visit to the lower school to teach a class of grade 5 students about Japanese calligraphy, showing them how to write words such as “dream” and “wind.” Students who had some proficiency in the art were challenged with writing the more advanced characters for “lemon” and “rose.”
The two students enjoyed a special farewell party in Onakado’s classroom on March 1, the day before their departure back to Japan, enjoying treats, playing games and sharing memories with their newfound Harker friends before making the trip home.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly
Strawberries dipped in chocolate mirrored the sweetness of newly formed friendships at a recent farewell dessert reception honoring nine visiting exchange students from the Collège de Gambach in Switzerland.
During the event held in the upper school’s Bistro, both Harker students and their new Swiss buddies breathed a collective sigh of relief that it was not a goodbye party.
Come June, a group of Harker students and chaperones will head to Switzerland in continuation of the exchange program. The upcoming adventure will afford the Harker contingent the opportunity to immerse themselves in Swiss culture, brush up on their language skills, and explore the country’s vast natural beauty.
The Collège de Gambach is a secondary school under the authority of the department of public education and cultural affairs in Fribourg, Switzerland. The school places a strong emphasis on the formation of character and stresses strong resolve, clear thinking, a sense of responsibility and an appreciation for thorough work habits.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly
Thanks to video conferencing, even students as young as kindergarten can participate in Harker’s successful global education program.
Long before the much-anticipated exchange program with the Tamagawa Gakuen School in Japan that occurs in grade 6, Harker’s youngest students begin building relationships with their overseas pals in Tokyo.
In January and February, the lower school’s four kindergarten homerooms held a series of video chats with same-age children from Tamagawa, Harker’s sister school. The video chats, which ran for 30 minutes, afforded both Harker and Tamagawa youngsters the unique opportunity to interact with, learn from and entertain one another, as well as set the stage for an ongoing relationship that will develop all the way through high school.
This article was originally published in the spring 2013 Harker Quarterly
The end of January marked the beginning of the winter video conferences between grade 6 students and their contemporaries from Harker’s sister school, Tamagawa Gakuen, in Tokyo, Japan.
“All of our sixth graders have been partnered with a buddy in Japan whom they have been emailing through their computer science class,” said Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
Back in September, grade 6 students “met” their Tamagawa buddies and families from Japan for the first time via two separately held video conferences.
This spring, a contingent of Harker’s grade 6 students will head to Japan as part of the reciprocal exchange program.
“The video conferences are fun events held on the Blackford campus. We have a translator present to assist with communication,” explained Walrod. “The students are always so excited for them!”
Chris Nikoloff, head of school, and three students – Simar Mangat, Neeraj Baid and Neel Bhoopalam, all seniors – along with Jennifer Walrod, director of global education at Harker, are traveling in India from March 22-April 7 to explore entrepreneurial education and opportunities. Read all about their adventures right here!
Strawberries dipped in chocolate mirrored the sweetness of newly formed friendships at a recent farewell dessert reception honoring nine visiting exchange students from the Collège de Gambach in Switzerland.
During the event, held in the upper school’s Bistro, both Harker students and their new Swiss buddies breathed a collective sigh of relief that it was not a goodbye party. Rather, the gathering was marked with the anticipation of being reunited at the end of the school year.
“I’m so excited that I get to see my buddy again,” explained Zoe Woehrmann, a Harker sophomore who, as part of the reciprocal student exchange program with the school in Switzerland, will have the opportunity to travel there this June.
During the farewell party, Woehrmann and her visiting Swiss pal, 17-year-old Fabienne Ghirardin, said they had really hit it off. The excited duo noted they have been having a great time hanging out both at home and Harker, as well as shopping and visiting tourist attractions.
“I think we were matched really well,” added Ghirardin. “We are very compatible!”
Ghirardin was one of nine girls and two chaperones from the collège whom Harker hosted from Feb. 2-12. The visitors stayed in homestays with Harker families and attended school with their American buddies daily.
Come June, a group of Harker students and chaperones will head to Switzerland in continuation of the exchange program. The upcoming adventure will afford the Harker contingent the opportunity to immerse themselves in Swiss culture, brush up on their language skills, and explore the country’s vast natural beauty.
The Collège de Gambach is a secondary school under the authority of the department of public education and cultural affairs in Fribourg, Switzerland. The school places a strong emphasis on the formation of character and stresses strong resolve, clear thinking, a sense of responsibility and an appreciation for thorough work habits.
In addition to the exchange program with the Swiss students, February saw visits from other international guests to Harker’s upper school as well.
From Feb. 6-March 2, two high school-age girls from Tamagawa Gakuen, Harker’s sister school in Japan, attended classes at the Saratoga campus and visited the elementary and middle schools. And, in January, a group of 15 cadets from the Canberra Grammar School in Australia paid a one-day visit to Harker to observe various computer science classes.
Harker’s middle school recently played host to guests visiting from the World Foreign Language Middle School (WFLMS) in Shanghai, China.
Towards the end of January, students and staff at the Blackford campus graciously welcomed 19 WFLMS students and four chaperones as part of Harker’s student exchange program with its Chinese sister school.
The Harker students and their buddies from China, who had been corresponding since the fall, were thrilled to finally meet in person. Come spring, a contingent of Harker students will head to China as part of the annual exchange program which is a highlight and culmination of the middle school experience for many grade 8 students.
The WFLMS is a semiprivate school specializing in the study of foreign languages. From the school’s first day, it abandoned the traditional pattern in foreign language teaching in favor of students learning by practicing new languages at school, home and through travel abroad.
During their stay from Jan. 22-25, the WFLMS students were matched with 19 of Harker’s grade 7 and 8 students. While here, the exchange students observed and attended several middle school classes and headed over to the lower school for a traditional Chinese paper cutting project with grades 4 and 5. In their free time, the visitors ventured out for some sightseeing activities.
Harker’s unique relationship with the school in the People’s Republic of China began in 2003 and is the first of its kind.
“This past winter was really exciting with many international guests coming our way,” enthused Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education, explaining that beyond its relationship with WFLMS, Harker builds progressive academic and cultural relationships between institutions around the world. In addition to the WFLMS visit to the middle school, the upper school welcomed visitors from Harker’s sister schools in Japan, Switzerland and Australia.
The overall goal of Harker’s global education program, said Walrod, is to provide meaningful experiences for students at all grade levels, “preparing them to be true global citizens.”
Thanks to video conferencing, even students as young as kindergarten can participate in Harker’s successful global education program.
Long before the much-anticipated exchange program with the Tamagawa Gakuen School in Japan that occurs in grade 6, Harker’s youngest students begin building relations with their overseas pals in Tokyo.
Most recently, the lower school’s four kindergarten homerooms held a series of video chats with same-age children from Tamagawa, Harker’s sister school. Parents first learned of the scheduled conferences, which were held in January and February, back at their orientation meeting before the official start of the school year.
Since then, kindergarten families had been looking forward to the video chats, which ran for 30 minutes and afforded both Harker and Tamagawa youngsters the unique opportunity to interact with, learn from and entertain one another.
Because it was such a special happening, parents were invited to join their children for the event, which took place in a designated kindergarten classroom. Harker students were required to wear their full dress uniform the day of their video conference, including their sweaters.
The kindergartners’ initial contact with their Tamagawa buddies has now set the stage for an ongoing relationship that will develop all the way through high school.
“We have lots of fun … and it’s time very well spent!” enthused Sarah Leonard, primary school head, of the video conferences.
Global education programs for the lower school focus on teaching about the similarities and differences between students around the world. Through a variety of activities students learn from each other about their respective countries and cultures.
There are global exchange programs running on all three campuses for students of various grade levels. In addition to Japan, Harker has sister schools in China, Russia, India, Australia, Costa Rica, Spain, Thailand, Ethiopia, Switzerland, France and Saudi Arabia.
The end of January marked the beginning of the winter video conferences between grade 6 students and their same-age buddies from Harker’s sister school, Tamagawa Gakuen, in Tokyo, Japan.
“Every single one of our sixth graders has been partnered with a buddy in Japan who they’ve been emailing through their computer science class,” said Jennifer Walrod, Harker’s director of global education.
During the recent conference sessions, the students conversed with their buddies face to face (via the video chats) and participated in a fun game show-style question and answer activity.
Back in September, grade 6 students “met” their Tamagawa buddies and families from Japan for the first time via two separately held video conferences.
Those prior initial meetings for Harker’s 27 middle school students participating in the Tamagawa exchange program served as a prequel to the even more exciting live meetings which occurred Oct. 16 when Tamagawa students visited Harker in person. This spring, a contingent of Harker’s grade 6 students will head to Japan as part of the reciprocal exchange program.
“The video conferences are fun events held on the Blackford campus. We have a translator present to assist with communication,” explained Walrod. “The students are always so excited for them!”
Tamagawa Gakuen is a K-12 school and university founded in 1929 as an elementary education organization. Later secondary education divisions were added, and in 1947 Tamagawa University received approval for establishment as an “old system” (pre-war) university. As a comprehensive institution (gakuen), they currently provide education from kindergarten to graduate school within a single campus.
The recent video conferences have now set the stage for the upcoming grade 6 trip to Japan. Meanwhile, kindergartners also had their own special video conferences where they had the opportunity to meet, explore one another’s classrooms, share their likes, and sing songs in both English and Japanese.
The video conferences and reciprocal student exchange program with Tamagawa are examples of Harker’s rich global education program, which has long strived to weave worldwide activities into its students’ daily lives.