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Our Sister School in China
Xianghai School - Suzhou, China click here for link to Xianghai School's English website
“Some things don’t change no matter what country you’re in,” comments Sue Walsh to her seventh grade Societal Studies class at Stephen Mack Middle School. They are watching videos created by middle school students at Xinghai School in Suzhou, China, with which SMMS has developed a “sister school” relationship this year. Walsh says it has been “very enlightening” for her students to interact with the same age students at a school in a communist country halfway around the world. The SMMS students have exchanged e-mail and PowerPoint presentations with the students in China. In their videos, the Chinese students talked about what they liked to do in their free time, what they wanted to be when they got out of school, and their hopes and dreams for the future. Last week, Walsh’s students – and the rest of the Rockton School District – enjoyed a more personal presentation regarding the education system in China. As a result of the relationships nurtured by Walsh, the district played host to two teachers from these “sister schools.” Zou Renli (Lydia) teaches English at Xinghai School, and Li Yuehui (Amy) teaches English at No.42 Middle School of Shijiazhuang city, Hebei Province, China, near Beijing. The two were selected by the National Committee on United States-China Relations to be exchange teachers in the United States for the 2008-09 academic year, and have been teaching the Chinese language at Gilmore Academy, a middle school in Boston. During a three-day whirlwind tour of Rockton schools, Lydia and Amy put a personal touch on the ongoing cultural exchange. Click here to see Powerpoint of Amy and Lydia's visit to Rockton (may take a few moments to download)
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