Team Finds ‘NICE’ Growth In Newtown

By Eliza Hallabeck

Nearly every member of the Newtown International Center for Education (NICE) team has traveled to China, some have gone to Japan, and some are planning their first trip abroad as a member of the growing group.

Program overseer and Newtown High School Assistant Principal Jason Hiruo said the cultural experience of visiting Newtown’s sister school in Liaocheng, in the Shandong province of China, and schools and universities in China and Japan that are also starting to become associated with the Newtown Public Schools through efforts of the NICE team, provides an incentive for staff to want to do more work with the program.

“There was no question about whether I wanted to continue with the program,” said NHS special education instructor Katherine Matz, reflecting on her feelings after journeying to China last school year.

The NICE team is a product of Newtown’s China initiative, which has branched out to also include a focus on growing a relationship with Japan.

The different members of the NICE team — Ms Matz, NHS administrative associate Cara Fedak, Newtown Middle School science teacher Wendy Bowen, NHS school psychologist Tom Brant, NMS reading instructor Catherine Cincogrono, NHS English teacher Amanda Friedman, Sandy Hook School Principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, NHS exchange teacher Ding Hong, NHS English teacher Marc Kenney, NHS culinary teacher Brian Neumeyer, NHS physical education instructor Jeremy O’Connell, NHS social studies teachers Martha Parvis and Amy Repay, NHS special education teacher Doug Russell, Reed Intermediate School music teacher Michelle Tenenbaum, and NHS world language instructor Elizabeth Ward-de Leon — each have specific focus areas, as Mr Hiruo explained.

Newtown’s China initiative, now the NICE program, began with Mr Hiruo and Ms Parvis visiting the school that would become Newtown’s sister school in Liaocheng, in the Shandong province of China, in 2008, following Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson’s visit the area before starting her career in Newtown.

Last school year 24 of Newtown’s teachers ventured to the area with 12 high school students, marking the first time in the sister school relationship that Newtown students visited China. This year, Ms Friedman said, 24 teachers and 16 students will be traveling to Liaocheng, and, for the first time, two students and one teacher will also be traveling to the area for a one-month exchange.

Local Impacts

Meeting as a group on Tuesday, September 20, NICE members explained the growing program’s effects all of Newtown’s students, staff, and community members.

For the second school year, Sandy Hook School is offering an after school program that provides elementary school students the chance to learn about Chinese culture and language.

“We’re starting to see that our work is funneling down to the lower grades,” said Mr Hiruo.

Reed Intermediate, Mr Hiruo said, also started offering a new Chinese music course this school year.

Multiple of the NICE team members said they have brought their experiences with the program into the classroom through projects, such as social studies teacher Amy Repay, who said she shares her experiences from traveling with the NICE program with students in all of her classes, not just her Asian Studies students.

While the NICE team members do not meet as a group often, multiple members said they meet during free periods with different team members to discuss ongoing projects. All agreed the effort they put in for the NICE program does not take away from other teaching obligations.

Since the start of the initiative, it has been largely funded by grants. Mr Hiruo said it continues to be funded mostly by grants, but also with personal funding and some fundraising.

With teachers traveling to China and Japan (at their own expense) to further Newtown’s connections to the area, like Ms Elizabeth Ward-de Leon who spent three weeks in Japan this summer, more teachers, NICE team members noted, have been showing interested in the program.

When Ms Bowen and Ms Cincogrono traveled to China last year, they said they made it a point to bring something back for everyone at the school who had been invested in the program. The pair also said they spent time fielding questions from many interested students upon their return.

Ms Fedak also said students have been showing a growing interest in being involved in parts of the NICE program since the program’s inception.

With many members of the group now focusing on different projects, students are being impacted throughout the disciplines, NICE members said.

Mr O’Connell, who is working with two other NICE team members to focus on growing a relationship with the Japan Society, said one aspect of the NICE program for him is trying to build as many connections for students, staff, and community members as he can to introduce them to different aspects of Japan culture.

Mr O’Connell also explained he hopes the NICE program will begin offering after school programs by the end of fall or early winter that will introduce students, staff, and members of the community to Japanese culture. Announcements for those programs will be made in school and on the school’s website, http://newtown.nhs.schooldesk.net.

Projects and Programs

Another impact the program has had on NHS, according to the NICE team members, is through the different projects and programs now available to students.

Ms Friedman said students in NICE’s Ambassador program help the program reach more students by acting as leaders, and this year the roughly ten students in the Ambassador program spoke with the entire freshman class about their experience with NICE.

“It is a profound opportunity for students to experience autonomy,” said Ms Friedman.

In Ms Repay’s Asian studies class, a new project that has students interacting with students in multiple countries was sampled last year, and this year is being offered in its entirety. Through the internet and the Japan Society students will interact with students with pictures and explanations that cover “a day in the life.” Students will then comment and interact with the students abroad about the information on those pages.

Ms Repay said the NICE program is also interdisciplinary.

“The bottom line,” Ms Cincogrono said, “is it is a life-changing experience for everybody.”

While Mr Hiruo said the NICE program is still growing exceptionally fast, the team members said it has already started affecting the way the student body interacts together as a whole.

Ding Hong, the NHS exchange teacher, also said, since he started working in the district, he has been excited by the growing investment of the students and staff. He said two of his students have chosen colleges for next year based on the colleges’ Chinese programs.

More information on the NICE program is available at www.newtown.k12.ct.us.