A Profound Impact On Newtown

To the Editor:

Some may say that it takes courage to open up one’s home to a complete stranger; however, it takes more courage to say goodbye when that stranger has become part of the fabric of one’s daily life. The Liaocheng students and their teachers made a profound impact on our families, on our schools, and on our community. As we went about town (and out of town), I felt an enormous sense of pride to see the excitement and inquisitiveness of people in our community when they encountered one of our visitors. Newtown student delegates are now preparing to make their journey to Liaocheng this April to complete this year’s academic and cultural exchange.

In the coming year, Newtown International Center for Education (NICE) will set the stage for exchange in countries such as Italy and France and broaden our already existing China and Japan programs. We welcome you to visit the NICE Parents and Community Organization page on Facebook for articles and events and for information about the NICE programs at www.newtown.k12.ct.us (click on the blue butterfly icon).

NICE is open to the greater community and anyone with a love and a passion for international programs. In the coming year the NICE PCO will begin a need-based scholarship campaign to provide a student or teacher the opportunity to participate in an academic exchange program as well as to assist with the funding of the NICE programs and initiatives in our town. We are looking to the community and to corporations to help make this possible.

For more information about our organization or about our scholarship program, please e-mail dgalassi@earthlink.net or call 203-426-3214.

Desirée Galassi

President

NICE Parents

and Community Organization

151 Huntingtown Road, Newtown                          February 8 , 2012