NICE To Welcome French Delegates

Newtown International Center for Education (NICE) will host three teachers from its French sister school, Lycée Alain, located in Le Vésinet, France, from October 30 to November 7.

Le Vésinet is a suburb 30 minutes west of Paris. The delegates, English teachers Claire Choquet and Marine Scheller and math teacher Valerie Zink, will stay with host families while in Newtown.

The purpose of their visit is to meet with the France Project team, NICE leadership, and district staff to broaden their understanding of Newtown Schools and the American educational system, according to a press release from NICE. Dialogue will focus on academic and real world connections between schools. They will meet with the co-coordinators of NICE France, World Language Department Head Paula Greenfield and French teacher Jen Davidson. The French and Newtown colleagues will plan the Lycée Alain students’ visit to Newtown High School, scheduled for March 23 to 30, and the Newtown High School students’ visit to France, scheduled for April 12 to 20.

“This will be a great opportunity to work out all the details of the upcoming study tour programs as well as the direction of our partnership and our ongoing efforts to broaden the scope of the partnership to include a cross-disciplinary aspect,” said Ms Davidson. “We are very excited about building this new relationship with our sister school in France. This will give our students from both countries a great opportunity to experience a different culture and make firsthand connections.”

The Newtown student delegation participating in the 2013 study tour will be involved in preparatory workshops through NICE focused on language, culture, travel, program components, and etiquette to deepen their understandings of the sister school and the French culture.

During their time in Newtown, the teachers from France will also be visiting classrooms in all content areas. Over the weekend the NICE team and the visitors will spend a day in New York, tour Yale University in New Haven, and visit a local orchard.

NICE is a nationally recognized, grant- and donation-funded program of the Newtown Public Schools.