Chinese Delegation Welcomed By Schools

By Eliza Hallabeck

& Nancy K. Crevier

A delegation from Liaocheng, in the Shandong Province of China, arrived in Newtown on Friday, February 3, and, after spending an event-full weekend in town with host families the delegates, were welcomed during ceremonies at Newtown High School, Newtown Middle School, and Reed Intermediate School on Monday, February 6.

“As the principal of Newtown High School,” said NHS Principal Charles Dumais, “it is my honor to welcome you once again to Newtown High School.”

Mr Dumais gave the opening speech for the delegates during a morning pep rally at the high school along with Chinese foreign exchange teacher Ding Hong, who translated Mr Dumais’s words for the delegates.

“Over the last four years,” Mr Dumais continued, “we have learned a tremendous amount about each other’s cultures and best educational practices.”

The partnership between the Newtown school district and the multiple participating Liaocheng schools, Mr Dumais said, has grown from a working relationship to one more like family. The relationship, he said, also serves as a model for schools across the state and the nation.

“Each visit has extended the extent of our relationship,” he said. “We are very proud to be able to include our middle, intermediate, and, now, elementary schools.”

 Also during the NHS morning assembly, high school students Kate Bartel and Marina Lleonart-Calvo spoke to the gathered delegates and the NHS Varsity Cheerleaders gave a performance.

Later in the morning, Newtown Middle School Principal Diane Sherlock welcomed delegates to her school during an assembly. She said this year marks the second time the middle school has welcomed delegates from Liaocheng to the school.

She also introduced Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson to speak during the assembly.

“She started it when she came to Newtown,” Ms Sherlock said, “and we thank her for that.”

When she spoke, Dr Robinson said she first visited Liaocheng in 2007, and when she came to Newtown early in 2008, she asked the school board if the district would be interested in continuing the working partnership. From there, she said, two teachers visited China in the spring of 2008, and four and a half years later, the partnership continues to grow through the Newtown International Center for Education (NICE).

In those four and a half years, Dr Robinson said she has seen hands extended across the world showing “how alike we really are, even with the differences we may have.”

Gifts For The Visitors

During the assembly at the middle school, the visiting students from Liaocheng were given gifts from the school and the PTA, which included gift bags, NMS “spirit wear” T-shirts, and a starfish pin, which Ms Sherlock shared a story to express the star fish pins symbolize everyone is important.

NMS students, who will act as student ambassadors to the visiting students over the next week, and visiting students from the delegation were asked to line up before the middle school auditorium’s stage for the presentation of gifts. The students also introduced themselves to the assembled student body.

NMS teacher Kate Buesing asked the NMS students in the audience to think about how hard it is to speak before a class, then asked them to think about how difficult it must be to stand before an auditorium of people and speak in a language you are still learning.

The school’s Chamber Orchestra and Jazz Band performed during the NMS assembly, and NMS teacher Susan Lang sang a song for the delegates.

The weeks leading up to Monday, February 6, were ones of great anticipation for the students, said Reed Intermediate School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) President Tracey Jaeger, in welcoming remarks to the delegation of students and educators from Dongchang Lower Middle School in China, that included thanks to the visitors for helping Reed students to forge a bond with the country of China.

“You have filled our school with a level of excitement, to make sure your visit to Newtown is one you will never forget,” said Ms Jaeger.

That the fifth and sixth grade students had put time and energy into the program to welcome the ten young people and three instructors from Liaocheng, China, was clear, from the huge yellow and red welcoming poster in the lobby to the array of Chinese-inspired paintings covering the wall outside the cafetorium, and to the quiet buzz of excitement as each class filed in to the cafetorium Monday morning for the 45-minute welcoming ceremony.

‘An Amazing Experience’

“This is a great experience for the town and for the families,” said Della Schmid, whose daughter and son attend RIS, and who was among the several parents attending the special event on Monday. “We are hosting Xinxin, a sixth grade girl,” said Dr Schmid, “and it is an amazing experience. Her English is very, very good.”

Xinxin arrived at the Schmid household on Friday evening, said Dr Schmid, and they spent the weekend introducing her to Newtown and doing a favorite middle school-aged pastime — shopping.

“We went to the mall yesterday, and visited the Apple store,” she said. Because the iPad is more than twice the cost in China than it is here, Xinxin had saved up and brought money with her for the special purchase of an iPad, which she will use for school, said Dr Schmid.

“We are really enjoying having Xinxin with us,” she added.

Reed principal Sharon Epple welcomed parents and students, and staff and students from China, assisted by visiting sixth grade English teacher Zhan Hongxia, who translated as Dr Epple spoke.

The primarily musical program opened with the RIS orchestra playing both the American and Chinese national anthems. “Music,” Dr Epple reminded the audience, “is the language everyone understands,” thanking RIS music students and teachers Mardi Smith, Jill Marak, and Michelle Tenenbaum, as well as director of music Michelle Hiscavich, in charge of special Chinese music classes.

Dr Epple went on to note the value of learning from one another, and added, “Our new sister school is about connections… We hope your visit is memorable, educational, valuable, and fun. We look forward to our travel to China this April, and many years to come.”

She was also pleased to welcome local dignitaries: Assistant Superintendent of Newtown Schools Linda Gedja and Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra, who attended the February 6 program.

Allen Xeu, a sixth grade student at RIS, graciously welcomed the visitors with a brief speech in his family’s native Chinese language, to the delight and applause of the Dongchang School delegation.

The ten students and three teachers (director of ninth grade at Dongchang Zhao Xiaolin, Dongchang assistant principal Zou Yi, and Zhan Hongxia) were given gift bags from Reed staff and students, in honor of the visit, as well.

Musical selections, including Chinese folk songs, were presented by a special group of students playing recorders and students on xylophones.

The school’s chorus invited Zou Yi, who also holds a degree in music, to join them as they sang the Chinese song “Crescent Moon.”

When the choral group burst into the popular Katy Perry song “Firework,” followed by the popular Chinese piece “Tomorrow Will Be Better,” the well-mannered audience excitedly joined in with the singers, as did the visiting students, clapping and singing the chorus.

“It was a wonderful assembly,” commented Mrs Llodra after the event. “We are very proud to welcome the students of Dongchang. It is a partnership that recognizes that Newtown is open-minded to cultural awareness, and that our students are citizens of the world, not just Newtown. It is our job,” she said, “to prepare them for that world.”

One of the events the delegates attended over the weekend was a Western Connecticut Chinese Association, Newtown International Center for Education (NICE), HuaXia Chinese School, Danbury Chinese Alliance Church, and the Western Connecticut State University Student & Scholar Association presentation, held on Saturday, February 4, in the high school auditorium to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Over the next week, delegates are scheduled to visit classrooms, attend a pot luck dinner, visit Yale University and New York City, and more.