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Charles Crosby
More than 100 students, along with dozens more parents and teachers from China recently spent a day in Evergreen schools. They attended classes, shared lunch and recess together, made some great new friends and put on a spectacular cultural showcase.
The visit was part of an exchange program created by the Santa Clara County Office of Education and the Chinese Society of Education.
The "Young Cultural Ambassador Communication Troupe," visited Evergreen School District's Matsumoto, Carolyn Clark and Katherine Smith elementary schools between February 3rd and 4th. At K. Smith the Chinese students showcased their talent in music, calligraphy, painting, and performed a Chinese version of the song "Let It Go" from the film Frozen accompanied by classical Chinese dance.
K. Smith Principal Aaron Brengard says the visitors fit right in. "In the classroom, K. Smith students were partnered up with their Chinese classmates for the day," he says. "It was a chance for us to have our Chinese guests be K. Smith students. Other than the introductions, classroom activities carried on as usual. When entering a room, it was difficult to tell a K. Smith student from their Chinese counterpart." As a special treat, the school photography provider, Pro Images, hosted a photo booth for the Chinese and K. Smith students as a fun way to give them both something to remember the day and to let kids be kids.
K. Smith dubbed the day Global Connection Day and saw it as a chance for to make connections with students, parents and teachers from across the world. "While we were able compare our differences in cultures and school experience, what really came out of the day was how much we are the same," Brengard says.
The group first made an appearance at Carolyn Clark school February 3rd where they were officially greeted by Superintendent Kathy Gomez and principal Gina Juarez. "Our time together with the Beijing students from China was a great learning experience for both our students and theirs," says Juarez. "Our students particularly loved the end of the day performances that the Beijing students put on for us...It was a great day!" Matsumoto principal Jim Sherman, who also hosted the delegation, adds, "Our incredible students treated the Beijing student ambassadors not as people from some 6500 miles away, but as friends from across the street. And, they got the same in return. It was a treat to watch the students interact. Some of our students spoke Mandarin; some of theirs spoke English. But the universal language was friendship."
Looking back on the visit, K. Smith's Principal Brengard sums up the experience for all the local hosts: "When they loaded on the busses for the day, we could all feel the connection. Although we are separated by almost six thousand miles, we just added 117 new members to our family."
