International friendships

Having friends visit from across the world is an incredibly exciting thing.  Kids from Spain might never have tried peanut better or bagels - but it turns out they love them!  They speak five languages - fluently! Different and the same - middle school kids are middle school kids.

We are so fortunate to have a partnership with St. Peter's School in Barcelona.  One year they send a dozen students to us to stay with our families and the next year we send students to them.  We get to exchange teachers, too.

Our students revel in visiting a school with a beautiful dining hall and scrumptious prepared food. They walk everywhere in Barcelona - to La Sagrada Familia and other Gaudi sites and they buy fruit and churros at the outdoor market.  They can't believe that dinner starts after 9 PM!

St. Peter's students are amazed at sledding in the snow at Parker, our iconic yellow school buses, and dressing up on Halloween.  Being at a school with woodsy trails and a pond is incredible.  A campfire with roasted marshmallows on a stick and s'mores  - Wow!

Together they go to classes and museums, they sing, create poems and art works - go bowling - and revel in being kids.

From the first year we made new friends from Spain, the entire student body at Parker became more motivated to master the Spanish language.  We ended up extending Spanish to our Preschool and added another session of Spanish to the 4-5 weekly schedule.  For one week a year, everyone plays and works together, getting to know new families and customs and practicing another language. Then it's time to leave.

This week went by so fast - and next year, our turn to visit in Spain, will be here before we know it.

A little music brightens the day!

The 6-7's Practice for the Peace Assembly from Meg Taylor on Vimeo.

The music room is on the other side of my office wall.  The intriguing sounds often compel me to walk over to see what they are up to.  Here is a recent 6-7 class practice session for the Peace Assembly (believe it or not!)  Music teacher Sara says it's Riding on the Wind, Gamelan music from Southeast Asia.  I can't wait to hear the complete version at the performance on December 21.

Exchange trip to Barcelona

How wonderful to be reunited with old friends!  Nine Parker kids and two teachers arrived in Barcelona, Spain on February 16th for a week with host families while attending St. Peter's School.  Their exchange visit is part of our partnership with St. Peter's that includes pen pals, projects and a visit from St. Peter's students to Parker last year.   

Parker students kept a blog and St. Peters School posted a video of the trip.  Parker kids got back on Sunday full of stories of a truly fantastic time learning language, trying new foods, exploring a different culture and living with another family - a week that they will never forget.  We are so proud of our Parker ambassadors!

The partnership has inspired our whole school to become better at Spanish, and prompted new elements to our Integrated Spanish curriculum including a bi-lingual preschool program and becoming founding members of the Global Language and Culture Institute (students teaching students language). 

The world is so large - and so small - at the same time.  What a joyful way to experience it!

Connection and friendship

St. Peter's students and their Parker hosts were sad to part on Sunday!

Our recent week-long cultural interchange with ten students and two teachers from St. Peter's School in Barcelona gave us all new friendships and perspectives, and a very warm, good feeling.  There was hardly a dry eye (students and parents alike!) when they had to leave on Sunday. 

In Barbara Fredrickson's NY Times article Your Phone vs. Your Heart, she describes the connection between head and heart, reminding us that social interaction with others increases our capacity for connection, friendship and empathy.

"When you share a smile or laugh with someone face to face, a discernible synchrony emerges between you, as your gestures and biochemistries, even your respective neural firings, come to mirror each other," she says.

That's what the week was really about - the connections we made.  Everyone remarked about it all week as we smiled and felt happy with refreshed empathy and understanding.  Our hearts were full.  Lucky for us, connecting with others does good and feels good, as the article says.

Thank you to all the teachers, parents and students from both sides of the Atlantic who made this wonderful week a reality!

The visit begins!

Students from St. Peter's School in Barcelona arrived at the train station in Albany last night, greeted by their new Parker friends.

Parker students performed an Assembly to welcome the visiting students to the school.

St. Peter's students presented a beautiful book to Parker.

Our first day has begun - there were big smiles all over the school as our visitors from St. Peter's arrived this morning with their host families.  There have been "getting-to-know-you" games and a slide show about life in Barcelona.  Tonight is threatening to bring up to a foot of snow - so we are all waiting to see if it will be a "Snow Day!"

Follow the St. Peter's Blog.

Our visitors are on their way!

Our ten student student-visitors and two teachers from St. Peter's School in Barcelona are on their way!  First stop, three days in Manhattan.  Language arts teacher Sarah Biondello will meet them at the airport and accompany them to museums, sightseeing and Spiderman.  On Sunday afternoon they will take the train to Albany where Parker families will meet them at the train station as they begin their home stays.

Students will attend classes for the week with their Parker sixth and seventh grade counterparts.  Special events: Welcome Assembly on Monday; potluck supper after school on Tuesday; field trip to the Capitol and State Museum on Wednesday; Bowling party on Thursday afternoon; Spring Sing and farewell party on Friday.  Students will spend the day with Parker families on Saturday and head home Sunday, March 24.  A whirlwind week for everyone - and a wonderful opportunity for cultural exchange, language practice, and new friendships!  Read more...

Global connection

From the 2-3 study of India in May 2010

Susie Merrett writes:
I'm off to south India to visit Shanti Bhavan , a remarkable boarding school outside of Bangalore. Our hope is to establish a relationship between Shanti Bhavan and Parker that will deepen our studies of India and help our students gain connections to children of a very different culture.

Susie is traveling with former Parker parent and trustee Kallanna Manjunath.  Manju's family is from Bangalore where Susie and he are treasured guests of the family.  To read Susie's beautiful travel blog click: http://rcparkervisitsindia.blogspot.com/

Susie is bringing letters from our 2-3 students introducing themselves to Shanti Bhavan students. She hopes to bring back responses that will begin a relationship between the two schools.

Global perspective

Visitors to Parker this week: Jordi Ginjaume, General Manager and son of the founder of St. Peter's School in Barcelona, Spain, and Mark, head of the middle school.  This is the second part of an international exchange that began when Susie Merrett and Sarah Biondello visited St. Peter's earlier this year.  Former Parker teacher Teresa Ferrer-Mico has fostered the relationship between the two schools.

Jordi and Mark were delightful visitors.  We put on a special assembly for them with songs and dances in Spanish.  They observed in science, math and Spanish classes - and in archery, too.  They loved our buddy program and were impressed with the independent work ethic of our students.  Mark taught a class to middle schoolers contrasting Barcelona and St. Peter's School with Parker and Albany.  Parker's natural property was a contrast to a city school in Barcelona: we have acreage, but St. Peter's looks out over Barcelona and the Mediterranean.  

St. Peter's has over 620 students from 18 mos. to 12th grade.  They have a rigorous Spanish academic program  - and all students learn 5 languages.

Exciting news: 4 or 5 St.Peter's 8th graders will visit Parker in the fall and we will be arranging a teacher exchange, too!  This opportunity for our teachers and students to gain a global perspective through a cross-cultural exchange is very exciting, building ties, friendships, and understanding at an international level.