 |
What began about six
years ago as a Middle School pen pal project in Bonnie
Wismer’s French classes culminated in a cross-Atlantic visit
by 27 students, their teacher, Marie-Noëlle Pichard, and other
chaperons Lydie Gérardin and Alain Schoose from
Notre-Dame
Saint-Sigisbert
High School
in
Nancy
,
France
. This marks the second such Pen Pal Exchange between the two
schools.
The French visitors
arrived at
Moravian
Academy
October 28 and stayed with
Upper
School
host families until November 8. Many of the visitors and
host students have been pen pals since the letter exchange began
during their 8th grade year. The students have been
anxiously continuing their study of French in
Upper
School
classes taught by Kimberly Sanborn and Richard Pyrczak in
preparation for the Exchange visits. Only students
currently studying French at the high school level are able to
participate in the Exchange. |
| |
| While they are here, the French
visitors attended Upper School classes with their hosts, tour
the Moravian Museum and Historic Bethlehem (after learning about
the Moravians from Middle School social studies teacher Kathy
Rohmann), and participated in several day trips outside the
Lehigh Valley. They traveled by bus to experience
New York City
and the Broadway show “Mamma Mia”; witnessed the Amish way
of life near
Lancaster
,
Pa.
; toured Historic Philadelphia and the
National
Constitution
Center
in
Philadelphia
; and ended their stay with a visit to the Statue of Liberty and
Ellis Island
. They also experienced the uniquely American tradition of
trick-or-treating on Halloween, and several visited other sights
with their host families on weekend excursions. |
| |
|
|
| |
| During their visit here, the
chaperons attended French classes in both the Middle and
Upper
Schools
, sharing their language and culture. Madame Pichard
brought a new set of pen pal letters for this year’s eighth
grade French students, initiating yet another correspondence and
the possibility of making a lifelong friend in another country.
Mrs. Wismer has told her students of the French pen pal she
wrote to in high school and the lasting friendship that
continues to this day. She hopes that this “exchange”,
in the truest sense of the word, will help students on both
sides of the
Atlantic
to exchange their ideas and beliefs, to learn about and
appreciate each other’s country, customs, and language. The
students will undoubtedly realize that the study of a foreign
language serves a very important purpose, far more than simply
fulfilling an academic requirement. It opens hearts and
minds to other ways of seeing, feeling, and thinking. It
makes them sympathetic to other people’s ways of life and
points of view, and understanding of their differences. It
teaches people to put themselves in another person’s place, if
only for the span of a trip abroad. It marks a starting
point for bridging cultural differences between countries, an
important skill in today’s world. |
| |
| In March, during the school’s
spring break, the
Moravian
Academy
pen pals and chaperons will journey to
France
for 10 days. They will stay with their pen pals, attend
classes there, and visit several areas of interest in the
Alsace/Lorraine region of
France, including
Nancy, Strasbourg, and various châteaux. The trip will culminate with
several days in Paris. |
|
|
