Each year Monroe is fortunate to host many visitors from other countries as well as speakers who have traveled or lived in a foreign country. February was busy with two visits from Mrs. Chris Fitzstevens, mother of one of our sixth grade MAP students. Mrs. Fitzstevens has spent many summers in Germany and has heard her mother tell stories about life over there. She fascinated the classes with her "piece of the rock" - an actual chunk of the Berlin Wall. She explained to the students all about the wall and the problems it caused and how happy the people were when it came down in 1989. She baked both classes a delicious German pound cake and brought in samples of German books for children, hand made flax, and a tape to help teach the classes German numbers. It was a great cultural experience for both groups.
Also in February, we were lucky to be chosen to host three visitng guests from Turkmenistan. Three women were selected by our U.S. Department of State and the government of Turkmenistan to visit several cities and schools in the U.S. While in Rochester they visited Wilson Magnet and us! They spoke not a word of English (the government provided a translator)but were thrilled to meet our students. Homebase 333, Dr. Holmes' class, actually represents Turkmenistan. The guests brought many small gifts for the class and promised to start an e-mail pen pal program with Dr. Holmes' class and students in their country. They were wonderful to be with and a perfect example of how language doesn'T have to be a barrier to peace and friendship.
In early March, Mrs. Galina Shevchenko, from Novgorod, Russia visited Monroe for three days. She came to Rochester through the program Linkages, which promotes study and goodwill between Russia and the U.S. Mrs. Shevchenko was able to sit in on several classes and also learn about all the different programs we have in our school. She said she found differences not only in our programs, but also in the students. She commented that American children were less disciplined than Russian children. This summer, two of our Monroe teachers will visit Novgorod, Russia. Mrs. Lisa Steffen and Ms. Larisa Boettcher will spend five weeks there. Mrs. Steffen is taking a group of students from SUNY Brockport, and Ms. Boettcher will be teaching English to Russian teachers.
Each year Monroe is fortunate to host many visitors from other countries as well as speakers who have traveled or lived in a foreign country. February was busy with two visits from Mrs. Chris Fitzstevens, mother of one of our sixth grade MAP students. Mrs. Fitzstevens has spent many summers in Germany and has heard her mother tell stories about life over there. She fascinated the classes with her "piece of the rock" - an actual chunk of the Berlin Wall. She explained to the students all about the wall and the problems it caused and how happy the people were when it came down in 1989. She baked both classes a delicious German pound cake and brought in samples of German books for children, hand made flax, and a tape to help teach the classes German numbers. It was a great cultural experience for both groups.
Also in February, we were lucky to be chosen to host three visitng guests from Turkmenistan. Three women were selected by our U.S. Department of State and the government of Turkmenistan to visit several cities and schools in the U.S. While in Rochester they visited Wilson Magnet and us! They spoke not a word of English (the government provided a translator)but were thrilled to meet our students. Homebase 333, Dr. Holmes' class, actually represents Turkmenistan. The guests brought many small gifts for the class and promised to start an e-mail pen pal program with Dr. Holmes' class and students in their country. They were wonderful to be with and a perfect example of how language doesn'T have to be a barrier to peace and friendship.
In early March, Mrs. Galina Shevchenko, from Novgorod, Russia visited Monroe for three days. She came to Rochester through the program Linkages, which promotes study and goodwill between Russia and the U.S. Mrs. Shevchenko was able to sit in on several classes and also learn about all the different programs we have in our school. She said she found differences not only in our programs, but also in the students. She commented that American children were less disciplined than Russian children. This summer, two of our Monroe teachers will visit Novgorod, Russia. Mrs. Lisa Steffen and Ms. Larisa Boettcher will spend five weeks there. Mrs. Steffen is taking a group of students from SUNY Brockport, and Ms. Boettcher will be teaching English to Russian teachers.