A LETTER FROM CAROL MAOZ

October 16, 2009

The Foote-China Exchange:
Developing Friendships and Building International Understanding


Dear Parents ,

The plans were in place: an exciting itinerary, ninth grade buddies, and Foote families ready to host the 23 Chinese students and three teachers scheduled to arrive at Foote on September 30.  In fact, the connection had already begun at the start of the year when our ninth graders sent e-mails to their "e-pals" at the Yali Middle School in Changsha, China. Deb Riding, our Humanities Co-Chair, and Wang Manchun, an English teacher at Yali, had been corresponding and making plans for months. 

There was excitement in the air on the morning of the delegation's arrival.  While the first moments were quiet, the ice was broken quickly and the laughter, sharing, and friendships began.  We were honored to have Principal Sun Chuangu from the Yali Middle School as part of this year's delegation.

With their buddies, our guests attended classes including biology, English and history. They were also lucky enough to experience a special drama class and gym class. Julian Schlusberg and the PE teachers all talked about how well the students interacted.  We shared meals at Foote and our students took their buddies on tours of the school. Over the course of two days, the Yali students visited each Lower and Middle School homeroom and exchanged a bit of Chinese and American culture in our "Gladly will I learn, gladly will I teach" activity. Our students learned Chinese games and calligraphy and taught our guests everything from "Duck, Duck, Goose" and Four Square to card tricks.  After a tiring day, the students went home and our many generous Foote families made our guests feel welcome. Some of them enjoyed New Haven favorites like Pepe's Pizza and Ashley's ice cream. Others had a home-cooked meal. Some carved pumpkins and others went out on a boat.  The Yali students were intelligent, articulate, warm and open, and quickly won a place in all of our hearts.

On the morning of the second day of the delegation's visit, we had a very moving assembly. It is hard to express just how special it was.  Our Student Council President, Joey Camilleri, hosted the assembly. Foote students sang a Chinese folk song taught to them by our Chinese Exchange Teacher, Xiang Jiaxiang.  Xiang, whose English name is Joshua, has been with us since the beginning of the school year.  Principal Sun addressed our community and spoke about the importance of education, the importance of this exchange, and the hospitality of the Foote School community. I hope to receive a copy of Principal Sun's speech and post it on our website. While the Principal spoke in Chinese, one of the Yali students deftly translated. This was particularly meaningful as the student, Belinda, is the daughter of Chen Guangwen, our 2004 Exchange Teacher. Our students were thrilled as the Yali students performed Chinese Opera, a traditional Tibetan dance, and a Hip-Hop dance to Justin Timberlake's song, My Love. Personally, I was brought to tears as the Tibetan dance concluded with the presentation by the dancer of a white silk scarf (from Tibet!) into my arms.

After many photographs, both formal and informal, the ninth graders and their buddies went off on a field trip to the West River, part of a multi-year Foote study of ecology of the river.  Principal Sun donned waders and followed John Cunningham into the water.  Everyone cheered as he pulled out the biggest fish, which is now in our tank at school!  This was one of the highlights of his trip.  The teachers were very impressed with the amount of hands-on and real-life learning Foote students engage in.  

Our students' eyes widened as they learned about the length of the Chinese school day and the amount of homework they have. The Yali students explained the belief in China that education is the most important ingredient to success. While I wouldn't exactly say that they are joyful about the amount of schoolwork they have, they certainly feel fortunate to have the opportunity to learn at one of the best schools in China.

In March, our ninth graders will have the opportunity to travel to China, visit the Yali Middle School and experience a home stay in Changsha.

The Foote/Yali exchange is a unique program that fosters international understanding. Our students are learning first hand about our similarities as well as learning to celebrate our differences. The future of our world is one of intertwined cultures and economies and dependent on global understanding. A program such as ours is a wonderful stepping-stone in this direction. We are grateful to the Yale-China Association for their support in this joint venture.  Please check out the photo scrapbooks of the visit on our website.

We are so lucky to have Xiang Jiaxiang as our exchange teacher at Foote until the Winter Holidays.  He is spending a week working with each grade level teaching about Chinese culture and lifestyles; he has already been with the third grade and Kindergarten and is moving on to sixth grade. Please be sure to ask your children about their experience with Joshua. If you would like to invite Xiang Jiaxiang to your home for a meal or for an outing, please contact Mariann Arnold to arrange a date.  I promise you, not only will you be extending Foote hospitality but you and your children also will be enriched by the experience.

Our Foote students are wonderful representatives of the educational richness and personal warmth in the Foote community. We are lucky to have the opportunity to host our Chinese guests and to receive their hospitality when our ninth graders visit China. We are grateful to have so many generous faculty and families who open their classrooms and homes for this special program.

Best regards,


Carol Maoz