By LEETAL PREZELMAYER and JAYDEN KUPFERMAN
Jericho High School hosted Chilean students who came to observe and interact with American high school students. The teens traveled for a duration of almost two weeks through the International BOOST program, which gives economically disadvantaged teens an opportunity to gain knowledge from a cultural and academic experience because of their commitment to school, community, and to becoming bilingual.
As the students approached Jericho High School, they saw a sign that said “Bienvenidos Estudiantes de Chile.” One of the Chilean students Dhamar S. said, “We were coming on the school bus and we thought you all were so cute, so it felt really good.” Upon their arrival, Jericho High School welcomed the students with a breakfast. Then, the students formed small groups and visited many classes, such as math, English, and technology. Also, Spanish teacher Ms. Pryhocki organized an International Tapas Day for her classes. Her students served foods from their own cultures, and Ms. Pryhocki fried homemade churros for the guests.
Chilean student Sebastian G. contrasted Jericho High School with his own school. He said, “This high school is much bigger than ours. In my high school there are 900 kids tops, and I think here there are more than 900 students. What I like is that you have so many different classrooms. You have an entire classroom for art, and an entire classroom for geography. We are in the same classroom of 45 people, and we stay there the whole day. The teachers come to our classrooms.”
Chilean student Daniel C. appreciated the design of Jericho High School and would like to implement some ideas in his own school. He said, “Your school is four times bigger than my school. You have more countryside and a lot of technology. Also, your school is decorated very well. My school is gray concrete.”
Chilean supervisor Pilar G. was very pleased with her visit to Jericho High School. “You are so warm; you are so happy with our visit here. I am grateful for your welcome because I came to a strange place, a strange school, and I saw my country written all over the place. This is not the typical welcome. You did a great job so that is very ‘bien recibido’ for us,” she said.
Dhamar S. appreciated the chance this trip gave her to improve her language skills. She said, “Learning English is a big part of our day. In Chile we have 6 hours a week of English.” She added that she listens to music and watches films in English to further develop her English language skill set.
After a day full of classroom visits, conversation, food, and games, the Chilean students experienced the best of what Jericho High School has to offer. Senior Luke J. said, “I was very proud of Jericho because the Chileans told me that they had gone to multiple schools and no one had planned anything for them.”