Fall 2008
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N OVA S COTIA I NTERNATIONAL S TUDENT P ROGRAM
NEWSLET TER V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
O CTOBER 2008
H ELLO EVERYONE ! Greetings from all of us at International Services! This newsletter is the first one produced this year. We hope you enjoy reading about our students and the fall activities they were involved in within the schools and the community. We have 150 International Students participating in the NSISP this year. We continue to welcome Short Term Groups as well and actually students from Colombia and China are here now in various schools. Students from Spain visited in September and have now returned home. They have great memories of our schools, host families and our province. Host families have been very generous with their time and we appreciate all of the things you do with your International students. Our International Services activities continue to be well-attended. Students love meeting their friends at these events and participating in truly Nova Scotian and Canadian activities. At our Orientation our new students had the opportunity to meet our staff and participate in activities and experience the Harbour Hopper. In October our students enjoyed picking apples, navigating the Corn Maze and taking pictures with the pumpkin people. A huge number of students attended our Hockey Game on November 6 and we all had a great time. On Friday December 12 we are planning a Christmas Skating Party for our students and host families. We will skate and then have dinner together. We hope that families will help their students get some skates either by borrowing them or showing them where they can buy second-hand skates. On behalf of everyone at the Halifax Regional School Board, I want to thank the host families and our host schools. We continue to feel great support for our International Students and we truly appreciate all of the work you do. Thank you to all of those who contributed to our newsletter and please feel free to submit pictures or articles at any time. Have a great time sharing our wonderful fall and winter season.
REGIS HILL International Services, Halifax Regional School Board
A N O DE TO E NGLISH P LURALS We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes. One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice, Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen? If I speak of my foot and show you a feet, And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet? If one is a tooth and the whole set are teeth, Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth? Then one may be that, and three would be those, Yet hat in the plural would never be hose, And the plural of cat is cats, not cose. We speak of a brother and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say brethren. Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!
UPCOMING EVENTS Skating/Christmas Party December 12 Skiing/Snowboarding January 12 Orientation Skiing/ Snowboarding February 7 Curling March (TBA) Taste of Nova Scotia April 17 NSISP Year End Event May 9 Year End Thank You Party/ Dragon Boats June 8
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
P AGE 2
F ALL I NTO F UN : A PPLE P ICKING We had an amazing day with great weather. We had four buses and 135 people, including our staff. We started the day at Elderskin’s and each student picked a bag of apples. We then went to Hennigars and had a hot dog lunch with chips, fresh apple cider, and our choice of ice cream. Everyone enjoyed the bunnies, ducks and beautiful
J ILLIAN B UTLER
weather. We then got back on the bus and drove to Noggin’s Corner where we followed the map in the corn maze. Some of the students finished their search and others just took pictures. Some of the students enjoyed the visit into the haunted house. Once again we boarded the buses for another stop. We were running late
S TUDENT O RIENTATION
so we only had time to make one stop to take pictures with the pumpkin people. It was a great day and we were overjoyed with the beautiful weather!
Park (Thailand) and his host brother Woo Hyun (Korea) carving out a pumpkin for Halloween!
J ILLIAN B UTLER
The evening started with part of it we had music with a everyone checking in. That “live” DJ and lots of dancing. was a large undertaking unto Diego who was not only leaditself. ing the dancing but also got to help the DJ spin some tunes We then had a pizza and salad which was awesome! supper. Once all of the students had eaten we used our The next day we started with time to talk about culture Breakfast at the hotel and shock, safety in Nova Scotia, then boarded buses for Haliextracurricular activities, fax to the Harbour Hopper. adjusting to new families, Everyone loved the land and schools etc. After the work sea tour of Halifax!
Saeko enjoyed her birthday party at East Side Mario’s with her new friends!
We then ate lunch at the hotel and exchanged many new emails and phone numbers before leaving to go back to our “new” families. The orientation was not only informative but fun as well. It was a great opportunity for all of our staff to spend time with all of our students.
C APITAL D ISTRICT C ROSS -C OUNTRY C HAMPIONSHIP (S HUBIE P ARK )
HELP! M Y STUDENT DOESN ’ T SPEAK E NGLISH !
Three of the students are German students from C.P. Allen, including Felix of the NSISP. The other two non-C.P. Allen students are NSISP Czech student Lucie from Prince Andrew (who came in fifth in the senior girls’ race) and NSISP German student Inge from Auburn. It was great to see so many international students at the meet!
D EBBIE T OOGOOD , ESL T EACHER
Students will learn words that are useful to them. Try labeling common objects around the house. You can do this verbally or stick the printed word on the object. Turn this into a game by removing the labels and seeing how many new words they can recall! Art is wonderful for the students. They don’t need to know any English in order to jump in and shine! Try a family game night. Bingo, Go Fish, Hungry Hippo and Monopoly are some games they will enjoy. Rules can be adjusted as you go. Have fun!
STUDENT ORIENTATION S EPTEMBER 19-20 H OLIDAY I NN
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
P AGE 3
T IPS FOR S UCCESS AT S CHOOL 1) Get to know your teachers. Let them know what your level of English is. It is OK to say you are a beginner, they will understand. The more they know, the more they can help you! 2) Ask questions! Be sure you understand the assignment. You can also ask another student or your ESL teacher for help. 3) For each assignment, find out what the key words and key concepts are. Use a highlighter to identify new words in each class. Enter them in a vocabulary book. Learn them. 4) Organize your binder. (See information sheet.) Take neat notes in class. If it is difficult, ask the teacher if there is a student whose notes you can copy to help you. Make sure you tell the stu-
J ULIE S CHWARTZ , ESL T EACHER same interests and have a great opportunity to talk and make friends!
dent that their help is important to you. 5) DO NOT just download information off the web and hand it in. This will not help you learn and is considered plagiarism (cheating). It is much better to write less in YOUR OWN WORDS. 6) Do not miss assignments. Speak to the teacher; you may be able to do part of the assignment or change it slightly. You may be given extra time to complete, but make sure you hand it in! 7) Get a good Canadian dictionary (Gage or Collins) and keep it with you at all times. Not a translator, which can be good in an emergency, but when used all the time, they slow down your learning.
10) It is OK to ask for extra help. No one understands everything in the beginning. It takes time. The ESL class is there for your support. You get to work with the entire NSISP group and can get individual attention.
P RINCE A NDREW W ELCOMING C OMMITTEE
At the end of the 2006-07 school year, Netzi Olvera Lara, a Mexican NSISP student at Prince Andrew High, came to me to talk about the difficulties she and the other international students had meeting and befriending locals.
Building on Netzi’s idea, a group of P.A. students came together from the beginning of the school year to show our international visitors (along with newly immigrated students) some Nova Scotia hospitality. In the first week of school, the students gathered some small gifts to make each of the international students a welcome basket. Each one received a bus map, a pair of mittens and other goodies. Since then, the students have been on an after-school bowling trip as well as a ghost tour of Citadel Hill. The committee plans to have about one activity each
L OCAL F OOD FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS Baan Thai 1569 Dresden Row il Mercato Ristorante 5560 Spring Garden Rd. Athens Restaurant 6303 Quinpool Rd. Fan’s Chinese Restaurant 451 Windmill Rd. Dharma Sushi 1576 Argyle St.
LOOKING FOR GOOD ASIAN FOOD? Visit Taishan Asian Grocery 6466 Quinpool Rd., Halifax www.taishanstore.com 405-1110 Fresh Vegetables every Thursday Every rice and noodle you could imagine
THIS PARTY THE RESULT OF “S QUEEZABLE H UGS ”? M ARINA L E B LANC
9) If you find a course too advanced, let your Guidance Counselor know. They may be able to find a course that you would have more success with if they are informed at an early date. They can also be very helpful with you getting used to the school.
8) Join an after school activity or club. You will meet other Canadians with the
Her solution? The P.A. Welcoming Committee.
IS
M R . B EN S ICHEL , T EACHER
month—a trip to the corn maze in Colchester county and an apple-picking trip are some of the ideas being thrown around. At this point, though, the students don’t seem to need any special committee meetings to come together. Just spending time together has made plenty of internal friendships blossom. It’s the best kind of learning experience for all kids involved. As Samantha McPhee, one of the key welcoming committee organizers exclaimed to me recently: “Mr. Sichel! Can you believe they’ve never eaten a Timbit before?”
Two years ago, Chie Ishikawa arrived from Japan. She was a very quiet young lady who almost wanted to hide when she saw a person approaching. She found her first year very hard but never gave up. Circumstances presented themselves, which prompted a move to a new school, and worse, a new homestay. How would she cope? Would she be lost in a crowd at school? Would she be able to make it through? Well, needless to say, make it through, she did. Chie loves her house family and there is never a sad or quiet day for her. She plans birthday parties for her host sister and host mother, assigns delegates who will bring what she needs, makes up and sends out invitations and calls the night before to make sure the person is coming. Her schoolwork has improved and each day she greets with a smile. When I asked her why the big change, she credits the squeezable hugs from her house family and extended family; hugs so tight they almost squeeze the breath from you!
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
P AGE 4
M Y E XPERIENCE Be an Internacional Student is not an easy work, but with the time, you see that you have a lot of people who want help you. And those people become your new friends. Live with another family, share new experiences and learn more about other culture is something very important in our lifes. My name is Agatha Rebelato and I live with my host Mother, a Host Younger Sister and a Host Japanese Sister. Sometimes I have difficulte times with all these new woman, but I know that these is normal.
A GATHA R EBELATO , I NTERNATIONAL S TUDENT I went to Toronto with the Program a few weeks ago, and I enjoy a lot. I miss so much all the people that I meet. Germans, Brazilians, Italians, Koreans, Mexicans, etc. One week that will always be in my memory.
I am luck, because even with all problems, I have a lot of nice people in my way and I thank God all the time. Andrea, Victoria, Agatha, Arthur and Caio in Holiday Inn Hotel
My school is Halifax West, I don’t like so much the canadians students in my school, but in generally I don’t have problems, and the teachers are really nice and help me a lot. I have a lot of friends of all parts of the world. And this is really cool because I learn more than English, I learn Japanese, Arabic, German and Italian.
Agatha in Toronto, in front of the CN Tower
H ALIFAX M OOSEHEADS H OCKEY
Umberto (Italy), Rafaela (Brazil), Max (Germany), Simon (Germany), two Mexicans, Marina and Agatha (Brazil), Toronto
N OVEMBER 6, 2008
On November 6th, 165 people (including employees) went to see the Halifax Mooseheads play hockey. The score was 5-2 in the end (in favour of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) but the students didn’t seem to mind. They enjoyed the hockey game plus prizes of noisemakers, t-shirts and hats provided by the program. It was a good time for all involved!
Agatha at Canada’s Wonderland
Rainbow over Niagara Falls
T HE B EST M ONTH OF MY L IFE This month started the 7th of September, when I arrived to Halifax. At first I was so nervous but when I found my host family, now my family, I was comfortable. I went to the house where I will go to live the whole month. It was a strange day for me. The next day it was my first day in my new Canadian high school. It was so different for me and everything was new for me. At first I was lost but when I arrived to my first class, the people started to help me and they started to ask me questions from Spain. It was difficult for me to understand them. At the end of the day we had Drama class. I didn’t know that this class would come to be my favourite class where I will find a lot of friends and they will be many of my favourite friends. The following days we could understand easier than the first day and I made more friends. The other important thing of my life here is my
family. They were so nice to me and they were with me like with one of their real daughters. They made me feel that the house where I lived was my home. They showed me many things, many places, they help me to improve my English. I don’t know how to explain what are my feelings with them, but they aren’t my Canadian family, they are my family, like my real family. And they will be my family forever. On Sunday this perfect month is going to finish, but I will keep in my heart every moment with my friends, every moment with my family, everything. I don’t know why the life is not fair and I have to leave from this people that I love. But I know that some day I will see them again and we will remember this month because I will keep in contact with them and I will never forget my school friends, my family, my international friends, everyone. Maybe this article is so emotional or sad, but today it was my last day of school and I had to say goodbye to all of my
I RANTZU G ARZIA C LAVERIA friends. It was one of the worst days of my life and one of the best because they are the best people I’ve ever met. I only have to say that I love Canada and the most important, I love Canadian people, German people, Brazilian people, Japanese people… I love the people that I knew from many parts of the world.
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
P AGE 5
A+ F OR ESL A SSESSMENT
J ANE D ELOREY
C AR P OOLING
On September 8th this year we held ESL assessments for all the NSISP students at the Bell Building. The day included games for the students, individual assessments, lunch and some door prizes for everyone. All travel arrangements were planned by International Student Services in order to ensure orderly arrivals and departures were well considered. Having all the students together helped the ESL teachers to meet with most of the students in one day as opposed to the past when they were required to go from school to school and find and assess the students individually. Another reason we think it was a success was because the students got to see friends they had made during their travels to Canada. I think it helped them with their transition into the Canadian Culture to take a little break and see some students from their own country.
Car pooling is great for the environment, a great way to meet other host families and have your student active in many activities. Please remember to call or email other families to share the driving. If you need a list of phone numbers or emails please contact your coordinator.
ICE CREAM SOCIAL S EPTEMBER 2008
This year’s group of students
Brazilian Students
There was cake for everyone!
German Students
Student collecting his door prize from Julie Schwartz (one of our ESL teachers)
Held at Lakeside Fire Hall for students at Sir John A Macdonald, Ridgecliff Middle School and Halifax West High School to meet before their first day of school.
HWHS B OYS ’ B S OCCER 4 TH T INAJERO N ARANJO DAUGHTER IN NSISP!
A LL -S TAR S OCCER P LAYER
Maritza Tinajero Naranjo is the 4th in her family to study in Dartmouth with the NSISP. Her other 3 sisters, Mariana, Monica and Mayra, attended local high schools also.
Eliezer Cazer Hernandez (Eli) is the goal tender for the Sackville High School Soccer team. He is from Mexico, where he played soccer growing up. His goal is to be a professional soccer player. He is currently in grade 12 at Sackville High where he hopes to graduate from. He was chosen from the Schools within HRM to be the Goal Tender in Thursday night's All Star Game. His team won 8-2.
The Boys’ team played in a league this year for the first time and enjoyed great success. They played Citadel in order to represent the Region in the Provincials and won the two-game total goals. The team then went to the NSSAF Provincials and defeated Horton 1-0 to take the Provincial crown. Congratulations to all team members and special thanks to Mr. Sider for his effortswith the team. Alfredo Garcia Alvarez was on the team.
A DVICE
FROM AN
ESL T EACHER
C AROLINE S. H IGGINS , ESL T EACHER
One of the most difficult things to do when studying in a second language is to learn all of the vocabulary you need for a certain subject. The internet is a great resource for this vocabulary, especially if you use the online ESL glossaries that are available on different websites. Here is a list of some useful ones! Bilingual Glossaries http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/biling/bilingual_glossaries.htm
Science Bilingual & ESL http://www.newyorkscienceteacher.com/sci/esl/index.php
Japanese & English
CONTACT INFORMATION Marilyn Hurst, Main Office (902) 464-2000 ext. 2548 [email protected]
http://iteslj.org/links/ESL/Bilingual/Japanese_English/p2.html
English & Spanish http://www.transpanish.biz/english-spanish-glossary.htm
Business: Portuguese to English http://www.aprendendoingles.com.br/businessenglish.shtml
Gr. 10: World History, Culture and Geography (Spanish) http://history.ocde.us/Assets/History/downloads/IMA106_Grade+Level+10_SPA.pdf
KudoZ Open Glossary (Online) http://www.proz.com/index.php3?sp=kog
Physics: Spanish & English http://www.transpanish.biz/physics-glossary.htm
A VERY special Thank You to Angela MacDonald, who volunteered many hours of her time to put this newsletter together.
C ULTURAL A DVENTURE This fall, NSISP organized yet another great cultural trip to our country’s busiest city. In early October, on the first of two cultural trips offered this month, 50 excited students and 5 eager chaperones boarded a train which would take 26 hours to the city of Toronto. Students would experience a 6-day schedule jam-packed with fun activities; enough to tire out even the most energetic student. When international students come to Canada, they often dream of visiting the world famous Niagara Falls. On our first full day in Ontario, our cultural trip participants got to experience, first hand, the magnificence of the Horseshoe Falls. Students saw most of the Falls through their cameras and photo ops filled most of the day. We enjoyed an Aero Car ride across the Falls, a hike along the white rapids, and a 40 meter descent by elevator
TO
T ORONTO 2008
behind the falls. Our days brushed by quickly with excitement and different activities. We visited Canada’s Wonderland, where students were introduced to Canada’s newest and tallest roller coaster, The Behemoth. One of the most exciting nights was enjoying dinner and entertainment at Medieval Times. This night, students were taken back to the time of knights, horses and battles while they ate roasted chicken and potatoes with their hands. Our schedule included a visit to the Science Museum, a downtown tour of Toronto, cosmic bowling, arcade fun and a trip up the world famous CN tower. Students were delighted by the panoramic view of Canada’s great city and thrilled to stand on the glass floor looking 1,122’ straight down. Each day of our trip included
C HARITY S EMPLE
intervals of shopping time at some of the best malls in Toronto. Needless to say, we flew back to Halifax with twice as many bags. The looks on students’ faces at the airport told us that they weren’t quite ready to come back to Nova Scotia and the massive exchange of emails and final group photos showed us that many friendships had been made and memories which would be cherished forever. Thanks to all the cultural trip participants who made this travel a wonderful memory!
NEWSLET TER V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
O CTOBER 2008
H ELLO EVERYONE ! Greetings from all of us at International Services! This newsletter is the first one produced this year. We hope you enjoy reading about our students and the fall activities they were involved in within the schools and the community. We have 150 International Students participating in the NSISP this year. We continue to welcome Short Term Groups as well and actually students from Colombia and China are here now in various schools. Students from Spain visited in September and have now returned home. They have great memories of our schools, host families and our province. Host families have been very generous with their time and we appreciate all of the things you do with your International students. Our International Services activities continue to be well-attended. Students love meeting their friends at these events and participating in truly Nova Scotian and Canadian activities. At our Orientation our new students had the opportunity to meet our staff and participate in activities and experience the Harbour Hopper. In October our students enjoyed picking apples, navigating the Corn Maze and taking pictures with the pumpkin people. A huge number of students attended our Hockey Game on November 6 and we all had a great time. On Friday December 12 we are planning a Christmas Skating Party for our students and host families. We will skate and then have dinner together. We hope that families will help their students get some skates either by borrowing them or showing them where they can buy second-hand skates. On behalf of everyone at the Halifax Regional School Board, I want to thank the host families and our host schools. We continue to feel great support for our International Students and we truly appreciate all of the work you do. Thank you to all of those who contributed to our newsletter and please feel free to submit pictures or articles at any time. Have a great time sharing our wonderful fall and winter season.
REGIS HILL International Services, Halifax Regional School Board
A N O DE TO E NGLISH P LURALS We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes. One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice, Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen? If I speak of my foot and show you a feet, And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet? If one is a tooth and the whole set are teeth, Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth? Then one may be that, and three would be those, Yet hat in the plural would never be hose, And the plural of cat is cats, not cose. We speak of a brother and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say brethren. Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!
UPCOMING EVENTS Skating/Christmas Party December 12 Skiing/Snowboarding January 12 Orientation Skiing/ Snowboarding February 7 Curling March (TBA) Taste of Nova Scotia April 17 NSISP Year End Event May 9 Year End Thank You Party/ Dragon Boats June 8
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
P AGE 2
F ALL I NTO F UN : A PPLE P ICKING We had an amazing day with great weather. We had four buses and 135 people, including our staff. We started the day at Elderskin’s and each student picked a bag of apples. We then went to Hennigars and had a hot dog lunch with chips, fresh apple cider, and our choice of ice cream. Everyone enjoyed the bunnies, ducks and beautiful
J ILLIAN B UTLER
weather. We then got back on the bus and drove to Noggin’s Corner where we followed the map in the corn maze. Some of the students finished their search and others just took pictures. Some of the students enjoyed the visit into the haunted house. Once again we boarded the buses for another stop. We were running late
S TUDENT O RIENTATION
so we only had time to make one stop to take pictures with the pumpkin people. It was a great day and we were overjoyed with the beautiful weather!
Park (Thailand) and his host brother Woo Hyun (Korea) carving out a pumpkin for Halloween!
J ILLIAN B UTLER
The evening started with part of it we had music with a everyone checking in. That “live” DJ and lots of dancing. was a large undertaking unto Diego who was not only leaditself. ing the dancing but also got to help the DJ spin some tunes We then had a pizza and salad which was awesome! supper. Once all of the students had eaten we used our The next day we started with time to talk about culture Breakfast at the hotel and shock, safety in Nova Scotia, then boarded buses for Haliextracurricular activities, fax to the Harbour Hopper. adjusting to new families, Everyone loved the land and schools etc. After the work sea tour of Halifax!
Saeko enjoyed her birthday party at East Side Mario’s with her new friends!
We then ate lunch at the hotel and exchanged many new emails and phone numbers before leaving to go back to our “new” families. The orientation was not only informative but fun as well. It was a great opportunity for all of our staff to spend time with all of our students.
C APITAL D ISTRICT C ROSS -C OUNTRY C HAMPIONSHIP (S HUBIE P ARK )
HELP! M Y STUDENT DOESN ’ T SPEAK E NGLISH !
Three of the students are German students from C.P. Allen, including Felix of the NSISP. The other two non-C.P. Allen students are NSISP Czech student Lucie from Prince Andrew (who came in fifth in the senior girls’ race) and NSISP German student Inge from Auburn. It was great to see so many international students at the meet!
D EBBIE T OOGOOD , ESL T EACHER
Students will learn words that are useful to them. Try labeling common objects around the house. You can do this verbally or stick the printed word on the object. Turn this into a game by removing the labels and seeing how many new words they can recall! Art is wonderful for the students. They don’t need to know any English in order to jump in and shine! Try a family game night. Bingo, Go Fish, Hungry Hippo and Monopoly are some games they will enjoy. Rules can be adjusted as you go. Have fun!
STUDENT ORIENTATION S EPTEMBER 19-20 H OLIDAY I NN
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
P AGE 3
T IPS FOR S UCCESS AT S CHOOL 1) Get to know your teachers. Let them know what your level of English is. It is OK to say you are a beginner, they will understand. The more they know, the more they can help you! 2) Ask questions! Be sure you understand the assignment. You can also ask another student or your ESL teacher for help. 3) For each assignment, find out what the key words and key concepts are. Use a highlighter to identify new words in each class. Enter them in a vocabulary book. Learn them. 4) Organize your binder. (See information sheet.) Take neat notes in class. If it is difficult, ask the teacher if there is a student whose notes you can copy to help you. Make sure you tell the stu-
J ULIE S CHWARTZ , ESL T EACHER same interests and have a great opportunity to talk and make friends!
dent that their help is important to you. 5) DO NOT just download information off the web and hand it in. This will not help you learn and is considered plagiarism (cheating). It is much better to write less in YOUR OWN WORDS. 6) Do not miss assignments. Speak to the teacher; you may be able to do part of the assignment or change it slightly. You may be given extra time to complete, but make sure you hand it in! 7) Get a good Canadian dictionary (Gage or Collins) and keep it with you at all times. Not a translator, which can be good in an emergency, but when used all the time, they slow down your learning.
10) It is OK to ask for extra help. No one understands everything in the beginning. It takes time. The ESL class is there for your support. You get to work with the entire NSISP group and can get individual attention.
P RINCE A NDREW W ELCOMING C OMMITTEE
At the end of the 2006-07 school year, Netzi Olvera Lara, a Mexican NSISP student at Prince Andrew High, came to me to talk about the difficulties she and the other international students had meeting and befriending locals.
Building on Netzi’s idea, a group of P.A. students came together from the beginning of the school year to show our international visitors (along with newly immigrated students) some Nova Scotia hospitality. In the first week of school, the students gathered some small gifts to make each of the international students a welcome basket. Each one received a bus map, a pair of mittens and other goodies. Since then, the students have been on an after-school bowling trip as well as a ghost tour of Citadel Hill. The committee plans to have about one activity each
L OCAL F OOD FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS Baan Thai 1569 Dresden Row il Mercato Ristorante 5560 Spring Garden Rd. Athens Restaurant 6303 Quinpool Rd. Fan’s Chinese Restaurant 451 Windmill Rd. Dharma Sushi 1576 Argyle St.
LOOKING FOR GOOD ASIAN FOOD? Visit Taishan Asian Grocery 6466 Quinpool Rd., Halifax www.taishanstore.com 405-1110 Fresh Vegetables every Thursday Every rice and noodle you could imagine
THIS PARTY THE RESULT OF “S QUEEZABLE H UGS ”? M ARINA L E B LANC
9) If you find a course too advanced, let your Guidance Counselor know. They may be able to find a course that you would have more success with if they are informed at an early date. They can also be very helpful with you getting used to the school.
8) Join an after school activity or club. You will meet other Canadians with the
Her solution? The P.A. Welcoming Committee.
IS
M R . B EN S ICHEL , T EACHER
month—a trip to the corn maze in Colchester county and an apple-picking trip are some of the ideas being thrown around. At this point, though, the students don’t seem to need any special committee meetings to come together. Just spending time together has made plenty of internal friendships blossom. It’s the best kind of learning experience for all kids involved. As Samantha McPhee, one of the key welcoming committee organizers exclaimed to me recently: “Mr. Sichel! Can you believe they’ve never eaten a Timbit before?”
Two years ago, Chie Ishikawa arrived from Japan. She was a very quiet young lady who almost wanted to hide when she saw a person approaching. She found her first year very hard but never gave up. Circumstances presented themselves, which prompted a move to a new school, and worse, a new homestay. How would she cope? Would she be lost in a crowd at school? Would she be able to make it through? Well, needless to say, make it through, she did. Chie loves her house family and there is never a sad or quiet day for her. She plans birthday parties for her host sister and host mother, assigns delegates who will bring what she needs, makes up and sends out invitations and calls the night before to make sure the person is coming. Her schoolwork has improved and each day she greets with a smile. When I asked her why the big change, she credits the squeezable hugs from her house family and extended family; hugs so tight they almost squeeze the breath from you!
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
P AGE 4
M Y E XPERIENCE Be an Internacional Student is not an easy work, but with the time, you see that you have a lot of people who want help you. And those people become your new friends. Live with another family, share new experiences and learn more about other culture is something very important in our lifes. My name is Agatha Rebelato and I live with my host Mother, a Host Younger Sister and a Host Japanese Sister. Sometimes I have difficulte times with all these new woman, but I know that these is normal.
A GATHA R EBELATO , I NTERNATIONAL S TUDENT I went to Toronto with the Program a few weeks ago, and I enjoy a lot. I miss so much all the people that I meet. Germans, Brazilians, Italians, Koreans, Mexicans, etc. One week that will always be in my memory.
I am luck, because even with all problems, I have a lot of nice people in my way and I thank God all the time. Andrea, Victoria, Agatha, Arthur and Caio in Holiday Inn Hotel
My school is Halifax West, I don’t like so much the canadians students in my school, but in generally I don’t have problems, and the teachers are really nice and help me a lot. I have a lot of friends of all parts of the world. And this is really cool because I learn more than English, I learn Japanese, Arabic, German and Italian.
Agatha in Toronto, in front of the CN Tower
H ALIFAX M OOSEHEADS H OCKEY
Umberto (Italy), Rafaela (Brazil), Max (Germany), Simon (Germany), two Mexicans, Marina and Agatha (Brazil), Toronto
N OVEMBER 6, 2008
On November 6th, 165 people (including employees) went to see the Halifax Mooseheads play hockey. The score was 5-2 in the end (in favour of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) but the students didn’t seem to mind. They enjoyed the hockey game plus prizes of noisemakers, t-shirts and hats provided by the program. It was a good time for all involved!
Agatha at Canada’s Wonderland
Rainbow over Niagara Falls
T HE B EST M ONTH OF MY L IFE This month started the 7th of September, when I arrived to Halifax. At first I was so nervous but when I found my host family, now my family, I was comfortable. I went to the house where I will go to live the whole month. It was a strange day for me. The next day it was my first day in my new Canadian high school. It was so different for me and everything was new for me. At first I was lost but when I arrived to my first class, the people started to help me and they started to ask me questions from Spain. It was difficult for me to understand them. At the end of the day we had Drama class. I didn’t know that this class would come to be my favourite class where I will find a lot of friends and they will be many of my favourite friends. The following days we could understand easier than the first day and I made more friends. The other important thing of my life here is my
family. They were so nice to me and they were with me like with one of their real daughters. They made me feel that the house where I lived was my home. They showed me many things, many places, they help me to improve my English. I don’t know how to explain what are my feelings with them, but they aren’t my Canadian family, they are my family, like my real family. And they will be my family forever. On Sunday this perfect month is going to finish, but I will keep in my heart every moment with my friends, every moment with my family, everything. I don’t know why the life is not fair and I have to leave from this people that I love. But I know that some day I will see them again and we will remember this month because I will keep in contact with them and I will never forget my school friends, my family, my international friends, everyone. Maybe this article is so emotional or sad, but today it was my last day of school and I had to say goodbye to all of my
I RANTZU G ARZIA C LAVERIA friends. It was one of the worst days of my life and one of the best because they are the best people I’ve ever met. I only have to say that I love Canada and the most important, I love Canadian people, German people, Brazilian people, Japanese people… I love the people that I knew from many parts of the world.
V OLUME 1, I SSUE 3
P AGE 5
A+ F OR ESL A SSESSMENT
J ANE D ELOREY
C AR P OOLING
On September 8th this year we held ESL assessments for all the NSISP students at the Bell Building. The day included games for the students, individual assessments, lunch and some door prizes for everyone. All travel arrangements were planned by International Student Services in order to ensure orderly arrivals and departures were well considered. Having all the students together helped the ESL teachers to meet with most of the students in one day as opposed to the past when they were required to go from school to school and find and assess the students individually. Another reason we think it was a success was because the students got to see friends they had made during their travels to Canada. I think it helped them with their transition into the Canadian Culture to take a little break and see some students from their own country.
Car pooling is great for the environment, a great way to meet other host families and have your student active in many activities. Please remember to call or email other families to share the driving. If you need a list of phone numbers or emails please contact your coordinator.
ICE CREAM SOCIAL S EPTEMBER 2008
This year’s group of students
Brazilian Students
There was cake for everyone!
German Students
Student collecting his door prize from Julie Schwartz (one of our ESL teachers)
Held at Lakeside Fire Hall for students at Sir John A Macdonald, Ridgecliff Middle School and Halifax West High School to meet before their first day of school.
HWHS B OYS ’ B S OCCER 4 TH T INAJERO N ARANJO DAUGHTER IN NSISP!
A LL -S TAR S OCCER P LAYER
Maritza Tinajero Naranjo is the 4th in her family to study in Dartmouth with the NSISP. Her other 3 sisters, Mariana, Monica and Mayra, attended local high schools also.
Eliezer Cazer Hernandez (Eli) is the goal tender for the Sackville High School Soccer team. He is from Mexico, where he played soccer growing up. His goal is to be a professional soccer player. He is currently in grade 12 at Sackville High where he hopes to graduate from. He was chosen from the Schools within HRM to be the Goal Tender in Thursday night's All Star Game. His team won 8-2.
The Boys’ team played in a league this year for the first time and enjoyed great success. They played Citadel in order to represent the Region in the Provincials and won the two-game total goals. The team then went to the NSSAF Provincials and defeated Horton 1-0 to take the Provincial crown. Congratulations to all team members and special thanks to Mr. Sider for his effortswith the team. Alfredo Garcia Alvarez was on the team.
A DVICE
FROM AN
ESL T EACHER
C AROLINE S. H IGGINS , ESL T EACHER
One of the most difficult things to do when studying in a second language is to learn all of the vocabulary you need for a certain subject. The internet is a great resource for this vocabulary, especially if you use the online ESL glossaries that are available on different websites. Here is a list of some useful ones! Bilingual Glossaries http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/biling/bilingual_glossaries.htm
Science Bilingual & ESL http://www.newyorkscienceteacher.com/sci/esl/index.php
Japanese & English
CONTACT INFORMATION Marilyn Hurst, Main Office (902) 464-2000 ext. 2548 [email protected]
http://iteslj.org/links/ESL/Bilingual/Japanese_English/p2.html
English & Spanish http://www.transpanish.biz/english-spanish-glossary.htm
Business: Portuguese to English http://www.aprendendoingles.com.br/businessenglish.shtml
Gr. 10: World History, Culture and Geography (Spanish) http://history.ocde.us/Assets/History/downloads/IMA106_Grade+Level+10_SPA.pdf
KudoZ Open Glossary (Online) http://www.proz.com/index.php3?sp=kog
Physics: Spanish & English http://www.transpanish.biz/physics-glossary.htm
A VERY special Thank You to Angela MacDonald, who volunteered many hours of her time to put this newsletter together.
C ULTURAL A DVENTURE This fall, NSISP organized yet another great cultural trip to our country’s busiest city. In early October, on the first of two cultural trips offered this month, 50 excited students and 5 eager chaperones boarded a train which would take 26 hours to the city of Toronto. Students would experience a 6-day schedule jam-packed with fun activities; enough to tire out even the most energetic student. When international students come to Canada, they often dream of visiting the world famous Niagara Falls. On our first full day in Ontario, our cultural trip participants got to experience, first hand, the magnificence of the Horseshoe Falls. Students saw most of the Falls through their cameras and photo ops filled most of the day. We enjoyed an Aero Car ride across the Falls, a hike along the white rapids, and a 40 meter descent by elevator
TO
T ORONTO 2008
behind the falls. Our days brushed by quickly with excitement and different activities. We visited Canada’s Wonderland, where students were introduced to Canada’s newest and tallest roller coaster, The Behemoth. One of the most exciting nights was enjoying dinner and entertainment at Medieval Times. This night, students were taken back to the time of knights, horses and battles while they ate roasted chicken and potatoes with their hands. Our schedule included a visit to the Science Museum, a downtown tour of Toronto, cosmic bowling, arcade fun and a trip up the world famous CN tower. Students were delighted by the panoramic view of Canada’s great city and thrilled to stand on the glass floor looking 1,122’ straight down. Each day of our trip included
C HARITY S EMPLE
intervals of shopping time at some of the best malls in Toronto. Needless to say, we flew back to Halifax with twice as many bags. The looks on students’ faces at the airport told us that they weren’t quite ready to come back to Nova Scotia and the massive exchange of emails and final group photos showed us that many friendships had been made and memories which would be cherished forever. Thanks to all the cultural trip participants who made this travel a wonderful memory!
