On Tuesday, Oct. 3, 94 students and six teachers from South Korea visited Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School to experience a day at school in the United States.
SPFHS’s connection with the South Korean school, Suwon Academy of World Languages began with Board Member, Nancy Bauer, who also works at William Patterson. She partnered with Social Studies Teacher Ryan McKenna to establish a pen pal program, where students from SPFHS would communicate with students in South Korea via letters.
Students from both schools participated in various cross-cultural activities and projects. In 2020, Minkyung, a teacher at the South Korean school informed McKenna that she would be traveling to the United States with her students. While they couldn’t make the trip at the time because of the pandemic, McKenna kept in touch with the school, later bringing the South Korean students to SPFHS last week.
Before their arrival, McKenna planned an itinerary with lots of activities to ensure that the South Korean students would enjoy their time at SPFHS.
At the opening assembly, Principal Dr. David Heisey and Superintendent Dr. Joan Mast welcomed the students and then “The Moonglowers” played a set for about 20 minutes. Following their performance, the SPFHS cheerleaders took the stage. The South Korean students were especially excited about this because they don’t have any sports at their school; it was all completely new to them.
“It was very different than cheering for the high school football team. They were very appreciative and cheering after every stunt, trick, and cheer that we did,” Varsity Cheer Captain Isabella Cucci told The Fanscotian. “What we think are very simple stunts, they thought were outstanding.”
Then, the Korean principal also spoke. They introduced three students who gave SPFHS students a preview of their school through a PowerPoint. After the presentation, six students on their dance team showcased their skills.
Students later participated in conversation circles, where they got to learn about the different cultures at each school. All the students exchanged small gifts as a token after their conversations.
After lunch, the Korean students got to observe some of the classes offered at SPFHS. McKenna noted the differences between our school in the U.S. and their school in South Korea.
“They have a much longer day [at school], so they don’t have the same extracurriculars. One student told me that she wishes there were more clubs in her school that were not academic,” McKenna said. “They have their version of Model UN, but she said that she wished there was something like cheerleading.”
While McKenna is unsure whether or not he will plan a school trip to visit South Korea, he thought this was a very positive and worthwhile experience.
