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Published on 06/01/1998 All articles from this issue

St. Nicholas builds bridge to Chinese students

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Although most of the seventh graders at St. Nicholas Elementary School in Los Altos Hills have never been to China, they know students there wear uniforms, play ping pong at recess and hold Dragon Boat races every March.

Through a letter exchange program begun at the start of the school year, the students have been learning about Chinese culture and language.

"They're just like regular kids. It's neat how (exchanging letters) connects the international bridge between us," said Greg Russell, one of the 28 seventh graders at St. Nicholas who has exchanged letters and photos throughout the school year with students at Middle School No. 26 in Nanchang, China.

The program began last October when seventh grade teacher Larry Murphy and his wife, Shirley, went to China to bring their adopted daughter home. While there, they met Nina Deng, an English teacher from Middle School #26. Murphy and Deng arranged a student letter exchange between the two schools, where participating students were assigned specific penpals.

Murphy said he believes the exchange has been valuable to students in both countries. "I think from a social studies view point, they realize that though they're 16,000 miles away, the kids are pretty much like them in lots of ways. When they get mail, it only shortens the planet for them," he said.

In a letter, Deng said the letters have motivated her students to learn English at a faster pace. She said students in other classes who have heard about the program have requested their own penpals, too.

At St. Nicholas, students have learned to write basic greetings in Chinese characters, Murphy said.

Classmates Jennifer Gonzales and Monica Dellamano said they write about everything from homework to their hobbies.

Through the exchange, the girls said they learned that their penpals have neither telephones nor computers or televisions in the classrooms. The school is a five-story building with about 1,000 students and staffed by about 110 teachers.

St. Nicholas staff members plan to expand the program into a schoolwide project.