Students at CHRHS may choose to experience life and culture in other parts of the world through Short-Term, School-to-School Exchanges; Cultural Trips (often with a Service Learning orientation); and Study Abroad. You may learn more about each type of opportunity below.
Opportunity to Host a Ukrainian Refugee Student, 2022-2023 (Pending Board Approval)
Seeking Host Families for Ukrainian Refugee High School Students
The CHRHS Intercultural Program is asking for help from across the Five Town community to provide help for Ukrainian refugee high school students who need a safe, secure environment to continue their education. While we are still working with the CSD Board of Directors to develop the full vision for this effort, we would like to put together a deep bench of potential host families who could provide critical assistance.
The war in Ukraine has caused massive disruption to the lives of millions of school children, and we at CHRHS are working with organizations at both the state and local level to try to provide assistance. Through our discussions with both federal and state agencies, we have found one important area where we, as a school and a community, have an opportunity to help: hosting Ukrainian high school students.
In this spirit, we are looking for families who would be willing to host a Ukrainian high school student in their homes for the 2022-2023 school year. The responsibilities of host families would be similar to the responsibilities of hosting any exchange student– providing meals, transportation, personal and academic support, etc. In some cases, there may be entire families (perhaps siblings who are trying to stay together, or parents who wish to stay with their children) that could be placed in an American home. We are looking for volunteers in our community who may be able to step in to address any level of need.
Our school and community are in a position to be of tremendous help in this horrible situation, and we are hoping for a torrent of volunteers who are willing and able to assist. If you would be interested in volunteering as a host family for a Ukrainian refugee student, please contact Mr. Tom Gray, CHRHS Intercultural Program Coordinator, at [email protected] at your earliest opportunity. Our response as a school will largely be shaped by the support we are able to garner from the community at large. Further, we believe that by welcoming refugee students into our school and community, we create an opportunity for learning and personal growth for our own students and families. Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a difference.
TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES, 2022-2023
We are thrilled to announce the resumption of our international travel opportunities, with the following offerings for the 2022-2023 school year:
London Trip, April Break, 2022
Exchange with Corazonistas School, Valladolid, Spain (Host in fall 2022, travel in spring 2023)
Exchange with Gregor-Mendel Gymnasium, Amberg, Germany (Travel in summer 2023, host in fall 2023)
Additionally, we are working on the resumption of all of our previous exchange partnerships, and on the development of exciting new ones. While the timing of these has not yet been decided, below is a list of Intercultural Programs we plan to resume over the next several years:
Exchange with Lycée Blaise Pascal in Segré, France
Service Learning Trip with Deer Hill Expeditions, Colorado
Exchange with Edinburgh Academy, Scotland
Exchange with Colégio Wexford, Quéretaro, Mexico*
Exchange with Lycée Sidi Ou Sidi, Taroudant, Morocco*
* Denotes New Partner School
Please stay tuned for further update about our Intercultural Program, and email Mr. Tom Gray, Intercultural Program Coordinator ([email protected]) with questions.
Short-Term, School-to-School Exchanges
CHRHS offers students and staff opportunities to participate in school-to-school, short-term (approximately 2 weeks) exchange programs in a number of countries. These exchanges are based on the concept of "reciprocal visits," in which a group of CHRHS students and teachers travel to a school community in another country or region, stay with host families, attend school with their host "siblings" on school days, and spend evenings and weekends participating in the family life of their hosts. Then, we reciprocate this experience for our partners when they come to visit our school and community for a similar period of time. In each case, the host school organizes several "field trips" in which all participants explore a local area of interest or significance.
Learn more...
Cultural Trips
Knowing that an extended exchange or study abroad program is not right for every student, CHRHS offers students and staff opportunities to participate in short-term cultural visits. For the most part, these school sanctioned trips are organized by individual teachers who want to take students to different parts of the United States or to locations throughout the world.
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Study Abroad
For students who wish to have truly significant and extended international experiences, CHRHS is developing a variety of study abroad options. These options allow students to spend a semester or even a full school year studying in another country.
Learn more...