Head of school Rose Hagan and director of upper school Jesse Dougherty are traveling through China over the next 12 days meeting with FSS current and prospective Chinese families. Follow their journey here—we will post new entries and photos from their international visit as they come in.

  

Rose:  Jesse has returned from Hangzhou and joined the rest of the party here in Guangzhou. We met Calvin's parents for a most exquisite lunch and will be bringing back a package from them to him. We also met Sherry's parents while in Shanghai. On this trip we have met the parents of all the students except Lucas. They live too far west for us to meet on this trip.

Our final adventure this evening was a boat ride on the Zhu Jiang (the Pearl River). We traveled the river at an easy pace for about two miles and enjoyed contemporary architecture and competing neon along the banks of the river. Neither of us expected Guangzhou to be so large and so developed along the river. It was indeed a fitting end to our visit.

View our day's travels here. 

 

We leave China in the morning.

 

Jesse:  I had a surprise today. Originally Rose and I were going to visit The Country Garden School in Guangzhou, but the timing of our trip changed. Today I learned that Ivy made plans for me to meet Rose in Guangzhou in case we want to visit the school. What this means is later today I will fly there by myself. Wish me luck as this will be the first time I'll be traveling alone since being here. 

 

Rose:  This entire day has been spent at school fairs where I have met very mature and engaging students. There has been no time for sightseeing in Shenzhen. At 10 p.m. this evening, we traveled by bus to Guangzhou. Tomorrow will be our last full day in China.

 

View photos from days 9 and 10 here. 

 

Jesse:  Today, Rose and I woke up to rain in Shanghai. A bus came to take her to the airport and me to the train station. I got onto a high speed train that took me from Shanghai to Hangzhou. The trip covered about a hundred kilometers and took about forty minutes with speeds of up to 305 kilometers. The train sped through some rural farming areas that looked run down. We have seen nothing of the countryside so it is hard to comment on life outside of the city.

Once in Hangzhou, we headed to the west lake district known as Xi Hu. Legend is that Marco Polo came here to write because it is so serene and lots of walking paths (this is one of the first areas we have seen this). Getting back was the challenge. It took us forty minutes to get a cab. Apparently drivers change around 4:30 so starting around 3:30, they tend to not take people too far. It took five cabs before getting one with no bribe able to entice them. After a nice dinner where I ordered the food (there were lots of pictures) we headed to bed.

Rose:   Most of the day has been spent traveling. Jesse trained to Hangzhou and I flew into Shenzhen. It's tropical: temperature at 70 degrees, bougainvillea lining the highways, palm trees and sun. Regrettably, our only event this day takes place in a hotel. There is a school fair scheduled.

Shenzhen is a new city in the Canton Province. Thirty years ago, it was a fishing village; now it's a thriving metropolis populated by 13 million people, largely drawn from Hong Kong. In the downtown, there is a lot of neon (my personal favorite!). I tried lichee for the first time, from a street vendor, and also Cantonese food for the first time. Our hosts have been giving lessons on the different preparations of food as we have moved from the north to the south, some food more sweet, others more daring. I have liked the lotus best of all.

 

Rose:  To date we have met with the parents (and some other family members) of upper school students Sky, Calvin, Michael and Edward. We have scheduled possibly three additional family visits.

This morning we visited the Shanghai Experimental School. There are 4000 students from elementary through high school, 90% of whom board at the school. Begun in the mid '90's, it has 32 buildings and 400 employees. It has both a traditional Chinese curriculum and 4 different internationally-based curriculums. In lower school, there were 40 students and 2 teachers per class. The school is not heated until the temperature reaches below 5 degrees C. We witnessed what seems like universal student characteristics: exuberant hallway glee from 1st graders, friendliness from MSers and sleeping during study hall in the US. Click here to view photos from our visit to the School.

Tonight we meet more current parents, then off to the Bund.

 

After the school fair, we went to the pedestrian promenade that sits on the Huangpu River between the Bund (the old British section of Shanghai) and the Pudong (a full skyline of modern buildings erected since the 1990's). There is indeed a European feeling to Shanghai. It's a beautiful city. Tomorrow we're off to the south of China.

 

 

Rose:  We headed out early to visit The Water Village, a continuously inhabited community for over 400 years. It's built around a modest river which the people fish for their livelihood. They rely also on tourist commerce. It felt somewhat like a walled city in Europe, with elements of Venice. Lots of bicycles and mopeds, and gondolas. We wandered through the narrow streets for a while, shopping and people watching. It was fascinating to see a woman preparing a lotus-wrapped pork and rice "sandwich," something we tasted later at lunch. On the way back to downtown Shanghai, we stopped at a demonstration silk factory where Jesse participated in stretching the silk as well as bought a fabulous silk Chinese dragon tie. It's nearly time to attend this evening's fair and to meet with the parents of three of our current students.

 

View Day 6 and 7 photos here. 

 

Rose:  School fairs for the next few days are scheduled for the evenings, so our days are free to explore Shanghai. Jesse is back from Chengdu. Today we visited the Yu Garden and a Buddhist Temple. Most interesting was the Jade Buddha, and the sense of balance and serenity we felt in the gardens. I have been particularly aware of the universal sense of right living that the people of China value. For the first time since we've been in China, it rained today, but not for long. And it remains chilly, but not enough to dampen our enthusiastic appreciation for this beautiful city.

 

Rose:  Our hosts arranged a day of sightseeing today. First stop: The Summer Palace, a magnificent estate that once served the royal family four months a year. A very cool feature is the (what seemed like a mile long) covered promenade that lines the edge of the lake. The planned gardens, the architecture of the many palaces, the ornamental finishes, the varieties of color and the symbolic images blend together to create serenity. And I was glad to observe that the principle of feng shui was integral to the construction of the summer palace, down to the smallest detail. Following an hour at a local market, we flew into Shanghai for the next round of school fairs. It's been wonderful having an iPad. Though I don't have 24 hour access to the Internet and to mail, I have full use of the camera. Teacher Lynda told me that you may view the world with a new aesthetic through the lens of a camera. Very true for me on this trip. View today's photos here.  

 

Jesse:  I left Beijing around five this morning to fly three hours west to the town of Chengdu. The flight was delayed so we had to rush to a fair from the airport. Chengdu is a city of five million with an explosion of construction in it. I am told it is a good place to live because the pace is slower- that has not been evident downtown where we are staying. That said, I did notice a Buddhist element here with monks looking for handouts in the airport and a Buddhist temple while driving in.

We had to rush to our student fair where one girl noted that we are blogging on our trip to China and thought that was really cool. I asked her where I should visit in Chengdu and she said the amusement park (I unfortunately did not make it there). We did get out to dinner where they served a full fish in a broth that was quite spicy...the tastes were all very strong and lingered in a way that was pleasant. This was some of the best food to date.

The next day we went to an old market. The market itself was about five blocks with no cars. The buildings all had ornate fronts to them that usually brought you into a small garden before the store itself.

It was just Jitu and me there. After wandering around, we stopped for a long lunch. Jitu is the founder of Ivy International- I had the chance to talk to him about what his company does. He believes in helping Chinese students learn about the world through an international lens. He grew up in China studying first to be a teacher and next to work in foreign affairs. Growing up in rural China, education gave him access to the world in a way nothing else could. Having the chance to speak to him spoke towards a slower pace of Chengdu. 

 

Rose:  Early this morning, Jesse and several others from our group flew to a city west of Beijing. Later in the week, they will rejoin us in Shanghai. Those of us who remained attended two more school fairs, by far the most crowded, and didn't finish until dinner time. Today, I was able to give a special presentation to an assembly of students and their parents. I focused on several features of our school:
     

      - we base teaching and learning practice on the Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity,   

      community, equality and stewardship;

      - because we occupy a space on the Parkway in Center City, we create curriculum around our

      proximity to neighboring cultural, business and science institutions;

      - our growing international studies focus has a unique signature program called InterSession;

      - we have an ESL program.

 

Tomorrow, off to Shanghai.

 

Rose:  Our day in Beijing began early with the second school fair. We have met so many fine young people who have aspirations to study in the United States. Like our own students, these Chinese students are multi-talented. They study piano, violin, acting, and they play sports, such as hockey, tennis and swimming. Most are quite fluent in English, and seem to like math. All the students here have read Harry Potter, and each of them recognizes the photo of President Obama in our materials that we brought over. Interestingly, both girls and boys have seen the Twilight movies and think they're "so romantic."

Tonight we met with the parents of our current students. We met the families of Sky, Edward and Robert, and they were so appreciative of the photo albums that Anita Voluntad DePace and the students made for them.

We traveled through Beijing's Embassy Row this morning, noting that while the homes looked comfortable, each was heavily fortified (reminding us that we are in a Communist country). That being said, this city feels remarkably familiar and comfortable to us, so much so that we feel quite at home. And, we in Philadelphia have nothing to compare to the traffic in Beijing (see photos).

Dinner this evening was an adventure, our first taste (well, really Jesse' s first experience) of jellyfish, frog and seaweed soup.

 

Rose:  Day 2 in Beijing began in Tian'an Men Square with a full and engaging history lesson from our local guide. The square was crowded, yet there were few Westerners among the crowd. Jesse and I noted that our small group (there are 12 of us) received an ample share of stares from Chinese tourists. We talked about how important it is to be a foreigner in another place in order to understand more fully how foreigners in our community experience being displaced.

Just off the Square, we approached the entrance to the Forbidden City and began a journey through a magical place. The home for 24 emperors of the Ming and Ting Dynasties, the last emperor "closed shop" in 1911. We learned about dynastic marriages, concubines' life, court ritual, traditional practices, and military protocols. We moved deeper and deeper into the complex and visited each building as the sense of place became increasingly serene. We learned about the value of feng shui, the marriage of hills and water (yin and yang), and the importance of feng shui to the imperial family. We concluded the visit by walking through the apartments of the various empresses who occupied the site. Jesse and I joked that if I identified with one empress - the Dragon Lady - then he would be the Little Emperor.

 

The second half of the day invited us to climb the Great Wall at a location that is moderately accessible to tourists. I made it a third of the way, but Jesse scaled the full height. Originally constructed as 7000 miles of fortification against northern aggression, only about 3000 miles of it remains. It snakes through mountains across the east-west expanse of China, and is a sight to behold at any point as one travels the highways that lead to Beijing. On the way back we passed the famous "bird's nest" stadium, one of 26 in a sports complex in Beijing. Tonight we begin our meetings with parents and students. View photos of our sightseeing here.

 

Rose:  We have arrived in Beijing and met with those from other schools and with folks from Ivy International. Tomorrow, we will venture to the Forbidden City and Great Wall of China. Work begins in earnest on Saturday when we begin to meet families. 

 

Flight to China-  Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Rose:  It's about 1 a.m. local time, somewhere south of the polar ice cap. The cabin is quiet and dark. 

 

At times, there isn't enough light to read the clues of a crossword puzzle. Earlier Jesse and I talked a lot about the school and our trip ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Friends Select students, the attractions of the city are a daily reality. Philadelphia serves as an extended classroom for students across all divisions and in every area of study. For years, FSS has established relationships with academic, historic, and cultural institutions in Center City such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Academy of Natural Sciences (to name a few), and now officially, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA).

 

"A partnership with PAFA came very naturally," said Jesse Dougherty, director of upper school. "We share similar visions around the importance of art education and an understanding of how art influences community and community influences art. We are two important institutions in Center City Philadelphia that will greatly benefit from each other."

 

 

 

 

The highly anticipated InterSession is quickly approaching and this year’s program promises to be another eye opening, global experience for students. From January 23-27, the entire upper school division will pause to consider a single overarching essential question: Understanding Central and South America: What do we need to know?

A different fundamental question will structure each day’s activities. On day one, for example, students will consider, What do we mean by Central and South America? On day two, the question will be about the changing attitudes towards science and technology. Outside experts in fields ranging from Central and South American history, to government and politics, to arts and culture will engage directly with student/faculty teams in a variety of formats: large seminar-style survey lectures, small group meetings, films, and guided discussions and debates around topical issues.

“Last year was an excellent endeavor, and the program this year will remain academic but focus more on the expert’s (presenter) personal experience with the region,” states Jesse Dougherty, director of upper school. “The presenters will give a full picture of Central and South America by leveraging their personal experiences with academic discourse so that students can best understand the nuance of a different place.”

FSS Community Experts
As a personal passion outside of school, upper school English teacher Ian Ranzer has a deep appreciation for Brazilian music. He often plays hits by Brazilian music artists Caetano Veloso and Jorge Ben on his radio show Soul Junction and years ago, was a member of a Brazilian samba band.

During InterSession, Ranzer will give insight into Brazilian music by introducing Stan Getz, a performer who was integral in making samba and jazz an international sensation. In addition, he will discuss the progression to Tropicália re: a look at how and why Brazilian performers were exiled for musical expression. Ranzer intends to play a few sound clips for students that best represent music of Brazil. Here's an example of a clip.

Clubs form around student interests and involve varying degrees of time commitment. In order to launch a club, the student must write a charter communicating what the purpose and mission of the group and then present it to faculty.

In late September, students present information about their clubs to the entire upper school student body. Each student is then required to choose a club of their interest to be a part of for the remainder of the school year.

Student Government, Black Student Union, Chess and Dance clubs and Worship & Ministry are just a few examples of the many student-run clubs available for upper school students. There are some clubs that combine service activities such as the Helping Hands and Green Notebook clubs; some combine outside competitions such as the Mock Trial, Model UN, and Math clubs; and some combine student organized publications such as the History Journal, Cauldron, and Yearbook clubs.

by Anita Voluntad DePace, Middle-and Upper School ESL Director

 

Over the years, our school has welcomed many international students to Friends Select's upper school who have come to us from Japan, Korea, Afghanistan and Pakistan. At the start of this school year we reported the highest-ever number of new incoming international students enrolled in grades 9-12. A total of 14 new students join our community, 13 from China and 1 from England.