Olomouc Summer Institute for Young Leaders in the Czech Republic Twelve years ago, a leadership program was developed in the university town of Olomouc, the Czech Republic, for secondary school students from the Czech and Slovak Republics. The program has evolved to include students from all over Europe and the United States. These talented students develop the skills to make democracy work and foster a greater awareness of global issues through a one month program of seminars, group projects and leadership activities. In addition to the classroom-based work, students have the opportunity to experience the Czech people and culture during various excursions throughout the program. In the final week, the students are able to spend a weekend with a Czech or Slovak classmate and then travel to Prague.
This year seven deserving students from ASSIST member schools participated in the program. They represented Christ School, Culver Academies, The Lawrenceville School, St. Andrew's-Sewanee School and Washington International School. In addition to meeting and working with their peers from other countries, students reported that they most enjoyed the homestay experience, a visit to a glass making factory, trips to castles and gardens in the surrounding countryside, and the travel week to Prague.
The Olomouc Summer Institute for Young Leaders is a meaningful and often life-changing experience for ASSIST students. For more information about this outbound program, or others that ASSIST offers, please contact the ASSIST office in Connecticut.
I think OSI is a well-run program and benefits teenagers. I would recommend it to students for its ability to change the way you think, how it allows one to become more of a global citizen and the ability to travel to places you might not have ever dreamed you would experience.
-Elizabeth Kennedy, Culver Academies, IN
I hope that…[OSI] continues to give youth the opportunity to interact and learn about the cultural and political differences and similarities of students from around the world.
-Jordan Treacle, Christ School, NC
Total Immersion Program in Berlin - A Journey of Discovery in Germany for ASSIST Teachers
This past June, ASSIST offered an inaugural immersion program in Berlin, Germany, for teachers of German or teachers wanting to learn the German language. It was a whirlwind two-week experience that included language instruction, visits to cultural and historical sites, and social events. Families of ASSIST alumni hosted the participants for during their stay in Berlin.
Highlights of the session included a guided tour of the Museum Island and the Pergamon Museum, a tour of a section of the Berlin Wall with a former soldier, as well as a guided tour of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp with survivor Wolfgang Szepansky. The participants represented many different disciplines. They were librarians, deans of students, technology coordinators and teachers of history and language. The participants this year were:
Thomas Drake, The Hotchkiss School , Connecticut
Edwin Kerman, Dublin School, New Hampshire
Heather Prescott, Mercersburg Academy , Pennsylvania
Marc Thiebach, Francis Parker School, California
Charles H. Wineholt III, Francis Parker School, California
In Front of the entrance to the concentration camp-memorial "Arbeit macht frei"
l to r Heather Prescott, Charles H Wineholt III, Jörg Becker, Thomas W Drake, Wolfgang Szepansky, Gerald Speckmann, Edwin Kerman, Marc TheibachGreat experience. The people you had working with us were all excellent.
-Marc Thiebach, Francis Parker School, CA
…the program exceeded my expectations… when it come to your selection of tour leaders expecially, I believe that the choices were consistently above the norm… So, I feel that my knowledge of German history has increased measurably as a result of the fine tours we had…
-Tom Drake, Hotchkiss School, CT
ASSIST Teachers Workshop in Brussels-European Unity: Past and PresentOn June 17, 2005, ten teachers from our ASSIST member schools, along with Anne Stanley of ASSIST, departed on a 6-day adventure to the wonderful city of Brussels, Belgium. The formal objective of the group was to examine the issues facing the European Union today: the new constitution and the enlargement, and to gain a broader view of the evolution of Europe, its widening and deepening and it's relationship with the United States. Informally, we were all there to kick off our summer by having fun, exploring the wonderful, international setting of Brussels, the people, the hundreds of cafés, and to come home with something to share with our students, our families and our friends.
With varied backgrounds, teaching disciplines, and a wide range of travel experience, Jennifer Bonn of Rabun Gap Nacoochee School, GA, Lisa Bowman of Sewickly Academy, PA, Geoffrey Braun of Chatham Hall, VA, Jason Dorion of Cate School, CA, Daniel Herring of Montgomery Bell Academy, TN, Melanie Carmichael of Christchurch Episcopal School, SC, Keith Moon of Hotchkiss School, CT, Susan Elliot of Viewpoint School, CA, Mary Therese Pitcavage of Wyoming Seminary, PA and Allyn Bruce of Porter-Gaud School, SC, met at Newark International Airport to begin their journey.
Our week in Brussels began with fabulous accommodations at the Royal Windsor Hotel, located right in the Grand Place. Here, each day started with a bountiful and delicious breakfast and ended with delicious chocolates on our pillows. Highlights of the week included a variety of interesting tours (including the cities of Brussels, Bruges, Ghent, Lueven and Waterloo), private briefings with officials and advisors from the European Union and NATO Parliamentary Assembly, discussions about the Euro currency, the emergence of the European Union with Belgium as its backdrop, dinner with teachers from the European School of Brussels, visits to a variety of museums including the Beaux d'Art and Horte museum, wonderful cafes and plenty of exercise in the form of walking.
The program will be offered again in June, 2006. Applications will be accepted beginning in January, 2006. For more information regarding the Brussels Workshop, please contact the ASSIST office in Connecticut, or the ASSIST representative at your school.
I appreciate all that ASSIST did to make this conference such a success. The insight that I gained, I will carry with me and share with my students for years to come. The group with which I was associated was the most collegial and the most congenial of any group with which I have traveled and studied..
-Allyn Bruce, Porter-Gaud School, SC
Thank you to you all for your spirit, laughter, kindnesses, professional spirit, and commitment to the group.
-Keith Moon, Hotchkiss School, CT
Hotchkiss Grad Studies in Barcelona
While ASSIST has drawn students from throughout Spain, we enjoy a special relationship with partner school-Aula Escola Europea in Barcelona. This relationship differs because it is an authentic exchange relationship - in addition to sending wonderful scholars to the U.S., Aula has hosted 10 American ASSIST students on yearlong exchanges since 1988. Aula Escola Europea is a private independent and progressive school that welcomes international applicants. American Jules Valenti is studying at Aula this year. Here is his account of the first few weeks he has spent adjusting to living and studying in Spain:
I arrived in Barcelona, Spain, during one of the heaviest rainstorms of the year after having been en route for twenty hours, and my ability to speak on a conscious level was, needless to say, somewhat diminished. I was greeted by an eager Mr. George Semler, the liaison for the ASSIST program at Aula Escola Europa, the private high school I was to attend. He was most understanding of my situation and kept the conversation simple (we talked about fixing old Porsches and VW Beetles), and luckily enough, he kept to speaking in English. I arrived at his apartment and met his equally welcoming wife, Lucie. I was finally in Spain and already I had a family of complete strangers.
Jules Valenti, shown here with host brotherAdjusting to life in Europe was more demanding than I had thought it would be, and for the first time in my life I was truly homesick. I missed my friends, my family, my bed, my car, and just about every other thing I could possibly think of, but this is not to say that Spain is devoid the luxuries I enjoyed at home. It was simply a matter of time before I adjusted to the new environment, but what helped me the most was making friends at my high school. I moved in with my host family after two weeks with the Semlers, and I get along very well with my family, especially my host brother Pablo, who is in my grade at school.
I still have a hard time expressing certain thoughts, but I am able to communicate on a basic level, enough to keep me out of trouble at least, and I find that I can understand more every day. Catalán, on the other hand, is much more difficult, but that too is coming with time, even though most of what I know I learn from posters and ads in the subway. I am excited to be learning so much about Spain and about myself, and I eagerly anticipate the coming months when I will feel like less of a stranger.
Although the extracurricular activities are limited at AULA, I worked up the courage to sign up with a soccer club here and I am now playing again for the first time in five years. The students here were very gracious in welcoming me to their class, and we go out to dance every weekend. At first I had a hard time getting used to leaving the house at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights and not getting home until 6 or 7 in the morning, but I have discovered the importance of the Spanish siesta, and I am getting used to being up until sunrise. I am very happy to be here, and I am already looking into ways to stay here as long as possible!
