The Nova Scotia International Student Program

The Nova Scotia International
Student Program
Halifax Regional School Board
I SS U E
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VO L U ME
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J AN U AR Y
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A Semester in Nova Scotia!
Hello Students, Families, School/Program Staff and supporters of International Services:
We are getting very close to the end of our first semester! This means that we
are now in the heart of a Nova Scotia winter, with skiing at Martock, exams and
first semester students preparing to go back home. I am sure that everyone has
mixed emotions about this time of the year. Some international students are
surely happy to return home to see their families and friends. At the same
time, goodbyes with new friends and family can be very difficult.
I would like first to say thank you to our host families. To put it simply: great
host families are crucial to the program. I would like to thank all of our wonderful families for providing a caring home for our students. Our students feel welcome in Nova Scotia because they are happy in our families. We appreciate the
time you spend with them being moms, dads, brothers and sisters and making
them feel part of your family. Without you we would not have this program.
Next I would like to thank our staff; the homestay coordinators, the ESL teachers and office team. Working within this program takes a lot of commitment,
flexibility and an open mind!
And last but not least, a thank you to the students. In my opinion they are the
real heroes of the program. They are the ones who at a young age decide to
leave their own country, family and friends to come here to Nova Scotia! You
have so many barriers to overcome: language, culture, climate, and much more.
I have deep respect for all of you for taking such a big step in your young lives.
I know that your experiences in Nova Scotia will always be with you and have a
profound impact on the person you will be in the future. Your new language
skills will open doors for employment, for friendships, for travel. Your view of
the world is wider now and the knowledge you have will always be with you.
Enjoy reading this newsletter with pictures of the events and people you have
met here during your stay. To all students who are leaving us we say Goodbye!
We will miss you and hope to see you back some day! We also want to extend
our congratulations to the seven international students who will graduate from
high school this semester. We are very proud that you have chosen Nova Scotia
for your high school education and wish you all the best in the future!
Internationally yours,
Martine Adriaensen
Halifax Regional School Board
Follow us
on the
Web...
Check out our website
www.nsisp.ca
Join our Facebook Group
Follow us on Twitter
NSISP Halifax
Regional School Board
@NS Intl Student Prog
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Student Arrivals...
HRSB was happy to
host 178 students in
our program this
semester.
Our students were
placed in 18 different
senior, junior and
elementary schools
around HRSB.
Students in our board
represented 23 different countries; the top
three countries were
Brazil, Japan and
Colombia; other
countries represented
included
Sweden, Venezuela,
Australia, France,
Norway, Denmark
and Switzerland.
THE
NOVA
SCOTIA
HRSB was excited to welcome, Hyun-Kyung Yeo, a teacher intern from South Korea (pictured above
enjoying a Mooseheads Hockey game with Dan Walsh) Hyun-Kyung enjoyed a 12 program in HRSB
learning from and helping the great teaching staff at Bedford South School.
INTERNATIONAL
STUDENT
PROGRAM
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New Student Orientation at Bayside Camp….
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P A G E
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Short Term Programs ...
Colombia
September-October
13 students and their chaperone teacher
Ana Maria from
San Jose de Los Vegas School
(Medellin, Colombia) studied at
Madeline Symonds Middle School,
Sackville Heights Junior High,
Kingswood and
Harold T Barrett for 6 weeks.
October-December
10 students and their chaperone teacher,
Federico from
Jorge Robledo School
(Medellin, Colombia)
studied at Charles P Allen,
Lockview High,
Auburn Drive,
Dartmouth High and Prince Andrew. This
is the schools 5th time to bring a group to
Nova Scotia!
HRSB welcomed its largest short term group ever
this Fall. In October-November, 31 students from
Los Alcaparros (Bogota Colombia) and their chaperone teachers Conseulo and Javier, studied in 9
junior high schools around the board.
Video Contest Winner
“Why Nova Scotia Education is Great”
7th Place- Dartmouth High School – Jed Ramiscal
“Welcome to Nova Scotia” watch here ——> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbtAlh0lY_k
Jed won $100 for his submission. Congratulations to Jed and his video team!
THE
NOVA
SCOTIA
INTERNATIONAL
STUDENT
PROGRAM
October...
Cultural Trip to Toronto/Niagara Falls
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For a week in October, 100 NSISP
students from across the province, had
the opportunity to visit one of
Canada’s most famous cities–
Toronto, Ontario.
The trip was split in two groups of 50.
Students visited the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, the Science Center, Casa
Loma and Canada’s Wonderland.
They also took in a Canadian tradition
of attending a
Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Game.
Day Trip to The Annapolis Valley
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P A G E
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Halloween
November ...
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On Sunday, November 18, 2012, our students gathered together at the Metro Center to cheer for the Halifax
Mooseheads Hockey Team as they played against Quebec’s team, the Val-d'Or Foreurs. For many students,
this was their first live hockey game. The Mooseheads won the game and our students had a great time!
On November
19, 2012
a group of students from
Jorge Robledo
School, Colombia enjoyed a
tour of CBC Studios and met a
few of Halifax’s most famous
faces, Mr. Tom Murphy and
Mr. Peter Coade.
Students also had a sneak peek
of a Christmas special taping of
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
German... Guten Tag
Italian... Ciao
Spanish... Hola
Czech... Ahoj
Portuguese... Oi
Turkish... Merhaba
Korean... 안녕[An nyoung ]
Chinese... 你好 [nǐ hǎo]
Thai...
Dutch... Hallo
French... Bonjour
[Sawadeecaap]
Japanese... こんにちは[Konnichiwa]
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December ...
School Days...
TOEFL test locations
and dates available here:
www.ets.org/toefl
EduNova provides information on post
secondary education here:
www.edunova.ca
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Christmas Skating Party..
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New Years Day Polar Bear Swim...
Hundreds of people marked New Year's Day by braving icy waters in polar bear dips across Canada. A few brave international
students in Halifax celebrated January 1, 2013 by jumping into the chilly Atlantic Ocean in the 0 degree air temperature.
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Get Involved, Get Active!
Did you know that many of our International Students are actively participating in our communities?
We have students who have joined musical theatre, dance, sports teams, school clubs, fundraising and volunteered at public events.
NSISP encourages all students to get involved. This is important for a number of reasons: students get to practice English in a nonschool setting, busy students are happy students, and they are interacting with Canadians and experiencing our culture.
Rodrigo Carlos De Lima
Silva, from Brazil,
(pictured left)
was a top scorer for the
Sir John A Macdonald
Flames Soccer Team.
He helped the team
advance to the
NSSAF
Provincial
Championship.
Dartmouth Spartans Soccer player, Paulo Augusto Reeberg Silva, from Brazil,
(pictured above) reaches for the ball during a metro high school boys game.
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Congratulations to our 7 January 2013 Graduates!
Best of luck as your continue your post secondary education.
Yosuke John Nakajima, Sir John A Macdonald, plans to attend Dalhousie University
ShanShan Liu, J.L. Ilsley High School, has applied to some Nova Scotia universities
Aoi Fujikawa Millwood High School
Sarper Gokbulut, Citadel High School
Minjiaqi Li, Halifax West High School, has been accepted into the Nursing Program at Dalhousie University
Jongmin Baek, Sir John A Macdonald
Mayu Yao, Dartmouth High School
NSISP AWARDS
NSISP is happy to recognize the following students for their outstanding contribution this semester
in their school, home and community… Congratulations on a very successful semester!
Students were presented with certificates on Awards Night, January 11, 2013
International Student Of the Year
Julia Simaozinho Perli (Brazil, Sackville High)
Canuk Award (embracing Canadian society and culture )
Extra-Curricular Achievement
Maria Clara Londono Acosta
(Colombia, Sir John A Madonald)
Jasmin Gorji (Germany, Millwood High)
Academic Achievement
Most Improved English
Minjiaqi Li (China, Halifax West )
Brunna De Carvalho (Brazil, Auburn Drive)
Perfect Attendance
Henrique Banci (Brazil, J.L. Ilsley), Anna Rio (Italy, DHS), Isabella Rosetti (Brazil, SJA),
Andres Felipe Amor Rueda (Colombia, SJA), Vivian Portillo Gomez (Mexico, Lockview),
Ramona Ramires (Brazil, Lockview), Loreanny Dias Couto (Brazil SJA), Luca Quaglia (Italy SJA),
Vitor Correia (Brazil HWHS) Minjiaqi Li (China, HWHS), Tsuguhiro Matsumoto (Japan SJA)
Alden Max Christley-Balcomb (Australia SJA)
International Student Support
Awarded to a Canadian Student for the demonstration of great support for international students in the
NSISP Program
Jed Ramiscal
Grade 12 student, Dartmouth High School
International Student Support
Awarded to school staff for the demonstration of great
support for international students in the NSISP Program
Ms JeanWright Popescul
English Teacher, J.L Ilsley High School
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BECOMING A HOST FAMILY
We love to welcome new host families to our program.
We have opportunities throughout the school year for
hosting International Students. Students stay from one to
ten months and come from a variety of countries around
the world.
If you know of anyone who may be interested in hosting
an International Student:
have them contact International Services or the
Homestay Coordinator in their area.
―My name is Cindy Wheeler and I am fairly new to being a
Host Parent. I had my first student in March. It is a learning
experience not just for the student but for your entire family.
While they are learning the customs of our family we are
also learning so much about their culture. It has been a wonderful experience for me and my children. Seeing the city
through the eyes of a visitor allows us a new found appreciation of all that we have to offer. I highly recommend the
experience of becoming a host family. I will miss my host
daughter when she leaves.‖
NOTE TO
CURRENT HOST FAMILIES
The Halifax Regional School Board has started
paying families by monthly direct deposit.
See your Coordinator or contact Marilyn Hurst at
[email protected] for the forms to get your
family set up.
Hai Kai
Several schools across HRSB got
a taste of Brazil in September
when we welcomed the rock band Hai Kai.
The name of the band is Portugese for
“haiku‖; Japanese three line poetry. Hai Kai
stayed in host families during their visit and
did presentations and performances at several
junior high and high schools around the city.
The band, made up of three sisters and a lead
guitarist, taught students about the roots of
Brazilian music and introduced a new style to
our schools.
Memories of Nova Scotia
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CONGRATULATIONS!
WELCOME!
International Services is pleased to welcome
Ms. Kelly Pitre as Program Manager to the
Halifax NSISP office. Kelly is excited to be
working with NSISP students and participating schools.
Welcome Aboard Kelly !
International Services would like to
congratulate Mr. Dan Walsh, Program
Manager, on his retirement. Dan has been a
valuable part of NSISP for the past 8 years and we wish
him the best of luck in his future endeavors!
We would like to wish all of our First Semester
departing students a safe travel home and best
of luck in your future studies.
We hope that you have made many great
memories in Nova Scotia and will come back to
visit us soon.
NSISP STAFF at the Halifax Regional School Board
would like to extend our thanks to everyone for their support
and commitment to the success of the program
Canada, what's Canada for me? Easy.. Canada
became part of me, part of my heart and part of
my spirit. All these memories, experience.. they
changed my life, I created new friends and the
most important a new family. what else can I said.
.. I think its going to be the best part of my life. I
WILL NEVER FORGET YOU CANADA
Ale Torres, Mexico
Office
Martine Adriaensen—Facilitator
Kelly Pitre—Program Manager
Charity Semple—Assistant Program Manager
Marilyn Hurst—Administration Assistant
Homestay Coordinators
Jillian Butler
Marina Leblanc
Jane Delorey
Melissa Alexander
Kelly Chisholm
EAL Teachers
Julie Schwartz
Lori Stafford
Caroline Higgins
Cathy Vaughan
Halifax Regional School Board International Student Program
33 Spectacle Lake Drive
Dartmouth Nova Scotia
B3B 1X7
Phone: 902-464-2000 ext 2548
Fax: 902-484-6126 Web: www.nsisp.ca