GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

Shinonome Junior High School Exchange Program in Hiroshima, Japan

The Shinonome/Exploris exchange program began in 2000 as part of an ongoing collaboration between Eastern Carolina University and Hiroshima University. The program is designed as a cultural exchange as well as a school to school collaboration on student projects and learning.

As part of the exchange, a group of Exploris students and teachers travel to Hiroshima in the spring and a similar delegation from Shinonome arrives in Raleigh every August. Through home stays and visits to local historical and cultural sites, students learn about the cultures of the exchange country.  They attend classes during the day; collaborating on projects concerning global issues that in the past have included water quality and world peace. Recently both schools took part in the international 100 People Project, a project that explores the diversity of the world by pairing personal stories with local demographics (see "Hiroshima" at http://www.100people.org/videos.php). Traveling teachers from each school share lessons ranging from the Japanese tea ceremonies to Carl Sandburg poetry. The short, but intense visits reflect the school’s mission to engage students in building a connected, just, and sustainable world.

Jacob Ellrod Schule Exchange Program in GeFrees, Germany

Exploris' partnership with our sister school in GeFrees, Germany is relatively new. The exchange with the Jacob Ellrod Schule in GeFrees, Germany was developed in 2006 when an Exploris faculty member traveled to Germany with the Goethe Institute. The partnership has grown each year and we now alternate years between hosting German students in odd numbers years and sending an Exploris delegation to GeFrees in even numbered years. With each exchange students and faculty learn about the German culture and explore our similarities and differences. The GeFrees partnership has been a wonderful experience and we hope to continue this global friendship for years to come.