Buena Vista Elementary Adventist School – as part of a “sisterhood” exchange of educational and cultural ties with the country – hosted students from the Youngnam Sahmyook Academy of Daegu, South Korea last week.
The group spent time in classrooms immersed in English, but also explored Auburn and the Seattle area while staying with host families.
Mayor Pete Lewis welcomed a group of seventh- and eighth-grade students from the academy. They visited his office as well as the City Council Chambers, where Lewis gave them a brief history of the city of Auburn.
The visit with the mayor was the final stop of the students’ three-week stay in the Auburn area.
After they left Auburn City Hall, students were given a police escort to Auburn’s renowned chocolate store, Gosanko, another highlight for them.
The contingent also toured the Greater Puget Sound area, including the Seattle Center, Pike Place Market, the cities of Vancouver and Victoria, B.C., the Everett Boeing plant and Microsoft. They even got to experience January’s winter storm.
A sister school ceremony was held at Buena Vista that mirrored the ceremony that took place in Korea in September.
Relations between the schools began January 2011, when a delegation of 22 Korean students and the academy’s principal came to Auburn. They visited classrooms at Buena Vista, got acquainted with students and took in prominent sights throughout the Seattle area.
Buena Vista Principal Ron Trautwein was part of an Auburn delegation that visited South Korea in late September. Trautwein joined student ambassador, Connor Hubin, a Buena Vista eighth-grader, and others on a six-day visit to the English-speaking academy in rural South Korea. The visit culminated with a ceremony establishing the sisterhood.
Communication between the students has continued through email, Facebook and Skype. The technology is providing an ideal way for South Korean students to improve their English, and allowing friendships to develop and grow.
LINK:
Visit buenavista.org
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BELOW: The South Korean contingent visited Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis. Rachel Ciampi, Auburn Reporter
