The following is partly written by Brian Shivers, Norfolk Academy student participant on the exchange:
Today in Mar del Plata we attended the first day of the new academic year at Holy Trinity College. Arriving around 7:45 AM, the school was bustling with first day of school excitement and activities. There was so much energy from all the students, it was contagious. The day begun with an opening day ceremony for the secondary school students and their parents. It is usually held out in the garden in front of the school, but as it had rained the night before, they moved it inside to the Central Hall. After singing the Argentine national anthem and a few ceremonial introductions of the prefects and house captains, the headmistresses, Marcela de Tovo and Stella Suarez, introduced all of us to the school community. After the ceremony, the prefects (heads of the senior class) took us on a tour of the school. The school used to be a affluent family from Buenos Aires’ summer mansion, but they turned into a school in 1990. They have tried to preserve the character of the original building, which makes the school feel very homely and more inviting. Each classroom has huge windows lining the interior hallways, so you can see what is going on in each room as you pass by. The attics have been turned into computer labs and libraries. In many ways, the school feels similar to Norfolk Academy, yet the students wear uniforms, can bring their lunch to school or if they have permission can leave school for lunch. Also, the students stay in one classroom for the entire day and the teachers switch in and out.
After our tour of Holy Trinity College, we went on a tour of the town around the school. We walked down to the beautiful oceanfront, and we learned that in Mar del Plata a lot of the old stone mansions (originally summer homes for residents of Buenos Aires) have been turned into coffee shops, restaurants, and boutiques. These buildings are truly works of art and really add an unique aspect to the city.
When we returned back to Holy Trinity we had a bit of free time while the little kids were on their morning break. We all took advantage of this opportunity to practice our Spanish with a few of the little kids, who are a lot easier to understand than the adults. We also played soccer with some the little boys, which was a lot of fun.
After the morning break, we headed out on a bus to a dock south of the city for a boat tour.
It was about an hour boat ride out into the south Atlantic Ocean where we could see the beautiful coast of Mar del Plata. We also were fortunate enough to see some of the tall ships leaving port, and we saw the sea lion colony on our way back into the harbor.
After we returned from the boat cruise we attended class with our host students to finish the day. The classroom atmosphere is very different than that at NA. Everyone is such good friends in the class due to the fact that they have been together for their entire school career. This creates a positive atmosphere and a classroom chemistry that makes participation natural and contagious. I even found myself, along with my fellow NA students, participating in class. It was such a great experience to be at Holy Trinity on the first day of their school year, and I’m just happy I was able to be a part of it.
Today in Mar del Plata we attended the first day of the new academic year at Holy Trinity College. Arriving around 7:45 AM, the school was bustling with first day of school excitement and activities. There was so much energy from all the students, it was contagious. The day begun with an opening day ceremony for the secondary school students and their parents. It is usually held out in the garden in front of the school, but as it had rained the night before, they moved it inside to the Central Hall. After singing the Argentine national anthem and a few ceremonial introductions of the prefects and house captains, the headmistresses, Marcela de Tovo and Stella Suarez, introduced all of us to the school community. After the ceremony, the prefects (heads of the senior class) took us on a tour of the school. The school used to be a affluent family from Buenos Aires’ summer mansion, but they turned into a school in 1990. They have tried to preserve the character of the original building, which makes the school feel very homely and more inviting. Each classroom has huge windows lining the interior hallways, so you can see what is going on in each room as you pass by. The attics have been turned into computer labs and libraries. In many ways, the school feels similar to Norfolk Academy, yet the students wear uniforms, can bring their lunch to school or if they have permission can leave school for lunch. Also, the students stay in one classroom for the entire day and the teachers switch in and out.
After our tour of Holy Trinity College, we went on a tour of the town around the school. We walked down to the beautiful oceanfront, and we learned that in Mar del Plata a lot of the old stone mansions (originally summer homes for residents of Buenos Aires) have been turned into coffee shops, restaurants, and boutiques. These buildings are truly works of art and really add an unique aspect to the city.
When we returned back to Holy Trinity we had a bit of free time while the little kids were on their morning break. We all took advantage of this opportunity to practice our Spanish with a few of the little kids, who are a lot easier to understand than the adults. We also played soccer with some the little boys, which was a lot of fun.
After the morning break, we headed out on a bus to a dock south of the city for a boat tour.
It was about an hour boat ride out into the south Atlantic Ocean where we could see the beautiful coast of Mar del Plata. We also were fortunate enough to see some of the tall ships leaving port, and we saw the sea lion colony on our way back into the harbor.
After we returned from the boat cruise we attended class with our host students to finish the day. The classroom atmosphere is very different than that at NA. Everyone is such good friends in the class due to the fact that they have been together for their entire school career. This creates a positive atmosphere and a classroom chemistry that makes participation natural and contagious. I even found myself, along with my fellow NA students, participating in class. It was such a great experience to be at Holy Trinity on the first day of their school year, and I’m just happy I was able to be a part of it.