Interest Meeting for China Trip October 29, 2014 Laurel International Corp.
Meeting Objectives Laurel International Corp. introduction A quick look at BJ #50 HS Milestones of sister school partnership Why visiting China Objectives of the trip Trip basics and itinerary Timeline for trip participants Q & A
Laurel International Corp. Founded in 1992 Mission: To promote educational and culture exchanges between US and China Offices in Rockville, MD & Beijing, China Scope of business -Educational exchange programs -Sister school partnership -Summer programs -American public high school diploma program -Executive training programs for Chinese government -Agriculture -Law -Public administration -Finance
Sister School Partnership Laurel’s role Almost 10 years’ experience Existing partnership in VA Freedom HS - BJ #50 HS Stone Bridge HS - BJ #109 HS Broad Run HS - BJ #22 HS Loudoun Valley HS - BJ Da Yu HS Newton-Lee HS - BJ Heizhima ES Approved by Risk Management Dept. in LCPS Member of National Travel Association
Beijing #50 HS A top public school in Dongcheng District, BJ Founded in ,000 students Grades 7-12
2010/06Former FHS principal visited China 2010/08BJ #50 HS Assistant Principal visited U.S. 2010/10BJ #50 HS students visited U.S. 2011/04FHS students visited China 2011/12 BJ #50 HS principal Mr. Yu visited FHS The sister school partnership agreement was officially signed Exchange visits by both schools’ students every year Milestones of Sister School Partnership
Why Visiting China The world’s most populous country, with 1.3 billion officially The world’s second-largest economy in Q U.S.-China relationship is increasingly important China has the longest, continuous civilization in the world - some 5,000 years
Objectives for the Trip To understand the Chinese way of teaching and learning To make friends in China To experience the Chinese culture - Chinese culture classes - Most famous tourist sights - Events for students
A Recent German Study - Long Term (10 year) Effects of 6-Week Exchange Programs A nice experience to have (20%) Mosaic (20%) Domino (30%) Turning point (30%) Nice experience Mosaic Domino Turning point
Trip Basics Nature: Educational trip Guiding principles: safety is the first priority, students centered Time: Leave on Sat, Mar 21 and return to U.S. on Mon, Mar 30 Cities: Beijing 5 days, Xi’an 2 day, Shanghai 1 day Meals: all included, host family, school cafeteria and restaurants Lodging: host family condos and hotels (similar to Holiday Inn) Transportation: Host parents drop off/pick up kids at school, private shuttle bus Cost: all included, int’l airfare, local flight & train, meals, admission, etc.
Xi’an Shanghai Beijing D.C. Traveling Route
Tentative Itinerary Day #DateTimeCityActivity 1Sat, 3/21AMD.C.D.C. Beijing 2Sun, 3/22Day timeBJ Arrive at BJ; welcoming ceremony at school; guest students are picked up by host families, chaperons check into hotel 3Mon, 3/23 Day time BJ Guest and host students tour Great Wall & Olympic Village EveningSee an acrobatics show 4Tue, 3/24Whole dayBJGuest students shadow host students at school 5Wed, 3/25Whole dayBJGuest students take Chinese culture classes at school 6Thu, 3/26Whole dayBJGuest students tour Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City 7Fri, 3/27 AM BJ Guest students take Chinese culture classes at school NoonFarewell Party PMTravelBJ (high speed) Xi’an 8Sat, 3/28 Day time Xi’an Tour Terra-cotta Warriors Museum & City Wall EveningDumpling Feast & Tang Dynasty’s music and dance show 9Sun, 3/29 AMTravelXi’an Shanghai PM Shanghai Visit Silk Factory & Chenghuang Temple NightHuangpu River cruise 10Mon, 3/30 AMShanghaiVisit Pudong Business Development District PMTravelShanghai D.C. EveningD.C.Arrive at D.C.
Timeline for Trip Participants Submit completed information sheet by end of November Submit $500 deposit by winter break Checks Payable to Laurel International Corp. Submit $2,500 fee, get int’l air ticket, submit visa application materials by Jan, 2015 Attend the pre-trip meeting in Mar, 2015
Contact Information Laurel International Corp. Christina Ge Chaperones Fred LeMaster Jenna Ashworth
Cultural Exchange is about SHARING & LEARNING