WIS Broklede Student Exchange Programme – Day 1

WIS Broklede Student Exchange Programme – Day 1

          

This year twenty one students and three teachers embarked on a wonderful journey to Netherlands for the student exchange programme on the night of 2^nd April, 2016.After receiving a fantastic send off at Witty International school it took about four hours for the team at Mumbai International Airport to complete all the procedures wherein they finally boarded the Etihad flight to Abu Dhabi. The wait at Abu Dhabi Airport was quite short and they immediately boarded the next flight from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam. They arrived at the Schipol Airport,  Amsterdam on April 3^rd  ,2016 and  were warmly received by the RSG Brokelede teachers, Ms Jantein Spijker and Ms Ingrid  Bews, who lead them to school where the young  hosts were eagerly waiting with their families to receive  students along with their principal Mr. Jan Paul Beekman. After a very warm welcome and brief introductions the students left with their host families ready to share and experience the Dutch culture and  family life.

The next day the Wittians got to experience the Dutch School Life at RSG Broklede. The students reported to school at 9.20 am. The day started with a welcome word and some wonderfully formulated Icebreakers for the children. The visiting children asked predefined questions to the hosting children and each child shared their favorite and not so favorite activities .The excitement among both the groups of students was palpable ! The line up activity another ice breaker; had the children line up using an array of variations which included arrangement in the order of birthdays, height , and so on..An interesting questionnaire was given to each child to fill up which had them interact with each other and helped them to know more about each other. Thus it was a flurry of well planned and excellently executed activities. This was followed by the Wittian faculty meeting the Principal Jan Paul Beekman  and the deputy head Mr. Frank van der Kamp . WIS presented the Principal with a coffee table book on "Indian then and now "which showcased the varied culture and diversity in India.

Wittians attended many lessons in school during the day such as French, English, Biology, Chemistry, Science, German, Physical Education,etc. They also had cycling lessons and a rich interaction with Indian Ice Skater Vishwaraj Jadeja who will soon be participating in the Winter Olympics.The English class was a wonderful mix of sharing quiz songs and dance ! The guest children received a personalized warm welcome with namaste and played fun games such as spin the bottle improvising the language skills as well as breaking barriers between students of both nationalities.The chemistry lesson was an interesting one as well. Wittians were paired with the Dutch children in preparing apple sauce a typical Dutch delicacy and to check the efficiency of the different types of additives on the apple sauce. Hands on learning is learning for life and matches with WIS philosophy, Discovery with Action ! All the subject lessons were quite enriching and informative for the Wittians. Thus it was a completely engrossing experience wherein Wittians lived within a  Dutch community, experiencing real family life and the true local high school experience breaking down the barriers of language, culture and geography .