Mission & Identity
Global Education Trips
Fordham Prep ’ s Global Education Program aims to raise student awareness of the world outside their own environment through the exploration of different and diverse cultures in the world community . This awareness will prepare students to be more empathetic , accepting of differences , aware of social justice and human rights issues , and better prepared for an interconnected and diverse world in which they will live and work . They will also be better prepared to understand and embrace world cultures , communicate effectively at a global level , respect and value diversity , understand and take action against injustices , and develop skills necessary to work cross-culturally .
Fordham Prep sent groups of staff and students to Australia and China this summer .
Australia On June 10 , 2017 , six rising sophomores and two rising juniors , accompanied by Drs . David Gelpi and Patricia Lee , arrived in Sydney , Australia for a two-week immersion experience . After a weekend of touring the Sydney sights , including crossing the Harbor Bridge , visiting the Sydney Opera House , the historic Rocks neighborhood , the Botanical Gardens and the Sydney Zoo , the students settled in at St . Ignatius Riverview , Sidney ’ s Jesuit high school . During the first week , they attended classes with host students , lived in dorms , attended a student drama , ate in " the Ref ," grabbed time in the gym , and generally experienced life as a prep student in Australia . The second week was a busy mix of service work : taking buses and trains , the students fanned out all over Sydney to engage in projects . Some dug at Cana Farm , others hosted sporting tournaments with the Cerebral Palsy Alliance , helped students at Special Schools or prepared and served food at soup kitchens . In between , the travelers visited Sydney ’ s spectacular beaches , including Bondi , Manly and Gerroa , to retreat , walk the cliff roads and watch the surfers brave Sydney ' s winter waters .
China 2017 This summer , eight students and two faculty members ( Ms . Ari Dempsey and Ms . Yi Han ) travelled to China , spending time in Beijing and Xi ’ An . The students had an opportunity to walk through places that they had read about like the Forbidden City , the Temple of Heaven and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda . They rode through a hutong ( a narrow alley ) in a Rickshaw , learned to make dumplings and shared dinner in a family ’ s house , and spent a morning exercising with locals in a park . One afternoon , our students visited an observatory founded by Jesuit missionaries who were among the first to bring Christianity and Western thought to China . Another afternoon , the group rode a gondola to the top of the Great Wall and hiked along it . One of the favorite days was spent at Tsinghua University High School attending class and events with students , doing labs , playing basketball and watching performances . Our students saw the excavation of the terracotta warriors , practiced Mandarin , splashed through the Water Cube , tried lots of new food and even had time for karaoke ! In touring the country the group saw the many ways Chinese history is unique and different from ours , and in laughing with new friends , realized the essential ways in which we are all very much the same .
Ms . Han Modern Languages Dept .
Dr . Lee English Dept .
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