Newtown High School Hosts Chinese Delegation

A delegation consisting of several directors of China's top universities, on a 21-day tour of the United States, made a stop at Newtown High School on Friday. Their tour of California, Washington D.C. and Connecticut included stops at Yale University and Newtown High School. Newtown was the only high school chosen to be part of the trip. 

Assistant Principal Jason Hiruo said due to the school's commitment to the , they were recently accepted into the Hanban – Asia Society Confucius Classroom Network, a national network of the top 100 exemplary Chinese programs being developed over three years. 

The delegation was given a tour of the high school including the new gymnasium.  Mr. Hiruo explained that it is large enough to host two sporting events at the same time. It can hold up to 1,500 students.

He said the gymnasium is used for cultural as well as sporting events, adding that in February when the students and teachers from their sister school in Liaocheng, China come to visit, Newtown will host a Chinese New Year in the gymnasium.

The delegation was interested in the presentations given by Peg Regaini and Kitty Latowicki of the Career Center regarding the wide range of opportunities for all students, including those going to a university or technical school and those pursuing a career upon graduation. 

They heard about job shadowing from junior Chris Tenney. Chris is interested in sports medicine and spoke about shadowing a physical therapist in town. Senior Melissa De Stefano spoke about the senior project course. She is writing a fiction novella and being mentored by a local writer.

Cathy Ostar, the director of guidance at the high school, gave a presentation on the role of school counselors. (They are moving away from the term guidance counselors.)  

The delegation was interested in our clearly very different approach to the university application process. As Peng Zhen, the liaison for the delegation pointed out, acceptance into the universities in China is based on grades and test scores.  He added the schools are rated based on what scores students are getting and how many go to top universities. The approach of including talents and extracurricular activities in a student's application fascinated the delegation. 

Ostar demonstrated the Naviance program available to all Newtown High School students and parents. She explained it is like an electronic portfolio for each student where beyond grades and SATs, students can include interests, talents, sports, internships etc. 

Mr. Hiruo noted that while we may approach education very differently, we can both learn from each other.

When a slide showing a student's typical schedule appeared, the questions began.  The delegation was amazed with the complexity. Mr. Hiruo explained that the students figure it out quickly, it is usually the adults that have a harder time following it.

The delegation finished the visit with an honorary lunch provided by the Newtown High School culinary department. 

Assistant Principal Hiruo was pleased.

"Based on the visit, we have initiated dialogue with the top three universities in China who were represented in this group of dignitaries," he said. "With connections to these universities, we will be looking to further dialogue in hopes of establishing study abroad and professional development experiences for both students and staff."

Editor's note: The Newtown High School gym can hold 1,500 people. The capacity was incorrect in an earlier version of this article. Cathy Ostar's name also was misspelled in an earlier version of this article.