NOD Voices - April 2015

Nacel Open Door Partner Voices

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In This Issue:

Advisors’ Angle: Transition of Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Introducing: Kara Redding SPP Social Studies Teacher . . . . 6

Keeping Up with NOD Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 - 4

SPP Art Teacher in Bejing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

U.S. Fun Facts: Spring Traditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

nod vOICES

On Thursday March 12th, SPP student Nelofar Sultan from Pakistan gave the keynote address at the United Nations Association of Minnesota (UNA-MN).

Nelofar is a Pakistan refugee and during her address, she spoke of her father and uncles’ escape from Afghanistan during the civil wars of the late 1980’s, at the time of the Soviet incursion.

Nelofar said her uncle paved the way for her family to flee to Pakistan. She shared the struggles that she and her family continue to experience 20 years later and how they’ve made their lives as refugees in country that is not their own. She addressed the struggles her father faced to find work that would support his family and how he had to work in a coal mine hundreds of miles away from them. Nelofar said she and her siblings only saw their dad once every three or four years and described what it was like for her mother to raise children with only the help of their extended family.

The struggles that her family has endured are what inspired her to come to America for her education. Nelofar is proud of her family and her heritage, which is why she agreed to share her story with others.

Kara Redding, SPP’s Social Studies Department Chair and leader of the school’s Model UN, worked to set the tone

for this spring’s UNA conference as one of inclusion and cooperation, “which is what the United Nations is all about,” said Redding.

“Part of that initiative was asking Nelofar to give the keynote speech. By asking a delegate to give the speech, Model UN hopes to provide students with a sense of relevance and immediacy and to remind the delegates that there are representatives in our committee from around the world, who have personal experiences with this issue,” Redding said.

“My family, and millions of others, lost everything,” said Nelofar. “They lost their identity, they lost their privileges as citizens of the country, and were instead labeled as refugees. It is very important to remember that refugees hold a scar on their heart, and as fellow human beings it is our obligation to help heal those deep wounds.”

Nelofar has been a part of Model UN for the past three years. She will graduate from SPP this spring with multiple acceptances to U.S. colleges and universities.

SPP STUDeNT AND PAKISTAN ReFUgee ChOSeN TO gIve UNA - MN KeyNOTe SPeeCh

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Board of DirectorsDr. Frank Tarsitano, PhD – ChairmanMr. Steve Murphy – SecretaryMs. Alice Murphy – TreasurerMr. Gerard AvundoMr. Arnold Franco Mr. Francois Jean HucMs. Hilda Jaffe

Senior Management TeamDr. Frank Tarsitano, PhD – CEO & PresidentMr. Richard Banasikowski, MA – Vice President Mr. Jean Burdin – President, Nacel InternationalMr. Roy S. Nilsson – CFO

Advisory BoardMr. Jean Burdin – President, Nacel InternationalMr. Pierre Coudry – Interclass BrazilMs. Toni Cowles – Retired, Lauder Institute at the Wharton School, UPENNMr. Jaeho Eohm – International Language Forum, KoreaDr. Abraham Ho, DA – Nacel AsiaMs. Marie Jose Huc – CLC

NACEL OPEN DOOR EXECUTIVES

This newsletter is a publication of Nacel Open Door, Inc. For more information on NOD programs and opportunities, please call 800-622-3553, or visit our website at www.nacelopendoor.org.

Newsletter Production Staff: Director of Operations: Rae LenwayDirector of Marketing & Communications: Shannon RauschMarketing Communications Assistant: Meg Beerling

KeePINg UP WITh NOD PROgRAMSSt. Paul Preparatory School (SPP) Students Send Art to Migrant Children in Arizona:

During first semester, SPP Art Students learned about the situation surrounding how many Central American children are detained at the U.S. borders for immigrations reasons, including

the conditions of the facility where they are held. After a stark reality check of what these holding facilities were really like, our students felt compelled to respond — with their art.

Our students decided the one way they could help improve this situation for children was to create murals to be hung in the space with the children, to provide something for the children to look at while being detained.

These murals were sent down to Nogales, Arizona where “Our goal was to allow the nonverbal language of art to comfort the children and reduce their anxiety,” SPP’s art teacher Kate Woolever-Martinez explained.

After reaching out to the border patrol in Nogales, Woolever-Martinez was connected with Santos Yescas, who works at Nogales Community Development, a non government organization that helps build thriving communities in Nogales and Santa Cruz Counties.

The original plan was to have the student’s artwork displayed in the Border Patrol facility in Nogales where the children were being held. However, by the time the artwork arrived in Nogales, the children were no longer staying at the Border Patrol facility. So with the help of Yescas, the artwork was hung in the Hilltop Gallery, where it was on display until just recently.


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AyP is expanding to new areas of the US! We are excited to announce three new

states for placement in the Pacific Northwest. We are looking forward to having students see these different parts of our country!

This area of our county has so much to offer. Beauty, adventure, historical destinations, shopping and so much more. The landscape of the Pacific Northwest is significantly different from the U.S.’s Midwest, yet the climate and culture are similar. Your students are going to love it!

We have also rolled out a new training program designed to standardize the Local Rep Training Process, which will improve everyone’s experience!

The month of April brings warming temperatures that will continue rise as winter finally slips into our distant memories. It is also a time of final transitions for students and Host Families!

This spring it is important to remember the transition that will be taking place as students begin to realize that their programs are nearing the end.

They may come to realize that the friends and memories they have made, the activities, accomplishments and increased levels of English ability will all become remnants of the time they spent in the USA. This may cause them to act in unfamiliar ways.

At this time it is not unusual for the students to begin withdrawing from

their friends and host family members because they know they will be leaving soon. This is their way of protecting themselves from the inevitable pain of saying goodbye when they leave.

It is also common for students to act out a little more at this time, pushing boundaries and perhaps breaking rules that they have been normally following. If any of these types of behaviors are observed it may be helpful to have a conversation with the student openly acknowledging that transition’s can be difficult and to remind him /her of all of the wonderful things that have happened during their program in the United States.

Mention that it is important to finish the program on good terms because not only are they representing their

respective countries but their host family members and friends want to remember them and all the fun they have had together.

Another way to ease the transition is to make a plan with the student as to how they can stay in contact with friends and host family members in the U.S. after they return home. Skype, Facebook, and even good old fashioned letter writing might be a fun way to stay in touch.

Transitions are an inevitable part of life, but they don’t have to be hard if we take some time to prepare ourselves along the way. May everyone enjoy the transition from winter to spring!

ADvISORS’ ANgle: TRANSITION OF MINDSeT

Academic year ProgramPrivate School ProgramPSP is in the process of their annual Local Representative training. Our focus

this year is on bringing greater consistency to the program across all regions. That way, if a Natural Parent has a child on PSP in the Southeast, the Local Reps will be following the same list of duties that a Local Rep in the Northeast are following.

We have developed a tracking system for the Reps to use as they complete their duties. This tracking system will be monitored by the NOD National office, as well as by the Regional Managers.

We are excited to bring this level of care to our students and we feel that these changes will help you in marketing the program to your clients.

As always, the Advising Department welcomes any questions or concerns that

students or Host Families have about their experiences. Feel free to contact us by email at [email protected].


The Summer 2015 Short Term Program is almost underway, with

273 students signed up for 62 different programs, typically three weeks in length from late June to the third week in August. Students have the opportunity to choose either Home-stay, Homeschooling, Tutorial or Homestay Plus Activity, depending on the location.

Seventeen people from ten states across the U.S. attended a training conference for Short Term Program Coordinators held in St. Paul on the weekend of March 6-8th. In addition to sharing strategies for Host Family Recruitment, hearing the history and future direction of NOD, they learned about Short Term marketing materials. During the training Reps also learned the ins and outs of student placement, and they had the opportunity to network and talk about best practices.

Reunion Island: A small island off the coast of Madagascar, home to people of many different ethnic origins. This March, 18 students and three chaperones from the island came to St. Paul Preparatory School and called it “home” for two weeks. This is the second group of students from the small French island in the Indian Ocean to attand SPP in the past two years.

During their stay in Minnesota, they had hoped to go snow tubing, an activity that none of them had ever tried, but unfortunately Minnesota had an unusually warm winter and there was not enough snow. Instead, they went to the Como Zoo and Conservatory, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Mall of America. While they were in school, they shadowed current SPP students and gave presentations on their country and culture to SPP students.

PROgRAM UPDATeS (CONTINUeD)

NISS is excited to announce its first annual STEM event in Shanghai, China. On May 2-3, a two-student team from seven NISS affiliated schools from six different countries (China, France, South Korea, Turkey, United States, and Vietnam) will visit Gezhi’s Science School’s campus to test their expertise by participating in NISS’s and Gezhi School’s Robotics Competition. Within this event, each school’s team will design and build an autonomous, pre-programmed robot that does something useful and interesting, where the definition of “useful and interesting” is left up to the team. The teams were provided with an Arduino “starter kit” consisting of an Arduino microcontroller, a DC motor and a handful of resistors, transistors, LED’s and wire, as well as a simple display device, and a few other items. We wish each team good luck as they work to prepare for the competition!

Additionally, NISS is pleased to announce its venture into publishing. The first book, American Government, has been completed. Kara Redding, a teacher at St. Paul Preparatory School, has written an engaging and informative book with NISS student populations in mind. This is a cooperative project that will bridge NISS schools and teachers as we continue developing instructional programming and curriculum. We have incorporated input from students and teachers and instructional scaffolding, and have embedded language skill development into the text. The book has been designed as a consumable textbook, containing content text as well as space for students to take notes, write assignments, and prepare ideas for discussion, for both in and out of class activities. NISS has been, and continues to work with Nacel teachers to participate in the project as writers or co-writers, reviewers, or editors. We look forward to the advancing of the new publishing arm of NOD.

NACel INTeRNATIONAl SChOOl SySTeMShORT TeRM PROgRAM


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After hearing I would be traveling to Beijing, my Chinese students were buzzing with suggestions on where to go, what to eat, and how to get around the city. Collaborating with the art teacher at our St. Paul American School (SPAS) sounded like a wonderful opportunity and a great way to bring our two schools closer together.

Before my trip, SPP drawing students created two murals representing the national flags represented by their fellow international students. One mural is hanging at SPP and the other was presented as a gift to SPAS.

Upon arrival to the SPAS campus I was so impressed with their exterior facilities. Basketball courts, soccer fields and a running track gave students the chance to exercise and push their competitive sides. It seemed like a luxury in such a crowded city. It was interesting to see the dorms students were living in, along with the swimming pool, and theater.

During my visit I was able to collaborate with Mr. Banker, SPAS’s Art teacher, and I was even able to teaching a few of his classes. It was a great experience!

Together we discussed topics on art curriculum, and grading, including Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) into our daily lessons. We’ve already begun our collaboration by teaching the same lesson, “A Daily Life of a Teenager.” In this lesson, we are challenging our

students to make ordinary events become extraordinary pieces of art as they look at their routines with a new perspective. Students listed events such as brushing your teeth, eating lunch, and using their computers. In the end students will be challenged in combining their topics, a daily event, a viewpoint and a style of composition into one drawing. Their goal, as artists, is to push society to see these common events with a new lens.

Once artwork is completed we will exchange images to allow students to view contrasting styles and composition and also see similarities they share throughout their daily lives even though there is great distance between.

SPP, SPAS COllABORATe ThROUgh ARTKATe WOOleveR-MARTINeZ ShAReS heR vISIT TO ST. PAUl AMeRICAN SChOOl


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U.S. TIDBITSINTRODUCINg...Kara Redding is in her 4th year teaching at SPP and this year marks a milestone for both Kara, and the school.

With the help of NOD Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Peggy Spurgeon, Kara has written and published the first NOD textbook. The textbook is American Government directed toward international students. It includes workbook activities and quizzes to track comprehension of the material.

Kara teaches U.S. History (+AP), U.S. Government (+AP), and Applied Psychology at SPP. She also serves as the Social Studies Department Chair and as a Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) peer coach.

Kara is a graduate of the University of Minnesota M.Ed. program and a summa cum laude graduate of the State University of New York at Purchase.

Kara studied abroad in Japan as an undergraduate at Kansai Gaidai’s International School, a college very similar to SPP. Her experience there changed her life and she is thankful to have the privilege to play a part in that same exchange experience for her students.

It is from that experience where the idea to write her own textbook was born. Kara was constantly making her own materials to help teach her students, so when Peggy came to her with the idea of creating workbook activities, the idea for writing a full American Government textbook instead was launched.

Peggy and Kara started working on the book in May of last year, and the printed book was finally in the school by March, 2015.

“When I saw the book for the first time I was so much more excited than I thought I was going to be,” said Kara, “it works really well in the classroom; it makes things easier by following and moving at the right pace.”

Most SPP students are exchange students, so having a textbook that is easily comprehended can make all the difference in comprehension. Yet, the book makes American Government understandable even for students who aren’t from other contries.

This American Government book is the first of many more NOD Published textbooks to come. Being able to direct materials to our international student body will be invaluable to their education in the United States and will help students understand the information presented by their teachers and succeed in class.

In her spare time, Kara enjoys sewing costumes, performing in a jazz band for the elderly, and singing karaoke as vigorously as possible.

Kara can be reached by email at [email protected]

SPRINg TRADITIONS

SPRINg CleANINg - Americans follow the annual tradition of cleaning their homes top to bottom in an effort to wash away winter and start spring fresh.

yARD SAleS - In congruence with spring cleaning, it’s the philosophy “out with the old, in with the new” in the form of traditional American yard sales. A yard sale is a sale typically of used household items, toys, or clothing, usually held outdoors at the home of the seller.

CheRRy BlOSSOMS - In 1912, Japan gifted more than 3,000 Yoshino cherry trees to celebrate the relationship between the two countries. In 1927, the first annual National Cherry Blossom Festival was held in the U.S., marking an annual springtime tradition.

PlANTINg + gARDeNINg - With the ground thawing and warm air returning, gardeners prepare their soil in early spring, making a spring tradition for “green-

thumb” Americans.

egg DeCORATINg - A longstanding tradition, often associated with Easter in the spring, is dyeing eggs. As part of this tradition, the President and First Family participate in the Easter Egg roll at the White House, which has been tradition for more than 135 years.

Kara Redding: Social Studies Teacher at SPP

NOD Voices - April 2015

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