5th Grade

Background Information

 

Mexico City:  The city is located in the south central part of Mexico on the altiplano, a large plateau surrounded by mountains at an altitude of over 7,000 feet above sea level.  Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of over twenty million people.  There are many museums, historical sites, colonial churches, monuments, and parks to visit. The Fifth Grade will spend a few days touring there.

Cuernavaca:  Located in the state of Morelos at 4,626 feet above sea level in a mountainous area, Cuernavaca is fifty miles south of Mexico City. The city is a commuting suburb for many people who work in Mexico City.  The climate is subtropical with an average temperature of 78 degrees giving the city the name “The City of Eternal Spring.”  The population is approximately 400,000.  During pre-Hispanic times Cuernavaca was populated by the Tlahuica Indians.

Families who participate in the Exchange Program live in various Colonias (neighborhoods) of Cuernavaca. For example, the Williams School is located in the Colonia Jardines de Cuernavaca. Each day parents drive their children to school where they are met at the entrance by teachers.   School begins at 8:00 A.M. and ends at 2:00 P.M.  Children return home with their families for the 3:00 PM main meal of the day, called la comida.

Colegio Williams de Cuernavaca: The Williams School is directed by Alex Williams, the son of the late Alejandro Williams, the great-grandson of the British Professor Camilo Williams who founded the Williams School in Mexico City in 1899.  The school in Cuernavaca was started in 1976 by Alejandro Williams Sr. There are 900 students in the school, beginning in pre-kindergarten and continuing through “primary,” “secondary,” and high school.  The school is bilingual, with emphasis on English in the primary years when half of each day is taught in English and the other half of the day in Spanish.  The principals are Eugenia Jenner (Jenny) & Maribel Bahena.

There are three sections of the school.  Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten are located a few blocks away from the main buildings. Alex and his mom Maggie Williams used to live in an apartment very close to the  Kinder .  They have turned it into a place for visiting teachers to stay.  That is where the teachers will be living. The primary (Primaria) grades (first through sixth) and the secondary (Secundaria) grades (seventh through ninth) are arranged in three floors around a central courtyard that is used often for athletic activities.  The high school (Preparatoria) is located behind the main buildings.  Fifth grade students are based in the main building with the primary grades.  

Orientation:  Each day the PMFS fifth grade class meets in a reserved classroom at the Williams School.  The morning meeting begins, students sitting in a circle, with a moment of silence. After taking roll, students are guided in discussion with a query.  Some examples are:  How did you show appreciation to your family?  What are your observations/impressions about Cuernavaca? How have you been a friend to your buddy?   Often the class shares journal writing and goals for the day.  Teachers ask for a homesick check on a scale of 1 to 10.  The teachers discuss information about the agenda of the day, give reminders about background information, and collect students’ journals. The three teachers check the journals daily, writing comments and making suggestions, if necessary.  They also check in regularly with students individually.

The Fifth graders come to school prepared with a lunch packed by their Williams School family. Each student has a backpack with a journal, a pencil case with pencils and a sharpener, tissues, sunscreen, hand sanitizer and a water bottle.  Also required is a wallet with a designated amount of spending money (assigned by teachers) for the day.  Students wear their PMFS anoraks to school; if it is hot, they just put it in their backpack.

 

The purpose of the Exchange Program is to promote cultural awareness and knowledge through the experience of living with a family in Mexico and hosting a Mexican student in our country.  We believe that through cross-cultural exchanges children can learn to appreciate similarities and differences between countries.  It is also the belief of both schools that such experiences promote a deeper sensitivity to world peace and understanding.

These goals fit within the framework of our desire to equip our students with a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies.  Below are listed several outcomes: