4/9-11 – BCS hosts students from Denmark!

Brooklyn Collaborative & Tornbjerg Gymnasium

Over the past seven years, BCS has built a very strong relationship with students and staff from Tornbjerg Gymnasium, a progressive high school in Odense, Denmark. This collaboration began in 2012 as an exchange program between the music students, expanded to include students from Big History, and now intersects with many cross sections of the entire BCS community. Every year that our guests visit, many BCS families open our doors and host students for two evenings in a true act of collaboration and kindness! Our staff points of contact are Stephen and Tracey, and every year, they plan a wonderful agenda for the exchange experience.

Day 1 – Mon 4/9

Our guests arrived bright and early to a greeting line and drum salute outside on Henry Street, after they’ve had a couple days of sightseeing in Manhattan. Students had a fun morning of exchange and learning with each other (including presentations about life in Denmark and NYC, aspects of Danish vs. American culture, hot topics in the news now, what’s special about Brooklyn Collaborative and the EL Education model, and more). In the afternoon, students learned about the history of the Gowanus Canal on a special canoe tour! Then they went home with their host families for shared family dinner and evening time.

Day 2 – Tues 4/10

Students had another full morning of presentations, including hearing from our English Language Learner students about their experiences immigrating to the United States, joining an LG crew circle with Christine, and experiencing a yoga class with Arden in our Lower Gym. Then we switched up the pace, literally, and students enjoyed a salsa lesson in a Park Slope dance studio! Students explored the neighborhood on their own afterwards and returned to their host homes for more shared family time!

Day 3 – Wed 4/11

Students joined our seniors on their Economics Expeditionary Thursday fieldwork (held specially on a Wed) today, breaking up into three groups. Students were challenged to see NYC economics in one of three ways: Economics as a civil rights issue, circa 1960, at a gallery tour in The Museum of the City of NY; Economics as a representational issue, 1900-20, at a curator talk at The Whitney Museum; or Economics as a street issue, via a neighborhood tour at the Bronx Museum of Arts. Our guests then returned to BCS and enjoyed a satisfying farewell dinner of West Indian food sponsored by our PTA. Lots of contact information and hugs exchanged between students all around!

THANK YOU to our host families!

Thank you to our BCS host families, for welcoming our guests into your homes. Your hospitality and interpersonal connections are invaluable for this partnership, and we appreciate you!

Thank you to Stephen and Tracey!

Big shout out to Stephen and Tracey for organizing all the logistics and being the face of our exchange! And thank you to all the BCS staff who supported and welcomed students into classes. We are (an international) crew!