On Wednesday, October 16th, 22 Italian students arrived at SHS, kicking off the Italian Exchange program. This program was introduced during the 2023-2024 school year, and involved months of discussion and planning. SHS students in all grades were able to apply for the exchange, and just 22 students were selected.
The program is a two-phase process. The first phase took place in October and included the arrival of Italian students in New York. The second phase will take place in February, when SHS students will visit Italy. In both phases, students get the chance to live with local students and families, being able to experience a different culture and lifestyle.
Phase one of the program ended on October 24th with the Italian students returning home to Italy. Before then, it was a busy nine days for the exchange students. They arrived in New York late Wednesday night to eager, but nervous, host students. “I had been texting my exchange student for a few days,” Rachel Lucek ‘27 said. “But I was still so nervous to officially meet her. I wasn’t really sure exactly what to expect.”
Once the Italian students settled in, Thursday was spent shadowing their host students and getting to know the SHS community. On Friday, the entire group of students took a field trip to New York City. Students visited Battery Park, saw the Statue of Liberty, and visited the RiseNY attraction.
“It was my first time visiting New York, and this trip was so exciting! It was so fun to see the city and explore with the other students,” Maddalena, Lucek’s exchange student, described.
For the rest of their stay, students got to spend time with their host families, attend more SHS classes, and go on their own trip to New York. They visited common New York attractions, including the MOMA, Central Park, and Times Square. This trip involved just the Italian exchange students, giving them the chance to explore on their own. On Global Citizenship Day, many of the Italian students held a presentation of their own. They taught students about Italian culture and cuisine. After all of these events, students returned home on Thursday, October 24th, but it was not the final goodbye.
Phase two of the program begins in early February when SHS students get the chance to travel to Italy. The trip begins with meeting the Italian students again. Most students will have the chance to stay with their exchange partners, while others will get the chance to meet new students.
Just like how Italian students explored SHS, Scarsdale students will be able to explore a local school in Italy. Students will get the chance to shadow classes at Educandato Statale Collegio Uccellis, located in Udine, a city in northeast Italy. After spending time with host families and learning about Italian schooling, SHS students will get the chance to explore. They will visit cities like Rome, Milan, Florence and Pisa. After their break in Italy, students will have to return to SHS, getting back into the usual routine.
The idea of an international learning opportunity is no new idea to Scarsdale. SHS has had many global learning opportunities in the past. Some are traditions through specific classes, like trips for the band, orchestra, or certain foreign languages. Others were similar to the Italian Exchange like last year’s Spanish exchange Although only available for students enrolled in Spanish classes, this exchange had a similar format where Spanish students were hosted in Scarsdale, and SHS students were hosted in Spain.
With so many good options to choose from, some students are even interested in participating in more than one program. “Even though I haven’t finished this exchange yet, I am definitely interested in looking into new ones,” Lucek said.
Opportunities also exist for students not interested in a full exchange. SHS students have been invited on trips to Iceland, Costa Rica, and even Singapore for specific learning opportunities.
Check out our Instagram post covering this topic! It can be found on @shsmaroon_
