Cupertino-HsinchuSister CityAssociationStudent ExchangeProgram2023 TotheCupertinoCityCouncil:
HonorableMayor HungWeiHonorableViceMayor SheilaMohanCouncilmember LiangChaoCouncilmember J.R. FruenCouncilmember KittyMoore TheCupertino-HsinchuSister CityAssociation, CHSCA, ispleasedtopresent totheCupertinoCityCouncil our Student ExchangeProgramApril 2023Report.Our student exchangeprogramdatesbackto2004whenthefirst student exchangewithour Sister City- Hsinchu, Taiwanoccurred. Theexchangeactivitieswereput onholdin2020duetoCovid-19. After a3year hiatus, weareexcitedtorestart our programthisyear.Thisyear’sStudent Delegationincluded20studentsfromtheCupertinoUnionSchoolDistrict (CUSD) andFremont UnionHighSchool District (FUHSD) for aoneweekvisit toHsinchufromApril 15thtoApril 23rd, 2023. Duringthistripwewerealsojoinedbyour Mayor,CityStaff, andschool-district BoardMemberswhichallowedour grouptoshowmoreaspectsofour student programinHsinchu.Thegoal of theCHSCAStudent Exchangeprogramistoprovide7th-12thgradersfromour cityand2school districtstheopportunitytostaywithahost familyinHsinchu, attendlocalschoolstoexperiencetheeducationsysteminTaiwan, learnof thehistoryof HsinchuandTaiwan, andmost importantlyestablishlifelongfriendshipsbetweenour studentsandhostfamilies.HsinchuisknownastheSiliconValleyof Taiwanandwithover 300techcompaniesintheHsinchuScienceandTechnologyPark, thisexchangeallowsstudentstoseehowconnectedour twocitiesarewhileexperiencingTaiwaneseculturefirsthand. Thisreport willhighlight themajor activitiesof our trip. It alsoattachedalinktoour 2023CHSCAStudentDelegationWebsitewhichprovidesmoredetailedinformationregardingour triptoour students’families. Theinformationincludesstudent journalswhereeachstudent wasaskedtochronicletheir experiencesthroughout theweek, andaphotogallerythat highlightsmanyof theactivitiesour studentsparticipatedduringtheweek.Thisyear’sdelegationconsistedof 20students, 5fromFUSHDand15fromCUSD, ateacher chaperone, Dr. Jennifer Lashier, whoisthePrincipal of CUSD'sChineseLanguageImmersionProgramat Muir ElementarySchool, andour CHSCAmembers: President JaniceSung, VicePresident AngelaChen, VicePresident Chia-ChingLin, andStudent CoordinatorAngeloNoguera. Wewerefortunatethat 3of our studentsarereturningfromour 2020DelegationwhichwascanceledduetoCovid-19.Prior toour tripinApril, thestudentsparticipatedin5cultural trainingsessionstolearnabout Taiwaneseculture, preparedaskit tohighlight our lifeandculturehereinCupertino, andconnectedvirtuallywiththeir host familiesbeforearrivinginTaiwan. Our meetingswerefacilitatedbymembersof our groupwhoworkedwithour familiesinCupertino, cityandeducationofficialsinHsinchu, andactedasprimarycontactsfor our host familiesshouldany issuesarise. Thesemeetingshelpmakesureour studentsarepreparedfor their timeinHsinchuwithour delegationandhost families.
Official DelegationVisit toHsinchuCityHall onApril 17, 2023 Thoughour student exchangewasonlyaweeklong, thankstotheHsinchuCityEducationOfficialsandour host school for thisyear, HsinkeJunior HighSchool, studentswereabletoexperiencevariousaspectsof student lifeinHsinchu. Theweekconsistedof our officialdelegationmeetingwithHsinchuCityHall Officials, adaytriptoTaipei anditssurroundingareas, 3daysof school withtheir host student, andtimetoexploreHsinchuwiththeir hostfamilies.Our adult delegationwasabletoparticipateinmanystudent activitiesaswell asmeetingswithvariouscityandeducationleaderstoobservetheeducational systeminTaiwanandshareour ownexperiencesworkingintheclassroom. Our programtriestoimmersestudentsasmuchaspossibleinthecultureof Hsinchusothat theybecomepart of theHsinchufamilyrather thanjust anoutsideobserver.Amajor component of our programishavingstudentsexperienceschool lifeinHsinchu.Not onlydidstudentstakeclasseswiththeir host students, but our wholestudent delegationwasabletovisit several schoolsintheareatoexperiencetheuniqueclassesandelectivesjunior andhighschoolshavetooffer. Duringour first school visit toFuli Junior HighSchool onMonday, April 17thour wholedelegationparticipatedinclassesonglassblowing, traditionaldance, andarchery. WeareveryfortunatetohavecreatedastrongrelationshipwithFuli over
theyearstohelpprovideour studentswiththisuniqueopportunityof workingwithstudentsattheschool tocreateglasscharmsanddecorationswhilelearningarcheryfromateamcoachedbyanOlympicMedalist. Thenext school wevisitedasadelegationwasPeiyingJunior HighonWednesday, April 19th, wherestudentsconstructedtwoplasticsculpturesfromlaser cut plasticsandwoodmaterialsall madeat theschool. Studentsfinishedoff their sculpturesbyinsertingLEDlightsandkeychainrings.
Student Delegationvisit toFuli Junior HighSchool onApril 17th, 2023
DelegationVisit toPei-YingJunior HighSchool onApril 19, 2023 Withour visit toour host school HsinkeJunior HighSchool onThursdayApril 20th,studentsparticipatedinTaikodrummingandclaysculpting. Evenintheshort timeour studentswereintheTaikoDrummingclass, theywereabletolearnashort routineandplayalongsideHsinkestudents. Our CityCouncil andSchool Boardmemberswereabletovisit theclaysculptingclassandseehowour studentsalongsideHsinkestudentscrafted clayhedgehogmagnetsthat studentswereabletotakehomeafter completion. Duringtheweek, studentswereimmersedinwhat atypical school daywouldbe, collaboratedwithhost school studentstoparticipateinclubsandelectives, andtooktimetochat andlearnfromeachother about theirschool life. Manyof our studentswereprovidedschool uniforms, introducedtotheentireschool,andhadachancetospeaktotheir classesabout their lifeintheBayArea. Eachof our hostschoolsgoaboveandbeyondwelcomingour studentsandmakesureour studentsfeelcomfortableandavaluedmember of thestudent body. Creatingpositiverelationshipsisthesameinanycultureandthesestudent visitstothevariousschoolsinHsinchuwill hopefullylayafoundationfor futurecommunicationandcollaborationbetweenour studentsandtwocities.
CityandStudent DelegationVisit toHsinkeJunior HighSchool onApril 20th2023 Aswell asparticipatinginclassat their host school, our studentshaveachancetoimmersethemselvesinTaiwanandHsinchu’sculturethroughlivingandexploringTaiwanwiththeir host familyfor theweek. OnTuesday, April 18th, our studentsalongwiththeir hoststudentstookadaytriponTaiwan’sHighSpeedRail toTaipei tovisit theNational Palacemuseumtoviewartifactsandlearnabout thehistoryof Ancient China. Afterwards, ourdelegationvisitedthetownsof JiufenandPingxi tostroll throughtraditional street markets,samplelocal delicacies, andcreatespecial skylanternswiththeir wisheswrittenonthemtosendupintothesky. Thedaywascappedoff withaspecial dinner at DingTai FungandexploringTaipei 101toseethemoderncityof Taipei at night. It isduringthisfirst wholedayourstudentsspent withtheir host student that weseeour delegationandHsinchustudentsopenupandbondwitheachother.
DelegationVisit toTaipei, JiufenandPingxi onApril 18th, 2023 Themost memorableexperiencesdevelopedduringour triparemadethroughthetimestudentsspendwiththeir host families. UponlandinginHsinchuonSunday4/16, our studentsweregreetedbyall our host familiesat HsinkeJunior Highandafter ashort meetingwereoff toexplorethecity. Throughout our program’shistory, wehavealwaysbeenthankful for thegenerosityof our host familiesastheytakeinour studentsandmakethempart of their ownfamily. Whenour chaperonesvisit studentsduringtheweek, studentsshareabout their visit tolocal storesandrestaurants, travel toother areasoutsideof Hsinchu, participateinkaraokenightswithother membersof our delegationandhost students, andenjoytheuniquesitesandhistoriesHsinchuhastooffer. It isnot uncommonthat werunintoour studentsinthecitytakingselfies, drinkingPearl MilkTea, andlaughingwiththeir host student. Theserelationshipsthathavebeendevelopedover theweekarerecognizedinour Farewell Dinner onFriday, 4/21whereeachschool principal, family, andmembersof theprogramsfrombothHsinchuandCupertinowererecognizedfor all theworkput intomakethisspecial for everyone. Thepicturesshowninthisreport andour websiteonlyhighlight afewof thelaughs, smiles, performances,andtearsthat wereondisplayaswecelebratedour last fewdaystogether. It isafter theFarewell Dinner andour sendoff onSunday4/23that asanorganizationweareproudtosaywehavebeenabletocreateapositiveexperiencefor all thoseinvolvedduringthisexchangeactivity. Wearefortunatetohear backfrompast exchangestudentsregardingtheir experiences,andwehopetocontinuetocreatethesememorableexperiencesandlonglastingfriendships.
Farewell RecognitionPart onApril 21st, 2023
Whiletheadult delegationparticipatedinmanyof our student activities, our CHSCAmembersalsovisitedmanyof theschoolsinthearea, includingreconnectingwithmanypasthost schools, principals, andstaff. OnWednesdayApril 19th, wevisitedTheAffiliatedExperimental ElementarySchool of National TsingHuaUniversitywhichfocusesonvisual artandsomeof thestudent’sworkhasbeendisplayedintheCupertinoLibraryinthepast.Chaperoneswereabletomakecustombuttonsthat highlightedoneof theuniqueactivitiesorlocationsinHsinchusuchasdragonboat racing, meatballs, or oldshoppingdistricts. WithourMayor, CityManager, andschool boardmemberswevisitedTheNational Experimental HighSchool (NEHS) at HsinchuSciencePark. Thisschool alsohoststheInternational Bilingual
School at HsinchuScienceParkandincollaborationwiththeHsinchuScienceParkoffersamixof WesternandTaiwaneseeducationsystemstosupport thescienceparkandfamilieswhoworkat thevariouscompaniesheadquarteredthere. CHSCAstartedour relationshipwiththeschool over 6yearsago. Withitsmixof thetraditional TaiwaneseclassesandschoolexperiencesalongwithWesternEducationpracticessuchasAdvancedPlacement Classes,Content andAreastandardsusedintheBilingual Department, andthecloseproximitytotheHsinchuSciencePark, NEHShighlightshowglobalizationcreatesmoreopportunitiesandconnectionsineducationwhilebuildingonthestrengthsof theareatocreatestronganduniqueeducationopportunitiesfor all.OnApril 22nd, our final full dayinHsinchu, theadult delegationtraveledtoTainantovisittheNational ChengKungUniversitytolearnabout thenumerouslocal technologystartupsintheareaaswell aslistentoproductsbeingdevelopedlocally. Our groupthentraveledtoSouthernTaiwanScienceParktolearnabout thevariouslocal andglobal techcompaniesthatcall thisareatheir home. After biddingfarewell toour Mayor andher group, our grouptraveledtoKaohsiungtoreconnect withtheformer Principal of NEHSandnowprincipal of theI-ShouInternational School. What stoodout about our visit toI-ShouwasthefocusonSTEMwithworkareassuchasMakerspace, Woodshop, VideoandMediaProductionRooms, RoboticWorkshops, andcollaborationroomstoallowstudentsthefreedomtopursuetheir creativeviewswhileexchangingideaswithothers. It isthroughschool visitslikethisoneaswell astheother schoolsduringour trip, that our adult delegationisabletocontinueour relationshipwitheducational leadersinHsinchu. Wehopetowelcometheseteachersandprincipalswhohostedusinour October 2023ExchangeinCupertinotocontinuetoshareour ideasandstrengthenthebondsbetweenour twocities.Asanassociation, thereturnof our student exchangeprogramtoHsinchuafter 3yearswasamoment wewerelookingforwardto. Thoughtheglobal pandemichasbrought numerouschallengesanduncertaintiesininternational travel, weareproudtosaythat uponreturningtoCupertino, our tripwasaresoundingsuccessfor all thoseinvolved. Weareforever grateful toour host families, schools, andcityofficialsinHsinchufor takingusinwithopenarmsandgoingaboveandbeyondintakingcareof eachandeveryoneof usduringour week. Beingabletoreconnect inpersonwithHsinchuandwitnessthepositiveexperiencesthat all of our studentswereabletocreatelaysagreat foundationfor futureexchanges, includingresumingour HostFamilyProgramthiscomingOctober 2023wherewehopetowelcomemanyof theHsinchustudentswhohostedour studentsinApril.Wewouldalsoliketoshowour thanksandappreciationtoour Mayor, theCityandSchool BoardDelegationwhospent timevisitingour studentsinschool aswell astouringpartsof HsinchuandTaiwan. Thesupport fromour cityaswell asschool districtshelpensureapositiveandhealthyprogramfor studentsinthefutureandwelookforwardtocontinuingtoshareour students' experiencesinyearstocome.
Sincerely,Cupertino-HsinchuSister CityAssociation