Cincinnati, Ohio, March 15, 2018 – For a few weeks during the winter semester, there were three new faces in the halls of Saint Ursula Academy. Saint Ursula families hosted students from Ètablissement Marie Pila, a school in Carpentras, France, and those students attended Saint Ursula alongside their hostesses for three weeks.
All the students visiting from France are part of a special program that concentrates on the English Language. A goal of the program is to immerse students in the English Language as they experience the culture of the United States during their sophomore year of high school.
Clemènce Mazella, Coralie Courbet, and Camille Pellet spent their first week attending regular classes with their hostesses. Their second week coincided with Saint Ursula’s “Spiritual Journey Week”, which provided opportunities for learning about the history of Saint Ursula Academy, volunteering at Matthew 25 ministries, assisting Special Olympics of Hamilton County, reflecting on how each person has a role in building a better world, and exploring the diversity on our campus and in the greater Cincinnati community.
Pascale Chaye, an English teacher at Ètablissement Marie Pila, accompanied the students, and another male student who was hosted by a St. Xavier family. In all, there were over 100 students and their teachers who visited the U.S. at the same time.
SUA French teacher Lisa Kuhn indicated that the students enjoyed their visit to Cincinnati and they didn’t think three weeks was enough time to experience everything there is to do in the area. They visited museums, dined at local restaurants (and loved their visit to Skyline Chili), took in cultural events in the area, and even visited the Cincinnati Zoo to meet Fiona! All three students said that they felt very welcome at Saint Ursula, and in Cincinnati in general, and they appreciated the hospitality of the American people. They were quite surprised that the portion sizes of meals in the U.S. were larger than what they were used to eating in France.
Saint Ursula Academy hopes to continue a relationship with our fellow sisters from France, as well as cultivate a relationship with Ètablissement Marie Pila.
Saint Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. Saint Ursula welcomes students from more than 90 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Academy is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. The Class of 2017 earned college scholarships totaling more than $21-million.
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Photo Caption: (l-r) SUA student Lauren Pollock of Anderson hosted Coralie Courbet from Monteaux, France; Clemènce Mazella of Le Poet En Percip, France was hosted by Kathryn Suddendorf of Symmes Township; and Camille Pellet of Aubignan, France was hosted by Maggie Mullaney of Clifton.